Tonight I was reflecting on the great health care we’ve had through the military over the past couple weeks. Sammy has had two ear infection bouts that were pretty painful – affecting both inner and outer ear on both sides. He handled it all very well and enjoyed getting lots of yummy pink syrups (antibiotics and Tylenol). He slept through most nights (surprisingly), even with a pretty good fever during the second round of earaches. Needless to say, I was a tiny bit concerned about the recurrence given that he has none of the usual risk factors for ear infection, certainly not recurrent within a week. We were at his pediatrician’s office I think three times over two weeks, maybe even four times including this morning (to check on him now that he’s better and give him the all-clear to go swimming again). The system got a good workout with me – I also called the on-call doc once on Fri night because I was concerned about mastoiditis – something rather rare but serious – due to the redness and slight swelling on the mastoid bone behind his ear. Turns out the new antibiotics he was on would cover it even if this rare complication occurred, so we could rest easy. (In case you, like Dave, think I was overreacting, his pediatrician said this morning she’d have been a little concerned, too.) His pediatrician was able to look in his ears without him screaming like crazy (quite a feat despite all the role-playing, discussing, preparing, cajoling, threatening, rewarding). He was good for me, too, complying with ear drops, and even lying down for a few minutes on each side to let them sink in. He did NOT like it when mommy “wiggled” his ears to get the drops to penetrate all the way to the drum, past all the muck (pus, etc.) inside. The books say pull down and back a bit. Well, he did NOT like that. Poor kid. I felt so bad doing something that obviously hurt, but which had to be done. We lay down next to each other and talked it over, and gave some drops and wiggles to baby Zebra’s ears, too.

I want to mention mine briefly, too. I go to Tripler Army Medical Center every now and then in our quest to have another baby Krug. I will not bore you with all the things we’ve learned, but suffice to say I could probably pass a residency exam in reproductive endocrinology with flying colors. I’m sharing a bit of my experience here in case it is helpful to someone else going through this. My doctor is the head of the department, very kind and thorough, and entertains all my questions and suggestions about our treatment plan. It’s really a collaborative effort to make the most of what science tells us while leaving room for faith. We’re trying to stick with a low-intervention approach that is evidence-based. The specific condition we’re exploring is called exercise-induced luteal phase defect, specifically low progesterone levels (and to give you an idea of how complex this all is, we’re not even sure that luteal phase defect is a real condition or how it relates to infertility). The complex signaling processes (carried by hormone “messengers”) are absolutely fascinating. I actually proposed a clinical guideline based on my own experience so that other women can spend less time wondering, worrying, and questioning. [Note: If you happen to fit the following profile and think I can be of some help sorting through all the information out there, please drop me a comment and I’ll be glad to see if I can help you: fitness-oriented lifestyle, runner, lean (BMI ~20), relatively low body fat (~18%), and a few other clinical signs we should discuss “offline.”]

So thank you to all those great health care professionals out there who spend time with their patients, hear their concerns, respect their knowledge, and demonstrate thoroughness and caring. I am not alone in my experience. My friends have named great ENTs and PAs and ER docs. Too often military medicine gets a bad rap, but I think really the system is really to blame (not the people) for the poor experiences.

This morning after all these appointments – first Sam’s doctor, then a quick trip to the tide pools, then to my doctor out at Tripler- I had to laugh, thinking about drug-seeking behavior. Yes, to some extent I like having a medical issue to follow. It’s like a great mystery novel, learning about how hormones act as signaling agents to the rest of our body. And I know Sam likes the syrups. So did he put his tooth through his lip yesterday so he could visit his doctor and get more drugs? (He just tripped in the house but it was a nice bloody mess! He was fine after 10 min of ice 🙂 )