Answered Prayers!

For those of you who know our sweet Samuel, you may know that he has had trouble with his ears ever since he was 8 months old.  When he was young he would have frequent ear infections, and his ears couldn't drain fluid in his middle ear through his Eustachian tubes on his own.  He has had 3 ear tube surgeries in his life (14 months old, 3.5 years old & 6.5 years old) to help relieve his ears from the trapped fluid.  

Just after his 3rd surgery in the summer of 2015, Samuel was diagnosed with Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, and through that process, we discovered through 2 types of allergy testing that Samuel also has moderate allergies to lots of things (pollen, dust mites, dander, grass, etc.), and he had developed Oral Allergy Syndrome.  We & the doctors believed that these allergies may be a contributing factor to his Eustachian tube dysfunction, by causing them to be swollen - too much to let any fluid drain.  So we tried what we could - sanitized his sheets & bedding weekly, removed stuffed animals, used a hepa air filter in his bedroom - dusted & vacuumed frequently - as well as used nasal sprays, thieves bedding spray & essential oils applied to his ears & neck daily - in hopes that reducing & removing these allergens would help his Eustachian tubes open up, allowing fluid to drain on its own after the tubes fell out.  

Well, in August we met with Samuel's ENT where we learned with the news that his tubes had not only fallen out (like they should have, after 12+ months), but that more fluid was trapped in both his ears again, and the ENT recommended a 4th surgery in the fall, this time with a bigger size tube (trium-tubes) meant to stay in place for 2+ years.  

We were saddened to know our boy would have to go through this surgery again.  He is old enough to remember the past surgeries, and he really doesn't like the process of being put under anesthesia.  

Nevertheless, we scheduled the surgery (November 1), and prayed and waited and prayed some more to see if the fluid would drain on its own, or if it would still be there at his pre-op appointment, 1 week before the surgery.  On October 25, we met with the ENT and were so surprised to learn that Samuel's ears were clear!  The fluid was gone - and we were able to cancel his surgery!  (The ENT even had a big smile on his face!)

Never before - in his LIFE - has trapped middle ear fluid ever drained from his ears, on his own.  We are praising God because of this miracle!  

This little boy was so happy!  And so was Andrew & I!  So what do we do?  Skip the rest of the day of school, and take the little guy to VG's & enjoy them at the beach, of course.  Because God is so good, and God hears our prayers & Samuel doesn't have to have surgery!