Hearing problems and Ruby has Atlantoaxial Instability

Ruby got tubes put in her ears today because she was having problems with having fluid behind her eardrums.Ruby was a very good girl for the nurses who were getting her prepped for her surgery. The actual procedure was over in about five minutes!


On the way to the hospital at 6 a.m.

 It is very common for people with Down syndrome to have some problems with their hearing.Children with Down syndrome should have their hearing checked once a year until the age of three and then every other year thereafter.Ruby was having a mild hearing loss because of fluid.This kind of hearing loss is called conductive hearing loss . Here is a talk on Hearing Concerns

Because of needing to get ready for her surgery today we were told by the anesthesiologist office to take Ruby to Children's hospital for x-ray's of her neck.We took Ruby this past Thursday. The radiologist was great and did an excellent job with Ruby.Of course miss Ruby was her awesome little self and did what I asked her.
Ruby was placed on a little stool and I held onto her from the front and the technician was behind her holding onto her.We needed to get a side view x-ray with Ruby looking down and I said,"Ruby,look at your shoes." She did look down and the tech was able to get what was needed.When we needed her to look up my husband stood up over us and snapped his fingers to get her to look up.Which she did.

The x-rays were needed to see if miss Ruby was one of the 10-30 percent of people with Ds that has Atlantoaxial Instability  (AAI) . It is VERY important if you have a child with Ds to get these x-rays done.It is recommended that all children with Ds get these x-rays before having surgery. AAI  affects the top 2 vertebrae of the neck.The lax joints allow too much movement  and can cause spinal cord injury. For now Ruby has a mild case which means she will not be able to participate in contact sports,jump on trampolines,do somersaults,or do anything that will cause too much stress on her neck.I will be making an appointment for her with an Orthopedist and she will need to have these x-rays repeated when she gets older.
Please,I can't stress enough how important this is.It can mean life or death for our special angels.

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