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That stupid cough!
As a young child, I loved to play and do all those active things. I would run the “pacer”, which is a running test, and just run around yelling and screaming. I would play candle tag, a game in which you would have to start melting slowly until someone “blows out your fire”, freeze tag, tag, chain tag, toilet tag, tunnel tag, and more. That is, until one day in first grade, when I missed my first couple of school days because of a really bad sinus infection, terrible cough and asthma.
Soon it got much worse I started missing weeks, even a couple weeks at a time! By the third grade, it was worse than any other time. I was missing months of school and this cough, it was horrible! I would start coughing and turning purple because I could not catch my breath.
I was getting glares during class because I was so loud. Eventually, it started sounding like a dog’s bark (that really got old). Then after that stage, it would sound like a circus was in the room because it randomly changed. Then I sounded like a loud seal! Not my fault I had it, but I just couldn’t help it. I hated this!
Whenever I went to our doctor’s office I got the usual, “oh, you have another sinus infection and you will need to be on, hmm… what antibiotic normally works best?” Then the usual conversation continued and my mom would reply with which one, and the conversation would still continue the SAME! Then, again, the doctor would ask if it was this and that medicine, eventually followed by a “Yes!” from my mom.
How many times had I heard this conversation now? A million… no more like ten million! Our family doctors office just could not figure it out (or my asthma doctor). Finally, for the last time I went to the family doctor with the cough but, this time, a different story!
“We have decided that maybe you should see a specialist” announced the doctor. That was all it took to get my first appointment with an actual ear, nose and throat specialist. Not just the general doctors!
So we saw the specialist. What did that do? Surprisingly, he did nothing much more but decided, since he was a surgeon, to try removing my adenoids and sinus lavage, which did not help. I continued to be on antibiotics for months with no relief. It helped so little, it was like trying to see an ant from outer space! I was still getting glares from kids during class and had been to more doctors than I ever thought possible. I was still coughing so hard I would turn purple and couldn’t catch my breath. Sports were out of the question for me. I wasn’t even able to play tag with the neighbor kids anymore.
Finally, a family friend suggested we call Dr. Latz and we scheduled the appointment, expecting more of the same. Now it was Dr. Latz’s turn to try! I was warned by friends and family all about having your tonsils out. I was not told good things but only bad about the surgery and how much it hurt. Now, here at Dr. Latz’s office, I was being told that I would need to get them out soon. At first I was terrified. What if something went wrong? All these questions flooded my head like soup being poured out of a ladle into the bowl.
My diagnosis was as follows, chronic sinusitis, chronic(croupy) cough, usually until I vomited, nasal congestion, post nasal drip, allergic rhinitis and I was having acid reflux despite a twice a day proton pump inhibitor. Dr. Latz identified that my adenoids had grown back and that my croupy cough was made worse by acid reflux. I was counseled on acid reflux precautions because acid reflux can contribute to chronic sinusitis, chronic cough and recurrent/ chronic croup. She recommended sweat chloride testing and an infectious disease consult to look at my immune system. She also recommended she review my airway during surgery with ciliary biopsy, tonsillectomy and adenoid revision.
Then came the day of my surgery, to be exact it was August 9, 2006. Once the surgery was over, it was fine, well of course it was painful, but what surgery isn’t? I stayed over night at the hospital for the nurses to make sure I was okay, and I was, so the next morning I was sent home to return to my normal life. This surgery went great by the all-time best doctor, and it has changed my life.
Now in middle school, out of two quarters, I have only missed two days in total, and not because of the dreaded cough. Dr. Latz helped me in many ways because now I am not embarrassed to go to the doctor’s office. But really, that’s not even close to all she did for me!
Dr. Latz is the best doctor because she knew what to do and how to fix it. She didn’t stall at all at my symptoms. In a snap of a finger she said what was wrong and how we needed to handle it. She gave answers without hesitation when every other doctor had been puzzled by my situation.
Although Dr. Latz did a great job, and the surgery was painful, I can’t imagine it with another doctor! Man, would that have been a mistake. Well, maybe not, but what I’m trying to say is that Dr. Latz did a terrific job that day. She did her best and she succeeded. There was no reason for me to worry and wow was she kind. She helped me understand what her and the nurses would be doing and how it would be done. She was not only kind, but confident, so I knew I could trust her. I felt so safe the day of my surgery and I can not thank her enough for what she did and, most importantly, how perfect I feel now!
Thank you Dr. Latz!
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The University of Kansas Medical Center