Yeah, nah, REALLY?

I took the youngest to the ear, nose and throat specialist yesterday.

I felt like crying as his assistant ran me through how much it was going to cost to fix her breathing problems.

She has a deviated septum and horribly swollen adenoids. Her tonsils are also pretty bad, but the surgeon is going to try and save them, as that’s a much bigger operation.

He put a nasal endoscope up her nose and it was immediately obvious that hardly any air is getting through. That’s one of the reasons she needs braces – years of mouth breathing have given her a slight overbite.

We could wait 18 months and maybe get the surgery done in a public hospital, but she’s really suffering – her throat constantly hurts, she’s a permanent snot factory and you can hear her heavy breathing from metres away – he reckons it’s needs to be done before she gets braces, otherwise the overbite correction doesn’t stand a chance.

So we’re booked into a private hospital for day surgery next month and I need to postpone the braces appointment.

The official rundown of the treatment required is: septoplasty, turbinoplasty, adenoidectomy and nasendoscopy.

After the medical rebates I’m estimating we’ll still be up for more than $3000. And then we pony up $8200 for braces.

Declare me bankrupt now and get it over with.

On the upside, he reckons her skipping performance will go through the roof about three to six months after the surgery.

Yay.

I drowned my sorrows last night with two glasses of sparkling at the launch of the Drinks Association Inclusive Leadership Program, while eating my feelings with a chaser of battered fish pieces and arancini balls.

Financial stress is not improving my waistline.

Song of the day: Monty Python “Always look on the bright side of life”