Halitosis?

Our good-natured and adorable son has -- how shall I put it? -- a minor flaw. Let's just say that his daddy & I aren't crazy about kissing him these days.

In addition to odorous breath, he's had a perpetual runny nose for months. We started to wonder if the two were related. I mean, we brush his teeth twice a day. He eats well but not a lot of garlic & onions (he would eat them if I served them, for sure!). So what could be the cause of this fetid breath?

I finally broke down and took him to the doctor about two weeks ago. Doc noted "Most likely the discharge and odor are coming from foreign organic matter in his nose which has become infected." (Uh-oh. Anyone remember a little incident with a raisin... ummm... how long ago, now?!)

After a glance, he confirmed "white gunk." The remedy: flush it out using a syringe at home.

So we tried that. Emphasize tried. Someone was a little less than crazy about having water squirted up his nose. Ben came up with a great idea: "Okay, James, Daddy will have a turn then it will be James' turn again."

Now we know why James hated it so much. Ben about flew through the roof!

So much for flushing at home.

Then Ben thought we should see an ENT. They scheduled us for the next day. Very nice doctor. Very uncooperative patient.

Result? In order to avoid damage to sensitive nasal tissue, James has to go under general anesthesia. The doctor will insert a camera up his nose, find the ultimate cause of the infection, remove that and all the accompanying "gunk," and release James to us - a happy and odor-free boy!

We would love for you to join us in praying that God would clear up this infection miraculously so that James doesn't have to go under general anesthesia. But should that be God's will, James is scheduled for minor surgery on Friday, May 8 at 10 a.m.