Surgery Day

Yesterday was Timothy's surgery day. The plan was to do a CT scan of his ears & his chest, then move him to the OR to remove his adenoid (yes, there's only 1 -- did you know that?) and do the bronchoscopy. Things went mostly according to plan.... Timothy did WONDERFULLY between 6 a.m. when we got there and 8, when we took him down to CT. Happy as a lark! The CT scan was something completely new to us and it was something I hope to never experience again. In the past, we've always handed an awake, mostly happy Timothy off to an OR nurse. With the CT yesterday, we walked him all the way down to CT and were "allowed" to stay while he was being put to sleep. That was something I never want to see again. Timothy's heart started racing, I could hear him crying even though they had the mask on his face, and once he fell asleep, you could see him almost gasping for breath. Scary stuff, I tell you! That was right at 8 so Jonathan and I went and had breakfast together and then parted ways. Jonathan headed off to work and I headed off to the surgery waiting room. I wasn't there long before a doctor from radiology stopped by to tell me that there was some mis-communication...something about you can't do a chest CT with him intubated but you couldn't do the ear CT without him being intubated. I don't think I quite understood it all but it basically boils down to the fact that they got a decent ear CT but not a decent chest CT. Haven't heard any results from the ear CT. That doctor told me I'd have to return for a new chest CT later on. Then, just minutes after 9, Timothy's ENT came in to tell me his part was all done! He said that Timothy's adenoid was huge, that we had definitely done the right thing removing it. Then he said that Timothy airway looked wonderful!! Still a small airway but growing in proportion to his body size. The good news just kept coming -- he told me that he wants to see Timothy in 6 months but that if he's still growing well, eating well, then we can just keep putting another bronchoscopy off into the future until we need to do it but that there's a good possibility he'll never have to have another one! And, as if that wasn't good enough, he said that since Timothy's bronchoscopy went so well, he doesn't see a need to repeat that chest CT after all! If, however, we were to need to do a bronchoscopy in the future, then we'll repeat that CT. He said that he thinks Timothy will eventually outgrow the noisy breathing he has when he's sick. Maybe around age 4 or 5, he said. They called me back to recovery to sit with Timothy (something else I had never done before) and that was nerve racking for a while. He was clearly uncomfortable and he kept trying to get in positions in my arms that I couldn't hold him in. After several minutes, they just decided to go ahead and give him some morphine but by the time they got back with that, he settled down so we didn't give it to him and we really didn't have any problems after that. They went ahead and moved him to a room and told me I could try to give him juice around 11:30 but only a little at a time. Yeah, right! Timothy was STARVED! He drank 8 ounces of juice very quickly so I ordered him some mashed potatoes and green beans for lunch (his fav foods). He didn't eat very much but he did eat and didn't seem to have any trouble. He took another 4 ounces of juice and then slept off and on between 12 and 3:30. He was very aggravated with the IV tubing and the Pulse Ox monitor tubing that kept getting entangled. But his breathing was perfect and he didn't even have any real "side effects" that we were told to expect like a snoring sound or nausea/vomitting. I tried to take him to the playroom at 4 but he was sooooo mad because he couldn't pick up any toys with that IV still in his hand. So we were there less than 10 minutes. Good thing, though, as we hadn't been back to the room but about 10 minutes when his doctor stopped by (we had been told to expect him between 5 and 6 and this was barely 4:30!). Then the best part, the dr cleared us to go HOME! After they got those 2 tubes off of him, he was his happy little self. Ate part of a rice crispy treat, drank some more juice, had a few bites of mac & cheese (that stuff was NASTY!), and polished off pudding. We left at 5 and were home around 5:30! It was so nice to bring him home and not have to be stuck in that tiny room all night! You'd never know he had anything done! He's as normal as it gets. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Timothy's evaluation today

First of all, many thanks to all who have prayed for us today! I was very nervous about today's meeting. In case you aren't familiar with what I'm talking about, you can read about a discouraging home visit we had recently here and also about some of our fears that we had after that visit here. That led us up to today when Timothy was to be evaluated for eligibility for intervention services (therapy). Basically, it boils down to whether or not Timothy qualifies for some free services through Help Me Grow. If not, we would need to pursue private therapy. Like I said, I was really nervous. However, with a big sigh of relief, I can say things went pretty well. Unlike the 1 lady from the last home visit, this man did very little probing into things not pertaining to Timothy nor did he ask a lot of questions regarding the other children. When I mentioned that we homeschool, he was perfectly fine with that and never once pushed or suggested the MRDD school for Timothy (in fact, he discouraged it because of a waiting list). There was some paperwork to be filled out and then he mostly asked me questions about Timothy but he also did some one-on-one things with Timothy. There was a "test" for each area of Timothy's development and at the top of each page, he had a score already written there that was a kind of guideline. After he completed each page, this gentleman was very straight forward and would say things like "I was looking for a score of XX and Timothy scored above that so there's no concern in this area" or "I was looking for a score of XX and Timothy scored just below it which doesn't necessarily qualify him for services but it does raise red flags". Only once did he say Timothy scored well below the target score and that was only in gross motor skills (in other words, walking). Timothy did score below the guideline for language but only by 1 point which is not low enough to qualify him. Based on these scores, Timothy will qualify for therapy but only for physical therapy unless.... This gentleman will compile a report and meet next Wednesday (6/17) with his boss, a nurse, a speech therapist, and a physical therapist to discuss Timothy's scores. If everyone there is in agreement that Timothy might need speech therapy as well, then Timothy will be referred to an actual speech therapist for further evaluation. After the 6/17 meeting, we will be presented with this report and then be offered services. Basically, we'll be offered home based services for Timothy once a month or we'll be offered private in-office therapies for Timothy once a week with therapists at Children's Hospital. We will likely choose the once-a-week option both for getting Timothy off to a more rapid start and because there's another waiting list for the in-home services. If we are unhappy with the options presented to us, we can always pursue private therapies by prescription from our pediatrician. One of my biggest fears was that we wouldn't be able to deny therapies they suggested and this gentleman assured me that was not the case. I also have that in writing with some of the paperwork he left with me. That makes me feel TONS better! And I was told Timothy is a very bright little boy as he scored very well in the other areas such as cognitive skills and fine motor skills. This man told me he'd never seen a 18-month-old hold a marker so properly to draw with! :) Overall, it was a pleasant experience although it left me emotionally drained, probably because I dwelt on it too long while waiting for today to arrive and then waiting until 3 for him to get here! Now we wait and get back to packing! We're leaving for Tennessee first thing Thursday morning so that just leaves me with tomorrow. I'm down to 2 large hampers full of dirty clothes which I'll finish tomorrow (I've done approximately 15 loads of laundry in 2 days) along with some other minor housework issues and then start actually putting things in suitcases! The plan is to vacuum the van sometime tomorrow afternoon or early evening then wash it after church (the road to our church is under construction so I don't want to wash the van until after church), come home & put the kids in bed, load the van with what we can, and hopefully leave around 6 Thursday morning. Yipee!

March 29

Heather went to the doctor today and we have wonderful news to report. Her OB said that either the issue resolved itself or the ER doctors didn't know what they were talking about 'cause there's nothing wrong with her or her baby! She's on track for her March 14th due date. Thanks for praying!

Now as for the title of this post -- March 29th. Well, it appears that my parents are going to be new grandparents twice in the month of March (and I only have 1 sibling so you do the math!). It's been a rough, emotional couple of days as I've really struggled with this bit of information. I've had 2 babies close together before -- John was born 13 days before his sister's 1st birthday so they're a little over 11 months apart. My pregnancy with John was very near miserable. I was in a lot of physical pain with my hips -- which have continued to give me problems since Timothy was born -- and with what they could only diagnose as muscle fatigue on my left side. Faithful friends and blog readers will remember I had a very short stint with those same pains while pregnant with Timothy. I'm really dreading them this time. But, only time will tell. Pray on, dear friends, as we hang on and see what these next couple of months will bring -- other than a new baby, that is! Check out the new ticker!

It seems I've forgotten to mention

...that our financial issues with Jonathan starting his new job have been taken care of. God has truly provided for us!! We were blessed with good friends who helped us out (even 1 couple who helped us out anonymously) and then with the unexpected arrival of the buyout from Jonathan's pension plan at his old job. While we did put in for it the last week of November, we were expecting several weeks before we rec'd that but, thankfully, that wasn't the case.

Thanks to all who have prayed for us both financially and for Timothy. We truly appreciate it and we thank God for the answered prayers regarding both situations. Timothy's pediatrician was pleased this morning with his progress and seems to think the worst is truly behind us. He also encouraged us to keep Timothy's hearing test appointment Wednesday at 2:30. He did not seem to think that the RSV would affect the test results.

Good days

After the beginning of the week I had last week, I didn't think I'd ever reach a point again where I would be content to still be pregnant. I knew I didn't want Timothy to come early but I also knew I wanted to stop feeling miserable. I've got the best of both worlds almost. Since last Thursday, my pain has been minimal and tolerable. Last night was a little rough but NOTHING like I experienced last week. I'm so thankful God answered my prayers and the prayers of the many who I know were praying for me. I'm also so thankful that we're still chuggin' along with no signs that Timothy is coming any time soon. Now, don't get me wrong -- I'm still pregnant, still huge (although I had lost 2 pounds between my last 2 visits!), still tired, still hoping for an early baby but by "early", I mean a December baby, not a January one (and certainly not a November one!). Little stinker was uncooperative on the NST at first yesterday but finally got with the program. Now if I can just figure out when to go Christmas shopping. I don't really want to go now 'cause I get uncomfortable with a lot of activity (which is why I was hurting last night -- NST in the morning and then we had an appointment last night at 5:15 and took the kids to McDonald's). But, what if this baby makes it to 37 weeks? That means IF my dr would "cooperate" and agree to induce me (that's my little dream anyway 'cause I'm terrified of going into labor on my own), that'd be the week BEFORE Christmas and I'm not going to feel like shopping then after just having delivered....see my dilema? We've been working on getting ideas together before we go out to do the shopping to minimize the time in the store(s) but....Anyway, all told, things are feeling pretty darn good right now. And I couldn't be happier about that!! Thanks be to God!

Blessings abound

Lots of cool stuff going on around here! God is great!

1 -- Mentioned casually at a picnic several weeks ago of the things we need for the upcoming baby. There's a couple at church who has a crib mattress (one of the things on our list) that they said we could have....

2 -- A co-worker of Jonathan's just gave us a backyard play thing for the kids. Kinda like a slide and club house type of thing. We've got 90% of it here in pieces but we should get it put together this week....

3 -- I had said for maybe a year or more that I'd like to have a desk for Nathan to do his school work at since he has problems with distractions if he's sitting on the couch and I need the table to work with the little ones. Friends of ours are moving and gave us an old desk earlier this week....

4 -- Our next door neighbors are preparing to move. On a family walk a few weeks ago, they asked us if we needed bunk beds and we said no, that Nathan & Caleb just got bunk beds and it'd be 2 years, maybe longer, before we'd need another set. The set they were going to get rid of is currently in our attic waiting for those 2 years to pass (WITH the mattresses -- will they survive their time in the attic?!?! Hope so!)....

5 -- I just said to Jonathan about 8:45 this morning on the way to Sunday School that I was going to have to buy some of those plastic drawers to start putting baby stuff in since we're out of drawer/closet space. We had talked about buying a new dresser or some under-the-bed drawers but don't have the money for something like that right now. Same friend moving that gave us the desk walked up to me at church today (less than an hour and a half later) and said "You wouldn't happen to need a dresser for anyting, would you?" I about fell over!

We were also able to get Nathan some much needed new shoes tonight, thanks to Jonathan's parents. God is so good to us (maybe one of these days we'll tell you how we came to be the owners of a 2000 Buick). You don't think some fall/winter maternity clothes could fall from the sky, do you?!?! (hee hee!) =)