Second Opinions, ENT.

So, I've contacted the best-of-the-best, who happens to be in the Bay area, minutes from my Dad. What are the odds? I sent him pics of Colin's ears, etc. earlier this week, but haven't heard yet. I think I'll make a quick call later this afternoon to be sure that they were received. Colin's pediatrician also gave us a few numbers, so I'll spend today calling them to get their histories with microtia. I think the Cali. doc without a doubt will be #1 on our list. I've heard and seen a lot of great things he's done. Amazing rib graft reconstructions. A picture never lies...isn't that what they say?

Avrey Rose Jordan

Very fitting. Welcome to the family, little niece! We're so happy to have you!

Welcome, Baby Jordan!

My sister gave birth to another baby girl last night at 7:54 pm. Baby no name weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 inches long. So sweet. They are working on providing her with a name, but so far nothing seems to fit.

I PASSED!

My medical transcription final! Yipee! With high honors! Now the job search begins! So happy this stage is past!

Patience.

Everything comes gradually and at its appointed hour.

~Ovid

Chloe's 15-month Checkup

If you're doing the math, you're absolutely right...she's 16 months, but she had a sinus infection at 15, so we rescheduled. All is well in the world of Chloe. She is perfect weight, above average height, and was the best little girl ever today. Doc said she has a little umbilical hernia. Nothing to stress over. It should correct itself eventually. And, she is a little delayed in her speech, but so was Colin at this point. So, I'm not concerned. She'll take off at some point, and I'm sure I'll be wishing that she'd stop talking for a moment when she does. :) Early intervention he says; no thank you says I.

She had to get 4 shots today, and as the nurse and I were holding her down, she thought it was a game of sorts and was wiggling and giggling until the first prick of the needle. Oh, if you could have seen the look that nurse got! It was a look that said, "What the? I thought we were playing here! And, who the heck are you anyway!" Her little head snapped back and the evil look was given...and then the tears began to flow. Poor girl. She was over it quickly and walked to the front counter to retrieve the golden prize: An Elmo Sticker.

ENT Recheck.

Colin had a 6-month routine recheck with ENT today.

Finding #1: The tube in his right (unaffected) ear has come out. In its place is a hole in the eardrum. Causing the doctor to sarcastically term him "one of the lucky ones." Don't know why, but that comment is really sitting with me this evening. So, we have to be extra cautious to be sure no water enters the ear. We'll take time to see if the hole begins to repair itself. If not, he'll have to have it patched. Not sure what else this entails or details of danger...still have to look into all of that and talk to some folks. (Alicia, any input?)

Finding #2: His affected ear is settling back closer to his head and causing concern for possible infection, similar to the fall before Chloe was born, which landed us a few weeks in the hospital on IV antibiotics to ensure he didn't lose his rib graft and skin grafts. I had my suspicions about this heading into the appointment. It has become increasingly difficult to clean back there and I had noticed the skin becoming much softer. Soooo...as of right now, we tentatively have another surgery scheduled for May 1 to again take skin from his leg and have it grafted behind the ear to allow more room for air to get back there so that the skin is able to breath, thus lowering the risks for infection.

But, in the meantime, we've decided it's time for a second opinion as well. So, I'll be making some calls to have another doctor from a different hospital, maybe even state, take a look at the work that has been done and help us decide next steps. And, we'll be bathing Colin in hydrogen peroxide from now on to avoid infection. Just kidding...just a little on the ear twice a day. Honestly.

I hate the decisions. They never get easier and they never go away. They make my heart and mind ache. And, once again, so much for a routine appointment. I really should quit prenaming them as such, huh?

Colin's TCR Anniversary

Yesterday marked the 3-month anniversary of Colin's tethered cord release. It actually seems like eons ago. That always happens...takes forever for the surgery dates to arrive, but then after they pass, the time flies by. Anyway, he'll be thrilled with this post when he's older, but we are thrilled with the outcome of the surgery.

Colin, even after potty-training, never really moved past nighttime bedwetting. We had no idea for sure if this typical kid bedwetting or if it was actually caused by the tethered cord itself, a sign of bladder failure. After his bout with Rotavirus in the fall, we felt that it might be the tethered cord, but there was no way to be sure until after the surgery. He lost all control of his bowel and bladder when he was sick and dehydrated in a matter of hours. It was really shocking.

Colin is doing great. In the past three months, he has only had 2 accidents! Only 2, both of which, by the way, I'm pretty sure were the result of forgeting to potty before bed. So, no doubt, he really was already showing signs of bladder failure. I am so thankfulf for that routine MRI, who knows where we would stand today had we not caught this so soon.

We'll have an MRI recheck in June to be sure that the cord is not retethering, and a checkup next month, which I am sure will be uneventful. He is healing really well and has had no issues since surgery. Happy Anniversary and good ridence tethered cord!

Happy 50th Anniversary, Ruth Elaine and Glenn!

Jeremy's grandparents celebrated their 50th Anniversary Friday. We celebrated together as a family yesterday. It was so nice to have everyone all together. We had a professional photographer come to take pics, and I'm so excited to see how they turn out.

YIPEE!!!

I Just finished my medical transcription final!!! It is done, and I think I did really well! I started it Friday night and had 48 hours to complete it. It took more than 20 hours and I am soooooo glad to be done. I won't find out my results for a little while, but I'm pretty sure I did well. Hopefully I passed with honors!

Thanks to all who helped make things work so I could get this done! Jeremy got called to work this weekend on Friday, and both of our moms became last minute babysitters!!! Thanks so much! Thanks also to Jerm for stepping up and being super Daddy and making things so easy on me this weekend so that I had no worries but the test itself! Love you as much as always!!

HUGE sigh...of relief.

Resentment...

Resentment is like taking poison and hoping the other person dies.

- author unknown.

So when I used to have a "real" job, I wrote a newsletter. Every month I included a quote of the month; therefore, I was constantly looking for quotes with content and developed my own quote of the week system. I hung relevant quotes from my desk until they no longer suited. So, I'm bringing back the quotes. My new pegboard...this here blog. Why? Dunno. Something to do I suppose, you know, since I have nothing going on! So feel free to take today's quote and run. Hope it makes your pegboard.

Cute to Boot.

Cutest picture of the day. Chloe is obsessed with her slippers (or boots as Colin calls them). Every morning, she brings them to me to put on. We took a pic today to share with Natalie (aka: supplier of the boots). Thanks, Nat! They're getting great use!

Chloe's Word List.

To the calls of Da, Dada, Daddy, Dadoo...we can now add Spongebob. Yep. That's right. The child will not say Mama, but has mastered Spongebob. Which sounds a little like Spodgeboob...but still.

So now she says:
The variations of Dad
Uh-uh (no)
Der (Brother)
Har (Harley)
and Spodgeboob.

She also repeated something on the lines of mustard yesterday, but hasn't really stuck with that one, so it hasn't been "officially" added to the list of knowns.

On the spongebob note...Colin also gave this word a quirky twist early on, which brought many laughs to me and his Dad. He affectionately called Spongebob Squarepants "Punchbob Queerpants" until somewhere during his third year. So Spodgeboob and Punchbob it is.

The Weekend and such.

This weekend was so nice. Pretty non-eventful, and therefore, relaxing. Friday I helped with the Half-Day Ministry at our church. Whenever the kids have a half day at school, we provide crafts and activities for K-6. Colin brought his buddy, Aiden. Saturday was spent convincing Colin that it was time to let go of some of his toys and to donate them so other kids who didn't have so many could enjoy them. We actually were able to fill three nice size boxes. Sunday we visited with Gram and Pap Ferra. Jeremy's Uncle Alan and his wife Selma were visiting with Vinnie as well, so that was nice. Chloe and Vinnie are just about old enough to "play."

This week I am preparing to take my final for the medical transcription course I've been taking. I'll start the exam on Friday with 48 hours to complete it. I'm nervous and excited. And very ready to be done and move on to other things...like a job. :)

Get the Most Out of It.

Colin's appointment's went really well today. Audiology was uneventful. We have pretty much come to the conclusion that Colin won't wear the BAHA with the band. It makes him itch and sweat, and not surprisingly, he is unable to pronounce the benefits as worthy for such annoyance. So, our choices are to have an abutement placed...another surgery. They basically implant a metal button on his skull, behind the ear, to which the hearing aid attachs. There are obvious benefits of having the aid, and it would be much less annoying and bothersome for him to use daily. But, as parents, this is where the decision, once again, become difficult. There are also obvious concerns that come in regard to the social aspects of the aid and another "unncessary" surgery. I say unnecessary soley because it would not be required to keep him physically healthy. So, we have to talk...to each other and to him. But there's no rush and we have lots of time to decide what's right.

As far as his orthopedic appointment, his spinal curvature is unchanged. YAH! So no brace, not now, and hopefully not ever. His doctor also said that he believes that he has made it through two major growth spurts in the last year, unbraced and with no increase in the curve, and he thinks the chances are high that he will never reach the point of needing any type of rods or VEPTR surgery. Not that things can't change, but he is hopeful that his growth will not greatly effect his curvature. YAH!

Before heading to Children's we stopped by Jeremy's moms work for a quick visit. One of her coworkers made a comment as we left to make the "most of these trips, that's all you can do." Which made me chuckle. But, on the drive down, after dropping Chloe with Pap and Gram Carnahan (Thanks again!!), I realized how much I really do enjoy the uninterupted time with him. It's nice to talk and to listen to him replay the world as he sees it.

Here are a few of today's random thoughts from our little man:

After leaving the McDonald's Drive-Thru:
"Man, this McDonald's is good! We need to ask them their secret! It's better than the other McDonald's!"

As we headed to the city:
"We're in Pittsburgh, aren't we. You don't even have to answer. I know it from the satelitte 'WTAE, Channel 4, The Pittsburgh Channel!'"

As we went through the Squirrel Hill Tunnels:
"No, Mom! Don't head into the light! I said no! Come back!!!!"

As we headed toward the hospital:
"Yeah, I know why we don't live in the big city. People write on their walls and windows. It's all about the crime. People just do what they want in the city. That's why, huh..." and then he went on about a ranting homeless man. I was laughing so hard that I honestly don't remember what else he said.

So it's true, I do appreciate our appointment days. They are long, they are hectic, but they are also a break from routine and moments alone that we don't always get. And by the way, I love my kid. I laughed the entire trip down. And, as he slept on the way home I had some time to think. Colin forever changed my life in so many ways. God had a plan for me...he was it. Without him, I have no idea where I'd be right now, but I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't be anywhere near as content as I am today.