We found out late this afternoon that the doctor has ordered an upper GI and a MBS (modified barium swallow). This is now scheduled for in the morning.
With Jennifer being a speech-pathologist, she will actually get to observe the MBS. Mom and I will be in the waiting room. Thankfully she does not have to be anesthetized.
All of this is due to Abby "tossing her cookies" three times in the last 24 hours. The doctor thinks it is due to the bodily stress from the procedure. So this is more of just to make sure.
Please pray for Abby's procedure in the morning.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Abby's Medical Journey Has Begun-Early
Yesterday, Jennifer and Abby went to see the lung specialist to get a progress report. They did it because of her rescheduled heart and lung cath that is on Monday. The doctor was not pleased at all with Abby's progress. So I am sitting at Whataburger enjoying a grilled chicken sandwich and fries and Jennifer calls and tells me they are on the way to the hospital!
What happened is the lung specialist had a free afternoon due to everyone else taking TAKS and the hospital just happened to have an opening (is it just me or do you see God working through all of this?). So, Abby was admitted to have a bronchotomy which is basically a procedure to vacuum out her lungs. So at 3:15p the procedure began and had a good ending 45 minutes later. The doctor was stunned at how much mucus was in her lungs. She had so much and for so long, she had learned how to repress coughing. We then had the joy of experiencing a two year old coming out of anesthesia. (We get to be with Abby as she comes out of anthesia two more times next week.)
Now Abby is in the hospital and will be in there until she has recovered from heart surgery which has now been moved up to May 5. She is in isolation so she doesn't get anything between now and her procedure on Monday and her surgery on Wednesday. Isolation means she can't leave her room. Imagine having a two year old unable to burn off energy. Mix in how no one gets sleep from the constant flow of nurses and other caring professionals to check her out and give her therapy. Then she had a fever from the bronchotomy that had to be broken so we had a cavalcade of folks streaming in every 15-20 minutes last night. To say the least, it is challenging right now and only to get more so over the next week.
Obviously, we need your prayers!
Please pray for Abby that she will not get sick between now and her procedures. Pray that Abby will have a God-given sense of calm. Pray that she "passes" her procedure on Monday and will be able to have the needed surgery on Wednesday. Please pray for Jenn and me as we start on this roughly 10 day journey. It is not how we would have chosen to celebrate our first mother's day. We are hoping Father's day will go smoother! Pray for Jenn's mom and my mom as they rotate throughout the day to give Jenn and I a periodic break. Pray for our health as we are both suffering from allergies and coughing consistently.
As before, we will use this site to communicate. As of today, we are not sure when we will be released but we will communicate. When we are released, meals would be welcomed.
Right now, we are asking for your prayers over visits until at least the heart surgery is finished on May 5. Visitation means you have to wear a mask, be in GREAT health and not bring any children under 13. In light of all this, we are trying to keep Abby as isolated as possible so she can have her procedures next week.
We are trusting God through all of this. We are also hoping and praying that June will be the beginning of normalcy for Abby.
What happened is the lung specialist had a free afternoon due to everyone else taking TAKS and the hospital just happened to have an opening (is it just me or do you see God working through all of this?). So, Abby was admitted to have a bronchotomy which is basically a procedure to vacuum out her lungs. So at 3:15p the procedure began and had a good ending 45 minutes later. The doctor was stunned at how much mucus was in her lungs. She had so much and for so long, she had learned how to repress coughing. We then had the joy of experiencing a two year old coming out of anesthesia. (We get to be with Abby as she comes out of anthesia two more times next week.)
Now Abby is in the hospital and will be in there until she has recovered from heart surgery which has now been moved up to May 5. She is in isolation so she doesn't get anything between now and her procedure on Monday and her surgery on Wednesday. Isolation means she can't leave her room. Imagine having a two year old unable to burn off energy. Mix in how no one gets sleep from the constant flow of nurses and other caring professionals to check her out and give her therapy. Then she had a fever from the bronchotomy that had to be broken so we had a cavalcade of folks streaming in every 15-20 minutes last night. To say the least, it is challenging right now and only to get more so over the next week.
Obviously, we need your prayers!
Please pray for Abby that she will not get sick between now and her procedures. Pray that Abby will have a God-given sense of calm. Pray that she "passes" her procedure on Monday and will be able to have the needed surgery on Wednesday. Please pray for Jenn and me as we start on this roughly 10 day journey. It is not how we would have chosen to celebrate our first mother's day. We are hoping Father's day will go smoother! Pray for Jenn's mom and my mom as they rotate throughout the day to give Jenn and I a periodic break. Pray for our health as we are both suffering from allergies and coughing consistently.
As before, we will use this site to communicate. As of today, we are not sure when we will be released but we will communicate. When we are released, meals would be welcomed.
Right now, we are asking for your prayers over visits until at least the heart surgery is finished on May 5. Visitation means you have to wear a mask, be in GREAT health and not bring any children under 13. In light of all this, we are trying to keep Abby as isolated as possible so she can have her procedures next week.
We are trusting God through all of this. We are also hoping and praying that June will be the beginning of normalcy for Abby.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Abby and Dr. Paul
Abby had a chance to see her dentist again today-Dr. Paul! The needed work was done so we are through this hurdle on the road to a healthy Abby.
It was also good to see my old friend today and have a chance to visit. I remember when he was building his first office that closes tomorrow. It was a really cool office. Plenty of things to keep even a 40 year old interested. I wonder if my dentist would put cool things on the ceiling, heat sensitive drawing areas on the wall and allow me to wear cool Wayfarers (sad that my song references are now nearly 25 years old) to shield my eyes from the bright light? Tomorrow they move to new facilities which I am sure Abby will see plenty of times between now and 18.
The other piece of good news is that we don't think she will need braces!
Aaron
It was also good to see my old friend today and have a chance to visit. I remember when he was building his first office that closes tomorrow. It was a really cool office. Plenty of things to keep even a 40 year old interested. I wonder if my dentist would put cool things on the ceiling, heat sensitive drawing areas on the wall and allow me to wear cool Wayfarers (sad that my song references are now nearly 25 years old) to shield my eyes from the bright light? Tomorrow they move to new facilities which I am sure Abby will see plenty of times between now and 18.
The other piece of good news is that we don't think she will need braces!
Aaron
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Follow Up Information
We found out this afternoon that Abby has a bacterial infection that is not helping us to get the crud cleared up so she can start having her procedures. Now that more medicine has been prescribed, her lung specialist thinks that we can have Abby breathing properly (and not the wet wheezing she does most of the time) in about two weeks. We are praying that means Abby can her testing procedure done the week of April 26. We are also praying that her heart procedure can be done very quickly after her testing procedures is concluded.
We know that "God never runs late, seldom early but alway on time" (quote from Dr. Mac Brunson). However, we feel that God is cutting this close according to our plans. Jennifer's FLMA runs out May 23 where she has to go back to work. We hear the clock ticking and are tapping our feet. So we are learning more patience and waiting for His timing. Please continue walking with us in prayer about Abby's crud clearing up quickly, the testing procedure being done on the 26th and the heart surgery being completed soon after that.
Thank you for faithfully praying with us. Hopefully soon, we won't be taking up so much space on your prayer sheets.
Aaron
We know that "God never runs late, seldom early but alway on time" (quote from Dr. Mac Brunson). However, we feel that God is cutting this close according to our plans. Jennifer's FLMA runs out May 23 where she has to go back to work. We hear the clock ticking and are tapping our feet. So we are learning more patience and waiting for His timing. Please continue walking with us in prayer about Abby's crud clearing up quickly, the testing procedure being done on the 26th and the heart surgery being completed soon after that.
Thank you for faithfully praying with us. Hopefully soon, we won't be taking up so much space on your prayer sheets.
Aaron
Abby Survived Her 1st Dentist Appointment
Seeing the dentist is just another needed step on the Abby Road. Jennifer took her today to a friend, Dr. Paul Rubin, for her 1st checkup. Really neat guy that is amazing with children.
We knew some work was needed but the report back was not as bad as we feared plus no cavities! Some follow up work needs to be done next Wednesday. Yet we rejoice that is all that is needed.
The other good thing is that her teeth are far enough apart that she doesn't need to worry about flossing right now. Glad neither one of us have to teach her the joys of flossing to a 27 month old, head strong growing girl.
Please be in prayer for Abby next Wednesday as she gets her follow up work done.
We knew some work was needed but the report back was not as bad as we feared plus no cavities! Some follow up work needs to be done next Wednesday. Yet we rejoice that is all that is needed.
The other good thing is that her teeth are far enough apart that she doesn't need to worry about flossing right now. Glad neither one of us have to teach her the joys of flossing to a 27 month old, head strong growing girl.
Please be in prayer for Abby next Wednesday as she gets her follow up work done.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
The Road Stretches Onward
Just heard from Jennifer about Abby's appointment with her lung specialist. The crud is breaking up but not enough or fast enough. So that means Abby's procedure has been delayed again. We will call the specialist on Friday to give a progress report. By then we hope that the pediatric cardiologist, pediatric cardiologist surgeon and the lung specialist will have visited and can give us an updated schedule for Abby.
Please continue to pray with us for Abby, Abby's recovery and patience for us.
Please continue to pray with us for Abby, Abby's recovery and patience for us.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Update on Abby's Medical Journey Today
Today was a frustrating day with Abby in regards to her medical needs. We arrived at the hospital before 6a and were dismissed by 10a to go see a chldrens lung specialist instead of having her procedure. Abby has crud in her lungs (most likely from her time spent in China) and we need that gone or greatly reduced before we can proceed. Thankfully we were able to get Abby in to see the doctor this afternoon. He has put her on a heavy dosage of medicine delivered through a nebulizer to try and get this reduced quickly.
The challenge is that the heart procedure that Abby has should have been treated before she was 9 months old. She will be 27 months old next Monday. There is most likely some lung and heart damage but hopefully small enough that the heart surgery can be done. We are hoping it can be done before the end of April.
If things go well, the growing numbers of doctors and specialists think Abby can have this test done either next Monday or most likely the following Monday. If she is capable of having surgery, it should be done within a week or so after the 1st procedure.
We continue to need your prayers for Abby in general, patience for us, and wisdom on how to proceed on this front along with our faith, finances, when Jennifer should return to work and at what capacity along with many, many other challenges.
Thank you for your prayers. The Abby Road is very rocky right now.
Aaron
The challenge is that the heart procedure that Abby has should have been treated before she was 9 months old. She will be 27 months old next Monday. There is most likely some lung and heart damage but hopefully small enough that the heart surgery can be done. We are hoping it can be done before the end of April.
If things go well, the growing numbers of doctors and specialists think Abby can have this test done either next Monday or most likely the following Monday. If she is capable of having surgery, it should be done within a week or so after the 1st procedure.
We continue to need your prayers for Abby in general, patience for us, and wisdom on how to proceed on this front along with our faith, finances, when Jennifer should return to work and at what capacity along with many, many other challenges.
Thank you for your prayers. The Abby Road is very rocky right now.
Aaron
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
