Home Sweet Home

We have made it home. The trip was very long and exhausting, but we made it. I will post more later...after we have recuperated. We are home, and my sister just dropped off the big girls a few minutes ago. It is nice to be a whole family again!

Our Friday

Well, we decided to stay an extra day because Abigail still isn't feeling well. Abigail's allergist here worked her in today and said that she has a viral infection. We have albuterol that we can give her in case she starts having breathing difficulty on the way home, but hopefully we have avoided that situation this time around.
We were able to spend time with Mike, Ramona, and Conner again this evening before heading home in the morning. I am so thankful that the Lord has united our families, and I am looking forward to growing our friendship for years to come.
We are all packed up and ready to head home early in the morning. Our goal is to leave here by 4 am...that's right, that would be 3 your (AR) time. I will leave you with this sweet moment. Ross and I were eating dinner tonight when Ross suddenly got this "what are you doing" look on his face. He said, Abigail just reenacted a scene from The Little Mermaid. I started to ask which one when I realized that she was holding a fork. Yes, anyone who has children will know that Scuttle tells Ariel that the fork is a dingle hopper and that it is for brushing your hair. So when Ariel "gets legs" as my kids would say, she is eating dinner, sees a fork, and begins brushing her hair. After I, "Awe she's soooo cute," I realized how gross that really is. Although it could be worse; at least all she was eating was ice! In case you didn't know, she LOVES Ariel. I leave you now with a smile on your faces.

Past and Present

A year ago today, our sweet baby was being admitted to Arkansas Children's Hospital for dehydration, feeding refusal, failure to thrive, and malnutrition. Little did we know that she would be diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis; and exactly one year later, Ross would be in Cincinnati having an upper and lower scope for the same disease. It is amazing how things can change in the span of a year. Here are a couple of pictures from where we were last year...

Ross came through both scopes well; although, the doctor said that he was very agitated while they were trying to get the upper scope down so they had to keep sedating him. He is sleeping now and will probably be out most of the day. Apparently they gave him A LOT of medication.
It will be a couple of weeks before we get the results of his scope because after Dr. K's lab read the pathology reports, his biopsies will be reviewed by Cincinnati Children's and then the doctors will discuss his future treatment options.

Snow, Allergies, and a Fever

This picture was taken while it was snowing. The snow has melted off of the roads, but a dusting remains on the grassy areas.
Look familiar? Yes, those are the same looking whelps that Miss Abigail had on her little arms!

Here you go, Ross' allergies: milk, wheat, peanut, soy, apple, apricot, banana, blueberry, cantaloupe, coconut, lemon, orange, strawberry, watermelon, barley, corn, oat, rice, rye, sesame, sunflower, almond, Brazil nut, cashew, hazelnut, pecan, pistachio, walnut, codfish, flounder, lobster, scallops, shrimp, tuna, green beans, broccoli, carrot, celery, onion, lettuce, pea, squash, tomato, molds, ragweed, grass, trees, weeds, mites, cockroach, and cat. Basically, he can eat meat and potatoes, every man's dream! :) Although, my husband used to enjoy eating fruits and vegetables. I knew it was probably going to be bad, but luckily he will be able to eat all of the meats. Ross is now doing the prep for his upper and lower scopes tomorrow. We have to be at the office by 7 am and his scope will be at 8.

Now for the fever part...Abigail started running a temp. of 101.2 degrees. We are assuming that she has picked up a virus from spending the past three days in and out of doctor's offices. We are praying that she doesn't have the flu! The hospital has a strict visitation policy in place during flu season where children under 12 aren't allowed to visit and all of the "community toys" are locked away, but she still managed to pick up something. I guess we should feel fortunate that this is the first time that she has gotten sick from one of our many visits to the doctor.

Today's Recap

Ross' appointment with the GI went well today. Dr. K was very nice and more importantly, he was well educated in EE. He asked a lot of questions about Ross' previous history and prepared us for the scope on Thursday. Tomorrow's appointment with the allergist will be more eventful I'm sure. That appointment will be at 11:30 am.

On another note, it snowed here a little today. Unlike Arkansas, they know how to treat and scrap the roads here. However, if you ask our friend, Mike, he says they don't know what they are doing...obviously he hasn't been to Arkansas when it snows! :)

We went to dinner with Mike, Ramona, and Conner tonight. Poor Conner wanted to get down and play like any normal 18 month old, so he ended up with Grandpa for a while. Next time Conner, we will have to go somewhere that will allow you and Abbz to run around and play!
Thanks Mike and Ramona for working us into your busy schedule and for a wonderful dinner.

Abigail's Scope and MG

Mommy's sweet baby had her 7th scope today. Abigail did very well, and Dr. P said that her esophagus looked normal. He also said that when they look that good most of the time the results come back clean. That is what we have been praying for. We will hopefully have the results before we head back home. All in all today was a quiet day. Tomorrow, Ross has his consultation visit with the GI at 8 am.

Mary Grace went "home" from the hospital today. She is with my parents at least for tonight and tomorrow, and they will discuss the remainder of the week. Hannah is with Ross' mom at our house and loving every minute of her alone time with her Nana.

Gracie Update

Mary Grace was admitted to the hospital last night for observation. The doctor said there would be significant bleeding if the clot broke loose again; so he wanted her close. She was able to sleep all night, but she her throat is very sore this morning (which is to be expected). The doctor has not been by yet this morning, but hopefully he will let her go home today. Thank you for your prayers! We will continue to keep you all up-to-date.

On another note, Abigail's, scope is today at 4:30 pm. Please be in prayer for her safety and that this is a clean scope and there be zero eosinophils. We will not get the biopsy results for a few days, but as soon as they come in we will let you know.

Mary Grace's Tonsilectomy...

This is a pre-surgery picture of Mary Grace before the tonsil and adnoidectomy. The surgery was on the 5th and she has done very well; until today. The unfortunate thing is that Ross and I are in Cincinnati with Abigail. Mary Grace started bleeding apparently A LOT tonight. Ross' mom is staying with the girls so my dear and sweet Mandy took her to meet my parents so they could take her to the ER. Nana and Hannah are at home, we are in Cincy, and MG is on the way to the hospital. We are hundreds of miles away and as you can see Ross and I are a little stressed. I know that God knew this was in the works and He is in control. We are leaning on Him to take care of our little girl while we are away. Thank you to all of our friends and family members who have helped in taking care of her through this process. In case you are wondering why she is bleeding; 1 in 20 people have bleeding when the scabs fall off. Lucky us...Mary Grace is one of the 5%. Okay, I am going to go for now. I will keep everyone update on Mary Grace and on Abigail and Ross as well. Abigail's scope is at 4:30 pm tomorrow.