Green Family "EE" Update Letter

The following is a copy of the update letter we mailed out concerning Ross and Abigail's progress and trip to Cincinnati. I posted a copy just in case some of you didn't receive a copy by mail.

Beloved Family and Friends,

Ross and I want to thank each of you for your support over the past 17 months. We have seen the face of Jesus through every answered prayer, word of encouragement, and financial support each of you have provided our family with. Our trip to Cincinnati was well worth the anguish, hard work, and patience it took to get there. I have honestly never seen a more educated and passionate team of doctors. They are dedicated to finding the best treatment option, and hopefully someday a cure for Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorders.

Dr. Putnam (Gastroenterologist) performed Abigail’s initial scope in August, and said that her esophagus actually looked very good; however, the pathology report stated that the disease was still prevalent. Since there were still eosinophils present in her esophagus, Dr. Putnum decided to omit bananas from her diet. Her diet now consists of Neocate Junior only; a hypoallergenic elemental formula. In order to protect her oral motor functions, she is allowed to eat Smarties candy, Pixy Stix, and ice chips.

We also discovered in August, that Ross has Eosinophilic Esophagitis. His digestive track was in such terrible shape that he had to begin a formula only diet on March 1. The Neocate Jr. formula that he is on cost approximately $1200 per month, and the Lord has graciously provided $8440 worth of formula, free of charge from other families in the same situation. Praise God!! He is Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord our Provider! Ross is doing well. He has lost 52 pounds to date, and feels better than he ever has. Although there are days he “wishes” for food, I have never once heard him complain about drinking the formula. He and Abigail have shown unexplainable strength throughout this whole process.

We are currently awaiting our next trip to Cincinnati. We will be there from June 9 through June 13. It is our prayer that their eosinophil counts will be zero so that they can begin food trials. This has been our desire for quite some time; please pray that the Lord will bless the hard work and sacrifices made, so we can see them both eating food again.

Thank you again for all of your support, and most of all for the continued prayers. We could not have done all of this without you all nor could we have done it without our heavenly Father’s help. He has proven His sufficiency and faithfulness from the beginning. We have truly found joy in the midst of Eosinophilic Esophagitis, and look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for our family and this disease. We will continue keeping everyone posted on our progress and hopefully the next letter will include foods! We love you all.

Blessings,
Ross and Lisa

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Playin' Catch Up

I have not fallen off the face of the earth; just been battling morning sickness and exhaustion. I haven't found the extra energy to post lately, but I decided I would catch everyone up before we leave for Cincinnati on Monday. This is Mary Grace's last week of school. Her last day is Thursday, and I don't think she is looking forward to it. She loves school; it helps that she had a wonderful teacher. I can't believe I will have a second grader and a kindergartener next year! Where does the time go?

Softball is officially over for us. Our little Lollipop Girls had a great season; winning ten out of twelve games. Mary Grace will be moving up to the pitching machine next year, and Hannah will continue in Tee Ball. It was fun watching Hannah progress throughout the season; and I cannot wait to have the four older girls move up together next season.

Abigail tested out of Physical Therapy a little over a week ago. This is huge because when she started at 6 months of age she wasn't rolling over or sitting up; she just flopped over our arms like a little ragdoll. She is now running, jumping, and doing most everything that a two year old should be doing. She will also be having a speech evaluation this week which I am fairly certain she will pass as well. She has been in therapy for the past 2 years and I'm not quite sure what it will feel like not having that as part of our schedule. Thank you Mrs. Alissa, Mrs. Heidi, and Mr. Daryl for all of your hard work! It has paid off.

Ross has been doing really well. He is feeling great, and as a bonus to drinking nothing but formula for the past three months has lost 55 pounds. He is anxiously awaiting his scope next week so that he can have that steak he has been dreaming about. Beef will be his first food trial...hence the steak ;).

I am doing well, and the baby is great. We heard the heartbeat (much to Dr. P's surprise) at 9 weeks. We have a fast little heart rate of 170. My blood pressure has already shot up so I have started my bp medicine. With the meds, my blood pressure does well and will most likely do so until the last trimester.

Wow, that was a lot. That's what happens when I slack on my blogging!! Well, this week will be busy with doctor's appointments and packing. Hope you all have a wonderful week, and I we promise to keep everyone posted while we are in Cincy.

Surprise....

We are happy to announce that the Lord has blessed us with a surprise. We found out, April 24, that we are expecting our fourth child!! I am due December 30. So as many of you already know, that means anytime from Thanksgiving on for me! While my blood pressure has been great thus far, we did have a little scare this past week. I was having pain on my lower left side, so I had to have blood drawn on Thursday and then again on Sunday to verify that everything was proceeding normally and that I was not having an ectopic pregnancy. My doctor called at 7:55 this morning to let me know that this pregnancy is progressing normally, that the sac was in fact in the uterus as suspected from the ultra-sound, and in fact the hCG levels actually quadrupled; which is a very good sign. The pain was probably the result of a cyst that occurred during ovulation, and is of no concern now. Yeah, mommy and baby are healthy!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above." James 1:17

Rock and Worship Road Show

I have done a terrible job keeping up with our blog lately. As most of you know, I was in a car wreck in January of 2008. This was five days after being discharged from ACH with Abigail; so needless to say, I didn't have time to focus on me at that time. I have paid the price and am now having to do physical therapy. That being said, I have been in a lot of discomfort and thus failing to blog. I will try to keep each post limited to a couple of updates so you don't have to read forever :). The most recent excitement was last Saturday. Sarah and Coy, Blair and Nathan, and Ross and I went to Springfield, MO, for the Rock and Worship Road Show. We saw Mercy Me, Jeremy Camp, Tenth Avenue North, Hawk Nelson, and Addison Road. However, we were unable to see Addison Road because she was having her baby!! It was amazing and the best part was that the tickets were general admission and cost only $10 per person. Thanks little sisters and boys for a wonderful Saturday...it was a blast!

Easter Pictures

Change is in the Air...

My sweet baby is no longer a baby anymore. She is officially a toddler! We transitioned her from her baby bed to her "big girl" bed this past weekend. She has done better with the change than either one of the other girls did. Timidity is a good thing a times. All I have to do is threaten a spanking and she obeys....wonder how long that will last?! She has also been doing very well with the potty training. Yes, I do have pictures of that as well, but will save her dignity and spare her from embarrassment today. Of coarse, becoming a toddler also means curiosity and adventure! For the mothers who are new to toddlerhood...if your child is quieter than normal...RUN! See what they are doing! It usually means they are up to no good! ;) This is how I found my toddler as she was supposedly playing innocently in her room. No obstacle is too great between a girl and shoes!Last but not least, our newest developement. Reactive Airway Disease. Basically, this is the diagnosis before Asthma. Dr. K didn't want to diagnose her with asthma yet for several reasons. The main two being that it is a diagnosis that will haunt her forever (insurance wise) and the other because she hasn't had enough respiratory issues to warrant that title yet. So for now, when her respiratiry signs desipate or her coughing won't cease, we give her Albuterol updrafts through the nebulizer. When we first started this process there was screaming, squirming, and many tears. However, she quickly learned it helped her breathe more easily and that it was way more fun to do it herself. She is getting so big!!!

Dad/Daughter Date Night and More...

Our church had a Dad/Daughter date night late night. It was a Hollywood theme, complete with a Red Carpet, pictures, and the whole works. They had a chocolate fountain with fruit and other fun foods to dip, yummy dinner, and speaking about daddies and their daughters. It would have been a wonderful night if Mary Grace hadn't gotten sick halfway through it. She told her daddy she wasn't feeling very well, but did not want to go home. They stayed for about an hour longer than they should have, but she just wasn't ready to leave her night with her daddy. Ross called to tell me they were heading home after leaving early because she wasn't feeling well, and his words were, "She feels a little warm." Prepared mommy had her jammies ready to go and the thermometer in reaching distance when they arrived home. By the time they made it, she had fallen asleep and was running 103 degree temp. I got her dressed for bed, gave her some Motrin and put her to bed. Her temp. spiked to 104 at 5 am; I sure hope she doesn't have the...do I dare say these words?...the flu!!!

On another note, Amanda, called me yesterday with some exciting news. Her parents had to evict a family from their rental home (no, this isn't the exciting part, actually it's rather sad), and found 6 1/2 cases, or 39 cans of Elecare Elemental formula! That is the exciting part. Elecare is the other formula allowed for treatment with EE. The Lord sure moves in mysterious ways, and we are thankful! God is good.