Abigal's Results

I received a phone call from Dr. Putnum today. He said that Abigail's scope looked great! There were only minimal eosinophils; nothing to prevent food trials. However, because of Abigail's status with this disease and her age, he suggested that we wait another six months to a year to begin trialing foods. This is because most of the children like Abigail fail their food trials, especially at her age. Another big reason we are waiting is because Abigail shows little to no interest in food. She is curious about what certain foods are, but other than asking what it is and if you eat it, she shows no desires to consume it herself. If and when she shows an interest and we cannot put her off any longer, then we begin the trials. Unless of coarse, we reach close to the year mark at which point we will begin them either way. When we do begin, we will start with grapes. She will have to eat them for 3 months and then be re-scoped. Although this was a bit disappointing, I agree that this is in her best interest. I would hate to set her up for failure by beginning too soon. Plus, the Lord has perfect timing! Having a high-risk pregnany and a potentially very sick two year old would not be a good thing. By the time she is ready to begin trials, the baby will have already been born and we will all be in a better position to handle possible mishaps with the foods. Okay, I think I have rambled long enough. I will post Ross' results as soon as we have them.

Home Sweet Home

We are all home together as a "whole" family again. I do not like it when we are apart, but it makes it that much sweeter when we are together. The trip home was good but long. Apparently if you are pregnant and you think you are drinking enough fluids, you should drink more. I am pretty sure that I got slightly dehydrated, making the muscles in my legs hurt when applying pressure or flexing my feet. For two days I hobbled around like Frankenstein...a sight to see I'm sure! Needless to say the trip was pretty uncomfortable. I think I have been drinking my weight in water since we have been home and that seems to be helping some. All-in-all everything went well and we all all happy to be home!

Abigail's Scope and A Birthday

After an hour in recovery without us by her side, the aid of oxygen, and a little girl who did not want to wake up we got a sigh of relief. They gave Abigail a new medication to help with the nausea, and it knocked her out. She was fine, just a little sleeper than normal. Recovery usually takes about 20 minutes before we get to see her, so having to wait an hour was quite nerve-racking. Though, I would gladly wait an hour in order to prevent the vomiting that occurred last time. The medication worked and next time we will be prepared to wait longer before we see her. ;) Dr. Putnum said that her esophagus looked really good, and hopefully we will begin a food trial soon. We should have her pathology report next week. If her scope is clear and she begins a food trial then she will be scoped sometime in September.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROSS!!! The girls made daddy birthday cards before we left and he got to read them this morning...it was really sweet having them. They also called this morning to sing him "Happy Birthday". They actually beat me to it! Ross got a new grill, grilling cookbook, and last but not least he ate STEAK (for the first time in 3 1/2 months) for his birthday. It was a crazy birthday, but totally fitting for our family! :)

Ross' Scope

Ross' scope went well. The doc said that he has scarring which may not ever go away, but visually there were some subtle improvements. We are all hoping and praying for clear pathology results. We will not know any real results until those pathology reports come in, but for now he can begin a beef trial. He will continue the formula diet as well until he has a well-rounded diet; this will take some time to develop. If his scope is indeed clean then he can continue the beef trial and add a new food about every 3-4 weeks; tracking his symptoms. He will do this until he has four foods and then will be re-scoped.

Abigail's scope is tomorrow at 12:20. We have to be there at 11 am and she cannot eat past 4:30 am. Please pray for her safety during the scope, that her last feeding at 4 am will sustain her until after the scope, and that her results also come back clear.

Another Day

I have decided that if you have children, your house should come with hotel darkening curtains (fashionable I know) and highway noise because Abigail has slept in every morning we have been here. Of coarse, we have to be up early in the morning for Ross' scope, but we have enjoyed getting some extra rest the past two mornings. We have to be at the office at 6:45 in the morning and his scope will be sometime between 7 and 7:30. Today was uneventful. We rested most of the day with a quick trip to the mall, and then Ross began his prep for the scope at 4 pm. I will post an update after the scope tomorrow.

Orthopedic Appointment

Abigail's appointment with the Orthopedist went really well today. The doctor spent at least 45 minutes with us drawing pictures and explaining everything to us. Abigail does have a twist in her tibia (the bone from the knee to the ankle) on the left leg, but she said that it is relatively mild and she expects it to correct itself as she ages. Now, the hips/femur are a different story. Her femur is definitely twisted inward in the hip socket. This is not something that will correct itself, but as long as she is functioning normally surgery will not be necessary. Even if we see a need for surgery it would not be done until she is 8 years old. At this point the doctor doesn't anticipate having to do surgery unless she doesn't progessly get a little better or if she is made fun of incessantly; becoming severely self-conscience about it. Her comment was she would rather see a child have a surgical scar verses a psychological scar. I was really impressed with this doctor and glad we got a third opinion. Having these answers and a doctor that was willing to sit down with us was an answer to prayer. So for now we wait, see the doctor in a year, and plan on having a sweet little girl with a little different walk. Thank you all for the prayers...they were answered.

We Made It...

We arrived in Cincinnati about 6:00 last night. We had a good, but very long trip. Sorry I didn't let everyone know that we had arrived last night, but by the time we got here all I wanted to do was get in bed and go to sleep! ;) I was ordered by Dr. P to get out and walk every few hours, so it made the trip longer than usual. Of coarse, I cannot complain because Abigail was great!! Abigail has an orthopedic appointment at 12:20 (11:20 your time). I will let everyone know how that went later this evening. We also have plans with Mike, Mona, and Conner around 5:30 this evening. We are so blessed that the Lord has brought them into our lives. It makes these trips more enjoyable.