Friday, April 30, 2010

Abigail and Tubes- Take 2!

So as you know from the last blog post, yesterday Abigail went to an ENT specialist who says her ears have a mild hearing loss because of the consistent fluid behind the eardrum for over 3 months now and he thinks she needs tubes put in right away. As you also know from below, they squeezed us in the schedule for this morning (Friday, 4/30) down at St. Christopher’s Children’s Hospital. After going through admissions, getting her vitals, and getting her dressed ready for the procedure, the anesthesiologist says that because of all her congestion still in her chest, they see it as much too high a risk to perform the procedure since they would have to put her under for it. So now we’re scheduled for next Friday to go back and do the whole thing over again.


Please pray that her congestion will clear by then, that all will go smoothly (Abigail’s fear of doctors/hospitals AND the procedure) without complications and she will recover quickly.

Here is Abigail this morning awaiting the doctors (very hungry and thirsty because she had to fast):


Thursday, April 29, 2010

Abigail and Tubes

We would appreciate your prayers for tomorrow morning as we take Abigail to the hospital to have tubes put in her ears. We are to be at Saint Christopher’s Children’s Hospital at 9:30 am, not sure what time the procedure is.

Abigail has been fighting fevers, runny noses, shortness of breath and fluid behind her ears since Christmas. After many trips to the doctor over the past several months, we finally went to an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) specialist three weeks ago today, were told the fluid behind her ears was there, but clear and we should wait to see if it might clear itself up since the cold season is passed. So we did, and then she got sick again. So back to the doctor, who sent us to the ENT Dr. again. The network of CHOP ENT Dr.’s were booked until June (and that was the expedited date!) so we went on the hunt to find one who actually had appointments readily available and Mary ended up taking her today. The Dr. said he thinks tubes should be put in her ears rather soon considering her circumstances. They squeezed us in for tomorrow!
Interestingly, the fluid behind her ears has caused her hearing to be low on the charts, which affects her ability to speak. Hence the very few words that she says at almost 18 months. Also, it could be throwing off her balance, which may be why she is not yet walking. (Perhaps she doesn’t have hypotonia (low muscle tone) nor need therapy?)
The good news is that Abigail is starting to stand up and take up to 8 or 9 steps at a time, when coaxed by her parents. To be successful, however, there needs to be something at the end of those 8 or 9 steps that she truly desires, like her little stuffed doggie, a toy she was playing with or a fall into daddy’s chest followed by a giant bear hug.
Thank you for continuing to be consistent in prayer for our Abigail.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

What We Found This Morning

We walked into Jaron's room this morning to find the following:



He said he needed a tissue.