Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Casting Day
Elias was casted for his AFOs today. The doctor was very nice and let Eli help with the entire process. He even gave Eli the left over plaster to take home and show Carson since there was only a tiny bit remaining on the roll. After looking through three pages of designs and colors over and over again, Elias finally decided on the blue ankle foot orthotics with the firetrucks, cars, airplanes, and street signs. They will come up the just under his knee and extend to his toes. The doctor was optimistic on the length of time Eli would need to wear his braces. He guessed that we would need them for 2-3 years depending on how well Eli responds. Let's hope that the wonderful doctor is correct and our little guy will be brace-free by 1st grade :) We should get them in around the 2nd week of March so I will post pics then.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Recap
What an incredibly hectic month packed full of cuddling, vacation, work, studying, hospital visits, craft time, cooking, and the occasional nap. We are all doing well and making it through the longest feeling but shortest hourly month of Ohio winters.
Carson spent ten days in Florida with my parents on vacation during the first half of February and came home with freckles dotting his nose and two scrapped knees. He built sand castles, visited the Kennedy Space Center, watched wild alligators, waved at the Disney cruise ships as they left port, and was spoiled rotten by Gigi and Bobpop. We missed him terribly and the house just wasn't the same without his quirky comments and big bright smile. Gigi took him on his first ever plane ride on the way home from Florida and even let Carson have the window seat. C said the houses looked like beetles and cars were like little ants on their way to the ant hill. What a fun kid!
Elias was lost without his big brother but was in turn spoiled rotten by Al and me. We had special dinner dates out, trips to the park when it was warm enough, and Al even took him to the movies one Sunday while I was at work. Eli finally started recognizing a couple of letters this month and we couldn't be happier. He is practicing writing his name over and over again. Sometimes you can tell it says "Eli" and other times we just tell him what a good job he is doing with all his hard work!
As for the medical update. His swallow study didn't turn out very well and he is definitely aspirating on thin liquids. We are back to thickening everything again and Eli is mad. He study also showed that he refluxes the entire bolus almost every time he swallows. That explains why he is refusing to eat more and more and we are back to using his feeding pump during the day again. We go to the GI soon to see what the new plan is. The bone density scan came back GREAT!! No osteoporosis or osteopenia so his foot break was just a fluke. He is getting casted for solid 90 degree AFOs (ankle foot orthodics) on Tuesday to help with his tone and CP. His MRI went fairly smoothly including the anesthesia and intubation. They ended using contrast after all since they saw some bright areas on the floor of his 4th ventricle and the foramen of Magnie. Thankfully the contrast showed no abnormal areas and the MRI was read as normal. Still no concrete answers but we will continue to treat his symptoms. If anyone has advice on AFOs I would love it. The great news is Eli's lungs seem to be doing awesome right now and he is running around causing havoc like every other almost 4 year old boy I know.
Al is in the thick of his final quarter of nursing school and working his tail off. His class schedule is insane going from 5-11 on Mondays through Fridays and then for 6 weeks on Saturdays for 6 hours each day! Ouch is all I can say. It will all be worth it in the end though when he has that license and can say he is a nurse. I am so proud of him and can't wait to see him walk across that stage.
Sorry for the lack of updates this month. As you can see we have been a bit busy with life but I will add pictures soon. I have tons of adorable shots of our two boys.
Carson spent ten days in Florida with my parents on vacation during the first half of February and came home with freckles dotting his nose and two scrapped knees. He built sand castles, visited the Kennedy Space Center, watched wild alligators, waved at the Disney cruise ships as they left port, and was spoiled rotten by Gigi and Bobpop. We missed him terribly and the house just wasn't the same without his quirky comments and big bright smile. Gigi took him on his first ever plane ride on the way home from Florida and even let Carson have the window seat. C said the houses looked like beetles and cars were like little ants on their way to the ant hill. What a fun kid!
Elias was lost without his big brother but was in turn spoiled rotten by Al and me. We had special dinner dates out, trips to the park when it was warm enough, and Al even took him to the movies one Sunday while I was at work. Eli finally started recognizing a couple of letters this month and we couldn't be happier. He is practicing writing his name over and over again. Sometimes you can tell it says "Eli" and other times we just tell him what a good job he is doing with all his hard work!
As for the medical update. His swallow study didn't turn out very well and he is definitely aspirating on thin liquids. We are back to thickening everything again and Eli is mad. He study also showed that he refluxes the entire bolus almost every time he swallows. That explains why he is refusing to eat more and more and we are back to using his feeding pump during the day again. We go to the GI soon to see what the new plan is. The bone density scan came back GREAT!! No osteoporosis or osteopenia so his foot break was just a fluke. He is getting casted for solid 90 degree AFOs (ankle foot orthodics) on Tuesday to help with his tone and CP. His MRI went fairly smoothly including the anesthesia and intubation. They ended using contrast after all since they saw some bright areas on the floor of his 4th ventricle and the foramen of Magnie. Thankfully the contrast showed no abnormal areas and the MRI was read as normal. Still no concrete answers but we will continue to treat his symptoms. If anyone has advice on AFOs I would love it. The great news is Eli's lungs seem to be doing awesome right now and he is running around causing havoc like every other almost 4 year old boy I know.
Al is in the thick of his final quarter of nursing school and working his tail off. His class schedule is insane going from 5-11 on Mondays through Fridays and then for 6 weeks on Saturdays for 6 hours each day! Ouch is all I can say. It will all be worth it in the end though when he has that license and can say he is a nurse. I am so proud of him and can't wait to see him walk across that stage.
Sorry for the lack of updates this month. As you can see we have been a bit busy with life but I will add pictures soon. I have tons of adorable shots of our two boys.
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