Thursday, October 15, 2009
All is Well
Today Ari's bronchoscopy went well. All looked good. The only thing I didn't get a chance to ask the doctor was about her airway size. He said he used a 3.5 tube size and after her surgery she was a 5.5/6, so it has shrunk significantly...or so it seems to me. Her size prior to surgery was 2.5. I guess I was focused on all the other information he gave me about no swelling, her next bronch, next office visit and after he left, it dawned on me that her airway size was smaller again. I guess it didn't concern him since the graft is in place and they did mention it would be normal for the tissue to shrink but not back to it's original size. And her ENT, Dr. Ian Jacobs, has been amazing with her care. He's been amazing at following up and even his call home to see how she is has been so comforting to us. We are so grateful for his care for Ari. So all is well.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Check Up
Tomorrow Ari will go to CHOP for a bronch. They want to take a look at her airway and see how it's been healing since surgery. She has been doing really well. Tomorrow at worst, they may decide to dilate her airway. They say the tissue will have a tendency to shrink around the graft (piece of cartilage put in to widen her airway) that was put in place, so she may need to have that tissue stretched from time to time to keep it open properly. I hope I explained that properly. I read somewhere that one patient had to go in a few times to have tissue lasered around the airway because it was webbing, causing some obstruction in his breathing after the reconstructive surgery. Praise God, nothing major, all minor procedures compared to what she already had done.
She had her 18 mo. check up and all was great. The only concern was her teeth, or should I say, "tooth." Although she was a preemie, her corrected age is over 12 months, and by now most kids have more than ONE tooth.
She's walking more and got her first pair of walking shoes. We went to Olly kids, which I must say I liked. We got her the Robeez shoes and I really like them. They have a rubber bottom (they also come in leather bottoms for non-walkers) but she walks really well in them.
Dora is her favorite character. Sometimes the TV is off and I walk by it with her and she will point and sing, "We Did It." So I've been playing it a little less, I'm not crazy about her being so into it.
Continuously Blessed!
She had her 18 mo. check up and all was great. The only concern was her teeth, or should I say, "tooth." Although she was a preemie, her corrected age is over 12 months, and by now most kids have more than ONE tooth.
She's walking more and got her first pair of walking shoes. We went to Olly kids, which I must say I liked. We got her the Robeez shoes and I really like them. They have a rubber bottom (they also come in leather bottoms for non-walkers) but she walks really well in them.
Dora is her favorite character. Sometimes the TV is off and I walk by it with her and she will point and sing, "We Did It." So I've been playing it a little less, I'm not crazy about her being so into it.
Continuously Blessed!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Gained 1st lb
Ari has been doing really good. She gained her first pound in over 6 months. She has finally hit 19lbs. The doctor said now that she's not burning calories trying to breathe, she will gain more weight. Although she's been a picky eater, she still gained the weight, so that says a lot.
She has been walking more and has been much more content. My mom babysits her on Wednesdays while we go to our homeschool co-op and she was saying she seems so much more comfortable. She felt she wasn't fussy as she usually was. I didn't think about it, but it was true. She seemed to get more easily frustrated before her surgery. So we're just thinking she must be very comfortable now.
She had a runny nose last week. We saw the doctor this week (which has been so amazingly great) and he asked about the runny nose. He said it appears she had a cold, but she didn't get croup as she usually would last year. Last year it started in September too. Something else I didn't even think about. I'm already taking this all for granted, it seems like others are pointing out the differences they see. I'm just happy to be home with her.
This week she was also discharged from Early Intervention...another big step. We all felt she no longer needed the services, so we're all done with that.
We are so so grateful to have our baby healthy and strong. God has been so good to us. All the people He's used in Ari's life, in so many different ways, all so important, from doctors down to friends praying to people who cleaned her rooms in the hospital...we have been blessed.
After we saw her first hospital billing statement to our insurance company, we called her the million dollar baby ~ it was over a million. This surgery I'm sure was costly too. We have been so fortunate to have insurance that has covered her medical needs...just one more thing we will be eternally grateful for. So many burdens lifted!
She has been walking more and has been much more content. My mom babysits her on Wednesdays while we go to our homeschool co-op and she was saying she seems so much more comfortable. She felt she wasn't fussy as she usually was. I didn't think about it, but it was true. She seemed to get more easily frustrated before her surgery. So we're just thinking she must be very comfortable now.
She had a runny nose last week. We saw the doctor this week (which has been so amazingly great) and he asked about the runny nose. He said it appears she had a cold, but she didn't get croup as she usually would last year. Last year it started in September too. Something else I didn't even think about. I'm already taking this all for granted, it seems like others are pointing out the differences they see. I'm just happy to be home with her.
This week she was also discharged from Early Intervention...another big step. We all felt she no longer needed the services, so we're all done with that.
We are so so grateful to have our baby healthy and strong. God has been so good to us. All the people He's used in Ari's life, in so many different ways, all so important, from doctors down to friends praying to people who cleaned her rooms in the hospital...we have been blessed.
After we saw her first hospital billing statement to our insurance company, we called her the million dollar baby ~ it was over a million. This surgery I'm sure was costly too. We have been so fortunate to have insurance that has covered her medical needs...just one more thing we will be eternally grateful for. So many burdens lifted!
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