We've had a lot going on in the medical department, but I just haven't had a chance to blog about it. Here ya go!
Ears: Poor Abby had another ear infection about two weeks ago, (this is #6 post-tubes, if you're counting) and the ENT now has her doing some heavy duty ear drops for the next 2 months to try to kill whatever it is that is in there. 6 infections in 6 months seemed like a lot to us, and ENT agreed. They're hoping that these drops will take care of it once and for all. I've also learned that cleft palate ear canals are shaped differently than those without a cleft, so the tubes don't always fit the right way when they are little. Apparently, the ear canals fix themselves over time, but it's not uncommon for cleft palate kids to have more ear infections with the tubes. Who knew?
Trach: Abby had what appears to be a skin infection at the trach site, so she has been on a cream for that. It created a dimple near her trach site, which caused a problem when we changed her trach. The ENT seemed to think it was from an infection, so that's how we are treating it. We have an ENT appointment in May, and he wants to look at her airway again to see how it's grown. Let's hope it's bigger!!
G-Tube: Last week, Abby's G-Tube stopped turning and we couldn't get it to come out. GI was pretty concerned and had us come in right away, so I ended up having to leave work early. We went to JHH and the GI nurse was finally able to remove the g-tube...but not without a lot of pain. Poor Abs! :( The length was too short and it had gotten stuck in the tract. I'm thankful we avoided surgery!!
Pulmonology: We had an appointment at the beginning of March and she feels like Abby is looking really good. Abby is doing the nasty nebulizer (the one we have to try not to breathe in) this month--she's on a month on/month off schedule--and we're hoping that it keeps her healthy. She "should" be going in for her vent weaning in June. This is the same vent weaning that she "should" have had in December, and then February, and then April...and now June. I'm not holding my breath!
Eyes: We've noticed over the last month or so that Abby's eyes have been drifting inward more and more--especially the left one. Until recently, it would only drift if she was really concentrating on something. Now the eyes seem to drift just when she's looking at me. Other people are noticing it a lot more too, so I felt like it was a real concern and not just an overprotective mom issue! She didn't have an ophthalmology appointment until June, so I called and was able to get it moved up to March 15th.
We got some good news! Her optic nerves are officially normal, so the specialist no longer has any concerns about them! Woo hoo! The drifting eyes are an optical illusion because she has a wide bridge between her eyes. It does look like they are drifting, but they're not. and he taught me a little trick using photography to check and see if her eyes are drifting. Good to know!
Abby is pretty significantly farsighted, and he was debating whether to give her glasses when she chucked her filter across the floor. :) He decided that she has enough going on right now with everything else and he is hoping she will grow out of the throwing stage in the next 6 months! We're working on it.... :) We're expecting for her to get glasses when we go back in September.
Completely unrelated, poor Abs also got Pink Eye from Caleb a few weeks ago. :( Our pediatrician even put her on an antibiotic (for an ear infection!) that would hopefully prevent the pink eye as well, but to no avail. I have to say that Abby was much less dramatic about the drops than Caleb! I'm hoping that the Pink Eye has officially left the Leach household!
We have a whole lot of appointments coming up in April and May, as these are all of the "six month follow-ups" to the multitude of appointments in October! During the next month and a half, Abby will see the palate surgeon, a pediatric dentist, the thoracic specialist, the audiologist (hearing test), the pulmonologist, the opthamologist, the ENT, and GI. I sure hope gas prices drop before April, because it costs us a fortune to go to JHH every week! I guess that's the price you pay to go to the #1 hospital in the U.S.! I'm so thankful for JHH!
Ears: Poor Abby had another ear infection about two weeks ago, (this is #6 post-tubes, if you're counting) and the ENT now has her doing some heavy duty ear drops for the next 2 months to try to kill whatever it is that is in there. 6 infections in 6 months seemed like a lot to us, and ENT agreed. They're hoping that these drops will take care of it once and for all. I've also learned that cleft palate ear canals are shaped differently than those without a cleft, so the tubes don't always fit the right way when they are little. Apparently, the ear canals fix themselves over time, but it's not uncommon for cleft palate kids to have more ear infections with the tubes. Who knew?
Trach: Abby had what appears to be a skin infection at the trach site, so she has been on a cream for that. It created a dimple near her trach site, which caused a problem when we changed her trach. The ENT seemed to think it was from an infection, so that's how we are treating it. We have an ENT appointment in May, and he wants to look at her airway again to see how it's grown. Let's hope it's bigger!!
G-Tube: Last week, Abby's G-Tube stopped turning and we couldn't get it to come out. GI was pretty concerned and had us come in right away, so I ended up having to leave work early. We went to JHH and the GI nurse was finally able to remove the g-tube...but not without a lot of pain. Poor Abs! :( The length was too short and it had gotten stuck in the tract. I'm thankful we avoided surgery!!
Pulmonology: We had an appointment at the beginning of March and she feels like Abby is looking really good. Abby is doing the nasty nebulizer (the one we have to try not to breathe in) this month--she's on a month on/month off schedule--and we're hoping that it keeps her healthy. She "should" be going in for her vent weaning in June. This is the same vent weaning that she "should" have had in December, and then February, and then April...and now June. I'm not holding my breath!
Eyes: We've noticed over the last month or so that Abby's eyes have been drifting inward more and more--especially the left one. Until recently, it would only drift if she was really concentrating on something. Now the eyes seem to drift just when she's looking at me. Other people are noticing it a lot more too, so I felt like it was a real concern and not just an overprotective mom issue! She didn't have an ophthalmology appointment until June, so I called and was able to get it moved up to March 15th.
We got some good news! Her optic nerves are officially normal, so the specialist no longer has any concerns about them! Woo hoo! The drifting eyes are an optical illusion because she has a wide bridge between her eyes. It does look like they are drifting, but they're not. and he taught me a little trick using photography to check and see if her eyes are drifting. Good to know!
Abby is pretty significantly farsighted, and he was debating whether to give her glasses when she chucked her filter across the floor. :) He decided that she has enough going on right now with everything else and he is hoping she will grow out of the throwing stage in the next 6 months! We're working on it.... :) We're expecting for her to get glasses when we go back in September.
Completely unrelated, poor Abs also got Pink Eye from Caleb a few weeks ago. :( Our pediatrician even put her on an antibiotic (for an ear infection!) that would hopefully prevent the pink eye as well, but to no avail. I have to say that Abby was much less dramatic about the drops than Caleb! I'm hoping that the Pink Eye has officially left the Leach household!
We have a whole lot of appointments coming up in April and May, as these are all of the "six month follow-ups" to the multitude of appointments in October! During the next month and a half, Abby will see the palate surgeon, a pediatric dentist, the thoracic specialist, the audiologist (hearing test), the pulmonologist, the opthamologist, the ENT, and GI. I sure hope gas prices drop before April, because it costs us a fortune to go to JHH every week! I guess that's the price you pay to go to the #1 hospital in the U.S.! I'm so thankful for JHH!
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