Life as a Leach

I've determined that Abby's pancreas is a drama queen, just like her.  As I've mentioned, Abby had what we thought was the stomach bug. When she just kept throwing up everything (even 6 hours after drinking it) with absolutely no other symptoms (she's a wild child!), we thought there might be more to it.  Our GI said to keep in touch if it didn't get better, so I sent her an email over the weekend.  She ordered blood work, which came back today as elevated liver functioning.  Of the two enzymes that point directly to pancreatitis, one is actually below normal and the other is a slow test that hasn't come back yet.  So... Abby's going to have an ultrasound tomorrow to check for gall stones.  Tonight, I put her on just pedialyte.  I started at a very slow rate and am increasing by 5 ml/hour each hour until I get to 50 ml/hour.  (It's gonna be a long night!)  If she doesn't tolerate that, then we are to head to the ER in the morning with the e...

But this time, we were volunteers!  My sister, niece, mom, friend Karen, and I did a snowman craft with the kids today.  We also took little "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?" Bags with play dough and everything needed to build a snowman.  The kids seemed to enjoy everything, although we only had 2 kids.  A lot of kids were contagious and unable to come out, but we enjoyed the time with the two we had! I think we all enjoyed spreading a little cheer! :)

While illness tried its best to mess with our holiday plans, we all ended up being healthy enough to celebrate with family! The highlight of MY day was watching Caleb's reaction to getting a Kindle.  He really didn't think he was getting one, and he actually cried when he saw it.  He was so grateful and excited!  It was very sweet. Abby got an American girl doll named Marie Grace, along with a doll bed and a doll table/chairs.  She was thrilled and her two dolls are snug in their new bed as we speak! Other highlights for Caleb: * several awesome Lego sets he is looking forward to putting together * all of the Star Wars movies on dvd * an under armour MD shirt * lots of new books to read! Other highlights for Abby: * lots of doll clothes for her new doll * a spinny swing that we hung from the treehouse * a Frozen microphone * Chapstick with her name on it! (It's always fancier with your name on it!) I was so surprised and excited to get a lovely Pandora bracelet with ...

Lol!  Hope this made you smile!

That's what we hear from Abby all day long because the girl can't hear a thing!  We were hoping that this hearing loss was a result of a malfunctioning tube, but Dr. T. checked out her ears during her jaw surgery and everything was a-ok...except that her left ear now has a substantial hole in it that will need to be fixed when she is older. So since the hearing loss wasn't fluid related, we were anxious to hear what the audiology report was.  Abby had a hearing test yesterday and cooperated very well.  The audiologist was very good and worked hard to get all of the information she needed.  I feel confident that it was a valid report. Abby's right ear has always been worse, but this time her left  ear showed moderate to severe hearing loss and her right ear showed moderate.  Her left ear has never been anything but normal (her last test was in July), so Dr. T. thinks this hole is causing more problems than he thought.  Because of her age and the gro...

A few months ago, I was given an opportunity to review a notebook designed to organize information for the caregiver of a special needs child or chronically ill person.  I loved the idea and wanted to see what the end product looked like, so I agreed. I received The Caregiver's Notebook while Abby was in the hospital (timely!) and was so impressed with the thought that was put into this book.  The author, Jolene Philo, really included everything a caregiver could possible need!  I wish I'd had this notebook when I first started out on our special needs journey. The notebook is separated with tabs and includes emergency information, a calendar, a list of meds, contact info, medical history, insurance, legal documents, and schedules.  And there's A LOT of space!  This is almost always an issue for us when we fill out medical forms for Abby.  "See attached sheet" is pretty much always written! What I like most though is the encouragement this book gives...

Abby's handprint on her first Christmas at 2 months old.  She was SO tiny!  Whenever I see this handprint, I'm reminded of God's faithfulness and I'm so thankful for how far she has come!!