It is days like today that overwhelm me. I was at CHOP for Leo's eye appointment and a follow up with ENT. Both appointments have resulted in scheduled surgeries. As soon as I can get it scheduled, Leo will be having surgery to have his eye muscles tightened and while he is still anesthetized the ENT doc will perform a bronchoscopy. The bronchoscopy is to see what is going on with his airway and why he had trouble breathing after his last surgery. The irony here is that in order to do the bronchoscopy and eye surgery he will have to be put under. The upside is that if he does have any breathing difficulties after surgery, ENT will already be on the case. Both procedures are considered same day surgery, but it was suggested to me to pack an overnight bag “just in case”. We also have to monitor, Leo for sleep apnea as he has been snoring at night since his palate was repaired and according to the in-office exam done today he has really big tonsils and adenoids (of course he does) Maybe a sleep study in our future? I was hoping to come to some sort of conclusion about Leo's hearing today (one of the goals of this appointment), but he had fluid in his right ear (of course he did) and besides he can't sit and do the regular hearing test with beeps. So we willalso be scheduling him for an ABR (The auditory brainstem response). He will have to be sedated for this test.
Before I end my Leo update, I will backtrack to Monday, when we were also at CHOP. Leo had an upper GI, which showed everything was normal. YEAH! We also met with the general surgeon about g-tube surgery. He recommended that, since Leo has reflux, we see his partner in the GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease ) clinic before scheduling that surgery. So that deal is “on hold” at least till after the middle of October.
After our doctor's visits today, Leo and I went food shopping. We then hurried home for our 2 month post placement visit with our social worker. One of the questions she asked was “how are you doing?” That was a loaded question as today I was feeling overwhelmed. Who wouldn't after being to 2 doctor's appointments with both ending in needing surgery. We told her we have good days and bad days. Days when I just want to run away and hide. But there are other days when life is good. Fortunately the good days do out number the bad days.
As the month of October begins, please pray for our family. Please pray for Jeremy and myself. Please pray for our marriage and children. As of right now in October, Jonathan will be beginning casting for a new prosthetic leg waist (this will be at least 2-4 trips to Shriner's Hospital) and he also has a follow-up to a surgery he had a few months ago. Leo will be seeing a cardiologist, a GERD doctor and possibly having ear and exploratory surgery. Amanda, Tyler, and Jordan have a routine eye doctor appointment and I have an annual medical appointment scheduled. We also have just regular life of homeschooling, orchestra, soccer games, music lessons, and play dates … You get the picture. Life is full.
Thankfully God is in control.
