Camping and B-Day Photos

I just wanted to take a moment to post a few family photos of M's and C's camping trip to Blue Lakes with Nana, Papa, Auntie and Bub. I also am including some photos of M's b-day party which was held a few days after his b-day (it was actually held on a special friend's b-day... July 6). You might notice that in the photo of the two kids flying kytes that M is using the more difficult 2 stringed kyte while C is using a fishing pole... Her beloved Papa tied her kyte to a fishing pole because she was having difficulties flying the kyte without help. This was generally the first time either of my children have flown kytes, so I was impressed at their skill levels (thanks to Nana and Papa taking the time to show them how to do it)!!!

On Wednesday both M and C were seen by their pediatrician. It was lucky that we got that completed because both kids had to have chest x-rays. Here are the results: M has some spots on his lungs which are indicitive of Brochitis (he is prone to those since he had pneumonia 5 times by the time he was 19 months old). He's coughing up thick, green mucus in HUGE amounts. C's chest x-rays came back normal (thank God) but her sinus cavities (which we also had x-rayed) are a solid mass with a sack of fluid indicating a long standing sinus infection. Both kids are on antibiotics and C has a referal to see an ENT for her sinus problems. Hopefully we'll be able to get both kids feeling better soon, because they've been ill WAY TOO long!

Abandoned

What an awful day it's been... I've been abandoned by my children!!! They went on a camping trip with their Nana and Papa and won't be home for several days. To make things even worse... M's birthday is on the 3rd and he won't be home for that special day. I'm gonna miss his birthday!!! How horrible!!! I had planned on going with them, but my doctor said "NO!" since I was having so many contractions yesterday.

After they left, I sat in my chair and cried like a baby for nearly an hour. I just couldn't stop crying (partly due to their departure and partly due to hormones, I'm sure). But I am hoping and praying that they have a fun and safe trip. We'll have a birthday party (albeit small) once they get home.

Matt is doing great in Iraq. He called late yesterday evening to tell M "Happy Birthday". It was sweet, though M was too busy watching cartoons to really take in the fact that his daddy called from thousands of miles away just to tell him "Happy Birthday". Kids... They're all the same the world over!

Needless to say... I can't wait till they get back. I just know that I'll have a rough time sleeping while they're gone. It seems (per my recent experiences of letting them stay the night at Auntie's house) I have issues sleeping when I don't hear their precious little snores or breathing sounds during the night. Gosh how I miss those little devils!!!

Bringing Home Amy

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May Update

It's been quite a while since I've updated my blogs and much has happened in the last month.

First, I was given new medication for my gestational diabetes (you can read more on MJ's blog) and then we went on vacation to see my brother graduate from AIT. He joined the Army and is soon headed to Ft. Eustis, Virginia. Matt was stationed there many years ago. We loved it! There is so much history and so many things to do. I really think they'll love it there! Anyway, we went on vacation and had loads of fun. We went to the Zoo in Columbia as well as the Edventure Children's Museum. All the kids had loads of fun (until Uncle M splashed them at the water display... Go Figure)!

While we were gone I began having some cramping (see MJ's blog for more about this issue) but it has since dissipated, thank God.

We took C back to the eye doctor last week. It was confirmed that she has Usher Syndrome. They are hoping that we can keep her eyes functioning well for the next 10 years or so. After that... ??? Needless to say, Matt and I are now concerned about C going blind as well as being deaf. Hopefully, over the next several years, we can give her the added education she will need to function well. We'll need more education, too... Where to keep things, how to put things back in the exact same spot, how to read braille, etc. It will be interesting, but if anyone can overcome this serious set back it's our daughter!!!

Other than that, all is well and the kids are doing great. M is as spunky as ever, but he's finally settling down to our new home. He's excited about MJ being born as is C. Both will be in 1st grade next year and both are excited about finally having a summer vacation! As am I, but mainly because I'm ready to be able to sleep in on a daily basis!!! lol!!!

I've added several photos... Hope you enjoy! One, in particular, was adorable: This morning M chose a shirt with a collar (something he NEVER wears) and put it on backwards. His reason? Because his neck was cold and he wanted to keep it warm. That's my little problem solver (at just 2 years old he put my vaccuum back together after watching my dad take it appart... And it worked just fine)! He's so smart!!!

Usher Syndrome

I freely admit that I am a pessimist. I think of the worst possible scenario and replay it over and over in my head. On the positive side, I am always prepared for the worst thing that could happen and am never surprised when it actually occurs. In addition, I'm always pleasantly surprised when my negative scenarios are proven wrong. That's always a nice occurence.

When we first brought C home, though, I predicted that she had Usher Syndrome. She has such horrid balance. She never really showed night vision problems, but that's not saying much since she utterly refused to get out of bed in the dark. She would even lay in her own feces, wide awake. In fact, I always thought she was trained to stay in bed no matter what. In the last few months, though, C has finally overcome her need to wet or poop in bed and is actually getting up on her own to use the bathroom. What a joy that has been, I can tell you. But in doing this I have noticed that she stumbles and shuffles about in a dimly lit room... In fact, the other night, when it was clear and fairly bright, C went to the bathroom. In doing so, she was reaching out in front of her and inching her feet along the floor as if she couldn't see. I could see with such clarity from all the available light that I could nearly see the individual splotches of spackling on the walls (and I wear glasses for distance).

Today, though, has confirmed, in my mind at least, that C will soon be diagnosed with Usher's Syndrome. A couple of weeks ago I took M and C to their new pediatrician. During that visit they had their vision checked. Poor C showed a marked decrease in vision since her last eye exam; she went from a slight vision problem that really didn't need to be corrected to 20/40 vision. So, I immediately scheduled an eye exam for her.

The results of that eye exam (with a much more competent practitioner, I must admit) was that "her eyes are like those of a 40 year old" and that all of her tests indicate she has "Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP)". Her doctor told me that she has "very little peripheral vision" which totally explained why C walks all over things that are left laying on the floor as if she doesn't have a care in the world about destroying it or even as if she couldn't see it... Come to find out she really can't see it! Proving this was a picture of her retina. It showed C's retina to be filled with clusters of little black dots, which are used to diagnose RP. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (see link below) states "An early sign of retinitis pigmentosa, compounded by deafness, is a near-certain indication of Usher syndrome."

At the onset of the appointment today I mentioned Usher Syndrome and my concern about it affecting C. After seeing the results of today's exam the doctor decided she wanted to do some research on Usher's over the next few weeks. She wants us back in about a month to review her findings. I'm still trying to get the kids' medical records sent down from Ft. Lewis. They will come in handy when trying to confirm C's medical history, which will help confirm or deny the possibility of Usher's.

Well, we'll work with what we've been given. I'd rather C be diagnosed earlier rather than later, if she's going to be diagnosed, in order to help her (and us) learn how to live with this syndrome. Hopefully we can all learn different and more inventive ways to communicate more fully with each other before she goes fully blind. Here's hoping and praying that I'm wrong. But if I'm right, here's hoping and praying that she can learn how to live a happy, healthy and productive adult life and that we can learn how to communicate to the fullest extent possible!!!

Either way, I think this is a great learning tool for others so that they, too, can be aware of this unique, but rare, syndrome. I've included a few links to allow those of you who are interested to get a more educated understanding about what Usher Syndrome actually is:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usher_syndrome
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/usher.asp
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/usher_new.asp (The latest findings regarding Usher's)

Belated Happy Easter

So I'm late, as usual, with my holiday post. But, what's new? I hope everyone had a beautiful holiday. We celebrated a day early beacuse my sister had to work on Sunday night. She needed to be able to get a good day's rest so that she wouldn't fall asleep answering 911 calls... We all know how horrid that would end up!!! For her and the people on the other end of the line!

Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed our time together, though it would have been nicer had Matt been able to be with us (but that's to be expected with a deployment). ;) Needless to say, the rest of us had a nice time. I've added a few photos for your entertainment! Enjoy...

Dental Work...

Dental Work and More Dental Work! That's right, I'm going to be living in an Orthodonists office for the next year and a half. Poor little Mr. M must have numerous proceedures done in order to help elleviate the need of surgery at a later date. His Orthodonist actually said that he came in at the perfect age to bypass surgery later, so I'm pleased and will happily spend the $2,500 needed to give him this opportunity.

M has a class 3 bite (an underbite) and will need to wear a brace to pull his upper jaw forward and his lower jaw backwards. It will also help align his crooked bite.

But, before that happens M will need to have stretcher-thingy put into his mouth to help stretch his upper jaw. It is way too small for his teeth and desperately needs to be expanded. Every morning and night I will have to crank it wider in order to stretch his tiny upper jaw. My sister (-in-law) says that those HURT!!! Poor little dued!

But, before that happens, M will need to have braces to help straighten out his baby teeth. They are impacting his adult teeth and not allowing them to come through. That's being started on Monday. They say it doesn't hurt, but I'm sure it will and M will be a little bear! Not that I blame him!!!

Hopefully, by the time we're done, M will have a good set of teeth in a fabulous jaw!!! but, to say he is terrified is an understatement... Poor little man!!!