Ear Tubes, Etc....

Addisyn and I went to Oakland yesterday to prepare for the big Ear Tube Surgery! We stayed in The Family House which is kind of like a Ronald McDonald House however in my opinion I would much rather stay at the Ronald McDonald house but I was greatful that we had that option...

Anyway....This morning Addisyn and I got up at 6:30 am to be at the Outpatient Surgery Center to register for surgery. We were taken over to the main hospital about an hour later and had to go through all of the normal Pre-Op stuff...We were then taken to the Surgery Center where they asked me a million more questions and then took Addisyn in for her procedure. The procedure itself only took about 5 minutes which was super fast...They still had to put her under Anesthesia and I think that part took the longest. She came out and woke up pretty quickly and we were on our way home within 30 minutes. The Dr. told me that the tubes will fall out within 6-12 months and if we need to, we can replace them at that time...Let's hope that putting in the tubes takes care of all the seizures since she has only had seizures when she has had an ear infection!!!

We started weaning Addisyn off of the Phenobarbital again this past Monday...John and I are both very excited yet very scared at the same time. We can't wait until she is off again so that we can see her progress like she did the last time. Hopefully this time will be the last time she is weaned off of that!

Brysen had his last day of Preschool yesterday! John and I made the decision to pull him out for the rest of this school year due to the fact that he was only in school for two months and has come home with 3 colds...With the upcoming flu and cold season and Addisyn still at risk for Preemie related illnesses we just couldn't risk it...He is ok with it and knows that he can go back next summer...

I was going to add some pictures but it is getting really late and we are still up packing to go to John's Auntie Vina's tomorrow for the holiday weekend...I will update with pictures next week when we get back home...I hope everyone has a fantastic and safe Labor Day weekend!

UPDATE AND PICTURE OVERLOAD

PRETTY GIRL GIVING SISSY A BATH
4 WEEKS POST OP WITH A FEVER AND TEETHING...FACE IS A LITTLE BIT MORE RED HERE...
8/19/08-SHE FINALLY GOT HER HAND THROUGH THE RING...
JUST WOKE UP AND NOT HAPPY TO HAVE SISSY USING HIS BLANKEY-8/20/08

BRYSEN AND ADDISYN PRETENDING TO SLEEP BRYSEN TRACING LETTERS
ADDISYN DOING THERAPY WITH JAYNE

GETTING HER STRENGTH BACK!

Hey Everyone!

I hope you are all doing wonderful! Things have been a little hectic around here the last week or so since I last blogged. Last week Brysen came down with a really bad cold and ended up passing it around our home with all 4 of us super sick over the weekend. To top it off, Little Miss Addisyn is working on getting her first 4 teeth all at one time...Life has been a little on the stressful side to say the least!

Next Thursday is the big day for Ear Tubes...Addisyn and I will be going to Oakland the night before and staying in The Family House which is only 1/2 block from the Oakland Children's Hospital. The Family House is their version of the Ronald McDonald House so I am sure it will be nice and comfortable for us. John will be staying home with Brysen so this will be the first surgery she has that I will be alone...I am fine with it because the surgery is only about 5 minutes long. She will have to stay in recovery for about an hour and then we will be on our way home. I really cannot wait until next week. Her surgery is scheduled for the 28th at 8:30am.

Brysen is still in preschool but we are going to have to take him out after this month is over. He has already had 2 colds in the month he has been in school and we just can't take the chance of him and Addisyn being sick all winter long so we have already told him that school is almost over so he doesn't have a complete meltdown. We feel really bad that he has to miss out because of the risks to his sister and really the whole family but he will be going back to preschool next year and will be involved in several activities throughout the year!

Before I forget next week we are supposed to start weaning Addisyn off the Phenobarbital again. I am really hopeful that getting her off of that will help her get back on track again....She is actually doing amazingly well considering being back on that medication. She is back to rolling constantly and is getting stronger everyday. Last Friday, Addisyn has an assesment done by a Physical Therapist. She agreed with me that Addisyn needs some extra help and is trying to get 4 hours a month approved so hopefully she will start coming out in the beginning of September. Addisyn's teacher will start coming out twice a week next week to work with Addisyn. Last week she introduced us to a brushing technique that is supposed to be super beneficial. So far Addisyn seems to love it...My cousin Montana also get's brushed or at least she used to...Not to sure if she is still doing that but it is a pretty cool thing to do and see the results...

Well I gotta go get Brysen from school...I almost forgot...One of the 4 teeth Addisyn is getting finally popped out yesterday morning....My poor baby girl...

QUICK LITTLE UPDATE....

17 days post op 18 days post op
20 days post op
22 days post op

I know it has been a while since I last blogged but as most of you know Addisyn spent 4 days in the hospital last week. She has now been home for 7 days and is doing great! We spent most of this week going to follow up appointments and consultations for new procedures!

Addisyn's ear infection is now gone and she has been seizure free for 10 days! I hope we pass the old record of 108 days and keep going sooner rather than later! She is still on the Phenobarbital and will be at least until the 25th of this month when we start weaning her again. That day cannot come soon enough for us!

Since being put back on Phenobarbital, Addisyn has kind of back tracked and lost some of her strength but we are working very hard!!!

Today was a great day and I say this because I put Addisyn in her Bumbo seat and she did not fall over instantly. She was able to hold herself up a little again and this evening she started rolling over again on her own without any help! Those two things are things she lost after having that seizure and being put back on the Phenobarbital so those are two really huge steps for little Miss Addisyn!!!

This past Thursday I was very fortunate to get Addisyn and appointment with the Chief of Otolarygologist at Oakland Children's Hospital. He has agreed with me on the tube situation and will be performing Ear Tube Surgery on Addisyn on August 28th. We cannot wait for that surgery! I was so excited that I asked him if he could do it that second in his office...lol..

I will keep you all updated on Addisyn and her progress as we work so hard to get back to where we were before her hospital stay!

Brysen started his first week of real Preschool this week and is having so much fun! He is like a sponge and sucks in everything they are teaching him. I am so happy that he is able to do something fun that he likes to do and learn at the same time. We often feel bad that he doesn't get to do much with everything going on so it is great that he has preschool.

John and I are both doing quite well with the exception of me being sick off and on for the past week. We thought that I got the flu while being in the hospital but it turns out I have a really bad sinus infection. I got really sick again yesterday and thought I was going to die...I took myself to Urgent Care this morning and they gave me some antibiotics to take for the next 10 days...I hope that I am back to my old self way before that because at this point I can barely do anything. Thank God that John has been so awesome and been a huge help! I am truly greatful for him!!! He is the best husband and father I could have ever asked for and we all love him very much!!!

Hopefully now that we are all home again, I will be able to keep this blog updated as I did before....