Shout Out to "Aunt" Gretchen & Fall Medical Update

Last month Gretchen, one of my best friends during college, came down and stayed with me for a couple days. It was so great to spend some time with her, we don't get to see each other enough! The kids were estatic, having Gretchen here was better than a new toy! When she was leaving, she asked the kids to give her a shout out on their Halloween video, so here it is! Gretchen, sorry it took so long to post, I think I might have a *slight* Facebook addiction (acknowleding the problem is the first step, right?). This video shows a tiny bit of the madness that happens when trying to get the kids to cooperate for photos and video. Enjoy!




So, it seems that this fall has been "doctor season" for us. In September, Trace went for his head/neck MRI in Morgantown. Thankfully, my mom works in anesthesia at the hospital, so we know Trace always has the best care! A couple weeks later, we went to see Trace's neurosurgeon at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. Dr. Tyler-Kabarra wonderful, we just love her! She was very happy with Trace's development and his MRI.

On October 1, Trace had his sleep study. I must say that I was very, very worried about the fight he was going to put up after reading blog posts by Katie and Cat. So, I went prepared. I bought Trace a new Bob the Builder On Site movie, and a GeoTrax Old West Railroad. After Taylor's birthday dinner at Denny's (they have great kids meals there), Trace and I were off to Morgantown for the appointment. Once we got there, I popped in the video and gave him the train and he calmly let the tech put on all the wires - like 50 of them stuck all over his face, head, neck, chest, legs. Then he proceeded to lay on the bed and play with the train and watch his movie for 2 hours! Wow! Don't worry, our evening was not without a fight, I accidentally woke him up trying to move him over - after they had put the canula up his nose - and he freaked out and got all tangled up and it took both myself and the tech to get him out of the web of wires. Needless to say, the canula did not go back on, but that was our only issue! The results were pretty much that he had about 10 episodes where his ox sat dropped into the low 80s and they suggested getting his tonsils/adnoids removed.

To make October even more fun, Trace got two ear infections in is right ear - and we discovered that his tubes had fallen out. So, the poor kid got 10 days of augmentin followed by 5 days of zithromax the next week. But, I will say that those ear tubes stayed in for over 18 months, which is a long time!

Then in November, we were off to Baltimore to see Dr. Ain (orthopedics) and Dr. Jallo(neurosurgury). We got into Baltimore early evening and met up with The Greene Family at Barnes and Noble and had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe! It was great to meet them in person, it seems like Jennifer and I have know each other for years through the blogs and facebook! Simon is even more adorable in person, and he has the best smile that I have ever seen! Simon had a good time watching the kids play at the train table, and learned some bad manners at dinner (sorry Jen and Jason). We look forward to keeping in touch and future visits!

Dr. Ain says that Trace's legs are a little bit more bowed than when we saw him in the spring, but he wants to wait to see how he develops. Dr. Jallo echoed Dr. Tyler-Kabarra's good news - no compression! We'll be back to see Dr. Ain and "Dr. Jello", as Trace calls him, next November!

Last week I took Trace to the ENT for the sleep study follow-up. He confirmed that both tubes are out and that he has fluid in his right ear. We did a hearing test, with the normal range being from 0-20, with 0 being perfect - Trace got a 5 in his left ear, very good! But, he got a 45 in his right ear, very bad, moderate hearing loss! Dr. Ramadan said that Trace needs new tubes and he wants to remove his adnoids, but wait on the tonsils. He says they aren't that big and that tonsils are much more dangerous, which has been proven by our little buddy Caden earlier this month! We're glad you're all better Caden! When I went to schedule the surgery, I of course said, ASAP (don't want to damage his hearing permanently), and they said, "How bout Monday?". SO, Monday morning it is! They said he should be back to himself for Thanksgiving dinner!