Monday, November 28, 2005
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Those crazy folks at Disney
What will they think of next?
The week of Halloween my family (mom & dad, sister and her girls, and my brother's wife) went to Disneyland for a week. Originally, Steph, Elizabeth and myself planned on joining them, but when Munchkin was born with the heart troubles, we backed out. But the trip was still on. They went, had a great time, fun times for all.
Well, my mother and sister, being the women that they are, love to shop for Lizzie. Especially in Disneyland. What better place to go shopping for a little newborn?
Well, fast forward to last week. My mom is shipping up some random things to us and includes the gifts for Lizzie that Mom and Sis purchased in the Happiest Place on Earth. Amongst the other clothes and stuffed Winnie the Pooh bear was this:
Cute for a little girl's outfit, right? Right. But it gets better. Way better. Check out the back.
You may now proceed to pick yourself up off the floor and continue your internet surfing.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Day at the Zoo
Today we went with another family to the Oregon Zoo. It was wonderful. Elizabeth got to see her daddy's favoritest animal in all the world. It was their nap time.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Rollover Video
As I promised earlier, I was able get some video of Elizabeth trying to rollover and then finally doing it!
(this may take a while to load if you're on dial-up... it's a long one)
The Call
Last night at around 6 p.m. we received a phone call from Dr. Liu with the results of Lizzie's most recent ultrasound of her kidneys. Now first off, this is not a normal thing for us to get called by the doctor this late on a Friday night, so already we are surprised. Then, she proceeds to tell me (Steph) that although the results of the test show that the swelling in her left kidney has not gotten worse, it unexpectedly has not gotten better either. Puzzled by these results Dr. Liu sought the wisdom of a different urologist than the previous time (for the first ultrasound a couple of months ago). This urologist (whose name escapes me) specializes in pediatric urology.
He said that to be sure of what is going on we need to have a test performed on Lizzie using a cathetor. He informed Dr. Liu that it could be that Lizzie's body is doing something, that although not normal, is still fairly common, called reflux. Generally fluid travels from the kidneys, down into the bladder and out the body. It is possible that what is occuring in Lizzie is that the fluid is going from the kidneys, down into the bladder, and back up for round two, and eventually out. The problem this presents is possible infection if not treated with antibiotics.
(Aside: from what we have read online on infant reflux, it is a problem of a valve not working properly, that in time could correct itself, or worse case...surgery can be done to fix the valve...sound familiar?).
Anyhow, the cathetor test needs to be done within the next 6-8 months. Dr. Liu being the great pediatrician she is knew that Lizzie will need to go in for a cathetor procedure soon for her heart (we had informed her of that at the previous appointment), so she called up Dr. Shaughnessy to see when we had the procedure scheduled. However, as we posted earlier this month, we haven't had to schedule one yet since Lizzie is doing so well.
Between the two of them they decided that in January when we see Dr. Shaugnessy next we will schedule the cathetor procedure with the cathetor test scheduled directly before it so as to limit the times that Lizzie will be put under, and given antiobotics for heart (since everytime she has a procedure or surgery done she has to have medicine to prevent any infection from moving into her heart, it is standard for all heart patients).
All that to say yet another test on the way, and confirmation that the cathetor procedure is fast approaching. We will let you know more as it comes.
(Also, sorry this is so long winded. Now you know why Allen usually is the one to post on these things.)
He said that to be sure of what is going on we need to have a test performed on Lizzie using a cathetor. He informed Dr. Liu that it could be that Lizzie's body is doing something, that although not normal, is still fairly common, called reflux. Generally fluid travels from the kidneys, down into the bladder and out the body. It is possible that what is occuring in Lizzie is that the fluid is going from the kidneys, down into the bladder, and back up for round two, and eventually out. The problem this presents is possible infection if not treated with antibiotics.
(Aside: from what we have read online on infant reflux, it is a problem of a valve not working properly, that in time could correct itself, or worse case...surgery can be done to fix the valve...sound familiar?).
Anyhow, the cathetor test needs to be done within the next 6-8 months. Dr. Liu being the great pediatrician she is knew that Lizzie will need to go in for a cathetor procedure soon for her heart (we had informed her of that at the previous appointment), so she called up Dr. Shaughnessy to see when we had the procedure scheduled. However, as we posted earlier this month, we haven't had to schedule one yet since Lizzie is doing so well.
Between the two of them they decided that in January when we see Dr. Shaugnessy next we will schedule the cathetor procedure with the cathetor test scheduled directly before it so as to limit the times that Lizzie will be put under, and given antiobotics for heart (since everytime she has a procedure or surgery done she has to have medicine to prevent any infection from moving into her heart, it is standard for all heart patients).
All that to say yet another test on the way, and confirmation that the cathetor procedure is fast approaching. We will let you know more as it comes.
(Also, sorry this is so long winded. Now you know why Allen usually is the one to post on these things.)
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Thursday, November 03, 2005
November appt update
11/3/05 - 24.75 inches long, 12lbs 11 oz.
Elizabeth had another echocardiogram today. She made them earn their money. Even with a little sedative in her, she still squirmed just about the whole time. That's an hour and a half ladies and gents. We have one strong girl.
As for the results of the echocardiogram, things have leveled off since last time. If anything, her velocity levels in her arteries have lessened a bit, but that is probably because they were able to get more accurate readings since she was a little calmer today than last time (what's that tell you about last time?).
(Sidebar: her blood velocity in meters per second measures the amount of blockage, higher the velocity, the more blockage. Imagine your arteries are like PVC pipe. If you put putty around the inside of the tube, there is less space in the pipe itself, so liquid goes thru it faster.)
So, the implications of the results: we wait.
Seriously, that's it. Last time the cardiologist said that if the blockage continued increasing like it was, then Elizabeth would need to have another catheter procedure done before the end of the year.
Since our next echocardiogram appointment isn't until early January, me thinks a before-the-end-of-the-year procedure isn't going to happen. :-). Doc still thinks that a catheter procedure will need to be done (no time frame given). With another catheter procedure comes the chance that a small leak discovered in the tricuspid valve could be made a little bigger. That chance and the state of the pulmonary artery blockage equates to a "good possibility" that she will need to have another surgery prior to age 5.
But for now, Elizabeth is stable, growing well and teething. So for now and for her first Christmas, she is a normal baby. Praise be to God for He has given us a good gift in Elizabeth.
Elizabeth had another echocardiogram today. She made them earn their money. Even with a little sedative in her, she still squirmed just about the whole time. That's an hour and a half ladies and gents. We have one strong girl.
As for the results of the echocardiogram, things have leveled off since last time. If anything, her velocity levels in her arteries have lessened a bit, but that is probably because they were able to get more accurate readings since she was a little calmer today than last time (what's that tell you about last time?).
(Sidebar: her blood velocity in meters per second measures the amount of blockage, higher the velocity, the more blockage. Imagine your arteries are like PVC pipe. If you put putty around the inside of the tube, there is less space in the pipe itself, so liquid goes thru it faster.)
So, the implications of the results: we wait.
Seriously, that's it. Last time the cardiologist said that if the blockage continued increasing like it was, then Elizabeth would need to have another catheter procedure done before the end of the year.
Since our next echocardiogram appointment isn't until early January, me thinks a before-the-end-of-the-year procedure isn't going to happen. :-). Doc still thinks that a catheter procedure will need to be done (no time frame given). With another catheter procedure comes the chance that a small leak discovered in the tricuspid valve could be made a little bigger. That chance and the state of the pulmonary artery blockage equates to a "good possibility" that she will need to have another surgery prior to age 5.But for now, Elizabeth is stable, growing well and teething. So for now and for her first Christmas, she is a normal baby. Praise be to God for He has given us a good gift in Elizabeth.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)