First things first. Happy Birthday Nana!!! This picture was taken on July 1st. (click the picture for a larger image) Nana’s birthday was this past Sunday.
ENT Update
We took Caden in for an ENT follow up yesterday. We are now at three weeks post surgery. The ENT took a look at the surgery site in the back of Caden’s mouth and also checked to make sure the ear tubes were still in place from over a year ago. All looked fine. The discussion moved pretty quickly into a head scratching session for us and the ENT doctor as far as swallowing is concerned. “Caden hasn’t read the 22q11.2 swallowing chapter in the medical books.” I believe that is what the doctor said in response to one of my comments about how doctors assured us when Caden was born that he would be swallowing by his first birthday and the feeding tube would no longer be needed. This ENT was not on the scene until about a year after Caden’s birth.
The end result of the ENT visit was this. We don’t know anything new other than the fact that the surgery location is healing as expected. There have been no drastic outward signs of swallowing or speech improvement. Caden’s speech is at least as good as it was before the surgery and maybe even a little louder. The speech will require some therapy to capitalize on the work done during the surgery. The swallowing will require a MBS (modified barium swallow) to gage improvements. The ENT confirmed again that he injected botox into Caden’s saliva glands and his UES (upper esophagus sphincter). We are waiting on the nasal saliva drainage to decrease as the botox continues to take effect. The doc said that it can take a few weeks so we should not be concerned about there being little improvement in that area. I keep reminding myself that what we see is not what we place our faith in. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) AND “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.†(Mark 9:23) AND most of all, when the doctors run out of answers, it is all going to be just fine because…“It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man.” (Psalm 118:8)
Baby Update
All is well with Sherry and the baby. Sherry is at approximately 34 1/2 weeks along now. Sherry’s next OB appointment is Monday the 23rd. That will be the day of the fetal echo cardiogram. Her appointments will be weekly until the baby is born.
One Last Note
In the midst of the business of the past couple of weeks, the Lord called home one of my favorite little ladies of all time. My Aunt Dollie went on to be with the Lord on July 4th. She was my Papa’s older sister. She was there with my mom, my sister and me when Papa died just a few months after Caden was born. I took an trip up to Clinton, SC on Friday evening July 6th to pay my respects to her children and sister Aunt Mattie. She has always been a light in my life. She was a sweet little lady who loved the Lord. I spent some of my summer days with her and her late husband during my childhood.
The picture was taken at a little family gathering in July 2005.