We had a visit with the orthopedic surgeon today and we completed a 24 Halter monitor. Today is all about good news.
Cardiology – Halter Monitor
The Halter monitor was completed this morning. The really good news about the Halter monitor was that Caden did not have a single retching spell or a fever during the Halter. This is a pretty big deal. Going a 24 period without retching is rare. Retching and fever generally come with an increase in heart rate and respirations. The tube feeds have been known to cause retching spells for Caden, although the Nissen Fundleplication prevents anything from coming up. On a heart monitor we have observed Caden’s heart rate rise to nearly 170 beats per minute during a retch and then drop to about 100 suddenly for a few moments (called a “heart block”). Needless to say, a retch can really monkey with the lines on telemetry or a Halter monitor. We did not change any of our habits during this 24 period, so to go a day without a retch was a huge blessing! Then about ten minutes after removing the Halter monitor, you guessed it, Caden retched. Sherry gave a praise God or a hallelujah from the kitchen. I didn’t get it at first. She had to explain to me that she was glad that the retch did not come ten minutes earlier. That is truly an answered prayer!
Orthopedics
The results of today’s x-ray was no change-not a single digit!! The curve of Caden’s spine was measured to be exactly what it was three months ago. We are back to seeing them at 6 month intervals so we’ll go again in December.
The scoliosis was a pretty big issue the last time we were in there, but that was coming off of an approximate 20 degree increase in curvature in less than six months. That is attributed to a growth spurt and is certainly a secondary issue to the heart concerns. One question that we asked today to help put things into perspective from a priority stand point was, “Can the back surgery wait a year?” The answer was “yes.” The scoliosis takes second place in the list of priorities compared to the heart issues.
We did talk about our trip to CHOP and our concerns about communications problems in the past. All of that conversation seemed to come as a bit of a surprise to the orthopedic surgeon. We basically left the visit on a good note and will continue to have Caden followed locally to monitor the scoliosis for progression.
Prayer
First of all, thank you for the prayers for our family and especially over Caden during the last 24 hours. Your prayers are felt and are being answered. Please know that.
I am so excited to be able to cut and paste some prayer requests from the last post straight into the praise section! Our God is awesome!
Praise Reports:
- Protection from infections, colds, and all illnesses
- Discernment for the doctors and us.
- Good communications with local orthopedic surgeon
- Positive results from back x-rays during orthopeds visit. No curve progression!
- Strength and peace for Sherry and me
- Godly counsel to be available to help us sort through the medical risks and the associated decisions that need to be made in the coming weeks and months
Prayer Requests:
- Whole body healing for Caden, as always
- Continued protection from infections, colds, and all illnesses
- Continued discernment for the doctors and us. That our steps will be directed by the Lord rather than fear.
- A clear Halter monitor result (no heart blocks and no weird/wide beats)
- That there was enough data collected from the Halter monitor. We found a couple of leads off after bed and nap times.
- Continued strength and peace for Sherry and me
- Protection over all our boys’ emotions (they have already overheard way too much about all this)
- Protection for our finances in regards to the appliances.*
*We did have an air condition repair person come out and the initial labor was less than $80 for a work around solution. The follow up part and labor will be about $275. That is MUCH less than it could have been. The refrigerator repair man is coming today. We have operated with a puddle pan for too long and cannot find the cause.
Thank you all for being such a wonderful “family” to us, as brothers and sisters in Christ. We are blessed.
Love,
The Osbornes