Caden’s Page

The unofficial word on the MRI of the spine is that all is normal with the exception of the scoliosis curve of course. We will get the official word from the orthopedic surgeon next week. I pulled a copy of the records for us to review as well as for Caden’s chiropractor to review. There were a couple of notes in the results that we need to ask our pediatrician about that are unrelated to the spine.  The notes mentioned some abnormalities with lung tissue.  Otherwise the results were littered with the word “unremarkable”.  The picture on the right is one of the images taken during the four hours Caden was on the MRI machine.  This is looking at Caden’s torso from the front side.

I forget to post an update on Caden’s recent illnesses.  After the g-tube incident we went into several weeks of congestion and sporadic fevers.  Caden went through a round of pinkeye the week before Christmas.  On Christmas Eve we took Caden in for change of antibiotic to treat the fever and congestion.  The doctor gave us a stronger antibiotic with a refill to get us through the holidays and it worked.  Praise God! There have been only a couple of Christmases and Easters that we have experienced without a hospital visit and/or admission with Caden.

About Caden Page

One other thing I forgot to post on last night was the update to the “About Caden” page.  I am still tweaking it but it is mostly up to date and a majority of the spelling and gramar errors have been cleaned up.  Oh and here is a little treat for those of you who have not seen our most recent family portiat.  I posted it on Facebook a few days ago but I know not all of our readers are on Facebook.

The Osbornes

You are invited to friends with Sherry and/or me on facebook.  You can also get more frequent updates from me by following me on Twitter.

Caden is scheduled for an MRI of his back and head on Thursday January 8th. This will require sedation and will let the orthopedic surgeons know if Caden’s spinal cord is healthy enough to undergo surgery for the scoliosis if required. Please keep Caden in your prayers this week as he is sedated for this procedure.

I say “if required” in regards to back surgery because we have taken a little different approach with the scoliosis in recent months. We believe this new approach will prevent surgery to correct the curve in Caden’s spine. Caden is now seeing a chiropractor. We were referred to visit James Family Chiropractic a couple of months ago. Sherry received strong recommendations from two ladies from our church who follow Caden’s Page. One is an RN who has come to help us administer injections at home. We followed their advice and took Caden in.  We were encouraged by what Dr. James had to say.  Dr. James is a very active member of church family and we view his advice as well as the two ladies who recommended him as Godly counsel. The chiropractic approach immediately set well with me because it fell in-line with a statement made by an orthopedic surgeon while at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) back in May 2008. We were in an examination room and I was lifting Caden by holding him under his arms. Caden did not have a shirt on and one of the doctors on the other side of the room blurted out, “that is what we need to do for Caden’s back”. What he was referring to was the straightening of Caden’s spine when the weight of his lower body stretched his back while being suspended in the air. What I have come to realize is that there are much less invasive ways to change the curve of your spin without surgery. The doctor at CHOP echoed this without even realizing it when he commented on how Caden’s back straightened when being lifted. Caden has been seeing his chiropractor Dr. James for nearly two months. It took Caden a couple of weeks to become comfortable with the adjustments and he is still getting used to some of the exercises. We are very pleased with Caden’s progress and we are optimistic that this will stop further progression of the scoliosis and possibly even reverse it.

December Events

The month of December brought some of the greatest joy a family can experience.  We celebrated Jesus birthday with family and friends as you might guess.

The brightest point of the month came early on. On December 6, 2008 I had the privilege of baptizing my Big Boy Riley. The folks at Seacoast Long Point have a program idea that the “borrowed” from North Point in Atlanta. They create a time of celebration for the young folks who have accepted Jesus. The kids’ testimonies are video taped and a special event is put together that highlights the day they get baptized. The record of the event is provided for the kids to be able to refer back to for the rest of their lives. Below is a picture of Riley’s baptism.

Riley being baptized by his daddy

That was in the top events of my entire life. What more can a Christian parent ask for than to have their child accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior?

This post would not be complete without mentioning the little “tinker” as I have started calling him. It is a little nicer than “stinker” which is what I started out calling him as a baby.  Josiah is “two”, at least in terms of parenting math and is a full blown toddler. He is actually about to turn 17 months on Saturday of this week but as we know the 2’s start early. The 2’s are more like a two year period of Toddlerhood rather than a numeric age. Our little toddler Josiah (JJ) is walking well and has begun to talk. Unfortunately he is mimicking Caden more than anyone in the family. Caden has been doing great with his speech development especially with vowels and has been really enjoying saying “Daddy” or as he says it with vowels only “/A/ – /E/”. Josiah has been following Caden’s lead and has been wearing my name out over the past few days.  He si so proud of himself when he does it too.

Below is a taste of Josiah’s cuteness. This was taken Christmas morning as the boys discovered the contents of their stockings.

Josiah and Caden - Christmas 2008

Untitled from Hank Osborne on Vimeo.

This is a video of Caden during a speech therapy session at MUSC. Mrs. Tish works with Caden to read through Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. Sherry recorded this video on December 9, 2008. Enjoy!

This past weekend was full of joy and excitement.  The joy came from celebrating Riley’s baptism.  This was really special for me since I got to perform the baptism.  The fun excitement came on a positive note with the boys getting to have all their grandparents in town for the weekend.  The not-so-fun excitement came from a visit to the new MUSC ER to replace Caden’s g-tube button.

The entire family had just arrived at Ashley River Baptist for their Walk Through Bethlehem when Sherry went to disconnect the feeding pump and found that the balloon that holds the g-tube button in Caden’s tummy had burst.  There was the tube and the button hanging in her hand. The balloon was likely busted for some time prior, but it picked this weekend to come out while we were out enjoying some family time.

We did not have a spare g-tube button in the van.  I had jockeyed some seats around in the van recently and removed the emergency kit that we normally carry everywhere.  I tried to reinsert the old button so it would hold the hole open but I was not successful.  We decided to proceed with the walk anyway and then go to MUSC when done since we were close and were not sure we were going to be able to get the button in at home.  This is a new comfort level for us.  Two years ago there is no way we would have waited an hour before replacing the button.

It seemed that the ER visit confirmed our suspicions about potentially having a hard time inserting the button.  The ER doctor was a really nice guy and he was a big teddy bear looking big man.  He was confident in what needed to be done because he had done this before.  He politely stated that if he could not get this thing in then he would have to call in peds surgery.  I acknowledged him and he proceeded to get gloves on.  I recommended that he insert a q-tip stick into the center of the g-tube shaft to help make it more stiff.  I tried unsuccessfully to use a lollipop stick for this on the old button back at the church.  He agreed with my advise and followed it.  After a very good attempt he was not able to get the button inserted into Caden’s stomach.  With his head low he peeked under his brow and asked, “dad, do you want to give it a try?”  I was very motivated to avoid the call to peds surgery and agreed.  I gave the q-tip another good push into the button and then added an extra glob of K-Y jelly to the button and around the hole in Caden’s tummy.  It was not easy to get in but It did go.  It was not without a great deal of discomfort for Caden.  The doctor ordered an x-ray after putting some contrast into Caden’s stomach.  This was to ensure that the tube was delivering liquids into Caden’s digestive track rather than the abdominal cavity.  All came out fine except for me.

Later that night I lay in bed with Sherry praying with giant tears rolling off my face and down into my collar over the pain I had inflicted on my son a few hours before.  For the first time ever I actually thanked God for the feeding tube.  While I hate having to feed my 4 year old through a tube, that thing has literally been a life saver for Caden.  I am confident that Caden will eat and drink by mouth someday, but for now I have only a Hebrews 11:1 faith to stand on.

The weekend was sealed off for me on Monday morning at about 3Am when stomach bug version four struck.  I have had this thing four separate times about a week to a week and a half apart.  I don’t ever remember being sick like this in my life.  I had lost 12 lbs during the month of November as a result of the first three episodes of the bug.  I had gained back about 7 lbs in a week when this last episode hit.  I lost the 7 lbs again within about four hours on Monday morning.  I finally broke down and went to a doctor Monday afternoon.  I left the doctor scratching his head after he wrote a GI referal.  He thought the whole thing might be stress related but admitted that he really had no idea.  Maybe it was stress, but I don’t think I have been facing any more stress recently than I have in recent years.  We’ll see what the GI guy says.

The following video is of Caden speaking with his voice and sign language. This was filmed Sunday night as we were about to get Caden ready for bed.

You can download a version of Caden Speaking (7mb) for Windows Movie player if you are unable to view Youtube videos. I know some companies and government agencies block YouTube.

I have also posted some more pictures from our trip to Washington, D.C. You can view some of them on my Facebook account or on Picasa web Albums as seen below.

Washington DC Day 5

Friday 11/14 was a full work day for me while Sherry and the boys visited the National Museum of the American Indian. Some of the pictures are shown in the slide show “From Washington DC – November 2008” above. I met the rest of the gang near a Metro stop so we could make the run up to Bethesda to BD’s Mongolian BBQ for dinner. This is one of my favorite stops for dinner in the DC area. I shared the experience with Sherry this summer while we were in Louisville, KY for the GFI National Conference. There is a BDs in Louisville.

Riley’s stomach finally showed signs of catching a version of what I had earlier in the week. He only got the southern version of he bug if you know what I mean and he also had some chills and a fever. Sherry believes everyone in the family showed some signs of the bug, but no one got it like I did. Caden had looser stools and popped a fever. JJ’s nose is still running today.

Day 6 Saturday’s drive home

We did head home on Saturday. We did not hit the road until about 12:30PM and got home at about 10PM. It still took most of 10 hours, but I was ready to be home in my bed. We did not get to the National Zoo, but I promised everyone that we would make that a priority the next time we made the trip together.

I learned how valuable a GPS can be when driving in DC. I borrowed one from my buddy David and I loved it. A Garmin Nuvi will be added to my wish list.

We did learn that Riley and Caden can now sleep in the same room without getting consequences for talking and playing. Now they are being held to that standard at home.

All in all the week netted out to a good experience. The illnesses made it harder on everyone, but that could not have been avoided. Riley is already planning the next trip. As miserable as commercial air travel can be sometimes, driving a minivan for ten hours is worse that 75 minutes on a regional jet. It will be at least a few months before I am ready to make that drive again. We might be able to take Nana with us next time so she can share some of the fun times with the boys since she is now retired and has the freedom to do some traveling, when the price is right. I have not completed my travel voucher, but I believe we pretty much broke even with the gas prices reaching down into the $1.87 range along the drive. Food was way more expensive that Sherry ever imagined downtown. I guess that is why I get $64 per day of per diem for meals and incidentals.

I hope you enjoyed following our trip. It was a good time for our family and we have enjoyed sharing it.

Caden and his brothers got to spend Veteran’s Day 2008 with their favorite veteran (your truly) in Washington, DC. This was Caden’s and Josiah’s first trip to DC. Riley and Mommy got to visit DC on one of Daddy’s work trips back in 2003 when Daddy was doing work for the FBI. Riley was only 11 months old back then and does not remember the trip.

Day 1 (Monday 10th)

The Osbornes and now President-elect Obama arrived in DC on the same day. We were not greeted by President Bush at the White House, but that’s okay since we didn’t let him know we were coming into town this week. Seriously, I think the only common folk kids who get to meet the president at the White House anymore are those who do something to gain 15 minutes of fame or by doing something like playing ball on a team that wins the little league world series. Anyway…

I took a vacation day to drive up on Monday. The drive up to DC was mostly uneventful but it took much longer than expected.

Josiah entertained us with a little bit of snoring during the drive.
Did you know that you can’t do 500 miles of driving in less than about ten hours with a car full of crumb crunchers no matter what Google Maps says? Since we did not get the wheels to turning until about 10am on Monday morning that put us into downtown DC after 8pm.

Our hotel is in a great spot about four blocks from the Capital. This put Sherry and the boys within walking distance of a number of major tourist attractions. There is a metro rail stop (Federal Center) one block from the hotel that allows them to shave off some walking to get to things on the other side of the National Mall. We are staying at a Marriott Residence Inn at 3rd and E Street SW. The room/suite normally runs $399 per night this time of the year, but I get it for about half that amount on government rates. We only have to pick up the tab for one night while I was on leave since I am working the rest of the week at the DHS headquarters. My hotel would be paid for on the days I am on official travel whether Sherry and the boys were with me or not. Since I drove my own vehicle I get approximately 58 cents per mile and end up with a few hundred dollars of surplus mileage that balances out the one night of out-of-pocket hotel. As long as we continue to watch our spending we can easily break even on the trip with government per diem and mileage allowed for this trip.

Day 2 (Veteran’s Day)

This was an official holiday for me so I got to play tourist with Sherry and the boys.

First stop was a train ride

How could we come to DC without getting these train-loving kids on the Metro?

We visited both Smithsonian Air and Space Museum locations and ended our day at Don Pablo’s. Sherry loves Don Pablos’s and has been upset ever since the one in North Charleston closed. Then we found out that they closed the one a few miles from her parents in Peachtree City, GA. We just learned a few months ago that there is one still open in Greenville, SC. We will be visiting that one the next time we have a trip to/thru the upstate of SC.

While dinner was great for Sherry the evening did not end good for me. I ended up counting floor tiles in our hotel bathroom. I was already feeling pretty queasy long before arriving at the restaurant so I know the food there had nothing to do with me getting sick. I got sick about four days earlier at home but just chalked that one up to the election results or some bad pizza. Maybe it was the same thing on Tuesday even though I was told that this stomach bug going around usually goes away in about 36 hours. Thank God no one else in the family got it.

Day 3 (Highest and Low Points)

I spent most of the day on Wednesday trying shake the stomach bug and rehydrate myself (low point) while Sherry and the boys visited and wet to the top of the Washington Monument.(highest point)

Then they took a walk up by the White House

All the walking left the whole gang ready to hit the hay.

Day 4 (Evolution or Creation?)

Sherry and the boys visited the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

There they saw dinosaurs that lived on the Earth millions and … hmmm?, many years ago after God created them. It was fun but the day almost brought Sherry to her knees (physically and spiritually) for the second day in a row. Washington DC does not normally show up on the “most friendly cities in America” list. Folks visiting these parts don’t take kindly to strollers, much less a double stroller with a six-year-old in tow, and they can be down right rude. Unfortunately there ain’t many choices in how our family travels with a 15 month old who is still walking at a snail’s pace and a four year old who is still building his stamina after an open heart surgery less than two months ago. And let us not forget the feeding pump and suction machine that is a load that justifies a set of wheels by themselves. After two days of walking miles per day pushing this load and wrestling a tired and grumpy gang of boys, Sherry was beat. She said that people were rude and pushy for the most part. However she did get pleasantly surprised when a family helped her navigate the Metro system to get back to the hotel at one point. I think that was actually on Tuesday.

Days 5-6 (To Be Continued)

The story and the trip is still unfolding. Sherry will most likely stay near the hotel on Friday. She is tired and so are the kids. We have all been getting to bed late and getting up early. I am sure there will be plenty more to share later.

Great News from Cardiology

Caden went for his 6 week post op check up with cardiology this week. The result was great. The nurse practitioner for Caden’s cardiologist said that Caden looked better than ever. The cardiologist said that he could not hear a murmur at all anymore. Caden was released to an unrestricted physical activity. We were also told that we no longer have to consult cardiology anesthesia when getting other procedures done that require anesthesia. Caden is now back to six month check ups with the cardiologist.

Our next stop will be with orthopedics. The pacemaker is out so we can now get the MRI that we have been wanting to get for over two an a half years. We are exploring other options that might delay or eliminate the need for surgery to treat the scoliosis. We still need an MRI before we go too far with any corrective methods to ensure there is no existing soft tissue damage.

Caden is tolerating the tube feeds pretty well now. We have his rate back up to where it was before the surgery and we have even added to the volume to try and help him begin to gain a little weight back.

Family Camp

We have had a ton of fun in the past couple of months even though we did face a major surgery right in the middle of the fun. God has brought Caden through and he is now bouncing around like he is on a pogo stick. I have created a couple of movie slide shows. The first video is of our trip to Myrtle Beach, SC for the first South East GFI Family Camp. Approximately two dozen families of GFI leaders from SC, NC, GA, FL, and VA gathered to share and encourage one another. The Links from IA and the Kurtzs from OH came and shared their wisdom.

Fall 2008

As mentioned in the last post we have just celebrated a couple of birthdays. Riley just turned six and Caden is now four years old. We also made our way past another special day on October 31st. For several years now we have been making 10/31 a family fun time without getting caught up in Halloween related activities. We had pizza on the living room floor while watching videos, then we played games, and finished off the evening by camping in. We (all except Josiah) slept in tents in the living room. The following video slide show highlights some of the birthday and family fun activities of this Fall.

Prayer

Praise and Thanks for

• Caden’s Rapid recovery
• Comfort and ease of digestion during g-tube feedings
• Successful surgeries for both Grandma and Nana
• Healing and mending of all incisions made on Caden
• Protection from infections and illness

Grill’n Time

I have revived the Grill’n Time blog. In my most recent post I shared how to make popcorn that tastes just like the movie theater. Just ask the members of our last Growing Kids God’s Way class if you don’t believe me. There will be more posts this month on:

• Southern Sweet Tea
• What to do with leftover homemade biscuits
• Cuban Coffee
• Pancakes from scratch
• Mac and Cheese Casserole (Macaroni Pie)

This blog has been entered into a contest that could give us $4500 in cash and prizes. A portion of the scoring will be determined by the number of subscribers to the blog. I would appreciate your support by subscribing to Grill’n Time. You can subscribe using one or both of the following methods:

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Thanks for your help!!!

Today (11/2) Caden turned four years old.  Two weeks ago (10/18) Riley turned six years old.

Birthday Boys

I have plenty of pictures and some video to share. We have a cardiology appointment this week and expect the best of news from that visit. I will post later this week with pictures and an update from cardiology.