Buddy--Answers to Prayer

April 18, 2014

Yesterday we took Buddy to the specialist. After looking at the x-ray we brought with us the PA said that the bones weren’t fused. She agreed that the shape of his head was odd and suggested that it was due to him sleeping on his back and shifting the bones requiring his brain to grow out the other way—I thought this was a dumb explanation as I know how he sleeps and he does not sleep with his head at the angle required for such a possibility. To be on the safe side in case there was a different reason she said she wanted him to have a CT Scan. A while later a nurse returned to the exam room where we were waiting to say that there weren’t any open slots in CT but that they would work us in. The PA had earlier indicated that it would be best if Buddy slept for it as he was super active. If he wouldn’t sleep or hold still we would have to return another day to have him sedated.

We got upstairs and checked him in about a quarter to 1. Though he was very tired by this time we weren’t sure he would allow himself to sleep. He looked around a lot for a while before finally laying his head on my shoulder and falling asleep. Hubby checked with the desk to see if they had any idea how long it would be as he had fallen asleep. They weren’t sure but said that we should just let him sleep.  About 2 minutes later they called his name. We walked out the waiting room door and around a long half-circle hallway to the room for the scan. He stayed asleep. They had me lay him down on the machine and then they wrapped his arms and weighted them down. He stayed asleep. His head was turned to the side so they carefully adjusted it using the sheet and some small pieces of foam. He stayed asleep. Hubby and I left the room. About 2 minutes later they called us back in to get Buddy as they were done with the scan—imagine if they had had to sedate him for that??. I picked him up and followed the tech out the door and down the hall. A minute later we passed an open door where a baby was crying. Buddy woke up!! He looked around like he was asking why he wasn’t still asleep. We returned downstairs to the neurosurgery clinic waiting area for a while before being called back to another exam room and waiting there for almost an hour. Buddy didn’t sleep again until after we left the hospital. My Hubby later told me that he had been praying Buddy would sleep so that the scan could be done. He had slept just long enough for them to get the scans that they needed!! J

While we were waiting we fed Buddy and tried to keep him entertained. There were several times throughout the day that we had him giggling and laughing so hard! It was so wonderful to hear him laugh! At one point Hubby took out his ipod touch and took a video of Buddy. Then he showed Buddy the video. Buddy thought it was really neat. When he started the video Hubby told Buddy to smile for Daddy, so every time the video was played Buddy would turn and smile at Daddy at that part! J

Eventually the PA came back and reviewed the CT scan with us. The CT confirmed that the bones weren’t fused; she said that that “is not the concern” and went on to show us that Buddy’s brain and all the fluid is good. So, that means that he doesn’t have a tumor or anything like that—the only other thing we knew of that would cause his head to be malformed. I hadn’t really thought too much about this possibility, but Hubby had been praying and trying not to worry about this. She said that she wanted one of the surgeons to review her findings and she would be back.

She returned with the Head of the Pediatric Surgery Department—Dr. M. He introduced himself and then asked a few questions about my pregnancy with Buddy. We told him that Buddy had been transverse for a while. He then asked me some questions about my medical history and asked to see a picture of Princess. Then he went over the CT with us and told us what had probably concerned the radiologist here about Buddy’s initial x-rays. In addition to the shape of Buddy’s head being slightly off, his eye sockets aren’t completely round. They are slightly up tilted at the outside corners. Also, the bridge of his nose is flat. Dr. M called this a saddle bridge. He said that the flattened bridge pushed his forehead into more prominence and changed the shape of his head. He believed that it was caused by Buddy being transverse, most likely with his face tilted up and pressed into my side (we don’t know his exact position as my Dr. didn’t do an ultrasound during that time.), combined with the fact that I have hypothyroidism. He said that this can also cause a saddle bridge. Apparently, being on too much, or not enough, or not any, medication when you need it, can cause this condition. There isn’t anything I could have done or not done to cause this it just happens and they don’t know why. (Princess doesn’t have it.)

Dr. M said that he diagnosed the cause by looking at me. He said that he always likes to meet the patient and parents because just looking at films doesn’t tell him the whole story. We wonder a bit what we would have been told if he hadn’t come to talk to us, but aren’t dwelling on it. He told us that the tipoff for him was my face. I have a bit of facial hair that I try to keep removed but sometimes forget. That morning as we pulled out of the drive I remembered that I hadn’t taken care of it. Hubby told me not to worry about it that it wasn’t that noticeable. IF I had taken care of it, Dr. M might have still noticed but who knows?? Anyway, it helped to figure things out. J

We are looking into a couple things related to my hypothyroidism just to be on the safe side, but it sounds like if Dr. M is correct, then we don’t need to do anything and Buddy will be just fine!! J This is such a huge relief and answer to prayer. We prayed for correct and clear information—we believe we have it. We prayed for peace and joy—we have it.

When we got home my mother-in-law shared that she had been praying some verses for us that had been special to her back when my Hubby was a baby and had almost died. She said that all her prayers for Buddy and us had been answered. Here are the verses:

Psalm 34

King James Version (KJV)

⁴ I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. ¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. ²² The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

March 31, 2014-April 8, 2014: Buddy-Eczema, X-Rays, & Uncertainty

     Eczema

So, Buddy has always had dry skin (he gets it from me) and this winter was particularly brutal to those who suffer with this. Around his 4 month checkup he started having more red patches but didn’t seem to be scratching much. His doctor told me to moisturize him using Aquaphor or Vaseline, but I admit I thought that was a pain and I wasn’t very faithful about it. It seemed like such a pain and since he didn’t seem bothered by his skin I didn’t make it a priority. In mid-February Princess got an ear infection and Buddy got a cold. Prior to this Buddy was sleeping most of the night through, but since then he hasn’t. His skin also didn’t clear up. He had a spot on his cheek that got red and then weepy. I put some of my moisturizer on him. That seemed to help but I worried that maybe it wasn’t okay to use it on a baby so I stopped. The spot came back and his neck area got really red. About the last week of March his neck started weeping too. I thought I’d try to wait until his 6 month checkup which was scheduled for April 7^th, however the last weekend of March things exploded. He started getting what looked like whiteheads all over his body. If they broke open sometimes there was a clear fluid and other times there was blood mixed with it. He also started scratching and crying in his sleep. He’d cry every 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours all night long, waking around 3 to eat a little. So last Monday March 31, I called his doctor and brought him in about an hour later. When we got there the nurse said she’d never seen anything like that and he was running a slight fever (now he had been all closed in to his car seat for over half an hour so that could be why). The doctor came in and didn’t even get over to the table where he was laying before diagnosing him as having Severe Eczema. She looked him over and prescribed an antibiotic and steroid cream as well as an “Eczema Plan” for future breakouts. Hopefully we can control them before they get that bad again.

From the very first night he has slept better. Except for last night he has slept 10+ hours without waking. We have started swaddling him again and he LOVES it. This was suggested by a friend a couple weeks ago. Though he really liked it, when he started to break out more, I worried that the swaddling was the cause but it wasn’t. Also, in less than 2 days there was vast improvement in his skin. Those at Church who were worried last week couldn’t believe how much he had improved by this past Sunday. J

At first I felt guilty for waiting so long to take him in, but after thinking about the way it looked and its course, I’m not sure he would have gotten the help he needed if we had taken him in earlier. I think he may have had to get this bad before it was taken seriously, or at least until the weather warmed up and it was evident that the cause wasn’t the cold.

He is also SO much more active this week than he has been. I’m not sure if it was just time or if his skin was holding him back. He’s been able to roll over for a while, but now he has discovered that he can use rolling as a form of transportation!! We put him on the floor and he immediately rolls over and is across the room in seconds. J He is enjoying playing with his toys even more than he was before. He also loves it when daddy holds him so that he can stand and pretends to make him walk. I think he should sit before he crawls and walks but that’s just me. J Hubby says sitting isn’t fun, moving around is so why would Buddy want to sit.  

      X-Ray's & Uncertainty

Yesterday I took Buddy in for his 6 month checkup. At his previous checks his doctor has examined his head closely and commented that she was keeping an eye on it. I had noticed before his 2 week check that his head was slightly misshapen, but tried not to dwell on it to the point that I’d forget for weeks at a time. I was hoping that it would correct itself and usually didn’t think much of it as it is not obvious that anything is abnormal.

Therefore, I was a bit shocked and taken a back when she said she would like to send him for x-rays that morning and she wanted to send him to a specialist. After talking a few minutes she sent us to radiology, when we returned to the exam room he was given his shots and I waited to hear about the scan results. Basically she was looking for evidence that two of the bones in his may have fused prematurely. After seeing the x-ray she said that she would definitely feel more comfortable if he saw a specialist as the scan was inconclusive. She mentioned setting us up for an appointment in the capital city rather than the big medical center here in the state. She said she’d have someone call after the appointment was set up.

I called my Hubby at work to let him know what was going on. He was completely shocked as he hadn’t realized there was anything wrong. I thought I’d mentioned it before but maybe not. Anyway, it was a bit of a rough day as we both tried not to dwell on it too much. It was hard to know what to think and how to feel. That night after filling in the rest of the details for Hubby, he said that he’d prefer to see someone at the medical center as he actually knows some of them through his work and he knows that they are very familiar with the condition there. I told him that maybe we should pray that our doctor changes her mind as to where to send us. I also pointed out that we can always get a second opinion. He agreed that all that was true.

We had done some research and it looks like surgery will be required if the bones have fused. There seem to be two main options depending on how they are fused and a few other factors. One surgery requires the baby wearing a helmet 23 hours a day for 3-12 months, while the other surgery has more blood loss but after it is done there shouldn’t be anything more treatment needed other than a few checkups.

After filling in a few family members, word started to spread on FB and we posted a prayer request on our Church’s FB page. I mentioned to a couple people this morning about Hubby’s preference as to where we are referred. This afternoon I got a call from the doctor’s office saying that after discussing the situation with doctors in the capital city, she felt that we should go to the medical center. Hubby says hearing that answer to prayer is both encouraging and disconcerting as it makes one wonder if the situation is more serious than the one set of doctors can handle. I think we shouldn’t “read” too much into it. Either way, we are thankful for this answer to prayer. Yesterday, we really weren’t sure when the appointment would be. It was possible that it would be next week but might not be for a month. Today we know that it is scheduled for next week. We are thankful we don’t have to wait a long time and yet uncertain about how fast things are moving. I assume it is quick due to the risks involved if in fact fusion has occurred. Currently his development is normal and he is not experiencing any ill effects from this condition. The faster it is resolved the less likely it is that any will occur.

So we really don’t know anything for sure, there are just all these possibilities. Yet, we know that our Lord does know. HE knows and is in control of all of this. Here is part of the request I posted to our Church family: “Please pray that we would get correct and clear information and that we would have peace and joy in this. It is hard to know what to think and how to feel when you get this kind of news, but we KNOW that we have a powerful and wonderful Heavenly Father and [Buddy] is in HIS hands.”

There has been joy already. Yesterday after I got off the phone with Hubby, Buddy was laying on a blanket rolling around and playing. Princess was supposed to be in time out in the corner of that room (yeah, I wasn’t thinking), when I hear them both giggling. Princess was sitting in her time out chair talking to him and encouraging him to move and he was lapping up the attention from his big sister. Later she started bringing him various things to play with—some of which weren’t toys—and she was so giddy about it that he was laughing too. It did my mama’s heart wonders to hear their joy.

There is peace. At least at this point I believe that both Hubby & I have peace. We know that all of this can and will work for God’s glory. Many people have been praying for us, some are friends of friends so we don’t even know them! When I logged onto FB yesterday there was a post by a lady in our Church who is battling cancer and had received discouraging news. She posted some verses she had been encouraged by from Philippians 4 that were a great encouragement and reminder to me. Pastor came over tonight to share scripture and prayer with us. That was very encouraging. We are thankful for all the care and concern from others and for the prayers that God has already answered as well as the ones He will answer, whether they would be what we would prefer or not.

Isaiah 55:8-11

King James Version (KJV)

⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰ For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

¹¹ So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Just a few happenings from March

March 30, 2014

This Month

Some of Princess’s favorite sayings right now are: “What’s wrong, Mama?”; “You’re not going to get away with this!”; “Hey! What’s going on here?”; “I don’t feel very well.”; and “Helloooo There!!” Also, “That was a close one.”; “I’m sorry I take so long.”

Princess is having more fun with Buddy, though sometimes she is still struggling with sharing Mama & Daddy. For the last couple months she has been having a real problem with me feeding or changing Buddy. She’ll say “no! don’t feed/change him!” I often tell her that I have to because Buddy is hungry/wet, etc. The other day she was playing with her back to me and Buddy was lying on a blanket playing next to her. He started fussing wanting a bottle. After making it, I picked him up and carried him to my recliner. Princess turned around and told me to put him back. I simply said “No, Princess”, to which she replied in a resigned voice “you have to feed him.” Then she returned to her toy. Progress??? We can hope!! J

A couple weeks ago I made hard-boiled eggs for lunch. After slicing and giving one to Princess I started feeding Buddy some rice cereal. Then I heard, “Mama, it’s a snake.” I looked over to see Princess holding the white part of an egg slice that she had broken so that it hung in a strip from her fingers. Due to the position the yoke had been in and the way the white had broken, one end was thicker than the other, and it did indeed resemble a cobra or similar snake. I can’t remember my reply, but Princess proudly announced that she was eating the snake several times. Yesterday we had hard-boiled eggs again and the first thing she did was break one of the egg slices and announce that she was going to eat the snake. J What an imagination she has…she didn’t get it from me either! J

Buddy is getting more mobile. He’s been rolling onto his tummy from his back for about a month. This week I saw him do a complete roll over, though we’ve suspected he has been able to do it for a while we hadn’t seen it. A couple weeks ago he was on his play mat and moved himself most of the way off of it. I walked over to him and asked how he got off. He proudly started kicking his feet and moved another few inches off! He has also been doing the beached whale impression quite a bit. The last couple days I have seen him with his legs under his body and trying to get his arms into the crawling position. J