Catching Up

So I'm finally back with an update...and pictures! :) To say that the last few weeks have been busy would be an understatement, but it is a good kind of busy. Drew is busy finishing the last couple of weeks of school (for those of you who don't know, he is back in school working on a Computer Science degree), I am busy trying to keep up with everyone's crazy schedules, the older boys are busy in their school work, and the younger boys are just plain busy!! And of course, Rebekah has an agenda all her own. :)

No, I didn't just randomly stick in a picture of my cabinet door.

If you look closely, you will see very tiny fingers peeping out of the top.

Those very tiny fingers belong to......

.....this very special little girl!

We were pleased to learn at Rebekah's most recent trip to the pediatrician that she does not have an ear infection! If you read the last post, you will remember that we had some concerns about another ear infection, but not this time! There is still fluid in Rebekah's ears, so we do have some concerns that we will be addressing at Rebekah's audiology appointment in a couple of months, but for now she is infection-free!

Rebekah loves to feed her baby dolls a bottle. :)

Rebekah's most recent cardiology visit was also encouraging. Dr. Lucas was very pleased with Rebekah's echo. It seems that the pressures in her pulmonary arteries have gone down again (remember, they can only estimate using echo, but this is a good sign!). Rebekah's heart function continues to look good also. Yippee!! We had some concerns prior to the appointment about an increase in Rebekah's sleeping, but it appears to be unrelated to her heart. Since then, she has gone back to a normal-for-her sleep routine. Dr. Lucas is targeting late summer or very early fall for the date for Rebekah's next heart catheterization. This will be an important catheterization because it will give us the exact measurement of the pulmonary pressures. We need the pressures to continue to drop between now and then! If the pressures are not down significantly from the last heart cath, then Rebekah will likely need another open heart surgery to re-open a portion of her VSD that was closed in November. We are praying that the pressures are down enough to buy her a little more time before her next surgery!!

Just being cute!

Between now and the end of the summer, we will continue seeing Dr. Lucas (cardiology) once a month. The plan is for Rebekah to grow, grow, grow this summer and to stay healthy and out of the hospital! Rebekah will continue OT at least until June when her therapist goes on maternity leave. We will re-evaluate at that point and determine if Rebekah still needs services.

Showing off a new hat!

Rebekah is making great progress in PT, and we are so very thankful for that! She is an amazing little fighter and has come so far since November. If you remember, she was just starting to pull up on things and stand the week before her heart surgery in November. Now she is walking everywhere! Rebekah's PT is helping Rebekah with stairs and stepping up and down from different platforms. While this is a necessary skill for Rebekah to learn, it is also helping to improve Rebekah's balance and stability while she is walking. The next thing on the schedule is jumping...I know that will be fun! :)

We have noticed in the last few weeks that Rebekah has been walking on the insides of her feet much of the time. Because we are super paranoid about Rebekah's development, it caught our attention. I mentioned it to her PT last week, and it turns out that Rebekah (and all of our boys, as we discovered!) is flat-footed. Not only that but her feet are actually rolling inward as she walks. So, she has earned yet another doctor - an orthotist! Rebekah will be having casts made of both feet so that she can have plastic orthotics made for her shoes. This will help to keep her feet in the correct position when she walks. Hopefully this will help prevent any future leg/foot/hip problems as she grows.

Please continue to keep Rebekah and our family in your prayers. We are so thankful for each of you and your ministry of prayer for our family.

Nancy