Audiology, an injury and two big blessings!

All right, everyone, don't have a heart attack because I posted two days in a row!  :)  Don't get used to it, either!!  :)

I'll start with the blessings, since I'm excited to tell you all about them.  Then I'll get to the nitty-gritty stuff of today's appointment.  Over the Christmas season, we were given several gift cards and cash to be used for our family.  I won't embarrass those who gave, but you know who you are.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  As you will see below, we combined the gifts to purchase a very, very much needed item in our home!

So after much research and deliberation, this is how we decided to use the money.  If you have been to our home in the last couple of years, you will know that our kitchen eat-in area housed a small kitchen table and a card table to seat all of our family.  We don't have a separate dining room, so to have guests over for a meal was always interesting!  :)  We certainly have not complained about our dining room seating (or lack thereof), but we felt like we really needed room for our entire family to sit at one table for meals!  We ended up purchasing two rectangular dining room tables that we have pushed together to form one large (almost) square table.  We have benches on three sides, and hope to get a set of two chairs in the near future.  This will give us seating for 10 as it is right now, or we can slide the two tables apart and seat 15 when we have guests!  Thank you to everyone who made this lovely addition to our home possible!

The other big blessing today is that we finally found thickener for Rebekah's drinks!!!  Our fantastic EI, Katherine, was such a huge help in finding out where we needed to look for it. I don't know why I didn't think to call her last week, but anyway, she got the information for me in about 20 minutes (or less!).  As it turns out, Walgreen's carries the Thick It product on their store shelves, so I simply walked in and purchased it.  Wow!! I tried some in Rebekah's milk this afternoon, but the directions on the package literally turned the milk to glue.  Ugh.  Rebekah took one sip and handed the cup back to me and asked for milk!  :)  So, I put in about half of the recommended amount of thickener, and it worked beautifully! She was able to drink her entire cup of milk at dinner tonight without choking once!!!  Thank you so much, Katherine, for all your help!! It was great to see you today, and we are all excited to see you next week!

 Yep, she's pointing to her first black eye!

Now for the injury.... It's a little hard to see in the picture above, but Rebekah is sporting her first black eye!  She was being such a big girl and helping me carry groceries into the house when she got tripped up and fell on a box of crackers.  Thankfully the corner of the box caught her just under the eye instead of in  her eye!  She cried and willingly held an ice pack on it for about two minutes, then she was off and playing again.  It's definitely going to be purple tomorrow!

The rest of the story will be interspersed with pictures of the kids helping Daddy put the tables together.  Even Rebekah wanted to help "hold" the table legs while Drew put the screws in.  She is such a good helper!!  The younger boys were all holding various pieces of hardware for Daddy, while Zac had his own job taking off the supports that were used in shipping.

Rebekah had a follow-up audiology appointment today.  She generally has follow-ups about every six months, and the last one was in early July, I believe.  I have to say, Rebekah did absolutely fantastic for her appointment today.  She was 100% cooperative, and I couldn't have asked her to try harder than she did.  The audiologist also noted, for the first time ever, that there was no fluid in either of Rebekah's ears, so we were able to get very, very accurate results at this appointment.

Oh, one quick rabbit trail, then I'll get back to the audiology appointment.  I gave the boys hair cuts on Monday, and Zac wanted his hair buzzed really short.  Poor Zac has such incredibly thick hair that I can't blame him.  Anyway, Rebekah realized that it felt fuzzy, so she is constantly asking to rub Zac's head - no joking!!  She is absolutely ecstatic when she is rubbing his hair!  Anyway, she now wants to rub all of her brother's heads, and they almost fight over which head of hair she's going to rub next.  Silly boys!

Okay, so for Rebekah's appointment today, her audiologist wanted to try a different type of testing to see if we could get a more accurate picture of Rebekah's hearing.  Typically they wait until kids are between the ages of three and four to do this type of testing, but Rebekah was being ultra-cooperative today, so the audiologist wanted to give it a try.  In the past, Rebekah and I would sit in the sound booth and sounds would come from different corners of the room.  The audiologist would judge Rebekah's hearing by whether or not she turned her head in the direction of the sound.  So you can see why it is not a clearly accurate type of testing.

Today the audiologist put something like ear buds in Rebekah's ears and was able to speak or play a sound in each specific ear separately.  Then based on whether or not Rebekah responded to the voice or sound, we were able to get a more clear picture of her hearing.

I'm not entirely sure of what the numbers mean, or what they are measuring, but the audiologist told me that a range from 0-15 was normal hearing.  Rebekah scored 10 in her left ear. Yippee!!  Her audiologist also told me that if one ear is stronger than another, the left ear is definitely the best one to be stronger because it has more to do with language.  (I'm sure there is a much more technical reason, but that's the short version that I got!  :)  Rebekah's right ear scored at 30, which is considered mild hearing loss.  The audiologist then did a different type of test with a headband-type thing that fastened behind Rebekah's right ear and measured the vibrations of her inner ear.  It appears that Rebekah's inner ear is working fine, but the middle ear is not sending the sounds all the way through so the inner ear can "hear" them.   The audiologist said that a hearing aide would definitely correct the middle ear dysfunction so that Rebekah can hear clearly in both ears.  I think I mentioned after one of Rebekah's previous audiology appointments that if she needed a hearing aide, it would probably only be through elementary school while listening skills are so vitally important.  We would like for Rebekah to have every opportunity possible to do her very best when she begins school, and even now as she is starting to imitate some of the letters and sounds with her brothers.

So the plan is to have another audiology appointment at the end of March.  We are pretty certain that we got accurate results today, but the audiologist wants to have two similar results before we order a hearing aide for Rebekah.  Assuming that the results in March are similar to the ones we got today, the audiologist will be recommending a hearing aide for Rebekah's right ear.  I'm voting for pink!  :)  If the results in March are better than today, then Rebekah will continue to have follow-up visits for a few more years to monitor her hearing.

I'm not sure why Justin looks so grumpy in this picture.  I think I may have caught him starting to talk.  He was begging to have his picture taken with Rebekah.  You can tell our kids are just so camera-shy!  :)

We are hoping for an uneventful, relaxing weekend around here.  Hopefully no injuries and no emergencies!! :)  Thank you all for your love and prayers!

Nancy

Let's Roll!

We're (almost) ready! Lists have been made, notes have been written, instructions given, and packing is in progress. We are still on target to leave by mid-morning and hopefully arrive in Charleston by mid-afternoon. Please pray for safety as we travel as most of South Carolina is forecast to have rainy, stormy weather for the next two days. Drew and I will be driving separately so that he has the flexibility to return to Greenville to be with the boys as needed.

As far as we know, we will not have internet service at the house we are staying in. So, our updates will be limited to our time in the hospital or Facebook updates. We are not planning to be at the hospital on Wednesday, so our next blog update should be sometime on Thursday.

Thank you for all of your continued prayers and encouragement. To our friends at Beacon Baptist, your love and generosity has overwhelmed us. Thank you seems so inadequate, but we want you to know that we love and appreciate each of you.

Nancy

Blessings!

We have had an amazing week this week, although you may think us a bit crazy when I fill in the details! :) Drew went to work on Monday morning, and in case you haven't heard, he came home an hour later. His employer has decided that he no longer needs Drew's position, so that was it; no warning, no notice, no job.

Of course, the lack of income is a bit disturbing, but other than that, we are choosing to see the blessings in the timing of Drew's lay-off. Drew has been home to watch the boys during some of Rebekah's appointment, and we have been able to keep Rebekah at home more while I have to take care of other chores and errands. This is especially important since we are doing everything we can to keep Rebekah from getting another cold or illness right before surgery!

Yep, I'm cute!

Drew has some job possibilities that he is looking into, so we would appreciate your prayers for the right job and the right timing. It will be a huge relief to both Drew and I that he will not have to be torn between Rebekah and his job next week while we are in Charleston. We know that God has a plan for everything, and we are trusting in His plan. In the meantime, the kids are very much enjoying seeing their Daddy more!

Zac and Rebekah at the park.

A couple of weeks ago, we met some new friends from Zac and Justin's school at the park. The kids had a great time playing together, and I enjoyed visiting with a new friend! The weather was super nice, and it was fun to watch Rebekah interact with her brothers and their friends.

Picnic in the living room!

For a few years now, we have enjoyed "family nights" with the boys on Friday nights. Usually we will play games or watch a movie together. On rare occasions, we fix "munchie" plates of fruits, veggies, crackers, cheese, and whatever else sounds good, and the kids are allowed to eat in the living room while we watch a movie. This was Rebekah's first experience with movie night, and she had fun. She was sampling red grapes, cucumbers and bananas, all diced in small pieces. We have been working on self-feeding with a fork and spoon in occupational therapy, and Rebekah would stab a piece of fruit or veggie (or I would help her get a piece on her fork), and then she would lift her fork to her mouth, take the fruit off with her other hand, and then eat from her hand. It was so cute and so funny!

Yogurt and cheerios....mmm, good!

Rebekah has been working really hard in her stander and walker, and we can see the results! She is much more confident in standing, and occasionally pulling herself up on a piece of furniture. Rebekah still cannot stand without the support of something, but she is much, much stronger than she was a few months ago. In pool therapy last week, Rebekah took three steps from the therapist to me, without holding on to us. It was the first time we have seen her walk without support! We know that Rebekah will not be walking by the time she has surgery next week, but she has gained so much confidence in the last few weeks that we are hoping she will bounce back to standing, and hopefully walking, soon after surgery.

See, I can stand up!

We have been told that Rebekah's stroller will be delivered this week for us to pick up on Wednesday at therapy. I am so hoping that it comes before surgery! MUSC is a very large medical campus, and it would be a huge help to have a stroller that can have on-board oxygen, rather than us having to lug a tank behind the stroller. We are certainly praying that it comes this week! It will also be much more comfortable for Rebekah to get in and out of after surgery.

Yes, I made this mess. I'm a little stinker some days! :)

If you read our last post in which we included specific prayer requests for Rebekah's upcoming surgery, you will understand what an answer to prayer we have seen this week. On Wednesday and again on Sunday, we received an anonymous note with some money tucked inside to help with our gas expenses. Thank you, Anonymous! We appreciate your prayers and encouragement! Also this week, we received a package with gift cards for several restaurants that will take care of our meals for quite a few days. Thank you!! That was a huge blessing! Then on Sunday, we received a very sweet note from some of our friends and they included another gift card and some money to help with expenses. You know who you are, and we thank you very much!! We love you guys as well!! The biggest surprise came on Sunday afternoon by way of a phone call from someone whom we had never met face-to-face. She asked if she could come by to meet us, and we enjoyed visiting for a while. She handed me an envelope when she left, and it contained money that will cover a good deal of our expenses. Thank you so very much!! The Lord has been providing this week in ways that we never would have dreamed possible, and we have been very humbled by it. The love and prayers that we have received is just amazing.

Not even my brothers could get me to smile!

This was the best smile we could get...after dozens of attempts. :)

There is a story behind this little gray outfit. When I was pregnant with Zachary, about this time nine years ago, Drew's mom and I saw this little outfit on clearance at the mall. We didn't yet know if Zachary was a boy or girl, but for some reason, we were all thinking "girl." The outfit was so cute, and Drew's mom decided to get it thinking that we would have a girl at some point who could wear it. Fast forward four boys later, and we finally have our little girl. I had completely forgotten about the outfit, but I'm glad Grammy remembered! It is so cute!

Rebekah loves playing with her tongue!

Front: Justin, Rebekah, and Aaron

Back: Zachary and Caleb

After many attempts over the last few months, this is the best picture we have ever gotten of all of the kids together. Our boys just adore their baby sister, and I know they are going to miss her while we are in Charleston. Please continue to keep us all in your prayers over the next few weeks.

Nancy

Friday

What a day! When we got to Rebekah's room this morning, we had a very nice surprise - she was no longer on the ventilator! We knew there was a possibility it might be removed this morning, but the doctors really didn't sound too positive about it. So we started the day off on a great note!

Rebekah off the vent and sleeping peacefully.

Sweet baby face

We are thinking Rebekah may have some sensitivity to the tape that is used to tape her lines down. That is why she has such red cheeks and a little sore on her upper lip. It is something that her nurses are aware of and we are watching.

Bekah holding Mommy's finger

Rebekah was a little fussy early this afternoon, so her nurse brought a pacifier and some sugar water. Bekah cannot have any "food" (milk/formula) until after her surgery, but she seemed to like sucking on the pacifier after it had been dipped in the sugar water. She smacked her lips and kept sticking her little tongue out. It was really cute! :)

Rebekah loved her pacifier!

And for the grand finale today, we were able to hold Rebekah for the first time in her little life! The nurses had checked with the doctor earlier in the day but didn't tell us about the possibility just in case the doctor said no. Since Rebekah wasn't on the ventilator and since she lost her arterial line overnight (the IV that was in her left arm), we were able to hold her with only minor adjustments for her equipment. We were a little bummed that she lost the arterial line, but it was great to be able to hold her all afternoon. The doctors will place another line before her heart catherization on Monday.

Daddy waited a long time to hold his little girl!

Mommy was pretty excited to hold Rebekah, too!

All in all, today was probably the best day we have had. We are expecting some more up and down days coming up, especially next week when Rebekah has heart surgery, but we enjoyed today very much!

Nancy

Bekah's Room Part Two

A couple of weeks ago we had a family at church give us a crib for Rebekah.  We are very thankful that the Lord has provided this way for something we just couldn't provide right now. 

The finished job with all the nice blankets

Grammy made for Bekah's crib.   

Mommy and Rebekah are checking out all of Daddy's work.

Her room is slowly being over run with girly colors and things.  The boys and I are going to have to be careful the whole house doesn't get transformed.  

D

Wow!

It is almost unbelievable to me the impact that one little girl has had in our lives before she is even born!! We have heard from friends and strangers alike from almost every part of the country so far, and at least one from outside the U.S. Feel free to leave a comment and let us know where you are! :)

God has also been leading us and providing some direction and answers for some of the very specific prayer requests that we have listed. I haven't posted "answers" yet because there are still some variables, but I wanted to at least give a little bit of an update.  Drew has an interview scheduled for this Thursday at 9:30, and we are praying for very clear direction as far as his job situation. Some of you may not know this, but Drew has not had a permanent, steady job since April of last year. Due to the lack of steady work and our own financial insecurity, our pregnancy was not at all planned. But God knew, and we know that He has a plan for our lives. Please join us in praying about the interview and that we will be sure of what the Lord's will is in this situation.

Also, we have found a little more information about the Ronald McDonald House (RMH). They provide housing that would accommodate our entire family (Drew and I and the boys) if we wanted to have them with us for a weekend or a few days, so that is a huge relief to know that we would have a place for them when we are able to bring them down. Also, the RMH is just a block and a half from the entrance of the Children's Hospital. As it looks right now, if we are able to stay at the RMH, we would not have a transportation problem, and we would not need to have an additional vehicle in Charleston. That would be a definite answer to prayer as an additional vehicle would be more costly than the two we already have (obviously!). We will know more about availability and have more specific questions answered when we go to Charleston for our meeting with the doctors there in May, but we were very encouraged to see some possible answers to prayer regarding our housing and vehicle situation in Charleston.

I received a couple of email updates today from Angie, Andrew's mom. Andrew was scheduled to be released from the hospital today, but developed some complications in the night. Thankfully, they were still at the hospital and not already at home. The doctors had to place another chest tube in a procedure this afternoon to drain fluid from his chest. The last I have heard from Angie is that Andrew should be resting more comfortably once the fluid drains off, and the doctors will watch him carefully through the night. Please continue to pray for Andrew, Angie and the rest of their family! If there is one thing that I have really learned from talking (blogging, emailing) with moms of other Truncus babies is to expect the unexpected!

We will be meeting with Rebekah's cardiologist tomorrow afternoon, and we are praying for a good report - good growth, normal amniotic fluid levels, and no further heart defects or complications. We will be sure to update tomorrow evening with the latest news and maybe some new pictures!! :)

Nancy

Andrew's Surgery Update

I received an update from Andrew's mom, Angie, a little while ago, and Andrew made it safely through surgery (his first surgery to replace his outgrown conduit) with no complications! This is a huge blessing, and his family is very grateful right now. Please continue to pray that he recovers quickly and is able to be home soon! This is the same surgery that Rebekah will need when she outgrows her conduit, so it's encouraging to us to hear of a great outcome for Andrew! 

Please continue to be in prayer for our next meeting with the cardiologist on April 14. As Rebekah grows, it will be possible for the doctors to see more of her heart and be able to tell whether or not there are any other visible defects. Obviously, we hope that there are no other defects, but if there are, it would be nice to know about them so we don't have any major surprises at her delivery!

And we received a nice blessing today. Some sweet friends of ours sent a card in the mail with some money to be used towards our expenses with Rebekah. We are so thankful for all of our friends who have supported us in prayer and other ways!! God bless!

Nancy