To the Operating Room we go

Monday August 9th is the day -the day after Jeff's birthday and two weeks before school starts - the day Mad gets to have his lump removed and his stomach wrapped around his esophagus! Sounds like a party, right? All we need now is cake and ice cream served in the hospital waiting room. All kidding aside, it is good timing and we are feeling optimistic and ready to get it over and done with.
Maddox and I spent a couple hours at the surgery clinic and I left feeling good about the outcome of this surgery.

Amazing how used to some of this stuff I'm getting. That must be one of the ways Heavenly Father is blessing me - the fact that I am now nearly content to sit in a doctor's office day after day with one or more children, and wait for hours and discuss unpleasant procedures and even be willing to pay big bucks to do it. Ha!

Life is so funny.


Next week Maddox will have a PH Probe study done in preparation for surgery, which will tell us how much he is refluxing. We'll go to the hospital, have an NG tube put up his nose and down to his stomach, and leave it for 18-24. The tube is attached to a box that somehow reads and records what is going on in the stomach and throat. Maddox is going to love it!!


He got a chest X-ray on Thursday and it definitely showed continued lung disease, which is not surprising, but he is sounding so much better since we have increased his steroid/nebulizer treatments. Two weeks ago you could hear him breathing from another room - SO LOUD! He also has needed oxygen much less this week. Hopefully that puts him in a better place to handle surgery and stay out of the ICU...knock on wood.


Here is one of his new tricks.





He's coming along and is just so proud if himself sometimes. He loves it when we clap and cheer and make a big deal out of his great accomplishments. Pretty cute.






Sometimes I am reminded truly what a miracle he is. It is amazing how far he has come and really how well he is doing. I'm so glad that we can look back and see so much progress because there have certainly been times when we weren't sure he was ever going to do things like smile and laugh, roll over or play with toys. Makes me smile to see how happy he is. Love him.