Out of surgery

Macey did well with her surgery. They first did another scope to see what was going on. She had scar tissue from the ventilator that they were able to remove without doing reconstruction. They then put in a stint to keep her airway open and put her on a ventilator so the area can heal. She will be on it for a week and in the hospital for another week afterwards. They will do another scope in a few weeks following the time she goes home. We will have to watch her closely for any signs of breathing trouble. We are relieved she is doing well. She is currently sedated and resting comfortably. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.

In the hospital

Well, it's day 6 in the hospital... for those of you who have not heard, I will update. Last weekend Macey started to make heavy breathing noises while crawling. I kept an eye on her and Monday night into Tuesday, I could hear her breathing pretty much all the time. I made an appointment to see our family doctor on Tuesday and he sent us for x-rays. They said she has pneumonia (which was not the case). Anyway, we were sent home with some antibiotics and breathing treatments. Wednesday came around and things got worse. Her breathing was more labored so I called our doctor and he said to go to the ER and have some blood drawn and check her out. We went back to the hospital where she was in the NICU at just in case she would need to be admitted.

When I got to the ER, she was seen right away. No waiting for the baby who is breathing horribly!!! There was an instant swarm of hospital people around her and they were testing everything possible. She was sent for a chest and neck x-ray then to get a CAT scan. The results showed swelling between the spinal cord and throat. We spent 8 hours in the ER before being admitted at 11:00 that night!!! What a long day! After admitted, she was put on steriods and antibiotics as well as many other breathing treatments to try to reduce the swelling. By friday, her white count had gotten much better but her breathing (although better) still sounded horrible. We spent the weekend waiting a little longer for the swelling to completely go away but there was little change. She had a bronchioscope done Monday which showed two possible reasons for the labored breathing. One looked possibly like a cyst which would be easily removed by laser or cutting it out. The other is much more serious called subglottic stenosis which is a narrowing of the throat below the vocal cords. This damage would have been caused by her being on a ventilator when she was first born. She is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday the 27th at 10:15. They will then do a central line, then another scope to pinpoint the exact problem, then surgery to correct it. If it is a cyst or something else similar, the recovery time will be 3-4 days, but if it is the subglottic stenosis, it will be reconstructive surgery and she will be here for 2 more weeks, the first being on a ventilator and sedated.

All of this is still sinking in and is a lot to handle at this point. We are trying to focus on the end reasult... a happy Macey with no breathing trouble! I will update when I get a chance after the surgery tomorrow. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

My First Birthday!!!

Macey got a birthday cookie this year. As you can see, she enjoyed it completely.

We are going to have a party for her after RSV season is over (sometime in May). We kept her big day pretty low key this year. What a difference a year makes! This time last year, she was just 2 pounds, couldn't breathe or eat on her own and now...just look at her! She went for a eye doctor appointment last week and they said her vision was perfect. It seems like we worry about something and the next day or week, she tells us "Who said preemie??? I'm a big girl and I can do it!" She is such a miracle!! We have been so lucky.

Here are a couple of pictures of Jerry after the blizzard. We got about a foot of snow. Jerry loved it!!

Macey is doing okay. She is getting over a stomach bug that she got at the doctor's office when we went for her one year well visit. That has to be where she got it because we haven't really been out and about (to avoid the germs!!!). Figures. She is otherwise doing good. She weighs almost 17 pounds and is crawling and pulling up on things. She can say da-da. I will also be uploading pictures of her first birthday.

New Pictures, Long Overdue!

Finally! I have been trying to post pictures for two weeks! We have been good. Last month, Jerry went bowling with his class. He had a blast. He scored a 62 (with the bumpers). Not bad for a 4 year old.

You can see, Jerry not only enjoyed Christmas, he enjoyed the packages everyting came in. I was feeding Macey and walked into this mess after she was done. It's hard to believe a mess that was made in 30 seconds took an hour to clean up.

Macey is still getting around. She is getting really good at crawling and will now pull herself all the way up. She constantly follows Jerry around which is adorable. Most of the time he enjoys the attention. This Friday (Feb 2) is the anniversary of my water breaking! Macey's birthday is also just around the corner. It is hard to believe. She has come so far!

Macey is a mover!!

Macey is officially a mover!! She has been crawling since the middle of December and her new favorite thing to do is pull up on things. She hasn't quite gotten good enough to stand so she pulls up on things and sits on her knees. Jerry and Macey had a great time at Christmas. Macey loved all the wrapping paper and bows and has been enjoying all of the gifts she received. Jerry is still talking about Santa Claus and is convinced we have a chimney. He claims it is just small. He also has enjoyed all his new toys, games and books. They have definitely helped pass a few of these rainy days.

My adorable outfit

I have had several people ask about the adorable red and teal outfit. It was from a good friend of mine. She sells the cutest kids clothes. Here is her information if anyone else is interested.

Kelly's Kids Boutique Children's Clothes
Designed to mix - match- coordinate for boys and girls sizes 6mos - 12 years
De Anna Kuzma, Sales Representative #111905
home phone 419-734-5660
becauseilovemychildren@yahoo.com
NOW BOOKING SPRING 2007 PARTIES! Email me for details on the AWESOME hostess incentives!

November

I am so late on this one. The holidays have kept us pretty busy. Macey is doing great. She is starting to crawl! Her motivation was Jerry's homework he cut out for preschool. She went right for the carefully cut out red star that was left on the living room floor. She loves paper! Needless to say, we had to make a replacement. Jerry is doing well and had fun at Thanksgiving and his birthday. He is looking forward to Christmas and a visit from Santa Claus.

A friendly visitor

We had a friendly visitor this afternoon. Mr. Raccoon must have been really hungry because it was broad daylight and he was out snooping around. Thankfully, he came and went as quick as possible. It probably helped that Jerry was making lots of noise. If anyone knows any deterents, let us know. I was going to go out this afternoon and sprinkle some pepper around. I would hate for Tess to meet up with Mr. Raccoon.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!! Peter Pan and Tinkerbell had a fun time this year. We went trick or treating for about half an hour, then Jerry enjoyed handing out candy to the other kids the rest of the time.
Macey is up to 14 lbs. 13 oz. and doing good. We are preparing for lockdown for flu and RSV season.