The New Adventure

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Delayed Updates are Good for You!

Yeah, yeah...I know how long it has been since I updated the blog. I blame Comcast, but that's a big, long story that I really don't want to get into again tonight. Instead, let's tell you what all has been going on over the last few weeks with us and the girls.

The weekend after the last update, we travelled up to Maryville to visit with the grandparents and help them pack up the house so they could move at the end of the month. Here's a short video of the girls helping out as much as they could.

video

So, McKenzie had her follow-up appointment in Birmingham with Dr. Oakes on June 23. We just went down for the day. Long drive back and forth but we ended up getting good news. They did a CT scan which showed that the cyst is still there but it is much smaller and does not appear to be growing at all. So, we've been told that we don't have to come back until next year. Yay! Unfortunately, we were not able to get a copy of the CT scan this time around so we don't have any pictures to post. That reminds me that I called about this a few weeks ago but haven't heard back. Hmmm...

A few days after we got back from Birmingham, our friend Laura was in town from Albuquerque, NM for a week. She invited us to come over with the girls and go swimming. We had been waiting for a few weeks to go swimming at my parent's house but they kept having issues with their pool to where we couldn't ever go swimming. So, to Laura's we went.

The girls seemed to enjoy their time in the pool, for a while. Here's a quick video of Lindsey and Laura taking the girls around the pool. Ignore the goofy hats...

video

We also did some stuff that could potentially be considered child abuse. Somewhere we heard that you blow in a baby's face so that they hold their breath and then you could dunk them. So, we decided to try it out...our kids are going to hate us someday...

video

My family has a lot of birthdays in the month of June. A lot...like 10. It's nuts. Unfortunately, the calendar got a little bit more crowded towards the end of the month. My cousin Ryan and his wife Esther had a baby on June 30. His name is Thijs Austin Sharpe. I didn't misspell it or anything. It's Dutch! Thijs is pronounced like "Twice" without the "W"...Tice. With him being born on the 30th, he got his own day all to himself. We already had my brother Michael on the 29th, Lindsey on July 1, and Ryan on July 2. Yay for babies! He's 8 pounds 8 ounces and still looks tiny. I don't remember the girls being that small even though he's a good 3 pounds bigger than McKenzie was at birth.

Back to the doctors, the last check-up showed that both Molly and McKenzie were anemic. Molly was just barely but McKenzie was pretty low. So, we got to give them an iron supplement in their first bottle of the day to hopefully raise the levels. McKenzie had her re-test on July 2. The initial results in the doctor's office showed that her iron levels were actually worse now than they were before. Therefore, McKenzie got to go to the hospital for a more complete lab panel. After a few days, the doctor called us and let us know that their in-office testing is just simply horrible and McKenzie was actually just fine. Gotta love unnecessary testing and treatments...

Next was the 4th of July weekend. The pool at my parent's house was finally ready for swimming so we spent both Friday and Saturday up there swimming a bit. Molly and McKenzie seemed to be a bit more comfortable being in the water. Here's a video of McKenzie splashing and Molly chilling...

video

Michael and Liza took a bunch of good pictures that I'll post in a few days. I figured that the videos will hold you over for now.

Lindsey and I got to have a date night on Friday. The girls spent the night with the grandparents while we went out to dinner and then went to a 10pm movie. Lindsey just about slept through the previews but perked up for the movie. We saw My Sister's Keeper...it's sad. Lindsey was crying like 20 minutes into it. Yikes.

It was nice to sleep in the next morning but we eventually got up and went back to the grandparent's to see the girls. Another day in the pool, some dinner and finally some fireworks. The girls didn't make it to see the fireworks. Maybe next year. The problem was that they went to sleep for an hour or so, we put them in their car seats and drove home. By the time we got home, the girls decided that they'd had a nice little 2 hour nap and now it was time to get up! At midnight!

I don't think so ladies...

Molly went back down pretty easy but McKenzie kept crying and waking her up. McKenzie settled back down after a bit and I think we were all in bed by 1. Whew...

So, that's pretty much it for now. Next week we are all going to Boone, NC with Lindsey's parents for a much needed vacation. We've got a pretty sweet cabin where we're going to hang out for 4 days or so. We've been looking forward to this for a while. Maybe we'll get some good pictures to share in a few weeks. Til then!

Labels: , , , , ,

Monday, June 8, 2009

Updates! Get your Updates here!

Ok, so yeah, it's been a while since I've posted an update. I'm sure nothing at all has happened in the last 3 weeks...

So, that's it. Thanks for checking in with us and we hope to see you again soon!





Ok, so I was told that wasn't a real update and that I had better post a real one or else whatever that means...

So, here's what has been going on. First things first, Molly and McKenzie are now attending a Parent's Morning Out program on Monday's and Wednesday's. It runs from 9:30 to 2PM and gives me an opportunity to use that time to actual focus on real estate stuff. The first time they went I actually got a lot of stuff accomplished. Let's hope that continues.

Speaking of real estate, it seems that a bunch of people are buying and selling houses right now. My in-laws John and Sue have their house under contract, my brother and his wife are looking to buy, and some dear friends of ours just closed on their new home last Friday. So, if you know of anyone who's looking at buying or selling, let me know!

Ok, ad over...

On to more about the girls...McKenzie has a new favorite toy...a Cheez-It box!


Really, it's just a toy when mommy's not home...

Speaking of McKenzie, she had a very scary experience about a week ago. The girls were playing on the floor in the living room. I went up to my office to send a few emails. While I was gone, somebody broke into our house and moved McKenzie from the living room to the kitchen! About 15 feet! Holy moley!

True story cause surely she didn't crawl/roll all that way on her own...

The girls are much more mobile these days. They're also sitting independently fairly well. Here's a picture of the two of them sharing their blocks.


And what sharing usually leads to...


On Thursday, Molly had her follow-up appointment with Dr. Moses concerning her hips. After getting an x-ray and reviewing everything, Dr. Moses thinks that Molly is perfectly normal and doesn't want to see us anymore! Yay! That's one specialist down and only the heart guy to go (and hopefully we'll be done with him by the end of September).

Speaking of doctors, the girls got to finally get their 6-month shots on Thursday as well. A great time was had by all. Bandaids for everyone! Seriously, those shots look huge compared to the girls' tiny legs (ok, compared to McKenzie's legs...sorry Molly...)

McKenzie goes back to Birmingham on June 23 for a follow-up CT scan. Hopefully everything will still look great and we won't have to worry about "next steps" to fix the problem. We were reassured this past week that we made the right choice in going to Birmingham.

Earlier this evening, we went to a Children's Picnic put on by our church at Rivermont Park. The girls seemed to enjoy their time at the park. I'll leave you with a few pictures and a short video...



McKenzie digs Mixed Vegetables with Pasta



Molly eats bibs...no lie...


We kinda dig this swing thing...


Sweet!


video

Alright, that's it! Hope you have a great week and we'll see you again soon!

Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, May 10, 2009

I am horrible...

My goodness, you should see the hate mail I'm getting claiming that I am neglecting this blog by not updating it. Harassment is coming via hurtful comments shouted across the room, emails coming from all directions, posts on Facebook, and even text messages that cost me $0.25 a piece since I don't have a texting plan (hint hint haters...)

Ok, so, what do we do about this? I guess we post an update. Yay...whatever...

This is going to be way picture heavy without much of my witty comments so I hope you all enjoy.

Alright, here we go back in time. Pictures from McKenzie's brain surgery back at the end of April.

This is the night before we left for Birmingham. This is Addie and McKenzie hanging out:


Once we got to Birmingham, Dr. Oakes marked and autographed the incision site for the surgery. Part of that mark is still there even today...


Here we are in the day surgery room. It's about 6:30am and McKenzie is wearing her awesome yellow surgical gown. She still looks pretty happy here...


Here we are post surgery and recovery room. We got to a real room on the floor by 10am or so. Here is mommy and McKenzie resting a bit. We're not so happy now...


A bit later and McKenzie is busy chewing on a duck that one of the nurses gave her before surgery.


This is the day after surgery once we'd been discharged from the hospital. We're in our hotel and obviously McKenzie is suffering the ill effects of the surgery...


And here is Molly. She took the opportunity to learn how to read while we were in Birmingham. Here she is enjoying the Very Hungry Caterpillar.


Shhhh...don't interrupt me...



She had quite the set-up going here. We were rocking like 8 pillows...



Ok, moving on to something entirely new. After we returned from Birmingham, we decided to start the girls on some solid foods. The very beginning is rice cereal. The girls have matching high chairs but look so darn tiny in them.

Lindsey dressed for the occasion. Something that could get dirty if necessary...


One for McKenzie...


We're not really sure we like this...


And one for Molly...


The girls have done pretty well with solids so far. We've added avocado, oatmeal cereal, bananas, and sweet potatoes. McKenzie still doesn't really care for solids but she's getting there. I'll post up a video of the process later...

Last event, Mother's Day 2009!

This was Lindsey's first Mother's Day. We spent the day at church and then with my family. Since we weren't able to get Easter pictures due to Molly's fun attitude, we decided to do some today.

Here's Lindsey with both girls.


And one where Molly isn't eating her wrist...


Individual shots with Molly first...


And now McKenzie...


And finally one with Molly and the best face ever...


Not sure if that's surprise, fear, shock, or what...but it's funny.

So, that's it for now. A bunch of pictures but that's what you've been asking for. We have our six month pediatrician visit in about a week. We'll get updated weights and measurements then and also see about getting some professional pictures taken.

One other fun thing was Lindsey's Mother's Day present. She got a new side-by-side stroller. It's from Baby Jogger and is called the City Mini Double. Anyone who wants to make a contribution towards this purchase is welcome to. It's an awesome stroller and it should last us for several years. I know Lindsey's thrilled to get away from the current Snap and Go bus she's driving.

So, hopefully you are all satisfied with the update. Til next time...

Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

McKenzie's Brain Exploration

McKenzie's cyst fenestration took place this morning way too early. We had to be at the hospital at 5:30, had meetings with anesthesia, nursing, etc, and finally got into surgery about 7:30. The procedure took about 45 minutes. We met with the doctor right after. He told us that they had located the cyst and made a hole in one end of it. The fluid in the cyst was basically stagnant cerebrospinal fluid that was a bright canary yellow instead of the normal crystal clear. The doctor was able to draw a lot of that fluid off through the catheter. He said that when they looked at the cyst again via ultrasound there was a dramatic difference in size.

Dr. Oakes decided not to go back in and poke a hole in the other side of the cyst. Doing so would have required using a larger endoscope which could have cause additional damage to the brain tissue itself. The cyst will continue to drain into the ventricle of the brain where the fluid will be reabsorbed by the body.

The brain itself seemed to react fairly well. The brain tissue that had been pushed aside by the cyst started to fill in the cyst area right after the doctor punched the hole in it. That's a really good sign that the brain should go back to its' normal location without any issues.

We're in a room now where we'll stay overnight for observation. Tomorrow morning, we've got some additional blood work to check for infection as well as a CT scan to see what the cyst did overnight. We'll schedule a follow-up next week hopefully with our pediatrician to get the incision site checked for problems. We'll also schedule another CT scan in about 2 months and again at 1 year to check the cyst. If there is no additional growth, we'll pretty much be done.

We'll be in Birmingham for a few more days just to make sure that there aren't any problems. We appreciate all the support from friends and family over the last few weeks. It's certainly made the trip easier. We'll post pictures once we get home since I forgot the cable for the camera. Til then...


Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

And the date is...

April 22nd. My baby is having brain surgery on April 22nd in Birmingham.

Yay.

We'll be meeting with the doctor on April 21st and doing our pre-admission stuff. As of right now we are the first surgical case for the day so we will have to be there at 5:30am (!) to get ready for surgery. As long as everything, we'll be on our way home on Thursday the 23rd. Sounds like a fun plan doesn't it?

So, let's take a look at why we're doing this. As I said yesterday, McKenzie had an MRI done and that is how they determined that there was indeed a cyst growing in her ventricle. Here's an image from the MRI.



Here we can see McKenzie's brain. The blue line is down the center of the brain. The left and right sides of the brain are supposed to be mirror images of each other. Obviously, one thing is not like the other.

The cyst is on the left side outlined in blue. If you look closely, you can see that it's kind of a grey, fuzzy area. The dark black below the cyst is the normal fluid that is supposed to be in the ventricle. On the right side, you can see the normal sized ventricle.

So, that's what they are going after. We're still working on our plans in terms of travel and stuff but we'll let you know if we need anything. We appreciate the support from our family and friends so far and ask that you continue to think about us and pray for McKenzie as the surgery date gets closer.


Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

If I Only had a Brain...

So it's time for an update of sorts. McKenzie had her doctor's appointment in Birmingham with Dr. Oakes today. We had to wait until she was a few months old so she could handle the anesthesia better since the doctor wanted an MRI of the head.

We spent the night in Birmingham since the MRI was scheduled for 6:30am this morning. Early mornings are fun! So, McKenzie tolerated the lack of feeding much better than Molly would have and had no issues at all with the anesthesia or the MRI itself. We were done and released from the recovery room by 9:30 this morning. Then we went and waited to meet with Dr. Oakes. 

Dr. Oakes showed us the scans. The mass within her ventricle in the brain had gotten quite a bit larger since December. The mass is a fairly large cyst. The doctor is concerned because McKenzie's head circumference is crossing lines on the growth chart. Back in December, she was in the 25th percentile; today, she measured out in the 75th percentile. Not good since the brain is apparently getting bigger at a rate faster than her skull is growing. As a result, things are starting to get squished and pushed around.

So, our options were presented as either we have surgery or we don't. If we don't have surgery and just wait to do something until she's showing some sort of symptoms, we're playing with the danger of permanent brain damage being done. That probably wouldn't be a good thing.

The surgical option is something called a cyst fenestration. It's a endoscopic procedure where the doctor would cut a small hole, drill through the skull, and insert a tiny "telescope". Once inserted, the scope would be pushed down through the brain until they reach the ventricle where the cyst is. They would then punch a hole in the cyst and allow it to drain normally.

It's a fairly simple procedure (simple for brain surgery at least) that would only take 30 - 45 minutes. We'd spend a night in the hospital and then be able to go home the next day as long as there are no complications.

The doctor feels good about this procedure being effective. We are trying to avoid having a shunt installed simply because a shunt is something that will be there forever. The cyst fenestration is effective between 65 and 75% effective to where if we do it, there's a 65 - 75% chance that it will completely solve the problem and we'll never have to do anything else.

That might sound like a bad percentage but I'd rather have a second operation than a shunt replacement every 10 years. The doctor told us that the chances of "serious and permanent" damages as a result of the surgery are about 1 in 35. That's less than 3%.

So, that's the info. It isn't necessarily what we wanted to hear today but it is something we have to deal with. The doctor has told us that this isn't emergent but it is something that we need to handle in the next few weeks to a month. So, it looks like we'll be back in Birmingham before the end of April.

We have to call the doctor tomorrow to schedule the procedure. I'm sure we'll let everyone know what's going on when we know it. Brain surgery isn't something to be taken lightly but we're trying hard to push through it right now.

We'll post more details as we get them. We've got one of the best pediatric neurosurgeon's in the country working with us so we feel confident in our course of action. We ask for your prayers of support as we go through the next month or so...

Til later...

Labels: , ,

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Rocking and Rumbling

Wow...long day.

So, today we got to go to The Children's Hospital in Birmingham, AL for an opinion on McKenzie's cyst. If you will recall, on our 25 week ultrasound, the doctor noticed a cyst forming in McKenzie's brain. We were referred to specialists at the Regional Obstetrics Group for their opinion. Prior to delivery, they called it a porencyphalic cyst. After delivery, a head ultrasound was done and the cyst was classified as an arachnoid cyst. There was no brain tissue involvement seen and we were basically told to wait and see what would happen. Our pediatrician got us a referral to see Dr. Jerry Oakes, a neurosurgeon in Birmingham to get his opinion.

So, we went to Birmingham. It was a lovely day for a drive. Cold, rain, and fog the entire way down and back. We left the house at 7am for a 9am (central time) appointment. My mom came over to keep Molly for the day so we didn't have to worry about 2 kids. She's a great mom cause she brought Hardees biscuits for the road. Yay!

And, we're off...McKenzie seemed to tolerate the driving just fine. I think she slept most of the time. The same could be said of her mother. For those of you not familiar with the route to Birmingham from Chattanooga, it involves about 130 miles of driving on I-59, the best interstate ever created (note the sarcasm...)

Seriously, bad road. It's like the state of Alabama transportation department decided to put in a rumble strip to keep folks awake but instead of putting it on the shoulders, they just put it in the main traffic lanes.

Dear Alabama,

Come to Tennessee and see how to build a decent highway. We don't waste our tax dollars on dumb stuff like healthcare or education. You shouldn't either. We build awesome roads. You should too.

Love,

Tennessee

Yeah, they are that bad. Strangely, the fast lane is much smoother than the slow lane. So, you'd be driving along and run up behind an 18-wheeler and they would refuse to move over to let you pass. I hope passing on the right isn't against the law in Alabama...I guess it isn't until you get caught.

So, we get to the hospital, which is really neat. Unlike TC Thompson, this hospital is a purpose-built children's hospital. It's very nice. So, we find our clinic and we're actually on time (8:40am central time) We meet with a few nurses, a med student, and finally the doctor himself. It's actually kind of funny because he refers to himself in the third person and attempted to answer all of our possible questions before we asked. It was like, he'd be talking and say, "So, Dr. Oakes, in all the patients you've seen with similar issues, what is the likelihood of complications or problems?" And then would go on and answer it.

It was quite funny. Anyway, the diagnosis at this point is unilateral hydrocephalus or unilateral ventricular dilation. Basically, there is some scar tissue that formed within the ventricle of the brain that slowed the flow of cerebral spinal fluid causing the ventricle to expand. Therefore, there is no cyst! Just the enlarged ventricle with some extra fluid on board.

Dr. Oakes wants to get an MRI in 3 to 4 months in order to see the complete structure of the ventricle in detail as well as make sure it isn't getting larger or changing. He doesn't expect there to be any issues going forward. MRI's are usually performed on patients from youngest to oldest beginning at 7am. I think we'll be spending the night in Birmingham before we consider leaving Chattanooga at 4:30am to make the appointment.

So, while in Birmingham, the med student asked if McKenzie was jaundiced. Yeah, maybe a little. So, on the way home, we called Dr. Jeanie to find out what we should do. She suggested that we get a baseline bilirubin level drawn. This meant a trip to TC Thompson before we went home. My limit is 2 hospitals in a single day. Seriously...

So, McKenzie got poked. Prior to that, we decided to treat her to something special so we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. She's killing Molly in accomplishments at the moment: she's up to 3 states visited and a real restaurant! Molly must be mad!

Back to the car ride, Lindsey really tries to be a good traveling companion, really. You know the "head nod" you get when you're trying to stay awake but you close you eyes for a second and all the sudden, it's like your head is trying to commit suicide by jumping off your neck only to be caught at the last second by a violent neck snap? Yeah, saw a lot of that both on the way down and on the way back. 

At one point I asked her why she didn't just lean back and rest against the seat. Her response? She felt guilty about falling asleep...I told her I didn't want to have to take her to the hospital for whiplash so she shouldn't feel guilty about sleeping...even though I couldn't...

So, that's our big day out. It was long but we all survived. I'm looking forward to a restful Wednesday!

Labels: , ,