Past Due Updates

Some of you already know about Brady's Pulmonary Functions Test, but for those of you who dont here is and update.

Brady has his PFT on February 24th. He had to be put to sleep for the test. I got to stay with him and rock him while he fell asleep. I loved being there with him but the lifeless feeling he got once the medicine took over placed very heavy weights on my heart.

The way the test is done is they place the baby in this little box and wrap a vest around them. The vest then makes the baby breathe when its wants the baby to breathe since you cant tell the baby when to inhale and exhale. They measure him in the box with out a lid and then during the test they close the lid and begin measuring that way. After a while they give a bronchodilator and see how the breathing responses to that. Once the test is over the baby is taken to recovery where they have to stay until they are semi-normal again.

The test took about and hour and half so Jesse, Jaren, and I went and grabbed lunch in the cafeteria and then Jesse and Jaren went back to the car to watch DVDs while I waited for them to call me to go to recovery.

When I got to go see Brady he was limp still but awake. He gave me a smile and I knew once the medicine wore off a little he would be fine. We were only in Phase I recovery for about half and hour and then they moved us to phase II. In phase II they had to give Brady a blow by because his oxygen kept dropping. He finally started bringing it up on his own, but he was so comfortable that he fell back asleep and they wouldn't let us leave until he was awake. We ended up being in recovery from 1145 until 315. It was a long day....

When I talked to the Pulomonologist who did the PFT he said that the test showed a mild defect and also a blockage in the small airways. When I talked to Bradys Pulmonologsit, she told me that the mild defect is that Bradys lungs are smaller than they are supposed to be because of the hernia that he had. The blockage actually responded to the bronchodilator that they gave him and he is on Pulmicort which is better than what they gave during the test so they think it will help with the blockage.

Right now we have to wait until the cardiac MRI to see what it shows before the pulmonologsit takes any more steps for tests or anything, so I'm anxious to see what it says. We go to that on the 22nd of March. He also has to be put to sleep for this as well. So please be praying for him as he goes through this.

Right now he is doing great. Hes rolling everywhere, trying to crawl, sitting up, playing with Jaren, and has developed a personality like no other. I love watching him and Jaren play together. They are soooo fun.

On Jaren--hes definitely going through a growth spurt. Why do I know this?!?! When he hits growth spurts hes very whiny at times and super clingy. His body aches and he lets us know by whining and it feels good to just cling to his Dad or me. He also gets very clumsy when he grows. Its funny I know, but the kid falls down about 50 times a day just tripping over his own feet while hes walking.

Hes getting so smart. He wakes up everyday wanting to learn something new or teach me something. He's always teaching me something, that's for sure.

I'm going to try to put some new pictures on here for everyone, but I'm not making any promises. I'm surprised I had time to sit down and type this. But I love you all and thank for you the prayers and for keeping up with everything going on with the Davis' right now.

If you made it through this post--God Bless you because I know now it was a rambling one =)

Brady Update #2

Monday February 15, 2010: We drove up to Pennsylvania for Brady's Cardiology appointment and surgery followup. Brady's first appointment was actually at a remote office of the hospital because that was the only appointment they had available the same day as his surgery followup. When we got to the office they were running an hour behind. GREAT. Our appointment was suuposed to be at 900a and then we'd have the surgery follow up at 1115a at the main hospital. I asked that someone call the main hospital to find out what I should do about the surgery followup and the Surgery department had no problem waiting on me. Thank you God. I did not want to make a 3rd trip to Pittsburgh this week. Anyway, we finally were seen by the ultrasound tech who did Brady's echocardiogram and the whole process took at 45 minutes. Brady did very well with staying still while she did the echo and she was able to get views of everything they wanted to see. After the echo was done, the cardiologist wanted to see us. She told us that Brady has a vein going from his lungs to his heart that concerns them. She doesn't feel that this is causing his problems but it may be contributing to the problems. I don't really understand a whole lot about this 'vein' but I know once the Pulmonologist calls and gives me the results from the echo she will explain it a little better to me. Anyway, we have to have a cardiac MRI done so that they can see where the vein is coming from and where it is going and so on. We do have the MRI scheduled for March 22nd.

After our loooooong cardiology appointment, we headed to the main hospital for our surgery followup. The surgeon said that everything looks fantastic with Brady and that he would like to see him back in three months. The 'dipping' Brady has in his chest when he breathes could very much be a part of the surgery because they had to sew his diaphragm to his abdominal wall, and it may correct its self as he grows. If it wouldn't correct itself or would be something to cause serious issues then it would need to be fixed, but not until adolescence.

Overall I am INCREDIBLY satisfied with the treatment we are receiving through UPMC Children's Hospital. Every specialist we have seen so far is WONDERFUL. God truly has had his hand on this situation the entire time and I just Praise him for leading us to Pittsburgh.

Today Brady had his 6 month well check up. FINALLY! He is 26 inches long and 16lbs 11oz. At 5 months he was 16lbs 14oz so this is why we are doing weight checks on him right now. Good news is...he hasn't lost any weight since last week so we're ahead of ourselves! YAY!

I don't really have a whole lot of other news right now. Jaren is growing way to fast! He is basically a mini Jesse! The way he laughs, the little looks he gives me out of the corner of his eye, the way he says I love you with just a hug. HE IS HIS FATHER!!
He's using the potty faithfully before he gets in the bathtub so I believe this is a HUGE start. Its definitely a process, but we've started and I'm happy.

Anyway, I'll try to update on everyday life again soon. But for right now, I have 2 tests to take, a breathing treatment to give to Brady, laundry to fold so it doesn't wrinkle in the dryer, and a date with my pillow. I love you all!

Brady Update....

Well...after one disappointing appointment with a Pulmonologist here in WV, we asked our pediatrician to refer us to the Children's Hospital where Brady has his surgery.

We drove up to Pittsburgh this morning and my first impressions of the nurse and doctor in the pulmonology department was WONDERFUL.

After all the questions and checks several times here is what we found out.....

The surgeons notes state that they are 99.9% sure that Brady's hernia was congenital and therefore anything that could possibly be wrong from a baby being born with a diaphragmatic hernia they are checking.

It is almost a definite that he has bronchial malaysia (one of his bronchial tubes is 'floppy' or collapses as he breathes)

He has to have an echocardiogram to check for pulmonary hypertension. I don't know too much about this yet, but its not quite like an adult having hypertension, but the 'stress' from his heart could cause lung problems.

With the likelyhood that the hernia was congenital, they are going to do an infant pulmonary functions test to check the airflow through his airways as well as if one of his lungs is working harder than another and try to determine if possibly one of them developed differently.

If the infant PFT doesnt show everything they want, he will have to have a scope done, he will be put to sleep and then they will go through his nose.

In the last 3 weeks he has fallen from the 50 percentile to the 25 percentile so we have to do weight checks weekly.

His nebulizer medication has been changed to a steroid medication to help heal anything (cold etc.) that he could have in there contributing to the trouble he is having.

Monday we have the echocardiogram and his follow up from surgery as well, so I will definitely have more update on Monday.

Right now that is everything I can think of, but thank you everyone for your prayers and thoughts along the way. I'll update again soon.

Brady's Surgery

Boy, it sure has been a while since I've been here, and a lot has happened in the Davis household since. I'll update again soon but for now I wanted to update you all on Brady. First, thank you all for praying us through this. God is the reason we made it through.

For about 2 months now, we have been battling what we thought were reoccurring upper respiratory infections with Brady. They've been annoying for him and a heartache for me. No matter how strong the antibiotic he just never seemed to get better. Sunday night the 17th, he was coughing so hard in his sleep, that he vomited. It scared me crazy because he still sleeps on his back and he stayed asleep while and after he vomited. Immediately Monday morning I called the pediatrician to see if they could see him and thankfully they could. We went in and he decided to do xrays just to make sure Brady didn't have pneumonia. After taking the xrays he came back and said they found something funny on the xrays. They couldn't tell if it was early pneumonia or something near his lung. They sent for a wet read of the xrays and the radiologist sent back the note 'early pneumonia? diaphragmatic hernia?' So they couldn't tell. Dr. B sent us to a pediatric radiologist to have more xrays done. After they were finished, the radiologist came out and wouldn't even look me in the eye, she just said..'I'm going to get your doctor on the phone.' CRAP!!!! Once I talked to Dr. B he said that Brady did in fact have the hernia and that it would require surgery as soon as they could do it, if it wasn't emergent. (Diaphragmatic Hernia-Brady's bowels had come through a tear in his diaphragm and was pressing against his left lung...aka what they think is causing the respiratory infection symptoms) The pediatric surgeon was out of town at our hospital here (Ruby Memorial) so after 6 hours in the ER we were sent to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Brady and I went by ambulance and they did xrays and CT scans there. My boy baby and all of the radiation this kid has received in that 16 hour period :( Anyway, the surgeon said it wasn't an emergency, but it could turn that way VERY quickly. He gave us all the signs to watch for and told us they would schedule surgery for that week. Finally we found out surgery would be Thursday. When we got up to the Children's Hospital for surgery, we were told that not only was his bowels through the hole, but also his liver.

Anyway, Surgery went amazingly well on Brady's end. Jesse and I were nervous as we could be. But we knew we had amazing prayer warriors praying us through the entire thing, and Brady was wrapped in the strong arms of our Lord. We got to come home Saturday evening and Brady has been doing great. He still has the cough, but we don't know right now if its from the breathing tube or if the hernia is not what was causing it. If it doesn't go away by Thursday we will be seeing the pediatrician and more than likely heading to a pulmonologist. Will you please pray for us?

Right now, Brady is doing wonderful. He's eating great, sleeping the best he's ever slept and is back to his normal self. I'll be sure to update everyone after Thursday. We also have to go back to Pittsburgh in 3 weeks for a recheck of the procedure for Brady so Ill update you all then!

I love you all!

Its the little simple things...

Yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment, and Jesse has a few comp days saved up from all the traveling he has been doing, so he decided to take the day off. My appointment was until late afternoon, so we got to spend the whole day together with the boys! Our morning started by not getting woke up until 9! WHOA! THAT IS MAJOR SLEEPING IN FOR THIS HOUSE!

Anyway, my sister went with me to the doctor and Jesse stayed home with the boys! My sister and I went to lunch and then went to my doctor appointment. Afterwards we went and got our hair trimmed and then came home.

When I got home, Jesse kept insisting that I go into the bedroom and change into my comfy clothes, so finally I was like OKAY! I'll go change!!!

So I went into the bedroom to find these lying on the bed....

A beautiful card handcrafted by all my boys

and a beautiful picture drawn especially for me by Jaren Robert.

Here is the inside of the card, that all of the boys signed :)

The inside of the card read...

We hope you feel better, and want you to know how much we love you
and thank you for always taking care of us.
For always being strong and doing what is needed.
You are the greatest and we would fall apart without you.
We love you and wish you enough

Dadda, Jaren, and Brady

It really is just a simple little something like this that reminds me of my purpose and how much I truly am loved and needed.

'The Great Pumpkin Rescue'

((needed a little change. new title--new layout))

Fall is in the air ladies and gents. The leaves are slowly changing. The morning air smells different. WalMart had a great deal on their larger jar candles, and I bought a pumpkin pie scented one.

Last night, Jaren and I ventured out to WalMart to pick up some things for dinner, when I realized, Jaren doesn't know what a pumpkin is. He has never touched one or anything. WalMart had them on sale $0.78 lb. We walked up to the box and I picked out a small pumpkin and handed it to Jaren. He said orange ball. I told him no baby, that's a pumpkin. 'PUMPKIN?' He asked with a smile on his face... "yes baby, a pumpkin". He was so excited. Anytime we got close enough to someone he would hold up the pumpkin and confidently tell them what it was.

When we got home, I got him out of the car and handed him his pumpkin to carry inside. I walked around to the other side of the car to get the groceries out and Jaren followed me. As I was getting all the bags out of the car, Jaren saw something in the car floor that he wanted and sat his pumpkin down. A few seconds later I heard him say uh oh. The pumpkin was gone. We ran around to the other side of the car and I didn't see it. So I got down on all fours and looked under the car. I didn't think there was ANY WAY that it could have rolled all the way under the car. I turned around and I see the pumpkin had rolled down the hill and right in front of our eyes, it jumps the ditch, rolls across 119 (the highway where we live), under the guardrail and disappeared. Jaren screamed PUMPKIN in the most horrifying, traumatized voice EVER! I was heartbroken for him :(

We came inside the house and he was still crying and screaming for the long lost pumpkin. But of course Daddy came to the rescue. We all walked down to the end of the drive way and Jaren and I patiently waited as Jesse ran across the road and jumped the guardrail. He couldn't find the pumpkin at first and I told him it only cost $1.70 so he didn't need to worry about it, I would find Jaren another one. But he insisted. He walked a little ways along the guardrail and then I saw him go down over the hill. When he popped his head back up, he was holding the pumpkin. Jaren smiled so big and started screaming pumpkin again. He was so excited!!

If I got to give an award Jesse would get Daddy of the year for simply rescuing the pumpkin. It's the simple things right?!?!
Jaren with his prize winning pumpkin :)

BOGUS!!!!

Yep! I just used the word BOGUS, because that is exactly how I feel about ReliOn thermometers right now!

Before I left the hospital after having Brady, our pediatrician told us to by a temple thermometer for taking the boys temperature because it was quicker and easier than rectally. We found an awesome steal of a ReliOn Temple Thermometer for $9.96 at WalMart.
We thought it was so great, we'd be able to take the boys temperature within a few seconds and wouldn't have to worry about getting pooped on or making them uncomfortable. WELLL.....yesterday, Jaren was acting like he didn't feel very well, and he seemed a little warm when he got up from his nap. I took his temperature using the device shown above and the temperature read 98 degrees. I didn't believe it, just to be sure I went ahead and took the rectal and it read 102. WOW HUGE DIFFERENCE RIGHT? I went ahead and tried the temple again and it read 97. Its not even consistent. There is a life time warranty on the thing, so I went ahead and wrote the company because I think that there are probably some Mommas out there that would take the temperature and then not give it a second thought.

It's been almost 24 hours that Jaren's temperature has fluctuated between 99.8 and 102. I am going to take him with me to Brady's 2 month well baby checkup tomorrow and have Dr. Bowlin give him a once over because alot of my friends are suggesting possible ear infection, because he's got symptoms like their children have had. I've never dealt with an ear infection before so I chalked it up to teething :( Definitely not getting Mom of the year award.... :( I feel awful that I let it go without thinking about it. But once he sees Dr. B tomorrow I know he'll be feeling much better.

Anyway, I had some talked about plans of going to visit Lacy and the girls this week as well as Heidi and her little chickies, but I think we'll have to postpone all that until Jaren is feeling better!

I hope everyone is having a great Thursday. Jesse was requested to stay all day tomorrow to work the Black Caucus, so he won't be home until Saturday now.

LOVE YOU ALL!