Updates

It's been quite some time since I blogged, but I'm hoping to grab a few minutes to update right now.


LINCOLN

We were shocked to find out that Lincoln has a congenital heart defect. We took him to the cardiologist in Louisville for an echo as a precaution due to our history and because the nurses in the hospital nursery noticed an irregular heartbeat. The cardiologist heard a murmur and then did the echo. Lincoln has a small to moderate ASD (hole between the upper chambers). It is not a major defect by any means, but it was certainly not the news we expected. And it was very hard to hear it after what we've been through. The cardiologist took us into his office to talk to us about it, and I could tell he really hated to give us anything but good news. We know all too well that any heart defect in a child is a serious matter, so I have to admit I left the doc's office in tears. But we are very hopeful that Lincoln will never need surgery for his ASD. Unless he's showing any signs of congestive heart failure, we do not need to go back to the cardiologist until he is 6 months old. At that time, they will do another echo to see if the defect has changed.

Lincoln is doing well. He's a very sleepy baby...already sleeping through the night! That is amazing to me since McKenna and Olivia didn't do that until they were 12 mos. old. Lincoln is a very happy baby with tons of smiles for everyone. He had some trouble with slow weight gain in his first month (maybe due to his heart?), but he's gaining well now and is around the 50th percentile for weight. He often reminds me of Gabby, as he has some of her features. The girls are so in love with him and enjoy playing with him and getting him to smile. Little "Linky" is very special to them for so many reasons.



MCKENNA

After a long wait and a thorough evaluation by a child psychiarist, we finally got an official diagnosis for the issues McKenna has been having. She has been diagnosed with "Anxiety Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified...with compulsive tendencies." When she was younger, she was diagnosed with ADHD and sensory processing disorder. We suspected there was more going on, but it took a long time to get the evaluation arranged and completed. The doctor said she sees lots of symptoms of Asperger syndrome in McKenna as well as OCD, but she does not feel these symptoms affect McKenna severely enough to warrant a diagnosis of those conditions. However, the doctor is very conservative and I am not sure I agree with her completely based on the research I've done. But the important thing is that the doc sees the issues McKenna has and what an impact they have on our entire family, and she has suggestions for helping McKenna both at school and at home. She recommended regular therapy, so I am going to do my best to figure out how to make that happen. She also recommended talking to our pediatrician about a natural supplement that might help McKenna get to sleep at night. It often takes her over an hour to fall asleep, even if she's had a very active day. Her anxieties get the better of her, and her body just cannot relax. The doc also addressed McKenna's extremely high IQ scores and suggested we look into enrichment activities outside of school in addition to the gifted/talented programs the school offers. We may at some point pursue a more thorough evaluation in Louisville, but for now I am glad that we know more about what is going on with McKenna and how to help her.



ME

I was finally able to see an orthopedist about my pelvic issues. I had an x-ray done and was diagnosed with Symphysis Pubis Diastasis. It is the most severe and permanent form of Pubic Symphysis Dysfunction (not uncommon in pregnancy). I have had some degree of problematic pelvic separation in all my pregnancies. Usually the pain improves after delivery. This time, it just hasn't. The bones are very much out of alignment and that is why I sometimes struggle just to walk down the hallway. Sometimes it "locks" up and I literally cannot take a step no matter how much I want to. Sometimes I cannot get to Lincoln when he is crying, and he has to wait on me to waddle down the hallway at a snail's pace. The doc says there is a surgery that can be done, but it involves metal plates and pins and a lengthy amount of time on full bed rest. And the surgery has not been shown to be very successful. I simply cannot give up my mobility for several weeks or months. I have a family to care for! Jason cannot take off work that long either, so surgery isn't an option. I asked the doc about physical therapy, and he said it would not be useful in this situation. But I have done enough research to know that some people have some improvement with chiropractic, so I hope to be able to give that a try. I am praying that SOMETHING will work. I need to be able to take care of my children and home. I cannot do a very good job of that if I cannot walk and lift things. I know I have so much to be thankful for, but I have my days when I am just so tired of being in pain. I just want to remember what it's like to be able to take steps without hurting...to go grocery shopping....to take a long walk....to clean my house from top to bottom....to lift my baby without being in pain....to get out of bed in the mornings without having to wait on my bones to unlock...to drive without it making the pain worse....to be able to keep up with my children when they are walking across the soccer field. There are just so many things I cannot do because of my pelvic issues, and I want so badly to change that! I am too young for this!



TORNADO

The recent tornado in Lincoln County took off a large portion of our roof shingles. We were home when it happened, and it sounded like the roof was going to be ripped off the house. We ended up with water in the attic and some damage to our walls and ceilings. The entire roof had to be replaced. After 5 days of workers being here, it is finally done. This week, hopefully, we'll get painting and drywall work done. It's going to be crazy for a while, but we'll manage. We're just thankful we all survived the tornado and that the damage wasn't worse.