Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Caroline and Her Ears

Miss Caroline’s ears continue to be a source of discomfort to our little princess. This is even after the events I am writing about now. We are not sure what will be the ultimate source of relief for her…hopefully she will just outgrow the issues altogether!

Caroline had her second set of tubes in August 2011. She began having problems with them almost immediately. She has gone through numerous rounds of Ciprodex drops, a ruptured eardrum, abscesses and more pain than I care to admit. Poor little thing has had constant trouble. She was at the Doctor for her ears in December, February, April, May, July, August and September. At the September visit, Dr. McRae said he thought our best course of action was surgery.

So the following Tuesday Caroline and I left bright and early from Grandmomma and Papa’s house to go get her ear fixed. Backing up a bit, she sure did enjoy her Pre-Op appointment. There are some super nice ladies at Troy Regional. Caroline was actually a little excited. Poor baby was tired of her ear hurting all the time and so was this Momma! We “checked in” and were shown our lovely room. Caroline was given a puppy, a Looney Tunes gown, a warm (and I mean really warm, like fresh out of the dryer) blanket and access to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She was beginning to enjoy herself just a bit! From the race car (I mean hospital bed) ride down to the first floor, the sweet nurse who brought her a hat and “dr.’s mask,” to the folks in recover, we could not have asked for better service. Her nurse even told me to get in Caroline’s bed so that I could hold her while she pushed us to the room.

Sometimes the little things make all the difference. We even saw Nurse Anna. She is such a sweet and special lady!! Caroline was on the 2nd floor. A little over six years ago the 2nd floor was Labor and Delivery. Nurse Anna was my nurse when I was checked into the hospital for a non-stress test and ended up with a baby boy! I was scared and didn’t really understand all that was going on. She is the one who told me I might better call my husband because we were probably going to have a baby. She was calm and kind when I was scared and very nervous. Every time I see her, my heart fills with gratitude and precious memories come to mind.

Dr. McRae said scar tissue had formed to the eardrum which was part of what was causing Caroline’s pain. The current abscess was around the tube and he cleaned that out and removed the tube. We are hoping Caroline is at the end of her journey with ear troubles…unfortunately, she continues to cry with her right ear and complain that it hurts. We will see what Dr. McRae says at her followup...

In the meantime, here are some super adorable pictures (biased, I know):


Hold me 


In her gown and with her bracelets like Daddy's

Warm blankets

Her puppy is wrapped up in her gown

Fred

Her Race Car

She won the race!

Check her out...she is ready now!

Let's make sure we get the right right ear

Being silly picking out prize...before she got sick all over the place

Primping later that evening with some lip gloss the
sweet lady at the Este Lauder counter sent her

David Update

10/24/2012

So I just realized this was still sitting in draft! I will now add that this morning, Austin Kieff commented as we left our home for the first time in almost two months (post on this later!) that he sure hoped that November 2 came fast and the way he wanted it to. I questioned him as to what he was talking about. He let me know real quick that his Daddy goes back to the doctor on November 2 and he will be coming home with no crutches. “He will be almost normal again. I have been waiting on this day forever.” Love this kid.

David had his follow-up appointment on Friday, October 12, 2012. It went far better than we had ever hoped. Dr. Brooks came into the exam room after David’s x-ray was ready and said how proud he was of David’s leg. This has been a recurring theme in our visits. David’s leg apparently was a bit of a twisted mess with lots of bone shards and fragments. He actually still has a very large “butterfly fragment” that was not repaired. Dr. Brooks said he was very pleased with the way the bone was healing and said some almost magical words…”you can begin to put some pressure on it…” Of course there were stipulations like start of at no more than 25 lbs and don’t put any pressure on the leg at all without the boot on. We go back on November 2nd and David will have more x-rays. Dr. Brooks will check and see how the bone is healing and how the introduction of weight has affected David’s leg. Hopefully, there will be no setbacks. David is more than two months ahead of our initial timeline. That is amazing. He has a fabulous physician, but he is in the hands of the Great Physician…

We are so thankful for the prayers of our friends and family. We ask that you continue to pray for healing.



Thursday, October 11, 2012

David Update

David is doing much better than my last post!  I promise I had good intentions of updating along the way, but things have been a little crazy.  Warning:  this post is random and not in order; it may cause confusion when reading, ha! 

David has been back to see Dr. Brooks several times and we will go back again tomorrow.  The visit to remove the staples was ROUGH.  However, I truly believe that having the staples out of his leg lessened his discomfort.  At our last appointment, Dr. Brooks said he was healing great!!  The infection had cleared, the wounds were healing and his range of motion was good...well after Dr. Brooks worked a little magic.  David left with strict instructions to work his ankle. 

David was released to drive a few weeks ago.  I really think this made a big difference for him.  A little independence goes a long way...I also think the men's Bible study at Church has been wonderful for him.  Some of the men are doing Tony Evans' Kingdom Man.  David has really enjoyed the study and the fellowship.

David has done his best to put on a happy face for the kids.  He has attended most practices and every game except for the one immediately after his accident, which just happened to be the first game.  Mr. Dennis and Mrs. Charlene came down for a Saturday visit back in September.  I am not sure who was more excited about the visit...them or David!  They helped transport David to the football game and Austin Kieff sure was proud to have his Daddy there. 

We have been blessed to stay with  my parents since David came home from the hospital.  They have been a great help in caring for him and the kids.  Mom takes Caroline to school each day and brings her home.  Caroline is going to miss this arrangement when things return to normal!!  In fact, Caroline has said on numerous occasions that she is moving in with Grandmomma and Papa for good.  We will just see about that! 

Here are a few pictures from the last month or so: