We hope all of our friends and family have a very Merry Christmas!! May you find peace and joy in 2012!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
EEG and Ear Tube Surgery
We took River to Dell Children's Hospital 2 weeks ago to have an EEG done to find out if he is having absence seizures. ""Electroencephalography (EEG) is the recording of electrical activity along the scalp. EEG measures voltage fluctuations resulting from ionic current flows within the neurons of the brain," according to wikipedia. Prior to the procedure, they told us that River would need to lay still for 1.5 hours while hooked to the electrodes that monitor his brain activity. For those that know River, know that he is extremely active and it is difficult to get him to lay still for 5 minutes much less an hour and a half! We were a bit concerned going in, but knew we would just find a way to make it work and hope for the best. I must say that I was very impressed with the way River handled the procedure. The first part was the most difficult. Daddy sat on the bed with him and helped the nurse hold him still while she applied about 30 electrodes with a gel to his scalp and forehead. It took about 45 minutes just to get him all connected so they could monitor him. It turns out that they only had to monitor his brain activity for 30 minutes, whew!! The 1.5 hours we were quoted on the phone included the time it took just to get all the electrodes connected. That made us feel much better. River actually fell asleep once he was all hooked up which made the 30 minutes fly by. We felt bad having to wake him up when it was all over. He was so strong and such a trooper, as always! We got the results of the EEG a couple of days later and everything came back normal! It was wonderful news. Grandma said it was reason to celebrate and throw a party!
This past week River had surgery to place tubes in his ears. We admitted him the night before because he needed to fast for at least 6 hours before surgery and that is not possible for River. River usually can only make it 30 minutes - 1 hour of fasting before his blood sugar drops below 70. At midnight they started a dextrose IV to keep his blood sugar stable while the turned off his g-tube feeds. His blood sugar stayed stable during and after the switch to IV fluids!! I was worried that River would have trouble sleeping in the hospital but he slept like a log, even through several blood draws to test his blood sugar. Mom and Dad on the other hand, slept on the couch in the room and didn't get much sleep. His surgery was at 7am in the morning and he didn't even cry when the nurses took him away to give him the anesthesia. He is so independent and completely fine without mommy and daddy :( The surgery lasted about 20 minutes and he did great! We got discharged from the hospital later that morning. We had to get discharged from his original room since he was admitted as an inpatient. He has adjusted to the tubes wonderfully and his sinus congestion that he's had for the past couple of weeks is finally clearing up.
We took River up to the mall to see Santa and ride the Choo Choo train. He had so much fun riding the train and rode it all by himself. He even clapped when the ride was over, it was adorable! I posted a little video of the end so you can see the end of his train ride and applause.
This past week River had surgery to place tubes in his ears. We admitted him the night before because he needed to fast for at least 6 hours before surgery and that is not possible for River. River usually can only make it 30 minutes - 1 hour of fasting before his blood sugar drops below 70. At midnight they started a dextrose IV to keep his blood sugar stable while the turned off his g-tube feeds. His blood sugar stayed stable during and after the switch to IV fluids!! I was worried that River would have trouble sleeping in the hospital but he slept like a log, even through several blood draws to test his blood sugar. Mom and Dad on the other hand, slept on the couch in the room and didn't get much sleep. His surgery was at 7am in the morning and he didn't even cry when the nurses took him away to give him the anesthesia. He is so independent and completely fine without mommy and daddy :( The surgery lasted about 20 minutes and he did great! We got discharged from the hospital later that morning. We had to get discharged from his original room since he was admitted as an inpatient. He has adjusted to the tubes wonderfully and his sinus congestion that he's had for the past couple of weeks is finally clearing up.
We took River up to the mall to see Santa and ride the Choo Choo train. He had so much fun riding the train and rode it all by himself. He even clapped when the ride was over, it was adorable! I posted a little video of the end so you can see the end of his train ride and applause.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Upcoming Surgery and Fun at Cabela's
River enjoyed watching daddy play the shooting game
Grandma and my little cowboy
Yee Haw!!
Last weekend, when grandma and grandpa were down for their bi-monthly visit, we took River to Cabela's. Cabela's is one of his favorite places to go. He loves to see the fish and all of the taxidermy animals that fill every inch of the store. Grandma found a really cute cowboy hat, doesn't he look cute???
This post is way overdue and a lot has happened since my last post. We had quite a scare with River about a month ago when he had trouble walking. It was very scary! Every time he tried to walk his legs were very shaky and he would take a couple of steps and fall down. He especially had trouble bending down to pick things up. We took him to the pediatrician and they immediately started drawing tons of blood and running tests to see if he could have an infection in his bones or joints. They referred us to a infectious disease specialist the next day to see if she could help. By the time of the appointment he was getting around much better and his troubles walking and bending down seemed to subside. The infectious disease doctor said that all of his blood work came back normal and didn't show signs of inflammation or infection. She wanted us to follow up with the pediatrician if he started having trouble walking again but by the 3rd day, he was back to normal and running all over the place. The doctors still aren't sure what caused him not to be able to walk. It could have been something as simple as a strained muscle or growing pains. He keeps us on our toes, that is for sure and it had mommy very worried!!
River is doing good this week other than having a cold and ear infection. This was his fourth ear infection in 6 months and the pediatrician decided it was time to visit the ENT and see about getting tubes. We went and saw the ENT and she recommended getting tubes in his ears. So he is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday, December 14th. We have to admit him the night before and get him hooked up to a dextrose IV because he can't fast. The IV will help keep his blood sugar stable before, during, and after the surgery. Usually with healthy kids, this surgery takes about 30 minutes but with River it is a bit of an ordeal. I am worried that he will need a PICC line because of the amount of dextrose he needs may be too much for his veins to handle. River had a PICC line when he was in the NICU which is a central line run directly to his heart through an artery. It is a lot more difficult to put in than an IV and we run a higher risk of infection. Please pray that the IV will be enough and he will not need the PICC!!! I will try to post an update after surgery and let everyone know how he is doing. He is such a little trooper and I am sure he will do just fine.
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