Seven Wonders of My Life

One:  I'm pretty sure that Wylie has started teething.  The drooling is out of control, and he seems to be running a very mild fever.  His cheeks are bright red and he's very restless.  Plus, I thought that he was going to crack through my thumb joint while gnawing on it on the plane ride home from FL.  Poor little guy.  I gave him a little Tylenol yesterday because he hadn't had a good nap and he finally slept for like 3 hours.  Same story today.  Plus, I smoothed my finger around his bottom gum to check it out and it feels like that telltall bump has started to cut through.  Poor baby.

Two: The camera charger arrived and it works!  So, you all can expect more pictures!

Three: Florida was very nice.  We had awesome weather on Sunday and we actually spent some time down by the pool.  I got a little bit of color even!  Wylie hung out in his stroller and Christina and I actually went in the hottub.  It was very nice.  But the real reason for our little trip was to visit my grandmother.  I don't remember if I actually wrote about it, but she broke her hip at the beginning of February and had to have a partial hip replacement.  The ironic thing is that she broke her hip after leaving her pre-op appointment for her glaucoma surgery.  So the glaucoma surgery was postponed.  The partial hip replacement went well and she spent some time in a rehab hospital but is now home.  She has excellent mobility and is able to walk well through their trailer without the use of a walking aid.  She said the only time she uses a walking aid is outside because of the uneven ground surface.  The visiting physical therapist has her outside and walking up and down their block with him and he is just amazed at how well she is doing.  She is able to go up and down their (three) stairs into the trailer without issue and can get in and out of the car easily as well.  She needs help in the bathroom as they don't have a raised toilet seat, but as far as I'm concerned, that's a pretty moot point, in comparison!  However, from the hip surgery, she does have a UTI.  She still very confused, and I understand that this is a symptom of a UTI in older adults.  I don't think it's terribly serious, as she is aware that she is confused.  There also doesn't seem to be any real problem with her memory.  She also knew who Christy, uncle Larry, Wylie and I were, so it's not like the confusion is real effusive, but it is disconcerting to hear that she doesn't know where the bathroom is in their one-bedroom trailer.  Her arm strength is also terrible; it was kind of heartbreaking to hear her say that she really wanted to hold Wylie but didn't trust her strength.  So my uncle Larry, cousin Christy, grandpa, and I all took turns holding him by her so she could feel like she was holding him without the worry of having to control his squirming.  But we continue to keep our hopes up.

Four: We are currently hoping to be able to go back and visit Chad's parents before he has to leave at the end of March.  We were checking out airfare prices today and it looks like it might be about $600 round-trip.  But everything is still up in the air, so who knows.

Five: Chad's dad is currently undergoing testing to determine the cause of a seizure he had while snowmobiling with some friends and spreading his father's ashes.  The doctor thinks it might be neurological instead of diabetic, so Chad has been pretty worried about that.  The tests were to have been done this past weekend, so we're still awaiting results.  The doctor did caution that sometimes they aren't able to determine the cause, but still, that's a scary thing.  We've talked about it, and Chad and I are pretty confident that the doctor is going to tell him it's time to take better care of himself.  Which is the truth.

Six: In Florida, we hit the flea market and I scored an awesome pair of "designer" sunglasses (knockoff Coco Chanel) and a set of queen-sized sheets with an extra set of pillow cases for $20.  The big part of that deal?  They're 1200 threadcount!!!  Super soft.  They're in the wash right now and I can hardly wait to slip between the sheets!

Seven: I don't know if I've had some kind of deficiency or what, but I have totally been craving comfort food lately.  Hence, I've been making meatloaf with brown gravy, pierogi, soups, and beef stew.  I've also been eating a ton of cornbread (from the Safeway - it's amazing.  You must try it!).  And Mom, if you're reading this, I know you never made those foods, or if you did, I didn't like them, but they're what I'm craving.  And they are SOOOO GOOD!!  (And if you want the recipes, aside from the peirogi which is store-bought, you can get them in the cookbook my cousins are selling in order to raise money to walk in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day this fall in Detroit, MI.  If you're interested, email my cousin at CKleymeer AT gmail.com (formatted to avoid auto spammers) to pre-order ASAP because the orders are due by this weekend....)

I Wish an Apple a Day Kept the Doctor Away

So last Thursday, Chad and I took Wylie to see the pediatric surgeon.  The CCAM is still present in the lung, and it is in the central portion of the chest, rather than sitting on the outside right under the ribs.  At this point, the surgeon has requested an x-ray at 6 months and then surgery sometime around a year of age. The surgery will most likely consist of a small incision between the ribs and removing the cyst via that incision.  The location of the cyst will make the surgery more tricky, but he said that it should go very well.

So, that's the update on the health situation.  Wylie does have a Well Baby check on March 4, so there will be more baby goodness to come.  :)

And, I got a new camera this weekend!  Except it came with the wrong battery charger, so I'm waiting for the correct one to come in the mail.  Grr.

This Thursday, Wylie and I will be leaving for Florida to go visit my grandmother.  Mind you, I called my grandfather and told him the evening I purchased my ticket that we would be coming.  But apparently, my grandmother didn't remember that we were coming.  Yikes.  Should be interesting...

Why Is Everyone Scared of a Little Snow?

Well, the baby is sleeping, and apparently, he's decided on a nice, long nap.  Which is great, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't expecting him to sleep for more than, say, 30 minutes!  I made my phone calls to tricare, which were useless as they were for making appointments and their appointment-making line is down.  I need to schedule an appointment for myself and Wylie's Well Baby exam, so yeah.  I guess I have to wait until tomorrow.  Other than that, I'm kind of at a loss since he's sleeping so long.

On a different note, it started snowing here yesterday and is still snowing.  I just talked to Chad, who is driving home, and he said that the weather is really bad.  That means he might have a snow day tomorrow! Yay!  But that would be absolutely awful if post is closed because I'm supposed to be picking up the CD of Wylie's CT scan images tomorrow.  God knows those lazy civilians won't be trekking into post to work because of a little fluffy, white stuff.  They better get that CD made before Thursday because our consultation appointment with the pediatric surgeon is Thursday at 1.  Oh well, time well tell, I guess.  I'll post after our appointment and update then.

Another Day, Another Doctor...

Sigh.  We got the referral sheet in the mail today from TriCare, so tomorrow morning I can call the pediatric surgeon for the consult appointment.  It also means that tomorrow, I need to haul myself down to Evans Army Community Hospital and fill out paperwork to have a CD of Wylie's CT Scan images made to bring to the surgeon's office with us.

I can't tell you how excited I am by that prospect because most of the people who work at that damn hospital seem to relish just phoning it in.  Those people are awful - they take their damn time doing anything so it's going to be GREAT going there tomorrow and waiting for them to make the damn CD.  Will update as we know more...

Be Careful What You Wish For...

Because I spent a lot of time wishing that the doctor would hurry up and call with the CT scan results.  But let me backtrack for a moment...

We finally got the CT scheduled for last Friday.  The first time, Wylie was SUPER pissed that his legs were weighted down and that I had to hold his arms above his head, so he screamed the whole time and they couldn't get a clear scan.  The doctor suggested that we could wait around until he fell asleep or we could schedule another appointment.  Well, he was looking pretty tired, so I agreed to wait.  I put him back in his stroller and we walked over to the vending machines so I could get a snack, because it was after lunchtime and I hadn't eaten yet.  By the time we got back to radiology and I'd finished my snack, he was asleep.  They turned down the lights and we got him back on the table.  He even raised his arms up all on his own!

So meanwhile, I've been waiting with baited breath for the doc to call with the results.  And the verdict is: the CCAM is still there.  Which means he will have to have surgery.  The next step is waiting for TriCare to approve the referral to the pediatric surgeon.  I will update as we learn more.