Charlie's Appointment

Charlie's appointment was yesterday. The orthopedist said that Charlie has congenital kyphosis. This is a condition that could lead to paralysis. By every indication (including what the doctor said as well as what I've found on the Internet), surgery is always the best option. Thankfully, we noticed the problem early and were able to recieve the diagnosis now, since the best time to operate seems to be before the age of five.

Now Charlie has to have an MRI to determine if he should have surgery right away or if we can wait a little while.

I am still kind of stunned, and trying to wrap my mind around the fact that one of my children has a progressive condition that could potentially cause serious medical issues. However, we live in a great place when it comes to medicine - Houston has outstanding doctors and hospitals.

And, yes, I am doing the mom thing: asking myself if I took enough folic acid in the beginning of my pregnancy, or if the medicine I took to stop my labor may have caused this, or did I eat too many brownies . . . even though know that this probably just happened because it did, I still go back in my mind and try to remember.

The above picture was taken of him just after his appointment. He was eating Oreos. :o)

Banana Update

Banana's going to be just fine!

Dr. G was very upset that Banana didn't get better treatment at the ER. Don't get me wrong - everyone at the ER Friday night was very nice. But Dr. G felt they were not in the least bit thorough. He looked in Banana's throat and said that there was our problem - his tonsils were inflamed and full of pus. (Sorry to be so graphic.) He asked if the ER doctors had checked his throat, and was surprised to hear that they had. He said he didn't know how they could have missed that infection.

I love our dr. so much. He really loves the kids, and he doesn't take any crap. I'm not trying to sound ugly here, but sometimes you just need an advocate, and especially when it comes to the health of your kids. I used to be kind-of timid when it came to my kids' health care. After all, I'm not a doctor. I know how to use Tylenol, and that's about it. But the older I've gotten, and the more children I've had, the more vocal I've gotten when it comes to the kids' health care. So I was not in the least hesitant to insist that the ER doctors call Dr. G Friday night, even though I could tell they didn't want to. And I know how much pressure those ER doctors have to be under, with the volume of children that are seen there each day. Still . . . my child deserves the very best treatment as well. I don't go to the ER just for the fun of it. I don't mind waiting, just as long as my baby gets the correct diagnosis and treatment.

Woah! So this totally was not meant to be a little soapbox time for me, but that's what it turned in to! Sorry. All that to say, Dr. G gave Banana a good going-over today and said that as severe an infection as he has, not to be surprised if the fever hangs on for another day or two. Thank you all for your prayers! Now we know what the problem is, and Banana just needs a couple more days of antibiotics and TLC.

Very Worried

I'm very worried about my little man, Banana.

This is his sixth day with fever and no explanation. He sees the doctor in about an hour. I had thought for sure the antibiotics would have kicked in by now. Of course my kids have had fever before, but never as high as he's had, and never this many days. He is not sleeping well at night, and when the fever is extreme, he throws up. He's miserable.

Please say a little prayer for my sweetie pie Banana.

Cuddling

I just wish that our camera didn't make all the pictures come out all orangey. I can't wait till Christmas, when we will get a NEW camera! Yay! Orange or not, I thought these were cute:

It Wasn't Really Meant For Him . . .

. . . but I guess if Banana likes the dollhouse that much, he's welcome to play with it!
As things were calming down for the evening (or so I thought!), BW ran into the den saying, "Tari! Get the camera!" I went into the living only to see my son climbing onto the second floor of the Barbie house that the girls got for Christmas.
Please note that not only are these pictures comical, they illustrate how small Banana is for being 15 months old (he's in the fifth percentile for height and weight).