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Noah got home last night – yay! When we tried the new formula for the second time, he did not have any reaction. We were very relieved because it would have been more than difficult to find any acceptable substitution. As it is, the nutritionist said that this is the strangest formula recipe she has ever seen. He is getting a mix of 20 calorie Neocate reconstituted with water, Duocal (which is powdered fat and carbs), and Pedialyte. I’m just glad he doesn’t have to drink it! I am sure it tastes terrible.
Noah’s upper GI was fairly inconclusive. We know he has reflux but it isn’t severe enough to cause his problems (besides, his problems are far more wide-spread than just GI issues) and it didn’t actually show up during the test. There is some reason to suspect that he has a malrotation of his intestines and the upper GI was not able to rule out that possibility. Again, a malrotation might be the cause of SOME of his troubles, but fixing it wouldn’t “fix” Noah. We will do another upper GI with small intestine follow through on an outpatient basis in a while. Noah isn’t showing any signs of any of the complications that a malrotation can cause, so this isn’t an emergency. It is just something to add to his “to be done” list. Please do pray for protection for him. He was up most of the night crying last night and got up with a fever, cough, and stuffy nose. Looks like he did pick up something at the hospital after all. He was checked out by the doctor today and it isn’t anything serious at this point, but you never know with this critter. His tender tummy needs prayer too. When the doctor cauterized the tissue around his G-tube Saturday, she forgot to wipe off the silver nitrate. He has a burn on his tummy larger than his hand. All of the skin is coming off and it hurts him a LOT. Last time he got burned my friend Rebekah Wilson (www.hopechestlegacy.com) showed me a special way to pad and bandage it. This worked like a charm so Sunday I gave the nurses a list of the supplies I would need and I fixed up his tummy. They were all really impressed and asked for more demos. It's good to know that this new (to them) technique might help other babies, but I sure wish that I hadn't had need to show them. Please pray for quick healing for him. I can hardly bear to see him hurting.
Poor Jeff put all of that time and energy into fixing our van, only to have it die again on his way home from visiting us in the hospital. The initial mechanic’s estimate was about $2,000 to fix the first round of problems. Jeff and his friend fixed them for a fraction of that cost. This new set of problems is another $2,000. Most of this stuff was almost surely going on before but was being masked by the other problems. We are just really praying right now for wisdom as to whether to fix the van or replace it. I think that Jeff and The Big Red Van have become very, very close as they have shared so much time lately. I know that strong relationships can be forged very quickly in times of trial, but this whole thing smacks of co-dependence to me. The Big Red Van has to keep creating issues or she will lose Jeff’s time and attention and be stuck carrying me around again to boring places like the grocery store. Jeff can’t bear to say goodbye to The Big Red Van after all that he has invested in their relationship, even though replacing her would seem to make the most sense. Did you guys pick up on his little “Frankenstein” illustration in his post the other day? Do you get the sense that he has invested a significant chunk of his, ummm, ego in this van? Smells kinda fishy to me . . . . . maybe Jeff and The Big Red Van should think about counseling. (In case you are wondering, yes, Jeff IS going to throttle me when he reads this post, but freedom of the press cannot be denied here. Integrity demands that I speak the truth, however painful it may be.) (Oh, and those of you who don’t know me DO know that I am being silly, right?) In the same vein, now Jeff’s car has started acting up in some serious ways. I think she is jealous. Maybe Jeff should be a little more discreet about his relationship with The Big Red Van . . . if the car doesn’t straighten up we may be in the market for two used vehicles. That’ll teach ‘em.
On to a thankful list . . .
1. I just heard the “beep” of incoming email and checked it. The subject line was “Hit the beach in new swimwear.” Oh boy oh boy am I thankful that I DON’T have to hit the beach in new swimwear LOL. I have reached the dignified (really, I am dignified sometimes!) age where shopping for swimwear has become significantly more uncomfortable than, say, having my fingernails ripped out. Nope, no swimwear for this gal!
2. Obviously we are very, very glad to have sweet Noah home. I was touched to the point of tears to see his obvious delight when he realized he was really, really home.
3. I am glad to be home too! My bed felt soooooo good last night, and it was pure delight to wake up to all of my family around me.
4. I am incredibly thankful for the fundraiser Jeff mentioned the other day. We weren’t going to mention it because we didn’t want to appear self-promoting, but we have been literally stunned by the outpouring of support we have received. We didn’t ask for this, and never dreamed of it, and still can’t believe it is happening. We don’t have any idea how to even begin to express our gratitude. Thanks to your generosity we CAN actually talk about things like replacing the geriatric Big Red Van with, perhaps, a more middle aged Big Something Or Other Van. This would have been utterly out of our reach before. (I don’t want to spend more time on the fundraiser here, but since some of you have emailed and asked, I’ll just say that Jim Erskine left details about it in the comments section of the last post. ‘Nuf said.)
5. I am thankful that Sarah’s last rabies shot is on Thursday. We will be VERY glad to close this chapter in our lives, and I know she will be relieved too. She is thankful that she is about to lose a tooth. This child has been obsessed with the Tooth Fairy since she was about 2 ½ years old. She has all of these older siblings who have tapped into the incredible income potential of lost teeth, and she was missing out on the action. For more than a year she has been trying to run a scam on the Tooth Fairy. She will rip up teeny bits of paper or break off nubs of popcorn or packing peanuts and put them under her pillow with the most heartfelt pictures of the Tooth Fairy at work. She also dresses up like a fairy and will put money under her own pillow. (Yes, Sarah is a very unique 4 year old!) When she came to me the other day and told me that she was going to lose a tooth, I was understandably unimpressed . . . until she wiggled it for me. My baby is about to lose a tooth!! If anyone could get a loose tooth based on wanting it with all of her heart, she would be the one. I am thinking tomorrow or the next day – it is really loose. It does appear to be genuine, BTW. It is the correct tooth for her to lose first and it has been getting increasingly loose so I don’t think she did anything to loosen it herself. She always been very precocious and I guess her teeth are too.
OK, I was really done but I have to share a giggle with you all. As I was just typing, Sarah came up to me. She is the cutest little girl and very appealing, and she was holding a plastic box with a naked baby doll in it. She turned those sparkly eyes on me and said, “I’m not trying to get into TOO much trouble, but could I please give my baby a bath?” Yes, I am going to regret it, but the bathroom needs mopping anyway and I couldn’t say no LOL. There are enough big things to say no to, right?
Love,
Kate and the rest of the Estes
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