10/23/04 "Trips to the Doctor"

Thursday and Friday doctors appointments went really well. On Thursday his pulmonologist was pleased with how his trach site looked. He was a little worried about his breathing so he gave him a stronger dose inhalation solution called DuoNeb to helped open his bronchioles. Everything else looked great to him and we'll see him in another 3 months or sooner if needed.
We also met with the dietician on Thursday and she wants us to increase his intake from 37ml hour to 40ml hour. She also increased his diet from a 24 cal diet to a 27 cal diet. He needs to fatten up. We're going to leave him hooked up to the feeding tube 24hrs and take him off only when needed. We'll meet with the dietician again next Thursday to see how the weight gain and feeds are going.
Friday's appointment with his pediatrician went really well too. He gained weight so he's up to 9lbs 4 oz. Little by little he is gaining. She was pleased to see how well he looked. It's amazing how much 2 oz can affect a baby. We'll go see her again in 2 weeks.
Thursday during Cass' bath he started to react more in the water. He loves his bath time and has started splashing and kicking the water. He is so happy in the water. While I was washing him he hit another mile stone. I was holding him up to see if he would put weight on his legs yet and he did. He hasn't at all up until this point. His doctor was happy with this mile stone. It's a sign that he is getting stronger. I know it doesn't seem that big of a deal, and with my other two children at this age I wouldn't have thought about it really, but for Cass this is a big deal since his muscle tone is so weak. I'm excited about it.
We're continuing this week with 19 hour a day nursing care. I don't think I can handle any less. Our insurance told us that the coverage for it will run out soon. Ryan and I are waiting for them to drop us. We're trying to seek out all our options. We looked into purchasing a secondary coverage plan but it won't kick in until 2006 and it's not cheap. If anyone has any advice, suggestions, experience with this kind of thing it would be greatly appreciated if you could share with us what you know.
The nurses that are helping to care for Cass have been great. I think they're all smitten with him. They have all meshed well with our family. We feel greatly blessed for the ladies that have come into our home to help. They are a great group of skilled nurses and they are taking care of us.
We're so thankful for the members in our church for all they do for us. For their strength, service, prayers, and love. I'm so thankful for those who have stopped by to express their love for us and those who have taken my children for a few hours. I'm thankful for all of our friends and family who live else where and send their love and prayers our way. And I am thankful for those who have happened to cross over this webpage without ever knowing us before and who have the love in their hearts to share the sorrow and happiness in our lives and to pray for someone you haven't met. I have a testimony of prayer and I know that our Father in Heaven listens to our prayers. We miss all of our friends and family who can't be here and know that your thoughts are with us. Thank you all, again!