Monday, November 13, 2006

Sorry for the delay

I just re-read my post from two Monday's ago and realized I said that I would update the blog by last Monday and failed to carry through. Sorry! Things sometimes get a bit over my head here or I just forget. I live in that pregnancy fog these days. My husband has now learned that he cannot count on me to remember anything, which at times works to his advantage. :)

As for Judah's eye appointment, thank you for praying. Apart from him crying when his doctor, outfitted as Daphne from "Scoobie Doo", donned with a flaming orange wig and bright pink knee-high boots, came to get him, he did rather well.

Judah really blew me away with the maturity he demonstrated on this visit. He did things that he's never done before. He amazed both Dr. Abrams and myself by taking his first vision test using the letters up on the screen. He correctly identified every letter flashed infront of him (the ones he could see, of course). Our doctor said she's never had a 2 year old boy identify alphabet letters like that before. My son's a genius, and yes, I am a boasting momma! :) He also sat his little chin up in that machine (I have no idea what it's called, but if you've ever had an eye exam, you know what I'm talking about) for the doctor to take a look into his eyes. He even allowed Dr. Abrams, upon my request, to spray numbing drops in his eyes to see if we could get his pressures read. This is the part of the exam we haven't done since he was an infant but instead have him put under anesthesia for because it is typically so traumatic, and young children tend to not cooperate real well.

We didn't get any valid pressures read, but Judah was brave, allowing Dr. Abrams to try. She didn't push real hard to get the pressures because Judah is still really young to cooperate for this procedure. She was hopeful, however, that if we keep exposing him to little "trials" each time we visit her, he may be ready sooner than most to undergo that part of the exam without anesthesia. That would be GREAT! It would mean less trips to Hopkins, less trips to the OR for anesthesia, etc. So, I was thrilled with his progress.

While Judah's optic nerves looked like they were in good condition, Dr. Abrams did find a change in his vision, significant enough to order a new set of lenses. So, after only 7 months in his first set of glasses, we had to order new lenses. Fortunately, we were able to keep the frames and just switch out the lenses as buying new frames would have meant more cost, cost that we were not expecting in the first place. God revealed Himself even in that, though, as the initial price quoted to me ended up being wrong. I was called the day after we ordered his lenses and told that they had overcharged me $40. So, while initially I was tempted to become anxious about this unexpected expense, God allowed circumstances to happen in such a way that I actually found reason to give thanks, thinking He had "saved" us $40.

Ongoing, we are still praying about and watching Judah's growth. Please continue to pray that Judah will grow adequately in the next three months and have no need for the growth hormone deficiency tests. I also need to contact an oral surgeon promptly about seeing Judah for an initial consultation. We have decided to go with the surgeon at Hopkins and trust that God will supply grace and provision for the extra distance and inconvenience of having to travel down to the city as opposed to right up the road to a more local oral surgeon.

Please pray that God will give wisdom to us regarding when to schedule this appointment. Just to give you a glimpse into our world, I already have dr's appointments on our calendar for Jan., March and April of 2007. The only reason I didn't schedule any for February is because I'm scheduled to have our third baby that month! :) So, I figured I would try not to overbook! As you can imagine, with the holidays already upon us, trying to fit in any more doctor's appointments to what we already have scheduled for this month or next is somewhat of a scheduling nightmare. Yet, I want to make sure I'm giving priority to what needs to be made so. You can pray that God will make that clear to us as it regards specifically this initial consultation with an oral surgeon.

You have no reason or motivation to continue to carry us on your hearts and in your prayers a part from the love of Christ. Your prayers, your encouragement and for some of you who God enables, your practical help are all tangible ways you help us bear our burdens, and we are so grateful to God for you!

3 comments:

Zoanna said...

Please let me know some appointments and see if we can watch Tucker for you. I know it must be draining to ask, so I'm offering.

Anonymous said...

Bri, you have a little too much going on in your life! We are praying. Also, I'm slightly embarrassed. Gabe at 3 1/2 cannot identify all or even most of the letters of the alphabet!

Anonymous said...

My motivation to pray for you is that I love you! Judah is being a trooper, what is God preparing this little man for in his future? We can only guess or dream. You can be proud of what you have done with these two little guys...some children at this age are on leashes (just kidding, but you know what I mean). I just spent some time with John Piper (via desiringgod.org) and reading some older seromns. My faith is in turbo drive, or at least up out of the gutter it tends to head for on a somewhat daily basis. So, tonight I will have faith for you and yours, and mine and know that "Every day the Lord himself is near me, with a special mercy for each hour". I am glad you have good friends to help you, I hope June and Galen can come when your baby is born and stay for awhile. You will need some real hands on then! Love, Gretchen