Ear update...

Yesterday brought another trip to San Antonio to have the ear Dr. remove the "plug" that was keeping his new ear canal open and healing properly over the last week. Gavin and I expected the worst...and thankfully it was momentarily painful (10 minutes of wailing) and then he felt good to go. Good enough to go bowling! And good enough to enjoy Texas Roadhouse steak!

He is really recovering well. He hasn't needed (except before yesterday's procedure) any pain meds since Thursday. He is becoming much more agile in his movements. His ear actually looks better this time than last...well, on the outside incision. Last time, of course, he did not have the interior incisions and patchwork. And I was so interested to see what the ear canal would look like once they took the plug out yesterday. Its not nearly the size I anticipated and it is relatively "normal" looking. Certainly people who don't know would be hard pressed to even realize a difference once its all healed ( less bloody and goopy).

Christian headed back to school again today. Hopefully he is cautious, the children are kind and he isn't too bothered by the ear=))

Note to self...

Spring Break...what spring break?! And, of course, it was a beautiful week of sunshine and little crazy Corpus wind.So...note to self...although scheduling a major medical procedure during a school break seems logical...its kind of a bummer to head back to school and realize, we really got little time to enjoy life outside of school and the house. Maybe missing a week of school wouldn't have been too bad?!

Gearing up...the REALITY

You know, no matter how much you gear up, there is just no preparation sufficient to watch your children go through surgery. There is nothing worse than watching your sweet child go limp prior to being wheeled away from you, knowing full well the pain they will be incurring. Christian's surgery was on Monday. As parents, I think Monday might have been one of the hardest days. Midway through the surgery we got a call in the surgical waiting room...on the RED phone...which rarely means good stuff. Gavin had just run down to the cafeteria to get some much needed lunch...so I answered the call. It was Christian's doctor calling to inform us that the cholesteotoma was back and worse than before. He went on to share that it would be "unsafe" to close up his ear in the same fashion he had done in the prior surgery. With such an aggressive form of this ear problem, he was going to have to do a more radical ear surgery than last time and certainly MUCH more than we had anticipated. Dr. Boston was as shocked as we were that it had come back and that it had now started to extend down his eustation tube and toward his brain. I absorbed the information and then my pregnancy hormones...or maybe its just a mom with crazy worry...kicked in and I bawled. I was trying to imagine the new ear, the dissappointment and the prolonged pain and recovery. Gavin and I both had our moments of...let's call them a humbling moment and a reality check of God's will.
I stayed at the hospital until we were able to get Christian comfortable. It took a while to get him out of the anesthesia funk and his pain under control. Then I had to leave to come back to Corpus to take care of Shane and things here. Gavin and Christian had to stay the night in the Pediatric ward for observation because of the increased depth of surgery. Shane and I drove back up to San Antonio once more yesterday morning to pick them up. And then we made a not-so-comfortable trip home with Christian. Its amazing how bumpy the roads become all of a sudden.
So...here we are...Christian is resting on the couch vegging to some shows. He is relatively fine as long as his pain is controlled. He is one of the sweetest little men I know. He takes this all in stride. And he just amazes me at his quiet strength. Gavin is back to work this afternoon...Booo!
We will be taking weekly trips to San Antonio for checks on the healing of all of the ear openings, skin grafts, etc that were done.
Ultimately, we feel really blessed...that the Dr. in SA has been so competent and so kind to us and to Christian. He really has gone above and beyond what he could and should do. Certainly compared to the awful ENT guy we had here in Corpus initially...Dr. Boston is heaven sent. We also feel blessed that we were encouraged to go in for this repeat surgery. Who knows what WOULD HAVE happened...but I believe that Christian was protected from further damage and possible bigger issues in finding this sooner than later. For these blessings, we are so grateful. To be honest, we did have frustrated expectations of what this surgery was going to be....but certainly we see the wisdom in what it needed to be.

Sigh of relief...

on two fronts...

1) the house passed all inspections and the buyers didn't even want a single repair-huge sigh! As long as everything goes well with their lending...we will close escrow on March 31 (probably move on March 26 &27)2) Today we had an ultrasound here in Corpus....to determine a fetal heartbeat (yes...there is ONE). And it was there!!! Beating very well at 137 bpm!!!!! Gavin and I got to hear it and see it...and its all so real now. We're so thrilled I could cry (happy tears, of course~)

Gearing up....

With Spring Break right around the corner...Christian may be the only kid around you will find that is dreading the week off of school. The 1st day of the break, March 16th, he is having repeat ear surgery. We knew this was coming when we were told he initially needed ear surgery. So, it comes as no surprise. But, also having gone through one surgery all ready, Christian is all too keenly aware of what it is like...and the recovery involved. We are certainly hoping that they will go in there to find little/no growth reforming. We also hope that the doctor might be able to use some cartilidge to reform some of the "bones" that were initially removed...and in the meantime perhaps restore a little bit of his conductive hearing. And although we knew it was coming...we did not anticipate that we would a) selling/sold our home and moving out b)pregnant c)have a son in such a pivital role on his baseball team. All great things, just making our lives just a little more interesting than they all ready are.

An offer...

Today marks 3 weeks of our home being on the market. Monday evening we received an offer, we countered...and yesterday it was agreed upon. So, today, if everything works out correctly, should mark the 1st day of being in escrow. Sort of. They have to do all their inspections during these first days of the option period....but we are so thrilled to possibly have this worry lessened. It, of course, poses other kinds of hassles/difficulties...like having to find a furnished rental for 2 months until we are finished here. But...we are certainly not complainging. We are hopeful that it will be a mutually beneficial sell for us and the buyers. Although, it goes without saying that I will be very sad to leave our first purchased home...and its so cute and clean and entertaining....I suppose just another stepping stone through our adventures in life. Our cup of blessings is certainly overflowing right now.

My Economy soapbox...

Every time I turn on the television or read on the msn homepage how awful the economy is getting, I worry a bit. This is the first really bad recession I've seen in my adult life. It has quite a bigger impact when you are the adults responsible for the sustaining of a family's lives and livelihood. We are incredibly blessed to have a solid job, income and promise of a future stability. But...there are so many variables that we just don't have any control over. Its quite daunting to see things crumble around us.
But as I was thinking about the economy the other morning, I was wondering....how here in Corpus with such a bad economic crisis we can still "afford" to provide free breakfast for every school-aged student in Corpus School district. It just doesn't make sense to me. When we can't afford to put any Arts in the schools, but we can make sure every kid gets a bowl of cocoa krispies?
My other struggle is....why is it that people who have made poor financial decisions are being "rewarded" in a sense...or at the very least, bailed out. While those of us that played it more safe are taking our lickings and losses and work hard at getting our selves out legitimately. For instance, I sit selling my house....not foreclosing or short selling....I want to pay off my entire loan amount. The amount I agreed to borrow and repay. I want to settle my obligations. And I may lose a little money in the process....but that is part of being on the down side of an economy...and of being responsible. Yet, people that don't want to hassle or don't want to sacrifice their money to pay off a debt...just chose to throw the home back at the bank or short change them. I guess I am not understanding where our own responsibility and accountability comes in to play.
Soap box down.