Sophia

A Hodgepodge of Pictures from Zack's Surgery Day

Zack's Surgery Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a big day for Zack. He will be having surgery on his nose so that he can breathe clearly. Zack has never known a clear nasal passage and thus breathes like he is asleep at all times. He also has a very tough time eating politely because he can't breathe with his mouth closed.

He has seen a Pediatric Ear Nose and Throat doctor who ordered a cat scan which showed that Zack's turbinates (as seen above) are so swollen that they nearly block his entire nasal passage. He also has one turbinate that is abnormal in shape causing further blockage.
Add to this that his adenoids are incredibly swollen and his left sinus is completely filled with liquid and blocked, and you have a little boy who needs some help getting past all of this stuffiness so he can simply breathe clearly and have clarity in his little head.

After months of trying allergy meds and changing his eating habits, we have finally found a doctor who is taking us seriously enough to get things fixed! In all fairness, the doctors who told me no surgery could be done and that it was simply allergies were all in California. My experience thus far is that the doctors in Texas are more prone to be proactive rather than wait things out to see if there's a change even when the parent is saying, "This is a REAL issue"!! :) Zack had a CAT scan within 30 minutes of seeing the ENT for the first time! Praise God!

The CAT scan showed all of the above and that his septum is deviated but that can only be fixed when he is a teenager so as not to cause any malformation of his nose as it grows. You know if he has a nose like Gina's he will need ample time to allow it to finish forming! :) LOL

Surely I digress. So tomorrow around 1PM TX time, Zack will undergo a 4 step surgery:

Remove Adenoids
Remove Abnormal Turbinate
Cynoplasty on the blocked sinus cavity (like an angioplasty)
Turninate Coblation (a procedure to shrink all of his turbinates)

The doctor says he will be in a great deal of pain for 2 days, but that on the 3rd day he should be nearly back to himself other than some tenderness and possibly continued drainage.

Please hold this little guy up in prayer. Since he has been home, he has had lots of major dental work, surgery at 5 years old, and now this one. It makes me very very thankful that he is ours and can get the health care he needs. We’d move mountains to take care of him.

As a result of the above, please pray and believe with us for God's provision. Our medical insurance will cover at 75% anything over $2,500 cash out of pocket. We could be looking at some stiff bills. Even the deductible has thrown a wrench in our budget. Sometimes, however, I think God throws "faith opportunities" our way for a reason. I'll surely testify when He provides in a miraculous way yet again.

House Progress Feb 19, 2011

We now have light fixtures, faucets and a brick fireplace! :)

Happy Valentines Day 2011

Today I took the day off to take Zack to the Pediatric ENT and both Zack and Sophia to the dentist for a couple minor fillings. So, as usual, I took the camera along and we stopped at a couple places for some photos. One of the places as seen in the above pic of Sophia's feet is the front of the dental office. I have had an eye on spot since I had my root canal a couple of weeks ago.

The teller at the bank inside of Walmart gave the kids red balloons so I decided to pull over and let the kiddos play in a random empty lot. They had a blast, and I got to take pics to it was all good!

The pic of Sophia above was taken at a small church in the historic part of town. It is about a block or two from the dental office. So, pretty much, these are pics or our day today!! :)

Update on Zack's visit to the ENT: Zack has never really been able to breathe through his nose. We have tried childrens allergy medications and various other allergy related behavior alterations, but nothing helped at all. His breathing never changed. He sounds like he is sound asleep when he breathes, and it is very hard for him to eat politely with his nose plugged all of the time.

So, today I took him to a specialist where he ended up needing a cat scan and will likely have surgery on his nose to remove his adenoids and also to clear out his passages by shrinking some other parts on the inside of his nose. I should hear tomorrow exactly what the doc suggests.

I am just so thankful that I have insurance and can get the kids the healthcare they need! As a side note, today's doctor visit was $175 and that did not include the cat scan. And, no the insurance did not cover the $175. Ouch! But, my priority right now is getting the kids health needs handled to the best of my ability.

Sophia's glasses are working well for her. Josh also got glasses, and they are working well for him. Zack, Sophia, and Kenny have all had their dental visits and care. Gina has had her dental visit and had no cavities AGAIN! Lucky woman!

Next step is to take Zack to a gastro doc so that we can figure out why his digestion isn't quite right. Perhaps this is why his growth is a bit slower than it should be. We shall see.

Super Bowl Sunday Pics