T-60 Hours (Give Or Take)

We are on for Ethan's G-Tube procedure (and first (of many to come) surgeries) on Wed. (1/20/10). Pre-op meeting on Thursday was uneventful (thankfully!) - basically to make sure we're all on the same page, what to expect that day, general risks of surgery, general risks of this particular procedure, etc. The procedure itself is scheduled to be about 45 minutes.

Ethan is scheduled for a 2 night stay. Could go longer, could be shorter. All depends on when he starts feeding regularly again after coming out of surgery.

Barring anything unforeseen, this means we lose the NG Tube by 1/27/10 (good riddance!). They want to go a week before actually using the G-Tube.

- b

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

Yesterday was Jonathan's birthday. We went out to Red Robin after church with extended family. Everyone came to church and then went out to lunch with us. Jonathan had a GREAT time! He got a lot of Thomas the Trains and Cars figures. What 3 year old boy doesn't love trains and cars. He was in heaven! He got to open presents before lunch, during lunch, and after lunch. As parents, it is so fun to see how much fun Jonathan was having. It was obvious how excited he was. He named every train as he opened them. Auntie Marie got a special treat: a great big smile when he opened her present. When we got home, he played with everything. He even got a Thomas puzzle from the Tsurus and put that together with daddy. Thank you so much to everyone for making Jonathan's birthday so special!

Ethan was also dedicated at church yesterday. He did very well. He stayed really quiet and calm the whole time and even let Pastor Mark hold him. He was very curious the whole time looking out at the congregation.

Latest news is that Ethan's G-Tube procedure is tentatively now scheduled for 1/20/10. We will know how real this date is later this week.

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*The Thomas The Tank Engine toys are, in my opinion, one of the most ingenious scams ever invented to be hoisted on unsuspecting parents. Not only do they have about 30,000 different engines/cars, they have "twins" - two engines that are exactly identical except for the name/number on them - and they sell them *separately*! And at between $15-$20 a pop - it is an absolutely insidious and at the same time ingenious scam. I only wish I thought of it first.

- bob and dina

A New First

Ethan hit a new milestone today: for the first time he took a full feeding orally out of his bottle. He has never even come close before, though he has taken up to 75% before. He took the full 105 mL of breastmilk in just over a half hour with several breaks. We are so proud of him! Though we do not expect this to be the new normal, it is encouraging that he can actually take a full feeding.

-dina

2 For 2

We heard back from Children's. Ethan's cranialfacial pediatrician, the general surgeon, and the gastroenterologist all conferred and decided to go ahead with the straight forward G-tube insertion. No Nissen, no G-J tube - again good news. 2 for 2 so far...

They will get back to us regarding scheduling the surgery to insert the tube.

- bob

A Good Start To The New Year

The gastro enterologist left Dina a voicemail with the results. The results were surprisingly good. Ethan apparently has what is considered to be a normal amount of reflux for a typical 4 month old (actually, his results were on the high end of normal, but still within the "normal" range). Given this, he said he is even more reluctant now to suggest a Nissen but will consult with the other doctors (his primary (cranialfacial) pediatrician and the general surgeon (who would be doing the actual g-tube or any other related surgery)).

We have yet to actually discuss the results and a course of action with the doctors but this gives us hope that a straight forward g-tube insertion is the most likely plan of action.

This is probably the first bit of good news that didn't come with any caveats since he was born.

-bob

Christmas 2009

We spent Christmas in Vancouver this year. It has been three years since we've spent Christmas with Bob's parents. Now that they are in Vancouver, we can travel by car to get there. The car was packed with Ethan's necessary equipment. If Bob's parents still lived in Edmonton, we could not get on a plane with all the necessary stuff we would need.


Christmas was so much fun this year with Jonathan. He was able to open presents last year, but this year he really understood what presents were all about. He got a lot of Disney cars and Thomas the Trains. He was SO excited to open his presents. Bob put his presents under the tree a couple days early and he kept touching them and so did Foster. We let Jonathan open one present on Christmas Eve. When he woke up Christmas morning, the first thing he asked to do was open presents.






















At the Metrotown Mall, Jonathan got to ride a train. He absolutely loved it. The first time we went, he had the biggest smile on his face when he was done. It was SO cute and I got the smile on video! The day before we came home, we went back to the mall so he could ride the train again and he rode it four times, one time in each of the four cars. The conductor chuckled when he kept getting back in line to ride the train. While the train was moving, he kept making Thomas faces. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a picture or video of it.

This Christmas was also Ethan's first Christmas. He did very well while we were in Vancouver and he got to meet many of Bob's extended family members. Ethan sure loved watching his big brother run around and play with his toys. One time Ethan was playing with his flower toy and it fell off the couch. Jonathan ran over and picked it up for him. What a good big brother!

Merry New Year!

"Merry New Year! "
"Happy. Happy New Year. In this country we say "Happy New Year"! "
"Ah ha ha ha! Thank you for correcting my English which stinks! "
(Obligatory New Year's quote from a great movie...)

So what can I say as we roll into 2010? It's been a long 2009 and a much longer last 4 months of 2009. I suppose the cusp of a new year has always traditionally been a time for reflection and introspection. And as our family starts into and stares into the great unknown that we call '2010', I can't help but think about how the events in 2009 in the larger world sort of loosely parallel what's happened in our little corner of the universe.

We came into 2009 staring into the abyss of financial and economic Armageddon and by March, it almost seemed that it would be a certainty and that Great Depression II was almost upon us. But without much fanfare or noise, things turned around, and through some fits and starts, we end 2009 with Armageddon averted and head into 2010 with cautious optimism. The economy and the problems associated with it have a long way to go, but, for now, we have cautious optimism.

So too, for our little clan. The arrival of an addition to a family is, while a joyous occasion, also fraught with it's share of stress. But add to the mix the problems of, well, "problems", and it can seem overwhelming at times and despair can creep in and I've had my moments when I feel like I'm staring into the Abyss. But we have much to be thankful for, and while we have a long way to yet venture on our journey, we still have cautious optimism. While the problems before us are large, they are not insurmountable and while Ethan has issues, we have to remember and be so grateful that *none* of them are life threatening. Like the larger world, we too have a long way to go, but we have cautious optimism.

So what can I say as we roll into 2010? Maybe a cautious but optimistic "Happy New Year everyone. "

-b