Madi Faith

This is Madi's new favorite thing to do. I'm going to be in a world of trouble. At least she is saying I LOVE YOU! Her other hand is holding the  back of her head. Anytime she is tired or really mad she does that. I don't remember if I've posted this or not  but she now rolls over from tummy to back. Go Madi!

Krista

Brody Bear

Sleeping in a pink chair. He is totally confident.

For those of you that have followed us since last year, you have seen all the ways HE has worked miracles in our lives. Well, I have something so awesome to share!

Friday, we had Brody's follow up regarding his eyes and the ROP. We have been really worried because his pupils do not change in size no matter the lighting. Usually I would be nervous about following up but I guess the business of Texas Children's Hospital by myself with the triplets had me distracted because, I had no worries. UNTIL..... the little nurse asked if I had any concerns or noticed anything strange. Of course I told her about the pupils. Instead of putting the drops in for the exam, she stood and said, "The doctor will need to see you right away". I almost threw up my heart. Guess how long I had to wait.... are you guessing?.... a long time! The doctor comes in, flashes lights and all types of things and of course Brody does not respond. Then, finally said something along the lines of no worries, he isn't interested in that toy, the pupils are like that because of the laser surgery, and he would be back after the drops were put in. Another very long time later, he comes in does the exam and.... are you ready?..... Brody does NOT need glasses and does NOT have ROP at all! This is HUGE! For one, they really thought he would need glasses and the other, he is totally healed!

This experience is one I will never forget. The day we found out he had ROP is the day Madi was suppose to come home. We were upstairs at her bedside when the doctor called the unit for us. We of course rushed down to Brody's bedside to hear about the severity of his case, laser surgery, blindness, chance of retina detaching, etc. Me being the emotional train wreck I've become since last year, was crying the ugly cry, Ricky was ice cold. It wasn't that I cared about a handicap it was because I wanted him to be able to see the beauty of life. Then to see him after surgery. It was horrible. His eyes were swollen shut like he had been beaten. A couple days later when he could open his eyes, it looked like they were bleeding. It was a horrible. BUT, in our darkest hours and days, HE pulled us through, again. Most importantly, HE pulled our son through, again!

I'm now so happy that I went through all those experiences because it makes me see the beauty of faith.

We are still concerned with Brody's brain bleeds. They are grade 3, 4 is the worse there is. One of my top priorities once we calm down in PA will be to find a Neurologist to see what the damage really is. I want to find out if his feeding issues are because of his brain bleed or him just being hard headed :) The other concerns we have are the common colds, RSV, and flu. Any illness would be a million times worse on him.
I do have more good news! The Pulmonologist saw him Friday too. She thought he looked great and his lungs sounded awesome. I'm so excited because we've not had to do any breathing treatments. His lungs are growing and getting stronger.

Our goals for Brody Bear: keeping him healthy, improving bottle feeds, working on him being able to lift his head, and better head control.

Fun fact: he is 2 feet tall! He measured 24.5 inches Friday:) He is 3.5 inches taller than Gracie.

Krista