How is my boy going to be two tomorrow?! It does not seem possible. I was watching videos of him from when he was a baby the other day. I had already forgotten how small he was and the funny faces he used to make! He is doing better, medically speaking, than he ever has. So I am so thankful for that, but even though he was more sick when he was younger, I am sure going to miss him being my baby. Now I have a toddler on my hands who is too smart for his own good. He is starting to speak in sentences already, we are embarking on the potty training journey, and he loves to help me do chores around the house. And he really is a help with them!
So, enough of that. Matt and I are going to celebrate Wills Birthday today since Matt has to work most of the day tomorrow. We are going to go to the beach, the playground, and maybe to the YMCA so Will can go swimming! Then tomorrow I will make him his 'cake' for dinner. Then the 21st we are having his Birthday Party. It is a vehicle theme party. I am having so much fun getting ready for it. It is going to be pretty nice if I do say so myself. If you are in the neighborhood that day, drop on by!
This weekend we are also going to go to Greenbay for the night with some friends. They have a little boy who is about 6 months younger than Will. There we will take the boys to the zoo and to Bay Beach. It should be fun!
Well, that is everything that is going on here. How has your summer been going so far?
William Otto
Playing catch with Daddy!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Been Busy...
So, it has been awhile since I have updated again. This summer is just flying by and things have been pretty busy around here.
Will had another scope and biopsy done last week. We are still waiting on the results. This one was a little harder for him to recover from then the ones in the past. He wouldn't eat much and I had to use his feeding tube quite a few times in the three days or so following the surgery. He is doing good now though.
Will and I went to my Moms after the trip to DeVos and Matt met us there on Friday. Then Matt and I went on a much needed mini vacation to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island from Saturday to Monday. We decided that we need to make time away together more of a priority. We didn't even realize how much we had grown apart until we were with each other alone for a few days.
For the last month or so, we have been working on our backyard. It was pretty much an unuseable space before. The previous owners had one of those inflatable pools in the back, and instead of just draining it the right way, they popped it and all the water washed away the top soil in the back into the neighbors yard. That made for a very sunken in, rocky backyard. So, we have it evened out, removed a MILLION rocks and are using them to create raised gardens, and we have a picket fence in. I put down grass seed so we are waiting on that to grow and Matt is going to put in a small patio so we can have a fire pit and a place to put our chairs. I have started painting the fence white, that is going to be a time consuming project. Our deadline is to have it done before Wills birthday party on the 21st of August. Hopefully we make it!
Let's see, what else is going on....oh baby number two is doing good. We have our ultrasound and 2o week appointment coming up on Monday. It will be nice to see the little bugger again. Matt hasn't been able to come to an ultrasound yet, so it will be his first time seeing the baby moving around in there and he/she sure does a lot of that these days!
Okay, I will try once again to be better about keeping this updated. Hopefully I will have some news in the next couple of days about Wills biopsy results so we know if he can keep eating pears or not. Keep your fingers crossed!
Will had another scope and biopsy done last week. We are still waiting on the results. This one was a little harder for him to recover from then the ones in the past. He wouldn't eat much and I had to use his feeding tube quite a few times in the three days or so following the surgery. He is doing good now though.
Will and I went to my Moms after the trip to DeVos and Matt met us there on Friday. Then Matt and I went on a much needed mini vacation to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island from Saturday to Monday. We decided that we need to make time away together more of a priority. We didn't even realize how much we had grown apart until we were with each other alone for a few days.
For the last month or so, we have been working on our backyard. It was pretty much an unuseable space before. The previous owners had one of those inflatable pools in the back, and instead of just draining it the right way, they popped it and all the water washed away the top soil in the back into the neighbors yard. That made for a very sunken in, rocky backyard. So, we have it evened out, removed a MILLION rocks and are using them to create raised gardens, and we have a picket fence in. I put down grass seed so we are waiting on that to grow and Matt is going to put in a small patio so we can have a fire pit and a place to put our chairs. I have started painting the fence white, that is going to be a time consuming project. Our deadline is to have it done before Wills birthday party on the 21st of August. Hopefully we make it!
Let's see, what else is going on....oh baby number two is doing good. We have our ultrasound and 2o week appointment coming up on Monday. It will be nice to see the little bugger again. Matt hasn't been able to come to an ultrasound yet, so it will be his first time seeing the baby moving around in there and he/she sure does a lot of that these days!
Okay, I will try once again to be better about keeping this updated. Hopefully I will have some news in the next couple of days about Wills biopsy results so we know if he can keep eating pears or not. Keep your fingers crossed!
Been Busy...
So, it has been awhile since I have updated again. This summer is just flying by and things have been pretty busy around here.
Will had another scope and biopsy done last week. We are still waiting on the results. This one was a little harder for him to recover from then the ones in the past. He wouldn't eat much and I had to use his feeding tube quite a few times in the three days or so following the surgery. He is doing good now though.
Will and I went to my Moms after the trip to DeVos and Matt met us there on Friday. Then Matt and I went on a much needed mini vacation to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island from Saturday to Monday. We decided that we need to make time away together more of a priority. We didn't even realize how much we had grown apart until we were with each other alone for a few days.
For the last month or so, we have been working on our backyard. It was pretty much an unuseable space before. The previous owners had one of those inflatable pools in the back, and instead of just draining it the right way, they popped it and all the water washed away the top soil in the back into the neighbors yard. That made for a very sunken in, rocky backyard. So, we have it evened out, removed a MILLION rocks and are using them to create raised gardens, and we have a picket fence in. I put down grass seed so we are waiting on that to grow and Matt is going to put in a small patio so we can have a fire pit and a place to put our chairs. I have started painting the fence white, that is going to be a time consuming project. Our deadline is to have it done before Wills birthday party on the 21st of August. Hopefully we make it!
Let's see, what else is going on....oh baby number two is doing good. We have our ultrasound and 2o week appointment coming up on Monday. It will be nice to see the little bugger again. Matt hasn't been able to come to an ultrasound yet, so it will be his first time seeing the baby moving around in there and he/she sure does a lot of that these days!
Okay, I will try once again to be better about keeping this updated. Hopefully I will have some news in the next couple of days about Wills biopsy results so we know if he can keep eating pears or not. Keep your fingers crossed!
Will had another scope and biopsy done last week. We are still waiting on the results. This one was a little harder for him to recover from then the ones in the past. He wouldn't eat much and I had to use his feeding tube quite a few times in the three days or so following the surgery. He is doing good now though.
Will and I went to my Moms after the trip to DeVos and Matt met us there on Friday. Then Matt and I went on a much needed mini vacation to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island from Saturday to Monday. We decided that we need to make time away together more of a priority. We didn't even realize how much we had grown apart until we were with each other alone for a few days.
For the last month or so, we have been working on our backyard. It was pretty much an unuseable space before. The previous owners had one of those inflatable pools in the back, and instead of just draining it the right way, they popped it and all the water washed away the top soil in the back into the neighbors yard. That made for a very sunken in, rocky backyard. So, we have it evened out, removed a MILLION rocks and are using them to create raised gardens, and we have a picket fence in. I put down grass seed so we are waiting on that to grow and Matt is going to put in a small patio so we can have a fire pit and a place to put our chairs. I have started painting the fence white, that is going to be a time consuming project. Our deadline is to have it done before Wills birthday party on the 21st of August. Hopefully we make it!
Let's see, what else is going on....oh baby number two is doing good. We have our ultrasound and 2o week appointment coming up on Monday. It will be nice to see the little bugger again. Matt hasn't been able to come to an ultrasound yet, so it will be his first time seeing the baby moving around in there and he/she sure does a lot of that these days!
Okay, I will try once again to be better about keeping this updated. Hopefully I will have some news in the next couple of days about Wills biopsy results so we know if he can keep eating pears or not. Keep your fingers crossed!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Its Been Ages!
Okay, it has been awhile since I have updated this. Things have been crazy though. May 21st was the 5K that I organized to raise money for research for Eosinophilic Disorders. That took a lot of time and effort. I don't have the final number in yet, I am still waiting for one more check, but it is looking like we did really well for our first fundraiser! All the money is going to APFED so they can give it to researchers. It is so important to learn as much as possible about these disorders.
I also have the ball rolling on getting Will down to Cincinnati Childrens Hospital. They are the national leaders in treating and researching Eosinophilic Disorders (EGID). I have a bunch of paperwork that I have to get in to them along with all of his medical records. Then once they have everything they need, we will schedule his appointment. They are scheduling for September right now. It is a week long appointment with many different specialists. We still really like DeVos Childrens Hospital. We just want to be sure he is getting the newest and best care possible.
On to other news, Matts Dad just came up for a visit this weekend. It is so nice for Matt to get to see him. We only get to see him once a year since he is in Colorado now. We all went golfing yesterday and walked around downtown today before he had to leave.
Oh, I almost forgot. Will was also featured in a local news story on food allergies. Here is the link if you want to check him out in all of his cuteness! http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=615719
Okay, I promise to start keeping this updated more often now. Talk to you all later!
I also have the ball rolling on getting Will down to Cincinnati Childrens Hospital. They are the national leaders in treating and researching Eosinophilic Disorders (EGID). I have a bunch of paperwork that I have to get in to them along with all of his medical records. Then once they have everything they need, we will schedule his appointment. They are scheduling for September right now. It is a week long appointment with many different specialists. We still really like DeVos Childrens Hospital. We just want to be sure he is getting the newest and best care possible.
On to other news, Matts Dad just came up for a visit this weekend. It is so nice for Matt to get to see him. We only get to see him once a year since he is in Colorado now. We all went golfing yesterday and walked around downtown today before he had to leave.
Oh, I almost forgot. Will was also featured in a local news story on food allergies. Here is the link if you want to check him out in all of his cuteness! http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=615719
Okay, I promise to start keeping this updated more often now. Talk to you all later!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Spring!!
I have to start this post out by saying how excited I am that if FINALLY feels like Spring outside! I put together Wills wagon the other day and he loves going for walks in it. I am so excited to get outside more often with him. Okay, now with that out of the way....
Things have been pretty par for the course around here lately. We are still working on getting Will to actually swallow his food. He takes bites of it and then stores it in his cheek instead of swallowing it. I am not sure on how to get him to swallow it, but we keep working on it. Any ideas?
We bought him a whole organic chicken from the food co-op. He can't have the kind from the regular grocery since it is packaged with other things like salt. Matt eight cut it and then I boiled down the bones and the neck to make a broth. I used the fat and skin to make cooking oil to use for him as well. So far we have had the best luck at getting him to eat wheat (also from the food co-op so that I know it is JUST wheat) boiled in chicken broth. He isn't so good at eating a whole piece of chicken yet. I so hope his next biopsy on April 26th shows he can keep chicken. I know the chances are lower though since kids with EoE tend to have more problems with meat protein.
Will also has another infection in his g-tube site. It is frustrating for sure. I hate seeing him on antibiotics all of the time. His granulation tissue is coming back as well, so we will have to start burning that off again soon.
Plans for the 5K are coming along nicely. I started contacting companies about sponsorship today. This is the part that I least like. I am also waiting to hear from TV 6 about them covering the event. The radio station 100.3 The Point is going to cover it and I am going to do a couple of interviews with them before hand. I also am waiting to hear from a local screen printing shop about them donating the t-shirts. I am so excited at how well it is coming along so far! If anyone would like more information about it, go to http://www.5kforeosinophillicdisorders.weebly.com/ I still need volunteers, racers, and sponsors!
Will started doing the cutest thing the other day. When you point a camera at him, he says cheese. He is so freaking cute! I love that guy so much. I always thought that I wanted a huge family. He fulfills me so completely though that I no longer feel that need. He is everything that I ever could have wanted and more. I truly feel like our family is complete. I am glad that I am finally able to be at peace with our decision.
And, to prove my point at how absolutely perfect he is, I will end with some recent pictures!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Yeah for Chicken!
We got Wills biopsy results from his last biopsy on March 17th and his eosinophil levels were down! Yeah!!! So this means that we get to try a new food with him and keep giving him wheat. We chose to go with chicken this time around. As I type, I have chicken bones from the whole chicken we bought at the food co-op and Matt 8 cutted on the stove to make a broth for Will. I also have all of the fat and skin in a frying pan cooking so I can have oil to use to cook his food in as well. We have learned to be creative with how we cook for sure lately. I am thinking of trying to make some sort of 'chicken and grits' type thing with the chicken oil, chicken and wheat. So far he has the wheat made into a cereal and into 'cookies' (which are actually like wheat crackers I made with wheat and his formula) and some pieces of ground chicken. We are working on getting him to swallow the food now. He is doing better, but it is an ongoing process for sure. Since he is 20 months old and just getting to eat, he missed all of the natural times that kids learn to eat and is a bit behind on all of that. Right now he keeps most of his food in his cheek instead of swallowing it. April 26th is his next biopsy. That one will tell us if he can continue to eat chicken or not. I am praying he will. Then we will get to add another food and continue on from there. If not, we will have to discontinue chicken, wait six weeks for his system to clear so to speak and start over with something else. We have another showing on our house tomorrow morning. I am glad that I keep a pretty clean house, otherwise these short notices for house showings would drive me bonkers for sure. I just have to normal clean downstairs, put away some laundry that I am doing right now, vaccuum upstairs, and clean out one upstairs closet to give stuff to Goodwill. That I was going to do today anyway. Have a great day! We are going to the Chili Challenge at NMU for dinner tonight. So excited that I don't have to cook!!!
Monday, March 14, 2011
And we are off...
So, Will and I are headed to DeVos Childrens Hospital today. He has appointments tomorrow and Wednesday and then an endoscopy with biopsies on Thursday. Please keep your fingers and toes crossed that we can keep wheat as something he can eat and even add another food! That would be awesome! As of yet, we haven't found anything he can eat, so I would love it if things started turning around.
I am kind of excited to see the new Childrens Hospital. It just opened in January. I have heard great things about it too.
I am even more excited to be able to see my bestie Jill while we are down there. She is going to be coming with Tucker to hang out with Will and I on Wednesday. Yeah!!!!
I get the quarterly newsletter from APFED and it had some interesting information in it regarding EoE (which is the new abbreviation for EE by the way). Only 50/100,000 people have EoE. Of those 50 people, not very many of them have to have a feeding tube. So, you know what that means? Will is all kinds of extra special. Pair the rarity of him having EoE, and him having a severe case with him having congenital sub glottic stenosis (which is like less than 1% of the poplulation) and you have an exceptionally unique, super strong, wonderful boy! God, I love that kid....thank you for trusting his care to me.
So, we are off. Please pray for safe travel and for some good news for Will. Thanks everyone!
I am kind of excited to see the new Childrens Hospital. It just opened in January. I have heard great things about it too.
I am even more excited to be able to see my bestie Jill while we are down there. She is going to be coming with Tucker to hang out with Will and I on Wednesday. Yeah!!!!
I get the quarterly newsletter from APFED and it had some interesting information in it regarding EoE (which is the new abbreviation for EE by the way). Only 50/100,000 people have EoE. Of those 50 people, not very many of them have to have a feeding tube. So, you know what that means? Will is all kinds of extra special. Pair the rarity of him having EoE, and him having a severe case with him having congenital sub glottic stenosis (which is like less than 1% of the poplulation) and you have an exceptionally unique, super strong, wonderful boy! God, I love that kid....thank you for trusting his care to me.
So, we are off. Please pray for safe travel and for some good news for Will. Thanks everyone!
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