Tonsils....What tonsils?.....I want to eat and go to the fair!

The tonsils are gone....but the meanness, not quite so much! Liam had to be at the hospital by 6:00 this morning. All he wanted was apple juice! It is amazingly difficult to keep apple juice away from a 2 year old! Although he refused to wear the hospital gown, his surgery went well. Dr. Stewart removed his tonsils, scraped away the regrowth of his adenoids, and cleaned an abundant amount of earwax out of his ears. He decided to hold off on putting ear tubes in again in hopes that removal of the tonsils will keep his ears well. You would have never guessed that Liam had his tonsils out due to the excessively loud screeching following surgery! Why the screeching? Is he in pain? Does he feel sick? None of the above! He did not like the pulse oximeter on his finger! Plus, he could not bend his hand well enough to drink his apple juice due to the iv! After an hour of listening to him scream, the nurse was ready to see us leave! On the way to Gigi and Papa's house, Liam spotted several things he wanted....Chick-fil-A ("Biscuit. Play."), the fair ("I ride"), Mommy's school ("I go!"), and IHOP ("I want some!"). As soon as we arrived at Gigi and Papa's, Liam began yelling from the car for Papa to get him out of the car! We have been servants most of the morning as well as deterrents! He wants to eat only red and/or blue Popsicles, apples, hot dogs, pizza, pretzels, chips, and everything else in sight! Thank the Lord for Hydrocodone! It helps with keeping the pain at bay, but it doesn't keep the activity level down like it would on most people! It hypes Liam up! Sorry Gigi and Papa....no down time from this surgery!

Lainey also went to the doctor. On Monday we went to see Dr. Caplan. All was well with Lainey. She now weighs 13 lbs. 1 oz. She is 24.7 inches long! Although she gained weight, she fell in her percentile. She was at the 40th percentile for her weight and she has now dropped to the 23rd percentile. Not what we wanted, therefore Dr. Caplan decided to up her Ultrase enzymes from 2 before each meal, to 3 before each meal. We have also upped the amount of salt in her bottles from 1/8 tsp. in each bottle to 1/4 tsp. in each bottle. They have encouraged us to begin feeding her baby food in addition to the rice cereal she is already eating. Like her other food, we have to make additions to the baby food. With each jar/container of food, we have to add 1/2 tsp. of vegetable oil!! Talk about nasty, but she doesn't know the difference! Her lungs continued to sound clear and for that we are thankful! Other than adding a few things to Lainey's diet, her visit to the CF Center was fairly uneventful. Well....at least for the health aspect of the visit. As for her cooperation, I can say that it was less than desirable. If anyone at the CF Center was unaware Lainey was there for her check-up, they were soon in the know. She fussed from the time we undressed her to weigh in until we put her in her car seat, which was about an hour and a half. Due to this behavior, Dr. Caplan (her adopted Great grandpa) was a man of few words! We will go back again on November 17 for another check-up.


Today was also Lainey's first visit from the home health care nurse. She came to Gigi and Papa's house to administer Lainey's first of 7 Synagis shots. This took about 45 minutes and I had to be present for the first appointment to sign paperwork. The shot took about 5 seconds to give, but it took 30 minutes to calm Lainey afterwards! I wrote in an earlier post that each shot costs about $2300...well I was wrong! With the nurse, her travel time and mileage, the medication, the digital scale, and other supplies, each injection costs almost $4900! Now I have a better understanding of the reasons we had to fight with the insurance company to get these shots approved. My dad warned me that girls cost a lot of money, but Lainey is taking it to a new level!!


Logan went to the doctor on Tuesday because his fever and headache from Friday was still lingering! Just what I thought would happen..."We will continue to watch and treat the symptoms," says the doctor. He finally began feeling well enough to go to school today! For Logan's sake, I hope he is well for at least a week. I am glad he is feeling better because the Lucky Duck is leaving on Friday after school to go to Athens with Gigi and Papa. They are going to tailgate and then he gets to go into the Georgia vs. Vanderbilt game! According to Logan, "This is what I have dreaming about for 50 years! Plus I have to get a picture of Uga the dog for my teacher, Mrs. Wood."

Sid and I went on a date last Saturday for the first time in forever! Sid's mom watched the children while we went to see the movie "Fireproof." What a wonderful movie for all married couples! We highly recommend going to see it.

I am hoping that next week is less eventful than the current week. We will have one less kid this weekend since Logan will be at "the Georgia" with Gigi and Papa, I am going to a baby shower honoring my sister on Sunday, and then taking the kids to Trunk-or-Treat at the church. Look next week for some pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes! Thanks again for your prayers this week and always. It is great to have a positive update to post.

Much Love,

The Smithsons

Lainey's 1st CF appointment

Today Lainey, Sid, and I went to the Cystic Fibrosis Center at Egleston for Lainey's first CF appointment. Everyone at the center is so very nice and welcoming. We met a few of the people that are par of Lainey's CF Care Team ~ the respiratory therapist, dietician/nutritionist, nurse, case manager, and her primary doctor. Sid and I learned how to perform clapping exercises on Lainey's chest and back in order to break up any mucus in her lungs, used now for preventative measures only. She was weighed in at 8 lbs. 1 1/2 oz. This was a gain of 1 1/2 oz. in 6 days. Not too bad, but we still have to catch up for lost time, therefore we have to pack in more calories! She is now 21 inches long...tall and skinny...she can't possibly be related to us!!! :) The dietitian wants to see her gain at least 3 pounds per month in order to catch up to her height/ weight ratio. She is currently in the 10th percentile for her weight and 50th for her height. It is important that she gains weight, possibly is even chunky for the first 3 years of her life. The more she grows, the better functioning of her lungs. How well she thrives until her 3rd birthday will directly effect her health for the rest of her life. In addition to the extra calories we will be adding to her breast milk bottles, she will also receive 1/8th of a teaspoon of salt. People with CF tend to lose salt through their sweat, therefore it must be replenished through their food. Dr. Caplan, Lainey's CF doctor said that she looked well and checked out to be very healthy! He performed a throat culture to check for any infections that may be brewing. They like to catch anything before it sets up in her lungs. He also collected a stool sample to check for fats. If there are too many fats in her stool, then she will need to go up on the amount of enzymes she takes at each feeding. The enzymes help in fat and vitamin absorption. Lainey also qualifies for free enzymes and vitamins with enzymes until she is 3 years old! This helps a tremendous amount...about $2,000 we will not have to pay out of pocket for these two medications!! Some of the best news of all is that Dr. Caplan said it was okay to take her to the beach on vacation!!! We are so excited that we will all be able to get away for some family time at the beach for a week! Thanks again for continuing to pray for our family. Now we need prayers for weight gain and no harmful bacteria lingering in Lainey's little chest!
Lots of Love,
DeAnn, Sid, Logan, Liam, and Lainey