Firsts

"Too bad the weather is crummy and mom said I can't go out today... I am looking too cute!"

This week the Smithson family has had several "firsts." On Sunday Logan was invited to a classmate's birthday party at Skate Country. This was Logan's first time on skates and he thought he was going to just "take off!" Needless to say, he spent more time on the floor than standing, not to mention skating! Although he kept falling, with his will and mom's muscles, he kept getting up and trying again. By the end of the party, he could "walk-skate."

Logan James skating for the first time!
This is the only picture I was able to take with Logan standing up!

Although I am not sure I was ready for Lainey to reach this milestone, she began holding her bottle this week! Sid was not moving fast enough and Lainey was ravenous, so she grabbed the bottle from him and fed herself! At least we still have a while until she can take her enzymes without help!

This "Bug" was tired of waiting for her dad to give her what she wanted, so she took care of it herself! Dad better watch his wallet!

It is amazing what the removal of tonsils, adenoids, and ear wax can do for a non-English speaking 2-year-old! This week Liam started talking more and much clearer than ever! It is almost like he is hearing things for the first time and actually able to repeat words appropriately! He has called himself "Wawa" for several months and now can say Liam! Logan has been "Ogie" and Lainey has been "Beebee." Logan and Lainey Bug are two names he says several hundred times a day, although they are not always used in a nice manner! We are totally shocked by the dramatic change his speech has made. He seems much happier and less inclined to throw a fit now that he is able to communicate his wants, needs, and feelings! It is too bad the doctors will not remove tonsils until a child is two and one half!

Liam ~ "One tough cookie!"

Yesterday Lainey had her second dosage of Synagis. We had to weigh her at home and report her weight to the nurse in order for her to administer the correct dosage of Synagis. Lainey weighed in at 14 lbs. 8 1/2 oz! We are thrilled by this weight! Last month at Dr. Caplan's office, she weighed 13 lbs. 1 oz. This is a gain of almost one and one half pounds! On Monday we will be going back to the CF Center to see Dr. Caplan for Lainey's monthly check-up. At this time we will find out if she has gained any more weight. She loves eating rice cereal and baby food with added vegetable oil, which has proven to help her pack on some weight! Check back Monday evening for an update on our visit.

On Monday I will also go to the doctor to have repeat labs drawn. Hopefully we will learn something from these labs. If the meds I have been taking for a little over a month are doing what we intended them to do ~ increase iron levels, lower prolactin levels (breast milk release), raise vitamin D levels, higher estrogen levels, and higher kidney function ~ then I will feel like it has been worth the 5 pounds I've gained due to the meds! I am still not totally convinced that everything is okay, but I will wait to see what the tests reveal. I am continuing to lose an abundance of hair, feel light headed, have hot flashes, and have several pains associated with my right ovary and my kidney....did I mention weight gain? With all of this, I am trying to direct all of my time to the kids and making/monogramming things to keep my mind off of my health. Teaching 21 first graders and having 3 kids of your own, can help anyone take their mind off of any health issues they may be having! :) Until I get any results, I have more exciting things to think about....such as becoming an aunt!

Tuesday, Dayna is supposed to be induced and we will finally get to see Little Miss Lilly Anne! I will be posting pictures on Tuesday if Lilly Anne decides to let the pitocin do its trick!

On Wednesday, mom and dad are heading to Emory for their appointments with the Cardiologist. Mom has been experiencing odd pains in her arms and chest over the last several weeks. With the recent death of one of their close friends, they are in need of a check-up! Through David's death last week, just a little over a week from hanging with mom and dad at the Georgia/Florida game, we have learned that there are no guarantees to life. Both mom and dad have defied many odds. I have had many more years with them than many doctors have ever expected. Selfish as it may be, it has not been long enough! I am praying for a good report after their visit with Dr. Book.

Please continue to pray for Lainey, the boys, Sid and I, Dayna and Brad, Lilly Anne, and mom and dad! This week will bring a little more craziness into our lives, but we are ready to take it on! Thank you for your continuous lover, prayers, and support! We need it and truly appreciate it!

Love Always,

DeAnn and family

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

When it rains, it pours....and we are in a monsoon!

Liam tailgating at the Georgia game.

The Smithsons definitely love each other, but we have been spreading more than love! Liam had a fever of 101.4 on Sunday night, leaving us no choice but to resort to our emergency plans on Monday morning....Gigi and Papa! Thankfully they were able to watch him while Sid was at school and I was at work. How it breaks my heart to go to work instead of taking care of my children when they are sick! In all efforts to save my sick leave for a "rainy" day, I had no choice but to leave him at mom and dad's house. Fortunately we had previously scheduled an appointment with Liam's ENT that was conveniently scheduled for 3:30 on Monday! This appointment was scheduled to discuss and determine Liam's need for the removal of his tonsils. With one AHHHHHH, Dr. Stewart confirmed Liam's second case of tonsillitis in a month. He had just completed his 10 day round of antibiotics for bronchitis! We have scheduled to have his tonsils removed, a bilateral earwax removal, removal of his adenoids (which were removed last December, but are growing back in the form of scar tissue), and to place new ear tubes (this will be the third pair!) His surgery is on Wednesday, October 15th at 6:00 a.m. Hopefully this will be the answer! Dr. Stewart thinks this should solve his problems with constant ear infections, respiratory infections, and throat infections, as well as improving his speech, snoring, and constant drooling. If only it would help with Liam's anger management!

Lainey at the Georgia game!

Wednesday is also a big day for Lainey! She will be receiving the first of eight Synagis shots for the prevention of serious illness related to RSV. The home health care nurse will come to mom and dad's house to bring a digital scale and administer her Synagis shot. Two days before each shot we will call the suppliers of Synagis to report her weight. Knowing her exact wight is vital in determining the correct dosage of Synagis. Each shot costs $2300! The doctor wanted these shots to begin in September and last through April. Obviously the insurance company didn't agree with the doctor, thus the reason for beginning a month later! After an appeal from the distributors of Synagis, the insurance company agreed to continue Lainey's monthly shots through April 14th.

The sick Logan James!

Last night Logan went with Gigi and Papa in the "big bus" to begin tailgating at "the Georgia." Around 10:30 mom called to report that Logan was complaining of a headache, had a fever, and was throwing up! At least he made it to the toilet when he felt sick! This happened to be exactly two weeks from his confirmed case of strep throat, and just four days from the completion of antibiotics! Now we are hoping Liam does not get this stomach bug which could possibly postpone his surgery. Although Logan is feeling a little better, he is still feverish as I type!

"Oh really?"

Wednesday evening when I finally got around to opening the mail, I found a packed envelope from the endocrinologist. I had blood work drawn two weeks ago and an MRI brain scan one week ago, with no call from her. It was then when I understood why she had not called me with my results! She mailed fifteen pages of test results and prescriptions. With the 3 tubes of my blood they found several things. My red blood count, hemoglobin, hemocrit, and Ferritin was low. It was determined that I am anemic, therefore I am now taking iron supplements daily. It was also determined that my vitamin D levels were low. Once a week I take 50,000 units of vitamin D. My serum prolactin level was high, so I am now taking medication twice a week to lower these levels. Neither the doctor nor I know what has caused these level to be higher than normal, therefore I will have it checked regularly. My estrogen level was also extremely low. For a female of my age, the reference range is 19 - 528 (and should be at the higher end). The test showed my estrogen level to be 7, that of a postmenopausal female with no treatment. This low estrogen level may be related to the elevated prolactin level and will be monitored through blood tests. Last, but not least, my kidney function was low. Tests on my kidney function will be performed regularly to rule out chronic kidney disease. The other tests were normal, including the MRI brain scan. I was worried they might not find a brain!

Lainey and Uncle Brad hanging out in Gigi and Papa's motor home.

On Monday Lainey will go see Dr. Caplan for her monthly visit. Maybe she will weigh 13 and one half pounds...this is my goal! She has been eating rice cereal daily, which has helped lower the number of poopy diapers we change per day! Mom and dad will watch the boys since they are out of school on Monday for Columbus Day, while my friend, Jenn, Lainey, and I go to the CF Center. I will try to report about Lainey's doctor visit and Liam's surgery on Wednesday.

Thanks again for all of your prayers! Hopefully we will get a break with illnesses, for the sake of our health and wallet! In addition to the amount we are spending on numerous doctor visits, we were just informed by Liam's daycare that the fees are increasing. We will pay an additional $40 per week beginning in November. This will bring the total to $525 per month, not including his lunch and snacks! We are thankful that mom and dad are able to watch Lainey! Daycare for the two of them would cost roughly $1100 per month. Due to this increase, Sid will be picking up a few hours on Monday and Tuesday after school. It makes it harder on all of us when Sid has to work more hours, but we just thank God that we have that as an option when times get rough! Although it is hard to see at times, God really is Good! Continue praying for us ~ especially for Liam during his surgery on Wednesday and Lainey with the beginning of her Synagis shots.

Much Love,

The Smithsons