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

Doctor Visits!!!!!....and new pictures!

More illness at our house! Logan was out of school on Friday and Liam should have been....but who wants to take care of a 2 year old that doesn't slow down when he is sick....even when given medication that causes drowsiness?! After convincing the kids into going through the doors of the doctors office (they remembered the blood test for Cystic Fibrosis and didn't even want to go in), we soon found out that Logan had Strep Throat and Liam had Bronchitis! Two co pays and two prescriptions later, we were headed home for a weekend of recuperation.

It is amazing how hard it is to keep the baby away from the boys and even more difficult to keep the boys away from the baby!! Every few minutes Logan wanted to know if it was okay to kiss the baby, since he was feeling better! After a Saturday of not feeling well myself, being home with 3 kids while Sid was working, nursing two sick boys back to health, cleaning the house, cleaning out closets, doing laundry, and watching Georgia "blackout" during the game...I was wishing I hadn't taken the boys to the doctor(or watched the game)!! They were more than feeling better with just one dose of antibiotics and I was worn out!! Whoever had the wonderful idea of making Saturday "Go outside and Play" day on the cartoon station, did not have the moms' of sick children in mind! Although I was feeling better on Sunday, our day was just as crazy...but I managed to take a few pictures of Lainey!

"I hope those boys don't give me what they have!"

On Monday we went to the pediatrician for Lainey's 4 month check-up. She did not have Strep Throat, but her throat was red!! We are praying that red is all she has in her throat...no germs! She weighed 12 pounds 13 ounces...that is a gain of 10.5 ounces in 13 days!! YEA!! Lainey was not very happy to have Dr. Onal checking her out...especially when he was pushing on her belly. She showed him by dirtying her diaper before he was able to check that area! Although we have seen her reach milestones quicker than Logan and even faster than Liam could have ever imagined, she refused to show Dr. Onal! She didn't want to hold her head up, roll over, be on her stomach, "talk," or grab on to his fingers! Mom and I were bummed out that she was not showing off (which is a Smithson trait), but we know what she can do and that is what counts!! After much reading and research, Dr. Onal decided it was safe...or at least that the benefits outweigh the risks...for Lainey to receive the Rotovirus orally. She did not get the first dosage at 2 months due to the precautions...DO NOT take if you have had a blood transfusion (Lainey had one at 6 days old), if you have had bowel obstructions (Lainey had for her first 5 days of life and then some), if you have had bowel surgery (Lainey had at 5 days old), and if you have digestion issues (Lainey's everyday issue). With all of these precautions, it is easily understood why we had an issue giving her the oral vaccine! Dr. Onal did a lot of reading and research, received a thumbs up from Dr. Caplan (the CF doctor), and I said I was comfortable with it, therefore she received her first Rotovirus dosage out of 3. So far, so good. No issues related to the vaccine that we have noticed. She has been running a fever, but we are contributing that to the other 4 vaccines she received! Overall, her visit was very good. Dr. Onal was happy with her progress and her unchanged status of health related to the Cystic Fibrosis. Two hours later, we were all happy...because we were finally getting out of the office!

Lainey liking the view from her Bumbo!

Today at 3:30 I will be having a MRI brain scan. The endocrinologist wants to check for any tumors in the pituitary gland. In addition to the MRI, she also had blood drawn for 15 different tests (one being pregnancy, so I know the answer is "not" an issue, but I am worried about the other 14). I should know results from the MRI and the blood work by the end of the week, or the beginning of next week. For my family's sake, I hope nothing is wrong with me! I think I could handle it personally, but if someone had to take over my responsibilities, I don't know what I would do! On that note, I think I will start a manual to surviving at the Smithson household! :)

Please keep all of us in your prayers! We need good health for everyone and bad germs out of our house! Thank you for everything ~ we count on your thoughts and prayer more than you will ever know!

Much Love,

The Smithsons

"Sitting up is way cooler than always lying down!"



Lainey and Logan watching cartoons!

Mommy's Love Bug!

Have you ever seen a "Naked Bug?" Well, now you have! If you look closely...I mean get real close...you can see her scars from the surgery and t-tube. The scar from the surgery is about an inch above her belly button, about 2 inches long, and parallel to the top of her diaper. The t-tube scar is next to her thumb nail! The doctors did an awesome job, didn't they?!