Walking!

Make a Smilebox postcard

During PT this morning, Gabe took about 10 steps!! He would take them 2-3 at a time, then stand a bit, but he took 10 steps before he sat down again. He began standing for extended periods of time just a few days after his last surgery, now the walking! It makes us really wonder how long this hernia had been bothering him and how much it had been slowing him down! Enjoy the video clips - and thanks for all of your prayers and support! We are certainly rejoicing this "big step" - all of them!

There's always SOMEthing...

Do I begin with last night, or Friday night? I guess I'll start with Friday.

I had to work Friday afternoon, so the first part is second-hand. Apparently Gabriel woke up screaming from his nap and didn't settle down easily at all. He then started throwing up and continued alternating between general malaise and vomiting for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. When I got home from work, Josh and I took turns holding him, eating, feeding other kids, etc... Around 8ish, I went to change his diaper and noticed something different. There was a lump about the size of a large green grape under the skin just to the right of his penis. Well that didn't look right and I called Josh over. We didn't make the obvious conclusion right away, feeling just a little confused after all about something that we hadn't seen before, but as we were sitting on hold with the after hours clinic, Josh stated the obvious and I had a "duh" moment. Hernia - the regular kind. By the time the nurse came on, we pretty well knew we would be heading to the ER, being that it was now nearly 9 on a Friday night. That's where we went and much to our surprise, after explaining the situation, we pulled back the diaper tabs and our jaws dropped when there was no protrusion anymore. They did xrays to make sure there were no intestinal blockages, gave him some pedialyte and once satisfied that the vomiting was over, sent us home with instructions to return to the ER should it pop back out again. The rest of the night and all day Saturday, Gabe was fine. That night, it popped back out again - so I called in the calvary and hopped back over to the ER with the same results. After another couple of hours (Saturday night on a holiday weekend is not a good time to be in the ER) another doctor reconfirmed it had to be a hernia, but to take him home and get in touch with a surgeon Tuesday, when offices were open. He added that if it popped out again and we could massage it back in, we didn't need to come back. Sunday it did come out again, but I massaged the area, the lump seemed to fade away, Gabe was content, so we stayed home. Monday night (sounding like a broken record? I feel like one) Gabe really started to fuss around 7:30, I checked and sure enough, it was back out but he wouldn't tolerate any touching this time. He wouldn't even put his knees down when I picked him up. The ER docs and the on-call surgeon couldn't coax it back in either. So a little after midnight last night they took him into surgery and fixed it. We spent the night in the peds floor and just got home a little while ago. He is sleeping and I think I want to do that too.

NICU reunion

We RSVPd for the NICU reunion picnic at Riley on September 13th. Don't know how many from Riley still check here, but we are excited we will be able to go and look forward to seeing a lot of people who remain special to us there. That's really all I wanted to say, but since I am here, I guess I can update a little. Gabe has completely returned to his normal self, showing no ill-effects from the head-trauma, physically anyway. Psychologically, may be a little different. If he takes any kind of a tumble, he cries - sometimes screams. He can get quite dramatic about it. Hopefully this will improve. We haven't had any other medical appointments in a while, so I don't know if he will have "white coat" syndrome from his stay in the ER and PICU.

We are in the process of getting ready for the big yearly First Steps eval to determine what Gabriel will need in terms of services for the next year. Our OT seems to think that he won't qualify for her services anymore, which is bittersweet. Our weekly sessions are ultimately moving us towards not needing her anymore so it is nice to know we are reaching our goals, but we will miss seeing her every week. Our PT is in the process of trying to get some orthotic foot braces to help Gabe toward walking on his own. He rolls his feet inward when walking and standing, which she says a lot of little ones probably do, they just adjust and grow out of it - and don't necessarily have a PT around to notice a problem. The process is a little slow b/c of paperwork, but hopefully they will be approved. One concern is that we didn't include walking independently as a goal for this 6 month period, since we didn't anticipate needing it as a goal. Standing was one of our goals, so she is hoping that will be good enough to get them through First Steps. If not, we'll buy them. Our Insurance flex acct would probably cover it, but we don't put any money in it. It just seems like an interest-free savings account, so why bother.
Ok - time for bed!

CDH Awareness Petition

Apparently one organization is trying to trademark and have ownership over 'CDH Awareness'. This just seems very wrong to me. If you have a minute, please follow the link, read the information pertaining to a petition designed to stop this from happening. If you agree with the petition, please sign it. Thanks. If you do sign it, feel free to leave a comment or shoot us an email with your thoughts. Again, our email is jpwittmer@wowway.com

Here's the link:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cdhawareness/

Miracle Blizzard Day!!

I just saw the advertisements for this a few days ago, or I would have blogged about it sooner!! Go get a blizzard and enjoy the treat knowing that you have also made an easy donation to the miracle network. It will help hospitals and families, like Riley, who so desperately need it. I don't have to tell most of you what Riley means to us, you know. For those who stumble across this site - I'll try to summarize.

Uncertainty is never easy, but when the question mark sits squarely on your child's life, the fear that comes with the unknown is magnified. I carried Gabriel for nearly nine months and although I couldn't change what had gone wrong in development, I could do my best to care for myself and ergo care for him. While I still carried him, he was safe. When he was born, what little control I had was stripped away. As parentts, you are supposed to know what to do for your child, what soothes them and how to care for them. They don't come with manuals, but you figure most of it out or rely on the advice of others. I couldn't fix this, couldn't even hold him for a minute and tell him it would be ok. He needed immediate care that was beyond anything I knew about and the helplessness was overwhelming. I didn't know what to do, had no answers, but Thank God we were in a place with people who did. They knew what to do when we didn't. Even when they weren't sure what to do next, they never stopped searching for the answers or the next step. Gabriel was exactly where he needed to be and between their hands and God's hands, we have a miracle of our own. He crawls all over the house, makes messes and has a smile that lights up your soul and chases away even the gloomiest of moods. We can't imagine our lives without him and are grateful we don't have to.

So if you happen to pass by a DQ today, swing through the drive-thru or stop in. Order your favorite blizzard or try something new, doesn't matter. Diet or no diet, you can feel good about what you are doing. If you just can't break the diet (or are lactose intolerant) throw a dollar in the jar, most DQ's collect money for the miracle network. If you've followed our story, you are firmly part of our miracle through your thoughts and prayers - think how amazing it would be to be part of a whole network of miracles.

Just like last year, if you get one, leave a comment and let us know what you got!! I'll probably go for the German Chocolate....

Momentous Anniversary

The significance of this date has been on my mind all day. I was a bit emotional when I first arrived at work this morning, but was fortunately able to get a grip! I think the best way to honor this date is to replay "Gabriel's Song", written by Dave Knopsnyder - Josh's uncle. The slideshow includes pictures from birth to his homecoming, so it is fitting. I am going to get emotional again, so I am going to let Dave's beautiful words (from Gabe's point of view) finish for me.

Developmental Peds appt

Yesterday's appt with Dev. Peds was fairly quick and uneventful - which is a GOOD thing! The nurse practitioner was pleased with Gabe's social skills - he smiled and flirted most of the time she was in there. We discussed his milestones and typical eating patterns (I say "typical" b/c the last week hasn't really been typical) which she was also very happy with. After looking at Gabe and checking him over, she was relatively unconcerned about the head trauma incident, simply commenting "it happens" and even related a quick story involving a broken bone with the parents right there. Gabe was certainly much more himself yesterday than he had been all week. Between headaches and upset tummy from his fall and a very stubborn front tooth, he hasn't been his usual, happy and adventurous self. His OT was concerned enough on Wednesday when she saw him that we wound up in the pediatrician's office for some reassurance, especially since we were heading out of town. Our pediatrician checked him over thoroughly and was satisfied Gabe was fine and would hopefully perk up soon. He did and enjoyed a visit in the NICU as well as his first ride on the People Mover. Justin and Kendrick were very excited to finally show their little brother how they spent last summer at Riley. I think they were also excited he could join them this time- ok that "hallmark moment" was more me than than them, but they did comment that it was Gabe's first time.

That afternoon, while Gabe napped and the older boys played with Rex (their new "puppy cousin") Josh got us some new tires. We had a nice blow-out on I-70 at about 9:30 Wednesday on our way up to Indy. Josh had to change the tire, in the dark with semis and other traffic whizzing by while I watched for errant drivers that may pose a threat. I'm not sure exactly what I was going to do if I saw somebody headed for our spot on the side of the interstate, but it felt somewhat useful, so I did it. We now have four new tires and a working flashlight in the van. Live and learn.