Frequent flyer miles at the ENT????

Austin came through well with his tonsillectomy (and adenoidectomy). He is almost 3 weeks out from surgery, so we are past the most critical point. Praise God! He did have trouble with his SATS immediately after surgery, but they just kept him a few hours longer and he evened out as the anesthesia wore off. He has always done that.  He had his follow-up with the ENT last week, and the ENT said that his sleep should have already improved. Unfortunately it really hasn't. He gave Austin 2 months to recover and if no better then we'll repeat the sleep study to see if he is still having apnea. If so, then I'm not sure what that means or what next. Praying that he starts to improve a lot now. God can make miracles happen as we know, so please be praying that his sleep improves drastically, that he begins to eat and grows great, and stays well! Austin is old enough that he should really start to catch up in all aspects of his life, so we want to see this happen for him. We want Austin to be the best Austin possible, so please be praying!
All 4 kids were actually seen at the ENT last week . . . we need frequent flyer miles there or something! Bradley was seen, because the ENT had asked about the other kids at one point and we had told him that Bradley snores and sleeps a lot. So, he said that he needed to be seen suspecting some sleep apnea. He asked some questions about Bradley's sleep and examined him and said that his tonsils and adenoids need to be removed. They're huge, so we're going to do that on January 13th. I'm hopeful that Bradley sleeps so restlessly that he is bothering Austin, and that we'll see an improvement in both big boys after Bradley's surgery. Bradley will be out of school 7-10 days.  Then, Cameron was seen because she is having recurring sinus infections. It's constant, but she is refluxing out of her nose again (she did this as a younger baby when they ruled out that she had a cleft palate after having a procedure done in the office). So, the doctor said we need to get the reflux under control for a couple of months before we consider removing her adenoids. She just keeps a yucky runny nose and always rubs her eyes and face like they hurt. And, last Davis had his hearing checked and a follow-up from having tubes. And, all looked great with him. He hasn't been on antibiotics in 3 weeks- yay. He stayed on them from 3 months until his tubes were placed 3 weeks ago. Tubes are amazing.
We were there a loooonng time, and I wasn't sure I was going to make it- BUT we did only by the grace of God. I'm working on Christmas pictures now. We got some great ones, and I'm so excited. It isn't an easy task with 4 kids, and they may not all be smiling, but as long as no one is crying that is pretty impressive. Hope that post will follow soon!

Awesome Austin

So, as many of you know our Austin turned 3 last month. I still can't believe it! Wow! Of course it makes it harder to believe since he is so small. He is truly a perpetual baby. I believe most people think he is 1 since they think him and Cameron are twins. I don't mind it though, because one day he WILL grow up and I'll miss this so much- although I'm sure in my eyes he will always be our special miracle baby. How can you possibly forget all that he has overcome?
So, there is one more thing that Austin has to overcome. We've been waiting for him to turn 3, because for a LONG time his tonsils have been causing major issues. He continues to develop tonsillitis, a throat infection, that requires antibiotics all the time. His huge tonsil may also attribute to his small size as they have caused him to gag often which sometimes leads to vomiting. It can also curve his appetite and make him not want to eat. However, the ENT refused to think about removing them until he turned 3 and then said he must have a sleep study before he thought of doing anything about it. The surgery can be risky and carries a risk of bleeding for about 2 weeks afterwards - and of course just Austin being small and his history carries risks in itself. . . there aren't a whole lot of 23 pound three year olds! So, I've been a little unsure of the surgery, but knew that we had to do the sleep study as enlarged tonsils can cause obstructive sleep apnea. I prayed that he'd be fine and not have any apnea, however his sleep has been awful for as long as we remember and has grown increasingly worse. So, the doctors suspected that apnea was causing the issues. Austin may get up anywhere from 3 to 10 times a night! So, he had his sleep study a couple of weeks ago and it came back showing that he has severe sleep apnea. He has 15+ episodes an hour, and in 7 hours of his sleep study he had 115 events. So, there is no choice but to take out his tonsils (and they will remove his adenoids as well). His surgery is this Friday morning, the 9th.  He is scheduled to have it as outpatient at LMC, and if there are issues then he can be transferred to Richland to stay overnight. He has just finished a round of antibiotics, in the last week, for another infection. And, over the last few days his gagging has grown worse and he is vomiting again- so we KNOW that he really need this surgery for multiple reasons.
So, I'm asking that everyone pray hard that there are no issues with anything involving the surgery. The last time Austin was put on the ventilator, for a surgery, he had some issues and had to stay in the PICU overnight. BUT, he was much younger. Pray that he can eat enough to not loose weight during the first couple of weeks after surgery when he will be especially uncomfortable- he can't spare any weight loss. Pray that there are no issues with bleeding. Pray that Chris and I have peace about this and that God works in and through the wonderful doctor. This doctor removed Chris' tonsils and has also done tubes on Austin and Bradley, so we know him well- AND Davis is going to him for tubes soon as well. Pray that Austin's lung disease causes no issues as well. So, just pray for our baby, pray anyway God leads you, and we'll let everyone know as soon as we can how he does.
He is so absolutely precious, as all of our children are, and I just thank God that we've been allowed to have him here for this long. I'm convinced that God has big things planned for that little boy(what big plans he has already had for him in his 3 short years) and that we will get to see him grow into a fine young man.
Thank you all for our prayers in advance and hope everyone has a truly blessed week!