CHOP News

Yesterday we were up by 5 a.m. to start our journey to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for our "final" follow-up visit from Joshua's surgery. It took us three hours to get there with traffic, but we still were on time to get his chest x-ray and see Dr. Adzick, Joshua's surgeon. Joshua screamed when we held his arms & legs down for the x-ray, but calmed down immediately when I picked him back up. Then we headed upstairs for the consultation with the doctor. He weighed in at 20.6 lbs and is now 28 inches long! He's a whopper! They then put us in a room where he delightedly played with the paper that covers the exam tables. He LOVED it! A beautiful blonde nurse practitioner examined him first and asked us questions, and he smiled at her with his cute little four teeth. However, when Dr. Adzick walked in the room, his smile quickly turned to terrified tears. What is it about men that scares him? I don't know.

His chest x-ray looks good and shows positive lung growth. So, that was great news and exactly what we expected to hear. However, we also heard things we didn't want to, too. I asked questions about Joshua's vomiting and asked if that was normal since we were told that when he really breathes heavy that he would pump air into his little belly. We thought maybe it came back out, along with any food in its way, through spitting up. However, we were told that was NOT normal. He should be able to breathe "normally" now with no restrictions physically. They said, though, that the hiatal hernia surgery was a "two-for-one" special, and some kids go to the hospital just for that - it's also considered major surgery (just not as major as lung surgery). They said that possibly he's having some digestive/stomach issues and they want him to come back for a test where he will swallow barium and they will follow it to get a "base line." If that comes back abnormal, they would consider opening him up again for additional surgery. That sounded like the worst case scenario, but Dr. Adzick does want to see him again. One good thing, though, is that he's still gaining weight and whatever this is does not appear to be affecting his growth.

I was so disappointed! One, I feel so bad that we've thought this vomitting was "normal" and poor Joshua's been suffering (even though he's never fussy with it and not running a fever or showing any other signs of being sick or in pain). Two, I told Shawn that I can't bear the thought of another surgery. I'll do whatever's in Josh's best interest, though. I called Roseville Pediatrics to see if we could move up his 9 month well-baby check-up with Dr. Tifft (scheduled for June 26) so I can ask if they do this barium test in Lancaster; however, they said he's booked until September. But, they offered to have him call me and chat about the CHOP visit. I'm still waiting to hear back from him. My sister said she's had friends whose kids started vomiting when they started solid foods, so I'm trying not to panic. I'm believing Joshua is COMPLETELY healed with no further surgeries necessary EVER!

The song I'm listening to right now is by Jeremy Riddle (Shawn's new favorite worship artist)called "God Moves in Mysterious Ways" and says at the end that "God is His own interpreter and He will make it plain...in His own time...in His own way." I don't always understand why God allows things to happen or moves in the way He does, but He always has our best interest at heart. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." When Shawn & I were heading home from Mike & Bonnie's on Saturday, there was an accident on 222 and we had to take 272 home. We passed a house we had put an offer in on that had fell through, and I remember being so discouraged when it happened but we talked about how glad we are now that we didn't buy it since we don't work up that way anymore and wouldn't want to live that far north. God knew we didn't need that particular house even if we didn't. God is always in control, and His ways are higher than ours. I will continue to praise Him and trust that He has worked ALL of Joshua's healing out for His glory and honor. The song that came on next on our playlist is "Stand in Awe" by Jeremy Riddle and it says "We stand in awe in worship, we raise our voice in worship...come adore...the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Behold the Lamb in Heaven, He was dead but God raised him...from the grave, for His arm is MIGHTY TO SAVE."