Julia in Hospital

I wanted to apologize for the lack of updates on our blog. We have been having some major issues with our computer systems at our house. We currently don't have a single computer up and running. This makes blogging rather...well...impossible. I am working on getting one of the computers working so we can have one less thing to worry about.

Now on to the updates. Julia had an appointment with a pediatric GI doctor down in Richmond yesterday afternoon. We were eager to get her to this appointment because she was not eating very much for us. She was refusing to take her bottle for the last several days. She did manage to take about 10 ounces yesterday morning when she woke up, so that was a bit of a relief. But, we still were very worried about her. Carey took her down to her appointment and very quickly the GI doctor said Julia needed to be hospitalized. He explained that none of her GI systems were working correctly. They call it re-feeding syndrome. Her malnourishment was so bad that her body had basically forgotten how to eat and digest. There was no way for Carey and I to get her healthy again by just bottle feeding her. As a matter of fact, force feeding her could have jeopardized her life. The doctor explained that because her body is this malnourished, reintroducing food is a delicate process. The food needs to be introduced gradually while closely monitoring electrolytes and her heart.

So, Julia is now hospitalized down at MCV in Richmond in their pediatric progressive care unit which is one step below intensive care. They have placed a drip tube through her nose and down into her stomach. They are going to slowly bring her digestive systems back on track. They are starting her on an ounce of food through the tube per hour. They will monitor her electrolytes every twelve hours to see if her nutrient and chemical levels will come back into balance. They said she will be in the hospital at least two weeks. It is a great relief to finally know part of what is going on in her little body and knowing that she is getting help now. Please keep her in your prayers that she will make a swift recovery and her body will finally get the nutrients it has so badly needed.

On a lighter note, both Aaron and Julia had ophthalmology appointments on Monday that were very positive. Julias occasional crossed eyes are a result of being very farsighted. So the doctor wrote her a prescription for glasses that will help her in a couple ways. She will now be able to see us without having to strain so hard. And we will be getting her transition lenses which will help with her light sensitivity. We found her a pair of glasses that fit, but we need to wait for them to officially be on our insurance before we can get the glasses. She will look so cute!

Aaron's eyes see just fine. So that was good news. But one eye tends to go off to the side instead of staying focused. The doctor explained that with a couple of botox injections in the eye muscles on his right eye, this problem should completely, or at least mostly, clear up. That was great news! We will schedule that procedure once the insurance is completely in place.

As for home life, Aaron is adjusting well to being in our family. We have discovered that he thoroughly enjoys doing certain tasks around the house. He actually seems to get giddy over the idea of putting laundry in the washing machine and starting it and then switching it over to the dryer. He actually gets upset if there is no wash to be done on a given day. Hopefully some of this work ethic will rub off on our other kids. He also likes helping with the dishwasher and he would love to vacuum. We have a toy vacuum that he pushes around the upstairs and pretends to vacuum everything. Maybe we should get him a dust buster and let him do some work while he's playing.

Well, that's all for now. I have to get back to work. Once we have a computer back up at home, we will add some more pictures up here. Please keep Julia and our family in your prayers. Thanks and God Bless!