Yet Another Surgery....

Well, here we are again, facing another surgery with our sweet baby. A lot has been going on this year that we haven't posted on our blog...we try to stay positive even when the circumstances aren't :0) But things seem to be smoothing out, so we thought we might share a little of our lives with you.

We have been trying to get this surgery scheduled for 2 months now and have encountered problems. Slowly but surely we are learning to lean more and more on our Heavenly Father and trust that He is ultimately in control. On May 6th, Abby was seen by a pediatric orthopaedic doctor, Dr. Dempsey, who told us that she would need heel cord lengthening surgery on her left foot. It was not something we really wanted to hear, but it's obvious just by looking at her foot that something is wrong. Her entire foot is "curled up" including her little toes. This poses a huge problem with her braces because if she ever curls her toes underneath while her foot is in the brace, her heel pops up and her foot is no longer down in the brace like it's supposed to be. Now, factor in the doctor telling us that Abby needs to be in her braces 8 hours a day. Big problem! We did ask if physical therapy would correct her foot over time, but babies that come into the world with a birth defect are only correctable with surgery.

Abby had a bad case of pneumonia and a severe urinary tract infection in April (ended up in the ER) and a lighter case in June. Then in July we took her back for a check-up as she had been running a low-grade fever almost every day since April. Again, she was diagnosed with pneumonia and her pending surgery was cancelled. And then......great news. The pediatrician called back last Wednesday and said a specialist had reviewed all of Abby's chest x-rays and she did not currently have pneumonia (although she definitely had it in April). A network of blood vessels in her right lung appear to be pneumonia on her x-rays. The blood vessels are harmless and it's normal for some babies to have this. She is probably running the fever due to teething since all of her labwork came back normal. So again, surgery was rescheduled for this coming Tuesday, July 21st, at 7am.

After the surgery is complete, and while Abby is under anesthesia, an orthotist will come in and cast both of her legs for new braces that will fit much better. Then her left leg will be in a cast for 2 weeks up to her hip and then for 1 more week just below her knee. During that time she cannot get her cast wet at all, which means no bath for 3 weeks. Now folks, that may not sound like the end of the world to you, but to a 2 year old who absolutely loves her bath every day, it is :0) Since Abby is still so small, we normally bathe her in the kitchen sink. But lately we wanted her to venture out and really enjoy her bath time until surgery, so we moved her to the big tub and added lots of fun toys. Of course she loves it! (See pictures).

But here's how good our God is: one of my friends put a post on Facebook about her little boy being able to go to youth camp and still swim in the pool even with a broken arm. So I emailed her and found out about a cast cover that is 100%waterproof and you can shower, swim, and bathe even with a cast on! We have one ordered for Abby and hopefully it will get here in time. You know, God knew our baby needed her special time that she enjoys so much in the bath tub. If anyone out there thinks God doesn't care about the little things in your life, HE DOES! And maybe He chooses not to change or fix your circumstances, but just look around and you'll see that He is there with you and He cares.

We aren't crazy about our precious Abby going through another surgery (her fourth one) but we know this is best for her in the longrun. We cherish your prayers and encouragement and consider it an honor that you would continue to remember our sweet Abby and our family in your prayers.



Rub-A-Dub-Dub, Abby's in the tub!





You should hear her say "dub dub dub"...she's really
loving the tub thing!





Everybody should have a rubber duckie!