4-21-10

Well we had our doctor appointment. We got to Omaha, had a nice lunch with Grandma Martha, did a little window-shopping, then got to the appointment. Normally we are very fortunate and get into all our doctors with in minutes. This was not the case today. We waited in the waiting room and waited just as long in the room where they meet with us. Finally after apologizing for being late we got the meeting started. Hey that happens, and we got to spend some good time together so it was fine. We talked about how surgery on her throat is a big deal, a small surgery for other kids is a big deal for her so this is not a simple thing. He also talked about how her adenoids and tonsils are pretty small and he does not think that is the issue. He went further to state how that surgery could easily lead into a tracheotomy, where she breathes through a tube in her neck. Following that up with how dangerous that is. So after making me nervous and grateful for not wanting to rush into anything. He followed it up with solutions. We are going to do a sleep study to figure out her saturations, (the percentage of the oxygen in her body) when she is quiet and noisy, and when she breathes through her nose and mouth. We are good there, she has always been in the high 90’s (100% is the best) even when she has been in the hospital, so we thank God for that. We are also quite sure when she is making noise, it’s stress related and she is breathing fine through all of it, but we will have a scientific answer after the sleep study. I’m feeling good about this. I don’t want any surgeries unless they are going to make things better. If not, I agree with the doctor that we don’t want to do it. I am also thankful that instead of saying “not now” to the surgery, he is following up with figuring out what is going on, and this is a super safe sleep study that will tell us lots of information.

Well, after the doctor appointment we were going to go to the zoo, but it was closed, so we were going to go to the glass chapel outside of Gretna, but it was also closed, did I mention we waited for a long time. No complaints though! So we walked the Gretna outlet mall. It’s true there has been a recession, about half of the shops are closed, but we ran across a couple of kids clothing store’s and Quinn is now set for summer thanks to my credit card and Grandma Martha. A bit of retail therapy does wonders. We also got her a life jacket for swimming and a backpack for next school year. Granted I’ve already switched everything from her diaper bag over, but it’s nice and it fits everything, and we decided a three year old deserves a backpack over a baby bag.

I once again am reminded how she is three years old and has a very wonderful personality. After John and I left for work, Quinn put on her best act for Grandma Martha and got all pouty and cried for “Mom, mom, mom.” Finally she is letting us know, using her words, what she wants, and I’m one of those choices, not dad! I have to admit that makes me feel good, to have her want me and share her feelings with grandma! You go Quinn! You go Grandma Martha too, for listening to her, calming her down, and distracting her. Quinn - I’m so lucky to have you in my life! I have to say sometimes I want to get all pouty during the day and be with you too!

One more story – Stacie is Quinn’s speech therapist and she is amazing, as I’ve stated before. Quinn is testing boundaries to say the least right now. Yesterday they were playing this game and Stacie was giving Quinn choices on what toys to play with. Quinn wanted this duck and Stacie wanted her to say the word “duck”. Well Quinn just sat there and would not talk. So Stacie said something to the order of – o.k. Quinn, we won’t play with the duck, and set it off to the side. Quinn freaked out and started breathing heavy and squeaking and basically freaked out on her. Well, Stacie told her that they could not play if she acted like that and put the board down and acted like she was cleaning up the game. After a few minutes, Quinn calmed herself down and very nicely said “duck” and they got on with the game. Wow, is she ever 3! She is busy testing us right now. I have had a few conversations with her on her breathing issues, and luckily I feel like I can tell what is what with her, and her therapists agree, so we will just keep talking, and learning, and continue timeouts and stopping games. She is an amazing little girl, and wow, she teaches me so much!