Monday, July 28, 2003
Janine, Matthew, Buster and I went to visit Grandma and Grandpa this weekend. They were kind enough to babysit and dogsit while Mom and Dad played nine holes. Scores will not be posted here!! I took some great pictures, which will be up soon. Thank you for giving us a break! We love you!
We had two appointments today at Children's. The first one was for a VCUG (pictures of his urinary tract). They told us to get there at 10:00 for the 10:30 appointment. We sat for two hours before having to cancel and reschedule so we wouldn't be late for our next appointment! Typical. I always wonder if it's the system or the people that are responsible for that brand of stupidity.
The next appointment was a follow-up with the cardiologist. We got mostly good news. The bicuspid valve shouldn't be a problem for decades, if ever. If it is there are surgical options. Matthew will need to take antibiotics whenever he goes to the dentist (I thought that was a joke). That's because the flow through his aorta is turbulent near that valve which causes a roughening of the inner wall. Bacteria like to stick to rough surfaces, and oral bacteria entering the bloodstream are of the greatest concern. The coarct is very minor. It will just need to be monitored to make sure it is growing with the rest of the aorta. Stents may even be possible otherwise surgery may be necessary. The doctor made it sound very unlikely.
We had two appointments today at Children's. The first one was for a VCUG (pictures of his urinary tract). They told us to get there at 10:00 for the 10:30 appointment. We sat for two hours before having to cancel and reschedule so we wouldn't be late for our next appointment! Typical. I always wonder if it's the system or the people that are responsible for that brand of stupidity.
The next appointment was a follow-up with the cardiologist. We got mostly good news. The bicuspid valve shouldn't be a problem for decades, if ever. If it is there are surgical options. Matthew will need to take antibiotics whenever he goes to the dentist (I thought that was a joke). That's because the flow through his aorta is turbulent near that valve which causes a roughening of the inner wall. Bacteria like to stick to rough surfaces, and oral bacteria entering the bloodstream are of the greatest concern. The coarct is very minor. It will just need to be monitored to make sure it is growing with the rest of the aorta. Stents may even be possible otherwise surgery may be necessary. The doctor made it sound very unlikely.
Thursday, July 24, 2003
Funny Dad, but you'd better put that pacifier back in my mouth fast!
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Matthew wore his first Michigan outfit this weekend. Here he is watching the British Open with us on Sunday!
Saturday, July 19, 2003
Aunt Jenna and Grandma Cathie were just here. Matthew peed on himself in mid-diaper change seven times today. That earned him a bath. He thought it was funny every time he did it!
Thursday, July 17, 2003
Janine is very excited because Matthew slept for six straight hours last night. As usual, I didn't notice.
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
He was speaking baby-talk all day today! Here's a good one of him talking to Mommy!
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Uncle Greg and Aunt Kat are visiting! TechTV is reviewing the game Greg worked on, and since he doesn't have cable, they're over here to watch it. Unfortunately, Matthew has been sleeping since they got here!
Monday, July 14, 2003
Matthew had a doctor's appointment today. He is 12 pounds 12 ounces and 24 inches long. He got three shots in his thighs and he hurts. Poor sleeping Buddha!
Since many of you don't have the full scoop on Matthew's medical situation, I can breifly summarize. When he was about a month old he got a fever of about 103 and we took him to Children's Hospital. After testing his urine, blood, and spinal fluid, they found a "gram positive cocci" (bacteria) in his urine and blood (none in the spinal fluid, thank God). He received a course of IV antibiotics and was released. We continued to give him oral antibiotics for eight days.
The oral antibiotics stopped on June 30th. On the 4th of July he started to act sick again, and had a temperature. We took him back to the hospital (after packing what we knew we'd need based on experience). They didn't test his spinal fluid again, thanks to a reasonable ER resident. They found an infection in his urine, but not his blood. They checked out his bladder and kidneys via ultrasound and discovered that he isn't emptying his bladder properly. The urine is streaming back into his kidneys which could lead to a kidney infection. He will need to stay on oral antibiotics indefinately. At least we know what to do in order to keep him out of the hospital for a while.
The other news is that he has two congenital heart defects. First: One of his valves, which should have three leaflets, only has two. It looks like a pie with a 1/3 slice cut in it. The other two leaflets never seperated. Second: He has "coarctation" of his aorta, which basically means a constriction. That seemed to be a bigger concern to the cardiologists than the valve problem. We have follow-up appointments for both his heart and kidneys on July 28th.
So far he seems perfectly happy and healthy to us. He gives me big smiles when I get home from work.
The oral antibiotics stopped on June 30th. On the 4th of July he started to act sick again, and had a temperature. We took him back to the hospital (after packing what we knew we'd need based on experience). They didn't test his spinal fluid again, thanks to a reasonable ER resident. They found an infection in his urine, but not his blood. They checked out his bladder and kidneys via ultrasound and discovered that he isn't emptying his bladder properly. The urine is streaming back into his kidneys which could lead to a kidney infection. He will need to stay on oral antibiotics indefinately. At least we know what to do in order to keep him out of the hospital for a while.
The other news is that he has two congenital heart defects. First: One of his valves, which should have three leaflets, only has two. It looks like a pie with a 1/3 slice cut in it. The other two leaflets never seperated. Second: He has "coarctation" of his aorta, which basically means a constriction. That seemed to be a bigger concern to the cardiologists than the valve problem. We have follow-up appointments for both his heart and kidneys on July 28th.
So far he seems perfectly happy and healthy to us. He gives me big smiles when I get home from work.
Sunday, July 13, 2003
Welcome! I was sitting here with nothing better to do when I thought "hey, It'd be cool to make a blog for Matthew". So, here it is.
After two suprise hospitalizations, I realized it can be difficult to keep everyone up to date on the little guy's progress. I don't want to have to update people from the hospital ever again, so the intention here is to post pictures, "firsts", and funny stories.
After two suprise hospitalizations, I realized it can be difficult to keep everyone up to date on the little guy's progress. I don't want to have to update people from the hospital ever again, so the intention here is to post pictures, "firsts", and funny stories.
