Hasta La Vista, Eosinophils.

The biopsies came back clear.

Hallelujah. 

There were a few nasty white cells in the small intestine, but the colon, stomach, and esophagus looked great. The doctor said they even wrote a big zero beside the esophagus results. Zero. We've never seen that number (or lack thereof) in the esophagus. And the ones in the small intestine? There weren't enough of them that we're going to worry about it right now. So my boy gets a break from the steroid.

And we're going to embrace a happy and pain free Owen for as long as it lasts before those little boogers start invading again.

I feel like we're being spoiled rotten right now.

I don't know why so many of our prayers have been answered in the last month, but I am so thankful.

I'm thankful for the huge strides Owen has made.

I'm thankful that he is finally growing and thriving.

And I'm most thankful for a God who never lets go.

Here's a pic of my lil' man enjoying his favorite snack on the evening of the biopsies.

(He may have been invaded in all orifices that morning, but he did get the day off from structured feeding......it's the little things, right?)

See ya later, eosinophils.

Feel free to take a LONG vacation before your next invasion.

Dude. Seriously?!

I swear just yesterday these two were still babies.

And now they're both in elementary school.

That's just pure craziness.

PS - Owen's bored.

Home and Doing Great.

Sparth Vader did very well.

Everything looked great physically - there was no permanent damage yet and the esophagus had not tightened up at all. Big Yay!

Now we wait a week for biopsy results and follow up appointments.

He had a rough time coming off the anasthesia and was in a good bit of pain for awhile, but he totally perked up this afternoon and was very playful tonight even without pain meds.

Yup - he's definitely a trooper.

They're Going In.....

Literally.

We'll be at the hospital before the sun rises tomorrow for my lil' man to get a procedure that includes but is not limited to one that is usually reserved for people over 50. He hasn't eaten since lunch today and has been such a trooper through the "prep" work. (Let's just say that cleaning out the colon can be invasive.....and gross.....)

Please pray that his esophagus still looks normal without any permanent damage.

Please pray for the biopsies from the esophagus, stomach lining, and colon to come back clear.

Please pray for us as it will most likely be a long day.

Please pray for my little fighter to go in with his normal scrappy fighting attitude.

I don't know much, but I do know that if anybody can handle a day like tomorrow - it's a combination of Spider Man and Darth Vader.

Or as I like to call him - "Sparth Vader."

Thank you, friends.

The Loot

Me: "Isaac, do you care if I cry the whole time we shop for your school supplies because I'm sad that you're growing up so fast?"

Isaac: "Nope. Do you care if I cry the whole time because I don't want to go to school?"

Back to school shopping is done.

I took them out separately to have special time with each one of them. Isaac and I were gone for a grand total of about 45 minutes because the boy is not a shopper. After supply shopping, I asked if he wanted to look for new clothes and he said no because Nana already got him some. End of story.

Emma Grace took two and half hours. The lunchbox decision alone was at least half of that. We had fun though.

Here they are after dinner showing off their loot to one another.

Luckily Todd had the wherewithal to grab Isaac's old lunch box and give it to Owen so he didn't feel left out.

T-5 days.

Kindergarten and First Grade, here they come.

Watch out.

Awesome Owen Update

Wow.

We've had some great appointments this week.

Yesterday at UNC Owen gained almost a pound and also grew several centimeters. He was still below the third percentile but everyone was thrilled that he FINALLY grew in length and width.

Today was our evaluation with the state. This was his third evaluation by either social workers or a developmental specialist. At the first one in NJ, he was at the same level as an 18-20 month old developmentally. That was nine weeks ago. The second evaluation was four weeks ago. At that point, he scored on the same level as a 22-24 month old. Today? Today he was between 25-27 months......which is within the average range on the test. So in nine weeks he's gone from being a year behind to only being 3-5 months behind. What has made the difference in such a short amount of time? The specialists think it was a combination of taking him off a certain drug that made him very sleepy and proper nutrition. Hhhhhhhmmmmmmm - I agree, but I also think it was the answer to MANY prayers that have been lifted for my sweet boy. Thank you, friends!

He still has some sensory and other issues, but none of them were severe enough to qualify for services from the state. This is both a blessing and a curse. While we're thrilled that he falls within the average range, they think he could definitely benefit from services. They just won't pay for them. :( His preschool should help with the developmental therapy and we're looking into finding a good place to do occupational. The OT will work with him on continuing to build up his abdomen and muscle tone and also help with his sensory issues.

So basically this is a great week. We're seeing progress both physically and developmentally and we could not be more excited. Next week we have more biopsies and we'll see where he is internally. If biopsies come back clear, there will be mucho celebration going on.

God

is

so

good!

A serious case of PVD

Post Vacation Depression is a serious illness that should not be taken lightly. And I think all five of us are suffering from it right now. Not sure what the cure is yet, but I'm looking into it.

And if any of you have been reading this blog since last August then you will remember how perturbed I was when we got back from the beach and I could only post four pictures on the blog at a time. It was like Sophie's Choice (on a much much much smaller and not nearly as traumatic level) trying to decide which pictures to post out of the hundreds I took. But this year.....well this year baby, I got this picture posting thing figured out.

So if you only read this blog for the wealth of knowledgeable and truly outstanding content, you may want to skip this post. Because there is about to be a plethora of pictures that I am probably the only one truly enamored by.

Without further ado: The Fischer Family Beach Vacay of 2011. Woot woot.

Two crazy cousins:

The crazy cousin on the left's crazy mama.

(Who, by the way, makes me laugh like a hyena and also makes a mean strawberry daquiri. Together, it is a lethal combination.)

 

Two of my boys chillaxin' on the beach.

Best dinner ever (once they were dead)? I think yes.

Todd and his brother and I ate pretty much the entire bushel by ourselves. It was embarrassing but also kind of fun. 

Four kids having a quiet moment of prayer before getting on the boat?

I'm thinking not. But it looks like it, so who's to say?

 Future modeling career?

Only time will tell.

Did the kids have fun on the tube?
As my dad likes to say, "does a bear 'crap' (I'm using the nicer version on the public blog) in the woods?"

Yup - fo sho. They had fun.

They also had fun building sand castles with their grandad, and boating, and stealing kisses while some people tried to snooze, going to the "beauty parlor", painting their grandmother's nails, eating a lot of yummy food, swimming, diving off the sea wall, etc, etc, etc.

And here's one not so great picture with me in it.
Just to prove I was there.

Many thanks to Todd's parents and cousins and siblings for an awesome vacation that we're still talking about. We're back. We're unpacked. We're not liking this whole settling back into the real world thing.

Nostalgia....

Not enough time has passed that I've forgotten what life was like when they were this little.

You know, having three kids, age four and under?

I haven't forgotten how hard those days were and how it felt like a never ending cycle of poops and bottles and hours of endless crying (both theirs and mine).

Yet some days, when I'm thinking about all three of them being in some sort of school this year, I still miss it.

I know.

I'm certifiable.

Darth? Is that you?

Sometimes it's annoying to share a room with your brother.

For example, when you want to dress up as Darth Vader but all your black accessories are in your bedroom and your mother won't let you go in there because Owen's napping?

Well this scenario can lead to drastic measures and compromise.

Isaac: "Emma Grace, I don't think Darth Vader ever wore a girls shirt that said 'love' in glitter."

Me: hysterical laughter.

Emma Grace: "Well, just turn the shirt around so the love is on the back."

Problem solved.

Now.....about those shoes.......

A Non-Anniversary of Sorts...

This week was originally supposed to be our first week at St. Joseph's. I couldn't stop thinking about that last night on my run. I was so glad that instead of being up there experiencing day one, I was at home with all three of my kiddos. Don't get me wrong - I am so glad we went. I am so thankful that a place like that exists, but I'm also glad to have it behind us. I'm thankful that Owen is rocking out these meals. I'm thankful that we're evaluating and watching and learning how to best meet his needs. I'm thankful that we found an inclusive preschool for the fall that we're excited about; one that will push him with things like transitions and temper and sensory and overall development.

And last night a friend asked if our lives were getting back to normal? And I said yes, but that we still had a lot of appointments and evaluations and biopsies coming up. And then I realized that, duh, this is our normal. Because after evaluations and appointments come therapies, and schools, and IEP's, and meetings with caseworkers, etc.

This normal is not what I was expecting coming into this year. I mean, I know I should be used to it at this point, but it is still very different from what I thought returning from St. Joseph's would be like.

Do I accept it yet? Have I moved from storming to norming?

Not completely, but I think I'm getting closer. I think it takes baby steps and occasionally backward steps followed by a forward leap. I think it's more like a crazy random dance with weird moves and stumbles rather than a steady forward climb. And we all know this white girl can't dance.

But acceptance is coming in doses. I am getting used to lugging food therapy stuff everywhere we go so we can do meals on the road. And yes, we get some weird looks and have even gotten one or two  weird comments, but whatevs.

We're rocking it out. We have our arsenal of distraction toys. We have figured out a way to attach the chair to pretty much anything we can find. We even have our own personal cheer for the end of each meal and we're not scared to be loud about it.

Here's Owen rocking out a meal at the pool:

And here's proof that he does in fact eat:

And if you're reading this and happen to be a feeding therapist, I promise I only took the chin support away long enough to take this picture. Then I immediately put the camera away and supported his chin so he could chew correctly. Promise.

So if you ever see us out and about doing some feeding therapy, feel free to come help distract or join in on the cheer. Seriously - it's a gas.