Today was Flara's nine-month check-up, and we were quite pleased with the visit!
Best of all, she was up-to-date on shots and so did not have to have any! I was really feeling bad for the little girl.
Although Flara has been struggling to gain weight (usually an ounce or two a week... if even), she gained an amazing 8 ounces in the last 10 days! She tipped the scales at 13 pounds, 15 ounces. She also grew one-half inch so now measures 25.5 inches long. Of notable cause, she finally appeared on the real "big girl" growth chart! She's been charting on the preemie chart, but she transitioned over this time. Still adjusted for prematurity, she is about 35% for length (if a 6-month-old baby) and 12% for weight!
With this most recent growth spurt, she is literally eating straight out of our wallets. That's never an easy thing when you're on a super-tight budget! Thankfully, she was given the go-ahead to begin working on stage II foods, then progress to stage III foods within a few weeks. We get to switch off of the expensive preemie formula and start using "normal" formula, plus supplementing her with one bottle of Pediasure daily. Hopefully, this will result in better weight gain and save us a bit of money! =)
Her doc was pleased with the sound of her lungs, so we will not have to be referred to a lung specialist at this time (to follow up on the fast-breathing spells and blue hands and feet). Yay! Our pediatrician's best guess is that she is having some residual effects from scarring from being intubated.
She has been labeled 'delayed onset' in the matter of teething. I believe I've mentioned before that the roof of her mouth is considered 'high and arched,' which is a lovely result of being intubated as a newborn. If she doesn't have teeth erupt before her first birthday, then little Flara will be referred to a specialized pediatric dentist. A series of x-rays would be obtained to see how her little teeth are doing, and to further evaluate her palate, and ultimately, to determine if it's fully closed or would need some sort of medical intervention. Right now, it does not affect her ability to eat, so we can sit and wait.
If anything else happened at the visit, I cannot remember it right now. =)
We will follow up in about six weeks to check on her weight gain.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The death of a soldier.
Mike's Grandpa Veitz died last Thursday evening following an attempt to cardiovert his heart. This is done when the heart is misfiring in a rhythm that won't sustain life, so the heart is stopped, then shocked with the hopes that in the restart, the heart will resume beating with a normal heart rhythm. Unfortunately, the cardioversion was not successful, and Grandpa Veitz's heart never resumed beating. Although he had been in failing health for some time, the news was still unexpected and very sad. Without hesitation, Mike and I packed our bags, loaded the girls, and headed to North Dakota.
I'm writing this story to tell the tale of our military and those who serve in it. Walter Henry Veitz, 82, had served during the Korean Conflict, and from what his brother tells, saw some horrific things. Through the years that I knew Grandpa Veitz, he never mentioned his time in the service. He was always a jokester, and a man I really loved and greatly appreciated for the glimmer he had in his eyes... a tell-tell sign that he was going to trick you at cards or tell some sort of joke. He was a leathermaker, too, of which I had found a kindred spirit having done leather work myself when I was little 4-H'er. =)
Grandpa Veitz was buried in the National Cemetery outside Bismarck, North Dakota. I have never been to Arlington, or any National Cemetery for that matter, so my only idea of what it would be like was from the images I had seen on TV or in the paper. I did know that we had to be prompt on our arrival time as burials are occurring every hour eight times a day. Exhausting. I wondered if the soldiers helping with the service would be walking through the ceremony without much thought as they performed it repeatedly throughout the work day.
The grounds were well-manicured with the rows of headstones. A large area of new gravesites with the metal markers gave indication where the newest were buried. I was a bit taken aback at the number there, realizing how quickly our Nation's veterans are dying. Further up the hill, a small building stood with a chapel. To the left and waiting for our arrival and the ceremony, was a group of retired veterans serving as the Honor Guard, displaying our country's flags. Their faces appeared somber and respectful, and I still wondered how they perceived the number of ceremonies in a day.
We walked into the small chapel with two rows of seats and Grandpa Veitz's coffin draped in the American Flag at the front. This was framed by a series of tall windows overlooking the grounds and was topped by stained glass at the front. No lights were turned on, so the sunlight was casting long shadows in the room, and in my opinion, really added to the effect. At four posts around the casket were three Army soldiers (young, and still active duty, I would guess) and one older gentleman, a retired soldier. Looking through the windows, the Honor Guard stood solemnly. As the pastor walked through the final stages of the ceremony (we had attended a church funeral service prior), I kept watching the faces of all of the soldiers. Inside and outside. Emotions were actually showing on their faces, and it was then that I realized that they do take this seriously and were not marching through another ceremony.
As the service concluded, the sound of Taps played from over our left shoulders, the flag was removed from the casket, the careful task of folding the flag was begun, final shots were fired, a final salute, and then the flag was presented to Grandma Veitz. The Army soldiers had folded the flag with precision, then handed it to the retired veteran, who walked it to Grandma Veitz. Kneeling down, he stated, "On behalf of the United States of America, and our local VFW post, we present this flag to you..." As he said those words, his voice broke and tears welled up in his eyes. He paused for a moment, finished his words, then handed the flag to Grandma Veitz.
It was a beautiful ceremony.
I had wanted to be photographing the whole thing because it was such a thing of beauty, but I didn't know how anyone would feel about someone snapping photos, so I stood behind the row of chairs and held Noël.
It made me think a lot about all of our veterans and our troops currently serving. I thought of my cousin Troy, who has gone overseas two or three times, and how this ceremony will await him one day. I thought of how many families, young and old, are sitting through this as our country moves through a period of war. I thought of all of the heck our military receives... sadly. Many people are willing to risk their safety, lives, and families for our benefit, and many of them end up sitting in a chapel, listening to taps, and watching in slow-motion as the flag that draped the casket is folded up and presented to the surviving spouse or children.
I was really moved by the sincerity and honor and respect shown to Grandpa Veitz's body, and I know it's being played out across the country.
My final thought as we drove away... "I really like the military." All of it.
I'm writing this story to tell the tale of our military and those who serve in it. Walter Henry Veitz, 82, had served during the Korean Conflict, and from what his brother tells, saw some horrific things. Through the years that I knew Grandpa Veitz, he never mentioned his time in the service. He was always a jokester, and a man I really loved and greatly appreciated for the glimmer he had in his eyes... a tell-tell sign that he was going to trick you at cards or tell some sort of joke. He was a leathermaker, too, of which I had found a kindred spirit having done leather work myself when I was little 4-H'er. =)
Grandpa Veitz was buried in the National Cemetery outside Bismarck, North Dakota. I have never been to Arlington, or any National Cemetery for that matter, so my only idea of what it would be like was from the images I had seen on TV or in the paper. I did know that we had to be prompt on our arrival time as burials are occurring every hour eight times a day. Exhausting. I wondered if the soldiers helping with the service would be walking through the ceremony without much thought as they performed it repeatedly throughout the work day.
The grounds were well-manicured with the rows of headstones. A large area of new gravesites with the metal markers gave indication where the newest were buried. I was a bit taken aback at the number there, realizing how quickly our Nation's veterans are dying. Further up the hill, a small building stood with a chapel. To the left and waiting for our arrival and the ceremony, was a group of retired veterans serving as the Honor Guard, displaying our country's flags. Their faces appeared somber and respectful, and I still wondered how they perceived the number of ceremonies in a day.
We walked into the small chapel with two rows of seats and Grandpa Veitz's coffin draped in the American Flag at the front. This was framed by a series of tall windows overlooking the grounds and was topped by stained glass at the front. No lights were turned on, so the sunlight was casting long shadows in the room, and in my opinion, really added to the effect. At four posts around the casket were three Army soldiers (young, and still active duty, I would guess) and one older gentleman, a retired soldier. Looking through the windows, the Honor Guard stood solemnly. As the pastor walked through the final stages of the ceremony (we had attended a church funeral service prior), I kept watching the faces of all of the soldiers. Inside and outside. Emotions were actually showing on their faces, and it was then that I realized that they do take this seriously and were not marching through another ceremony.
As the service concluded, the sound of Taps played from over our left shoulders, the flag was removed from the casket, the careful task of folding the flag was begun, final shots were fired, a final salute, and then the flag was presented to Grandma Veitz. The Army soldiers had folded the flag with precision, then handed it to the retired veteran, who walked it to Grandma Veitz. Kneeling down, he stated, "On behalf of the United States of America, and our local VFW post, we present this flag to you..." As he said those words, his voice broke and tears welled up in his eyes. He paused for a moment, finished his words, then handed the flag to Grandma Veitz.
It was a beautiful ceremony.
I had wanted to be photographing the whole thing because it was such a thing of beauty, but I didn't know how anyone would feel about someone snapping photos, so I stood behind the row of chairs and held Noël.
It made me think a lot about all of our veterans and our troops currently serving. I thought of my cousin Troy, who has gone overseas two or three times, and how this ceremony will await him one day. I thought of how many families, young and old, are sitting through this as our country moves through a period of war. I thought of all of the heck our military receives... sadly. Many people are willing to risk their safety, lives, and families for our benefit, and many of them end up sitting in a chapel, listening to taps, and watching in slow-motion as the flag that draped the casket is folded up and presented to the surviving spouse or children.
I was really moved by the sincerity and honor and respect shown to Grandpa Veitz's body, and I know it's being played out across the country.
My final thought as we drove away... "I really like the military." All of it.
A little scare.
Flara has been having a few problems lately... for the past couple of weeks, really. We had noticed that she had begun to breathe faster at spells, whether she was resting or playing. I kept a watchful eye on it, then began to notice that she was also using some extra muscles above her sternum and clavicles to breathe. To add to that, her hands and feet starting turning very blue and would go ice-cold. I asked the nurse practitioner about it the Wednesday we were in the office to have Noël checked out for a urinary tract infection, and she said we should call the cardiologist.
The very next day, Mike's Grandpa Veitz died, so we loaded into our truck and began the 26-hour long trek to North Dakota. During the week in Bismarck, we noticed she was having more blue spells, so we told ourselves that we would call as soon as we returned to Tennessee. We drove straight through on our return trip, so we basically slept the whole next day and forgot to call. We remembered the following day, so I called the cardiologist and told them what she was doing. Very concerned, I was told to come in for the very first visit of the day. Also, I was very seriously warned that if Flara did anything different or 'funny,' we were to go straight to the ER... no hesitating. A bit concerned, we tried to not get worked up until we saw the doctor, but we were mentally preparing for the possibility of heading to Nashville for Vanderbilt Hospital on a dime's notice.
Flara and I arrived at the cardiologist's at 0745, and were quickly taken back to her first test. She had a post-ductal blood pressure taken (left foot, after the blood has passed through the heart and lungs), and it was normal. Her EKG gave no indication of any additional stress on her heart, and her oxygen saturation was between 92 and 100. Next, we went in for her echo. The doctor immediately noticed that her ventricles were of normal size. Next, he looked at her pulmonary artery, and it was back to normal size from previously being enlarged. The extra fluid in her lungs was looking better, so he declared that her pulmonary hypertension was resolved. He looked at her PDA (that extra little blood vessel that helps the blood bypass the lungs in-utero that is still open in Flara), and it, too, was a teensy bit smaller. Last, he noted that although the hole between her atria was still of the same size, some fibrous bands were criss-crossing over the hole indicating that Flara's heart is attempting to repair itself!!!! He was really pleased with the results, and said that based on his findings and the overall appearance of her heart and lungs, he could officially say that she is no longer in heart failure! We are so, so, soooo thankful for that, and ultimately give all the thanks to God!
As far as the breathing issues and hands and feet, he said that it's not being caused by her heart. He said that she has sluggish circulation, and that's simply a problem of prematurity that will have to be outgrown... like all of those other difficulties. He said that her little lungs are still recovering from missing out on the entire third trimester to grow.
Next on our day was an already-scheduled follow-up appointment with Flara's brain and developmental specialist. I was a bit in odds about this as she is sometimes a bit scolding on needing to work harder. We went into this meeting with the whole crew, and the doc walked in looking very tired. She said she'd had a day of total screamers, and her nerves were certainly worn out. Yikes! But, she assessed Flara and was SUPER pleased with the progress our girl has made, so my new homework assignment turned out to be small. She showed us how to help Flara learn to sit up and how to really get up on her hands and knees for crawling, and then one last exercise to help her learn to move her legs forward to walk assisted. By pressing the one little sitting 'button' as she calls them, Flara sat for a whole 5 minutes! That was amazing! Then, as she showed me the crawling position, I realized that my homework from the last visit was being utilized with Flara just in a different position... simply building off the past. By the time we finished, the doctor was really praising both the girls for being "so lovely" and kept telling Mike and me how much she appreciated how the girls acted. =) Yippee! Both girls have been so tired from the North Dakota trip, I wasn't sure how the office visit would go.
In the end, Mike and I were super pleased with our day. What we were expecting to be a day of turmoil turned out to be a day of pleasantries and our thanking our wonderful Savior for all of the good news!
We are also thankful for everyone who called, texted, or Facebooked us, and the many prayers!
The very next day, Mike's Grandpa Veitz died, so we loaded into our truck and began the 26-hour long trek to North Dakota. During the week in Bismarck, we noticed she was having more blue spells, so we told ourselves that we would call as soon as we returned to Tennessee. We drove straight through on our return trip, so we basically slept the whole next day and forgot to call. We remembered the following day, so I called the cardiologist and told them what she was doing. Very concerned, I was told to come in for the very first visit of the day. Also, I was very seriously warned that if Flara did anything different or 'funny,' we were to go straight to the ER... no hesitating. A bit concerned, we tried to not get worked up until we saw the doctor, but we were mentally preparing for the possibility of heading to Nashville for Vanderbilt Hospital on a dime's notice.
Flara and I arrived at the cardiologist's at 0745, and were quickly taken back to her first test. She had a post-ductal blood pressure taken (left foot, after the blood has passed through the heart and lungs), and it was normal. Her EKG gave no indication of any additional stress on her heart, and her oxygen saturation was between 92 and 100. Next, we went in for her echo. The doctor immediately noticed that her ventricles were of normal size. Next, he looked at her pulmonary artery, and it was back to normal size from previously being enlarged. The extra fluid in her lungs was looking better, so he declared that her pulmonary hypertension was resolved. He looked at her PDA (that extra little blood vessel that helps the blood bypass the lungs in-utero that is still open in Flara), and it, too, was a teensy bit smaller. Last, he noted that although the hole between her atria was still of the same size, some fibrous bands were criss-crossing over the hole indicating that Flara's heart is attempting to repair itself!!!! He was really pleased with the results, and said that based on his findings and the overall appearance of her heart and lungs, he could officially say that she is no longer in heart failure! We are so, so, soooo thankful for that, and ultimately give all the thanks to God!
As far as the breathing issues and hands and feet, he said that it's not being caused by her heart. He said that she has sluggish circulation, and that's simply a problem of prematurity that will have to be outgrown... like all of those other difficulties. He said that her little lungs are still recovering from missing out on the entire third trimester to grow.
Next on our day was an already-scheduled follow-up appointment with Flara's brain and developmental specialist. I was a bit in odds about this as she is sometimes a bit scolding on needing to work harder. We went into this meeting with the whole crew, and the doc walked in looking very tired. She said she'd had a day of total screamers, and her nerves were certainly worn out. Yikes! But, she assessed Flara and was SUPER pleased with the progress our girl has made, so my new homework assignment turned out to be small. She showed us how to help Flara learn to sit up and how to really get up on her hands and knees for crawling, and then one last exercise to help her learn to move her legs forward to walk assisted. By pressing the one little sitting 'button' as she calls them, Flara sat for a whole 5 minutes! That was amazing! Then, as she showed me the crawling position, I realized that my homework from the last visit was being utilized with Flara just in a different position... simply building off the past. By the time we finished, the doctor was really praising both the girls for being "so lovely" and kept telling Mike and me how much she appreciated how the girls acted. =) Yippee! Both girls have been so tired from the North Dakota trip, I wasn't sure how the office visit would go.
In the end, Mike and I were super pleased with our day. What we were expecting to be a day of turmoil turned out to be a day of pleasantries and our thanking our wonderful Savior for all of the good news!
We are also thankful for everyone who called, texted, or Facebooked us, and the many prayers!
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