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Aiden and 'his' Ipod |
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| watching 'Thomas the Engine' and 'Shaun the Sheep' |
Wow....has it REALLY been 20 days since I wrote last??? Holy smokes! Well....it's been crazy lately. Not only did Thanksgiving come and go, but Aiden was sick for a bit...and so was mama. When Aiden gets sick, nights are spent watching and taking care of Aiden. That's my only excuse that will hold up. I also got incredibly lazy. Heh heh. It's just that life has been simple. No major procedures, no major jaw distraction, a couple of appointments for Aiden here and there, lots of over eating (I even made Jell-O Cake this year for Thanksgiving!), lots of dreadfully cold weather....with and without snow. I guess the main reason I'm writing is Aiden finally had his swallow study done!! We've been waiting for this moment. It's something that had to be done before we could even attempt to start getting Aiden to eat or drink by mouth. We weren't absolutely sure 'everything' was working properly. We had to make sure he had the suck/swallow reflex and that food or drink wouldn't go into his lungs...what they call aspirate.
First off, I gotta tell ya, Thanksgiving was lovely! Quite the crowded house! Lots of delicious and delectable food. We spent it at the Rojas house. I bet Aiden wanted some of that stuffing and jell-o cake!! Soon enough, Luv Muffin....soon enough!A couple days later, Aiden decided to spike a fever....102 to be exact!! What the heck??? Juan and nurse Sandy took him in to make sure it wasn't pneumonia...AGAIN. The doctor said he wasn't showing other symptoms...gave him a flu shot (which shocked the HECK outta me) and he came home and seemed to be doing well. The fever stayed down till that night....102/103 degree fever and we couldn't get his temp down. He started coughing, that's when we knew it was an upper respiratory virus. UGH!!! After that night...which made us nervous....he seemed to get better. The rest of the week was like a typical cold. Lots of suctioning...lots of coughing when he first woke up....lots of saline nebeulizers with an occasional Albuterol neb...and that's how I got sick. It was a given. How could I NOT get sick...and quite frankly, it comes with the territory. I would have been upset if I would have given it to HIM. Aiden got better within a week...I would almost say he's 100% now. Mine lingered so I went to my doctor to get antibiotics. Nothing horrible, just so exhausted with lots of sinus issues and minor coughing. GOOD TIMES!!
There has been good things happening. Juan is now A+ certified, which is amazing, especially when he passed the first time he tested, but he tested right when Aiden got sick! Way to go, Juan!! He is now ready to take his next exam most likely this week. He has been working his butt off...I'm so proud of him. Once he passes that exam, he has two more exams and one more class to be complete. Then he will be very desired on the job market. He already is with just the A+ certification. WOOHOO!!! Also....WE'RE GOING TO WASHINGTON!!! YAY!!! We knew that the three week visit starting well...tomorrow...was a goal that was unobtainable, so we came up with an alternative. We're going for a short...but VERY sweet visit the first week of January. I cannot freaking wait!!! But I just want to get there without illness or weather getting in the way. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!! I wanna see my mom...and minemineee...and Hannah....and Ava....and Derek....and meet Blue (Lynette's new puppy)...and Jeff, MaryAnn, Michael, and Ian....and Renee, Jason, Kody and Maddie....did I leave anyone out??? (Lord, I hope not!) Oh, and of course Molly, Bailey and Max. I just want to get there. Jeff hasn't even met Aiden yet....and when Lynette (&family) saw Aiden last, he was just a little peanut! PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEEEEASE! Let us just get there!!! OK...enough begging. 
This passed Saturday we decked our halls. We ordered pizza and turned on some Bing Crosby. As Aiden ate, we put up a small tree Juan picked up earlier that day. It turned out soooo cute! We put up the little nativity scene underneath and everything. We even decked out the fireplace mantle. We put my dad's ornament up, too. It's like he was there. Then Juan came up with the idea to make paper snowflakes. I felt like a kid again! We hung them up with string so by the time we were done, it looked like a Winter Wonderland. Aiden was dancing to the music...spinning and spinning... having a gay ol' time. He was the cutest little elf! Right now his favorite Christmas Carol is 'Tap tap tap tap go our little hammers, Ring Ring ring ring go our little bells....we are Santa's Helpers, (clap clap clap clap claaaap clap), we are Santa's Helpers....Making Christmas Toys!" He loves it! I remember singing that in my kindergarten Christmas Pageant way back when. He also loves 'Deck the Halls' and 'Jingle Bells'. He's got the Christmas Spirit!
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| Aiden gettin' a pedicure from his papa... |
Now, for the reason I decided to break down and return to my blogging duty....Aiden's swallow study. It WAS supposed to happen the previous Thursday, but the Speech Therapist was sick, so we had to reschedule. I think it was better off because Aiden was still coughing. Today we made our way to Loyola Hospital....where Aiden spent the first 2 and a 1/2 months of his life. It always brings back memories. We were directed to radiology. Oh goodness, Aiden looked so cute....he was wearing a winter sweater with his dark skinny jeans....heehee! Anyhoo, he was having a blast as we waited for the therapist to arrive. He walked up and down those long, glossy halls of the hospital...he was just exploring....making all the patients smile and comment about his curly, luscious hair. Soon, Christin, the therapist arrived. She totally remembers visiting Aiden in the NICU. She couldn't believe it was him!!! Especially after his jaw distraction. Once we got to the xray room where they had everything set up, we saw Aiden Occupational therapist from the NICU days. She gave me a big hug and was swooning over Aiden. It was like a mini reunion. Then they tried to get Aiden to sit in this car seat type of contraption that was positioned in front of this xray camera machine. Yeah....that didn't go well. Aiden was SOOOOO upset...he cried and shook. UGHHH! I hate when he gets so upset. He just doesn't know what's going to happen. He panics. After a few attempts at feeding him....without success...they decided that Juan holding him on his lap might work better. It helped. Not MUCH...but enough to get a few video xrays of him trying to swallow the nector they gave him. It was incredible to see the image of his tongue working and seeing the liquid go down his throat. That only happened once. A few more tries proved futile. He got soooo upset that he threw up. That's when we called it quits. I thought it was a failure...a huge waste of time....till she told us her final evaluation. She told us that she could see that he did NOT aspirate...that he didn't allow food to go into his airway. It also showed that his tongue is extremely weak....he tried and tried to get the food to get to the back of his throat, but had trouble...then he threw up. That just shows that him not using his tongue for 90% of his life has left it weak. She told us to start working on him getting used to food...to exercise his tongue. By the end of the evaluation, we realized that this is exactly why we came here....to find out if he did swallow, and if he did, that he did not aspirate. SUCCESSSSSSS! Now we have the go ahead to start teaching him to want to eat. Soon he'll be eating everything in site! We left the exam room very excited. Worn out.....but excited. Then we decided to go up to the NICU to see some of Aiden old nurses and doctors. They announced that Aiden Killelea (cuz that's how they knew him back then) and out came all his nurse..(minus Vita)...and all of his doctors. It was amazing! They were so happy to see Aiden......he really made a lasting impression on them...even at 2 and a 1/2 months. Dr. Hotaling even came in accidentally. He was happy to see us! He still can't believe that it's Aiden. He gushes every time he sees him. He was happy to hear he had his swallow study, and that we learned what he thought we would and gave us his blessing. It was such a great day. Once Aiden was home, he finally fell asleep as I went to my doctor. We was tuckered OUT!!! So that was our big day. WHEW!
On a sad note, Pixie had to be put down because her cancer got totally out of control. Dave called me the night of December 2nd, asking if I would write a letter of ownership transfer so that they could authorize any action. So I did. Then the vet called me to verify. I said yes.....it would be the most merciful thing to do. I got so emotional right when I said that. I had to go and hide for a bit. My first baby. It was so incredibly hard to give her up, but knowing that she was going to such a wonderful home, one that she was used to...it made it a little easier. I'm so glad I went to go see her in October. I would have kicked myself if I hadn't. I miss her...I already missed her. Some many wonderful memories, she was a one of a kind pug....I am so grateful to Dave and Jackie for taking her and loving her as their own. They lost a one of a kind pug, too.
Well, I better try to sleep some. I have an appt for myself at UIC tomorrow. Juan is going to come with me. Should be interesting. Good night everyone! Till next time... MWAAAA!
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