A Few Appointments and Some Farm Yard Fun

Last Monday Olivia and I made the trip down to IA City for her therapy appointment and feeding evaluation. Of course, Liv had a great time playing with Melissa. I was a little sad knowing this would be our last trip down there for awhile seeing how much Olivia enjoys it. However, it just isn't worth exposing her to all the germs during this nasty, cold & flu infested season. Melissa is going to write an order for Grant Wood AEA to check in with us a few times until next spring. She is also going to order Olivia a new brace, called a supination brace. Liv has been using her left hand and arm a bit more, but it is still very tight. She's got a lot of problems turning her arm over to grab things and to use her arm correctly in her daily activities. The brace will slowly turn her arm and decrease some of the tightness. I am really hoping this works. I'd like to see Olivia using her arm as much as possible. As of right now, she does use it but she has modified how she grabs things and will hold things in the crease of her arm rather than with her hand.

After we met with Melissa we went over to the Otolaryngology clinic to meet with the speech therapist. Olivia was a bit nervous about this, but once he got out a few toys for her to play with she relaxed a bit. He set up several different types and textures of food to watch her eat. I got Olivia sat down and she actually tried a few bites of everything except the pears. He watched her eat and asked me several questions. He said she seems to chew and swallow just fine so he isn't worried about any problems in that department. He had one tip for me...During the day we leave a tray of snacks out for Olivia to graze on. We had thought this was a good idea, this way Liv can just grab a bite to eat whenever she felt like it and we could get in some extra calories...However, the speech therapist felt that Olivia may be just grazing enough to 'take the edge off' all day and not truly building up an appetite. I hadn't thought of this....So, we are trying it. It's a little more difficult than I imagined, as I now have a little girl begging me for fish crackers and teddy grahams all day! LOL. We will keep working at it though, and see if it makes a difference. After this we mosied by the gift shop. They always have the cutest clothes for little girls in there! On our way through Olivia happened to find a stuffed horse. It was a little pricey (as most gift store items are), but I couldn't help but have a soft spot in my heart as I watched her gently carrying the horse under her arm, talking to him softly...On the way home I looked in my rearview mirror to see Olivia, asleep, hanging on to her new horse, who we now call "Black Beauty." This horse has now become a big part of Olivia's day. She tells everyone about "Black Beauty" and informs us that she must sleep with this new horse every night as well.




After our big day we came home and unloaded our bags. I put Liv down for a quick nap, then reloaded and headed to Dr. Rick's for Olivia's two year check-up. We ended up being a little early and got stuck in the waiting room. Olivia and I stood clear in the back and were careful not to touch anything! There were a few other kids in the waiting area who Liv wouldn't have minded playing with. She kept asking me to let her down (yea right) and at one point turned to them and said, "Hey everybody!" I couldn't help but giggle...such a little socialite! Once we got in the exam room Olivia's mood changed a bit. She knew something was up and was not happy about being there. After a few minutes Dr Rick came in. He evidently had a cold and was wearing a mask, which naturally scared Olivia even more. In between screams we discussed Olivia's progress and looked at her growth chart. He was very impressed with her language skills and had no worries about her development. As far as the growth chart goes, things were just as impressive! Olivia is in the 50th percentile for height, and even though her weight gain has dramatically slowed down, she is in the 25th percentile there! After this Dr. Rick scooted out and sent the nurse in to do his dirty work (the flu shot). We had to wait about 15 minutes for the nurse to come in and Olivia was already in a horrible mood. It was not fun! Of course, we had a major melt down with the shot...but at least we've got her covered now. I've made sure to get my shot and so has Steve. I'm hoping this flu season isn't as bad as they are predicting...I'm sure it will be recommended Olivia and I also get the H1N1 vaccine (I don't have a spleen so I am immunocompromised)....But...this makes me a bit nervous. The trials didn't have the most favorable results in infants, with a lot of them having reactions. Does anyone have a bit more information on this?


On Sunday we bundled up and headed to Sander's Farm, the pumpkin patch just outside of Vinton. I've been coming there since I was a little girl and remember having some really great times there. I feel so blessed to be able to take my daughter there too and start a bit of a tradition for our family. The farm has hundreds upon hundreds of pumpkins, gourds, squash, and maze. They also have goats and an ostrich! Livi loved all the animals, of course...She also helped Daddy and I pick out the perfect pumpkin and rummage for gourds.




















This past Monday I had my appointment with Dr. Viner. He was a very nice doctor, who actually took the time to listen to me as well as exam me. He said most of the lymph nodes he could feel were pretty small (too small to biopsy). However, there is one under my chin that measures about 2cm. He'd like to put me under and remove the lymph node. He said they would send a biopsy to pathology while I was still under to check for anything from Cancer to an infection. Although I am pretty nervous about surgery, I am relieved that we will be getting some answers eventually...The surgery will take place on our Anniversary, October 14th. It seems like Steve and I are always doing something out of the norm on our anniversary. Last year we actually got to go some where together....but the year before we spent it in the hospital with Livi and this year Steve will have to accompany me to IA City. If you could say a few prayers for me...for a little piece of mind until the 14th and for a good report after the biopsy it would be greatly appreciated.