Zoo Pictures

We went to the Zoo on Saturday and had a great time.

No Surgery for You!

That's right. Jake didn't have surgery today. We got to Children's at 7:45am with an irritable, hungry kid. We went through every step of the registration process and surgery prep until just before heading off to the induction room. The plastic surgeon stepped into the room and said, "I can't operate on this kid. There's nothing there to remove." Apparently, all of the cauterizations and stitches from last weekend destroyed the pyogenic granuloma. What we thought was a temporary fix, turned out to be the cure. Well, possibly a temporary cure. The surgeon couldn't guarantee that it won't grow back or start bleeding at the site. I had ambivalent feelings about this. I'm glad he didn't need another surgery, but yet can't help but wonder when/if this is going to crop up again. I really don't think I can handle another week like the past one. This dramatic week ended in a fizzle - very anti-climactic. Greg summed it up nicely - "We wanted a homerun, but ended up with a bunch of singles leading to a run."

When a get a chance, I'll post pictures of his sweet face. We're going to the zoo tomorrow, blood and God willing.

Update

We went to Children's Hospital Monday for a plastic surgery appointment. Jake is scheduled to have surgery this Friday. I really had to beg and plead to get this appointment. I'm not too proud to cry, yell or threaten doctors. I've come to realize that I need to go to these doctor appointments loaded for bear. I'm lucky to have a mother who's a nurse who helped me gain a small understanding of the medical world. Even my limited knowledge of medical procedures is helpful in a world that doesn't seem to want to help.
We have excellent children's health care in Cincinnati. I can't imagine living in a place like Pulaski, VA and having this type of crisis. Despite our access to excellent care, it's been difficult navigating this system. I can honestly say that I am COMPLETELY OPPOSED TO SOCIALIZED HEALTH CARE!!!! In a world of socialism, I would have to quit my job and school and stay home with Jake to make sure he didn't bleed again before his surgery appointment in 5 months.

A Bloody Mess

This summer a spot appeared on Jake's face. It looked like a blood blister, pretty harmless. It seemed to grow as the weeks passed and finally he scratched it open 2 weeks ago. We got the bleeding under control and put liquid Bandaid on it. Well, this Thursday it openned up again. It bled uncontrollably Friday and I took him to the ped. The ped said it's a pyogenic granuloma and would need to be removed by a pediatric plastic surgeon. The ped cauterized it, but was doubtful that would hold. Sure enough, we were headed to the zoo on Saturday when it started bleeding again. We went to the ER and had it cauterized again and covered with DermaBond. We are scheduled to see a plastic surgeon Monday, but just for a consult. While this may not seem like a crisis, it's caused serious disruption to all of our lives. Jake is slowly bleeding all over his clothes, bedding, not to mention the house. The health care professionals don't seem to be concerned about this because he's not gushing blood. I try not to overreact to these types of situations, but I'm seriously stressed out. We need to get this under control ASAP. I couldn't even take him to church today because I was afraid he would start bleeding all over the place. On top of that, he is sick and vomitted more than I've ever seen a child vomit this morning. Please pray for us. We are incredibly stressed by this (seemingly) benign situation.

Halloween Costumes

I'm a terrible blogger. I just don't have time to take pictures, upload them, and then get around to posting. I'm seriously rethinking this whole blog thing.

But anyway, we went and bought a couple of Halloween costumes today. Two gently used costumes and one from Target. What do you think? Which do you like the best? I think he's going to wear the 2nd dog costume for trick-or-treat. I'm going to try to put together a dog costume for myself. It might just be white sweats with spots and ears. The next town over has a yearly mother-son dance at Halloween. If we can swing it, I think we'll go.