FAMILY UPDATE (Mostly about Aria)

The biggest thing that we deal with is Aria’s health. We hoped that the surgery in May would be the “magic pill” that fixes everything and she gets healthy and everything is hunky dory. That is not what happened. It seemed to me that nothing change or even got worse but we were told not to worry because the change can be gradual. 

Aria’s breathing was not improving and so more doctor’s visits and we find out she has a couple more rare conditions (Laryngomalacia and fat in her lungs) but her lung function was getting better due to medication she was put on this summer.

Another rare condition that our daughter has is an auto-immune issue. In a nutshell, she does not have an auto-immune system. Her body does not fight sickness very well. We were not able to do much about this until she got older and the doctors had hoped that she’d grow out of it, which happens for some kids. She didn’t and so now that we’re getting her other problems dealt with it was time to take care of her auto-immune system.

We thought we’d have to fight the insurance company but they approved it after verification of some of her medical records.   A couple of weeks ago we started her IVIG Treatments and God answered our prayers because we were hoping to do it by SubQ. These treatments happen once a week. 

Last Thursday and the Thursday before that, we showed up at the doctor’s office to be taught how to administer the treatments to her at home. This week we’re on our own. We’ll probably keep doing it on Thursday nights but we’ll do it after she’s fallen asleep.

What we are giving Aria is considered a “blood product.” This means it comes from people who donate plasma. To all of those out there who donate blood and plasma, “THANK YOU!!!!” You are part of group of people helping other people and families like ours appreciate you very much. 

Aria’s been struggling with her health for the past two weeks. It seemed like mostly a cold and she’s needed some breathing treatments. We took her in to see her pulmonologist and the doctor put her on steroids and antibiotics again and recommended that we use Mucinex because it seems to break up the mucus better and might help her breathing and sleeping at night.

Here’s the rundown on Aria’s meds. Every morning she gets two medications that we crush into a drink for her. Again, at night, she gets three more plus an inhaler and nose spray. We also have three different kinds of medications that we can give her as a breathing treatment depending on the situation. Currently she’s on steroids and antibiotics, which she seems to need every so often, although there used to be a time when it used to be on antibiotics on a regular basis. On top of all this, she now has her weekly IVIG treatments. I know I'm missing some medications that we have on hand in case we need it but you get the idea.

To look at her you’d have a hard time knowing anything is wrong with her but she’s a strong little girl and God has His hand on her. Please keep her in your prayers. I believe God has big things in store for her and that God will use her mightily.

Aria is loving school but has already missed a lot of days due to doctor’s, etc. Please pray she doesn’t fall behind in her learning, although we try to help her at home and she has a great teacher who understands.

Haydn and Suzanna are doing well in school. In most subjects, especially reading, they are above their grade levels. It’s great that their school accommodates students who excel in certain subjects so that they are always being challenged. 

Tina’s been doing a lot more substitute teaching than she thought she would but it’s a blessing. She loves the challenge but it does make for some long days for her and you can imagine how tiring it is working with junior high students all day. Please pray that God keeps giving her strength and that she’s able to maintain her health.

I’m doing well. I’m hitting seven years at my current job. God has blessed me greatly with good co-workers, a nice salary with insurance & 401K plan, and some vacation time. 

Tina and I will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary in December and so I’m trying to plan a special time for us to get away for a night or two. We’ll see what happens but I’m sure it will be nice.

I give God thanks for all He has done in our lives and what He has planned for us in the future. We continue to pray for His guidance in our lives and enjoy seeing Him working in our lives. We know that all things work together for our good because we love Him, because He loved us first.