What a great year 2014 was for our family. We have gotten to just relax and enjoy having Gabrielle. She only had the one small procedure in August for the cystogram to check the function of her bladder and the results were exactly what we wanted to hear. I remember being told back in May 2013 by another OEIS parent that it seemed like everything led up to that one big bladder closure surgery and then after that you didn't know what to do with yourself. From the moment that we found out Gabrielle was going to be born with OEIS, Bart and I have felt constant worry and what-ifs. The last (almost) 5 years have been a roller coaster with ups and downs and thankfully we were prepared for most of them. This year has been so different, I still constantly worry... almost more. 2014 has been such a relaxed year just like that mom told me it would be, like you hurry up and there are procedures after procedures and then... nothing. Trust me I am by no means complaining but it is an awkward feeling for me. I try to not to be an overprotective mom or a hovering mom. I want Gabrielle to be curious and ambitious and not to let her uniqueness hold her back. I know most of you look at her and think how does she handle everything she has been through but truly she is an incredibly lucky child. She has had it much easier than so many of the other children with the same condition. I think that is why I worry all the time. I am in a holding pattern waiting for the other shoe to drop... thankfully it has not! She is currently fighting another bladder infection. They are very typical in children with her condition. The doctors explained to us in the weeks after she was born years ago that since her bladder was on the outside of her body it now naturally would always have bacteria on it, there is no way of getting rid of it. Since the bladder has been closed surgically last year it is now the perfect dark warm moist breeding ground for that bacteria to overgrow from time to time. The bacteria that Gabrielle always test positive for is E-Coli. A few days after that her stool also became watery so we are now having her stool cultured to make sure that she also doesn't an overgrowth of E-Coli in her intestines also. Hopefully we will hear back from those test results tomorrow. So far the only abnormality they saw was blood in the stool but that is normal for people with colostomies. All in all other than the bladder infection and a runny nose she seems to be doing great.
Gabrielle started taking baton lessons this year at daycare. She seems to like the classes and they also got to participate in the Gonzales Christmas parade. She had a blast! We spent Thanksgiving in Ruston with my family and had a wonderful time seeing that side of the family. Christmas was insane... I swear Toys R Us backed up a truck and unloaded in my house. She and Avery have had a blast playing with all their new toys. There have been a few scuffles over the toys but they end quickly. We have had family in our house since Christmas... grandmothers from both sides of the family spoiling the girls rotten. We also had family over for Christmas dinner. Yesterday we took the girls bowling and for ice cream for their New Year celebration. I think they both had a great time... Gabby got 1 strike and 1 spare and she even won one of the games we bowled.
As always thank you for following our story and I am so thankful that for now the story is boring and just plain everyday life. I have never felt so blessed as I have this year... just getting to enjoy watching my special little girl be just that... a little girl.
No comments:
Post a Comment