He got in!!!

After a long 3 years of Harrison's battles with surgeries and development we are finally on the road moving forward. Harrison qualified for PPCD (Preschool Program for Children w/ Disabilities). He will attend M-F from 8 to 2:15. Hopefully, with the trained teacher, aides and therapists he can finally get the help he needs to teach him to have expressive language. My husband would love to hear his son call him d, or dada, or da, or anything besides ma. He is such a little trooper.

Now, we just need to get through his barium enema on the 22nd to determine if he has nerve damage in the intestines that could be causing his constipation. After these results we can move forward.

We are going to have another joyous Christmas! This year marks the 3 year anniversary of having Harrison in our home. After birth and 2 months in the hospital, he was released to go home on December 25, 2005. We heard 3 different Christmas songs on the way to Children's Minneapolis that day. All 3 songs were about going home for Christmas! Enjoy the memories and time you have with the people you love this holiday season!

From our house to yours...Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Good Cardiology Report

Ah, three hours later we got a "good" status. EKG good, heart rate good, blood pressure good, oxygen sats good, echo good, murmur still there, liver position good.

Bottom line is good. The bicuspid valve has not gotten worse, so that is good. They are even letting us come back in 8 months, instead of 6 months. Awesome! Dr. Siu thinks that the small VSD has closed and the murmur is actually created by the bicuspid valve, aka muscle flap. He will compare todays ECHO to last times. This is what they are watching. This is their main concern, aside from the pacemaker of course. The liver is positioned fine. It was probably scar tissue that his pediatrician felt. It's a good thing I don't overreact when doctors tell me something! Thanks for the prayers. They were heard!

Heart Day

Today is Harrison's heart repair anniversary. At 3:40 today it will mark 3 years since we handed our new born over to Dr. Moga, so he could repair his complex heart defects. Recently, we learned that his liver feels low, so tomorrow his cardiologist will check this theory out. We pray that his liver is in the correct place, because if it isn't than that usually indicates a flow problem. This is not what we need right now. Prayers for a great report from cardiology is what we need.

Happy Birthday Harrison!

Yesterday was Harrison's third birthday. It was a fun filled day with carnivals, lunch and toy shopping. He didn't want to play any games at the carnivals. He only wanted to look at the storage shed that looks like a barn. And at the other carnival he wanted to slide and look at the bouncy house that had barns and houses on it.

Lunch was fun. We took him to Chili's and he had a birthday milkshake, which he loved. Today we are having my family over to celebrate his birthday. I am creating a frog cake. He loves frogs! Harrison will have a co-birthday party with his cousin, Owen the first week of December.

Health wise, Harrison is doing good. With a little cold and congestion, he did end up getting put on an antibiotic. Hopefully the eye gook will go away soon. He got a flu shot yesterday...happy birthday (sorry)! We have lots of appointments coming up with Cardiology, GI, Neurology, Infectious Disease, Well Visit, Dentist, and I think Genetics. He has an appointment with a Developmental Pediatrician in March (6 month waiting list) and we had his evaluation with the school system last Friday. Hopefully we will here something soon, because he is not receiving any therapy right now. He is making sounds and putting syllables together, but the words are just not forming. He is saying Ma and trying to get my attention. I love it! I will post pics after the party, soon.

We are okay...I am addicted to FACEBOOK!

Harrison is doing great. He has discovered the toilet and the water inside it. I have been addicted to FACEBOOK, so that is where I have been. I promise to post some pictures this weekend. Remember, no news is good news with heart kiddos! At least this is true 90% of the time. Thank you to everyone who continues to check on us and/or pray for Harrison. Get ready for Halloween. Harrison is going to be a doctor! His scrubs say Doctor in Training and he has a stethoscope.

First day of Preschool

Harrison had his first day of preschool today. You know, I did not take a picture. I will have to do that tomorrow. He goes M-TH for 3 hours. I am there teaching in the four year old class. I peeked in his room today and caught him scribbling with a marker, while sitting at the table. It was so cute. It is difficult to peek in when you are at home. There is something about seeing them interacting or just being in a classroom with peers. We are starting a new diet in our house. I was thinking about cutting out wheat in our diets to see if this would help with Harrison's constipation and behavior issues. Well, I found out that William has a mild to medium allergy to wheat. Just what I needed to do it. Maybe, by cutting out wheat in our day, I can lose some weight too. That would be nice.

Cruisin along...

I have been really bad about updating lately. Everything is going great with Harrison. We have resumed therapies since the surgery. He seems to be recovering nicely with the surgery. We had a little scare with the drainage tube site healing, but luckily it is finally healing. It looks like a dried up umbilical site that just keeps hanging on.

It has been very busy around here with my new preschool position and with William starting school on Monday. We are all anxious to get into our routines and I am sure we will anxious for summer by February. I must admit I caved in and have become addicted to the latest craze...FACEBOOK. Yes, I have joined Facebook.com and I am enjoying seeing people I have not seen since highschool. I have my 20th reunion next summer and now I know I need to work on myself.

Harrison is being referred to a Pediatric Developmental Specialist for his delays. We are making no progress in Expressive Language and his repetitive behaviors are spreading into other areas, so his Behavioral Therapist feels that now is a good time to seek another opinion. I pray that these red flags are all they are RED FLAGS. I could not handle someone telling me anymore bad news. I know that early intervention is the best thing...I'm just not ready for what the future holds. Many parents think about their child's life all the time and that works for them. For me, I try not to think about it too much. I see the scars every day. I hear no words out of his mouth every day. I see him opening and shutting doors every day all day. I see him throwing toys every day. He throws them inside and he will open the back door and throw them outside. This is his day opening and closing and throwing. I adore him and love him and hurt for what he has endured in his short life. And I am only human. This stage of his development is becoming long and remains a high stresser in my life. He does a lot of cute things and those are about 20% of his day. Harrison will be 3 in November and in many ways he is like a 12 month old. It will be one year in November since he took his first step though. I can't believe it has been a year alreay. When I get frustrated with Harrison's behavior I listen to a song I found on the internet. Heaven in your eyes...www.22q.org/music2.html

Go there and listen to it. There are a few others that are just as beautiful. Enjoy. I know...post pictures.