Friday, March 23, 2007
Take Out Please
Just waiting for our dinner to arrive. I think we could get use to all these delicious meals. :) Lots of wonderful people have been keeping us well feed. We had a doctor visit today and Gracyn looks great. She is gaining weight and keeping us up at night. All the usual baby stuff. Alicyn has been continuing her big sister in training. Her new favorite book is a "big sister" book and she has been very patient when mommy says, "You'll have to wait." Thanks to everyone for all the gifts and cards arriving. We have been blessed so many times. As for us parents, we are looking forward to a weekend of napping and being a family of four. The weather is amazing, so I'm sure we'll be making a few trips to the park...
Updated Pictures
We've updated the pictures in both albums. Just click on a picture to the left to open a slideshow!
Monday, March 19, 2007
No More Mystery....
We had Gracyn's appointment today at Children's Hospital in Milwaukee. They did an x-ray type scan to see what is present as far as a thyroid goes, and then we met with the endocrinologist.
The results of the scan showed that her thyroid did not develop. It should be a butterfly shaped organ in her throat, just below the Adam's Apple area. Rather than this, Gracyn has a little finger shaped thyroid that does not function (and will never function). The doctor's said this is present in about 1:1000 births in the U.S. (We've read anywhere from 1:1000 to 1:4000). They also said that the cause is unknown as it's not genetic and it's not related to prenatal care.
The thyroid serves many functions, but at Gracyn's age, the most important is brain development. We have been assured that the treatment is starting early enough to have no negative impact on her development. Untreated, it can cause anywhere from a 20-50 point drop in IQ, which is very significant. The thyroid function is also related to the jaundice that Gracyn had (which, by the way, has gone down dramatically and she no longer needs to be on the bilibed!!!!). At a later age especially, growth can be limited without treatment.
She was prescribed a synthetic hormone that replaces the hormone that would normally be created by her thyroid. She will need to take this everyday for the rest of her life, and with it, should develop normally. We gave her the first dose tonight when we returned from Milwaukee and we will go back to have blood drawn in two weeks to monitor how her body is responding and whether the dosage needs to be adjusted.
ON A BRIGHTER NOTE....
There was a rose in the front of the church yesterday and an announcement in the bulletin. It was very nice.
Alicyn is also home from grandma's. She looks so big - looks like she gained 15 pounds when she was away, but that's just because we're used to seeing Gracyn.
Alicyn LOVES her little sister. She gives her kisses and rubs her hair. She's going to be a great big sister!!!!
Aunt Jenna and Uncle Ed brought Alicyn back on Friday and spent the night. They graciously let us sleep by watching and comforting Gracyn. It was great spending time with them! Thank you!
Grandma Dawn also let us get some sleep last night while we were at her house. Thank you!
People from church have been very generously providing meals for us!!!! Thank you!
Thanks for all the prayers. Please continue to pray for Gracyn and our family!
The results of the scan showed that her thyroid did not develop. It should be a butterfly shaped organ in her throat, just below the Adam's Apple area. Rather than this, Gracyn has a little finger shaped thyroid that does not function (and will never function). The doctor's said this is present in about 1:1000 births in the U.S. (We've read anywhere from 1:1000 to 1:4000). They also said that the cause is unknown as it's not genetic and it's not related to prenatal care.
The thyroid serves many functions, but at Gracyn's age, the most important is brain development. We have been assured that the treatment is starting early enough to have no negative impact on her development. Untreated, it can cause anywhere from a 20-50 point drop in IQ, which is very significant. The thyroid function is also related to the jaundice that Gracyn had (which, by the way, has gone down dramatically and she no longer needs to be on the bilibed!!!!). At a later age especially, growth can be limited without treatment.
She was prescribed a synthetic hormone that replaces the hormone that would normally be created by her thyroid. She will need to take this everyday for the rest of her life, and with it, should develop normally. We gave her the first dose tonight when we returned from Milwaukee and we will go back to have blood drawn in two weeks to monitor how her body is responding and whether the dosage needs to be adjusted.
ON A BRIGHTER NOTE....
There was a rose in the front of the church yesterday and an announcement in the bulletin. It was very nice.
Alicyn is also home from grandma's. She looks so big - looks like she gained 15 pounds when she was away, but that's just because we're used to seeing Gracyn.
Alicyn LOVES her little sister. She gives her kisses and rubs her hair. She's going to be a great big sister!!!!
Aunt Jenna and Uncle Ed brought Alicyn back on Friday and spent the night. They graciously let us sleep by watching and comforting Gracyn. It was great spending time with them! Thank you!
Grandma Dawn also let us get some sleep last night while we were at her house. Thank you!
People from church have been very generously providing meals for us!!!! Thank you!
Thanks for all the prayers. Please continue to pray for Gracyn and our family!
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