Odds & Ends

Ellie's first oreo cookie.

Stood up by herself for the first time this morning.  So exciting! Oh wait, now I need to move everything out of her reach.  Better start hanging stuff from the ceiling.

CT’s, Endoscopies, Gallbladders... oh my

This month has been crazy, to say the least.  Many of you know that Jim has been sick for weeks.  He has been working with a surgeon and GI specialist to figure out what is causing his chronic stomach cramping.  At first we thought that scare tissue had built up from his previous surgery causing pain when food moved through his intestine.  The doctors have not ruled that out, but they discovered that Jim’s gallbladder was not acting normally.  He has surgery scheduled this Wednesday, on the 19^th, to have it removed.  This will be a laparoscopic outpatient surgery, however, they will poke around in there to see if anything else doesn’t look right.  His GI specialist is concerned that his symptoms seem like more than just the gallbladder.  Jim underwent an endoscopy yesterday to look for ulcers or anything else that might explain some of his symptoms.  The GI specialist found two areas that looked suspicious and were biopsied.  The first site is where the esophagus meets the intestine.  There is an area that is red and swollen.  This usually appears in patients that have reflux.  The second site has little red bumps in the small intestine.  It may be nothing or it could be an infection of some kind.

While all this is going on, Jim has only missed a few days of work; usually for medical tests and appointments.  He has kept up with his schoolwork, earning an A on his statistics midterm, and preparing for his accounting midterm this Monday.  If that has not been enough, he is interviewing for a different type of position within his company.  He has been up all night working and left early this morning for the three-hour interview.   He doesn’t expect to get the position since it is highly coveted in the IT support center, but it is a great opportunity to practice his interview skills and learn more about the position for future opportunities.  It has surely been the hand of God helping us through this time.  Thank you to our family and friends for all the support.

My mom will be flying out the day before the surgery to watch Ellie while I stay at the hospital with Jim.  She will also be staying with us for a week to help while Jim is recovering.  Please continue to keep our little family in your prayers!