Long time no see!!!.. #37

Well... It's been about 3 months since I have updated. It seems like 3 months has been the mark for finally updating lately. No news is good news right?! :) I have gotten asked a few different times if I am still blogging.. And that my posts are missed. Made me feel good about what I do here. I have been so neglectful and I hate that! But life with a very busy almost 2 (Yes TWO) year old has been anything but slow.

Not much new on the Hirschsprung's front. We have seen our surgeon at least once since I last updated. And we see our fabulous GI dr next month. August. Sheesh! I can't believe we are well into the summer. Isaac has continued to do well and we manage his HD everyday. We are always conscious about what goes in his mouth.. And welll... Comes out the other end. The normal life of a HD parent. 

One thing I can say about this journey is I have made a lot of friends whose kids also have HD. But the downfall, not one of them lives near us or even in our state!!! But I have a great group of moms who I chat with frequently. One in particular, who I spent hours talking to in the very beginning, that I still talk to on a regular basis. Our boys are within a week of each other, and have almost the exact same story. It's nice to be able to talk to other parents who have shared your struggles and successes. HD is a very hard thing to understand. 

As for our family life, the Franco's got a house!!!!! We are over the moon excited. It's so nice having a huge yard for Isaac. He loves being outside. We have a nice garden that we will be planting fruits and veggies in next year. Only because the season has come and gone to plant anything now. Isaac does love helping me water all the flower beds and the grass. The exterior of the house was just painted and came out awesome!!!!! We are just now getting somewhat settled after being here for about a month. It sure does take a lot to move and then get settled. I feel like I have a ton of projects for this house. I bought a vintage bed frame and painted it white to match our bedroom furniture. What a task! It's been easy but just finding a little extra time to do it has been challenging. I can't wait to get it set up! I just have to sand a few places and put some finishing touches on it. I have the target date set for next weekend. :) 

I guess that's really all the news I have to report for now.. Here's a few pictures to enjoy!! 

Just because.. #36

I don't think I have ever done a "just because" post.. So today, I'm doing just that!!!!

Today we took Isaac to the spring fair. First we saw the dock dogs, which are the dogs who jump into the water competing to see who can jump the farthest. Isaac absolutely loved seeing the dogs swim. Then we went on to see cows, pigs, roosters, goats, camels, just about any animal you can think of. We even played a few games. Isaac won 2 stuffed crayons. He was proud of himself. Then we stopped for some lunch.. He had his own corn on the cob for the first time. He thought that was pretty cool too. And we also did his favorite thing... Take pictures. We did a photo button and the photo strip in the booth. He loves pictures so much. I even got him to make a silly face with his tongue sticking out.

And the reason behind this post.. The just because reason.. This picture..

Isaac kept running up to this booth screaming "Bat Bat Bat!!!" So guess who we brought home today from the fair? Isaac even invited him to sit in the stroller so he could make sure he made it to our car. Which meant he was for sure going home with us..

I haven't updated since Christmas?!?.. #35

I can't believe I've been neglecting blogging for almost 4 months. A lot has happened this new year. 2013! And by a lot I mean ALL good things... Nothing really new on the HD front. Which is good. :)

We had our 17 month check up with our GI and surgeon. As of now we are just restricting certain grains (oatmeal), soy, and nuts. All allergy stuff. He was 26.5 pounds at his appointment. Can't believe how big he is. We don't go back to the GI for 4 months and 6 (yep SIX) months with his surgeon.

As far as milestones, he's talking up a storm. I think I've counted about 30 words he says on a regular basis. He understands everything, he's too smart!! I can't wait for summer so we can do all kinds of outdoor activities. He loved the pool last year so hoping we can enjoy that again this year.

We took a family vacation to Cannon Beach, Oregon at the end of February. It was so nice to get away for 4 days. Isaac definitely enjoyed running on the beach in his raincoat and rain boots :). We got a little rain but for the most part it was sunny. We are now thinking about having our wedding there! And will probably take a trip back in the late summer or early fall to set things in stone. We just really haven't had any time to plan yet. And I'm glad we waited because having our wedding there seems to be like the perfect idea.

We also took Isaac to see the Easter bunny. This year definitely wasn't like last!!! He did not want to get close to him. So I ended up sitting next to the bunny with Isaac standing on my lap.. As far away from him as he could get. It was quite comical. He loved Elmo on his birthday so I figured the bunny wouldn't be an issue. Boy was I wrong! :)

That's pretty much the short version of what's been going on for the last couple months here with us. Easter is Sunday and we are planning an Easter egg hunt for him. :) Can't wait to feast and spend time with family!!

Merry Christmas!.. #34

Wishing all of our friends and family a Happy Holiday and thank you for following us and supporting us on this journey!

Love,

Jose, Laura, and Isaac

Hospital update.. #33

We got discharged today around noon.. So glad it was just a 2 day stay. They think he just has a little tummy bug. They are treating him for enterocolitis, which they know he doesn't have, to be safe because sometimes when HD kids gets tummy bugs it causes their bacteria in the colon to get a little whacky. Then enterocolitis comes in.. We just had IV fluids and antibiotics while we were there. Everything looked good. We see the surgeon after Christmas for a follow up.

:) Thanks everyone for thinking about Isaac..

Hospital stay! Bummer!.. #32

Well Sunday - the 16th - Isaac didn't eat very much all day, was pretty gassy, had loud tummy grumbles and then in the evening had a touch of diarrhea. We decided to bring him in to the ER to see what was going on in fears of enterocolitis. Which in the HD world is scary and serious.

They gave him an abdominal X-ray and it wasn't quiet right - lots of gas. So the surgeon decided to keep us for observation and for some IV fluids and antibiotics. Had some tests ran and everything came back normal. Good news!!! Bad news is it took them 2 hours to get an IV in. And it was a miserable time. We had to hold him down and he was just crying and crying. I felt so terrible. Broke my heart.

Monday morning he had another X-ray and the X-ray was normal... Everything had resolved. So they decided to allow him back to his normal diet and stay one extra night. And Monday was pretty uneventful. We rode around our floor on a red wagon. Which Isaac loved. He still remained his happy self the entire time. Minus the IV issue.

Thinking we get to go home today.. Hoping!!!! And is it ironic that one year exactly, December 17th, we were here in this exact same spot? Yes.. 2 years in a row on the same day we got admitted to the hospital. This better not happen again next year! :)

Happy Holidays!... #31

It's been quite awhile since I have posted anything. We have been so busy these last couple months. Isaac is now 14 months old.. Time is flying by. Daddy & Mommy finally got engaged so are now planning a wedding! We are so excited.. He asked me on October 18th which one year earlier we were bring our sweet baby home from the hospital after such a big ordeal. So the day was so special for us 2 years in a row.

Isaac had an appointment with his GI last month. We got the go ahead to try all food options with him. All except for soy which isn't good for you anyway. No problem staying away from that! We don't see his surgeon I think until next month. 3 months in between visits now.. And we are seeing the nurse practitioner. We got downgraded because Isaac is doing so well.. Such an amazing time in our lives.

The holidays snuck up on us! I can't believe Christmas is in 11 days. This month always brings back so many emotions. 11 years ago on Christmas Day my grandpa, who was like a father to me, passed away. It never gets any easier.. And today we found out that my aunt has a type of cancer that has no  cure. She is in stage 4 already. Terrible, terrible news for our family. This month just hasn't been kind to anyone I know. Lots of people with health problems, losses, and other personal issues. I just keep thinking how the holidays are supposed to be filled with cheer. I am forever grateful that my son is doing so well.. But I feel for everyone who is struggling right now. I am praying that by some slim miracle, that there is something that can be done for my aunt. How do people even get through things like this?? I offered a word of advice to a friend a couple weeks ago, and I said : God always gives the strongest people the hardest things. I still believe in that, but how can anyone be strong when given such devastating news?

But I am trying to put all the saddest aside and enjoy the month of December. This is like our first Christmas together - Isaac was just 2 months old last year - because Isaac actually understands (a little) what is going on. He loves going around to look at Christmas lights, he loves the tree, he knows who Santa is, and all the little things that go along with the holidays! When we took Isaac to see Santa he did not like it. He cried so hard. I felt terrible. We had to have Santa leave the area and sit Isaac down in his chair, and then Santa snuck up behind him and we actually got a good picture in. I hope next year he will do better. :)

Hope everyone is doing well and thank you for reading our blog!!