Update on Cora

In February Cora had her eyes tubes removed, pictured here. They're very skinny and about 1.5" long and the part with the little knobby end goes at the top of the tear duct. I got to take them home as a souvenir. The good news is that the tubes are out, the bad news is that they weren't effective. Her next option would be drilling a hole in the side of her nose through the nasal bone to let the tears drain through there. The ocular surgeon won't do them until she's about four years old so Dr. Whitehead said if it were his child he'd opt for another round or two of the eye tubes again to see if the duct will open up. Right now we are just waiting a few months to see what would be best for her. It would mean a little scar on both sides of her nose as they would drill through the skin.

Ugh, I don't even want to tell this story because it makes me so livid but here it is. I had the much anticipated doctor appointment with Cora's allergist in February. I had the blood test all done as they were going to test her again for her food allergies so we were anxious to hear those test results! This doctor is always 3-4 months out and is one of my favorites, I also wanted her opinion on Cora's allergic reaction to the acid reflux medication she's on.

I packed up both kids and off we went. Kimball asked for a snack but he never finished his lunch so I brought his PB&J with us and made him eat that first. He's become quite the picky eater and I was determined to win this mom war of not eating lunch. He happily ate the sandwich as I waited for the doctor to come into our exam room. As soon as Dr. Drain opened the door she asked if it was a PB&J sandwich, I said yes, and she said ok well I don't think I'm going to come in there today as I just found out I am allergic to peanut butter. I quickly put the sandwich away and gave hand sanitizer to the kids and myself. But the damage was done, the doctor didn't want to come in and I had to reschedule. UGH!! What kind of an idiot brings a PB&J sandwich to the allergist?! I wasn't even thinking about peanut butter being one of the top allergens and the risk that I was taking bringing that into the office, other patients could have gone into anaphylactic shock because of me! I was so disappointed and upset with myself.....I just wanted the test results and to know about this medication. I didn't want to have to wait another 3-4 months!!! What an idiot I am!

I was able to schedule a "phone appointment" with the doctor so I only had to wait another two weeks to get the test results instead of several months. GREAT NEWS!!!!! Cora tested negative for wheat AND egg AND beef!!! I'm still in shock, I didn't think that would happen before she was five years old. So the only allergy now is milk according to her blood. I have the ok to start slowly introducing these foods back into her diet to see how well she tolerates them. YAY!!!! As I started to hang up I apologized profusely for bringing the sandwich into her office and she said, "Well, thanks to you we now have signs up all around our office stating that."

We met with the neurologist last week and I couldn't wait for Cora to walk in there and strut her stuff! He was the one who told us that she'd never walk or talk and I was so anxious for her to prove him wrong. Of course he didn't remember saying that but he was pleased with her progress and we don't have to see him anymore! Another doctor crossed off our list!

The allergic reaction she's having from the acid reflux medicine was getting too severe so I had to take her off the medicine. Instead I started giving her raw apple cider vinegar, mixed with her juice, to help combat the reflux. Boy that is stinky stuff but she drank it well. Unfortunately, she started getting more raw excema spots on her body that weren't there before so I think she's intolerant to that as well. Hmmm! Now what do I do? Someone suggested a chiropractor so I took her to one of those but she was also a wellness doctor and did all sorts of voodoo, kooky stuff that didn't sit well with me. I'm not sure what to do now she she's not on anything or taking anything. I can't reintroduce wheat, egg, or beef back into her diet until I get this excema cleared up so I'm doing all that I can to help the rash.

Whew! I think that's all for now. In the next two months we have another slew of appointments that I'm also very anxious to hear how she's doing. I'm hoping her heart is still correcting itself and that she'll be a candidate for a throat surgery to help her talking. Fingers crossed but time will tell. We are so blessed to have this sweet, funny little girl!!!!!!!