Here's the Scoop...

I apologize for not having any great pictures for your viewing entertainment, but my camera is broken and we're waiting for Joe's dad to fix it, in the meantime, I'm trying to convince Joe we should just upgrade! It's always more fun to post when you have pictures to share.

Anyhow, I took Jacko back to the ENT last week and we're headed for surgery folks. The ENT took a look at Jack's tonsils and concluded they haven't changed, even after taking the antibiotics (big surprise there). He said Jack's tonsils were a 3 (I think, that's not terrible on a scale from 1 to 10). He finished that thought by saying on a scale of 1 to 4 they aren't likely to get any smaller for the next four + years. A scale of 1 to 4!!! Those things are HUGE!!! Needless to say, surgery is our only viable option. He'll be kept overnight because his age makes him more susceptible to dehydration. We go in on the 28th of April, wish us luck! Oh, the best part was the Dr said he should avoid strenuous activity for ten days after the surgery. I almost hate to break it to him, but EVERYTHING a two year old does can be considered strenuous! It will be more difficult to keep him tied down after the surgery while he heals, I think, than going through the surgery itself.

At Quin's Well Child Check we discovered he is having trouble seeing. The Dr thinks he will probably need corrective lenses and she is pretty sure he has a lazy eye. Excellent. We have an appointment on the 20th of April to get his eyes checked by an ophthalmologist to examine his lazy eye and determine whether or not he will actually need glasses. (She specified that he see the ophthalmologist instead of the optometrist because she is especially concerned about his eye function.) Hopefully it's nothing worse than a lazy eye.

If this isn't enough excitement for all of you, Joe's dad has been feeling VERY under the weather the past couple of weeks. He finally went in to the Dr for a check up and they have ordered an MRI...not a good sign. They are extremely concerned that it may be cancer and (considering the family history and the fact that he HATES seeing the Dr, and hasn't been in quite a while) didn't seem overly optimistic. The MRI is scheduled for tomorrow.

Joe's cousin is still battling cancer, she's my age with three kids, the latest surgery was removing a tumor from her spine. They weren't able to get clear margins because of it's proximity to her spinal cord, but are hoping radiation will remove the rest of the cancer. She mentioned in her blog that she noticed a few more lumps she is hoping to have them look at...is it just me or WHAT THE HECK! I am constantly amazed at the fight she has made and the seemingly endless stream of surgeries and procedures she has endured during this battle. I am amazed at her determination and her strength. She is definitely someone to be admired and looked up to.

In spite of the seemingly chaotic medical issues we seem to be experiencing (family wide) there are a lot of really great things we have to look forward to as well. Clay is going to be baptized in just over a week, followed by his little cousins baby blessing and topped off with the sealing of Will to the Ferrin family! There are still loose ends to tie up before everything will be finalized, but we are so looking forward to the next few weeks were we can get together with family and celebrate the blessings of family!

I feel blessed to be part of such a big family, one that supports and loves each other and does so much to make life worth living! I am very excited to spend time with all of them and it makes the upcoming challenges seem very small when compared to those who have to experience the same, or worse, without such an extensive support system.