I'm BACK and Mikayla's Surgery is TOMORROW!

I apologize, we are here, we have just had a lot of things going on and I haven’t had the time, or the computer actually, to blog.

When we came back from Florida in May Mikayla had an ear infection. She still had it at her birthday party and it never went away. After four unsuccessful rounds of antibiotics we had to resort to giving her shots. We had to take her to her pediatrician everyday for a week for them to give her shots to finally clear up the infection. It was horrific and Mikayla did NOT do well. Our pediatrician wanted us to get in to see an ENT ASAP because there was so much fluid built up behind her ears. THANKFULLY we have connections in that one of my awesome friends Nikki’s husband works for a wonderful ENT office about 30 minutes from my house. He was able to get us RIGHT in and we are forever thankful to him and to her for asking him to help us. So after weeks of medications, shots, and PAIN, Mikayla goes in tomorrow morning bright and early at 7:30 AM for Tube Surgery. Kris took the day off work and will be going with me. Please pray that it goes well and that she is OK.

We also had to go to a specialist at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland because of Mikayla’s never-ending yeast infections and diaper rash. We had to take pictures of her at the “height” of one of her infections and it was so awful they kept the picture to use in their training! I obviously am NOT going to post it on my blog but please trust me when I say it is the most painful thing you would ever see. When it gets bad, like it does all the time, it spreads all the way down to the middle of her inner-thighs. We now have her on a treatment regimen that is very intense and full of multiple creams and ointments that are steroid-based. She has been on them now for two weeks and it is STILL not fully clear. They are worried that she has a rare skin disorder because of some other characteristics that she displays and if this is NOT fully cleared in two weeks we will be looking at a skin biopsy. Please, please pray for Mikayla. She has been through a lot since coming home and she really hates the doctors at this point. The past three weeks we have been to doctor offices over 12 times. That’s insane.

She is still doing great at her school. Her therapies are really helping to improve things. We are still having terrible trouble with her pulling her hair out and some major feeding issues still. Her OT has been working endlessly with us on those issues and we are desperately trying to divert her when it comes to the hair-pulling as she has now pulled out ½ the hair on the top of her head. We were also approved for a grant through our MRDD so we will be able to purchase various adaptive items to help her, including a weighted vest which she desperately needs.

I was under a great deal of stress because it turned out I needed to take one of my Praxis tests earlier then they originally told me. I found out two weeks before the test and crammed like a wild woman. Kris and the kids dropped me off yesterday to take it at The University of Akron. I think I did OK. It was 60 multiple choice and 6 essays and I had two hours to complete it. If I would have had 30 more minutes I would have felt MUCH better. I felt rushed. But I think I did fine. I will get my results in 4 weeks. Pray I pass because I really don’t want to take it againJ
My computer broke about two weeks ago and my dad had to take it and get it fixed for us. THANKS DAD! We picked it up today and obviously, since I am on it now, it is working GREAT. It had to have a new power box put in it. It probably died because I am on the computer too much. ROFL.

Today we went to Mansfield to see my Aunt Chris and Uncle Dan who are up from Florida and my Aunt Zell who was up here as wellJ We had a great afternoon visiting and hanging out. We don’t get to get together often at ALL so this was a wonderful, wonderful day.

Please say a prayer for my sweet grandpa. They found a mass in his colon this past Thursday and will be operating tomorrow. I am praying that it will be “nothing” and that he will recover quickly. But I will appreciate your prayers for him and for my dad, who left after our picnic today to head down to be his with family. They live two hours south of my mom and dads in Southern Ohio.

So as you can see we have been up to a lot…none of it real good! I am hoping for an EASY rest of the summer….we deserve it at this point for SURE.

I have no idea why this is blue underlined...sorry about that...but I am too tired to figure it out!

Kisses for Grandma
She LOVES corn
Daddy's Dude
I like this pic:-)
My family!
~Smiles~
Kayla and her Aunt Chris

Spinning on Papa's computer chair
Alec with his "grabber-nabber"
Alec and Kalya chasing each other

Here she comes!

Off she goes!

She looks so big here:-(

Sweet Little Girl
Alec...almost SIX!
Mikayla's turn by the Soy Beans
Awwww....
Mom and Dad

Kris, me, and Aunt Chris
HAIL STORM!
It was WILD!
Close up!
She wore this last weekend when we went to have lunch with my mom and dad:-)

We went to the ENT this day
Book anyone?
This was the day we went to the specialist in Cleveland...she crashed

Visit with CHRISTIAN!
Hanging out:-)
Mikayla wanted to take Libby for a ride!
No fear at all
Christian trying to take Mikayla for a ride

SPEED RACER ALEC
He is obsessed with Speed Racer. That's his B-Day party theme!
One shoe on, one shoe off, hiding because she saw the camera. This was a "shot day"
Reading
You can tell she doesn't feel well here...keep us in your prayers tomorrow...or likely when you read this ...TODAY!