The blood results reveal that Jason's white blood cell count is low which means he is vulnerable to viral, bacterial and fungal infections (which is the usual case) and he is a bit dehydrated and needs more fluids. So we better up the water dose. He is weeing a lot so I take it that what's going in is coming out just as fast. Dr. P examined him and his chest is a bit noisy and he also has had a green thick snotty nose for a few days so we are starting him on a dose of antibiotics to prevent it developing further. We have also started nebulizing to help clear the chest and spraying the nose and Acc 200. Nicole is the same at the moment and with our weather the way it is it seems everyone is getting sick - 3 seasons in one day today. The pediatric ward has been full of all sorts of bugs and infections. Lots of pneumonia and gastro problems.
Eating has been going really well. Jason is eating what we give him like a champion. All foods are still pureed or liquid foods but he is eating soups, stews, yoghurt and honey, banana, cheese. He is doing really well and we are so proud of him.
Feeding therapy has been going really great. Sarah has been putting a lot of hard work and effort with Jason. The desensitizing is definitely helping him prepare for eating, he is opening his mouth much wider, accepts the fact that he needs to eat, chews well and getting better with his swallowing. I am very pleased I made the decision to up his therapy despite the costs and took the chance which is really paying off.
Jason is still loving school and he has been doing great at his current special needs school. I always worry about the future of his school because there has only been 4 kids at his school (which is great from infection control) but not so great for socializing and the future of the school. We learnt this week that two of the four kids have been accepted at the new Autism school that is opening next year so there will only be Jason and another little girl. They have assured us that there are future plans for the school and they will be advertising and the school will grow. Always a concern for us because Jason's school really has been exactly what he needs. He is getting one on one attention, getting all his speech and OT therapy during the school week and this year we have seen huge positive changes in Jason from development, speech, eating and overall expressing himself. As with everything I just continue to pray for God to open the doors that need opening and close the doors that need closing. I trust that whatever happens is meant to be for Jason.
Jason's testosterone injections are now finished and as I said earlier we are seeing the surgeon this afternoon. He will be examining Jason and we will discuss the upcoming operation - when, what to expect etc. Both Bruce and myself are extremely nervous about the operation. As with everything for Jason all procedures are a risk for him, every hospital admission is a risk but this is something that has to be done and the next step to take. I wish we could leave the operation but we can't. It will affect him in the future as he grows and we don't know if this urology problem is connected to the kidney problems, the pressure when he wees, the protein in the urine. Time will tell and I am just hoping and praying that all will go well, we will have the operation in the right time and it will make a huge difference for Jason.
So we have a few things on the cards to do in the near future, having a lot of medical expenses as usual to see all these doctors but this all goes with having a special needs child as a lot of you know and understand. One good thing I just thought of is at least it's almost the end of the year and in January we will have medical savings again to pay for all these doctors visits and medication that Jason is on.
We are just blessed that Jason is doing so well, he is growing, gaining weight, eating and developing well. His little sister is a huge help with pushing him and us beyond our means. God blessed us with such a feisty little girls with a HUGE personality and she challenges Jason (and us) daily. Always encouraging him to eat and drink, always pushing his buttons and fighting with him. She is a blessing to our family. God knew exactly what our family needed when he blessed us with Nicole :-).