Falling apart, but still together

Summer is off to a rough start! Our air conditioner, garage door, kitchen sink, and refrigerator have either needed repair or replacement. Additionally, both of our cars were hit within 8 days of each other (on both occasions, we were sitting still or parked). Add a leak in the roof, tiles collapsing in the shower, etc., etc., and it makes for one hectic & crazy month!

Aiden had a rough patch that lasted several weeks, starting shortly after returning home. Thanks to allergies that went into his chest and caused respiratory issues, and drainage that caused a ruptured ear drum, Aiden was wheezing and his stats were down, he was requiring continuous O2 and overall was just not feeling good. Thankfully, a couple rounds of good antibiotics and steroids seem to have cleared him up. He has been feeling much better this week, doing better tolerating some exercise and is not requiring nearly as much O2. Not sure what it is about the summer, but he always seems to do better in warm weather. He has started therapy again and is taking bites of yogurt and other baby food purees. His new “favorite food:” bacon! LOL! Of course he has never tasted it and will not put it in his mouth, but he likes to ask for it!

Aiden loves talking to the “Talking Cat” on Manish’s phone. They are very good friends as “Cat” literally will repeat everything Aiden says. Each of them has their favorite apps! You can see Aiden chatting away in the video below and there is also a clip of the boys wrestling with “Oak.”

Summer has most definitely arrived in Texas! It has been 100+ degrees, and the last few days there have been heat advisory warnings throughout Dallas. After freezing in Boston for the past couple of months, we are loving it! Of course, we are taking advantage of it by going swimming as often as possible, and now that Aiden is feeling better, he is so happy to join his brothers in the pool. Consequently, it is sometimes hard to keep up with laundry so the boys occasionally do not have clean swim trunks and Manish has…improvised on swim attire. It makes for some very amusing pics!

 

 

2011_06_002.jpgGetting ready to race…

2011_06_006.jpgEthan, stay focused!

2011_06_018.jpgHe is all hair and tongue

2011_06_021.jpgPitstop

2011_06_027.jpgRun boys!

2011_06_028.jpgAiden tries to avoid getting hit from behind

2011_06_029.jpgTiny little muscles

2011_06_033.jpgSomeone had to sit in time out for bad behavior and did not like it

2011_06_034.jpgHe patiently waits out his sentence…

Home, Sweet Home

Early last week, Aiden went to the OR for a triple scope (upper airway bronchoscopy, endoscopy & colonoscopy) to (1) verify no scar tissue from laryngeal cleft surgery; and (2) attempt to identify the source/cause of the continued GI bleeding. Unfortunately, there were no findings from the procedure, but Aiden was under anesthesia for 4+ hours and had some difficulty recovering.

Finally, on May 14, 2011, Aiden seemed to have improved and he & Hannah were thrilled to return to Dallas. He is continuing to experience some bleeding in his GI tract, abdominal pain & his liver numbers are still high and trending upward, but the doctors in Boston are not sure what else they can do at this point but monitor and see what happens.

The timing of things is amazingly similar to last year (the return date was May 14th as well). Hopefully, Aiden will improve and have a good Summer and Fall. He is still on the narcotics, which always minimizes the vomiting and therefore helps with O2 requirements and other issues, so we are hoping that some of the new pain medications will provide the same level of improvement as we wean the opiods. We still have several new medications and other similar changes to his daily regime that we are working on with the doctors at CHB, but we are very happy to be able to do this from home!

Ethan & Evan were estatic to see Aiden and Mommy (although perhaps just as excited to see the airplanes?!?) and still think we are going to disappear every time they close their eyes! Below are a few recent pics–it’s amazing how much the boys have grown in the last couple of months!

2011_05_002.jpgThe boys with Mimi

2011_05_005.jpgHe’s back!!!

2011_05_012.jpgSO happy to be home

2011_05_013.jpgEvan awaits…something

2011_05_021.jpgJoyful!

2011_05_024.jpgReunited

2011_05_025.jpgThere they go

2011_05_026.jpgEthan, so serious?

2011_05_030.jpgRunning around

2011_05_033.jpg“Bwadaaz (brothers), wait for me!!”

2011_05_043.jpgGrass fight

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2011_05_054.jpgTaking a walk

2011_05_055.jpgEvan makes sure they are in line

2011_05_057.jpgTheres a smile from Ethie

Still there…

Just when we thought that we had a plan to return to Texas, Aiden’s liver numbers have spiked and the past several days he has also been experiencing some internal bleeding from his digestive/intestinal tract, so we are now trying to figure out what is going on.

Late last week, the medical team here came to the decision that (since they cannot identify the cause/source of Aiden’s pain) they would focus for now on trying to identify a more effective and viable long-term method to control the pain, and thereby (hopefully) control some of the symptoms that he is experiencing. Because he cannot stay on the narcotics long-term, they are attempting to replicate his response to the opioids by using other pain medications that are often used in patients experiencing IBS and other diseases that cause severe abdominal pain.

This will be an extended trial & error process, and so we had worked out a detailed plan to return to Texas and continue this process overseen by Aiden’s physicians in Dallas, while the CHB team would continue to provide direction and advise long-distance until our next visit.

As part of this process we had expected to begin weaning the current pain meds last week and begin the transition to the other drugs; however, due to the liver & bleeding issues that have come up, they have held the wean anticipating the possibility of additional testing and the need to continue to protect his lungs so that he is able to handle anesthesia.

Last Wednesday, we met with a hepatologist to follow up on the increased liver numbers. She ordered some additional tests to rule out some concerns and follow-up on possible causes. Based on the results, it appears Aiden’s liver numbers continue to rise and they think he may need a liver biopsy to figure out what is going on. We will meet with his primary care physicians over the next couple of days to determine next steps. Thanks for your continued prayers!

It has been a rough month for everyone. Manish has pretty much been a single parent all month juggling the boys, a job and the household. To top it off, he was sick toward the end of the month with a G.I. bug that has been spreading across Dallas.

Hopefully, May will be more peaceful!

Below is a short video of Aiden walking in circles praying about getting back to the airport, going home and getting a good night sleep.

 

 

Rebekah & Keith’s Wedding

This was certainly one of the liveliest weddings of the year! Rebekah and Keith were married at the Holy Trinity Church in Dallas with the reception at The Radisson Hotel.

The meal and cake were wonderful with catering provided by Romano’s Bakery.

A few select images…

First trip away…

Shortly after Aiden & Hannah left for the hospital in Boston, Manish and the twins took a trip to Rochester, NY to visit his parents. This was the twins first trip away from home and they did very well! They thoroughly enjoyed their time with Papa, Grandma, “Oak” (Uncle Sachin) & Aunt Amisha. They have grown so much in the past several weeks and now look like 4-yr olds-such big boys! The pics below are an assortment of the boys playing, at the museum, doing things with family and being silly. All in all, it was a great trip!

Aiden and Hannah are still in Boston. Over the past few weeks, Aiden has had a neural MRI, CT Scan, Gastric Emptying Study, Echocardiogram and various other tests. As always, everything is negative and the CT even shows slight overall improvement (in some aspects) in his lungs from his previous chest CT two years ago. While that is good news and rules out the need for lung biopsies at this point, there has still been no progress in addressing the serious health issues that he is continuing to experience. For the past week and a half, Aiden has been trying several new medications as well as re-trying several drugs that were tried previously, prior to his past couple of surgeries. We will meet with Aiden’s GI doctor this week to come up with a longer-term plan, and also plan to begin weaning the narcotic pain medications this week, which will be challenging, given that he is throwing up so much when the drugs wear off.

Thanks for your continued prayers!

2011_04_002.jpgRacing cars on their new racetrack

2011_04_003.jpgHaving a great time harassing Papa

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2011_04_007.jpgGrandma watches on

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2011_04_019.jpgCan’t tell who is having more fun here

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2011_04_031.jpg

2011_04_036.jpgAmisha and Evan having breakfast

2011_04_038.jpgOak has fun with the boys

2011_04_040.jpg

2011_04_041.jpg

2011_04_044.jpgCrushed!

2011_04_051.jpgTime to get Amisha

2011_04_055.jpgNow they turn on eachother

2011_04_060.jpgAt the museum

2011_04_076.jpgPlaying with non-dirty, plastic sand

2011_04_081.jpgThe butterfly exhibit

2011_04_087.jpgAs Aiden would say, “sooo beeutyful!”

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2011_04_101.jpgUncle Oak, Amisha and Miss O (aka, Sachin’s girlfriend) and the boys

2011_04_104.jpgBears

2011_04_109.jpgBrushing a big mouth

2011_04_111.jpgIt made gushing sounds and scared Evan

2011_04_113.jpgHitting the monsters

2011_04_115.jpgOak plays some games too

2011_04_118.jpgTime to….

2011_04_120.jpgRemember Slinky?

2011_04_123.jpgAll aboard

2011_04_126.jpgPoor Evan looks so sad

2011_04_127.jpgMore trains

2011_04_133.jpgTime to go shopping

2011_04_135.jpgCheckout

2011_04_136.jpgCashier

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2011_04_142.jpgDon’t overcharge me

2011_04_144.jpgWhat does that spell?

2011_04_145.jpgTaxicab

2011_04_misc1.jpgBill Spiotti cut Papa’s hair, Manish’s hair when he was a little boy and is now cutting the twins hair. Spanning 3 generations.

2011_04_156.jpgGrandma reads a goodnight story to the boys