Finding Jenn Project

I know I must have some knitting friends out there. I want to invite you all to help in this worthy cause. You can find more information here.

Basically the project involves knitting sleeves to cover PICC lines. These will be distributed to CF patients at CF centers around the country. Eventually, a part of the project will be knitting cushions to go over accessed medi-ports (like Ricky has).

This is Ricky with a PICC line:




Doesn't it look like it needs a nice hand-knit cover?

If you can help, consider doing so! (I am going to be trying to figure out how to do this on a Knifty Knitter so I can help too!)

Ricky update

Well, how about a long overdue update on Ricky? I've been going a little crazy at home and just haven't had time to update.

Last week I took Ricky to the audiologist for an evaluation of his hearing. With all the dizziness he's been having, there is a possibility that he has vestibular damage. The audiology tests would be able to determine the possibility of some, but not all, types of vestibular damage.

The tests he had that day were fine. The audiologist strongly recommended that I take Ricky to see the ENT and the neurologist to rule out other problems. I have already made the ENT appointment for March 9 and I'm working out a referral to a new neurologist (Ricky's doesn't take his new insurance) and I'll get him an appointment for that as soon as possible.

This week, Ricky had a follow-up appointment with the endocrinology clinic to follow up on his slow growth. His growth curve is still dipping with no good explanation (he is not sick enough from his CF to cause this, for one thing) and his hormone and other blood levels are borderline low. The decision was made to do a bone age scan of his hand to see how his bone age compares to his growth. We should have that information soon. And then the plan will be to wait another 4 months and go back in to see how his growth has progressed.

Did I mention we had a two hour wait for the x-ray to be done? Yeah. And then the x-ray took all of 30 seconds! It was a good thing that Misty wasn't with us because she would have been going crazy!

Ricky had been feeling poorly the past few days, so I managed to get him into the CF clinic after the x-ray. It turned out that he is fine... His spirometry was stellar and his lungs sounded clean. "Just" reactive airways. Well that's a relief!

doctors

Week before last, Ricky visited the new pediatrician for the first time. She is great! She knows a bit about CF and is willing to learn more. So, yay.

This past week, Ricky was tripped (someone stepped on his shoelaces) in PE and fell on his knee and had his left thumb bend back. Took him back to the pediatrician's office and saw one of her partners; an x-ray confirmed that the thumb and small bones around it were not broken... But they were pretty sure that the thumb was sprained. So he wore an ace bandage for 5 days to immobilize it.

Ricky was supposed to go to the neurologist tomorrow, but I got a call today (yes Sunday) and found out that this doc doesn't take Healthy Families, darn it... so we had to cancel it. He'll have to see a neuro doc at Stanford where most of his other docs are. But it will take some time. Sigh. Good old insurance...

That's it for now. :)