When it rains it pours

As if we haven't had enough medical drama in the last week with Jabba and his surgeries, now Sadie has another double ear infection. That is #5 for her since November. She goes to the otolaryngologist on May 15th and I am just praying they let her get tubes ASAP. The ped today warned me that they may want her to ride out the summer and see how she does instead of putting in the tubes. Um, no thanks. My poor sweet baby has suffered enough. I don't want to risk her getting sick again and being in more pain. I'll keep you posted.

Jabba update #2

Thanks for the prayers, everyone! They worked! Jabba is doing just fine. I took him up to the specialist surgeon in Burlington on Friday and they took more x-rays and said they couldn't see the stone. But the doc said Jabba's urethra still felt inflamed so he couldn't be 100% sure there wasn't a stone in there. So they did some other fancy radiologic test and determined he was stone-free, which meant no surgery! YAY!!! Jabba has to be on a special diet for the rest of his life and is still recovering from the first surgeries but he is doing great overall. Thanks again for your concern. Our sweet little puggy will be back to normal in no time.

Jabba update

Our sweet little puggy needs your prayers. I don't know how many of you are animal lovers, but to me Jabba is just another one of my kids and I love him just the same. The thought of him in pain tears me apart and all I want to do is make it better.

Like I said before, Jabba had a stone in his bladder. He had surgery this afternoon to try to flush it out. They went in the first time, couldn't find the stone, flushed out his bladder several times, then closed him up and did an x-ray to see if the stone was gone. It wasn't. So they opened him again, repeated everything they'd done before, closed him up and x-rayed. Still there. The stone has now moved into his urethra, which is apparently much more serious. He needs to have a different kind of surgery with a veterinary surgeon up in Burlington, VT, which is about 2.5 hours north of here. It needs to happen soon or else the stone could possibly block the flow of urine completely, which is bad news no matter what species you are. We are tentatively looking at Friday.

Please, if you have any prayers & positive thoughts to spare for our little guy, we would really appreciate it. I miss my smelly couch companion. Ethan has broken down in tears at least three or four times today. Poor little Jub Jub.

Divalicious

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. We've been in Oklahoma with my parents for the last two weeks so I just haven't posted. We had a great time, the kids loved spending time with Grandma and Grandpa K. We even got to see Aunt Claudia and the cousins!! But we're back home now, happy to see Daddy again.

So in an attempt to catch up a bit, I thought I'd post about one of my favorite subjects, Little Miss Diva. She is so funny. She already has such personality. Earlier this afternoon she discovered her inner fashionista and somehow managed to put my purse on all by herself. I just loved watching her prance around the house with her new accessory. Just don't ask for a cell phone yet!

Strike a pose!

In other (less cute and cuddly) news, Jabba needs a few prayers. He's been having some bladder issues the past few days, having to go potty like 800 times a day but nothing coming out. So I took him to the vet this morning and he has a stone in his bladder. He's having surgery this afternoon to remove it. So say a little prayer for my sweet puggy wuggy that he will be okay!

Autism Awareness Day!

Did you know that today is World Autism Awareness Day? It's true! So in honor of my friend Melanie and her son Grant, who has autism, and also because I worked for an autism nonprofit for two years, let's review the early warning signs:

In clinical terms, there are a few “absolute indicators,” often referred to as “red flags,” that indicate that a child should be evaluated. For a parent, these are the “red flags” that your child should be screened to ensure that he/she is on the right developmental path. If your baby shows any of these signs, please ask your pediatrician or family practitioner for an immediate evaluation:

No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter

No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by nine months or thereafter

No babbling by 12 months

No back-and-forth gestures, such as pointing, showing, reaching, or waving by 12 months

No words by 16 months

No two-word meaningful phrases (without imitating or repeating) by 24 months

Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age

*This information has been provided by First Signs, Inc. ©2001-2005. Reprinted with permission. For more information about recognizing the early signs of developmental and behavioral disorders, please visit http://www.firstsigns.org or the Centers for Disease Control at www.cdc.gov/actearly.

There is no cure for autism, but there is hope! There are many behavioral treatments out there that can really help kids with autism, and early detection is the key. So speak up if you think something may be amiss with your child. It can only help them!

And finally, a little plug for my old organization- if you have a child with autism, or are a teacher of special needs kids and are looking for more information on autism research, teaching a child with autism, parenting a child with autism, or any other topic, check out www.researchautism.org. The Organization for Autism Research was founded by parents and grandparents of kids with autism, with the sole mission of helping other parents and caregivers provide the best quality of life for the people with autism in their lives. They have numerous informative publications, research and intervention information, and even ways to get involved and raise autism awareness. So check it out, it's a wonderful organization!