Pics taken Jan 23rd

On Jan 23rd Adi's tube slipped out. It wasn't her fault and I had three hours before we had to be up at the hospital. I took her to get some pictures in hope they could at least get me one good picture of just Adi.

Some fun pictures taken along the way

Feb and March

Feb 10th - Adi was diagnosed with bronchiolitis again. This time it was classified RSV.
Feb 26th – After being urged by the surgeon we needed to have the 2nd dilation done we decided to proceed. There are added risks when a kid has had a respiratory infection so close to dilation. They told us to be prepared for her to have to be hospitalized for several days and she might have to be on a ventilator. Scott, because of work was probably not going to be able to come up with us. I tried acting tough and told him I would be ok. He arranged to take the day off and the next morning was up at 5:30am helping me get everything in the car. I wasn’t feeling so good and when we got to the gasoline station a couple of blocks away morning sickness kicked in. Man was I grateful I didn’t have to drive up by myself after that.
Everything went well. The surgeon was pleasantly surprised that there was no regression since the last dilation. He was amazed at how well she had been eating. I told him that Jan 31 the tube came out and since she had been consuming at least 650 calories a day and drinking enough. She has been off the tube since then.

We got out of the hospital at 11:50am and headed straight to our ultrasound. For some reason I decided not to cancel the appointment. We walked in five minutes early for our appointment. After looking to see if the baby was complete and that there weren’t any abnormalities we found out we are having another GIRL!!!!
March 12th – Scott and I were waiting for John to show up so we could go to the Temple. Scott took Adi out to see the dogs and a few minutes later calls out for me. Adi was coherent but not breathing. Her body was limp and her face blue. It didn’t look like her other seizures in June so we didn’t know what to think. I called the after hours nurse and she told me she could be seen at 7:30pm. Thinking we had to wait an hour and a half just didn’t seem right. I got on the phone with Steph and then Julie to get two pros advice. Julie’s advice is gold to us so we decided to wait and see if she did it again, canceled our appointment and decided to go up to Primary Children’s if we were going to go anywhere.
March 13th – Went to the pediatricians office to have Adi’s oxygen levels checked and to get a doctors opinion. If nothing else it would be recorded in her chart. When we got home Adi was playing under the table and just collapsed, turned blue, and was non responsive for 7 minutes. I called Julie and she told me to rush over to Timp to get her cleared before we went up to Primary. I called Scott and had him meet me there. Luckily I had Angie with me so she drove while I kept trying to wake Adi up. When we got to the hospital Adi woke up and looked great. After a few tests they told up she had a UTI and just as the doc walked back in Adi began having another attack. He called up to her neurologist, Dr Morita and found she had a cancellation at 1:45pm and would see us then. After giving her a little verced to get up to Primary with out anymore attacks. We got up there at 2:15pm and after discussing the incidents with her she said they sounded like seizures and if we wanted could have an EEG that day. Adi had one more seizure where they found the left size was once again the side misfiring.

Filling in the large gap

Jan 21, 2009
Well I have neglected this site. As many of you know around Thanksgiving Adi got bronchiolitis. Shortly after we found out the opening into her stomach was too tight and the bottom of her esophagus looks like a pocket and is larger than it should be. After meeting with the surgeon a plan was made to have Adi undergo a series of 3 dilations to loosen the opening into her stomach. He also suggested we have doctor O’Gorman, the GI specialist, scope the esophagus down to the intestine to see what she could find and at the same time biopsy the esophagus. There are still so many unknowns we are just hoping to get some answers. After all this is done we will have to go in for one more surgery where they will correct an incisional hernia and possibly put in a g-tube.

Good News-
Adi has started eating 2-3 ounces of food at a time. Yesterday, thanks to Maureen, she ate 4 pieces of an avocado roll for lunch and then fell right to sleep. She has also begun crawling and pulling herself to her knees. She has impressed her therapist and has Scott and I laughing at her new sense of freedom. Side note- Merlin I want you to know that I attribute Adi’s crawling to Jim’s help, how can we ever thank you!?!

Jan 22, 2009
I’d asked Scott to give Adi a blessing last night. I felt like we were making the right decision proceeding with the EGD and dilation but there was a nagging unsettling feeling that she just needed a blessing, and if for nothing else that he bless the surgeon and GI doc through her. When Scott put his hands on Adi’s head I instantly felt peace. In the blessing the following statements were made-
• you will be able to live a fulfilling life
• the faith of those praying for you have sustained you
It is humbling to know how many people pray for our little girl. What a blessing it is to have such a wonderful family and friends who love and support us.

We were up at Primary Children’s at 7am for check-in. She weighs 15 lbs 8 ounces and is 25.6 inches long. At 8:20am, we walked down the hall with the anesthesiologist gave Adi hugs and went to the waiting room to check-in. As we were walking down the hall I couldn’t help but ask, “Scott does it ever get any easier?” He replied, “I don’t think it’s supposed to.” 45 minutes later Dr. Rollin’s was out to let us know their finding.

Adi’s esophagus is in a J shape. It is not tubular and straight like most. The good news is that the scope proved her GI system looks healthy and there weren’t any signs of food allergies. We were given pictures taken by the scope which were crisp and clear. It is amazing what technology can do now a days. Adi came out of the anesthesia just fine and we were able to go home an hour and a half later.

The next dilation is set for Feb 12th.
In Same Day Surgery Room Waiting for Check-in

Being entertained by Dad

Halloween

This year it was hard to decide what to make Adi for Halloween. As you can see we decided to try a few different costumes. I really wanted to make her Boo from Monster's Inc because of the way she wears her pig tails. The frog was the next pick but found out it was supposed to be a hot Halloween and saw that after 10 mins she was sweating in it. Then came the idea of a fairy. By the end of the night she just needed clothes so we put her in her little black outfit Cami gave her for her birthday (Thanks Cam- Adi loved her outfit from you the best out of them all). What a fun day of dress up.





Look at the glow around Adi's head. She is a little angel fairy.

Oct 25- BYU game

It was a good weekend in the Whitaker home because BYU won. As many of you know Scott is quite the football fan. He has been having Adi watch football and basketball games with him at home since she was born and together we decided it was time to take her to her first game. She was a great fan—slept through the first half and then only cried out twice when the fans roared in unison. Here are some pics to show you what a cute fan she made.

Sept 25 - Shriners orthodics

We got new splints and shoes. So far she is doing great with them. While Adi was getting fitted for her splints there was a girl in a room across the hall from us, about 8 years old, getting fitted for her prostetic leg. The girl was so excited to be able to walk in her new leg that without knowing it she gave me a much needed lesson on gratitude.
Being at Primary Children's Hospital and at Shriners so many times this last year has made me more aware of how special and strong children are that have special disabilities and medical challenges. I can't help but be humbled by the knowledge that such a special little girl came to our little family.