Test...

Carter went for a barium study of his intestines on Friday.  He did great! The study showed an area of his intestines that is not functioning correctly.  It is not contracting and causing his stool to puddle in one area, which in turn causes bacteria to grow. We are not sure exactly what we are going to do about this right now.  We were given two options thus far and we are not crazy about either one.  One is to have surgery to snip the piece of intestines out that is not working correctly and the other is to place him on long term antibiotics until we have another surgery and possibly have it fixed then.  I really do not want Carter to have surgery right now.  We are trying to allow him a little rest time before he has his "big" surgery.  I really dont want him on long term antibiotics either due to the side effects and other things it will cause.  I am also unsure of having his bowels worked on at the time of his "big" surgery, because he is already having so many other things done and I feel like that is too much at one time.  If we do decide to have the surgery now it will be a long and hard recovery.  So right now we are just very unsure of what we are going to do.  Our G.I. Doctor and surgeon are trying to come up with a game plan of what to do and what is best for Carter.  Right now we are praying for wisdom for the Doctor's that they will come up with the best solution.  Our surgeon is supposed to call me this week to let me know what they have decided.  Carter is scheduled to meet with a speech therapist at UMC's feeding clinic on Monday, we are going to UAB for a therapy evaluation on Tuesday and we have an appointment with our Urologist on Thursday to check his kidney function.  We have a busy week! Please pray they can figure all of this out soon and we can get him well!

Updates....

The Cline's have been very busy! We took Carter to the Pediatrician on Monday.  He had been pulling on his ears and having some tummy trouble for a while.  He had an ear infection, virus and we are going tomorrow for more testing on his intestines.  Carter is still not interested in baby food or anything except for oyster crackers and puffs, so we are going to take him to the feeding clinic at UMC on Monday.  We are going to attempt to take him to UAB again on Tuesday for his therapy evaluation. We tried to go this past Tuesday and after driving four hours our appointment was cancelled.  We will also be taking him back to UAB on the 11th for his MRI with sedation.  I took Brandon to the pulmonologist Wednesday and we learned a little more about sarcoidosis.  It is a very serious disease, although he will do well if he keeps it controlled.  He started a round of steroids today and went for blood work and a lung function test.  He will go back to the pulmonologist in six weeks to see if the steroids are helping or if we need to try something else. So, needless to say we have been very busy!  We are praying we can get Carter's tummy problems figured out and that Brandon's steroids will resolve his symptoms. 

11 Months...

My sweet boy is already 11 months old. He is doing great! He loves to play outside, his toys and Veggie Tales. He has gotten TWO teeth this month and is working on another one. He weighs about 14 lbs. And wears 0-3 month clothing. He eats 4 oz every 3-4 hours. He is still not a fan of baby food, although he loves crackers and puffs! Carter can now hold onto his toys and stand up all by himself! With help, he loves to walk behind his walker. Carter loves his dogs and can growl and pant just like them! He has gotten really good at pushing his chest off the floor and can even get into a crawl position.  Carter loves to sing to any music, I have put a few pictures up of him singing at the bottom of this post.  He still likes to swim and we are planning a Mickey Mouse swim party for his birthday!

About to crawl!

Carter's best friend Garon came to visit him a few days ago. I thought I would share a few pictures of the two cuties!

 Best Friends!!!

Garon is 7 months and Carter 11 months

I know this may be picture overload, but I had to add a few of Carter singing and yes I know he is going to kill me for this when he gets older.  Isn't it the cutest thing???

He was singing the Veggie Tales theme song! :)

Update on Brandon

I have been hesitant to update the blog because we are unsure of Brandon's treatment plan at this time. We do have a plan right now, but have not seen a pulmonologist yet and know that it may change. Brandon's biopsy came back negative for lymphoma, although it was positive for sarcoidosis. At this time all we know about sarcoidosis and the treatment plan prepared for Brandon is what the thoracic surgeon has told us. Sarcoidosis is a disease Brandon will live with the rest of his life, there is currently no cure. They do know sarcoidosis sometimes turns into lymphoma. Brandon will need to have a biopsy done at least every two years to make sure this does not occur. We will first try to manage Brandon's sarcoidosis with steroids. If they do not work Brandon may need chemotherapy or another immunosuppressive drug. Brandon's spleen is also enlarged and may need to be removed if the steroids do not reduce the size. Brandon is still having a hard time catching his breath and he is still having abdominal pain. We hope to get our referral to the pulmonologist soon and get control of this disease! Thank you all so much for all of your prayers and continued prayers as we go through this journey!

Believe in Jesus!

The past few weeks have been busy! We had a great trip to Johns Hopkins and Carter recieved a great report.  Our wonderful urologist at Hopkins said Carter needs a Daddy more than he needs surgery right now.  So we will plan his surgery after we get Brandon's treatment going.  While at Johns Hopkins we were able to attend the annual picnic for exstrophy children.  We learned a lot and best of all we met 7 families that have children with the same condition as Carter.  It was great to talk with families that have been and are going through the same things we are.  Carter met some kids that share a lot of common bonds and I am sure they will be friends forever!  We hope we will be able to attend the annual conference every year. Carter will be going to the University of Alabama-Birmingham on the  26th for a therapy evaluation.  In the next few weeks we will also be going to UAB for a MRI with sedation, I am unsure of the date at this time. 

Brandon had a biopsy performed today and we will recieve the results Monday.  Besides being sore and having a  nice battle wound on his neck, Brandon did great with the biopsy and surgery.  We were very fortunate to know his surgery and recovery room nurses.  They took great care of him and we are thankful!  We both have strong faith in Jesus and know that His plan is perfect.  We may not always get the results we want but know it is part of a much larger plan.  We have witnessed so many blessings with Carter and know we will experience the same with Brandon.  We believe in the power of prayer, we know God has a mighty hand and will protect our family through all of these trials.  We will not grow weary, we will not lose our faith, we will not be shaken! Our God is an awesome God and we give him all the glory! We believe in Jesus!

I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8)

Prayers please...

Today has been one of those days you really can not tell if you are dreaming or awake. Brandon (my husband) went to the Doctor today, excpecting to be put on blood pressure medicine and told to lose some weight. We never expected to get a diagnosis of Lymphoma. For all of you that do not know Brandon, he is an active, very out-going and we thought healthy person. He had been complainig of having a hard time catching his breath and his chest hurting. We put it off as asthma and the oh so hot summers here in Mississippi. It has been going on for a few months so I convinced him to go to the Doctor. His blood pressure was 141/101 upon arrival. The Doctor performed a chest x-ray that came back abnormal. Brandon was then sent to have a CT scan done. The radiologist read and confirmed the suspected diagnosis from the first Doctor, Hodgkins Lymphoma. Brandon has a large mass in each of the lymph nodes in his lungs. His spleen was also very enlarged. The masses are the reason Brandon has had such a hard time catching his breath. The mass on the left side is pressing against Brandon's heart causing his blood pressure to be elevated.

We are leaving for Johns Hopkins on Wed. and of course it's the 4th of July weekend. This means our Doctor's office will be closed on Monday and there is no way a biopsy will be able to be performed by Wed. Brandon has decided to go to Johns Hopkins with Carter and I. When we return Brandon will meet with a thoracic surgeon to do a lung biopsy. We will also meet with an oncologist to start treatment. If anyone reading this knows a good oncologist please let me know.

I know I usually just use the blog for Carter and i'm sorry if you were expecting news about Carter. I felt this was appropriate for Carter's blog, because this will effect him more than any of his surgeries. Please pray for strength for both Brandon and I. Please pray for God to heal Brandon. Thank you so much for your prayers and I will do my best to keep the blog updated through this extremly busy time.