treading water

I'm probably not in the best frame of mind to write a post, but it's quiet for a few minutes in our house, so here goes....
 



Our sick little boy...makes me teary just looking at this picture.

The second week at home was MUCH better than the first - mostly because Ryan wasn't sick.   To give you an idea of how sick this little guy was, look at this sad picture.  He has never been so sick that he just slept on the floor or the sofa for several days in a row without eating. 

Anna has had four doctor appointments so far in the two weeks that we've been home.  Unfortunately, I think this is just the beginning.  Last Monday, we spent the entire afternoon at Primary Children's Hospital in their cranial-facial division and saw our plastics surgeon, ear/nose/throat doctor, speech therapist and the dentist/orthodontist.  It was a very long afternoon and while I feel really good about the care we are going to receive, we were on information overload by the time we left the hospital.  Right now, Anna's surgery for her cleft palate repair is set for Tuesday, October 1st.  I'd ask for your prayers for her during and after the surgery, but first, we have to get through an insurance hurdle (and I am tempted to ask for your prayers as I deal with the insurance company!). 



Tony drawing with Anna in the waiting room at Primary Children's.


While everyone kept assuring me that cleft palate repair is "standard of care" and we wouldn't have any problems getting the procedure approved, I am not finding this to be the case.  My doctor is going to talk to the insurance company and hopefully we will be able to go through with the surgery (we are on a tight schedule here due to our move to North Carolina in November!) or it may need to be delayed a few weeks.
 
But I'll save my medical insurance rant for another time...
 
Other than medical stuff, I think we're adjusting really well.  We also had our visit with our social worker for our one month report and even though she witnessed one of Anna's meltdown's and Ryan hitting Anna, she thought we were doing very well.

We have our continual fights over toys, jealousy issues and typical bickering.  I know this is standard fare in most families and I really don't worry too much about it, but man, it gets exhausting!  I think the main difference in this situation is a second child in a family is usually a newborn baby and that newborn baby doesn't get jealous of the older sibling.  Anna gets crazy jealous of Ryan and has started hitting him.  And when she hits Ryan, Ryan starts wailing like he's been mortally wounded.  Anna has hit me and I can barely feel it.  But we go through this circus oh, about 50 times a day.  It's great fun.

But I do see glimpses of hope now and then.  Once in a while Ryan will be helpful and kind to Anna.  And Anna really does adore her big brother.  She will follow him around and if Ryan gives her the time of day, she seizes it and loves it.  Ryan knows how if he makes this funny sound in his throat, it makes her laugh. 

One day we built a fort and let the kids have a picnic.  They giggled and laughed and shared.  And Anna has made peace with Abby. 

It is moments like these and many others that make up for the hundred times I have picked up the legos and toys, the hundred fights I have referred and the thousand tears I have wiped off little faces.