Well it has been almost two weeks since I last posted and I don't think I should try to fit two weeks of information in this update. I would probably bore the few readers who come across this! Since it has been almost two weeks, that means we have two and a half weeks before we go back to St. Louis for our next appointment (down there!). We have an appointment with Dr. Kagumba here in Quincy on Thursday, but that is just a normal check-up. Our nurse coordinator with the Fetal Care Center in St. Louis, Shannon, told us before we left Barnes that our next trip would be a long day. Boy, was she ever right. A few days after we returned, she e-mailed us with the information. We have a 9 a.m. Fetal Echocardiagram and a follow-up with the cardiologist to discuss the results immediately after. I have no idea what the Echo will entail, haven't had time to research it yet. After that, we have an 11 o'clock appointment with Dr. Saito (Pediatric Surgeon) and a neonatologist. I am getting so confused on who everybody is and what their specialties mean and what jobs they will have in the future! We then have another ultrasound at 1:00 pm (which by the way.....I wish I could learn how to give Level II u/s on the side.....I would be rich!) and then finish off with the Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist, Dr. Cahill, at 2:00 pm. We also hope to squeeze in a tour of Children's, the NICU, and all other areas we will be spending some time in while we are in St. Louis.
As before, they have been great in St. Louis. Our nurse coordinator has already been filling our spare time with plenty of reading material on long-term and affordable housing in St. Louis while we are there. Kelsea's due date is February 9th, and I am sure as we get closer, we will set a date for the C-Section. However, we have also talked about how strongly we feel that we want Hayden to be born in St. Louis so he is as close to the NICU as possible. It is nothing against Quincy or the medical facilities and personnel here, I/we just want the best for our little boy and I've promised him he will get it. Unfortunately, for this to happen, that probably means Kelsea will be heading to St. Louis well before her due date. When that happens, we don't know yet. I do know that Tucker is going to miss her!
Kelsea was able to go home this past weekend for Mia's (her niece) birthday party and Kim's (her sister) surprise birthday "celebration!" Although I missed her dearly, it was good for her to get away and spend some good quality time with her family. When she got home on Sunday, Kelsea met me at the K of C and stayed with me while I volunteered at Cadan's Carnival, a local event that raises money for CDH research. Rome and Tiffany lost their son several years ago to CDH and ever since then, they have ensured that the doctors at Children's in St. Louis are pusing forward raising awareness of CDH and making advances in its treatment. As I have mentioned before, God has ways of putting people and things just where He wants them so they can help fulfill His plan. Rome and Tiffany's doctor, Dr. Brad Warner, is the name that kept popping up when I first started doing research on Omphaloceles. He was in attendance Sunday afternoon for the event, however I left as he was just arriving. I was hoping to meet him, but as I sat there trying to sell raffle tickets (I did a horrible job by the way.....I think they could've done a better job if they would have just left the booth empty) I realized it wasn't about Kelsea and I and I didn't want to put msyelf in front of what the day was for. I also know that if God wants us to meet him, God will take care of it. It was a fun day and I was truly amazed at the turnout. I can't even begin to guess how many people were there throughout the three hours I was present. Well over a thousand I am sure though. It was nice to have Kelsea join me, even though she was tired, as she had just gotten off the train from DeKalb, and also talk to a former student who was helping me out earning some hours for Beta Club. However, she didn't know how to react when I bought her a rice krispie treat!
Basment is basically done. Windows were installed Friday, furniture is downstairs (although we still have some rearranging to do), the cat's now have a "tunnel" through the wall so they can get to their litter box and food without me worrying about the dog having some "treats" and no, I don't mean from the cat's food bowl....sick, sick dog! On a side note, it was interesting to read why dog's eat poop! Now to just finsih doing some rewiring in the storage/laundry area so I can move the shelves back in to place and move the rest of the "junk" from the garage back downstairs. Best part about everything is the fireplace we now have downstairs. It has already gotten a ton of use!
Friday, we saw our soccer season come to an end. It was definitely a tough ending to a great season. A team that, at the beginning of the season, I definitely did not have faith in. As the season neared the end, we saw our team get ranked nationally and in the state. However, rankings don't mean squat unless you perform. Well, our first game against Alton saw us trailing 1-0 midway through the first half. It took us 76 minutes and 35 seconds, but we finally "performed." The ending to our game was one of the craziest things I have ever witnessed in a soccer match. We had all but given up on our season when with 3:25 left in the game, we tied it up. Not 45 seconds later, we scored again and won 2-1 to advance to play Edwardsville, who 2 of the previous 3 seaons, has had our number. Friday night, we scored 20 seconds into the game and for the first 5-10 minutes, we thought we were going to roll over this team. However, it didn't end up that way, and just as the St. Louis Cardinals glorious posteason run is ending in the background as I type, our season came to an end with a 3-1 loss. I was sad to see it end, as I always am, however, that means I now have more time to spend at home with my wife and prepare for the arrival of our little Hayden!
One more thing, I FINALLY got to feel him kick tonight! Although very faint, I felt my boy move and it made his dad very proud!
God Bless you all.
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