July 09 Update

Here's a quick update from our trip to Duke:

Gwyneth is doing very well, and her doctors continue to be very happy with her progress. She has hit several milestones in just the past few weeks, including crawling, sitting up (from her hands and knees), pulling herself to a stand from a sitting position, waving and mimicking babbling (see video below). She is finally off a vitamin supplament that we have been giving her since we brought her home, and we are going to be trying a new formula with more calories to help her continue to gain weight. She weighs over 17 lbs now.

Tricia also received great reports. She feels better now than she has in several years, and since her bought with pneumonia a few months ago, she has not had any major lung issues. All of here tests and scans came back looking good and clean, and her doctors are very pleased with where she is at right now.

I also had an appointment with an ENT to discuss my recent sleep study. The sleep study shows that I have severe sleep apnea...on a scale of 1 to 100, any score of 40 and above is considered "severe"...my score was 92. My suspicion for the past few years is that my tonsils are abnormally huge (which the doctors confirm), and my goal has been to have them removed. After seeing my sleep study report, and learning that I've had three different cases of illness related to or caused by my tonsils in the past few months, the doctor agrees that a tonsilectomy is the best option. I've done my homework and know the nature of the surgery and recovery and am very satisfied to finally have a surgery scheduled. Ultimately, my decision comes down to the fact that my apnea and increased illnesses are both unhealthy for Gwyneth and (more so) Tricia.

All in all, it was a great trip, although Gwyneth is just now getting back to her normal sleep schedule, which always gets messed up when we go to Durham overnight.

Here's a cute video (cell phone) showing some of Gwyneth's progress...

Nate