Be Gentle, 2015

I meant to write this closer to the new year, but I haven't had much time. When every year comes to an end and new one begins, just as the majority of people, I reflect. 2014 was quite the doozy for me. Some really high highs, and some extreme lows. 2014 started off fine, but quickly took a turn when Fisher had his 9 month checkup and was diagnosed with Hemihypertrophy. We had numerous specialist appointments, and will continue to do so every 3 months until he is a teenager. He has his pediatrician, a geneticist, an orthopedist, and an oncologist- all of whom will continue to monitor him. Most of the specialist appointments were fine, but there was one that really shook us up. Right around that same time, we got the wonderful news that we had a new nephew. Jude has been such a dream! The process of my brother and Anna adopting has been so joyous, and the past almost 6 months with him have been amazing! Also during that time, we sold our house, had a roller coaster ride with a potential house, and ultimately bought our current home, which we love. Everything ended up being fine with Fisher (Praise God!), and we found out we were expecting a baby. But when I went to my 12 week appointment, we found out that I had suffered a miscarriage. The news about Fisher and the miscarriage were some of the lowest points in my life. But they were running parallel with some of the greatest times, as well. I just can't say enough positive things about baby Jude, and the joy and happiness he has brought to all of us. When women have miscarriages, sometimes they shut off and don't want to hear about other babies, or see other babies, because they're reminded of what they won't have. But with Jude, it was the opposite. I wanted to be with him even more, because it just puts you in even more awe of God's plan. To shut the door on 2014 is to shut the door on some really sad times. But sure enough, they'll follow into 2015 because Fisher will always have Hemihypertrophy, and I'll never stop thinking about my baby that I lost. But the good times will follow also. We have a new home and a new nephew.

Some other highlights of 2014:

Hooper got a new job
Our beach vacation
Our annual girls' trip
Jude's finalization
Christmas trip to the Gaylord
Christmas time, period.
And so many more.

Here are some photos from some of those times.













Jude from A & C Photography on Vimeo.















Comments

Anonymous said…
My daughter also has hemihypertrophy (aka hemihyperdysplasia) and I wanted to let you know that her doctor has said that the new standard of care for children with hemihypertrophy is to receive ultrasounds every three months and blood tests every 6 weeks. Ultrasounds until at least age 8 and blood draws until age 4. I was reading on your blog that your son only goes every 6 months and I wanted to make sure you knew that most of the research on hemi suggests more frequent ultrasounds. Apparently the kidney and liver tumors can grow extremely quickly in children--I read that they can double in size in the matter of weeks! And that is why it is important to get more frequent ultrasounds. In fact, there was a research done on kids who had the more frequent ultrasounds vs. the less frequent ultrasounds and they found that the ones who were scanned less frequently and who did get tumors, ended up with tumors that were bigger once they were caught (and then their cancer prognosis was not as good). I wanted you to know because not all doctors are aware of the new research/recommendations. Best of luck to you!
December 28, 2016 at 11:32 PM
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