May 24, 2007

"For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth." Psalm 71:5

Okay prayer warriors, we need you again! Kyle had his weekly eye exam yesterday and it showed that his ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity) has quickly progressed from Stage 1 and is now at Stage 3 in his left eye (right eye is Stage 2). The stages of ROP, numbered 1 to 5, describe what’s going on in the eye, with 1 being very mild problems and 5 being the worst. In stage 3, the ridge has abnormal blood vessels growing off the top of that ridge into the clear jelly that fills the eyeball. These abnormal blood vessels can pull the retina off the inside surface of the eyeball - a retinal detachment. Stage 4 is partial detachment, while stage 5 is total detachment. Once detachment starts, the problems are vastly greater, and blindness can occur. Laser surgery can be done, usually at Stage 4, to stop the abnormal growth and therefore prevent retinal detachment. Kyle's eye doctor has referred him to a retinal specialist who will be evaluating Kyle in the next day or so. PLEASE PRAY THAT KYLE'S ROP CLEARS UP ON IT'S OWN!!!

Kyle has had a busy couple of days now that his various therapy sessions have all started. He is receiving occupational therapy 3 times a week, music therapy 3 times a week and speech therapy everyday. Yesterday he happened to have all three sessions scheduled so it was a busy day for a such a little guy. His occupational therapist says that everything with Kyle is "perfect"! Music therapy was started yesterday. For his music therapy, his pacifier is connected to a machine that monitors his sucking. If he sucks correctly, he is "rewarded" by a lullaby that plays. Kyle did wonderful and had the lullaby playing for the entire session. The bottom picture was taken during music therapy - the yellow objects in Kyle's crib are the speakers. Speech therapy, although slow, is also going well. Kyle is doing everything correctly according to his speech therapist. Because of this, he was allowed to do something they call "finger feed" today. A thin wire is connected to Kyle's pacifier and if he sucks on his pacifier, a small amount of milk goes into Kyle's mouth. He handled it great and was allowed to "drink" 5 cc's. They will continue the finger feeds for about a week and then let Kyle try a bottle. Now that I am over my initial shock/disappointment, it does not seem like such a big deal. In the big scheme of everything, a couple extra weeks in Florida is not such a big deal.

Our big guy is now 13 weeks old! We could not have gotten through this time without your prayers and support. The Lord has definitely given us comfort through all of you.

God Bless,

Jennifer, Joe, Madison and Kyle