So far, so good....

Allan had a good day today. He got to have pedialyte this afternoon and tonight they have started him back on formula. If he tolerates that well, then we hope to get him home tomorrow. He was a little fussy this afternoon, but, all things considered, he really hasn't complained much. The patch came off this afternoon and his eye looks great -- it is a little bloodshot, but no worse than you might have after a long Saturday night out. And it looks so much better without that darned white cataract in the pupil. The lump seems to be much less, too. We have to keep putting drops in it around the clock and, for the next week, unless we are right on top of him, he has to have a guard on it to make sure that he doesn't whack it. The ophthamologist was pleased that he had a good 'red reflex' (the flash back you get when you take a picture) which means that his retina is good and getting light to it. He may have lost some vision in that eye because the cataract cut the light off for a while, but we are pretty sure he has some in it at least because he has gotten really good at blinking at the precise moment when you are trying to put the drops in.
So, while Dad and Allan hang out at the hospital, Griffith and I are hanging out watching Rachel Ray. It looks to me like she is frying stale bread in olive oil. Not really sure why. Maybe Grif has been paying better attention. Flora's attempt to encourage a movement has been for naught so it may be another long night over here.

Allan was extubated this afternoon and has done very well. He looks good and is all wiggly and sassy. I spent the afternoon and Dad is spending the night with him. No word on when he can come home, but he has to be NPO (without food) until tomorrow to give his gut a chance to recover. We imagine that he'll have to stay for a day or so until every one is satisfied that the peg is in place and that he is going to be able to feed. When last I talked to Jay he was watching The History Channel and holding Allan because every time he put Allan down there was a meltdown. It seems to be going around amongst the Richardson boys. I've had a similar night with Ol Griff. We are now working on Hour 18 since I got up. All I wanted was for Griff to take a little nap, let me have a bath and a little dinner and then we would all go to bed. No such luck.
Flora played a nasty trick on me. She is dedicated to regular bowel movements for the boys and decided that Griff had not pooped recently enough. So she tanked him up on apple juice while we were at the hospital today. Then, once I got home, she hit the road. He hasn't had a movement yet, but the poor little guy has worked on it all night long --- wriggling and crying. Every time I put him down, he shouts down the walls. I figure we are due for some epic event some time about 2 a.m. Would one more day have been terrible?

Allan is out of surgery and in recovery. We got to see him for a few minutes. They are going to move him to the PICU as soon as they get a bed ready. We are not exactly holding our collective breath.
The eye surgery went as well as could have been hoped. The cataract came out and the retina and optic nerve look good and undamaged. The lump had gotten smaller and may just be an inflammatory mass. They were able to do a fine needle biopsy and get some cells from it and they hope that they will be able to tell for certain what it is or was. After the eye was finished, they put in a "peg" and that went smoothly, too.
Right now he is still on the ventilator. No word on whether they are going to try to extubate him today or just let him recover a little and give it a try tomorrow.
He will have to wear a little patch over his eye for a week to protect it and then, in two weeks, he'll be fitted for a contact lens. The doctor said it is much easier to put it in and out than you think it is going to be. It would almost have to be easier because I think it is going to be darned near impossible to wrestle Allan twice a day to put it in and take it out.

Still having computer woes. Have to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. First surgery is at 7:30. Scheduled for at least 3 hours. Will try to blog from there, but no promises. Say a little prayer for Big Al.

Allan in his new toboggan

Allan remains skeptical.

griffith's new hat

Griffith in his toboggan that Aunt Kathy made for him.

Griffith and his chain

Griffith loves to sit in his swing and chew on his chain.

The boys holding hands

The boys in their jogging suits holding hands.

Computer woes

Sorry, folks. Been having problems with the computer at home.
At work now, but trying to earn a living.
The boys are fine. We go to see a couple of Allan's doctors tomorros in preparation for his surgery on Thursday. Still no word on what time his procedure will be. They'll call us tomorrow.
I will try to blog some tonight and post new pictures -- if the wi fi is cooperating.

Yesterday was kind of a big day. We had an appointment with the ophthalmologist at UK. Per the suggestions of the big muckety-mucks in Philly, we are going to have Allan's cataract removed on Thursday. No time for the surgery yet. They'll let us know by noon on Wednesday. Great. Thanks. Because the sitting and the wondering isn't enough for a week. Let's just see how much more unpleasant we can make the situation. While they have him under general anaethesia, they are going to go ahead and put in a G-tube (which they call a peg) which goes in to his intestine through an incision right below his rib cage. This will remove the need for the NG tube (the tube through his nose and into his stomach). The reality of it is that Big Al just can't eat p.o. (through his mouth from the bottle) enough to sustain his growth. He is doing well eating from the bottle, all things considered, but he just doesn't have the strength and the lung capacity to eat quite enough. (By way of comparison, not that we do that, Griffith, who weighs 2 pounds less than his brother can eat 5 or 6 ounces in about 20 minutes. Allan, on the other hand, can eat about an ounce or two in that same period of time. )The more he grows, the more he can eat at a sitting, so to speak, but it will be a while before he can do it all p.o. If we had world enough and time, we wouldn't be putting the tube in right now, but the fear is that if we don't go ahead and do it now, then we will be in a position of having to do it in 3,4, or 6 months from now and no one wants him to have to go under again and run the risks of surgery. So we essentially have a Hobson's choice -- any horse in the stable as long as it is that one. He will have to be intubated for the surgery and will have to stay in the PICU until he can be weaned off of it. No one is making any promises about how long this will take. We hope only a day or two.
So what else is going on? Griffith, after weeks of sleeping through the night, has decided to revert to his old pattern of waking up around 3 or 4 for early breakfast or late dinner or first snack or what-have-you. Last night was Dad's turn for that time slot. It is really like gambling -- some nights you get lucky and he doesn't wake up, but, if you aren't lucky, then it can get ugly. Dad thought that he would be clever and maybe, just maybe, wait Griff out (sometimes he will snuffle around, but go back to sleep -- Griffith, not Jay). No dice. Plus, Dad made the mistake of waiting too long to recognize that this was a Red Alert and not a False Alarm. Which meant that by the time that he got the formula heated up and ready to eat, Griff was so furious and was screaming so loud that there was no reasoning with him -- all he wanted was to eat, but he was howling so much that he couldn't swallow. I would like to say that I was able to sleep soundly through all of this, but 1) Griffith has an incredible ability to project and 2) Allan decided that this would be a dandy time to spit up all over himself and his bedclothes. After Igain managed to change him the first time, get him calmed down and get to bed, I had a solid 25 minutes before he managed to do it again. I know now why tigers eat their young.....
Today was a good day, though, they both looked and felt good. The weather was beautiful. The boys each took a walk with me for about an hour a piece this afternoon. The weekend is supposed to turn cold and rainy so we needed to take advantage of the situation while we could.
Aunt Kelly came in from Chicago and brought cute new clothes and toys (two noise makers -- watch out, KK, or I'll buy your kid a wood-burning kit). After a thorough inspection, she pronounced both of the little guys to be perfect. Naturally.
Off to bed for me now. I hope to have new pictures soon.

Griffith - wide awake

This is how Griffith wakes up most mornings -- all smiles.

close up

The boys all snuggled down

Mom and her boys on her birthday

We made it back in about 8 o'clock last night. The return trip took a lot longer than the original. It took us an hour and a half to cover the first 35 miles. If we had known that it was going to take that long, we would have just slept in.
Allan did great on the way back (naturally). He slept most of the day --- the day before was catching up with him, I suppose. He's all snuggled in at home today, though. We go to see the ophthalmologist tomorrow and (we guess) find out then when they can get the surgery scheduled.
Griffith seemed glad to see us, but he's just generally a happy kid. For the first time in weeks, though, he didn't go to sleep early and he didn't sleep through the night. Maybe he just wanted to make sure that we were still there.

And the answer is.....

we still don't know. No joke.
We have been seen by the premier ocular oncologists in the country and, to paraphrase, we've seen one of about everything but we don't know what this is. Great.
Not that they are without a plan or anything. They don't think that what they are calling the lesion is a malignancy, so we've got that going for us. They are mostly concerned with the cataract. So we return home and as soon as we get the all-clear from the pulmonologist, they are going to remove the cataract. It may be that the lesion is spilled lens material from the cataract and that the lesion is related inflammation that will resolce. It may be that it is something else that they will be able to get a better look at once the cataract is out.
Once again, though, Allan performed like a little angel. Everyone raved about how sweet and pretty he is. He causes quite a stir wherever he goes, that's for sure.
By all reports, Griff and Steph had a great time yesterday and Flora hustled her out as soon as she could. Flora is staying tonight so he will be completely spoiled by the time we get back tomorrow.
Even though it is only 6:30, I am ready for bed. Jay has gone out for a walk and to pick up take out. I plan on being out by 8.

Well, we've made it. It is amazing how much nothing there is between here and there. Allan was a doll nearly all day long. He started to get fussy about the last hour and an half or so, but so did I so I can't blame him for that. He is absolutely exhausted and racked out in the Pack n Play. He's probably a little worn out because his girlfriends came calling last night -- Alissa, Jen and Jenny all came by for a visit. All that doting wears a boy out.
Griffith is hanging out with Aunt Stephanie and, according to her, he has been perfect all day long. Flora has called twice to make sure that every thing is all right and to tell Stephanie that she will come right over if Stephanie needs her. She also told her that she will be there early tomorrow so that Stephanie can go on home. Subtle. Very subtle.
We start out at the hospital at 6:30 in the morning and have been told to expect 8 hours of appointments and testing. We anticipate staying here tomorrow night, too, since it will probably be too late to start back by the time we are through. We'll keep you updated as best we can. Wish us luck.

We are packed up and sacked up and ready (ish) to go. We leave at the crack of dawn. Or whatever passes for the crack of dawn to Jay. My guess is that it will be O Dawn Thirty and post a shave, shower, cup of coffee, mincing time, etc. before we hit the road. So. Either 6:30 or 8. I know what my guess is.
Getting this boy on the road requires as much planning as the Normandy invasion.
Anyway, thanks for the good thoughts, wishes and prayers. Keep it up. I will try to blog from the hospital but don't know if they havce wi-fi.

We're off to see the Wizard....

Allan gets to make that road trip after all. The spot in his eye has changed and the docs down here don't know what to make of it and so off we go. We have an appointment at 6:30 Monday morning. The folks at the Wills Eye Hospital are meant to be the best of the best and Allan demands nothing less. Keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer.

happy halloween - part ii

The boys have had a good Halloween. They both got dressed up and watched the trick or treaters. Right now, Allan is eating with Dad and Griff is sitting in my lap while I blog. He's just fine as long as he is up and in the middle of whatever is going on but God forbid if he has to be Down as opposed to Up. Or is to the Side instead of In the Middle. If he weren't so charming, he might be considered a pain. Allan, of course, endures all with a Buddha-like zen. Except for when he whinges. I tell him "stiff upper lip, Richardson" but it is the quivering lower lip that is the problem. We are determined to get it on video so that we can play it at his rehearsal dinner some day. Make sure his wife knows what she is in for....
Enjoy the photos. I didn't realize how remiss I had been.