Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

This post is coming a little late, but I have not had the time to sit down and type an update until now.  We have been extremely busy this last week with Rhett’s 1st birthday, Christmas, and another trip to Cincinnati.  I will start this update with a little recap of Rhett’s first year.  Rhett has gone from my 5 pound 13.5 ounce premie to an 18 pound one year old.  In his first year he has gone to countless doctor appointments with a handful of different specialists.  He has therapy almost daily between PT, ST, OT, and hearing.  He has had 3 surgeries during his first year which were for a tracheostomy, G-tube, and a Choanal Atresia repair.  He is not yet crawling or walking, but that does not slow him down.  He can roll or scoot backwards to get to where ever he wants to go.  Thankfully we were able to make it through his first year without any real illness or hospital admissions.  Hopefully we can make it through this winter the same way.  He is not yet able to communicate with his voice, but he is in the beginning stages of communicating with sign.  He lets us know when he wants to be picked up, he can wave “hello” and “bye”, and he has recently began to sign “more” and “all done”.  Learning to eat by mouth has been a huge challenge this year, but over the last few months he has been more and more willing to taste different foods offered.  His favorite thing to do is stand, and he loves to dance.  His favorite song to dance to is the Hot Dog song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  In the last few weeks he has started to sit unassisted for longer periods of time, which goes to show that you do not need semicircular canals to learn balance. 

                                                           Rhett has come a long way this year.

This year has been a challenge on so many different levels, yet such a blessing.  Watching Rhett persevere through any situation, with a smile on his face, has been so beautiful. This year has definitely proved to me that God’s plan is always better than my own.  We celebrated Rhett’s 1st birthday with our family last Friday by having a Mickey Mouse birthday party.  I am so thankful that God chose to give me such a precious gift last year on Christmas Eve.  Although Rhett had a rough start to life, I know he is going to continue to amaze us all as he grows.  Happy 1st Birthday my sweet Rhett Davis.

The day after Christmas we hit the road for a 3rd time to travel to Cincinnati.  This was a quick trip and we only stayed two nights.  While we were there, Rhett had his 4th surgery to get the stents removed from his nose.  The surgeon also did another scope of his nose to make sure everything looked good and open since doing the Choanal Atresia repair.  Rhett had  a little bit of granulation tissue (healing tissue) that the surgeon removed.  There was also a part of his nose that was a little more narrow than she wanted, so she did a small balloon dilation.  Other than that, the surgeon was pleased with how everything was healing.  We go back to Cincinnati next week for another scope.  Hopefully his airway looks great, and he will not require any more procedures.  Based on the way things look next week will also determine our next steps.  Please continue to send prayers our way for safe travels, good weather, and that Rhett’s airway looks exactly as it is supposed to look. 

                  Last picture with the stents in.                The day after having his stents removed.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed with us through this year.  I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas, and I hope you all have a Happy New Year.  I have a good feeling that things will continue to improve for Rhett this coming year.

1 Samuel 1:27-28

“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.  So now I give him to the Lord.  For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.”