Braden loves to give his "cheese" smile when we pull out the camera!!It has been a while since I last updated Braden's blog so I thought it should be time once again.
Things have been going quite well the last 6 - 8 weeks. The first week or two after our appointment was a little up and down but since Braden has had his reflux medication increased he has been able to be without his tube completely. He is drinking the double thick liquids (thickened with a product called Thick-It) and he is fairly stable. He definately still sounds congested quite quickly but is able to clear it up on his own by coughing. The doctors said that if his body is able to cope with it on its own then he likely won't need a stomach tube put in. This is great news of course and we are still hopeful for continued (very slowly it seems) improvement in Braden's swallowing.
When he returns to Children's Hospital in September they will once again redo his swallow study and who knows, maybe we can decrease the
thickness of his liquids. So far he seems to handle whatever comes his way and his appetite and size have never suffered yet. At 16 months he is a healthy 30something pounds and he loves his "milkshakes" and we have yet to find a food that he doesn't like!! I think that once we put him on regular liquids he isn't going to be too happy!Our family is headed to Nicaragua on a vacation/mission trip in about ten days and we are praying for good health for Braden the whole time so that we can all enjoy the trip. We are all very excited about this trip on many levels and know that the Lord will bless it. Please keep our family and our mission team as well as Kim and Nathan (our friends in Nicaragua) in your prayers during our time there.
Here's Braden camping on the Fourth of July!!
