My wife and her migraines. . .

Well, now for something present tense. I'll give more history and background as it comes to me. My wife has had an on-going battle with migraines. I really can't remember when the last day was that she was headache free. To make a long story short, she has seen several neurologists, has a list of previously tried medications 2 pages long, and no pain medicine seems to completely get rid of her pain. Even a trip to the E.R. and a shot of demerol, won't give her complete relief. After 19 years of trying to find any meds that will prevent them, or any meds to help the pain we have ended up at the Universitiy Pain Clinic. They are surprised at her lack of responsiveness to meds, and hope they can help. We are however fighting our insurance to pay for Botox, which the doctor believes could help because she also has a lot of tension in her neck. We have also run into a problem with the insurance rejecting payment for medicine that the doctor wants to prescribe, or limitting the amount of medication they will pay for in a month.
We are going to the clinic tomorrow for a stellate ganglion block. It is a type of nerve block that. We've tried other types of blocks in the past that were not effective, but this one is a little different. After looking online and reading up on the block, it actually sounds scary. They will use light sedation and local anesthetic, but they give the injection in the front of the neck next to the vocal chords. She won't be able to swallow of cough while they give the injection. From the internet reports given by other pain clinics, they will use dye and some kind of x-ray to get the proper placement of the injection. I am very nervous even though I know she is in good hands and I will be at her side. She is also very nervous about the procedure. If it gives her relief from the headaches, it will all be worth it. The headaches have literally changed her life and her lifestyle. It really makes me sad that she cannot enjoy life more because of the terrible pain that she is in on a consistent basis. Enough for today, but I will update you to let you know how the nerve block went!

Here are my wonderful kids at an amusement park(I'm still working on getting the pics up), and yes, one of them is the one who has birth defects! We were learning something new about him on a regular basis for the first year he was with us. We learned about his scoliosis the day he was born, which was also the day we met "Dr. Grim." When he was just 2 days old, he had a ecocardiogram done because they heard a heart murmur. The doctor who read the film said his aorta was constricting and looked like it was going to completely close itself off. Life Flight arrived shortly to escort him to Primary Children's Hospital for further evaluation. It turned out that his aorta had merely redirected itself down the right side of his body, his left side is the location of his chest wall deformity. So what was the murmur? His PDA valve on his heart never closed on its own. He eventually received an operation to close the PDA, so it is no longer an issue for him.
We found out that he only has one kidney, and we knew that he had an abdominal hernia when he was born. The hernia was repaired when he was 10 days old. Those first 10 days turned out to be very interesting. How? Well, every time we changed his diaper, we had to change his clothes because they were soaking wet. It appeared that he was peeing all over his clothes, though we weren't sure how. You wouldn't believe how many people gave us advice on what we needed to do to keep him from soaking his clothes. He was our 2nd boy, so you would think we would know how to handle it, but we still kept hearing, "You've got to make sure the 'plumbing' is pointed in the right direction." No matter how often we told people that we had tried that, we kept hearing it. The other interesting thing during this time was his umbilical cord wasn't drying up like it should. Well the day that he was scheduled for his hernia repair they did an ultrasound. The amazing thing was, they could not see anything at first. Then they caught a quick glimpse of what was causing him to soak his clothes, and it dissapeared from view again. I know the medical term they used to describe it, but there is no way I can spell it. In short, his bladder was connected to his belly button, which obviously caused his wet clothes and his cord to not dry up and fall off. The surgeon repaired this at the same time as the hernia. I have to admit that I was beginning to question my own ability to put a diaper on a baby because it just didn't make any sense!

Wow this is only the beginning! I have so much more on that son, and on my wife! Life has been anything but dull for us, I hope it is interesting to you as well! Keep checking back for updates!

A little bit of our history. . .

I don't even know where to begin! I should have started this 6 1/2 years ago when I met my wife! I love my family! They are my life, I would be lost and lonely without them.

Just a little background: My wife has been suffering from severe migraine headaches for about 19 years. She has tried everything, but she still has headaches. These headaches often keep her from being able to do the things she would like to do.
I also have a son that has congenital scoliosis and chest wall deformities. We were rather surprised when he was born because the doctor had not noticed anything on the ultrasounds. We were given a very grim picture by the attending pediatrician, he told us that he might never crawl or walk and that he may also have mental problems. He is now 4 and he runs and plays with his brothers and friends! We have been so blessed to live near one of the best pediatric hospitals in the country, and have access to a form of treatment that will give him a better and longer life!

I hope to continue with more info and updates, stay tuned...

Here it is!
Well, I've joined the masses. I will now be able to blog to my hearts content! I hope that my blog, as I get it going, is helpful to others. My family and I have experienced a lot, and I hope that our experiences will benefit others!