Baltimore Results

We turned a ten hour trip  into twelve with lots of stops to stretch little legs:)  On Tuesday afternoon we arrived at Kennedy Krieger to meet with a team of therapists and doctors to determine if Ethan and Addison would be good candidates for their feeding clinic.  Our family of four and six others crammed into a normal size exam room where the evaluation took place.  We spent 45 minutes reviewing their medical history and current level of development.  Then they brought in highchairs and watched me do our normal meal routine, which was rather intimidating.  I felt a little insecure trying to feed these two kids with all these professionals watching, but right before we started the Lord reminded my that I am their professional mommy and the meal time went well.  I thought maybe a little too well.  Ethan and Addison ate like champs for the first part of their evaluation, which was making Jared and I a little nervous.  We really wanted them to show their true colors, not eat everything in sight.  After about 5 minutes of joyful eating they began to choke and gag on their food and I feel that we were able to give them a very accurate picture of what feedings look like in our house. 

After the meal time the team left to talk about their recommendations.  While they were gone we cleaned up and tried to entertain two toddlers who had been in the car for over 12 hours and in a tiny room for over 2 hours.  When the team came back in they had unanimously suggest they both participate in the inpatient program.  I now realize that this is a huge answer to prayer, even though I never knew exactly what I was praying for. 

So here are the specs on the inpatient program. 

-The waiting list is 2-4 months (which is shorter than we expected) :)

-They would both be admitted to the hospital and stay in the facility for 6-8 weeks.

-They would share a room that has space for one parent to stay as well.

-They would attend feeding sessions separately 3 times a day, 5 days a week

-Between feedings they would have occupational and speech therapy to help build muscle endurance and desensitize their oral aversions.

There are still lots of unknowns, but we know God has been faithful this far and He will continue to guide us.  I cannot begin to tell you how incredibly humbled I was by this trip.  The gifts we were given, the messages we received saying you were praying and the words of encouragement were literally overwhelming.  I am blown away that the Spirit continues to lay our family on the hearts of faithful prayer warriors and I am so very thankful for you! 

So what's next? More waiting, which means more praying and more trusting.
We're waiting to make sure our insurance will approve us for the inpatient program, which could take about a month.  We're also waiting to receive the okay from our pulmonologist because they want to make sure it's okay for E & A to be in an inpatient environment during RSV season (we see them later this month). Then we're waiting for the phone call that says they have an opening for us:)

The building (we think) where inpatient takes place



It's a beautiful facility

Back in the car...

A little reminder as we left the city....



Journeying On,