Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Prayer Request
Caden went to the doctor today with extreme congestion and coughing. They diagnosed him with sinusitous. To my surprise Sherry had spent several nights getting up to suction and comfort Caden. I took a shift last night and we both decided that it was time to get the doctor involved. They gave Caden an antibiotic and breathing treatments. They told us to look for labored breathing as a sign for concern. We have not seen labored breathing, but Caden is breathing a little fast and shallow as he was when the doctor saw him today. He generally looks like he is totally wiped out tired. He looks like I feel. The sleepless nights have started to catch up to Sherry and me.
We ask for you to pray for us now in particular. At this point I will be attending my grandmother's funeral without Sherry and the boys. Caden is in no condition for a two and half hour car ride to Clinton. Please pray for God to heal this sinus illness that is affecting Caden in particular. Please also continue to pray for healing with the swallowing, developmental issues, and heart issues. The botox for swallowing issues on the 14th had Caden resting great without needing any suctioning through the night until this sinus cold caught up with him. Please pray that he can get back to nights of sound sleep. Please continue to thank God for the blessings that our family has experienced through these tough times. We truly are grateful for the tough times because they have drawn us closer to him. Please pray for traveling graces for me as I go to be with my family for my grandmother's funeral services.
Thank you for your prayer and support. May God bless you and your family.
We ask for you to pray for us now in particular. At this point I will be attending my grandmother's funeral without Sherry and the boys. Caden is in no condition for a two and half hour car ride to Clinton. Please pray for God to heal this sinus illness that is affecting Caden in particular. Please also continue to pray for healing with the swallowing, developmental issues, and heart issues. The botox for swallowing issues on the 14th had Caden resting great without needing any suctioning through the night until this sinus cold caught up with him. Please pray that he can get back to nights of sound sleep. Please continue to thank God for the blessings that our family has experienced through these tough times. We truly are grateful for the tough times because they have drawn us closer to him. Please pray for traveling graces for me as I go to be with my family for my grandmother's funeral services.
Thank you for your prayer and support. May God bless you and your family.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Answered Prayer
I asked God over and over this past week to take MingMa if he was not going to heal her. Today God answered my prayer. I am so thankful that God did not leave MingMa to suffer. I am thankful that I got to see her one last time and tell her that I loved her.
Please keep the Osborne family in your prayers this week as we all morn our loss and rejoice in God's gain. MingMa (Edna Osborne) was my father's mother. She raised five wonderful children including my father, his two brothers, and his two sisters. She is survived by several siblings, four children, and a long list of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Please keep the Osborne family in your prayers this week as we all morn our loss and rejoice in God's gain. MingMa (Edna Osborne) was my father's mother. She raised five wonderful children including my father, his two brothers, and his two sisters. She is survived by several siblings, four children, and a long list of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
First Official Haircut
Today was a special day for Caden. He got his first official haircut this evening. Caden seemed to enjoy all of the attention. Check out the pictures below to get a look at this cool kid. You can click the images to get a closer look at each one.
Thanks for checking on Caden today. You can read about our weekend trip to the upstate in the previous post below.
Thanks for checking on Caden today. You can read about our weekend trip to the upstate in the previous post below.
Trip to Clinton
We took a trip to my hometown of Clinton, SC this weekend. Our primary reason for the visit was to see my grandmother (MingMa) who had spent most oft he past two weeks in the hospital. MingMa is my only living grandparent. She is also Caden and Riley's only living great-grandparent.
Ming's stay in the hospital ended with a disturbing diagnosis from the doctors. She has been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. The diagnosis was confirmed earlier this week and the doctors have basically told her that there is nothing they can do for this type of cancer.
The really cool thing about all this was that MingMa had the most awesome attitude a person could possibly have in her situation. She had to get a little surgical procedure this week and she told me, "I was not scared at all." I said, "You know why?" She just shook her head with a yes. I continued and told her that she was not scared because she has Jesus. I reminded her how God has healed Caden and how faith in God is all you have to stand on sometimes with these medical concerns. I told her that we are praying every night for healing and comfort for her.
My uncle will be staying with her for as long as needed. He is double retired from the military as well as civil service. He would be there even if he was not retired though.
The other cool thing about the visit with Ming was that I got to remind her that I would likely not have God in my life today if it were not for her. I am told that she started taking me to church when I was not even crawling. She made sure I got to Sunday school every week for 14 years except for the Sunday I spent in the hospital when getting my tonsils taken out. How can I possibly remember that? Well, I have a 9 year perfect attendance pin from Calvary Baptist Church in Clinton, SC to help remind me. It would have been closer to 14 years perfect attendance, but they made me start over after missing that one Sunday when I was five years old.
Ming told me that she was very proud of how I have turned out. I told her that she would probably be even more proud if she could follow me around for a few days and see that I am truly trying to live a good Christian life. She can be proud of herself for setting an example for me, her children and many other grandchildren.
On a sad note, our trip came with the loss of one of my sister's cats "Foots". Foots and Trouble were our cats until about two years ago when Riley tested as allergic to cats. Foots was picked out from the SPCA not long after we moved into this house. He was to keep Trouble company while Sherry and I worked. Foots was also called "G-man" because spent about $1000 nursing him to health after bringing him home from the pound back in 2001. He got so sick that he spent some time in an oxygen tent on an IV in the animal hospital. My sister took him in for an autopsy because he was an inside cat along with Trouble and two others. She wanted to make sure that Foots did not die of something that might affect the other cats. The autopsy showed that Foots died of a heart attack due to a defect. This of course has no affect on other cats in the house.
There is still more news on Caden but it has nothing to do with our trip to Clinton. I will write more about that later. In the meantime, let me just say praise God for botox. We are back to full nights of sleep without suctioning Caden at all.
Ming's stay in the hospital ended with a disturbing diagnosis from the doctors. She has been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. The diagnosis was confirmed earlier this week and the doctors have basically told her that there is nothing they can do for this type of cancer.
The really cool thing about all this was that MingMa had the most awesome attitude a person could possibly have in her situation. She had to get a little surgical procedure this week and she told me, "I was not scared at all." I said, "You know why?" She just shook her head with a yes. I continued and told her that she was not scared because she has Jesus. I reminded her how God has healed Caden and how faith in God is all you have to stand on sometimes with these medical concerns. I told her that we are praying every night for healing and comfort for her.
My uncle will be staying with her for as long as needed. He is double retired from the military as well as civil service. He would be there even if he was not retired though.
The other cool thing about the visit with Ming was that I got to remind her that I would likely not have God in my life today if it were not for her. I am told that she started taking me to church when I was not even crawling. She made sure I got to Sunday school every week for 14 years except for the Sunday I spent in the hospital when getting my tonsils taken out. How can I possibly remember that? Well, I have a 9 year perfect attendance pin from Calvary Baptist Church in Clinton, SC to help remind me. It would have been closer to 14 years perfect attendance, but they made me start over after missing that one Sunday when I was five years old.
Ming told me that she was very proud of how I have turned out. I told her that she would probably be even more proud if she could follow me around for a few days and see that I am truly trying to live a good Christian life. She can be proud of herself for setting an example for me, her children and many other grandchildren.
On a sad note, our trip came with the loss of one of my sister's cats "Foots". Foots and Trouble were our cats until about two years ago when Riley tested as allergic to cats. Foots was picked out from the SPCA not long after we moved into this house. He was to keep Trouble company while Sherry and I worked. Foots was also called "G-man" because spent about $1000 nursing him to health after bringing him home from the pound back in 2001. He got so sick that he spent some time in an oxygen tent on an IV in the animal hospital. My sister took him in for an autopsy because he was an inside cat along with Trouble and two others. She wanted to make sure that Foots did not die of something that might affect the other cats. The autopsy showed that Foots died of a heart attack due to a defect. This of course has no affect on other cats in the house.
There is still more news on Caden but it has nothing to do with our trip to Clinton. I will write more about that later. In the meantime, let me just say praise God for botox. We are back to full nights of sleep without suctioning Caden at all.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Home and doing fine
Caden did go in for his botox this morning. He was home before noon and was back to normal activity within no time. The doctor ended up giving Caden about four times the amount of any previous dose of botox. We will keep you posted on how well this does works. It can take up to 72 hours for the botox to take affect.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Botox, Riley Flys, and a new School
Caden's swallowing ability still has room for improvement. He is still completely dependant on his g-tube for nutrition. While the picture below of Caden tasting a sucker during therapy and the birthday cake photos look like he is putting down the food, they do not show how it ends up coming out his nose a few minutes later.
We believe that we have two things that we need to work on with Caden's swallowing. One is the skills required to swallow. This item is being addressed with therapy several times per week now and will be addressed more with a trip to St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, The Center for Pediatric Feeding & Swallowing Disorders located in Paterson, NJ sometime in the near future. Our recent visit to the Greenwood Genetic Center (GGC) confirmed that the Center for Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Disorders is likely the best place for us to take Caden to get the latest information on how to move forward with Caden's swallowing skills. The GGC has agreed to assist us with getting into the swallowing center in a timely manner. We have been gathering data for the swallowing center and will be sending that information this week. (i.e., copies of swallow studies, video of Caden eating, video of him playing, etc) The second big item we need to work on concerning Caden’s swallowing is his physical capacity for swallowing. His upper digestive track has worked better in the past after a botox injection to the upper sphincter of the esophagus (AES) and we have been shown no other suitable alternative to help his swallowing capacity.
Recently Caden has required more suctioning of secretions. His ability to pass food has not shown remarkable improvements recently either. These things prompted us to meet with Caden's ENT (Ear, nose, and Throat) doctor. As a result we have scheduled Caden for another botox injection of the upper esophagus on Monday. This will be his third treatment in four months. The first treatment was done in August and resulted in Caden passing a swallow study for the first time ever. After recent discussions with the ENT we believe that this dose of botox will be the largest yet. The doctors say that they can not predict exactly how much will be used because they determine tat during the procedure. Please keep Caden in your prayers especially on Monday morning beginning at 7am. Even though this will be an outpatient procedure, he will receive anesthesia. We will be at the MUSC Rutledge Tower outpaitent area for this procedure.
Caden does something new every day or two that makes us laugh out loud. The picture below was taken a couple of nights ago at the dinner table. Caden scooted himself down while chewing on his strap. He then proceeded to reach up with his toes and play with his hair. He did not use his hands at all to pull his foot up to his head. Another recent funny action was when Caden used his chin to beep the horn on the steering wheel that is clamped to the swing. He would beep it and then wait until we looked and just start laughing at us and then do it again. God has definitely blessed this child with a sense of humor.
Big Brother Riley
You can see pictures and read about Riley's fun day of flying by going to the Big Brother Riley blog.
Local News
The Lowcountry Christian Community School will be holding information meetings beginning this week. If you are looking for a school for your children in the Charleston area that is built on biblical values and strives to equip your children to serve God then you must check out the Lowcountry Christian Community School.
Our family and many friends know that we plan to home school our children. I can honestly say that the Lowcountry Christian Community School is the ONLY education option for our children in the Charleston area outside of home schooling. I encourage you to attend one of the upcoming information meetings to hear what Sherry and I have learned about this school. We are fortunate enough to know the organizers very well. All of the organizers have been very involved in our lives over the past couple of years and especially in this past year. They have been there for us in so many ways including prayer, unconditional love, and friendship.
Sherry has actually been able to witness some of their planning for this school over the past year. I can not stress how important it is that you go and hear for yourself what a blessing the Lowcountry Christian Community School is going to be to this area. The first meeting is Monday night November 14, 2005 and we hope to see you there. Click on the image below for more information including locations, dates, and times for the meetings.
Holiday
I hope you all had a great Veteran’s Day. Please don’t forget those who volunteer to risk their lives to make sure we have the freedom that we enjoy in this country. The biggest freedom that we have is to be able to worship God when, where and how we want without fear of being jailed by our government. Find a veteran or an active member of the military this weekend and just say thanks by giving them a big hug.
We believe that we have two things that we need to work on with Caden's swallowing. One is the skills required to swallow. This item is being addressed with therapy several times per week now and will be addressed more with a trip to St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, The Center for Pediatric Feeding & Swallowing Disorders located in Paterson, NJ sometime in the near future. Our recent visit to the Greenwood Genetic Center (GGC) confirmed that the Center for Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Disorders is likely the best place for us to take Caden to get the latest information on how to move forward with Caden's swallowing skills. The GGC has agreed to assist us with getting into the swallowing center in a timely manner. We have been gathering data for the swallowing center and will be sending that information this week. (i.e., copies of swallow studies, video of Caden eating, video of him playing, etc) The second big item we need to work on concerning Caden’s swallowing is his physical capacity for swallowing. His upper digestive track has worked better in the past after a botox injection to the upper sphincter of the esophagus (AES) and we have been shown no other suitable alternative to help his swallowing capacity.
Recently Caden has required more suctioning of secretions. His ability to pass food has not shown remarkable improvements recently either. These things prompted us to meet with Caden's ENT (Ear, nose, and Throat) doctor. As a result we have scheduled Caden for another botox injection of the upper esophagus on Monday. This will be his third treatment in four months. The first treatment was done in August and resulted in Caden passing a swallow study for the first time ever. After recent discussions with the ENT we believe that this dose of botox will be the largest yet. The doctors say that they can not predict exactly how much will be used because they determine tat during the procedure. Please keep Caden in your prayers especially on Monday morning beginning at 7am. Even though this will be an outpatient procedure, he will receive anesthesia. We will be at the MUSC Rutledge Tower outpaitent area for this procedure.
Caden does something new every day or two that makes us laugh out loud. The picture below was taken a couple of nights ago at the dinner table. Caden scooted himself down while chewing on his strap. He then proceeded to reach up with his toes and play with his hair. He did not use his hands at all to pull his foot up to his head. Another recent funny action was when Caden used his chin to beep the horn on the steering wheel that is clamped to the swing. He would beep it and then wait until we looked and just start laughing at us and then do it again. God has definitely blessed this child with a sense of humor.
Big Brother Riley
You can see pictures and read about Riley's fun day of flying by going to the Big Brother Riley blog.
Local News
The Lowcountry Christian Community School will be holding information meetings beginning this week. If you are looking for a school for your children in the Charleston area that is built on biblical values and strives to equip your children to serve God then you must check out the Lowcountry Christian Community School.
Our family and many friends know that we plan to home school our children. I can honestly say that the Lowcountry Christian Community School is the ONLY education option for our children in the Charleston area outside of home schooling. I encourage you to attend one of the upcoming information meetings to hear what Sherry and I have learned about this school. We are fortunate enough to know the organizers very well. All of the organizers have been very involved in our lives over the past couple of years and especially in this past year. They have been there for us in so many ways including prayer, unconditional love, and friendship.
Sherry has actually been able to witness some of their planning for this school over the past year. I can not stress how important it is that you go and hear for yourself what a blessing the Lowcountry Christian Community School is going to be to this area. The first meeting is Monday night November 14, 2005 and we hope to see you there. Click on the image below for more information including locations, dates, and times for the meetings.
Holiday
I hope you all had a great Veteran’s Day. Please don’t forget those who volunteer to risk their lives to make sure we have the freedom that we enjoy in this country. The biggest freedom that we have is to be able to worship God when, where and how we want without fear of being jailed by our government. Find a veteran or an active member of the military this weekend and just say thanks by giving them a big hug.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Big Week - Happy Birthday Caden
God has blessed us with a wonderful year. I won't say much today. I will let the pictures tell the story. Here are a couple of good pictures from the selection that I have posted on Caden's Picture Pages.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Happy Birthday Caden
Caden is one year old today. God has blessed us with this little boy. Please join us in wishing Caden a wonderful and happy birthday.
Click the linck below to see a little video clip from last night showing you just how much Caden has grown. It's big (57mb) and low resolution, but it is good. I hope you enjoy.
Video of Caden and Riley Playing Please forgive the moving camera. I hope you don't get dizzy.
Happy Birthday Caden!!!
Please remember to call or email us if you plan to join us on Saturday for the celebration of the success that Caden has seen though God's love and grace.
All friends, family, and prayer warriors for Caden are invited to celebrate a wonderful year of miracles. Please join us at our house on Saturday, November 5, 2005 from 11:30am to 1:00pm. We are going to grill hotdogs and burgers.
