Now that Oklahoma is cool enough for people to go outside again, Ben has been getting in touch with his inner Aussie while sporting his oupa's Akubra.
No it's not the River Dance; whenever we put Ben down on the grass, he does a little jig to keep his feet from touching the ground.
Benjamin shows his appreciation of nature by preparing to consume the local flora.
Grandma put in a special request for a picture showing Ben's scholastic side. In this shot we are reading Touch and Feel Kitten and discussing the philosophical and practical implications of yanking handfuls of kitty fur. Gordo is pretty sure that Ben did not pay any attention to what I was saying.
On a more serious note, it took about 50 phone calls, but we finally have an appointment with a Pediatric Otolaryngologist in Oklahoma City on November 7th. I want to thank Phyllis Thornton for helping us track down someone in Oklahoma who specializes in Ben's type of medical condition. She also directed us to a website that actually describes Ben's condition at birth. Appropriately, it's called CHAOS.
No parenting experience is complete without a drive to the ER through the pouring rain in the middle of the night. We had ours last weekend at 2:00 Saturday morning. Benjamin was wheezing horribly and struggling to breathe; at one point his pulse was over 200 beats per minute. That was enough for us so we drove across town to St. John and had an all too familiar evening in the hospital. Thankfully, Ben was only diagnosed with acute bronchitis and nothing more serious. By the end of the weekend, Adrienne and I had come down with our own colds. It has been a very sticky week in the Gatewood house.
It's been quite amusing to watch how kids respond to Benjamin and his trach. Awhile back, Benjamin made his first trip to Wal-Mart. A few minutes into it, Ben was gurgling pretty loudly and needed to be suctioned. A five year-old in the produce section took note of this and watched as Adrienne suctioned Ben. When she was finished, the kid turned to his mom and said, "Look mom, that lady has a baby vacuum!"
Kids also have some funny questions. Unfortunately, the most common question that I've fielded about Ben is, "Is that a boy or a girl?" This is one of those "where have I gone wrong as a parent" questions. The only logical conclusion is to reinstate the fauxhawk as soon as possible. If that doesn't work, I may have to resort to temporary tattoos.
We also have some new developments in Ben's trach care. I've been working with our HMO and Ben's pediatrician, and it looks like we're going to be able to get a second opinion at the National Jewish Medical Center in Denver, which has been rated as the #1 respiratory hospital in the country for the last ten years by U.S. News and World Report. It's not a done deal yet, but things are looking good. By the way, several people have asked if Ben is enrolled in the Sooner Start program, and I just wanted to let you know that he is.
Thanks as always for your prayers and thoughtfulness, Whit, Adrienne, and Mr. Benjamin
