Eva Update and Japan!

We just got back from Eva’s appointment with the ENT. Rich had super high expectations and thought that Eva was going to come home without her trach. I knew that it wouldn’t quite work out that way.

(Rich forgot his sunglasses and it was super bright so I let him borrow mine. Hahahaha! He’s gonna kill me when he see’s this picture and will probably make me take it down.)

So here is the low-down…last week Rich got a call where he was told that we would be getting orders to Yokota Air Force Base in Japan. If that wasn’t a big enough shock, they told him that we would be leaving in August! If I’m being completely honest I was jumping up and down when he told me Japan but then he told me we had to leave Utah in 4 months and I was SO SAD! I love it here and had my heart set on another year but then again, it’s JAPAN! So we got super excited and then a few hours later he found out that the guy that was supposed to be going there didn’t get medical clearance and is now appealing. Grrrr! Which leads us to right where we are now, in limbo. We should be finding out within the next couple of days if the guy is going to get approved or if we will be going. THEN, to top it all off WE have to get medical clearance which means Eva has to be trach free and all healed up. That would usually be no problem since she’s been ready to get the trach out for a couple of months now except for the fact that her ENT was on vacation for a few weeks and is now way overbooked and can’t get her in for surgery until May 29th!!! Ahhhh!

(When your baby sister has a trach of course your stuffed toy named Tiara needs a guaze too!)

Rich has been really stressed about the whole situation which is not like him to be stressed over anything. I have been up and down but have finally settled on knowing that if Japan is where Heavenly Father wants us to be He can move mountains to get us there if necessary. I am so happy here in Utah that I am really more than ok with staying another year if it works out that way. I know that another adventurous opportunity will be just around the corner.

Back to Eva. Dr. Mutz scoped her and both of her vocal cords are moving. They aren’t opening as wide as ours open but they are opening enough to get the trach out. There was a lot of irritation and swelling from reflux so he upped her Prevacid dose from half a pill to a whole one. As we were leaving the hospital I realized that this whole exciting time of Eva getting decanulated has been overshadowed by the stressing and rushing to get her medically cleared so we can go to Japan. I hate that! I had the chance to just stop and think about the miracle of this process. 3 times we’ve been through this. 3 times and now Eva is going to come out on top just like Aidan and Arabella did. We are SO BLESSED! There are so many parents who’s little ones never get decanulated, never crawl, walk or eat and some who never make it to toddlerhood. Yes, it has been emotionally challenging but we are in the process of witnessing our 3rd huge blessing and miracle of having a perfectly healthy and normal baby. I feel so overwhelmed with gratitude. I told Rich that whatever happens it doesn’t matter because we already have it all! I love this rollercoaster we are on because even the downs feel like ups! Blessed beyond measure.