Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Kansas City and Genetics Doctor

It's true, I'm a little ashamed of this post. I typically try to find some humor or something interesting to post about. This has neither of those two things, unless you consider our visit with the Genetics doctor of mild curiosity. We played in KC for the weekend, leading up to the appointment on Monday. Pictures first, info later.

Sophie slept on a roll-away in the hotel. We put chairs next to it to keep her from rolling out. Both mornings, we found her with her legs on the bed and her upper body on one of the chairs. Silly girl.


On Sunday, we took the kids to Wonderscope, a hands-on children's museum. I must admit that when we first went in, I thought it appeared... errr.... sketchy. However, Sophie had a fabulous time and we were overall pleased with it!

In the water-play room:




There was a room for 2-years and under. Will ADORED this place, especially the little mirrored-in area that he's in below. He got quite upset with me when it was time to leave. It was perfect for our little crawling monster.




In the market room, Sophie got to go shopping and do her own checking out - I think this may have been her favorite room.



Will tried to get his own bite of the produce:


In the market car... not really sure why this car was in the market room.


Below is in the room called Raceways, which had many different tracks to put balls on. Will surprised me here - he really loved watching the balls! You can't tell in the first picture below, but he would watch a ball on the track and then just break into a fit of giggles! So cute!

Here he was cracking up at the balls:


This was not a posed picture... those two are 2 peas in a pod:


Swimming in the hotel:




So, on to the Genetics appointment. In the past, Will has been tested for the "hearing loss gene," called Connexin-26, and he was negative, so his ENT thought we should look at what other possible causes there could've been for their loss. He wanted to make sure their hearing loss was an isolated issue and not part of a bigger problem - some other disease.

At one stage in the game there was a heart disease mentioned as an extremely slight possibility. At this Genetics visit they completely ruled out that disease, praise God! They also looked at all the physical components of the kids (they were trained at noticing any physical abnormalities) and at family history. After a quite lengthy evaluation the Genetics doctor decided she did not see fit to test for any other diseases at this point.

She did mention that Will's testing for the Connexin-26 was not quite complete enough, so they're going to retest him for that. Other than the hearing loss, she felt the kids were completely healthy and had nothing to worry about! Yay!!!

They also mentioned that because the hearing loss is obviously a genetic factor, it is most likely that Ben and I are both carriers of something recessive. So, they gave the new baby a 25% chance of having hearing loss. Not much of a chance, but Will and Sophie managed to make it happen!

We continue to be completely humbled when we see how God takes care of our family the way He does. Oh, how blessed we are to be His children, and to have been entrusted by Him with our precious babies!!

11 comments:

Donna said...

That is such wonderful news. I am thankful for this post. You have two precious children and they have two wonderful parents. God bless you and your newest addition to the family. Can't wait!

Rachel said...

There's no shame in this post! I laughed for sure. Seeing your kids enjoying fun times with you and Ben is so fun. Glad to hear that you got some good news with the genetics doctor visit. I know whatever happens with the hearing abilities of #3, God will be glorified. Because that is how you live your life--glorifying your Lord as often as possible.

Shyla said...

I'm glad that the kids are both healthy and the hearing loss doesn't seem to be a sign of larger issues. We'll pray that baby #3 doesn't have hearing loss, but even if he/she does God will continue to bless your whole family through the experience!

Amy in Edmond said...

I appreciate you sharing this story even though it didn't meet your original criteria.

We will be praying for a healthy baby and that God will continue bo bless you with Sophie and Will.

Jessica said...

Sounds like great news! Happy for all 5 of you! :)

Devion said...

Glad you enjoyed Wonderscope. I guess that I should have mentioned that it was an old, run-down looking school. :) BUT, they've fixed the rooms all up and it really is a great children's activity.

Of course, you already know my joy over your "unremarkable" visit. :) Praises to our great God!

D's Mom said...

Adorable pics! Of course you know I'm happy about your news. Love you all!

Ryla said...

So great that you were able to just have some fun family time. It looks like the kids really enjoyed it!! So glad also that there are no larger issues dealing with hearing.

Michelle said...

Ummm... you were in KC?? Hello... JK... kinda ;)

Glad that the vacation was a fun time for you all and that the appt was such a success! You're children are adorable and I can't wait to see baby #3!

Grandma Eroh said...

I love the pics! I love seeing how happy my grandchildren are! :) And of course, the news on their hearing loss was an answer to prayer! God will continue to bless your sweet family because you put Him first! I love you!

Bertolli said...

In Sophie's defense, hotel chairs can be very confortable to sleep on. It's been done on volleyball trips before. I'm glad to hear that everything is fine with my little cousins. Can't wait to see how cute the next one is.

When are you going to tell us if it's a boy or girl so we can start the blanket?