Hey All!

I thought it was probably time to post an update. Miss Bella has been keeping us busy, not just with medical care, but also with her hilarious personality sprouting and her new found independence that keeps us on our toes. Thank goodness we have a dog, Dave!, that always keeps an eye on her and will follow her everywhere, even when she decides to go outside by herself and explore. Ahh!!! 

As far as medical care goes, Bella's biggest obstacle these last couple of months has been adjusting to the higher calorie Nourish Peptide formula. Back at her last visit to Mayo, we decided to change her formula to a higher calorie one since she is losing weight again. Well, Bella did not tolerate the change and ended up having vomiting episodes up to 3x a week that led to more weight loss and constipation. So we had to make many adjustments and are now experimenting with another Peptide formula. Still not completely tolerating this new formula either, not gaining weight and having lots of bowel issues. So back to contacting Mayo this week to help get little Miss back on track. 

Also we did decide on a surgery date for Bella to have her Velopharyngeal Dysfunction repaired. We decided on the less invasive option, the injection augmentation surgery, and her repair will be on May 28th at Mayo. Prayers would be greatly appreciated! We decided this route since her immune system and adrenal insufficiency are not where they need to be for a big surgery. We will test run the injection to see how much improvement it makes, and later down the road we will discuss a full repair. While she is under sedation, she will also be having a bronchoscopy with lavage to check the status of her lungs, and her Brain MRI and a Sinus MRI. 

Overall, Miss Bella has been enjoying the beautiful weather when it decides to show. Her favorite things to do right now are play outside on the swings and the trampoline. She also had a blast this last week when she was gifted an afternoon in a game truck by our amazing neighbor. Bella's NICU Home Day Anniversary (4 years! ) is April 29th, so the game truck was an amazing surprise to help celebrate Bella! Our family made a trip up from Missouri to help celebrate too! Bella and Cooper both had an amazing time! We are so appreciative and grateful to our neighbor and to everyone who loves and supports our kiddos! We are blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people! 

I think that is all for now. I will definitely post an update after Bella has her surgery. We cannot thank everyone enough always for all the love, prayers and support! Big hugs to everyone! XOXO