We checked in at Duke bright and early at 6:00am this morning for Porter’s 3rd round of ear tubes.  He just can’t seem to shake the ear infections.  They are also going to check the structure of his airway to see if they see any reason why he would have difficulty without the trach in the future.  They are going to check his nose as well to see if they can tell if there is any obstruction or anything causing his left nostril to drain so much more than his right.  We shall see. 

His heart cath last month showed zero signs of rejection but his kidney levels were elevated quite significantly.   They dropped his solid food down by about 90% and supplemented with pedialite and after a few days his levels came down significantly.  The feeling is he may be getting too much protein with the blended food so we are playing around with the volume until things even out. 

Porter is doing a lot more babbling and forming more recognizable words/sounds.  His speech therapist really feels all the ear infections and fluid have affected his speech but anticipates he will catch up quickly when all of this is resolved.  He is still resisting eating by mouth as of now which is a bit frustrating.  He is putting his hands in some soft food and “finger painting” with it so that seems to be helping with getting used to the different textures.  

He is getting so much stronger and doing well.  He is able to lay down by himself and is so close to sitting up by himself.  He is cruising along the ottoman and coffee table all by himself.  He just grins from ear to ear when he makes it all the way from one end to the other.  Just love seeing that smile. 

We have enjoyed some pool time in this intense heat.  He gets in his raft and just kicks his feet and can somehow “bounce” up and down as if he was touching the ground.   So glad he likes the water!!  

His all time favorite thing to do these days is give “fist bumps” to everyone he sees.