Your questions answered!

Q: How long will Lily have the tube?

A: Unfortunately there isn't an exact answer. She will have the tube as long as she needs it to survive. At this point she isn't improving at all in her dysphagia, actually she is getting worse. If she keeps getting worse they are gonna take oral feeding completely away. And over the past couple weeks she has started refusing again. It took 9 months to get her to accept more than 3 oz at a time, and now she is back to 3 again. So, as of right now there is no end in sight as far as the tube feeding goes.

Q: How long do her feeds take/can she move around while being fed?

A: She gets fed for 10-12 hours continuously every night while she is sleeping, and for a while after she wakes up in the morning. She is on a relatively slow rate of 55ml(approx. 1.8 oz) an hour. During the day she has a goal of 12oz by mouth, I try and give her 3 bottles of 4oz each, but as she refuses I then have to bolus feed her (put the formula in a giant syringe and push it slowly through her tube). Occasionally it isn't safe for her to eat by mouth at all (like when she is super sick) So she sometimes has to go on continuous 24 hour feeds. She can move around while being fed I just have to follow her around holding the pump. As she gets older and hopefully stronger there is a backpack she can wear to make the pump more mobile.


Q: Can she be potty trained when she is old enough?

A: Maybe...kinda. It all depends on how weak her core muscles are and  weather she will have the ability to strengthen her muscles enough to be potty trained. Then there is the feeding tube. If she is strong enough there is still the issue of her being fed continuously while she is sleeping. From what I understand it is sometimes possible to potty train tube fed kids during the day but not a realistic goal for over night potty training. She will need diapers at least overnight as long as she is fed overnight...

Q: Does her tube hurt her/is it sensitive?

A:The tube doesn't hurt her unless she tugs on it or it gets caught on something. I have to spin it daily (which she doesn't even notice) and We have recently discovered she is super ticklish all around it and will actually laugh out loud when we poke her skin around it (laughing out loud is exceedingly rare for her).


Q: What is it that makes her able to handle some foods and not others?

A: Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis is the main culprit for her being so sensitive to so many foods. Because of her Eoe, she has many many allergies/intolerance's. Then there is also the issue of her dysphagia/silent aspiration, For things that are safe to eat from an allergy stand point, they still aren't safe for her to swallow. Like water for example, every bit of water that is swallowed goes into her lungs, so if I were to give her a 6 oz bottle of water she would drink it and would drown. On days when she is teething and has excessive amounts of drool we have to constantly listen to her lungs because it goes to her lungs and she doesn't consistently cough it up (silent aspiration).


Q:Will Lily be able to attend regular school?


A: Honestly, probably not. Her immune deficiency makes public school way to dangerous. Plus the nature of Mito is, it is progressive, and so by then she most likely will be sicker than she is now. Arizona's special education programs (in my opinion) are sorely lacking. She will either be home-schooled, or preferably she will go to a private school where they are equipped to handle medically complex children. So far it looks like she is cognitively fine, even gifted (YAY!) as far as intelligence goes, so that also poses a challenge for schooling her because finding a program that can tailor to her physical needs but still challenge her intellectually is hard to come by.


Q: Is Lily a million dollar baby? (Do her medical bills before insurance equal one million yet)?

A: If my calculations are correct, then yes. Just between her hospital stays and her IVIG alone equal 1 million. That doesn't even include all her doctor appointments, medicines, equipments, therapies, etc. 


Q:Are we considering having more kids?


A: This is a tough one. We definitely will have more kids there is not question in our minds about that, but as of right now it looks like we will be adopting. The percentage of having another child with Mito is extremely high, and well, lets just say it is not something we are taking lightly. The decision will be made through much prayer and meditation on the subject and ultimately we will do our absolute best to do God's will. 
 


Q:What does the future hold in store for Lily.


A: This is what my nightmares are made of now. Mito is progressive that much we know. But the thing we do not know is how fast it will progress or what will be affected next. Most common symptoms include:

• brain: confusion, memory loss, headaches, seizures, developmental delays, and stroke-like episodes
• nerves: pain caused by nerve abnormalities (neuropathic pain), gastrointestinal problems linked to nerve abnormalities, abnormal sweating, and fainting
• skeletal muscles: muscle weakness, muscle cramping, muscle pain, loss of coordination, exercise intolerance, and poor growth
• liver: liver failure and low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
• heart: heart muscle weakness and disturbed electrical signals in the heart (called heart block)
• kidneys: abnormalities that cause difficulty with absorbing nutrients and electrolytes back into the body (called Fanconi syndrome)
• ears: hearing loss
• eyes: eye muscle paralysis, progressive loss of vision
• pancreas: diabetes (a group of conditions characterized by excessive urine excretion and persistent thirst) and pancreatic failure
• Sensory processing disorders, or autism

Other symptoms include failure to thrive in infants, poor growth, short stature, fatigue, respiratory disorders, swallowing difficulties, and increased risk of infection.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/mitochondrial-disorders#ixzz1mV1wSD4r

Only 20% of children with infant onset Mito will make it to adulthood, and out of those 20% very very few will see their 30th birthday. It is a cruel and sinister disease.

Not two people get mito exactly the same way, and just because somethings aren't listed here doesn't mean it can't be caused by mito. Mito is a guessing game at best, and since there is not cure and no real treatment we just take one day at a time and we and her doctors are forced to watch every little change closely and decide if it is a symptom or a personality quirk or a "typical baby thing". Kids with mito can go from acting and seeming fine to complete system shutdown within hours. That is why everything is watched so closely. The sooner we catch a new symptom the sooner we can stop it or at least slow it down, if possible.

The future terrifies me. I am doing my best to live here and now, because that is where we are and that is where I have her safe in my arms. We have to just keep swimming. And we will accept God's will in ALL things. He is in control and He knows whats best in EVERYTHING. I trust him with my life, and soul. And I trust him With Lily's as well. I will have her as my daughter forever. That I know. And no matter how long any of us are on this Earth we will be together forever and ever in Heaven.