Pictures are online!

We had some pictures taken of Ellison last week. If you would like to see them you can go to Janacandlerphoto.com. Our slideshow is on her blog and all of the photos are on her main website under view events. Type your email address and then use "rockcrest" as the password. Hope you enjoy them! We were so excited about how sweet our little boy looks in them. Also, we want to thank Matthew's friend, Matt Rob, for helping us out during the photo shoot:).

Miracles do happen!

As of last week, we were thinking that Ellison had the Duarte form of Galactosemia. The blood test from last Thursday still showed some abnormalities but Dr. Champaign said that was probably b/c he had eaten right before the blood draw. We met with her yesterday for 2 hours and she said made the comment, "I was almost 100% sure that Ellison has Duarte Galactosemia, but when we looked at his genes he doesn't have the gene for that". What it all boils down to is that Ellison is just a carrier for Galactosemia. We will not have to do anything different now...no blood levels to check and no diet changes. Matthew and I are calling it a miracle because all of his blood work was pointing toward the Duarte form but now he is just a carrier. We are very thankful for all of the prayers during this time...it was a little scary to try to take all of this in along with his other issues. He's still the cutest boy ever and we are blessed to have the little chunk!
I'll try to post some pics later on. Have a great weekend!
Love to all, NV

Test Results

We received the repeat newborn screening results yesterday. Ellison's GALT level (the enzyme that breaks down sugars in milk) is still low, but the good news is that his total galactose is still normal which means he can break down the sugars in milk. We have been referred to a metabolic specialist (Dr. Champaign) so we can determine the cause of the low GALT level. We had to rush over to Greenville Memorial last night to have some more blood work drawn so that it could be processed over the weekend. We hope to hear from that blood work by Monday. Dr. Champaign seems to think that Ellison may have the mild form of Galactosemia called Duarte Galactosemia. She said also that he may be just a carrier for Galactosemia. I think that with the Duarte Galactosemia we would just have to monitor Ellison's galactose levels and possibly some diet changes until he is a year old. Ellison was and is still being a trooper with all of the blood draws. He even smiled at the phlebotomist after she stuck him and missed the vein.(Mommy wasn't smiling though)
Anyways, this is a lot of big words and it is all kind of confusing, but we are praying for the best results possible. One thing is for sure...Ellison is still in the Lord's hands and that is all that counts.
Take Care! NV

Updates

Well, it has been a while since I've actually written anything so I'll try to sum the past month up in a nutshell. We have been very busy as you can tell by the pictures. Ellison has been a trooper with all of our outings. He does good in the car for the most part unless he's hungry.:) We have been to the lake with Mama and the Crowls, visited grandmommer and pops and Q & A, hung out with Chad, Sheila, and the kids, and visited with the great grandmothers several times.
Ellison is doing great. He is sleeping up to 6 hours at night now. Sometimes he has a slip up but in the morning I forgive him...:). He is all smiles now and not just while he is sleeping. He even looks like he wants to talk to us. At our last doctor's visit he weighed 14 lbs and 3 ounces. His hair began to fall out a couple of weeks ago, but it is coming back in now.
We visited Dr. Abram's yesterday. He wants to see Ellison on Aug 5th and at that appt we will schedule his first surgery. This surgery will be the reconstructive part where he will form the anal opening. He should be in the hospital a couple of days. We will then have to wait anywhere from 2 1/2 months to 6 months to have the 2nd surgery which will be the reversal of the colostomy.:) He will have to be in the hospital for one week after this surgery. Dr. Abrams was pleased with Ellison's progress. He is always so encouraging when we visit him.
Up until last week, we have been doing pretty good. We had some alarming news when Ellison's newborn screening (which had to be repeated 3 times now) came back with abnormal results. The GALT enzyme was low which means your body can't metabolize a sugar in milk called galactose. We were very surprised b/c Ellison is not exhibiting any of the signs/symptoms of the so called Galactosemia. We have since repeated the test b/c the doctors say that there are often a lot of false positives. We are all hoping this is just that. I am trying to be patient because the results were supposed to be back on Monday, but now they will not be back until tomorrow...something is wrong the lab equipment so there has been a delay in the results.
Anyway, God is good...I have to remind myself of that all of the time b/c the devil trys hard to make me believe otherwise. We visited Scotty Hagar's (Matthew's roommate from college) church on Sunday. I was reminded of several things that I need to concentrate on during all of this but one scripture stuck out in my mind. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might" Ephesians 6:10 I am glad that it is by His might and not mine!!!
Please continue to pray for us!
Love and prayers for you all! NV

More of the 4th

This is Ellison's 1st life jacket. As you can see,

it is still a little big but not for long.
It's just too cute!

Mommy, Mama, and Ellison enjoying the boat

ride. I think Mommy and Ellison are a little tired.

4th of July

Grace Ann and Herschel on the boat. This was

Herschel's 1st boat ride. He did really good, but

he isn't in to swimming yet.

This was also Ellison's 1st boat ride also. It was

so cute watching him take it all in.

Herschel modeling his brand new life jacket.

Aunt Dana was trying to feed Ellison when

Herschel decided he needed a sip too.

Ellison is such a big boy now. He is already

trying to hold the bottle...funny.

Random Photos around the house!

What a sweet little hand!


Grandmommer loves her Ellison!

Every now and then we can catch these cute

smiles on camera. He doesn't like to perform

for the camera so it is a rare occasion.

Uncle Chad finally gets to hold Ellison

when he is not crying.