Round 2 Houston

It has been a very hectic couple of weeks for us and we just haven't had a chance to update this thing! We're so sorry because we know there are some who check all the time.
We didn't have internet access this time in Houston - our modem was broken and we had to get a new one.
Our trip was quite interesting this time - it seems like there is always a story to tell. We flew Continental Airlines this time around - using the complimentary tickets they provided us. We barely made it on the plane - I mean BARELY. It was nothing but an act of God. We checked in for our flight via internet earlier in the day. Our flight was to leave Knoxville at 5:55 pm Saturday. We arrived at the airport an hour in advance ( going on what the Continental website advised for a smaller airport) to find NO ONE at the ticket counter to check our baggage. We already had our tickets - we just needed to check our bags and get through security. Chad was parking the car and I stood there with Peyton and we waited and waited. Beside us was another group of girls waiting check baggage for the same flight as well. Finally a security guard came around the corner and apologized saying it was too late, the plane had already been loaded and they have closed the cargo area up already. He said there were no more flights leaving that evening and we might have a chance at another flight the next day - but most were booked up due to the holiday. I was devastated. Chad came through the doors right at that time and I told him what was going on. The other group of girls was arguing with the security guard but he just said too bad. I walked up to him and said look - we have got to catch that plane. We told him that Continental provided those tickets to us for our medically needy infant and we have got to get to a hospital in Houston. With that being said, the security guard said well in that case let me go speak with the Continental staff. He said that we should have been there and through security at LEAST 2 hours before departure because on weekends the ticket counter staff also have to go work security and they finish up early. 2 hours in advance??!!! That is crazy. Knoxville airport isn't squat to some of the airports we've seen and there's no reason they should put people through that because they under staff their airport on the weekends (a holiday weekend to beat it all too). So anyway, within 10 minutes he was back and told us they were going to open the cargo back up and let us on. Boy were we sweatin'. Thanks to us, the other group of girls got to go ahead and board too. See - Peyton blesses the lives of others everyday - even ones he doesn't know.
Sorry for that long story but thought it was worth sharing. We got to Houston and this time we stayed in a parent room inside the hospital which was just like hotel room. We had access to everything we needed. He went through the usual routine of seeing the doctors and therapist the first weekday we were there. The doctors and therapist were so amazed at his progress over the last few weeks. He has made leaps and bounds. Some of his joints have improved as much as 40-50 degrees. It is truly amazing. They even said he was ready for the foot procedure (where they clip his achilles tendons). He had his MRI on Tuesday morning. He SAILED right through the anesthesia part with the exception of his IV access. They tortured our poor baby trying to run a line in his foot. They gave up eventually and ran it in his head. Not before infiltrating his foot with saline though. His foot was blown up twice the size it normally is and when you pushed on his skin, saline just oozed out. It scared me to death. He was all bruised up and had little holes everywhere. We have good news and bad news with his MRI results. His spine is OK, no defects - everything perfect. However, his kidneys have apparenty worsened. When I was pregnant they told me he had some kidney reflux and his kidneys were a little larger than usual. Its called hydronephrosis. But while he was in the NICU after his birth they did an ultrasound and ran some tests that confirmed it was going down and it should end up self-correcting. It actually is somewhat common in little boys and only a select few end up having surgery to correct it. We now are afraid that Peyton is going to be one of those few. We have to see a nephrologist here at home and get him checked out. Shriners will not do his foot procedure until this is rectified or the doctor clears him for surgery. We were supposed to go back on Sept. 24 to have his surgery for his feet but now his kidneys will probably set us back. We got a referral to the only specialist in the tri cities and he can't get Peyton in until Oct. 16. I will be calling daily to see if there are cancellations he can fill though. Hopefully he will be seen sooner. We will have to get back to Houston pretty quickly if his surgery is going to be delayed because he is seriously outgrowing his AFO's and they didn't have time to make new ones on this trip. They didn't want to fool with it at first because they were expecting him to have the surgery at the end of the month and it would be a waste. So they just made adjustments to them to try to get him through.
Well if I think of anything more I will post more tomorrow. It is late and one of our babies has woke up. Sorry for the sloppy grammer throughout - I was in a hurry.