Okay, just a quick update. We got the results of Ashton's cough culture from last week and it was CLEAN! That means the culture only grew the normal flora that a healthy person grows:) Praise the Lord! The last culture she had in the hospital is the first one that has ever come back clean... every other time she grew staph and a few times strep on top of that. We were hopeful after the one in the hospital came back clean, but there was a possibility that the antibiotics were only suppressing the growth, not killing the bacteria. It appears that is not the case, she is bacteria free! This it the only monthly test they do, just to stay on top of things:) Praise Him for great results!

Okay, so I haven't gotten around to taking pictures of the treatment "equipment" or making a video of the treatment, but I will try. I was looking at Ashton tonight and how she ADORES her big brother, and then at her fat rolls, and I feel so truly blessed. Ashton has dodged a HUGE bullet in that she is enzyme sufficient. I exchanged e-mails with a lady today who's daughter has to take the enzymes and she said that their drug bills top $70,000 annually! Only 15% of the people with Cystic Fibrosis are enzyme suffiecient. PRAISE HIM that we do not have to worry about meds with every meal, gaining weight, etc. Praise the Lord oh my soul!

Also, there is a new article out that can be read at cff.org. The article is very informative and discusses the very real likelyhood that in the next ten years CF will be a controlled disease, very similar to asthma! Woohooo... what wonderful news for the 70,000 people in the world who have CF and their families. Also, there are techniques out now that allow doctors to harvest eggs from women with CF, test those eggs, and fertilize and implant only those eggs that aren't carriers of a CF mutation! That means Ashton has the very real possiblity of eliminating the risk that her children will have CF, when before now her chance of having a child with CF was 75% if she married a carrier... they are making such progress... Praise God from whom all blessing flow!

Ashton had her monthly appointment at Children's on Wed. She will go to the pulmonary clinic once a month until she is a year old, then she will go quarterly for the rest of her life. Of course when she turns 18 she will have to go to an adult care clinic. At these appointments they basically weigh her and measure her just like at the regular check-ups all babies have. They also do a "cough culture." This is where they stick a swab to the back of her throat and gag her to get her to cough on it. It is NOT FUN. However, it is the worst part of the appt, so it could be worse:) They culture this to see if there is any bacteria the first couple of times she grew strep. However, the last time we were in the hospital they did one and it was the first one to come back completely clean! So, we are praying this one is clean as well. If she grows a bacteria, they may treat with oral anitbiotics (usually some form of amoxil) or if it is a bad one (I'll write more about those later) or she is symptomatic and they can't get rid of it, she may have to go into the hospital for IV antibiotics.

After the measuring and weighing (triage), we wait for a long time then we see the dr. She just asks questions and listens to her breathing. We also see a respiratory therapist who just checks on how treatments are going, and if we need anything equipment or med wise. Then we see a nutritionists who tracks Ashton's growth. At this appt her weight was 14lbs and 1 oz and she was 24 inches long. This is in what they call the green zone, 50th percentile or above, which is NO RISK! Great news! She also got great reports from the the doctors so this was a great appointment. I want to stress that the doctors are continually amazed at how well she is doing. Especially with her history of RSV, which can cause damage in babies that do not have CF, they expect problems with that. However, to date, there are none. They are somewhat shocked at her wonderful condition, but considering the God our family serves, we are not:) We are simply pleased and thankful beyond measure.

As I have time I will write more about her daily treatments, and some general information of CF that some of our family and friends might be worrying about. Also, Ashton hit a milestone this week:) We've been trying to make her laugh with no luck, we just aren't funny enough, until big brother got in on it that is.. Jackson did it! He was so excited.. he exclaimed "She likes me!" Love you guys... keep checking back...

music

Sometimes music says what we can't, and sometimes God speaks to us through music. Below are two songs that have spoken to me recently and that express how I feel... hope you enjoy;)