It was twenty-three years ago this month that Rich and I started watching the cattle report.

I was attending a weekly women's bible study that summer and had shared with the group in July about a mole on Rich's leg. I had nagged and nagged him to go to a doctor to have it removed and checked for cancer. I had made multiple appointments for him. For most of spring he had refused to take the time off work to go and had cancelled the appointments. The women agreed to pray with me that Rich would make an appointment and have the mole looked at. Within a few days of our prayers, Rich made an appointment and had the mole removed. That answer to prayer was a lesson for me on how God can work when I step out of the way.

I have been a bit lost about what to write this week. No. I have been a bit lost about what to feel this week. My head and heart are already in Cincinnati; it is hard to think and write about life here and now. Perhaps that is why I left a bag of groceries at the check out today. Sigh.

I have mentioned Nathaniel's airway difficulties in other blog posts.  With our upcoming trip to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Aerodigestive Center, I want to explain his conditions as we understand them today.

Our local medical team has diagnosed Nathaniel with congenital stage 3 subglottic stenosis with a laryngeal web. The subglottic area of the trachea is directly below the vocal cords. Stenosis means narrowing. Staging is rated 1-4; stage 4 is completely closed.

Augmented communication is hard. Nothing about it is easy or normal. 

Take last Saturday morning.

Rich, Joe and Nathaniel were outside working on Josiah's bike. When I walked into the situation, Nathaniel was upset and on the verge of a big melt down tantrum. Rich filled me in that it was regarding a tool that Nathaniel had confiscated as his own, but Josiah needed periodically. I asked where the talker was, hoping to offer everyone another tool to work through the situation. The talker was not outside.

We were chosen as Nathaniel's adoptive family on June 27, 2013. We spent the month of July learning about his care and preparing to transition him to our home. We teased that we had a one month pregnancy, but in reality it was even shorter because we took a previously scheduled vacation for a week mid July.

We needed EVERYTHING. I remember feeling very overwhelmed when Rich and I walked into Babies R Us early that July. Baby-hood had changed a great deal since we had prepared for our last child fourteen years earlier; even greater changes were noted since we had prepared for our first child twenty-three years earlier. When my other children were little, I had fallen in love with soft baby yellow. I searched for yellow sleepers and yellow receiving blankets. I learned quickly that 21st century baby world is genderized pink and blue.

Ben, Nathaniel and I went to Lowe's this week. Nathaniel had his talker in the cart and when the cashier started talking to him, I reached over and used the talker to say HI on his behalf. It is the easiest way to let someone know he is not going to respond verbally. Most often, hearing the talker catches people off guard and I can quickly sense the individual's familiarity and comfort with special needs children. The cashier came alive when she heard the device. She had questions. By the end of our transaction, she had shared that her own son has Down's Syndrome and was given a Speech Generating Device (SGD). He does not use it because he was teased and told it was for babies. She wanted more information. We wrote down the name of the app, name of my website, and the name of Nathaniel's new Facebook page.

I received a phone call last week confirming dates in August that we will return to Ohio. Nathaniel has been accepted as a patient at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Aerodigestive Center. We will be in Cincinnati for a week, August 17-21 for his initial evaluation appointments.

Why Cincinnati Children's?
Short story: It is the world leader in pediatric airway reconstruction. Skip to the bottom of this post for the offer.
Long Story: read on.

I know Nathaniel's private duty nurses and therapists are watching the blog for information how he is doing on the trip. My first Lakeside post was read and shared far more than I expected, but I doubt it gave Nathaniel's people back home the nitty-gritty details they want. Here you go, Team Nathaniel. This one is for you.

Nathaniel's week in four words: He is doing great.

I can walk you past four generations of Lakeside cottages on my father's side of the family and three generations worth on my mother's side. "A Place Like the Whole World Ought to Be" was the slogan I heard repeatedly as a child of my hometown on the shore of Lake Erie. Most people experienced the Lakeside Chautauqua for a week of vacation; I became a year around resident at age eight when my parents divorced. When a child grows up in the place the whole world ought to be like, she thinks differently of the world. Every time I come home I realize a bit deeper how place influences who we are and who we become.