Noah Robert Kiger

Noah is now in third grade! He started on August 14…and is doing well. Though, he would have preferred to just stay home and play. He is totally ALL BOY!  :)  We met his teacher last week and it seems he is getting along as well as can be expected. Each year, I send a note to his teacher to explain his eating and breathing issues. The nurse is also aware and talks to the lunch staff at school. Noah got food lodged for the first time at school last year. He didn’t realize it until after he had already gone back to his classroom after lunch. Thankfully, I was home and went right to the school to help him get it to pass…and it did! His teacher last year was GREAT about staying on top of all of this, so I am apprehensive about moving on to someone new. But, as Noah gets older, he is more able to know what to do and does not get as scared. Which is also helpful since Chelsey has moved out of his school and there is not a sense of “comfort” there for him as there once was in having one of his sisters there in case something happened.  

He has not been sick for a long time…and we prefer to keep it at way! :)  He had food lodged a couple of months ago, but was able to dislodge it on his own, so no ER trip…YEAH! We are very blessed that he has not need a dilation in quite some time. He shows no trouble with his Nissen either and for that I feel very thankful especially because I hear all the time of children needing them re-done. Noah has had his since he was 4 months old…I find that incredible based on what I hear. I can only thank God and appreciate Noah’s wonderful surgeon! 

Noah has only participated in baseball because running is very limited….he just gets too out of breath when he runs for a long time. However, he has developed quite a love of basketball. I have always been so worried about his endurance with his breathing since there is so much running involved and have not let him play in an organized league.  We did let him attend a basketball camp this summer at our local high school since it focused on skills and not so much on the actual playing of the game. 

However, I am to the point where I need for Noah to try to do more to see if he can tolerate it. So, we have decided to let him participate in the basketball program this year. Noah is just beside himself with excitement…he can hardly wait until it is time to play this winter! He goes out and shoots baskets whenever he can! So, for Noah, this is BIG NEWS!  

We hope this note finds you all happy and healthy! Take care, Michelle  

Yes, Noah has had pneumonia yet again! He has recovered much more quickly this time, but I am not sure why he has had back to back pneumonias. We do not believe he has aspirated anything. This pneumonia was in a different spot than last time. Who knows? I guess the key is that he has bounced back quickly and it sure has not stopped him for long! Hugs to all! 

Well, Noah ended up with pneumonia and has had a slow recovery. He has also had diarrhea with it……so let’s just say he has had a rather unpleasant week! But, the key is that he is getting better and more back to his normal, bouncy self! Hope you are all well and safe! :)    

Hello! Just wanted to drop a few lines about Noah. We had a fabulous Christmas and New Year….but with little snow and that was sad, but hopefully we will get more soon! We love snow! The kids go back to school tomorrow after being off for over 2 weeks.

Well, I guess I picked a bad time to update for Noah because he is actually pretty sick. He has beeen fighting a cough for several days and it has just progressed to the point of where we are going to head to the DR today. He is running a high temp, has a sore throat, and his cough sounds horrible. He also caught a nasty stomach virus over the weekend with diarrhea that added to his woes, but thankfully that has stopped now. We have been doing breathing treatments and just hope we can get an antibiotic today so we can kick this. I am hoping he will not have to miss school tomorrow, but it is not looking good at this point.

Otherwise, he is doing great. He did get some food stuck about a week ago, but managed to get it “unlodged” pretty quickly. As he gets older, he is getting better and better at managing this……..

That is about it for now—-but wanted to wish you a very healthy and happy 2008 from the Kiger household!   

If anyone who reads this has a question, please feel free to write me. I am very involved in the EA/TEF parent support group and it is amazing to meet families from all over the world. It is my privilege to offer some type of support to them. I know how alone we felt when Noah was diagnosed with this and it was such a blessing when we were finally able to talk with someone who understood just what was happening.I invite you to visit the EA/TEF forums as they are a great source of information and support.         http://www.eatef.org/forums/

Thanks for checking in on Noah—-may God bless you and yours!

Michelle
 

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NO…..it just our Superman, Noah, all dressed for Halloween!

Hi everyone! I am now 6 1/2 and I am in Kindergarten. My mom and dad can hardly believe it! I am doing very well in school and love being with my friends. I talk non-stop—–and I am still a cowboy! My mom says I am “all boy” which means I like to play and have fun, I guess! I am doing very well and have not needed to see my surgeon for over a year and a half. WOW! I do get food stuck sometimes, but Pepsi sure works great to help me get it back up or down. Thankfully this has not happened at school yet, but mom did tell them that it might. My teacher said she is pretty scared about this, but I told her it would be okay! In the past couple of months, I have woke up twice struggling to breathe. Mom and Dad thought I might need to go to the hospital, but were able to get me through it with breathing treatments. We are not sure what caused that, but hopefully it won’t happen again cuz it sure scared me! (and mom too!) I still cannot run much or I get very winded. Mom said I may never play sports that I need to run a lot in, But that is okay, because I can still be a cowboy! Thanks for stopping by!
Love, Noah

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! It is so hard to believe I am five, isn’t it mom and dad? Wow—where did the time go?

I am in the developmental pre-school again this year and I just love it. I still receive speech therapy but mostly just for some certain sounds and also because I do not always have enough breath support when I try to talk a lot. Physically, I am doing just excellent! I have stayed pretty healthy and hope I can fight off those nasty pre-school germs this fall/winter. I am doing well with eating and eat everything I can get my hands on. (well, almost) In March, I got a grape lodged in my esophagus and off we went to the hospital. But, between the time they did my x-ray showing the grape lodged and then went in for surgery—the grape had already passed. Mom said that sure was one expensive grape! But, I have not had any food lodged since then. I also have not needed an esophageal dilation in nearly 2 1/2 years! WOW—that is amazing! Mom thinks it truly is because my Nissen fundo has worked so great for me. What a blessing!

I still believe I was born to be a cowboy. A day does not go by that I do not wear my boots or Wranglers. Mom and Dad go me a plastic calf head for my birthday so I can practice my roping skills. It sure is harder than it looks in the rodeo, but I will keep practicing! One day, I want to do it for REAL—–of course, since mom still won’t let me ride bulls! Not sure I can talk her into that one or not!
Thanks for visiting my page and I hope all is well with you and your family! Love, Noah

Well, it has sure been a long time since mom sent an update, hasn’t it? Guess my sisters and I have been keeping her awfully busy! I am now 4 and am doing great! I am eating well and have not needed any esophageal dilations in over a year! YIPPEE! I do occasionally get food lodged in my esophagus, but mom and dad have found that Pepsi (or another carbonated drink) has worked wonders in helping to get the food back up or down. They really think me and some other EA/TEF kids need to do a commercial for them! Who knew Pepsi had medicinal purposes too? I really just think it tastes great—-but don’t tell mom and dad!

I am in the developmental pre-school through our school system and go 5 days a week in the mornings. I LOVE it and am doing great with speech therapy! My speech therapist cannot believe the progress I have made—–but mom & dad believe it because I talk NON-STOP!

I also have been staying MUCH healthier—–I had aspiration pneumonia a couple of months ago, but only had to miss one week of school. My tracheomalacia is still very present and I really get quite winded if I get too active, but overall we can still see more and more improvement as I get older.

I LOVE anything “cowboy” and my favorite thing to do is play my guitar and sing songs I make up for my family! They think I may have a future career as a song writer——but really I just want to be a calf roper in the rodeo. I would really love to ride bulls, but mom says NO WAY! I made up quite a song about that ——

Thank you for seeing my page—–may God richly bless you! Love, Noah

Well, I am now 3 years old! YIPPEE!

I have been doing very well since my last update except I was very sick last fall, winter, and part of spring. I did better in the summer though……..I just had to go one time this summer in July to have food removed from my esophagus and have it dilated. While mom was out of the room, my sister gave me a whole hot dog to eat—and well, I was so hungry I just took a big bite and forgot to chew! I also got pneumonia from the surgery and was REALLY sick, but they got me better with IV antibiotics really fast! I really do quite well with eating when I have small bites and chew my food! I will do better with this as I get older, but for now, mom & dad have to watch me closely all of the time! : )

I am still taking speech therapy and have made great progress. I say lots of words now and can put about 3-4 words together at a time when I want to. My articulation is very good, but I struggle with the language part. But, mom and dad are just so happy to hear me talk!

I went to see my pulmonologist this week because I have been battling pneumonia off and on for about 5 weeks. I get better and then worse again—–I am on my second round of antibiotics since the first part of September……my doctor is going to do a bronchoscopy (scope of my trachea) on the 15th. He is afraid I might be aspirating my food. Mom does not think so as I did just fine in the summer—but we will see. He also wants to see what my tracheomalacia looks like and he also thinks I may have asthma. So, I have to do nebulizer treatments each day. But, he wants too look in there to see how we need to proceed with my treatment to help keep me well!

I have only gained 1 pound in nearly 2 years, so I need to be able to gain some weight so I can stay well. But, I am also VERY active too! : )

I love tractors and my cowboy boots……and love to help Daddy work around the house. He needs LOTS of help with our remodeling project, so I lend a hand when I can! : ) I can name all of the tools….so I am a big help in giving Dad something!

Well, thank you for visiting and I pray all is well with your family! God bless you!

Love, Noah