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Specialty pediatric care
Young boy’s family grateful for local expertise

At age 2-1/2, Mason Mrdutt is a happy and observant little boy. Born with a genetic condition
known as velocardiofacial syndrome, or VCFS, he has received care from almost all of the
pediatric specialties at Marshfield Clinic.
The son of Jen and Chris Mrdutt (pronounced mer-DUTE) of Mosinee has had care from
pediatric specialists in cardiology, gastroenterology, genetics, immunology, physical medicine,
otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat), neurology and speech pathology.
His young life got off to a rough start from the time he was born in Wausau and his parents
noticed he had rapid breathing and sweating. On day 3 a heart murmur was detected, and they
were urged to take him to a pediatric heart specialist in Madison. When they balked at traveling
so far with a newborn during a typical Wisconsin January, they were instead referred to Peter
Dyke, M.D., a pediatric cardiologist at Marshfield Clinic.
Several tests showed that Mason had four heart deformities, some of which had to be surgically
corrected. He was checked by a geneticist, who ordered specialized blood tests that revealed he
was missing part of chromosome 22 and some of the genes it carries. He later was treated for
severe reflux and failure to thrive, a seizure disorder, cerebral palsy, a speech disorder and other
problems.
“We’re so grateful we went to Marshfield,” Chris Mrdutt said.
Added Jen Mrdutt, “The first two weeks were crucial for keeping on top of things. They could
have gotten a lot worse. It was rough in the beginning when we got the call from genetics, but
we already kind of knew.” Mason has made incremental progress since then but still has muscles
that do not function the way they should. When his parents help him walk, his legs “scissor”
underneath him. And though he can hear and see stimuli, he can’t verbally react to them.
“The delays are hard,” his father admitted. “But he’s such a happy kid. If things are shut off,
they’re shut off to happy because he’s always smiling and giggling. The doctors told us most
VCFS kids are usually in a good mood.”
Jen Mrdutt compared Mason to a nine-month-old in terms of development. “But he notices
everything. He can tell when we’re going past my parents’ farm and he’ll get all upset that we’re
not pulling in, but when he realizes we’re going to his cousins’ place, he’s all happy again. And
he does enough new things that we don’t get frustrated.”
The child’s medical “home” is at Marshfield Clinic Wausau Center, through Pediatrician Lori
Shepherd, M.D. She has an interest in children with special health care needs.
“I’m an advocate and the lead person in my patients’ care. That’s how I see my relationship with
the child and his other providers,” she said. She has made emergency referrals for Mason on
several occasions.
“She’s been fantastic,” Jen Mrdutt said of Dr. Shepherd. The doctor returned the compliment,
saying “They’ve been wonderful parents. I’m always amazed by what parents can do.”
Dr. Dyke sees Mason only once a year now at Weston Center, because the child’s heart problems
have been largely resolved. He too credits the parents for handling an incredibly difficult
situation.
“We’re trained to do it but the parents’ job is harder than ours,” he said. “All parents have hopes
and dreams for their kids, but theirs are different now, and it must have been a hard realization
over the last couple of years. Still, he’s in good hands and they love him unconditionally.”
That certainly appears to be true. “People ask us how we handle it,” Jen Mrdutt said. “But he’s
our child. How can we not do it?”

We Love Food.

We. Love. Food. This week has been a great week for food. I am in the midst of the employee cookouts at work and Chris just got back from a guy's fishing vacation near Tomahawk. While I have been gorging on hamburgers, brats, beans and potato salad, Chris was inhaling T-Bones, Burgers, Pulled Pork and Beef Brisket. (Don't ask me why I capitalized Chris's food words, I guess I was trying to emphasize the fact that all of his food was MEAT.)

I got an email from Mom today that simply said: "Cukes, Peas and Beans are ready in garden. Don't wait too long to pick."

Saweeeet! Finally get to enjoy the fruits (or veggies) of our labor. I should use the word "labor" lightly, as we didn't put all that much work into our garden. I haven't weeded once. Mother Nature has been good to us with her rainy days followed by hot sweltering days. So picked is just what Chris did. Here's some shots of the findings:

Bush Beans

Snap Peas

Cukes from a different planet

Blanched Bush Beans

You may be wondering...What the H*LL happened to their cukes? We're not sure...the soil must be missing something. HOWEVER - those monstrous softball size cukes made the BEST cucumber salad.

Tomatoes are just around the corner. Lots of little green ones on the vines. I have never canned before, so I am looking forward to learning. I don't like tomatoes raw (I know, crazy, right?) but love tomato sauce and diced tomatoes in my casseroles. Even bigger ones are okay in chili, spanish rice, etc. I really dislike tomato juice but I almost want to try it again...because Bloody Mary's look sooooo good. We'll see what I have time for when our 15 tomato plants are ready!

I am loving this garden thing. Chris is already planning out where the expansion will take place next year. Someday, if we ever get to live on our land, we plan to have raspberries, asparagus, strawberries and tons more of what we already have planted. And more herbs. Tons of herbs. Oh, and some more apple trees...mmmm, apple crisp.

See. Told ya. We. Love. Food.

Balloon Rally 2010

Friday night we went to the balloon rally. Mason got so excited over everything going on that he spit up twice (wait, maybe it was 3 times). That explains his different shirts in different pictures. They run the Wausau event along with Big Bull Falls BBQ Fest so we also "pigged" out on some awesome pork sandwiches.

I love when we can go to local stuff like this, especially for free!




On a side note, I've got to mention how hard it is to find shoes for a kid with the pudgiest, teeniest feet ever. Last summer we couldn't find any that worked. Finally, I found this pair at Target. They are only a size 5, but they are snug on this boys feet and do manage to stay on through all his kicking and excitement. Score!

Aren't they adorable?!

America

God Bless America and all the freedoms that come with it...

like the freedom to HAVE FUN!

I love our camper. I can't believe this was the first time this year that we used it. I will not let it be the last. The weather was H.O.T. and the air conditioner kept blowing breakers so it made for an interesting sleeping situation. Nonetheless, I love our "home away from home".

Mason got some rides on the golf cart that Arndt's borrowed us for the weekend, he loves going on rides. It was so hot that he spent most of the weekend in just a diaper! I was able to come home today and unpack his entire suitcase without doing laundry!

A lot of swimming was done in Big Dummy. A group of us went swimming off the pontoon and then we took Mason out swimming on Sunday. Water is his second love in life, second only to Mickey Mouse. Naturally then, he was sporting his Mickey Mouse swim gear. We finally found a good way to cover his G-tube for swimming, with a large waterproof pad and waterproof tape. First, we took him swimming on shore, and then we took out the pontoon and let him swim with us in the middle of the lake. There were so many swimming pictures that I couldn't figure out which ones occurred on which day so I'll let you figure it out...

Whew. What a hottie.


Sisters

Save the Beer Ben!

Katie had one half of the broken floatie...

...and I guess Megan and Mike ended up with the other half.

Matt -n- Anna



Da Mace-Meister

Mason was so cute...we would cannonball into the water, swim up and say "Peek!" He thought the game was hilarious.


Finally...the fireworks. To pump up the patriotism, a few of us joined in a round of "God Bless America". We grilled out in downtown Cumberland, did some drinking (thanks Katie for picking "red"), and enjoyed the time with family. Mason, after a full day of activities, chose to spend his 4th sleeping. Of course, we took advantage of the photo op:


All 6 couples that spent the holiday together...






Lastly, the only good picture I got of the fireworks. P.S. I want a new camera for my b-day.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend!