Our Gift is Type A

Oh how I love the Christmas season!  We put our tree up weeks ago, I've been listening to Christmas music for even longer and my growing Santa-like belly fill my heart with joy.  And there is nothing quite like celebrating our Savior's birth with Influenza... Type A to be more specific.  And it's even better when you're eight and a half months pregnant!

That's right.  Last week, starting around Wednesday morning, David started feeling achy and had a mild cough.  By Wednesday night he was having hour long spells of the chills, a fever and terrible body aches.  The next morning he was able to get a doctor's appointment and they confirmed that he had "The Flu" and put him on the miracle drug Tamiflu.  His doctor also wrote prescriptions for myself and the kids as a preventative measure.  Thursday morning I didn't feel great but I chalked it up to this very rough pregnancy I've been having.  David was down and out so I was on full kid duty and was trying so hard to stay focused on taking care of their needs I didn't realize I was getting so sick.  Friday rolled around and I took Blaine to school and went to my regular midwife prenatal appointment and realized just how sick I had gotten.  Baby's heartbeat was strong and he was moving like a champ so they told me to go home and rest and stay on the Tamiflu which should shorten my symptoms.  By the time we got home David started to emerge from his sickness and I started to go downhill quickly.  He managed to muster the strength to care for the kids Friday evening while I came down with the fever, chills, body aches and the worst cough I've ever had.  Saturday was another day of the same for me but David continued to improve and the kids were happy to watch movies and play around the house most of the day.  Wow, it's been rough.

It's taken me almost five days to write this post.  David had to make a quick trip to Portland for work but is back in the saddle here now.  Today is the first day that I am not coughing to the point of wanting to vomit - so I consider that an improvement!  After yesterday, Blaine's holiday party at school (which I was in charge of), I think it will hopefully be a relaxing time until we celebrate Christmas and have this baby.  One good thing about being under the weather is being forced to lay on the couch here in front of our beautiful Christmas tree with the fire crackling, listening to Christmas music.  It is nice to slow down like this, I just wish I wasn't hacking up a lung at the same time!  I am praying to get well (much more quickly than the snails pace I'm recovering right now) so I can have all my strength to deliver Baby Sev.  

Santa brought us a fancy new camera for Christmas (thanks Santa :) and we've really been enjoying that.  Here are a few pictures we've taken with our very amateur abilities.

Mister!

Yes, Mister is hugging HG.  And yes, Mister is holding a stick.
You fill in the blanks. :)

Right after this picture was taken a bird took HG's sandwich away.
Then there was devastation. :(

Hives and the Fair

Our Mister had a rough week.  The day after we got back from vacation he asked us to itch his back, which he never asks us to do, and then within hours he was itching everywhere and was covered from chin to toe with (as the doctor said) "a classic case of hives."  It took two days of Benedryl and lots of calamine lotion to relieve his sweet little body.

Typically Benedryl makes Mister super hyper but on this occasion it did this:

Partially I think this was from how terrible he felt all day but the medicine helped.  Also, this was at 7:00 pm. UNHEARD of for our Mister.

After the hives episode he got a tummy ache for two days which the doctor thought might happen if the hives were caused by a virus.  The last few days Mister seems to be on the mend so we're all happy about that.

A highlight of Mister's week was being able to harvest some of the vegetables he grew this year.  We can't have a garden just yet so we planted in large pots but were still successful in growing carrots and peas.  He was so delighted that we used his carrots in dinner last night.

On Saturday we ventured out to the Boulder County Fair.  Three hours at the fair took a lot out of this mama but the kids could have spent the whole day (and our whole savings) there!  The highlight for HG was riding a pony and Blaine spent 45 minutes in the butterfly house feeding the butterflies.

Catching trout at the fair.

I'm still suffering... I mean dealing with pregnancy issues :).  Someone at church finally noticed I was pregnant which I was glad about because I was in the weird, "Is she fat or is she pregnant?" stage forever.  We will find out the baby's sex in three weeks and will be sure to reveal that when we know :)

Have a great week!

Laying Low

I have been living in my pajamas for a couple days now.  Well except for last night when I went out for girl's night (and I actually wore makeup people!  It was a big deal.)

Anyway, back to my p.j.'s.  The kids have been sick this weekend and sick kids mean that parents get to wear their pajamas all weekend (I read that somewhere!)  We are always on the go - all week we have plans and we're here and there and everywhere and then on the weekends we're constantly busy and going.  What a wonderful but very exhausting life!  There is never a time around here when we just lay around so given that no-one got seriously ill this weekend, I was grateful for the down time.

Blaine had a cough all last week and then finally on Friday he looked pretty sick and he just wasn't himself.  Since "The Flu" is at epidemic levels and several people around us have had the dreaded bug, I thought we were surely in for some E.R. time this weekend.  (Why is it that children get sick at 5:00 pm on Fridays when the pediatrician's office closes for the weekend?  Seriously.)  The cough turned into some kind of nasty beast of its own and then the fever came, but it never went over 100.5 so (knock on wood) I think we will bypass E.R. services this weekend.

Hannah has a mini-version of what Blaine has so in addition to her bossing us around (which is normal) she is now bossing us around with snot all over her face.  Lovely. I can't believe so much stuff can come out of someone so little!  And I'm not exaggerating - we have went through two entire boxes of Kleenex this weekend.

Not a very exciting post, but reality around these parts :)

Oh My

So much happening here but none of it is too exciting.

I took the kids to the doctor this morning and apparently these crazy welts on their bodies are from chiggers.  What?(!)  Apparently Dr. Howard doesn't know how I am about bugs and bug bites.  He said they could be fleas but they were probably chiggers.  Great.

Oh, and Hannah has an ear infection.  Last week she started pulling on her ears and was crying in the middle of the night but I decided not to take her to the doctor because the last three times I've taken her to the doctor for the same symptoms (seriously) it was her teeth, and not her ears.  I should have known.  Poor Boo Boo.  Hey, I'm glad the chiggers bit her now - we never would've went in today had she not been bitten.

Blaine has one bite right next to his eye but besides that he was feeling fine, that is, until we got home.  Two hours after leaving the doctor's office Mister was on the couch with a fever.  He didn't even want to help me make cookies.  He was so mad.  He told me, "Mama, I am so mad at those nurses.  Those telescopes they used on my head had bad germs from other kids and the germs got in my body and now I'm so sick."  (The telescope he is speaking of is the thing they use to take his temperature on his forehead.)  He also told me that doctors are not healers, like he thought they were, and that he never should have went there today and he'd never go again.  Then he told me in his next breath that he wanted to go see Dr. Howard now!  He can't make up his mind like his mama.

So we laid around all day, I made GF cookies and endured hours of Curious George.  Both kids in bed and sleeping at 7:30 pm is unheard of here but necessary tonight.

Blaine will start at his new therapy program next week.  This week we are getting to spend some quality mom and son time together.  Every day is family day now!  We've been shopping, crafting, running, and playing - and it's only Tuesday.  I hope Mister feels better tomorrow because we have a big morning planned.  First, we'll drop HG off at school where she will have her Easter party.  Then we head downtown to the courthouse.  I have been issued a subpoena as a witness.  The little boy (whom had been killed) that I found in Wells Branch almost two years ago...well, the woman that is accused in his murder is finally going to trial and I am one of the first "witnesses."  I have to go meet with the Prosecutor tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it.  Ugh.

My bed is calling my name.  Why I stay up so late every night, I'll never know.

Down, But Not Out

Something has been creeping around here lately.  Hannah got the nasty cold-bug first, starting a week ago and is just now getting over it.  Her nose has been running like a leaky faucet, her cough makes her sound like an ol' smoker, and her fever lasted for almost three days.  Frankly, I don't know why I even try to keep the kids apart when they're sick.  They all of a sudden want to share everything when one of them should be quarantined.  Try as we might to save Blaine from the wrath of this cold, he's got it now.

Mister has officially given up "The Nap" - that glorious two hours in the middle of the afternoon when everyone in the household gets some much needed quiet time.   But today is a different story which tells me that Mister is, in fact, sick. 

Nothing a chocolate donut won't fix - that is Mister's motto anyway.

On Wednesday we spent some time in the backyard doing something Mister has always wanted to do: plant a garden.  Except we didn't actually plant a "garden", we just planted some fruits and vegetables in some huge empty pots we have.  I don't have the skills or patience to plant a real garden yet  The point is that he thought it was so cool and is expecting to be eating from the vine this week.  I don't have the heart to tell him that the maturation time is like 70 days from now.  So every day when he checks on them he tells me they are "almost ready." 

We plated two tomato plants, a cucumber plant and two strawberry plants.  I am praying that one of these plants comes through in a big way and produces something we can eat.

Did Mister enjoy planting the fruits and vegetables?  Well, you decide:

M: Ok, first thing we need to do is get all of this old soil out of the pots.  Use your shovel and move the dirt to your wheelbarrow then take it over to the tree where we'll dump it.

B: Ok, Mama. (Inserts shovel into pot to remove dirt and meets some resistance.)

B: MAMA!  This is TOO hard.  You do this part.

M: Blaine, it's not hard.  Here, use my shovel.

B: No, Mama.  I want you to do this and I'll do something else.

M: (I do the dirty work, literally, and then after planting Mister takes over.)

B: Mama, I'll water the plants.  That's a good job for me.

After we get all the plants in their pots Blaine says to me, "Mama, when I'm a farmer someday I'm going to make my animals do all the planting.  That's what I'm gonna do!  You don't know how to plant a garden.  Your work is too hard."

My reply to him: "Yes, Son, all that jumping on the trampoline must have really put you out while I was breaking my back to plant this lousy strawberry plant that I'm sure is going to die.  I'm sure your farm pig will do a better job."

Blaine: Laughs, then pauses - "Mama, my plants gonna die?" :)

After all that hard work Mister decided to take a load off and read.

And before my mom left on Wednesday Blaine really got into the art and craft bins.  He made this beautiful picture of a heart for his Great Grandma Millie, in Michigan.

We're all excited that it's the weekend, or as Blaine calls it: "Family Day."  Hope everyone else has a great "Family Day" tomorrow :)

Looking Up

I have tried for many nights now to sit down and write an update but the fact is that when it comes to the end of the day I hit a major wall and I literally pass out from exhaustion.

So here it is, in (my favorite) list form:

1. Our friend and mentor, J. Keith Miller, is back in the hospital.  He came home from the hospital on Tuesday after a day of appointments and procedures.  It was on this day that he and his wife, Andrea, learned that the tumor pushing on his bile duct is malignant, it is inoperable and there is no cure.  After he came home from the hospital he felt pretty good.  He spent the evening with his wife and three daughters but then woke up the next morning with a fever and discomfort.  He went to the E.R. where they learned that the bile had backed up again in his system and there was a bacterial infection.  He is still in the hospital and will be for a few more days while they eradicate the infection and monitor his overall health.  When he gets home they will then go looking for some treatment options at M.D. Anderson hospital in Houston.  He wrote a blog post today (you can read it here) and there have been almost 40 comments from people just in the last several hours.  I love reading them.

2. The great news about Hannah is that her doctor seems to believe (long story short) that her diarrhea is "post infectious diarrhea" which basically means that she was hit with a terrible virus in July (when this all started) followed by four subsequent viruses that wiped out the mucosa in her digestive tract.  The infection that they saw in her sigmoid colon is in the "healing" stage and it could take up to 6-8 months for her to be back to normal.  We were so thankful to get this news.  The doctor even gave me his personal cell phone number and told me to call if there were any changes in how she was feeling or acting.  Her vomiting has stopped completely.  Nearly two weeks after she started vomiting once a day she has stopped.  If she doesn't vomit tonight this will be the 5th night in a row that she's slept through the night vomit-free!  Thank you for your prayers

3.  Which leads me to something really interesting... It appears that Hannah's vomiting was a virus because Blaine has the exact same thing now.  He wakes up every morning (since last Saturday) and vomits around 5:00 am.  He is pretty lethargic and has complained of a belly ache for 8 days now.  Hannah couldn't complain but she laid down a lot (wherever and whenever she could) and she was doing the once-a-day vomiting plus her regular diarrhea.  Poor Mister.  And really, if I'm honest, poor Mama and Daddy!  Wow.  Too.  Much.  Sickness!

Those are the big deals around the Lyon home.  Oh, and my birthday ended up being really wonderful yesterday.  I got to talk to Keith on the phone in the morning and that really made my day and then I had a lot of phone calls, texts and Facebook messages which made me smile and know how blessed I am to be loved by so many.

Love y'all!  Thank you for all of your good thoughts and prayers over the last several weeks.

Now, a smile for you...

  

  

Just Waiting

I called the doctor's office today and HG's biopsy results were sitting in his inbox waiting to be reviewed.  His nurse assured me that he would call as soon as he got to them.  My phone was glued to my hand today but there were no incoming calls from Dr. Siddiqui.  I had too much on my plate to remember to call back before 5:00 and so now we wait (again.)

And tomorrow morning at 8:45 am Keith and Andrea will head to the doctor where they will find out the results of Keith's surgery and biopsy from last Friday.  I am very hopeful - praying for a miracle that the tumor is benign and he has a long time to live.  Until we hear from the doctor there is no new news to report but I did see him this morning and he looked really good.  He even had a smile on his face, which was nice to see.

David is back to 100% but as soon as he got well Blaine's system was attacked by this nasty bug going around.  He puked in the middle of the night on Saturday and then again on Sunday night, but nothing more than that.  We sent him to school today because he hasn't had a fever and he has only complained of a "hurt belly."  But then we got the call.  The call that we always dread because it means that not only is our Mister sick but one of us is out of work for a few days so we can take care of him.  If he gets sick at school (the policy states) he has to go home and he can't come back the next day.  The dirty details: he threw up... at the lunch table!  Yuck.

Good news is he hasn't been sick at all this afternoon and has all the energy he normally does.  He was pretty tired at bedtime though and crashed without a peep.

Hannah woke up at 6:00 am after a solid night's sleep.  This sounds good, and sleeping through the night was great, but she actually woke up because she started vomiting.  Not a very pleasant way to wake up.

My sweet friend Kari brightened my day last night with a visit and some birthday goodies.  She even brought some gifts for the kids which we used today (thank you, Kari) because I was home with them and their viruses :)

"Friends are like flowers.  You get to pick them."
SO CUTE!  Thanks, Kari :)

Blaine and his "super huge building."

"Mama, take a picture of me with this worm on my face."

My little Ms. Piggy.

Mister hiking the green belt in Austin.

Thanks for the rock, Hanny.

 

Thursday and Friday

The last two days have been emotional, mentally exhausting, and physically challenging.

First, I finally heard from Dr. Siddiqui today and he had nothing to report.  HG's biopsy results are not back yet but while I had him on the phone today I pressed him for some more information.  On Monday when he met with us after her procedure I asked him if he'd ever seen that kind of infection before.  He responded 'yes' and then said nothing else.  I brought that up today and just told him that I needed to know if what he'd seen before (that was like this) was life threatening.

His response: "No Ma'am."

No Ma'am.  What beautiful words for a mama to hear.  He told me it was probably a viral infection that has attached to the mucous membranes in the sigmoid colon.  He also said they could be infected immunity cells but that most likely this will be a viral problem and he is confident that the biopsy results will give us answers.  We're definitely looking forward to Monday and getting those results.

As far as how she is feeling she seems to be doing well.  Her vomiting has subsided and she is sleeping through the night now.  I think the GERD medicine is doing its job, so we're grateful for that.

Then, at 1:30 am this morning, I woke up to someone getting very sick... and that someone was my poor husband!  He has not been able to keep down any food or water all day today.  If he still can't keep anything down tomorrow morning we'll definitely be going to the clinic.

And this next piece of news has really shaken our family up.

A few days ago my boss and our mentor and friend, Keith, started feeling pretty bad.  He was having some stomach pain which led him to a variety of doctors and through a variety of tests.  I knew all of this was happening but didn't expect what would come next.  When I got home from work yesterday my phone rang and it was Keith.  I asked what they found out and, very gently and calmly, he explained to me that there was an internal blockage that was causing the stomach discomfort.  He went on to tell me that the blockage is the result of the bile duct being squeezed shut because of a tumor that is pressing on it.  The tumor happens to be next to his liver and due to its location, it is inoperable.

Keith then went on to tell me a few different things about some business he was going to take care of and asked how I might be able to help during this time.  I couldn't and didn't believe that we were actually having that conversation so I didn't respond at first because I didn't really know what was happening or what he was telling me.  I slowly began to hyperventilate and said between breaths, "I don't understand what you're trying to tell me.  Are you saying that this... this... is going to... kill you?"

I then heard his tears falling and heard the words, "Yes, that is what I am telling you."

Shock.  Disbelief.  Sadness.  And then more shock.  I asked more questions but kept getting the same answer.

This morning I met Keith and Andrea at the hospital where Keith was being prepped for surgery.  They went in to drain the backed up bile, insert a stent so that the bile duct can do its job, (despite the pressure from the tumor), and they also took a biopsy of the tumor and the liver.  The biopsy results should be back on Monday.  Until then Keith will probably remain in the hospital.

When it rains, it pours.  But I am grateful that I do not feel despair or overwhelming feelings of hopelessness.  In fact, I've been experiencing just the opposite.  God's peace and love are the only things that will carry me (and Keith and our family) through this time and despite the total mental and physical exhaustion I am experiencing I have a lot of hope.

Scratch That

While I was writing the last post I heard Hannah cough in her room while napping but then heard nothing after that.  Normally I would go in and check but since she didn't vomit last night and her medicine seemed to be doing the trick, I decided to not go in her room.  The time must have been 3:20 or so.  At 3:30 I closed my computer and went in to wake her up because it was time to pick Blaine up from school.  When I walked in her room something just wasn't right.  First, I noticed that she was on her back and she never sleeps on her back so I panicked and then as I got closer I saw that she had thrown up. There was so much of it.  It was on her face, covering her neck, on her shirt, all around her head and in her hair. 

She looked lifeless and I was scared to death.

I screamed her name. She didn't respond.  Then I shook her leg.  Nothing.

I hit her chest with my hand a few times and her eyes darted open at last.  She gasped and coughed and I pushed her over on her right side.  She cried a little bit and then just lay there.  I called David, told him what happened and asked him to call Hawthorne to let them know that I was running late. 

As soon as I hung up she started sobbing and began saying 'Mama' over and over again.  I picked her up and moved her to the tub where I picked chunks of undigested breakfast and lunch foods off her body and out of her hair and took her clothes off.  During her bath she was lethargic and sad.  When I got her out we sat on her bedroom floor and like clockwork, as it has been for the last two weeks, she started vomiting again.  This went on and on until she had puked up everything.  After another bath it was time to go get Blaine. 

I put her in the car and wrapped a towel around her waist.  When we were a little over halfway to B's school I hear her gag and then cough and then it started again.  More vomiting.  I quickly tried to think of the closest fire station because I was worried that she was choking but then heard her crying so just gunned it to our destination.  Before we arrived she threw up once more and then when I went to get her out she was a total mess.  What I should have done was put a huge bib on her because the towel did little to nothing to protect her or her car seat from the wrath of her vomit.  Yuck. 

I stripped her in the parking lot, changed her, cleaned up as much as I could and went in to get Blaine.  I had a few things to drop off and notes to collect and B saw me from his classroom.  I heard him tell his teacher that his "Mama" was there and he went through his pick-up-routine like a champ while I tended to my business.  He came out of his door into the lobby and I greeted him but not on my knees with open arms like normal.

Blaine: Mama, why do you have your mad face on?
M: Oh, I'm not mad Baby.
B: Then why do you have your mad face on?
M: This is not my mad face.  This is my sad face...
B: Why, Mama?  What's wrong?
M: Baby, Hannah's still sick and she threw up in the car on the way here.  It's a big mess.
B: Pooor Hanny!  I think you should call the doctor.

My sweet, kind-hearted, concerned little Mister.  I love him.  He talked to HG all the way home trying to hide his snack from her because I wouldn't let her eat or drink anything.  He was a big help when we got home and she started puking again.  He brought me paper towels and "chemicals" (floor cleaner) to clean up and reminded me that I should call the doctor.

After her first middle-of-the-day vomiting session ended she was hungry and thirsty and mad that I wouldn't give her anything.  To appease her I held her... while I made dinner.  Thank goodness for Curious George who entertained my Mister during HG's ordeal.

HG then ate a huge dinner and seems fine now.  D called Dr. Siddiqui, who happened to be on call tonight, and he said that there is nothing he could do.  He said that if she started puking uncontrollably or couldn't hold down any food or water that we could take her in to the E.R.  He also said that he would check on her biopsy results in the morning and then call us if they were in.  I'm praying they are!

To say that I've had to rely on God more than normal over the last several weeks is an understatement.  I've also been in a Beth Moore bible study for the last six weeks, which I know is no coincidence.  What a blessing it has been to walk through the life of King David while our family is dealing with so much uncertainty.  The last (and most important lesson) that Beth taught last night was the goodness of God.  She gave us a number of different scriptures that answered the question: Does God do us good?  And today as I was praying about HG I remembered one scripture that she pointed us to.

"Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." Romans 8:28 The Message

God works all things together in our lives for good. - Beth Moore

I am grateful for the goodness of God and his unfailing love.  And since the only gift I have for God is one of faith, that's what I'm living on now.

Thank you so much for your prayers.

Results

Last night brought more of the same - vomiting and diahrrea.  We let HG eat right up until bedtime because we knew she couldn't have solid food after 2:00 am but all that extra food just meant there was more of it to come up in the middle of the night.  She woke up around 6:00 am desperately needing a bath and because she was so exhausted went back to sleep for an hour and a half afterwards.  We woke her up at 7:30 so she could get some fluids in her before we had to cease all food and drink at 8:00am.  She needed another bath and had no interest in food or drink at that point.  After packing our bags we ran some errands and then arrived at the surgery center at 10:00 am on the dot.

Intake took almost an hour and by the time the anesthesiologist arrived to talk to us, David was waiting with us.  Hannah played with D's i-phone in her fancy hospital gown and socks while a barrage of doctors and nurses came in to ask us the same questions over and over again.  Dr. Siddiqui, the pediatric GI, came in last to talk to us and made sure we didn't have any other questions.  Miss Hannah went happily into Ms. Katie's arms (her nurse) and laid her sweet little head on her shoulder, snuggling right up to her.  She had her ba-ba (paci) and her blanket and was off.

Nearly 50 minutes later Dr. Siddiqui arrived with pictures of her stomach, esophagus and sigmoid colon. He showed us what he found: An infection was present in the rectosigmoid junction and the rectosigmoid colon.  There were red nodes all over in the picture, which Dr. Siddiqui said are the sign of an infection.  So he took a biposy in those areas (as well as in other places) and said that we should know something in a week or so.  I asked if he has seen this before and he said 'yes' but didn't give any more information.  Her endoscopy was less "interesting" (his words) because besides redness (probably from vomiting so much) he didn't see anything irregular.  He thinks that her vomiting is from reflux but doesn't want to put her on any meds right now until these biopsy results come back.

They brought Hannah back to us with an IV drip and pokes in her foot and both hands from additional bloodwork they did.  She cried on and off but was doing relatively well and even sucked down some orange Gatorade they gave us.  She drank more than an ounce without vomiting, so they unhooked her IV and discharged us.

Looking on the bright side, it is a relief that something was found but... an infection?  That scares me.  It is one piece to the puzzle and now we can move forward with something, so I am grateful for that.  We will be anxiously awaiting those results - hopefully something by the end of the week.

Thank you for all your prayers.

Good and Not So Good

The good news is that D is home.  He was able to get an early flight this morning and was actually waiting for us when we got home today from our adventure.  The kids were so excited.  Blaine couldn't stop smiling and Hannah was attached to David's neck.  It is really good to have him home.

The kids, GG and I had a fun day at Sweetberry Farm.  Besides strawberries, which are harvested in the spring, they also grow pumpkins and their fall harvest festival is a big deal.  We started out on one side of the farm and worked our way through nearly all of the activities, which took us a few hours.

Me and Mister in the field of flowers.

This is where Sister spent most of her day.  Poor thing.

Snack time in the truck.

Blaine really enjoyed himself but I think the face painting and strawberry popsicle were among his favorites.  He really wanted to ride the horses but the line was an hour and a half long and this Mama had to say no to that (wait.) 

I would give me great joy to tell you that Hannah also enjoyed herself today but the fact is that the last two days have been pretty hard on her.  She was up again last night, earlier than normal (11:30 pm), vomiting and with diarrhea.  She is getting so exhausted from being up for hours every night that she doesn't even wake up anymore when she poops or vomits in the middle of the night.  And then when we get her up to change her and her sheets she sobs and then finds the first place she can to lay down and lays her head down.  We then proceed to hold her and comfort her while we helplessly watch her endure another 45 minutes of vomiting. 

I remember when she was born and they told us she may have a terrible infection and that a spinal tap, among other tests, would be required.  David and I laid in my hospital bed crying that night while Hannah was in NICU, praying that God would heal our sweet baby girl.  It turned out that her "infection" was only a staph contaminant but before finding that out she was pumped full of antibiotics.  Then after coming home we discovered that she had GERD and was put on medicine for five months. Shortly after this she started having ear infections which ultimately led to her ear surgery in March when she had tubes put in.  (Which, by the way, we just found out on Thursday that one of them is no longer in place and is actually in the ear canal.  They are supposed to last 18+ months and hers lasted just 9 months.)  It is very difficult to not worry about what is going on with her especially since every day that goes by seems like we're losing precious time.  Just in the last few days I can tell that HG is really not well.  Something is seriously wrong with her but we have no answers.  This is so hard on a Mama but I am trying hard to focus on her and keeping her as happy as possible despite how she feels. 

Tomorrow we start her prep for her procedure on Monday.  She'll take MiraLax twice tomorrow and then can't have anything by mouth after 8:00 am on Monday.  Our arrival time at the surgery center is 10:00 am Monday.  I am hopeful and trusting in God on this one. 

P.S. Thanks to my Mama for taking such good care of all of us while D was out of town.  I would have totally lost it this week if it weren't for her.  The stress and exhaustion from all this sick-business is really doing a number on me.  Thanks GG.

Our Neverending Story

My boss, Keith, told me today that I was receiving the necessary training to become one of those mothers that people look at and think, "She's so calm, put-together, and wise.  How does she do it?!"  I appreciated his encouragement but feel like I am actually in training to be a spokeswoman for Clorox Disinfectant Wipes or Lysol.

It is 2:30 am right now and I've been up for over an hour.  Again.  For the 10th (yes, tenth) night in a row.  Hannah Grace is in the middle of some type of physical storm, more like a tsunami, that we have yet to have any answers about.  She is still vomiting every night sometime after midnight but before 3:00 am and she continues to have diarrhea, which started around the beginning of July. Her ultrasound went well and all of her stool samples are back in, so hopefully this next week will be chock-full of answers.  We're praying for that at least.

Tonight, my mom (who is thankfully here while D is away) and I cleaned up a formidable mess in her crib twice.  And last night was the scariest night yet. I woke up at 2:00 am shocked that HG hadn't woken up yet to get sick and when I went in to check on her I found that she had in fact vomited but she never woke up.  Thankfully she was on her belly but now I know I need to be more conscientious of checking on her more often through the night.

D seems to be having a successful week in Chicago but we are sure looking forward to him coming home this weekend.  The kids and I really miss him and I know he is looking forward to joining our nightly parties in HG's room.

We're having dinner with Keith and Andrea tomorrow night and if everyone is semi-healthy on Saturday we're going to head out to a local pumpkin festival.  I promised my mom that I would take her somewhere other than the grocery store and the hospital while she was here! :) 

Twice Baked Sickness

When I have nothing better to go with the post title can get totally weird, like today. 

This week has been weird though so it all makes perfect sense to me.

Monday is a busy day for us because we start every week with Blaine's occupational therapy appointment at 8:00 am, which means everyone is out the door and ready for work or school by 7:45 am.  I guess I should back up a bit... for almost two months our Mister has been going to O.T. to work on some areas he needs some help with. When B was almost 18 months old we started seeing some behaviors and patterns that were odd and frankly, a bit out of the ordinary.  While many well-meaning people told us that it was a "boy thing" and he would "outgrow it" something told us that there was something else going on.  Fast forward to August of this year (and through many different doctor appointments) and we had Blaine tested by an occupational therapist. They concluded that he has Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and after the intial shock and denial wore off we started researching and everything started making more sense.  Long story short our Mister has some challenges right now and given time, the right therapy (and therapist), and work on our part everything will work out in the end and we'll have a happy, healthy and well-adjusted young man on our hands.  I had all these lofty plans to start another blog that would chronicle our new journey with Blaine and SPD but I realized that 1. that would be way too much work for me and 2. this is a part of our lives and we don't have to document that part of our lives as if it's a secret.  In fact, Blaine helped me come to this final conclusion the other day when we were driving to one of his appointments.

B: Mama, look at that airplane!
M: Wow, I see it.  That's pretty cool.  Hey, do you remember where we are going?
B: To see Dr. Yorke.  (The Psychologist we've been working with.)
M: That's right.
B: Mama, it's ok.  Everyone has problems.  We just work on them with the doctors.
M: (tears in my eyes)  That's right buddy.  Everyone does have problems.

So, it was at this point (and after trying to start that other blog five times) that I decided we should just lay it all out there.  And with David's go-ahead, here we are.  Coincidentally (if there is such a thing) October is Sensory Processing Disorder Awareness month. 

Instead of copying and pasting a bunch of information here I'm just going to pass along a link that will give anyone who wants more information on SPD exactly that. Click here for an overview of SPD. 

SPD - “Sensory Processing Disorder is a neurological disorder that is like a virtual traffic jam in the brain. The information from all eight senses is misinterpreted which causes a child (person) to often act inappropriately.” - SPD Blogger Network

All that from telling you what we did on Monday morning... wait until I get to Wednesday!

Just kidding.

Attention turned to Hannah on Tuesday when she started vomiting all over the place. She did this through Tuesday night and then it was over.  No fever and no other symptoms (expcept for her chronic diarrhea) and then after school on Wednesday Blaine started complaining of a sore throat.  David went to work and the kids and I made it into Dr. Howard's office for back to back visits.  Hannah is fine - she just had a virus but our Mister has strep throat which didn't slow him down a bit today when he was home with me.  He was still running, jumping and climbing all over everything.  Oh, he will be going back to school tomorrow.  Doctor's orders!

Because I was home-bound with the kids today we ran some errands and then I spent half the afternoon making Pioneer Woman's twice baked potatoes.  It was my first time so things got pretty messy but I succeeded in making some pretty good potatoes, if I (and David) do say so myself!  We also had these fantastic hamburgers that I was pretty proud of.  Actually, come to think of it, despite everything else we've got going on here I've managed to put some good meals on the table this week.  Last night we even had lamb chops.  They were semi-burned, but we really liked them with that "smokey" flavor. 

The good news is that tomorrow is Friday and we have some fun plans for the weekend and then GG comes to visit on Monday.  David has to travel to Chicago for five days so my mom offered to come help with the kids so I don't go crazy and no-one gets hurt. 

Pre-Sickness

Reading some books in the big girl chair

Testing her cowgirl boots.

Loving on mama. 

More love...

So beautiful.

Sick kids.

Watching TV together and there is no screaming.  Amazing!