DAVIS hit the 100,000 mark with his platelet count today.
102,000 to be exact, but who's counting?
Buca di Beppo here we come!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
CAT SCAN...ALL CLEAR, only a minor deviation!
The best news of the past nine months came today as the CT scans clear Davis' chest and sinus' of any fungus! After four weeks without the anti-fungal drug, the repeat scan was a big event. A sigh, tear and not-so-quiet scream of relief were the roller coaster of emotions felt at the "all clear" news. The report did find that he has a deviated septum? So once again, it appears that "all clear" is a relative term. We are happy that the report of the minor deviation is just that, minor.
As the labs have continued to stabilize over the past few weeks, he has great moments and days of strength. His platelets hit a high of 83,000, which is only 17,000 away from his anticipation of a Buca Di Beppo 100,000 platelet party! The ultimate goal is to be above 150,000, so the hope is, that he is on his way. We just had one change in medication that will require labs weekly until the therapeutic level is reached(hopefully quickly) and then we had such good reviews today that we will move to every other week labs. Also, after a surgical follow-up with GI next week, we will not have a scheduled return clinic visit until 2011.
One week out from the appendix surgery, he is recovering fairly well. We were so blessed that the flu was brief...vicious, but brief and did not hit Davis. Prayers answered. He makes a optimistic comment today that he could maybe play in the annual turkey bowl-football game on Thanksgiving...this lofty thought was disputed as he attempted to blow up a latex glove in a moment of boredom and could only fill the fingers before grimacing in pain. He will look forward to next years turkey bowl.
As for this year, I am brought to absolute tears of gratitude as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches. I have begun to think about the captivating feeling of this time of year. As the excitement of little "believers" fills our home and wish lists are written...and rewritten, I humbly look back at our year. I realize that we have had the privilege of daily experiencing the incredible feeling of service, love and especially the hand of Christ and other angels in our lives for nine months. My being is frequently encircled with the feeling of gratitude for so many blessings that my heart actually physicaly feels like it is swirling whenever I sit and ponder.
The "magic" of the holiday season is alive and thriving!
As the labs have continued to stabilize over the past few weeks, he has great moments and days of strength. His platelets hit a high of 83,000, which is only 17,000 away from his anticipation of a Buca Di Beppo 100,000 platelet party! The ultimate goal is to be above 150,000, so the hope is, that he is on his way. We just had one change in medication that will require labs weekly until the therapeutic level is reached(hopefully quickly) and then we had such good reviews today that we will move to every other week labs. Also, after a surgical follow-up with GI next week, we will not have a scheduled return clinic visit until 2011.
One week out from the appendix surgery, he is recovering fairly well. We were so blessed that the flu was brief...vicious, but brief and did not hit Davis. Prayers answered. He makes a optimistic comment today that he could maybe play in the annual turkey bowl-football game on Thanksgiving...this lofty thought was disputed as he attempted to blow up a latex glove in a moment of boredom and could only fill the fingers before grimacing in pain. He will look forward to next years turkey bowl.
As for this year, I am brought to absolute tears of gratitude as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches. I have begun to think about the captivating feeling of this time of year. As the excitement of little "believers" fills our home and wish lists are written...and rewritten, I humbly look back at our year. I realize that we have had the privilege of daily experiencing the incredible feeling of service, love and especially the hand of Christ and other angels in our lives for nine months. My being is frequently encircled with the feeling of gratitude for so many blessings that my heart actually physicaly feels like it is swirling whenever I sit and ponder.
The "magic" of the holiday season is alive and thriving!
Faith, hope, work and love make the difficulties of life easier. Gratitude makes life enjoyable.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
My mama said there'd be days like this!
I debated several different titles for this blog.
Top runners; These are the best days of your life?...First snow, Don't forget to clean your gutters out, back to the basics, out of the mouths of babes. College blues and tender hearts or, It's raining it's pouring...everyone but me is snoring!
This week began with a bang and the first to get the flu...Emmi. Sunday was spent holding and caring and piling up laundry, and little sleep throughout an eventful flu ravaged night. Monday brought with it exhaustion from little sleep and the pouring rain. Emmi home from school, noticed a waterfall coming from one of the rain gutters. This started the hour long...long overdue clean-out of the gutters. As Jeff makes his way from downspout to downspout, the balls, leaves and sticks continuously emerge. Emmi watches out the window in delight to see Jeff pull her long lost stuffed beanie monkey out of the gutter. "Way-to-go dad, you finally got my monkey down!" This joy was soon replaced by disgust as the once two-toned animal now a uniform muddy color beyond cleaning.
After tucking everyone in bed and waking Davis to take a med that needed to be taken in preparation for surgery on Wed, I dozed off at 12:37am. I heard a text come in at 2:24am. Upon checking the text, I have a tender, lonely plea from my college girl to call in the morning. Of course I called immediately. The stress of living on your own, several difficult classes, and friends one by one leaving to serve missions, taking a toll in the night. The familiar pangs and remembering the confusing feelings of loving a new found independence, yet missing all the happenings of home, security and having a cold on top of that, perhaps due to the free draft in an aging college apartment. After a 40 minute mom and daughter positive attitude session, I reluctantly say goodnight from a far. Having every confidence in her ability to succeed helps ease the heartbreak of the moment.
So tired, I dozed off then awoke ten minutes later to the puppy madly barking at shadows outside. A quick and cold break outside, dog settled, literally just in time to hear Ryan running up the stairs to barely make it to the toilet. 20 minutes and heavy emotional comforting for a little(zero) pain tolerance level later, I walk down stairs to tuck Ryan in with a towel and bowl off to the side. Turning lights out downstairs to hear bathroom noises upstairs. All the lights off, Emmi had made her way to the bathroom. she had also been struck by the flu, however I thought was over it. I asked if she was OK and she quickly responded with, "yes, mom, I can still go to school in the morning, I'm just peeing, not anything else!" Emmi back under the covers and two songs later...
Great now I feel wide awake.
I turn on the TV to relax and get sleepy, big mistake at 3:30 in the morning, as everything wrong in the world was on channel after channel. Then, to pour salt on the wound, I turned on a recorded program highlighting how to survive being 40 years old...not much promise there either. In the middle of how to best ease the pain of weak knees, Ben comes wandering up the stairs..."my stomach feels so weird!" With 37 seconds to spare he reaches the half bath to sit and the night continues to be a colorful one. To add to it, his ever so sensitive gage reflex kicks in and I grab a bowl just in the nick of time!
He sits in the bathroom for 40 minutes and in the middle of it all looks up and innocently states, "mom, you know how I was the one that said prayer last night and I said bless that we can all have a good night rest, well, pretty much I'm not having a good night rest!" I tried to determine if this was a teaching moment or not...exhausted, he brushed his teeth and we both settled into the towel lined couch and he looks at the clock. "Is it really 5 a.m. mom?" Weary from the colorful night, I didn't know if the clock was the true time or hadn't been switched back for daylight savings...yep, it truly was 5 am. The day brought a beautiful first snow day. Davis up at 6:45 followed by Emmi at 8:10, dressed and ready to go to school informing my groggy one-eyed-sleepy-headed-self on the couch that she had packed her shown-n-tell and was all better. Not quite coherent for the moment, I fed her breakfast, and I think we brushed her hair. Of course we missed the bus by 5 minutes and so slippers and a strong hope that I would not get in an accident, or see anyone I knew...off to the school we went.
Daylight savings messes with your senses. As Davis and I head to PCMC in the dark still of Wed. morning, I wonder just what the morning will bring for Jeff as he wakes the kids to see who will go to school today. Everyone turned the corner at dinner the night before. Keeping food down and sleeping through the night. Even with only 2 hours of sleep the night prior, I scarcely slept with the anticipation of a surgery day and it's accompanying uncertainties. Upon arriving and registering, Davis was calm and interestingly reassured at the familiar routine. Height: no change. After losing 24 pounds, it was fun to see that his weight was a good 14 pounds gained. "He smiled and said, "all muscle mass!" (as he flexed an impressive bicep) They had to "fish" for the IV and on an empty stomach, Davis lost all the color in his face, however, did not lose his last meal of jell-o, meds and powerade.
We say our goodbyes, and once again, I make my way down the long white hallway to wait. The emotions were high today in the bulging parent and family waiting room. Stories were being shared in every corner. Others sat in solemn silence. Tears were shed as news was brought back form different surgeries and my eyes were moist as I exchange stories with a few moms. It doesn't matter how old or how young the child...they are still someones baby. I say a prayer for all the babies there today.
I reflect on the recent opportunity to feel of strength through adversity as I once again participated in the Ms Wheelchair Utah Pageant. The contestants are asked to share their platforms for their life. Phrases such as; When Life gets too hard to stand, just keep on rollin'. It's your life, love it , live it, rock it and If you dream, Dream Big! Always get back on the horse. Different is good, and The Attitude of gratitude. The strength of these messages when delivered from individuals who know and understand daily challenges is awe inspiring. I always come away with a renewed sense of confidence in the beauty of life. The same feeling is felt as the stories of trails and recovery are whispered among hopeful parents of the children's hospital.
Surgery went well, and even through the fog of meds, he is acutely aware at the important role of your abdominal muscles in any kind of movement, including laughing and sneezing.
After getting on top of his pain, we journey home to recover, over the many bumps in the road, that so many trips before had gone unnoticed.
I enjoyed a two-hour snooze while the kids were off with cousins before waking for the remainder of the night. As we settled everyone in, my turn with the flu began...is there no rest? 23 hours later, I am now upright, my amazing mom and husband have cared for the kids and Lysoled the house and bathrooms in attempts to keep this flu from spreading, especially to Davis. My prayers are for yet another mercy that he not have to endure this violent flu with incisions and stitches. Two out of the four back in school.
My thoughts in moments like this is to remember that "this too shall pass," and "this is but a moment in time." I laugh at Ben who is ticked that we had the flu shot(NOT his favorite thing) and the flu..."how fair is that!"
We haven't been this sick since the virus back in March that was potentially responsible for the past eight months. Having a ton of time to lie and think the past 23 hours, I have tried diligently to stay focused on the next recovery at hand and not go to far ahead. The uncertainty of a pathology report form an abnormal looking appendix weighs on my open thinking time. The report comes in at 5 pm, with another tender mercy that although not normal, the presence of stones and inflammation, and nothing more is a relief and confirmed that the decision to take his appendix out at this time was a good one. I breathe as I am grateful for the news, that for today all we have to do is guard sneezes and get over the flu.
Soup's on!
Top runners; These are the best days of your life?...First snow, Don't forget to clean your gutters out, back to the basics, out of the mouths of babes. College blues and tender hearts or, It's raining it's pouring...everyone but me is snoring!
This week began with a bang and the first to get the flu...Emmi. Sunday was spent holding and caring and piling up laundry, and little sleep throughout an eventful flu ravaged night. Monday brought with it exhaustion from little sleep and the pouring rain. Emmi home from school, noticed a waterfall coming from one of the rain gutters. This started the hour long...long overdue clean-out of the gutters. As Jeff makes his way from downspout to downspout, the balls, leaves and sticks continuously emerge. Emmi watches out the window in delight to see Jeff pull her long lost stuffed beanie monkey out of the gutter. "Way-to-go dad, you finally got my monkey down!" This joy was soon replaced by disgust as the once two-toned animal now a uniform muddy color beyond cleaning.
After tucking everyone in bed and waking Davis to take a med that needed to be taken in preparation for surgery on Wed, I dozed off at 12:37am. I heard a text come in at 2:24am. Upon checking the text, I have a tender, lonely plea from my college girl to call in the morning. Of course I called immediately. The stress of living on your own, several difficult classes, and friends one by one leaving to serve missions, taking a toll in the night. The familiar pangs and remembering the confusing feelings of loving a new found independence, yet missing all the happenings of home, security and having a cold on top of that, perhaps due to the free draft in an aging college apartment. After a 40 minute mom and daughter positive attitude session, I reluctantly say goodnight from a far. Having every confidence in her ability to succeed helps ease the heartbreak of the moment.
So tired, I dozed off then awoke ten minutes later to the puppy madly barking at shadows outside. A quick and cold break outside, dog settled, literally just in time to hear Ryan running up the stairs to barely make it to the toilet. 20 minutes and heavy emotional comforting for a little(zero) pain tolerance level later, I walk down stairs to tuck Ryan in with a towel and bowl off to the side. Turning lights out downstairs to hear bathroom noises upstairs. All the lights off, Emmi had made her way to the bathroom. she had also been struck by the flu, however I thought was over it. I asked if she was OK and she quickly responded with, "yes, mom, I can still go to school in the morning, I'm just peeing, not anything else!" Emmi back under the covers and two songs later...
Great now I feel wide awake.
I turn on the TV to relax and get sleepy, big mistake at 3:30 in the morning, as everything wrong in the world was on channel after channel. Then, to pour salt on the wound, I turned on a recorded program highlighting how to survive being 40 years old...not much promise there either. In the middle of how to best ease the pain of weak knees, Ben comes wandering up the stairs..."my stomach feels so weird!" With 37 seconds to spare he reaches the half bath to sit and the night continues to be a colorful one. To add to it, his ever so sensitive gage reflex kicks in and I grab a bowl just in the nick of time!
He sits in the bathroom for 40 minutes and in the middle of it all looks up and innocently states, "mom, you know how I was the one that said prayer last night and I said bless that we can all have a good night rest, well, pretty much I'm not having a good night rest!" I tried to determine if this was a teaching moment or not...exhausted, he brushed his teeth and we both settled into the towel lined couch and he looks at the clock. "Is it really 5 a.m. mom?" Weary from the colorful night, I didn't know if the clock was the true time or hadn't been switched back for daylight savings...yep, it truly was 5 am. The day brought a beautiful first snow day. Davis up at 6:45 followed by Emmi at 8:10, dressed and ready to go to school informing my groggy one-eyed-sleepy-headed-self on the couch that she had packed her shown-n-tell and was all better. Not quite coherent for the moment, I fed her breakfast, and I think we brushed her hair. Of course we missed the bus by 5 minutes and so slippers and a strong hope that I would not get in an accident, or see anyone I knew...off to the school we went.
Daylight savings messes with your senses. As Davis and I head to PCMC in the dark still of Wed. morning, I wonder just what the morning will bring for Jeff as he wakes the kids to see who will go to school today. Everyone turned the corner at dinner the night before. Keeping food down and sleeping through the night. Even with only 2 hours of sleep the night prior, I scarcely slept with the anticipation of a surgery day and it's accompanying uncertainties. Upon arriving and registering, Davis was calm and interestingly reassured at the familiar routine. Height: no change. After losing 24 pounds, it was fun to see that his weight was a good 14 pounds gained. "He smiled and said, "all muscle mass!" (as he flexed an impressive bicep) They had to "fish" for the IV and on an empty stomach, Davis lost all the color in his face, however, did not lose his last meal of jell-o, meds and powerade.
We say our goodbyes, and once again, I make my way down the long white hallway to wait. The emotions were high today in the bulging parent and family waiting room. Stories were being shared in every corner. Others sat in solemn silence. Tears were shed as news was brought back form different surgeries and my eyes were moist as I exchange stories with a few moms. It doesn't matter how old or how young the child...they are still someones baby. I say a prayer for all the babies there today.
I reflect on the recent opportunity to feel of strength through adversity as I once again participated in the Ms Wheelchair Utah Pageant. The contestants are asked to share their platforms for their life. Phrases such as; When Life gets too hard to stand, just keep on rollin'. It's your life, love it , live it, rock it and If you dream, Dream Big! Always get back on the horse. Different is good, and The Attitude of gratitude. The strength of these messages when delivered from individuals who know and understand daily challenges is awe inspiring. I always come away with a renewed sense of confidence in the beauty of life. The same feeling is felt as the stories of trails and recovery are whispered among hopeful parents of the children's hospital.
Surgery went well, and even through the fog of meds, he is acutely aware at the important role of your abdominal muscles in any kind of movement, including laughing and sneezing.
After getting on top of his pain, we journey home to recover, over the many bumps in the road, that so many trips before had gone unnoticed.
I enjoyed a two-hour snooze while the kids were off with cousins before waking for the remainder of the night. As we settled everyone in, my turn with the flu began...is there no rest? 23 hours later, I am now upright, my amazing mom and husband have cared for the kids and Lysoled the house and bathrooms in attempts to keep this flu from spreading, especially to Davis. My prayers are for yet another mercy that he not have to endure this violent flu with incisions and stitches. Two out of the four back in school.
My thoughts in moments like this is to remember that "this too shall pass," and "this is but a moment in time." I laugh at Ben who is ticked that we had the flu shot(NOT his favorite thing) and the flu..."how fair is that!"
We haven't been this sick since the virus back in March that was potentially responsible for the past eight months. Having a ton of time to lie and think the past 23 hours, I have tried diligently to stay focused on the next recovery at hand and not go to far ahead. The uncertainty of a pathology report form an abnormal looking appendix weighs on my open thinking time. The report comes in at 5 pm, with another tender mercy that although not normal, the presence of stones and inflammation, and nothing more is a relief and confirmed that the decision to take his appendix out at this time was a good one. I breathe as I am grateful for the news, that for today all we have to do is guard sneezes and get over the flu.
Soup's on!
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