Here is my sweetie again. Just had to share=) (Still can't figure out why everything is underlined. Grrr.)
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Just Playing...
Joseph can take split pictures with his phone, like the one you see . He really liked this one of Molly and Jason, taken during Molly's recent visit. Now that I know how to put pictures and videos from a cell phone onto my blog, I thought I'd play with it and add this picture here. Isn't this fun?! (I don't know why this is underlined, though. I have tried to change it without success.)
Friday, April 25, 2008
Some of Jason's Very First Steps
Wow!! My niece told me how to walk the long way around the block to post a video from my phone to my blog since I can't do it from my camera. (Our computer doesn't have video capability, so I can't upload videos from my camera.) I know the quality isn't wonderful, but here are some of Jason's first steps.
He has been "talking" too!! He has added the consonants "b," "hard g," "m," and "k" to his babble. I'm so encouraged!! Maybe his speech will develop normally. That would be a real blessing!
He has been "talking" too!! He has added the consonants "b," "hard g," "m," and "k" to his babble. I'm so encouraged!! Maybe his speech will develop normally. That would be a real blessing!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Jason's Story
I will likely not get the whole of Jason's saga told in one post, but I thought I'd begin...
March 28 was surgery day. We had to be at the hospital at 9 AM so we didn't have to get up in the dark=) John had gotten up in the dark, though, to feed Jason at the last possible moment before no more food was allowed. As we left for the hospital Jason was happy and unaware of the agenda. We took Joshua with us that morning because he'd hurt his foot two days before, and we decided it needed an x-ray. While I sat and waited for the doctors (the ENT doing the ear tubes and the plastic surgeon doing the palate repair) John took Joshua to the emergency room to check out his foot. The ENT doc came very shortly and said that Jason's tube placement went well, but that he drained a whole lot of fluid from his ears first. He (rightly) predicted that Jason's hearing would be markedly better.
The night before surgery I had packed a cooler bag of food for surgery day. We left it at home=( I was quite hungry by the time John and Joshua were finishing in the ER. We decided to meet in the cafeteria and eat lunch. The hospital provided a beeper and the waiting room volunteer had our cell phone numbers. Thus, we were assured that if Jason came out of surgery before we got back that we'd be easily reached. On the way back to the waiting room John met a person (hospital volunteer?) who sort of remembered us. She asked him his name, and upon learning it, informed him that Jason was done and they'd been trying to reach us. The beeper never went off, and my phone was unheard in the noisy cafeteria. John's phone was never attempted. I was a mama on a mission at that point. I practically dragged John and Joshua to recovery, putting in possible peril any who compromised the mission. Sure enough, Jason had just been medicated further because he was nearly hysterical. As soon as I took him his panic driven vitals found normal range. Mom is better than drugs=) Also, we missed the doctor. He later called and talked to John by phone. Palate repair went well, he said, a textbook surgery. Wahoo!
(Oh, and double wahoo! Joshua's foot/ankle were fine!)
Our recovery nurse was fabulous! Joanie was her name. Her accent was Bostonian. She was not a "by the book" nurse. I was so grateful for that. She took Jason's arm restraints off to settle him down and refused to put them back on to satisfy the floor nurse, even risking being "written up." She allowed Joshua to be with us though he wasn't old enough. I was very, very glad we had Joanie as our post-op nurse.
After waiting a long time for a bed to open up on the floor, we made the trek to Jason's new quarters (or halves as it turned out) Oddly and amusingly enough, he loved the ride to his room. When we walked into his room, I wanted (and nearly did) cry. It was shared and very, very tiny. I knew that I had to use my breast pump multiple times before Jason's release. Being very picky about my privacy while doing so, I was immediately worried about how to accomplish that without deserting my child for some hidey hole. Also, the room was dingy, dirty and in dire need of modernizing. The nurse seemed not much better. She was "by the book" and not overly cheerful.
I sent a text to my Indiana children about the dismal conditions and my desire to bolt. John sent one back reminding me that it wouldn't have to be long endured. I think I just fixated on that and recovered sensibility pretty quickly.
However, over the long night that followed I rode an emotional roller coaster. Jason ended up with a four month old roommate who had serious respiratory problems as well as a grave congenital heart condition. He was also malnourished and dehydrated. His name was Cameron. In the exceedingly small room there were no secrets. We learned by default that Cameron had been seen in the doctor's office when his paternal grandmother took him for an appointment for which his parents could not be located. Both grandmothers accompanied him to the hospital. I learned much more as the night progressed, but the summarizing word for his parents was "deadbeat." I overheard many, many phone conversations of the grandmother who spent the night with him. Much of the content was derogatory toward her son, Cameron's father. She told her daughter about being very afraid that Cameron's parents would show up and be violent. She and the other grandma made plans to immediately file a report with Child Protective Services, implicating the parents in negligent behavior. I discovered, also by hearing what I could not escape, that the police were called. By that time it was quite late, and I was tired from a very short night's sleep the night before. However, I was in full swing mentally, feeling the need to protect my little guy from any harm that might enter the tiny room. We were "bed 2," meaning that we were trapped between the window and Cameron's half of the room with possibly no safe access to the door. I agonized over how I could escape with Jason if violence erupted.
Cameron's parents did show up at the hospital, and well after midnight were allowed to see their son with a police escort. I listened to all the conversations between the police and the grandma as they made that decision. I listened to her official questioning. All the while, I wondered also about privacy issues. Should I really have heard all that I did? Legally? I did make a judgment about the parents while I observed their visit with my ears. The excuses about neglected medical attention, lack of nourishment and the like were obvious but feeble attempts at exoneration.
It was well after 2 AM that things finally quieted on the other side of the curtain. Both babies were up at 4 when the nurses came in to do their thing. Thankfully, during all that "stuff" Jason did very well. He ate better than most cleft palate repair patients. That was our ticket home where I so wanted to be! Later that morning Jason was discharged, and we took him home which felt so much safer. Cameron captured not only my attention but a piece of my heart. At one point during the night, Joshua suggested that I adopt Cameron. I made up my mind to pray for him, though I wished I could do both.
I will leave off there, I believe. Don't hold your breath, but I hope to tell part two another time.
March 28 was surgery day. We had to be at the hospital at 9 AM so we didn't have to get up in the dark=) John had gotten up in the dark, though, to feed Jason at the last possible moment before no more food was allowed. As we left for the hospital Jason was happy and unaware of the agenda. We took Joshua with us that morning because he'd hurt his foot two days before, and we decided it needed an x-ray. While I sat and waited for the doctors (the ENT doing the ear tubes and the plastic surgeon doing the palate repair) John took Joshua to the emergency room to check out his foot. The ENT doc came very shortly and said that Jason's tube placement went well, but that he drained a whole lot of fluid from his ears first. He (rightly) predicted that Jason's hearing would be markedly better.
The night before surgery I had packed a cooler bag of food for surgery day. We left it at home=( I was quite hungry by the time John and Joshua were finishing in the ER. We decided to meet in the cafeteria and eat lunch. The hospital provided a beeper and the waiting room volunteer had our cell phone numbers. Thus, we were assured that if Jason came out of surgery before we got back that we'd be easily reached. On the way back to the waiting room John met a person (hospital volunteer?) who sort of remembered us. She asked him his name, and upon learning it, informed him that Jason was done and they'd been trying to reach us. The beeper never went off, and my phone was unheard in the noisy cafeteria. John's phone was never attempted. I was a mama on a mission at that point. I practically dragged John and Joshua to recovery, putting in possible peril any who compromised the mission. Sure enough, Jason had just been medicated further because he was nearly hysterical. As soon as I took him his panic driven vitals found normal range. Mom is better than drugs=) Also, we missed the doctor. He later called and talked to John by phone. Palate repair went well, he said, a textbook surgery. Wahoo!
(Oh, and double wahoo! Joshua's foot/ankle were fine!)
Our recovery nurse was fabulous! Joanie was her name. Her accent was Bostonian. She was not a "by the book" nurse. I was so grateful for that. She took Jason's arm restraints off to settle him down and refused to put them back on to satisfy the floor nurse, even risking being "written up." She allowed Joshua to be with us though he wasn't old enough. I was very, very glad we had Joanie as our post-op nurse.
After waiting a long time for a bed to open up on the floor, we made the trek to Jason's new quarters (or halves as it turned out) Oddly and amusingly enough, he loved the ride to his room. When we walked into his room, I wanted (and nearly did) cry. It was shared and very, very tiny. I knew that I had to use my breast pump multiple times before Jason's release. Being very picky about my privacy while doing so, I was immediately worried about how to accomplish that without deserting my child for some hidey hole. Also, the room was dingy, dirty and in dire need of modernizing. The nurse seemed not much better. She was "by the book" and not overly cheerful.
I sent a text to my Indiana children about the dismal conditions and my desire to bolt. John sent one back reminding me that it wouldn't have to be long endured. I think I just fixated on that and recovered sensibility pretty quickly.
However, over the long night that followed I rode an emotional roller coaster. Jason ended up with a four month old roommate who had serious respiratory problems as well as a grave congenital heart condition. He was also malnourished and dehydrated. His name was Cameron. In the exceedingly small room there were no secrets. We learned by default that Cameron had been seen in the doctor's office when his paternal grandmother took him for an appointment for which his parents could not be located. Both grandmothers accompanied him to the hospital. I learned much more as the night progressed, but the summarizing word for his parents was "deadbeat." I overheard many, many phone conversations of the grandmother who spent the night with him. Much of the content was derogatory toward her son, Cameron's father. She told her daughter about being very afraid that Cameron's parents would show up and be violent. She and the other grandma made plans to immediately file a report with Child Protective Services, implicating the parents in negligent behavior. I discovered, also by hearing what I could not escape, that the police were called. By that time it was quite late, and I was tired from a very short night's sleep the night before. However, I was in full swing mentally, feeling the need to protect my little guy from any harm that might enter the tiny room. We were "bed 2," meaning that we were trapped between the window and Cameron's half of the room with possibly no safe access to the door. I agonized over how I could escape with Jason if violence erupted.
Cameron's parents did show up at the hospital, and well after midnight were allowed to see their son with a police escort. I listened to all the conversations between the police and the grandma as they made that decision. I listened to her official questioning. All the while, I wondered also about privacy issues. Should I really have heard all that I did? Legally? I did make a judgment about the parents while I observed their visit with my ears. The excuses about neglected medical attention, lack of nourishment and the like were obvious but feeble attempts at exoneration.
It was well after 2 AM that things finally quieted on the other side of the curtain. Both babies were up at 4 when the nurses came in to do their thing. Thankfully, during all that "stuff" Jason did very well. He ate better than most cleft palate repair patients. That was our ticket home where I so wanted to be! Later that morning Jason was discharged, and we took him home which felt so much safer. Cameron captured not only my attention but a piece of my heart. At one point during the night, Joshua suggested that I adopt Cameron. I made up my mind to pray for him, though I wished I could do both.
I will leave off there, I believe. Don't hold your breath, but I hope to tell part two another time.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Jacob
We heard on the news about a clothing store in Phoenix which sells nothing over $20. However, right now they are having a sale. Everything is $8.98 until June. Grandma trekked to the store with Jacob and some others in tow in search of shoes. This is the result. Happy Jacob. Great price!
Also, remember the pocket bike Jacob bought a while back? The one that a neighborhood bully gave him a hard time about? Well, it turned out that it didn't have a powerful enough motor to license but wasn't legal on the street without being licensed. Don't you love the inefficiency of governing bodies? Anyway, he sold it today rather than letting it collect dust. He sold it for what he paid for it, so the end of the story isn't grim.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
News
I want to chronicle Jason's last 2 weeks sometime. It was quite an experience for everyone. However, I wanted to tell a couple of other things in first.
Joshua has a job! He will start at Chick-Fil-A next week. I am very happy for him and very happy with the owner and work environment. He goes tomorrow to get his uniform, schedule and training DVD's.
Josiah will have his tonsils and adenoids removed sometime in the next six weeks. We hope to get it done before our May trip to Washington, but it will likely have to wait until we get back. I envision many things being better for him after surgery. My family has a strong genetic propensity for large tonsils and adenoids. When they interfere with breathing it's time for them to go.
Joshua has a job! He will start at Chick-Fil-A next week. I am very happy for him and very happy with the owner and work environment. He goes tomorrow to get his uniform, schedule and training DVD's.
Josiah will have his tonsils and adenoids removed sometime in the next six weeks. We hope to get it done before our May trip to Washington, but it will likely have to wait until we get back. I envision many things being better for him after surgery. My family has a strong genetic propensity for large tonsils and adenoids. When they interfere with breathing it's time for them to go.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
SURPRISE!!!
Jason is home!!! Please thank God with me! I will write more another time, probably in increments. Thank you, also, to my sister for being my information liaison. Several people have told me that they were looking here for updates, and thanks to Ann, they found them.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Rash
Jason has developed a rash that the dr. says is Roseola. That could have been the cause of the fever. They were still waiting for the blood draw that last I heard.
Saturday morning
It has been 30+ hours since Jason registered more than a low grade fever. It was normal the last time it was taken this morning.
They are going to check his white count and do a CRP, a test that tracks inflammation. If his fever spikes again they'll do a CT scan of the face and neck.
They are going to check his white count and do a CRP, a test that tracks inflammation. If his fever spikes again they'll do a CT scan of the face and neck.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Next theory
The newest theory about Jason is that he's just reacting to surgery. Karen wonders if that's a cop-out. When he's fever-free for 2 or 3 days he'll be able to go home.
Thursday & Friday
They did see the surgeon last night. He thought the surgery site was good. He was unconcerned overall because Jason was happy and playful. The nurse did tell him about the tylenol and ibuprofen and elevated white blood count. Jason's fever went back up during the night even with all the antibiotics. Karen was able to get 4 straight hours of sleep, six total.
This morning they saw the resident who's following Jason. She said all the cultures are negative including the urine. That's good news. The plan is to keep up the antibiotic regimen, but to let the fever play out rather than medicating.
Thanks for the prayers.
This morning they saw the resident who's following Jason. She said all the cultures are negative including the urine. That's good news. The plan is to keep up the antibiotic regimen, but to let the fever play out rather than medicating.
Thanks for the prayers.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
More Jason
Jason saw the pediatrician today who saw a puffy/sore place under the chin. He wondered about infection in the floor of mouth and neck area.
The surgeon was supposed to come today as far as I know.
More later.
The surgeon was supposed to come today as far as I know.
More later.
Jason
Karen said there are two theories about Jason's temp. One is virus related, the other is an abcess at the surgical site. They hope to get the surgeon in today and possibly do a CT scan of the area.
She didn't get much sleep last night.
She didn't get much sleep last night.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Jason Update
Hi,
Karen asked me to update you on Jason. She won't have computer access for a few days, so you get me. ; ) Ann, Karen's sister.
The radiologist said Jason's lungs are clear and he does not have pneumonia. They are admitting him for at least 72 hours to investigate why the high temp and lack of appetite as well as run IV antibiotics. They also hope to see the surgeon during that time.
If you have questions leave a comment and I'll see what I can find out.
I'm sure your prayers are appreciated.
Karen asked me to update you on Jason. She won't have computer access for a few days, so you get me. ; ) Ann, Karen's sister.
The radiologist said Jason's lungs are clear and he does not have pneumonia. They are admitting him for at least 72 hours to investigate why the high temp and lack of appetite as well as run IV antibiotics. They also hope to see the surgeon during that time.
If you have questions leave a comment and I'll see what I can find out.
I'm sure your prayers are appreciated.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)