Friday, March 28, 2014

Great News....

This week was busy, busy!!!  But we got some great news as well :)))))

Monday Patrick started PT and OT outpatient at U of M.  We are working with 2 new therapists and LOVE both of the ladies working with him!!!  They have a lot of great ideas for him and we set some pretty specific goals, so I am looking forward to going with him every week!!  Added bonus....they moved out of the hospital into a new facility, so no parking ramps to deal with, YAY!!!!!  If you've ever been to U of M, you know how exciting this is!!

Thursday we took part in a CPAP clinic to see if there were any other options for Patrick, other than a mask for sleeping.  We met with the ENT again, Neurology/Sleep Clinic and a dental/orthodontic team.  After seeing all 3, they all met in the afternoon to see if they could come to a conclusion on whether a mask is the best option or another surgery.  For Patrick, his obstructive sleep apnea is pretty significant,  so we wanted to look at all options first.  Since his tonsils and adenoids were not obstructive, they were looking to see if maybe they could move his jaw out a little to make room for his large tongue.  But his jaw is already further out than what it is supposed to be.  So that ended up not being an option.  So we all decided that the mask is our only option for now and we hope he "grows" into his tongue.   Most of it, they believe, is caused by his low muscle tone and him not being able to control his tongue while sleeping :(  So we move on to our darth vader mask....yay(insert sarcasm).  They are ordering just a mask for us to just use for practice on him before we get the whole thing.  We shall see how well Patrick will tolerate it.

Today we saw the surgeon for follow up, and that went great.  Everything has healed well and our little guy is a rock star!

Now for our really good news.....we received a letter in the mail yesterday, to notify us, that the insurance has approved his bed!!!!!!!!  YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We couldn't be more excited!!!!  We are also thankful that we ordered it with the holes for a CPAP mask:)  So so very happy!!!  Thanks to everyone who stayed positive or prayed!!!  We just have to wait for it to be ordered and delivered, which will take a little bit.  But we are one step closer to getting our boy a big boy safe bed :))))

I will leave you with Patrick singing along with his favorite song.  I am not sure how we discovered that he loves this song....but he does!!  He could be so cranky and this song makes him sing :)  Not only will you hear him humming along, the ever talented Tim Kelley shows off some of his belching talents.  If you don't want to watch all of it, watch some and then scroll to the end-that's the best ;)

Have a great weekend!!!!


Thursday, March 20, 2014

Recovery from Surgery....and Jameson:)

Where do I start?? 
We all realize I am not good at staying up with this blog thing!  There have been several times where I've started one and then got side tracked with Jameson eating play-doh, a crayon, or some other mysterious substance (I will get to that in a minute).  I really wish I was better at this.  Someday....

My sweet boy's surgery was a success!!!  He did amazing!  We were all blown away at how well he did actually.  The doctors told us, he could be in the hospital for 1 day or 5 days....it is up to him, on how he recovers.  Well, he woke up from recovery just looking around like nothing happened.   He ate and drank, much better than they expected.  He only needed Tylenol to control his pain :)  He was out in about 24 hours!!  He had a little discomfort around day 3 or 4, but overall, he is a champ!!
                           Recovery                              Can you spot Bubby in that bed?
 
So he still has tonsils/adenoids.  They took out his appendix(which was the biggest they've ever seen), fixed his intestines and corrected 2 hernias, that they happened to find while in there.  I have to say, since the surgery, his mood has been incredible.  We are wondering if he was having some discomfort from the hernia or something.  He has been so happy lately, which makes us all happy!

We cannot express how thankful we are for your prayers, thoughts, emails, texts, visits, food, babysitting, everything!!!!  We are truly surrounded by love!!!  All the positivity around him truly helped!!  Thank you! 
             My new hippo from Simon                                   Watching videos with my brother

I have to give MAJOR props to U of M!!!  Holy Amazing Hospital!!!  We were treated like royalty and they moved so efficiently!! I mean....how many hospitals tell you they are discharging you, you see the discharge nurse and a doctor within 10 minutes and are on your way home??

I can't say enough about that place.  The floor we were on had such amazing nurses and help make children(and families) as comfortable as they can while staying there, with pizza party's, game rooms, etc.  The night we were there, the place was filled with U of M athletes, who come every Thursday night to visit with kids.  I feel like all we ever hear in the news, is when a place does something bad, so I feel it is nice to try and spread some good. 
                                         Not the best pic...As you can see we are surrounded
                                             by athletes...Patrick doesn't care :)

What else is happening...hmmm...we really are boring people...really, truly!!  But yet I feel like we are always busy.
Bubby is doing amazing in school and will start PT and OT in addition to school starting next week.  We want to get him in the summer rotation before it fills up.  He will be going to a clinic next week where he sees several doctors in one day, to determine if there are any other options for his sleep apnea, rather than a mask.  We are waiting to hear about his bed....feeling optimistic about it though :) 
                                                            My daddy is tickling me :)

                                       I feel so great, I will play my drum and pick my nose
                                        
Avery is doing great.  School, softball, birthday parties, correcting Tim and I, with her vast knowledge of the world, because you know that 11 year olds, have the world figured out.  Seriously though, she is a good girl.  We found out yesterday that she has to have 2 baby teeth pulled, before we get braces.  She has an adult tooth that is literally sideways(the xray is pretty impressive), so we have to get the baby ones out of the way.  Now.....we are sad she has to have them pulled, but secretly Tim and I were relieved, just a little, that we are prolonging the braces until summer.  Those of you who have ever had to pay for braces, will understand and not judge us as bad parents for thinking this way ;)  Just an FYI, we will be selling Jameson to pay for them.
My girl
                                                       Backing up an over throw
                                                  On 1st after an amazing bunt
Playing the field

Speaking of which....should I even continue about Jameson?  My sweet little baby Jameson.  He has taken up a new hobby in his spare time.  The weekend of Bubby's surgery, he decided that he wasn't going to let Bubby get all the attention....no way!  So he thought it would be fun to stick his hand down his diaper after he did the deed.  Not only that....he thought it would be fun to try and eat it.  Sorry to those of you with a weak stomach.  So as I am tending to Bubby and Tim is with Avery at practice, I have to clean up poop, bathe him and bleach all of the cars he touched.  Here we are with a child with scars from surgery that they told us to keep clean....and a little brother finger painting everything in our house brown.
                                                         Can you see the evil??  :)

Not only that, the little turd(no pun intended) did it again the next morning while I was changing Patrick into his ankle braces.  This time he ran out of the room for literally 2 minutes, pooped, grabbed some, decided he needed a drink(bye bye sippy cup), and then made the Ipad his next victim.  No more Ipad case!!  I took pictures for proof, so when he is older and ends up being some rocket scientist, I can show him.....but I will spare you with those.  We have since evoked a policy to change him the literal second he is pooping.  You're probably all thinking I am just sitting on the couch eating ice cream and ignoring him.  He is fast!!  Oh Jameson....its a good thing he is such a charmer....
                                                     I also do this when she's not looking

                                                      See....I can be a good boy too

On that note...I am going back to work!  Ha ha.  But seriously....after a lot of talking and thinking, I am getting all my things in order to start looking, so I can go back in the fall.  Many things went into this decision.  For starters, Patrick loves school and is growing in so many ways,  that we feel he can go more next year.  Jameson needs to be socialized more (need I explain myself? :)).  Avery is getting to the point in her life where everything she does is more expensive.  Which we have no problem with, because we want her to be able to do whatever she has the potential to(within limits).  She has never been a needy kid, so now we feel it is the time in her life to get her involved in the things she likes and see where it takes her.

So for all the things our family needs, instead of struggling, we feel it is time.  We want to be able to eventually get the house Bubby will need, the car he will need, college for Avery, etc. 
                                                    TBT.....This was the day she started
                                                    3rd grade....Oh my word!!

Lastly, I need to go back for me.  I miss teaching and I miss people in general.  I have LOVED every second of being home with my kids, including the daily outfits of yoga pants or pajamas.  The realization that I didn't have to go out in the frozen tundra.  But mostly being here when my kids are here or when they get home from school.  Watching Jameson learn how to do new things.  But I also realize, that they enjoy having their own lives too.  Patrick loves getting out and so does Jameson.  I think we all know Avery is social :)   I was able to stay home for 2 full years, so I am very happy with that!!

So we are excited about this.  Well, at least I am.  I know Tim is, because we will have more money..haha...I kid, I kid.  He would work 2 jobs if I told him I wanted to continue to stay home.  What a catch, huh?  That Tim Kelley;)  I am sure he is blushing right now....

I can't thank everyone enough for their support with the T-Shirts, NCAA bracket and just all of the support you have given us with the bubby fund.   Just so you know that the purpose of this fund is for anything we need specifically for Bubby.  Right now, we have already used a little to make some modifications to his room, for his new bed.  We are also looking into a ramp for the house and some other pieces of equipment to help him.  Specifically I want to get him a small therapy pool, that he can use in the house, because we only have a walk in shower, no bath tub.  We have the conference coming in June (YAAAY!!!) and dare I say it....I will be entering the world of mini van moms within the next year or so...Ahhh :)   We will eventually modify it as well.  Those are just some of the things that we are looking into.  Again...thank you so much for all of your love and support!!

Ok...I wrote a book.  You all need to carry on with your day....considering we all have brackets to win....

xo
                                                                     Bye Bye Winter!!