My Heart Goes Out

My heart goes out to my sister-in-law, Liz, and her husband Brian.  Brian's mother passed away this morning after a long fight with many challenging illnesses.  My nephews have lost their Grandmother and are probably confused, sad, overwhelmed...Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Expectations

I'm just going to start this by saying that it's a bit random.  It's not about Ella or Nathan, or what funny or exciting things they've been doing lately.  It's not about what we've been up to the past few months.  Nope.  This is about expectations.  My expectations.  I'm beginning to wonder if I my expectations of people are too high.  Sounds sad, doesn't it?  There have been a few things that have happened recently that have really made me think about how people treat other people, and how I would want to be treated.  I know, it sounds like the old cliche.  But it's so true.  I went to a funeral last night.  The father of one of my college roommates passed away earlier this week from cancer.  I lived with 7 girls in college.  I was the only one that showed up.  I'm not looking for a medal or a cookie or anything.  Believe me, I didn't want to be there. Of course there were certain circumstances that prevented some from attending, like living across the country, but out of everyone, I'm the only one that was there.  And I didn't even think twice about going.  Not going wasn't even an option.  Joe had a previously scheduled meeting and my parents were unavailable to babysit, so luckily my sister-in-law was able to come over with her boys and babysit for a few hours.  We made arrangements and figured it out.  So I went alone.  And it was sad.  Really sad.  They had the visitation for a few hours right at the church before the funeral service, so I went straight from work.  I stood in line and waited to see my friend and her mom, gave them both hugs, all the while trying my best to keep it together...they were, so should I, right?  Then I sat in my car and cried.  I cried for my friend.  I cried for my friend's mom.  I just felt so sad at that moment, and I was all alone.  So I went shopping for an hour and then came back for the funeral.  It was a nice service.  Isn't that what everyone says about a funeral?  I mean, what else can you really say?  Then I sat in my car and cried some more.  I stopped for some french fries on the way home (which is becoming a whole other issue...stayed tuned for dieting woes.)  At 30 years old, and didn't think I'd have to lower my expectations of people.  I don't, do I?

Under Construction...until further notice

Stick a Fork in Me, I'm Done...For Now...Again

I need a little blog break again. I'm sure I'll pick it back up again in a few months, but right now I'm just not feeling it. I'll keep posting pictures to Snapfish, and if anything super exciting or crazy happens, I'll post something, but until then, see ya!

I haven't quit, I promise!

There just hasn't been too much going on lately...at least I don't think so. Joe was gone for 4 days in Washington D.C. visiting a friend, so I was trying to keep my sanity here with the children. Thank God for my parents. Seriously, I don't know what I would do without them. I woke up on Saturday with one of the worst migraines, and they came to the rescue. I literally stayed in bed most of the day. I have an appointment with a neurologist on Monday. Nathan is healthy, knock on wood, and continues to add to his vocabulary on a daily basis. Ella is little miss smarty-pants. They are totally brother and sister and act like it now. Fighting, yelling at each other, taking things away from each other...the works! This weekend is our annual Girls' Weekend shopping trip. I go with Joe's two sisters and his mom. We shop, eat, drink, go to movies, and sleep in. Sounds heavenly, doesn't it? It is. And I can't wait. Did I mention no kids? Some day Ella will join us, maybe when she's 12 or something. And if there ends up being any other girls in the family, they will join us as well. That's all I feel like writing about right now. Next post will be about visiting the zoo with April and Jax and my new positions with the social club/kids club I am a member of, Suburban West Newcomers Club. Hope you enjoyed the photos above. I apologize for the randomness of this post. Stay tuned...

ER Visit

It never ends, does it? Before I get too far ahead of myself, let me back up a bit.

Last Friday was my first attempt at a rummage/yard/garage sale. My parents, and my friend Jodi, were all a part of the sale, so I had a ton of help. Joe took the day off on Friday, so we had lots of hands to handle the sale and handle the kids. Joe and I made around $300! Not bad! It was a lot of work, but I think worth it. It felt good to get rid of all that "stuff" that we've accumulated over the years.

Joe's sister Julia, her husband Greg, and their 15 month old son Harry, came to visit last weekend as well. Our brave babysitter came over on Saturday night to watch all three kids, while the adults got to enjoy a nice dinner out. When we got home, all three kids were asleep. Amazing!

Then Sunday came around, and Nathan woke up sounding like a barking seal. Then after his afternoon nap, he woke up with a 103 temperature, was breathing incredibly fast, and was very lethargic. We called the pediatrician on-call, who suggested we take Nathan to Children's Hospital ER. Guess who came to the rescue yet again? My parents! They dropped what they were doing and rushed over to stay with Ella, while Joe and I drove Nathan to the hospital. When we got there, a nurse "triaged" him and we got filtered over into "ER II" which I still don't quite understand. Most of the kids in the waiting room appeared to be just fine, and I couldn't help but wonder if their visit to the ER was appropriate. It made me angry because I know some people treat the ER like their primary care physician.

After about an hour, we were taken back to a room, where it was discovered that Nathan had a 104.8 temperature and was breathing over 60 breaths per minute. 34-40 is normal. And then he puked. ALL. OVER. ME. I immediately went into hospital staff mode, threw on a pair of gloves, and began the clean-up while we waited for a doctor to see us. We never actually saw a doctor, but a nurse practitioner. She checked Nathan over and took a rapid strep test, which came back positive. She prescribed an antibiotic for that, gave him a steroid to open up his airway from the croup, and administered a Tylenol suppository since he puked up the Motrin earlier. They also gave him Zofran for the vomiting. And then we left. By the time we got home, Nathan was smiling and acting a little more like himself.

Despite everything that has been going on, he's been sleeping like a champ! (Knock on wood.) On Wednesday, Nathan woke up with a fever yet again and puked again. So off we were to the pediatrician, since he had been on the antibiotic for 4 days and wasn't getting better. They took another rapid strep test which came back negative, his ears and lungs were clear, and his fever was gone. Was it a necessary trip? Who knows...

All I do know is that I'm sick of Nathan being sick. I thought after he got the ear tubes, he would magically be healthy from now on. I know...silly me. The next time he gets sick...which will probably be next week...I plan on asking our pediatrician to do some blood work to see if Nathan's white blood count is low, or if there is some other reason his immune system is so compromised. I just feel so sad for my little boy. But he's a trooper.

Ella is doing well. She has so much energy. She has quite the imagination and loves to pretend. Her latest game is "Ice skating princesses" with my dad. Yes, with my dad! It's hilarious! They spin around, she climbs up his legs and flips over, she slides through his legs. My dad sure gets his workout with her! I think it's so neat though...I don't really have memories of doing things like that with my grandfather.

Joe and I start a parenting class tonight called, "Love and Logic." It goes for 6 weeks and I am really looking foward to it. I hope we can take the things we learn and start using the techniques with both Ella and Nathan.

Things We Take For Granted

Breathing. That's something I take for granted. My friend Jenn wrote this on her blog the other day. I decided to "cut and paste" so as not to screw up any information. Please read it, pass it on, donate, pray, whatever you feel compelled to do.

This post is all about my cousin, Ashley. I have been on facebook and left notes here and there in this blog about her, but now I want to take this opportunity to share some more.

Ashley is my 26 year old cousin who at the age of 9 months was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). It is a genetic disease that is basically the overproduction of mucus. Right now, Ashley is facing a huge hurdle in her life. She is at the point in this disease where she requires a lung transplant to be able to continue to breathe.

Ashley is an amazing woman and just like a sister to me. She has managed, despite having CF, to go to college and get her degree. She got a job as an ultra sound technician, bought a house, and is now married and the proud mama of 2 dogs. She has made something of her life when faced with much less than ideal of cirumstances.

We are all faced with challenges in life. While hers may be greater than some others, we all push through and we all survive. That is just what Ashley is trying to do. Because Ashley went to school and got a job, she lost the title of "disabled". Disability and Social Security benefits ended - which as long as you are able to work and be a productive member of society, I understand. But what I don't understand is why now, when being a productive member of society is what Ashley is struggling with - per her disease, she can no longer receive those benefits. It is a 2 year process to reclaim the Disability status. She does not have 2 years to wait for those lungs. Had she simply lived off of those benefits and not gotten a job or gone to school - there would be no problem and they would be available to her. Does that process make sense at all?

Ashley is in need of her lung transplant. They have insurance, but the costs of such a transplant (mainly care and medicinal after transplant) far exceed that which insurance covers. All would be completely paid for with Social Security and Disability had she not gotten a job - but she did.

Ashley went 2 weeks ago for an evaluation. There is a small window of opportunity to do a transplant on a CF patient (and I assume any transplant patient). You must be sick enough to take the risk of surgery and rejection, yet healthy enough to with stand the surgery and come off the ventilator. Last Thursday Ashley found out that she is, in fact, an ideal candidate for the transplant at this time in her health. However, due to insurance restrictions, they will not list her. Because of the extensive costs and the red tape involved in this transplant, Ashley is trying to do fundraisers to help in her cause and to get new lungs. She has a blog of her own now and also has a cause, Keep Ashley Kennen Breathing on Facebook. But niether of those things are going to get her new lungs.

In an effort to help as much we can, our family is going to have a giveaway. We saw this done by another family to help children in Kenya and we thought that we would also give it a shot. We will be purchasing a brand new IPAD. From May 1st-31st we will be running this giveaway. I will post details here and every day on Facebook. For every $10 donation that is made to Ashley's transplant fund, an entry will be made on your behalf to the IPAD giveaway. Please make sure that you click on the red "contribute now" button on the left side of the page above Ashley's picture. For multiple enteries to count, they must be done in $10 increments. If you make 2 $10 donations, you will have 2 enteries. If you make 10 $10 donations, you will have 10 enteries. The donations go directly to the National Transplant Assistance Fund and they are tax deductible. In addition to an IPAD entry for every $10 donation you make, our family will donate $1 for every person whom makes a donation. Ashley will randomly select a winner June 14th. This will allow for all of the donations to be posted and every entry counted. Ashley will have herself video taped as she randomly selects the winner. The video will be posted here and also on Facebook. I am hopeful that this great idea will work out as great for Ashley as it did for the children in Kenya. Please share this with friends, family, on your facebook or on your own blog. The more aware we can make people about the challenges that people face in getting the proper medical care, the more good we can do. Thank you in advance for your support and thank you for taking the time to read about Ashley and her newest adventure.

$10 can make a world of difference and give someone the GIFT OF BREATHING! To make your TAX DEDUCTIBLE contribution today, go to http://www.ntafund.org/find-a-patient/profile/index.cfm/patient/8709F3F5-F91C-86EB-6D967F9A587472CE and click on the red "contribute now" button.

Neither Apple nor the National Transplant Assistance Fund are a part of this fund raiser. Neither have supplied any material or endorsement All proceeds are to benefit the National Transplant Assistance Fund in honor of Ashley Kennen.