Never ending...

With all the hubub about Christmas last week & me not having my head on straight (thanks, vicodin!), I forgot about Vaeh's upcoming test. We had already rescheduled her cardiology visit as well as the CT scan for the week of Jan. 12th. She see's her pc on Monday that week, then on Wednesday we have to go to Toledo Children's for her CT scan. Going to be quite a busy week. Oh, but wait... it gets better!

Her latest heart cath was to follow her CT scan. The thing about the heart cath is that it has to be done at another hospital in Toledo, due to sedation/anesthesia issues. I'm not really happy with having to go to this other hospital because its one that 1.) we're not used to (even though she's had 2 caths there, & 2.) we've had some issues with the care she's received there with her past caths. Radiology tech's being rude & treating Vaeh, my Mom & me with such disrespect & disregard for Vaeh as a patient. (Let's just say don't get me started on this tangent!)

But the week of Jan. 12th just got a little busier. Dr. Butto's (her pc's) office called last Wednesday & they've scheduled her heart cath for Jan 15th, which would be Thursday that week. So, we'll be in Lima on Monday, Toledo on Wednesday, & Toledo again (down town - ugh! what a great neighborhood - NOT!) Thursday!

Now comes the fun part... figuring out the logistics. Do I take Vaeh to Toledo on Wednesday & just spend the night there, or do we come home, & make the drive again the next day. I believe her cath is scheduled for noon, so we wouldn't have to leave at the crack of dawn. The other thing I have to take into consideration is Gabby. She's been pushed to the side for Vaeh's tests so much & Wednesday is a school day for her, so I have to decide whether to keep her out of school & take her with me, or find someone willing to keep her on Wednesday & cart her to/from school.

And all of this while fighting hot flashes - UGH!!! Will we ever get away from Vaeh having tests so frequently?! Oh well, just another day in paradise, right?! (lol) What a way to start 2009 off!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

We just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!

Know that we love you all & are glad to have such a wonderful family, here at home & in blogger land!

May God bless each of you this Christmas season!

I'm baaack!

Thank you so much to all of my blogging family for your thoughts & prayers! Jon & I got home about 2 PM this afternoon. I'm doing fairly well. Quite sore, but so glad to be home!

Scott, my doc/surgeon, said that my pelvis was very narrow at the base, so it was no wonder that I was having such problems. Everything went according to plan & now all I have to do is heal. So now the fun really begins.

I'll be resting quite a bit, so don't know how much blogging I'll get done, but thanks again for checking in on us! Everyone else is doing well!

Hot Diggity Dog!!!

Not really a whole lot to tell you, the girls are doing wonderful, and Tina called me about 9:15, and said the doc had already been in and said she can leave at anytime!! I am feeding Miss V her Kelloggs Special K and getting everything done so that I can go get Tina and bring her home!! She's dying to get on here and check on everyone, so I'm sure she will be on here later today!! Thanks again for all your prayers! Jon

Doing Great!

Hey everyone! Sorry to keep you hanging on, it's 10:55 pm here, and I finally got a chance to give you and update on Tina. Let's start from the beginning, we got to the hospital about 10 am, they got her into preop pretty quick, then we had to wait. This was hard for me because I hate to see Tina stress, and she was ready to get the show on the road and get it over with, and there was nothing I could do. They did finally tell us that her doc was running behind due to a c section first thing in the morning that started his day off wrong and put him behind. This made me feel better because thay don't normally tell you anything or give you any idea on when. She was scheduled for 1 pm, about 2, here comes doc, he apologized for running late, and off she went. About 4:15 doc came out and said she gave him a little trouble, but nothing out of the normal, this kind of concerned me but he explained and everything was fine. He said we could see her in about an hour once she was back in her room, this had to be the longest hour ever, but we finally, got to see her. Her mom and I stayed with her for about an hour, then we left, this killed me because I wanted to stay with her, but I had to get home to the girls, a friend of ours came in and stayed with them until about 5:30, then my wonderful baby sister and her kids came over until I got home. I want to thank all of you for your prayers, and I will try to give you an update tomorrow sometime! Jon

Odds & Ends

Just a couple of thoughts tonight:0) Boy did that sound profound or 'corney'? (lol) Vaeh is getting better, although this cough is just hanging on:0( It sounds so horrible, but yet otherwise she's fine. Her sats have been great (at a half liter) since Sunday evening, & is running around the house like an 'almost-normal' 2 year old. I did call her cardiologist's office & decided to reschedule her CT scan. Its now the second week in January (14th). Between her funny sounding lungs & this icky weather we're having, I didn't want to drive an hour and a half north into this stuff!

Speaking of the weather... if its going to be this cold the least it could do is SNOW! I don't mind winter when there's snow on the ground. I get to snuggle up in my blanket with my girls! But this icey stuff we're getting is for the birds! (Thanks for sending it my way Amber & Krista - lol)We have a winter weather advisory out until morning & they're talking about another system behind it. As long as its snow & there's a white Christmas I can put up with it:0)

The other thing is my nerves. I only have one more day & then its my turn to go to the hospital - ugh! Im ready to get this thing over with & not have the pain, BUT I'm scared to death about the surgery itself. There's this spirit of fear that seems to be enveloping me... So if you all wouldn't mind, please say a little prayer that things go well!

Hope everyone is warm & healthy!

Pictures... finally!

What a silly group!


Gabby hard at work!


Are you sure this is how you're supposed to do it?




This is how you should be doing it!




YUMMY!

All the kids had such a good time icing the cookies last week! With everything going on around here, its taken me a couple of days to get some of the evience posted on here! Vaeh was just as "normal" as could be - licking the icing off the knife. So, we gave her her own knife (yes - I was right next to her the whole time:0)) & she had a blast!

I had such a good time doing this with the girls. It really felt 'normal' for a change & because of that I didn't care how big a mess they made:0) My cousins were over & always have a good time with the girls. The boys were having too much fun, though. They had icing all over their hands & faces! Take a look at these two!

What a couple of crazy kids!

"Joshy, the red-nosed 3rd grader!"

And just so you know, I DID send those boys home all sugared up! I'm sure that their Momma is ready to repay the favor to me!

This is no fun:0(

So, early this morning we decided to take Vaeh in to the ER to be checked. Her cough just hadn't gotten any better, & she was really starting to rattle when you'd listen to her breathe. Something told my 'Mommy intuition' that I should check her sats & sure enough, she was down to low 90's, even dropping to 88%! Definitely not her norm.

So up to Lima Mawmaw, Mommy & Vaeh went. Of course they tried to start an IV (even though she hadn't been vomiting & she'd been eating good) & couldn't get a line. So they finally decided to just go with a blood draw & chest x-ray. Thankfully the blood work came back okay. Her chest x-ray was okay, but the doc said he couldn't compare it because their system was down (darn computers!). From what he described to me, it sounded better. So, after hearing that I had seen her most previous film, he brought this morning's in for me to look at. I don't think I've ever seen such a good film on Vaeh:0) He was quite comfortable with us bringing her home, knowing that I was pretty on the ball with her - FINALLY a doctor who doesn't think that Mom's are stupid! (I need to go back & clone this guy, huh?!!)

So we got back home around 8 AM. Vaeh & I both slept 'til about noon & she acts fine. She is on 2 ltrs. O2 now, but I"m going to try to wean her as I can. I'm also gonna call her card's office on Monday to see if we need to re-schedule her CT scan. She always has trouble after having anesthesia with her lungs if they're not so good to begin with! So we'll see where we go from here.

Hope everyone else is doing well. I promise I'll post those pics I've been promising - later:0)

Yep, still here...

Sorry its been a while since I posted last. We've been busy with Christmas stuff here! I've been trying to get the cookies baked since I'll be just a couple of days post op before Christmas - boy that ruined my entire game plan!

Vaeh is still doing pretty well, although she developed a nasty cough with a runny nose. Still no fever. But I decided to fill her antibiotic anyway & start her breathing treatments back up. The combination seems to be helping! I just don't want her going into this CT scan (next week) & the upcoming cath with any cold symptoms at all! Last time, she ended up in the PICU for 5 days following her cath because of pneumonia. We've had our fill of that already & its not even winter yet!

We're going to frost some of the Christmas cookies that we baked this afternoon. We're going to pick up "the cousins" after school & come back & have a frosting party! I'll have two 11 year olds, an 8 year old, a 4 & a 2 year old all with frosting. Yes, I AM crazy:0)

I'll try & post some pictures & a video if I can later!

**On a side note, please keep Miss Gracie in your prayers. They had to take her to the hospital the other day & she's slowly getting better. In another note, there's a new family making their way into the blogging circle that have just found out that their baby has TOF. Please keep Baby David & his family in your prayers, too!

Back to the doctor we go...

*** Update!!

Thank goodness for prayers & for quick in & out visits with the doctor. He basically said that she has a cold, especially since she's not running a fever. The nebulizer isn't necessary for now, & neither is an antibiotic. He did ,however, give me a script for a CXR & an antibiotic if she starts showing signs of needing it! So that made me a little more comfortable about things! Thanks for keeping her in your prayers - they helped:0)!

(Original post follows...)

You know, there are just some days where I feel like Vaeh can't catch a break. Today is one of those days. She got up in the middle of the night last night & Jon stayed up with her. When I got up this morning, she was lethargic & sounded very congested. Out comes the stethoscope. She sounds a little coarse/wheezy on the left side this time, so we're heading in to have her checked.

I was a little bummed that her pedi wasn't on call, because the one who is of course wants to see her & do some blood work. Can't just take Mom's word for it, cause I could be right & actually know my own child better than he does! This doc has a tendency to "educate" with a long explanation as to why he wants to do things. No thanks, I'll just take the meat of the story & get on with it!

So if you all would, send up an extra prayer for Vaeh that she won't need to be admitted & we'll only need oral antibiotics! Hopefully everyone else is doing well & enjoying the weekend! I'll update when we know more!

Bummer:0(

This is no fun. I had myself somewhat prepared for going "under the knife" this week, & that dreaded phone call came early this evening. "We need to reschedule your surgery." My OB/GYN had a death in the family & needed to reschedule.

Can I just say "been there, done that!" We went through this with Vaeh & having 2 of her surgeries rescheduled. NOT FAIR!! I understand completely for my doc & his family's sake, but I'm really bummed. Plus this means that I have to endure this discomfort for 2 more weeks! My new surgery date is now December 18th. Yep, I'll have a very lazy Christmas this year. Oh well, for some reason I wasn't supposed to have surgery this week. NUTS!!

Although, this does give me more time to get things organized a little more for Christmas!!

Great give-a-way!

Okay, so I've been following MckMama's blog for quite a while now. I love how she posts about real life & real situations/ solutions. This give-a-way was just too good for me not to post about! They're having a raffle-a-way for a camera package with some wonderful extras! If you click on the button at the top of this post, or on the right sidebar of the blog, it will link you over to MckMama's blog. The proceeds are going to a wonderful cause(s).

In other news, Vaeh is doing wonderful! No ill effects from her bout with pneumonia, other than these nasty lumps in her thighs from all the shots! Thanks, Amber for the advice - it helped immensely! She's still walking somewhat stiff-legged, but is now trying to bend her knees some!

Other than that, all is fairly normal. The tree & decorations are up (I'll post pictures later) as are the outside lights. And this morning there was quite a blanket of the white stuff outside! Now, I just have to get past the nerves about this Thursday. I have to be a the hospital by 9AM, & surgery is scheduled for around 11:45. We'll see what time they actually get me back there! So, if you all would, send up an extra prayer for me on Thursday?!! I'd really appreciate it! Hope everyone else is doing well!