California McMillans

This morning Danny and I woke up and felt like this.... TIRED!! Having to get to Tyler's doctor appt felt like this..... We met with the cardiologist and doctor this morning. Things are going well and we will do another lung scan in about 6 months to see if we will do another cath . I just might turn into this cat... For all the people who emailed, sent cards, flowers and phoned who I haven't been able to call back, know that we appreciate and love you. I am not great or even good at being a quick replier or even writing cards. I am actually horrible at it. I am sure that people who get offended by that have found a friend elsewhere and those that are still with me just have come to find something else they like about me. Should I change? Probably. Am I going to? I should, but I just don't know if I will. At least I'm not in denial. Anyway, you often don't talk about the energy, both time and mental, that having a sick child sometimes takes. My Tuesdays, Wednesday

Sadly I don't have the most fascinating pictures to show of the actual cath. It just amazes me what they can do these days. I will see if our cardiologist can send them over so you can see or I will scan them. You can see the lungs fill with oxygen, heart pumping, balloon expand the artery which is just amazing to me what they can do. This is Tyler's room. Danny took the afternoon off and came to hospital with Scott. Scott spent a lot of time in the playroom painting, playing with trucks and had a good time seeing Tyler. Tyler still a little out of it from the sedation but enjoying his 2 lollipops Robin gave to him. Scott wanting to give Tyler a kiss. He is so compassionate towards him (at least when he is sick) This was there favorite thing to do. Look out the rooms window at the people and cars going by. It was very foggy in San Francisco. Robins son is on a mission in Korea. The childrens hospital has artwork done by youth. This was titled "first birthday

Tyler is out of surgery and it went well. They only had to put one cath in through his neck. They opened up the PA with a balloon. The stenosis was a result of the conduit from his first surgery. When they took it out, it created a narrowing which is often common in babies with Norwoods. The surgeon is happy with the result. They opened up the stenosis by tearing the narrowing and it will repair itself with a larger pathway. They didn't have to place a stint which they are happy about since it is difficult to take down during the Fontan. They will do another lung scan in about 9 months and see if they need to repeat the procedure or wait until a cath is needed prior to the Fontan which is done around 2.5-4 years. During the Fontan the stenosis will be fixed by connecting the lower part of the heart to the area that is narrowed. There were no seen collaterals so no coils were needed and the aorta looked sufficient. The decrease in oxygen could be a result of more blood going to the

Tyler went to the cath lab about 9:45 this morning and after about 40 minutes they finally had him enjoying life on the sweet drugs that he will hopefully only try out in the hospital. They are going to put a cath in through his neck since that is how to access his PA. They sliced it from his heart after his Glen and thus don't have access through the leg. They will try to balloon it open and if that fails will place a stint. Stints are good, however, don't grow with the little man and we are hoping that he grows so will have to go in to expand it in the future. They will possibly coil off callaterals that are bringing blue blood to areas that it shouldn't be going (basically any area other than the lungs). They will also examine his aorta to see if they need to balloon it or place a stint. Aorta stints are a little more difficult since growth is more of an issue. He is a champ. The hardest part so far has been placing the IV which went well. They gave him fluid right away

It has been a while since we have updated on our little man. He has been doing really well, is happy and a great little brother. He and Scott are starting to interact and play more and it is so fun to see his happy, sweet personality. He had a lung scan at UCSF about 2 weeks ago that showed a decrease in O2 on one side which could be a result of a couple of things. They have always been a little concerned about an aortic coarc as well as stenosis of his Pulmonary Artery due to surgery. His echo and EKG were pretty good last week, but the doctors were concerned about the lung scan result and oxygen sats that have been lower than normal. After his Glenn he was satting in the 90's and the past two months or so have been in the 80's. UCSF called today and we will be going in for a cardiac catheterization on Tuesday. The surgeon (well probably a fellow) will hopefully call tomorrow and go over the details. I think to an extent they go in and figure out what needs to b

I get to teach Relief Society once a month at church. I LOVE the third meeting because women get to talk, discuss, help and uplift each other. It is intimate and a time I am always uplifted. This week was about finding joy through tribulation. Life is hard at times. We have all faced health, financial, familial and other stresses that make the journey difficult. This lesson was a reminder to try to be positive, learn and grow from your trials, put your faith in the Lord, be thankful for what you do have and not what you don't. I talked about my only sister, Heather. She is a great example to me. As many of you know and some don't she has been trying to start a family for a while. She had two miscarriages and tried for months to get pregnant but it just wasn't happening. She wrote a wonderful entry in her blog that you should check out about her journey. www.maddoxlove.blogspot.com . She talks about that through her heartache she chose to put her trust in the Lord. They

It was my turn again to host co-op. We are staying at my parents for 3 weeks since they are in Turkey and they happened to be re-paving their court. It was perfect! We learned all about how, why and what they use to make a road. The kids were actually into the lesson and loved to watch the big trucks. They also loved to play and eat together. I am so happy we got this organized. It is great for the kids and moms. Scott is doing better with his separation anxiety (most of the time). He didn't have a problem at the nursery during bible study. Little by little. We are still working on it, but I am proud of the progress and learing a lot as a mom along the way. Watching the trucks. Luke and Carter watching their trucks. Scott taking Miss Ellie on a drive. He actually let others drive the truck too. Snack time. Carter and Scott showing off their climbing skills.

As many of you know, Proposition 8 regarding traditional marriage is on the ballot again this year in California. Prop 8 will be an amendment to the state constitution that says, "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." This is a complex issue, one to which I have given much thought and pondering. I have gay friends who I honor and admire although don't agree with their practices. I believe that their union is entitled to many of the same rights. In California they currently have all "rights, protections and benefits of matrimony." Prop 8 won't take any of those away, however, it will define that marriage is between one man and one woman. I believe that there has to be an ideal. I believe it is important and my responsibility is to teach my children to be tolerant and loving to all people, no matter their background, choices or lifestyle. This is an issue I wish to teach to my children how and when I want, without

This weekend was our church's General Conference. People often ask what we believe. In a nut-shell, for anyone who is curious, we believe that after Christ and his apostles died, there was no living prophet with the priesthood or authority to direct Christ's church. The catholic church believes Peter passed on that priesthood. Protestant church's began when Martin Luther noticed that main doctrines were being lost during this time and wanted to reorganize the church. The Church of Jesus Christ believes that the priesthood was taken from the earth after Peter's death, and similar to the protestants, that things changed and were lost during this time. We believe Jesus Christ and God the Father appeared to Joseph Smith and called him as a prophet to restore the Lord's Church and priesthood to the earth. Since that time, we believe there has been a living prophet and 12 apostles on the earth to guide and direct us and the Lord's church. Conference is a time that you

Danny had the day off teaching due to school break. He never has a day off so we made sure to do some fun things as a family. We went to the train store. Danny went to the junkyard right up the road which he enjoys. He was looking for a power antenna for his Riv but unwilling to pay the price they asked. Lunch at Chipotles. Danny met up with Dan-O, his best friend from high-school, who was in town for work. I had to work and missed out on dinner at Chevy's. Dan-O. Danny drove the Riv. A family friend gifted him a car about two years ago. The same Buick Riviera Danny drove in high school. Danny enjoys doing projects with the boys. His latest project was installing a stereo system which sounds really nice. The car is actually really nice as well if you are into Rivieras. I am happy that Danny enjoys his hobbies. One thing I love about him as a dad is that he always includes his sons in his projects. I usually get home from work after him and he is often working on the car with th