Tyler's Surgery

Tyler is an absolute miracle.  His heart is an absolute miracle.  Modern Medicine is an absolute miracle.  

That pretty much sums up my feelings after our visit to UCSF on Tuesday.  Tyler has undergone 3 open heart surgeries and multiple caths to turn his blue lips, toes, and fingers PINK!  They are pink and he has energy.

We were first case on Tuesday which usually means getting rushed into surgery which we love.  I forgot Tuesday is their late day due to correlation.  So we hung out and played X-Box.  Tyler showed so much maturity getting his IV.  He gave them his hand and told us he would cry when they put it in.  He cried for a moment and was fine.  Went into surgery around 10PM.  

If I had an Iphone I would have video taped him on Verced.  That is always the best part.  He becomes this super duper happy, loopy child.  I said goodbye, went to get a little gift for him and out to lunch with my sister.  

They called around 1 to tell us he was out of surgery, did great, they closed his Fontan fenestration (a whole they place in their heart to reduce the pressure on the heart caused by the new ciculation).  They also opened a narrowing he has had in his left pulmonary artery with a stent.  This was the area where a tube was placed during the norwood.  It made a huge difference and the stent really opened up his artery.  I will post pictures when I get a chance.

When I saw him he was pink.  It was amazing.  I never really notice how blue tyler is because I am used to it.  I notice in pictures, but I have never seen his cheeks rosy.  It was amazing.  It is amazing that my son can have this minor procedure that they thread a cath up his leg to fix his heart and go home that night.  It makes me so grateful for all that dedicate their lives to medicine.  Without them, my son wouldn't be alive.  

I asked his surgeon and he said if he was doing well at around 9-10pm and the x-ray looked good we could go home.  Everything looked great and we headed home.  WAHOO!!  I am sure his neighbor was grateful since the 5:30am-10PM was making Tyler CRANKY!!

So we went home, hung out with Grandma and Pop the next day and are chillin this week.

It has been 9 months of trying to get the Fontan completed.  In and out of the hospital multiple times.  I have waited for his heart to be fixed to start Tyler in pre-school, so next week he will being school twice a week which will start a new beginning for him.  

We are so proud of our little man.  

Outta Surgery!

Just got a call from Heidi that Tyler was out of surgery and that his saturation was in the high 90's. 

Tylers Surgery, Coping and Communicating

Talents

A friend the other day asked me what I wasn't good at so we could become friends.

I could list a lot of things.  Being Passive. Being Patient. Cooking.  Keeping the house clean.  Staying in a routine.  Being Organized.  Sticking to Goals.  Making the Most of my Time.  The English Language.  Spanish.  Writing Thank you Notes.  Singing.  Fashion.  Design.  Mechanics.  Being a Mom.   Making Decisions. Texting.  Facing a Challenge. Keeping in Touch with Old Friends.  Listening. Computers.  Story Telling.  Dancing.  Photography.  Finances.  Taxes.  Learning New Things.

While there are a ton of things I really need to work on I have a talent of not feeling too bad about my many weaknesses and am filled with gratitude that I have an eternity to get better at these things.  Not so sure if that is actually a talent, but I am counting it because it helps me feel good on a daily basis. I have the occasional melt down that I really must do better, which is a good thing and probably should come more often.

I had a really cool epiphany (had to use spell check for that one) when I was reading to the kids from Danny's mission journal and my mission journal.  Danny had these experiences of helping people with cars, mechanics, stereos and music.  The people I helped were usually through just letting them know I thought they were pretty awesome and the Lord loved them.  You see, we reached people in totally different ways.  We helped people in totally different ways.  The Lord wouldn't have used me to fix someone's car because I am no good at that.  We can all be helpful and useful in our own unique ways.  It is good to be different.  It is good not to be good at everything.

While I was horrible at Spanish I was blessed with companions who were awesome at Spanish.  I remember having a brand new companion.  She didn't know Spanish that well, yet rocked at the accent.  We talked to someone at a door and he turned to my companion and asked her what I had just said.  She would repeat my  words with a good accent for them to understand.  It was a humbling experience which taught me that the Lord would always take care of us, and together, we could be an awesome companionship.  Well, those are my thoughts for the night.

And I am currently working on keeping the house clean.  Sadly, as I look to my right I see a bunch of legos and as I look to the left an opened bag of chips.  So in order to stick to my goals, I am signing off to clean my house.

Adios (with a really bad accent that is)

More on Talents

I don't want people to think that I don't think I am good at anything from my last post because I realize I do indeed have talents.  Growing up I was really athletic.  Like the kid who could do any sport and be good at it.  School came easy to me.  I loved getting an education.  I was blessed with great friends throughout my life and hopefully was a good friend back.  It is easy for me to be social and talk to people.  I love the Lord.  I have been blessed with an incredible faith.  I have been blessed with a love and appreciation for life.  I am blessed to be able to see the lessons through the hard times of life and that makes the hard times worth it and essential to my progress.  I have a lot of love for my kids.  I know that amidst my weaknesses and learning as a parent, my kids will always know I loved them and love the Lord which makes me a good parent.  I have a great metabolism  (I don't know if that is a talent because it is totally out of my control, but something my body is good at so I will count it).  I was good at selling things when I was in sales.  I am good at processing my thoughts through writing. I am good at playing with kids.  I became a great swim coach.  I can easily forgive.  I have never felt bad about my looks (probably because the neckgear, headgear, acne and super skinny/flat chested middle-schooler that I was).  I am independent.  I chose a pretty incredible husband to marry.  I can follow a recipe and it usually turns out pretty good. I was a good missionary.  I like to be obedient.  

May

May has flown by probably because it has been busy.  I just wish I knew what has been so busy about it.  I wish I didn't have to make so many decisions.  I don't like making decisions.  

Lots of end of the year functions with Scott.  Friends (with like 4-5 kids in school) always tell me how crazy the end of the year is.  I have just one kid and feel like we have had a lot of extra activities.  Can't imagine multiplying that by 4.  Field trip to Smith Family Farm which was so fun, class parties, concerts, awards, mothers day festivities, etc etc.  At Back to School Night Scott wanted to show us everything and yet Kira and Tyler just wanted to go play.  So we finally sent them out the kindergarten playground (which is awesome and all fenced) to give Scott our undivided attention and it worked great.  This is only possible thanks to Kira being independent and Tyler following her lead.  I had Danny go to the baseball end of the year party because I wanted it to be all about Scott instead of having three little ones needing and fighting for our attention and it was the best decision.  Maybe that will be our key to success.  Scott felt special because it was special time with Dad and it was all about him.  

We finally decided to sell our condo.  The one that we bought for over 400,000 back in the height of things that is now worth about 150,000 if we are lucky. After talking to financial advisers we realized it was time to let go and move on.  It got an offer before hitting the market, but we shall see if the banks accept it or not since it is a short sale.  

My mom finished radiation and has had her ups and downs.  In times like this I wish I was closer to just drop by after school and before night activities.  She is being so strong throughout this unimaginably hard time. 

Lots of visits to pre-schools and kindergarten evaluations for Tyler.  Still on the fence as what to do. Having Tyler in school everyday for 4 hours could be really good for him and me. I would repeat kindergarten if we started him this year since he is young and I am sure throughout his elementary years will visit the hospital more than his fair share.  I just wish someone could make the decision for me as to what to do.  Any takers?

Trying to balance swimming and baseball which are two very busy sports.  My mom somehow managed to get me to three sports in one day that as a parent I can't imagine.  I limit it to 1 activity a day.  I heard a parent say they give each child the choice to do 1 sport a year.  Someday maybe I will do that, but I just think that it would be so hard to tell my kids no at something that is so great for them socially and physically.  It will all work out.

Feeling very blessed for where we live.  People are so friendly.  Schools are great and there are lots of kids.  Not to mention, I look out my kitchen window and love to see the golf course.  Not because I like or even know how to golf, but it just brings me peace for some reason.  

Love the gym.  Haven't excercised the past 6 years and I am loving it.  I love that my kids love the childcare and it gives me a much needed break from wiping bums and conversing with children. It is truly filling my well and making me a better person.  

   

Tons of doctors visits for the baby, Tyler and me.  One thing my kids are good at is going to the doctors.  If I am a mom expert in anything it is going to doctors appts with children. I am leaning towards getting surgery to remove kidney stones.  I wanted them to just blast them but they told me that wasn't a good option for me because I have too many that are too spread out.  It would take a year to get them all.  They said some look too big to pass, however could break apart in time, but the bottom line is that I have a lot to pass and will spend the next who knows how long trying to pass them and being in pain if I don't do anything.  Downside of surgeyr is they can only do one side at a time, can't guarantee getting them, and their are associated risks with the procedure and going under.  We shall see.  Got the non-hormone IUD and hoping it didn't rupture my uterus this time.  So far loving it!  Not like the last IUD that made me hormonally crazy.  Blakey is doing well and growing up.  Love his smiles.  Love how easy going he is.  Thank goodness!

Tyler goes in for surgery on Tuesday to get his fenestration closed.  I feel so blessed that he made it to this point doing fairly well and am so ready for him to have relatively normal oxygen levels.  He has been in the 70's for too long.  We went to the park yesterday with friends and while he just wanted to run around and play street hockey with them his body just couldn't.  So he stayed in the same spot hoping they would make it back to him.  Those moments are sad to see.  Hoping surgery will change that and make his blue lips pink and his body able to do what he wants to do.

 Love our house.  I just wish that it would stay clean for longer.  Why is that so hard.  I work on keeping it clean but it always seems to be destroyed at one point or another throughout the day.  Lots more improvement in that department before we ever decided to move to a bigger place.  Might take years folks.  Alright, that is all for now.  

Time to go pick up Scotty and head to the gym before going to Sacramento for Demolition Derby.

Father & Sons Campout

Danny took Scott and Tyler to the Father and Sons Campout last weekend.  Since Danny had to work bright and early Sat. morning and Scott had to swim all morning at time trials, they decided to go that afternoon, enjoy the yummy dinner, playing in the dirt, campfire and head out around 9pm.  In my opinion, the easiest way to enjoy the camping experience is not actually having to set up and take down the tent while getting a good nights rest in your own bed.  The boys (all 3) had a great time.  Danny enjoyed talking to the other dads about cars, dentistry, and man toys.  The kids had a great time playing baseball, watching the fire and playing in the dirt.  Scott said Tyler hit the ball and ran to 3rd base (which he always does) so Scott said he ran the right way for him.  I am so grateful for Danny and the dad that he is.  He is always involving them in his activities and teaching them the talents that he has.  He teaches them piano, helps them to sing, works around the house with them, involves them in fixing things and always makes sure there is time to play.  Can't get much better than that!  While they went to the campout I decided to hit the gym on a Friday night and saw a friend there who talked me into do a bar class.  I felt like I was back in college and was quickly reminded of the days that I opted to take the elevator after weights instead of the RB stairs.  I couldn't move for about 3 days.  Feeling better now and wondering if I should repeat the class again this week.  How quickly I forget.

A's Baseball Party

Scott had a great time doing his first baseball season.  He did the Brentwood Shetland 6 league.  They had practice once a week and games twice a week, which was quite the season.  The A’s were such a cute team with the nicest kids.  Wyatt, Riley, Ryan, Scott, Tyler, Bradford, Jace, Nico, Jonah and Noah, coaches Eric and Brad, and team mom Jacki.  His coaches were so supportive.  Teaching the kids the rules and always positive. Tyler loved to play with another younger brother Tyler during the games and the Tyler and Kira often went to the two nearby playgrounds to go down the slides, swing and climb the bars.  Blake was the best baby.   Scott did great.  They got six coach thrown balls and he almost always got to base.  He stayed positive and had a great time.  The best part of youth sports is getting to know and become friends with other kids and their families.  What a great experience.  Danny brought him to his last game and party on the motorcycle.  They had a lot of fun.  Now onto swimming.

Blakey's smile

We got some smiles out of Blakey this week.  He looks pretty serious most of the time, though.

Look at Kira's hair.  I tried to braid it last night but she wouldn't sit still for two seconds.

Happy Mother's Day

Heidi said, "I think Mother's day is a way for the men to realize how much work being a mom is."

I already know it is a lot of work, especially after Heidi's brief visit to the hospital for a 5 mm kidney stone.  Boy, I couldn't wait to get back to work!  I don't know how you do it, Heidi, but I'm grateful for you and your willingness to lug the kids to the gymmer and music time and Winco.  

Happy Mother's Day,  super woman!  

 The gym has been great.  The pool is pretty warm, but not warm enough for Kira, who will stay in the regular pool no more than 5 seconds before running over--and usually falling on the pavement along the way--to the hot tub.

 

Blakey

Here is Blakey.  Our "little old man" as I call him.  He came out concerned and continues to look very concerned about life.  We love him.  He is such an easy baby.  Cries when he is hungry or needs to be changed.  He only wakes up twice a night thanks to Danny's concoction of formula and milk.  I just love this little man.  I feel like I don't get to hold him or play with him as much as my other kids because I have the other kids and that makes me kind of sad.  But then I remember that he has three older siblings to look out for, love, teach and lead him and that makes up for it. Just looking at him makes me smile.  My little old man.  He was 10.8 lbs at his 6 week check up.  We love him and are so grateful for him!

Tyler

Tyler has been pleasant lately.  He has changed so much in the past couple of months since his surgery and I am grateful that time has healed his emotional wounds.  He goes back to the hospital May 29th to get his fenestration closed.  It should be a simple procedure that we hope will get his sats from the 70's to the 90's, his lips blue and his energy level up to a relatively normal level.  I am hoping that the quick stay will not leave him an emotional disaster afterwards.

He has LOVED LOVED LOVED swimming at the gym lately.  It is so fun to see him and Kira playing while Scott is at swim team.  I have to do an entire post about the gym because it is so deserving. My best gift yet!

Tyler had a kindergarten evaluation today and they said he did fine and is ready for kindergarten.  We shall see.  We went and visited a pre-school this week and are still undecided whether to do pre-school or two years of kindergarten. So that is Tyler for you in a nutshell.

I am growing in patience with him.  He is my most difficult child but God also made him that way to get through all that he has been through.  What a miracle he is and how grateful I am that he teaches me to not sweat the small stuff and the miracle of life.  Here he is scaling the shelves for something...

My Mom

Went to visit my mom today in the hospital.  She is in isolation after her radiation since her immune system is so low and she had some type of infection.  It was so nice to sit and talk without interruption for butt wiping, crayon finding or food making....you know what I mean??

She is in good spirits but could use some prayers.  So send them her way.  I can't imagine all that she has gone through these past couple of months from chemo to radiation.  She has been so brave and optimistic.  She has always been the one taking care of everyone else and now she is on the receiving end.  She is taking on this challenge with patience, optimism and grace.  What an example she is to me and how grateful I am to have such a wonderful mom!

Kira's bangs

I gave Kira some bangs.  You likey?