Thursday, December 27, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Our Christmas Eve in a nutshell
It started like this:
It included a lot of cleaning, cooking, eating and present opening with family, all while John steadily went down hill.
It ended like this, after he passed out in the bathroom after I got the kids to bed:
We got discharged a little after 4 AM from the emergency room. Fortunately, I had a Christmas elf (my dad) able to come over to be at our house with the kids. I was ecstatic that he also cleaned my kitchen and put all of the food away while he was here. I was also thrilled that the kids slept until nearly 8 AM, allowing us to get almost 3 hours of sleep before checking to see if Santa had made the trip to our house. He had...
 |
| Turkey time with Dr. John |
It included a lot of cleaning, cooking, eating and present opening with family, all while John steadily went down hill.
It ended like this, after he passed out in the bathroom after I got the kids to bed:
 |
| John attempting to look much happier than he felt. |
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Santa's Note
Amidst the craziness of Christmas Eve, we somehow forgot to leave cookies and milk out for Santa, though we did sprinkle food for the reindeer. Good thing the huge cookie tray was sitting on the counter from the evening's festivities...Santa's no dummy.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Joy in art
I am a teacher. I have a kindergartner. I have shed too many tears lately. I don't want to talk about that. I can't.
Instead, I need to focus on what brings me joy.
One of those things happens to be my kids' artwork.
In the fall, Cortlan was asked to color a scarecrow. Beneath the scarecrow, they were to finish the sentence, "My scarecrow is..." Many of the students said things like "pretty" or "nice."
Cortlan's scarecrow is "wearing laser beam eyes." Love it.
The students in Everly's class were recently asked to draw a picture that represented their favorite parts of a holiday.
Many of the 3-year-olds' masterpieces were awesome works of abstract art. I was quite proud (of both her and myself) when I was able to identify what Everly's picture was. Her teacher commented on how well she did and how much time Everly spent working on the details. Can you tell what it is?
Everly drew Santa (on the right) holding the reigns of his sleigh. Rudolph is at the front (of course). Santa's bag (orange, on the right) fell out of the sleigh and some toys (purple) came out of the bag. Santa must have been running late, because the sun is shining in the sky. This one is a keeper.
I am writing this because she would have read it
My Aunt Karen read this blog (and my recipe blog) religiously. She subscribed by e-mail and is one of the few people to have ever commented. Even when she didn't comment, she would often drop me a line via e-mail to make a remark about my kids or something that I had written about. She was one of my biggest supporters and made it a point to let me know she loved me and my family...the feeling was mutual. I always enjoyed the time I spent with her and the conversations that I had with her.
Aunt Karen died yesterday. I will miss her so much... We will all miss her.
Love you, Karen. So glad you are feeling better now. Rest in peace.
Aunt Karen died yesterday. I will miss her so much... We will all miss her.
Love you, Karen. So glad you are feeling better now. Rest in peace.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Tonsillectomy, Round 2
Yesterday was attempt #2 at getting Cortlan's tonsils out - the first attempt being thwarted by a fever 24 hours prior to the surgery. This is a relatively long and detailed post about how things went...
Once again, we woke and headed to Children's Surgery Center bright and early; I drove Cortlan, while John dropped Everly off at school. By the time that John arrived at the surgery center, Cortlan and I were already in the exam room. We saw a million different people, each of whom asked us to confirm Cortlan's birthdate and the reason why we were there. I was tired of saying "to have his tonsils and adenoids removed"; eventually, Cortlan began to answer for himself.
After a while, we got to the point beyond where we had last time - all approvals were given, booties and robe were on, they had given me an awesome outfit to wear so that I could go back with him to the operating room to be there with him until he was asleep, and we would soon be on our way.
Cortlan held my hand as we walked to the OR, a very nice nurse talking to him about Santa Claus the entire way. When we got there, he climbed up on the table, initially curling up as if he was going to take a nap. They asked him to flip to his back, which he happily did, and then they put the mask on his face. The nurse was still talking to him, asking him what he wanted for Christmas, asking if he had any brothers or sisters, how old she is, what she wants for Christmas, etc., and all the while, he was smiling. Jingle Bells came on in the music that was playing through the OR speakers; I called his attention to it and at his favorite part, I started to sing. His eyelids started to droop, I gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he fell asleep, still with a smile on his face.
I went back to the exam room, where John was waiting for me, and I got a little emotional. It isn't easy seeing your child laying on a table in the operating room, but I was more overcome with emotion at how brave and strong he was, how trusting and confident he was, and at what a good kid he is. I took off my lovely white jumpsuit, and we headed for the waiting room.
We were told the surgery would take about 45 minutes, so John went to get his coffee while I got comfortable with some grading I needed to get done. I was surprised when, ten minutes later, a nurse came to get me to talk to the anesthesiologist on the phone. I spoke with him; he needed permission for them to perform a procedure that was not initially expected and that I had not yet consented to. They needed to do a tracheoscope and a bronchioscope. I consented.
I headed back to the waiting area with John and explained to him the conversation that I had just had. Less than thirty minutes later, the surgeon came out to speak with us.
The first thing she said was that Cortlan was doing well. The second thing that she said was that he still had his tonsils and adenoids. Our reaction was not necessarily positive, and she said, "Let me explain."
When they had tried to intubate Cortlan, the tube that they would typically use for a child his age and size wouldn't fit. They tried the next size down and it wouldn't fit, either. Neither did the size below that. They needed to do the scope to determine what the issue was preventing the tube from fitting. They discovered that his trachea is not much bigger than that of a typical two-year-old's.
This is and has been an issue on several fronts. First, we have been focusing on the upper respiratory issues, which are still present, but never thought of lower respiratory issues. This small airway restricts his breathing somewhat and is what causes his croup-sounding coughing and loud breathing. Second, the three attempts at intubation followed by the scopes was traumatic enough for the day such that the surgery could not go on. (Further, if I understood correctly, the intubation tubes they had at the surgery center that were small enough in diameter were for smaller children and would not have been long enough.)
The doctor recommended that we hold off on the surgery until he grows and his airway is larger. However, she also recommended that we see one of her colleagues and get a second opinion. We have already scheduled that appointment. We had been convinced that the removal of his tonsils and adenoids will provide much needed relief for Cortlan. He can hardly breathe through his nose. The allergy issues that he has are compounded by the fact that there is no room for drainage. His tonsils are so large that his tongue doesn't have enough room in the back of his mouth, which will likely (but not definitely) cause issues with his palate and which already seem to be causing some speech problems. These are convincing reasons for us to go forward with the surgery, but we are certainly interested in another specialist's opinion.
If the surgery does take place sooner than later, we have been told that it will not be at the surgery center. He will be a slightly higher risk patient and it will be done at the hospital, possibly as an inpatient therefore requiring an overnight stay. They only do the simplest cases at the surgery center, and not that this will be overly complicated, but everyone (including us, obviously) would feel better with him being at a fully equipped hospital.
After waking up, Cortlan did have some coughing and breathing issues, so they gave him a breathing treatment. When we went to see him, he was somewhat groggy, but not at all upset. He was happily watching TV, had already had a slushie, and was about to start his first of many Popsicles. The nurses couldn't say enough good things about him. Due to the breathing treatment, we had to wait there for four hours until it wore off. In the case that the issues returned after it wore off, we would have had to have him transported to the hospital and he would have stayed overnight. Thankfully, this was unnecessary. We hung out in our little room, playing on our phones, watching TV, playing on his Explorer, and when he had to go to the bathroom, we wheeled his IV cart along with us. Nothing seemed to bother him... Except, perhaps, the fact that he had to face his friends today at school after telling him that he was going to get his tonsils out and wouldn't be in school for a while (again).
Cortlan was back to normal by the time we left. He even wanted to stop and get food on the way home, which we did. I am incredibly proud of him for how well he has handled all of this. We will continue with the doctors appointments and will see what others say regarding the surgery and will hopefully see the end of this process soon.
Once again, we woke and headed to Children's Surgery Center bright and early; I drove Cortlan, while John dropped Everly off at school. By the time that John arrived at the surgery center, Cortlan and I were already in the exam room. We saw a million different people, each of whom asked us to confirm Cortlan's birthdate and the reason why we were there. I was tired of saying "to have his tonsils and adenoids removed"; eventually, Cortlan began to answer for himself.
After a while, we got to the point beyond where we had last time - all approvals were given, booties and robe were on, they had given me an awesome outfit to wear so that I could go back with him to the operating room to be there with him until he was asleep, and we would soon be on our way.
Cortlan held my hand as we walked to the OR, a very nice nurse talking to him about Santa Claus the entire way. When we got there, he climbed up on the table, initially curling up as if he was going to take a nap. They asked him to flip to his back, which he happily did, and then they put the mask on his face. The nurse was still talking to him, asking him what he wanted for Christmas, asking if he had any brothers or sisters, how old she is, what she wants for Christmas, etc., and all the while, he was smiling. Jingle Bells came on in the music that was playing through the OR speakers; I called his attention to it and at his favorite part, I started to sing. His eyelids started to droop, I gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he fell asleep, still with a smile on his face.
I went back to the exam room, where John was waiting for me, and I got a little emotional. It isn't easy seeing your child laying on a table in the operating room, but I was more overcome with emotion at how brave and strong he was, how trusting and confident he was, and at what a good kid he is. I took off my lovely white jumpsuit, and we headed for the waiting room.
We were told the surgery would take about 45 minutes, so John went to get his coffee while I got comfortable with some grading I needed to get done. I was surprised when, ten minutes later, a nurse came to get me to talk to the anesthesiologist on the phone. I spoke with him; he needed permission for them to perform a procedure that was not initially expected and that I had not yet consented to. They needed to do a tracheoscope and a bronchioscope. I consented.
I headed back to the waiting area with John and explained to him the conversation that I had just had. Less than thirty minutes later, the surgeon came out to speak with us.
The first thing she said was that Cortlan was doing well. The second thing that she said was that he still had his tonsils and adenoids. Our reaction was not necessarily positive, and she said, "Let me explain."
When they had tried to intubate Cortlan, the tube that they would typically use for a child his age and size wouldn't fit. They tried the next size down and it wouldn't fit, either. Neither did the size below that. They needed to do the scope to determine what the issue was preventing the tube from fitting. They discovered that his trachea is not much bigger than that of a typical two-year-old's.
This is and has been an issue on several fronts. First, we have been focusing on the upper respiratory issues, which are still present, but never thought of lower respiratory issues. This small airway restricts his breathing somewhat and is what causes his croup-sounding coughing and loud breathing. Second, the three attempts at intubation followed by the scopes was traumatic enough for the day such that the surgery could not go on. (Further, if I understood correctly, the intubation tubes they had at the surgery center that were small enough in diameter were for smaller children and would not have been long enough.)
The doctor recommended that we hold off on the surgery until he grows and his airway is larger. However, she also recommended that we see one of her colleagues and get a second opinion. We have already scheduled that appointment. We had been convinced that the removal of his tonsils and adenoids will provide much needed relief for Cortlan. He can hardly breathe through his nose. The allergy issues that he has are compounded by the fact that there is no room for drainage. His tonsils are so large that his tongue doesn't have enough room in the back of his mouth, which will likely (but not definitely) cause issues with his palate and which already seem to be causing some speech problems. These are convincing reasons for us to go forward with the surgery, but we are certainly interested in another specialist's opinion.
If the surgery does take place sooner than later, we have been told that it will not be at the surgery center. He will be a slightly higher risk patient and it will be done at the hospital, possibly as an inpatient therefore requiring an overnight stay. They only do the simplest cases at the surgery center, and not that this will be overly complicated, but everyone (including us, obviously) would feel better with him being at a fully equipped hospital.
After waking up, Cortlan did have some coughing and breathing issues, so they gave him a breathing treatment. When we went to see him, he was somewhat groggy, but not at all upset. He was happily watching TV, had already had a slushie, and was about to start his first of many Popsicles. The nurses couldn't say enough good things about him. Due to the breathing treatment, we had to wait there for four hours until it wore off. In the case that the issues returned after it wore off, we would have had to have him transported to the hospital and he would have stayed overnight. Thankfully, this was unnecessary. We hung out in our little room, playing on our phones, watching TV, playing on his Explorer, and when he had to go to the bathroom, we wheeled his IV cart along with us. Nothing seemed to bother him... Except, perhaps, the fact that he had to face his friends today at school after telling him that he was going to get his tonsils out and wouldn't be in school for a while (again).
Cortlan was back to normal by the time we left. He even wanted to stop and get food on the way home, which we did. I am incredibly proud of him for how well he has handled all of this. We will continue with the doctors appointments and will see what others say regarding the surgery and will hopefully see the end of this process soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)