4 eyes?

We got a letter from the health department about a month ago stating that Amaya had failed two different vision tests and that we need to have her screened in a more formal manner. (I laugh as I type this because with everything that has been going on around here, I have let this sit on the back burner for a little while) At the time that I got it, I thought that she really probably does need glasses, but that we could wait a little to get them, as we have had a ton of $$ go out lately.
I was talking with Amaya about her vision tests, and she was telling me that she asked them if they intentionally made the letters blurry (laughing again). Poor girl!
Anyways, I took her last week to get the exam and to order her new glasses.
We picked them up today and she was so excited with the fact that she could read things better and that everything looked so much better. (laughing again) While walking out of the optical place, she said, "I love my new glasses".
She is so cute in them too!!

It's Negative!!!!!!!

Dr. Forness called the other day to let us know that Ryan's MRI came back negative!!!! Phew! He said that he must have been "over reading" the xray, and with his history, that he is still happy that he had it done. Ryan continues to limp, so he is going to have us get some lab work to rule out some arthritis problems.....I am going to delay on this, as I think that he (and I) have had enough medical stress lately.

The cannels came out!

The cannels came out....

Ryan has been sick with cold like sympotms the last couple of days. I have been teaching him to blow his nose. Tonight, after he blew his nose, he repeatedly told me that the cannels came out. I kept asking him, "what", but he just kept repeating it.
Then I remembered: I have been teaching him to "blow- like you are blowing the candles out (like on a cake), but through your nose".
He has apparently taken that as he is blowing candles out of his nose!

Will you hold my thumb?

Today Ryan went for his MRI. It has been rescheduled 4 times in the last 2 weeks, two of those times they moved it up for us, one was cancelled because Ryan has been sick, and of course, the last one we kept! He had to be there at 8am and the procedure was to begin at 930. Scott was not able to go with me because of the last minute schedule thing, so I had to go alone, with Ryan. I really didn't want to go alone, but there is so much going on with everyone right now, that I didn't really have any other options.
 I was anxious the whole way up. I know, an MRI is no big deal, but they had to sedate him because of his age. He is only 3, and there is no way that he would be able to lie in a tube that makes a ton of very loud noises, for an hour. Let alone, not be scared.
I am a nurse and know what to expect. Heck, I do this to people, even kids! However, it is a completely different thing being on the patient side of things. They are so nice there and did SUCH a great job, but still, I was anxious!!!

Ryan with his "lotion" on. (numbing cream-EMLA for the IV start)

We hung out, watched TV, played trucks, then 2 nurses, and 2 other women came in. Two nurses for the IV start, and the others to distract and play with Ryan. He did an awesome job!

After the IV start, he wasn't that happy, but he really did get over it very fast. We kept blowing bubbles, and he would swat them with his hands, popping them.

When he couldn't hold the bubble container, he got a little sad, and asked "will you hold my thumb"? So sad, it is awesome how kids accept situations, and make the best of them.

Then after a while, we went down the hall to the MRI room. He didn't want to get on the "other" bed, so they said that I could just hold him. The peds anesthesiologist came out with his syringes of meds, and administered them right then and there! Diprovan, (the Michael Jackson drug) was the drug that they used. So there I am, just standing in the hall, holding Ryan in my arms. He was sitting up, not lying in my arms, so when they gave the drug, he just lightly fell down into my arms more, and became unresponsive.What a horrible feeling! To just watch him like that was the worst thing ever! They helped me lower him to the cart, I gave him a kiss, then they wheeled him into the MRI room.

He looked so small with that huge machine, so helpless. I was only allowed to watch for a few seconds, then went back to the quiet, empty room. The nice women helped me get back there, but on the way they were trying to comfort me, offering me coffee, etc. but all I said, was, "If I talk, I am going to cry", so they left me alone and.....I shut the door, and cried.I still can't believe that I cried, that was so unexpected!After an hour, they wheeled him back in. He was trying to roll a little bit on the cart, but didn't have a lot of coordination, so I just rubbed his back and loved on him. He recovered quickly and didn't cry or anything! I asked him if he went to sleep while at the hospital, but all he says is, "I slept in your bed" (which he did last night). So, it is nice that he doesn't remember any of it. Even after showing him pictures, he says he doesn't want to go in the dark hole because it is scary. Then I tell him that he already went in it, and he looks at me like I am crazy!Anyways, it was a hard morning for me, which is crazy, because he wasn't affected by it at all. Oh well, the joys of motherhood. Now, we just wait for Forness to call with the results.

Ryan, recovering while watching TV. It is funny how he is having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

Ryan back to his normal, active self. It didn't take much time at all for him to recover!

Ryan Joe

We have been working on brushing teeth with Ryan lately, but I don't think he quite has the hang of it yet!!

Sigh...

So, Ryan has been limping for like 2-3 months. He had no trauma, injury, bruise, swelling or redness to think that he hurt himself.
He went in for a well check last Thursday with Dr. Galvin, so I told him what has been going on, and with Amaya's history of this type of problem, he ordered some xrays and blood tests. His office called us and said that everything came back negative, and that if we wanted to be referred to an orthopedic specialist, to let them know. So, I called back, and of course, got that referral. Two days later, today, we got in to see Dr Forness (same ped orthopedic as Amaya). He checks Ryan's range of motion.....limited, as his L leg won't cross over the midline just like Amaya's wouldn't. Then he looked at the xrays that I brought from Hackley and tells me that he thinks he sees something on there in the L femur head. "It looks a little white, patchy, but I'd like to repeat the xray, and get a peds radiologist to read it".
Okay, repeat xray done, Forness comes back in to the room, and says that the radiologist agrees with him, and there is something going on, and that it is an abnormal xray!! Ryan needs to have further testing, which means an MRI. He will have to be sedated for it, so will require some preop stuff at his primary care doctor, then will need an peds anesthesiologist for the procedure....ugh!!
I am sad, mad, and confused. I don't understand. How can 2 people in the same family have Perthes', same leg/bone, etc. I wonder if it isn't something else, congenital, hereditary, or something else. Forness says that we will talk about it after the MRI, and that more blood tests will need to be done. Amaya had 2 of the many lab tests come back abnormal. They were blood clotting studies, they were elevated, so maybe that has something to do with all of this...who knows...?
Sigh, here we go again!!!

Gardens??

Ohhh, the gardens.....

I have never been to the Meijer Gardens before, and I just can't believe it! It was awesome, so beautiful, the kids loved it, and we will definitely be back....and soon!!! I ended up buying a family pass so we can go whenever we want.

The end of summer?

I have to say that we had a pretty good day today. I feel like the summer is coming to an end, but we haven't been able to do a lot this year, because it has been so unseasonably cold! We hung out at home this morning, then went to Fredric Meijer Gardens in the afternoon. THEN, we went to the SL beach after dinner. I feel like I am jamming in all of the stuff that I wanted to do this summer into the last few weeks. Thursday, I want to go to Chicago!

PS, I LOVED the gardens!!!

Pics to come later.

Peeee U!

Jake: Mom, do trees poop?

Mom: No Jake, trees do not poop, why?

J: That tree that fell over stinks, and I just wondered????

Alright then!

It is funny to look back at these pics, as he said this today, and realize that kids are smelling it and plugging their noses. I think it stinks because of all the moisture at the base of the tree and down in the roots, and whatever fungus, etc has been growing down there all this time. These pics are from like 2 weeks ago.

Just a peek!

Ay, yi, yi, it has been sooo long since I have posted anything. It's not that there aren't a million and one things going on in my life, but I just haven't been in the "mood" to blog. We have had a busy summer, even though the weather hasn't been the greatest, but this week it is finally calming down. This is the first week, all summer, that Amaya and Jake get to sleep as long as they want, and don't have to get up and get ready to go to swimming or tennis. Ahhhh, this is how the summer is supposed to be!

Hopefully, I will get back into blogging, like I was last year at this time!!

Here is a peek at how big the kids really are now!

If you love something..

A turtle, is all Jake wanted, as far as pets go. We got the rats, but he always wanted a turtle....So Granny found a baby turtle walking in her yard one day and gave it to Jake. He loved that turtle, but wouldn't take care of it as often as he needed to. He agreed to set it free, but back at Granny's house/pond, so that he could get back to his mommy!

Obviously, he is sad about this, but it is so much better for the turtle this way!! This was hard for him, and I am so proud of him for letting it go (before it died) and making the best choice for "turtle".

Ryan

Scott took the older kids to GR with him to check out a sea doo (more on that later), so I was left here with just Ryan. We went over to the Brown's, then went to G & L chili dogs for dinner. It is so fun to just hang out with one child. You get to see them in their own little light for a small time, and actually get to pay close attention to it. He is growing so fast! I love how he speaks in full sentences, uses reference to past things, and has such a funny sense of humor. He reminds me a lot of Jakers.

After dinner, we went down to Chinook to look for ducks and boats. Every time he saw a bird, he would try and catch it. He wouldn't do a full out run, but tried to sneak on them. It just made me laugh. He would even say, "Shhhh", and hold his finger up to his mouth so that I wouldn't scare them away, or give away his hiding place, so that he could pounce. Bird after bird, he had no success, but had a great time doing it. I treasure these small, unplanned times with the kids. They all grow so fast, and change even faster, so we need to cherish every minute!

Big Boy

Ryan is spending his first night in a "big boy bed" tonight. It melts my heart. I am sad, yet excited all at the same time. His eyes just lit up when he saw what Daddy was doing, then he started jumping on it as soon as it was all put together. Two nights ago, he decided that he could just crawl out of his crib all on his own. He has never even let Amaya or Jake get him out, it always had to be Momma or Daddy, so to all of a sudden just do it himself, cracks me up.

I can't believe that my baby is in a regular bed and not in the crib (he looks so small in this full size bed). That crib has been such a huge part of our life for the last eight years. Ugh.....my baby is growing up!

As Scott was hauling the crib down the steps, with all the kids in tow....Amaya says, "maybe we can keep the crib so that I can use it when I have a baby".

Hold up girl! I am just getting used to packing it away from my baby. I don't want to think of being a grandma already. (yet secretly I am so excited that she would even think of using it on her children!)

Hello, Hello?

It has been so long since I last blogged, that......I couldn't even find myself under "my favorites" on my computer.....

more on this....

Huh, this is just crazy!!! I am saddened and have shed some tears, but relieved at the same time. I said that I would take anything over CA or a life threatening illness, so here it is. We can get through this, it will just take a while.
Amaya is NOT to jump, run or play any high impact or competitive sports. She IS able to ride horses, but not able to trot or canter. She is sad about this, and just states, "I want to do whatever I want on the horse". In a couple of years, hopefully, she will be back to normal with minimal effects into her adulthood.
We have to watch this closely, as there are risks of dislocating that hip through all the stages of the disease. If that happens they will have to take measures to keep it in. (most probable- hip surgery) We are just hoping and praying that she will not need that and this will be a minimalist type of the disease. It is just a wait and see, doing xrays periodically throughout to keep an eye on it.
She doesn't have a lot of pain, but it it DOES get worse with activity. Such a nice, gentle reminder of the dying bone. (ugh!)
She is such a tough little girl, and has taken this all so well, we are so proud of her!

On another note, her legs are the same length again, and her gait is so much better. Physical therapy (Marty) has helped sooo much. I know that when we get to the recovery/bone growing stage that she will still need the PT, and it is nice to already know the therapist and to really like him.

I was talking to Amaya last night about this and she came up with such great questions.

#1 Why did this happen to me? It just happens, for no reason. You didn't do anything wrong, we didn't do anything wrong, it just happens.
#2 What happens to the bone part that dies? It just reabsorbs in your body, it kind of just dissolves.
Amaya- oh, just like those color tablets that we put in the bath tub to change the color of the water?
Mom- Just like those, what a great reference!
#3 If I jump, will it dent the bone more? No, it won't dent the bone more, but may cause more injury and pain.

All of these types of posts are to be continued.....