Friday, May 16, 2008

The Unsolicited Wake-Up Call

Literally speaking we received a wake up call this morning around 5:40ish....Ryan had left for work and as I did my normal computer stuff in the morning, the phone rang....it was Ryan. I knew it could not be good as he never calls me before 9:30am unless there is something really important he needs to tell me. So, I answered the phone and heard Ryan's voice cracking as he told me he had fallen asleep on his way to work, ran into the median on I-20 and "rode the cable" to a stop....thank God for the cable! Ryan, thankfully, is fine...not a bruise, scratch or anything in between. The car, however, is done. I do not have to say that this could not have come at a worse time. Then again, when does anything bad happen at a good time? A big thank you to our friends, the Coopers! They came to the rescue once again without batting an eye. My advice to others who are going to endure any surgery with your child, get some sleep....we realized when it was too late that we should of had a plan on how to make sure we each got rest....To end this post on a positive note, Mason-Kate is walking more and more each day! Yippee (I think) for that!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

The Ugly, The Bad and The Good

Our first cleft palate surgery was held on May 13, 2008. The title of this post kind of speaks for itself. There have been the ugly times, the bad times and the good times throughout the whole cleft surgery experience thus far. The ugly (worst) time was seeing Mason-Kate in the recovery room just moments after surgery. To say she was miserable is putting it lightly. Ryan and I both felt very helpless as there was really nothing that we could do to soothe her. The nurse kept giving her morphine after morphine dose to the point that she had to call the dr. to approve more. I will say that for MK, having the nurses and the doctors and all of the other hospital affiliated people around her was a great deal of the problem. As out of it as MK was, she was constantly looking around to see where the next person in scrubs was standing in relation to her. She did not trust anyone who was within her eyesight except mommy and daddy. That being said, I spent a lot to time in the hospital thinking about how horrible it must have been for Mason-Kate when she had her lip repaired in China. Was there anyone to hold her? to comfort her? was she in a lot of pain? To let my mind go there was upsetting. So, onto the "bad" part of our experience thus far....I would have to say that the bad part was having all of the extra stuff attached to MK. She had her tongue stitched down (to provide an airway should they had needed one)....Ryan and I were sure that her tongue was going to come out at any moment due to the fact that the string hung from her mouth and was constantly in our way while we were cuddling her. Then we had the "no-nos" to contend with....they make her arms stick straight out. When an unhappy child is flailing her non bending arms around, someone is going to get hit in the face by them, Murphy's Law. Then we had the IV....holding her or lying beside her or dressing her was a challenge with the IV as you had to make sure that it was not in danger of coming out. Then we had the oxygen canula in her nose....she did require oxygen until later Tuesday evening. They had it all taped to her face and then the one nurse decided she didn't need it anymore and chose to take it off right then and there....I was a little upset by this decision as MK was actually sleeping....never should you wake a sleeping child, especially a sick, sleeping child! Now, onto the "good" part of all of this....I am thankful that we have one surgery under our belts. We had an amazing surgeon with great skill. He is very upfront with us and does not sugar coat anything to get our hopes up. I like this. Our nurses (except for the canula one) were very attentive and made sure that we had everything to make our stay as comfortable as possible. Mason-Kate was in pain but we were able to console her once we got settled into our room. We managed to get 3 hours of sleep. A friend brought us pizza....pizza makes for a great 3:00am snack :) Mason-Kate was smiling by 3:00am. So, now that we have been home for a day....we soundly slept for 7 hours last night, yippee! MK can only have pure liquids...yum! So, we went on a hunt for soups and yogurts that she can drink from a cup. She became a little houdini last night and managed somehow to get one of the "no-nos" off while we all slept. She is only taking regular Tylenol which seems to be working for the most part. We will keep you updated on her progress. We go back to the surgeon for a follow-up visit next Friday.

These were taken just after we moved from recovery to a regular room:



Yes, mom put a bow in my hair....everybody here thought I was a boy. And a rare moment of sleep.



G-mom and MK going for a walk; Leaving MCG, going home!


Now that I'm at home I can rest...anywhere I want!



Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Quick Update

Wanted to write a quick update on Mason-Kate....the surgery went well although the surgeon told us that she was in the top 5% worst case scenarios that he has seen....not exactly what we wanted to hear but onward we will go! We were reluctantly discharged about 2 hours ago....Mason-Kate is not taking in the amount of fluids that they would prefer but we are going to continue to work with her.....she has smiled today, waved to friends and even kissed the boys!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Living Loud

Our church family is very special to us. Our pastor and his wife are incredible people whom we have known for at least 10 years now. The congregation is filled with friends who have supported us through our struggles to add another child to our family. The congregation also consists of people whom we have never met that have prayed for our family's well being. The band (yes, awesome band - we are a UMC with a contemporary service) and it's members bring smiles to all of our faces every Sunday morning with the music that they choose to play during worship - the boys sit mesmerized, watching intently on what is being played, then they come home, run upstairs and play their version of the band's music. Church, for us, feels like a loving home for our family. On Sunday, May 11, we officially introduced Mason-Kate to our church family. Mason-Kate was baptized and everyone, including our many family and friends, promised to teach her about our loving God. Well, I wish I could say that it all went smoothly....it did, for awhile, seem that all was well. We arrived at church early (rarely does that happen), we said our hellos, got our donuts (a must as they are still warm when we arrive) and took our seats. Mason-Kate did so well.....UNTIL....the baptism was to be held at the end of the service and as the service went on, MK grew agitated with life in general. Then, the most horrible thing occurred....Ryan (who was feeding her a donut to lull her through the remainder of the service) took the donut away! The screams began, the breathholding occurred, the blue lips appeared and this all took place until we heard our song "Mighty To Save" being played after the baptism. At that point, the dancing began once again and life was good. Thus, we are living loud!

Here are some other highlights from our week:

  • Pryce decided early in the week that he would like to attend a neighborhood swim team practice. After attending, and participating, he decided that he would like to join the swim team. We are so proud of him! Well, lo and behold, Colin got wind of Pryce's new sport and decided that he would like to join as well! They are both wonderful swimmers and we look forward to watching their progress throughout the season.

  • Colin scored the winning goal at his soccer game on Saturday!

  • Mason-Kate has decided to agree to disagree when it comes to hairbows. Her compromise is this....I put the hairbow in when she gets dressed, she takes it out when we get into the VAN (still can't believe we have one of those - enjoying it though), I park the car, open her door and she promptly gives me the hairbow and leans her head down for me to put the bow into her head once again.

  • All three children are thrilled that the neighborhood pool has opened for the season....the boys are water boys and MK seems to love it as well :)

I also want to share with you all a family event that takes place daily in our house....prayer. The boys and I pray on the way to school together, Ryan prays with them at night and we pray as a family at dinnertime. We have been teaching Mason-Kate to "fix pretty hands" when we say our dinnertime prayers. When we started this weeks ago with her, I would take her hands in mine and hold them there while we said our prayers. This week, I began just telling her to "fix pretty hands" without putting mine around hers....her response? Well, wouldn't you know that I think she thinks I don't know how to do my own pretty hands....now when I say "fix pretty hands" she insists on taking my two hands and puts them inside hers to pray! And on this prayer note, please take a minute tomorrow to "fix pretty hands" and say a little prayer for Mason-Kate, Dr. Yu (the surgeon), the boys, Ryan and I. Thank you! We will post an update as soon as possible....hope you all have a wonderful week!

MK's baptism...before........and during


The boys and MK after church; Taking a ride



Colin's amazing soccer skills

Pryce and Colin swimming some laps in the pool


MK says "Fix pretty hands!"