Building up our Immunity

We've been dealing with illness here for the last 2 weeks.  It started with Jake and moved to the kids and me.  All 3 kids and myself went to the doctor today.  Here is a rundown:

Peder - Strep
Me - Strep and Sinus Infection.

Here is my adventures of the day:

- I have never had strep in my life.  EVER.  I was shocked to find out I had it.
- I was given the choice of oral antibiotics for 10 days or a penicillin injection today and no need for oral antibiotics.  I chose the injection.
- I hate needles and the shot took FOREVER.  I got lightheaded and had to lay down.
- I finally felt better, but exhausted.  I decided to go home and take a nap.  By the time I'd made it 15 feet from my exam room I was looking for a nurse.  I couldn't keep my eyes open.....I was SO tired.
- I passed out on the appointment desk at the clinic.  They helped me to another room, got me a nurse and laid me down tilted towards my head.  Apparently I was so pale my lips were white.
- It took me a half hour to recover from my lightheadedness/exhaustion enough to be able to drive home.
- I woke up from my nap this afternoon to a temp of 103.4.  I called the doctor and am now on a tylenol schedule for the next 48 hours until my body has the infection under control.  WA-HOO!

It has been quite the day.  I'm still going to be feeling pretty crummy for the next 48 hours, so I'm planning on spending my time in bed as much as possible.

It's been awhile since we've all been this sick.  I hope that by next week we'll all be on the mend.  I hope none of you are battling all of these illnesses like we are and are able to enjoy the gorgeous weather!

Bad Blogger Update

I have been a very bad blogger lately.  In all honestly, I've been so busy that I end each day with a ton of things that were supposed to get done and didn't.  Every day is a race to see what can get done before bedtime, which keeps getting pushed later and later.  Luckily, in 3 weeks I will be out of school for a 3 week summer break.  This means vacations and time to enjoy my family.

Since I've last updated: we celebrated Mother's Day at the Sculpture Garden and I got a nook (L-O-V-E it), my sister Chanda came to visit with her son Eli (so cute!), I celebrated my 30th birthday, Jake took me on our first date again, and we spent a day in Alexandria for the Pederson side family reunion.

The biggest news is that I will be having surgery on my hip on July 22nd at 7:30a.  After 3 years of pelvis issues and 15 months of specific hip issues, my orthopedist has recommended surgery to repair my hip.  The surgery will last about 2 hours and I will be on crutches for the first 2 weeks after surgery and unable to drive for a week.  The surgery involves removing some of the bone from my hip socket, repairing the cartilage in my hip and then maybe reshaping the ball part of the leg.  The good news is that I should be 90% better within a year and continue to improve slowly after that.  If this surgery is successful, it will be a dream come true for us.

I will try to keep you more posted about the happenings in our life, and related to my surgery.

Mari's Stitches

Mari had a little mishap on Friday.  We're not really 100% sure what happened, but we did find a play cooking pan that matches the shape of the injuries on her face.  Grandma Cindi got to take her to the ER and we met them there.  Mari got her three stitches in her chin, a little stuffed puppy from the doctor, some comfort from Mommy and Daddy and then she said she wanted to go see Peder and Emmy and snuggle with Grandpa Warren. 

Here is a picture of her today, 2 days post incident.  She plays with the stitches with her tongue and we're hoping we can get them out Wednesday morning before we go get pictures with Santa.

A Couple of Bummers

Today was a day we were really looking forward to, we had some really great possibilites for today, but they didn't go how we had hoped, so after my appointment we abandoned all the sad thoughts and had FUN!

Bummer #1: My sister's baby didn't cooperate! We were hoping to find out if we would be getting a niece or nephew in November the little bugger said, "NO WAY! You have to wait!"

Bummer #2: My appointment resulted in the same old, same old: there is too much going on with my hips and pelvis to know for sure what is wrong. Seriously, devastated here. I will be starting physical therapy for the THIRD time. Yep, THIRD time. I will be seeing a specialist that really works on the hip and the muscles surrounding it. If that doesn't work or it helps but I'm not completely better, I get to go back in for another cortisone and numbing shot. Once the shot is in, I'm supposed to go run around, do a bunch of physical activity and honestly assess the pain level. If it is significantly improved, then surgery MAY be an option. So it's more PT, more waiting, and continued frustration.

So there are the bummers of the day, here are the smileys:

1. Peder was very proud of his painting that he brought for me from preschool.

2. Jake being home so he could take Peder to and from school today to give my hip a bit of a rest.

3. Jake let me have his sandwich for lunch because the restaurant gave me the wrong one (it had everything I don't like on it and nothing I like....totally wrong from what I ordered).

4. Jake making phone calls for me because I just couldn't do it today.

5. Sandwiches for dinner so we could head out right away.

6. Playing at the pool after dinner. SO FUN!

7. A visit from Beth while we were at the pool.

8. Emmy "tickling" Beth...it was really cute.

9. Nerds Concrete Mixer from Culvers.

10. Snuggling with Jake for a bit tonight.

11. Peder's excitement about going to the cabin tomorrow.

12. Jake's dad watched the kids for us while I had my doctor's appointment.

13. Planning a relaxing weekend away. I'm going to ride in the boat, lay on a floatie in the lake, play in the lake with the kids, spend time with my family, go to the fireworks and just RELAX. WA-HOO! You will NOT hear from me until Sunday.

Not Myself

On my way home from Book Group tonight I was thinking about how down in the dumps I've been lately. I am not feeling like myself and it's because I can't be MYSELF! I can't go outside with the kids by myself because I physically can't keep up with that. I can't play on the floor with the kids because I can't get up off the floor without help. I can't scrapbook because sitting and moving around in my scrap area causes me to be very uncomfortable. I love my book group, but 30 minutes into it tonight I was SO uncomfortable I was having trouble focusing on the topics we were discussing.

Jake tells me it takes awhile to get used to, but part of my problem is I DON'T want to get used to it. I want to do those things and I get pretty ticked off when I can't live my life because of this stupid hip. I'm just once again frustrated by this circumstance and keep hoping for a faster resolution then I'm getting. Sorry for the downer post, now on to the good stuff.

Today's Be Happy Song of the Day: Santa Monica by Everclear

My Smileys for the Day:

1. Beth telling me about electronic books for my iPod Touch.

2. Long, hot baths

3. Reading in the bath tub

4. Emmy knocking on the door and yelling, "Mama!" while I'm in the bath tub. Just like every other time I take a bath.

5. My book group ladies....giving me much needed laughter.

6. Jake knowing when I'm having a rough time without me telling him and giving me big hugs.

7. John and Jill's new adventure and their excitement for it.

8. How singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to my kids immediately results in them laying down and snuggling into bed.

9. The millions of hugs and kisses I get from Peder while singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to him.

10. Wondering what my life's adventure is.

11. Jake doing the grocery shopping

12. Friends doing things for each other

Desperate

That is what I'm feeling right now. Desperate. Desperate to be without pain. It has been almost 2 weeks now of complete and utter pain. I can make it to the bathroom without crutches, but that's about it. Anywhere else I go, the crutches take me there.

Starting two weeks ago tomorrow I started having very severe pubic bone and pelvic pain after doing really well for about a month. Last Thursday it got to the point where I was considering going into the ER to get some help with the pain. Friday morning I called my orthopedist and she gave me a prescription for Lidocaine patches and wanted to see me on Monday. Monday afternoon she did a brief assessment, which mostly consisted of her seeing me in tears from the pain, and decided we would do one of two treatment plans. She wanted me to go to my physical therapy appointment that evening and find out if my hips were out of alignment. If they were, I was going to be scheduled for a cortisone shot into my SI joint. If they weren't and my alignment looked good, I was going to be scheduled for an MRI of my left hip and get a cortisone shot into the front of my hip.

I went to my PT appointment and I was out of alignment, but just a hair. My physical therapist didn't think this was what was causing my sever pain, so she did some tests on my hip. Her conclusion is that she thought I needed both things done and she said that she would call my doctor to let her know that.

So Tuesday morning I had my MRI and my cortisone shot. The cortisone shot was actually easier to handle then the MRI, because laying completely flat with my legs straight is VERY painful on my hip. The shot gave me some relief but only in a very specific part of my hip. It can take up to 7 days to get the full effect, so I'm hoping by next Tuesday it will be helping even more.

Fastforward to this morning and my MRI follow up with my doctor. The MRI showed a Cam Lesion (pictured below, the lesion is the shaded area and is extra bone on the hip).

My orthopedist did not think that this would be causing the amount of pain I am having and if it was the pain would have been helped more by the cortisone shot. So we're back to square one of not knowing what is going on. This was very disappointing to her and upsetting to me. We were both hoping that it would show SOMETHING, we could fix it and then I could get on the road to recovery and a pain free life.

Since that didn't work, we're on to the next step. Tomorrow morning at 9:45a I will be getting a cortisone shot into my SI joint. This is a very painful procedure and I will be sedated for it. At the same time the doctor will be assessing my SI joint to see if she can maybe figure out the cause of my pain. Then on Monday I will be seeing the hip specialist at Summit Orthopedics. The hope there is that he will have more ideas as to what could be causing my issues and we'll get some answers.

Right now I am just trying to make it through the pain. I am not my normal self. If you encounter me, I'm honestly not trying to be rude, but I have very little energy left after dealing with the pain, which makes me VERY crabby. Plus I'm not sleeping well because I'm never comfortable. The little bit of patience I have left is reserved for my children, so the rest of you may experience a whole different me. I apologize in advance if I'm out of it, ignore you, don't respond to emails, phone calls or when you are speaking to me face to face, I'm probably just working really hard not to cry or yell in pain. It's nothing personal, promise.

I would really appreciate prayers for tomorrow morning and Monday. First of all, I'm terrified of needles and am freaking out a bit about having one shoved into my pelvis. Secondly, I would really like this procedure to help with the constant pain. On Monday I am hoping to get answers or at least started on tests that will give me answers.

If you made it this far, thanks for letting me get this off my chest. I'm suffering and letting that out does make me feel a bit better.

Flowers and an Idea

On Saturday night Peder stayed over at my parents' house after we had spent the day there. We were all supposed to meet for lunch, but I was unable to walk without a great deal of pain (see the crutches in the background, that's how I got around). Peder was very sad that I wasn't there to get him when Jake picked him up. As they were on their way home Peder said to Jake, "Daddy, we should get Mommy flowers." They stopped to get them and Peder picked them out all by himself. Jake provided financial backing. Seriously....he is SUCH a sweet little boy.

Me with the sweetest little boy and the flowers he brought me. You should have seen the smile on his face when he came around the corner from the kitchen with them.

The bouquet in it's place of honor. I can see them from my chair when I can't get around.

More of a close up. He picked out a bouquet with some of my favorite flowers in it. It's gorgeous!

Now onto my idea. I've been really thinking of what I can do to help with blood donation. So I have been seriously considering hosting a blood drive every January in honor of the kids. I'm thinking January because that was when Emmy received her numerous blood transfusions. I have an idea of where to have it and I am really thinking it would be a great way to help others. So I'm thinking in a couple months I'll be contacting the Red Cross to talk to someone about doing a blood drive. If it goes well, it would be my hope to have it be an annual event. Thoughts?

Joy

There is no other way to describe how I'm feeling. My heart breaks every time Emmy whimpers and I feel horrible when her pain isn't well managed, but I see the future in that bare belly and I feel JOY.

I made the doctor tear up today. I told him that today would be the first time I'd every see Emmy's belly without stomas. She was flashed at me right after she was born and within minutes they discovered her medical issue. She was wrapped like a little burrito, I got to hold her and we took some pictures and then she was taken to the special care nursery. Later, before she left for Children's Hospital, I got to hold her again, but she was once again wrapped like a little burrito. So today, at about 3:30p, was the first time I had ever seen her with a flat belly. Anyway, he teared up when I told him that. Then I thanked him and gave him a hug....and his tears welled. An amazing doctor and I hope that today he knew how much what he does makes a difference in the lives of his patients and their families. Yes, he will be getting a gushing thank you card from me....he needs to know that I know how wonderful he is. And come to think of it, our pediatrician needs to know it too. A couple of doctors are going to get thank yous in the mail next week.

Today I am filled with love and joy. I think of the love that I am surrounded by and I tear up. I've cried tears of joy throughout the day today, because I can't contain the joy in my body and the only way for them to come out is in tears.

I have a wonderful family. A wonderful husband. A wonderful extended family. Wonderful friends. A wonderful support network. A wonderful church family. A wonderful life.

My life is JOY!

Hope

Today my life is filled with hope. Today is a historic day. A wonderful day. Our country inaugurated it's first African American president. Almost 46 years ago Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his infamous "I Have a Dream" speech. I'm SO proud of our nation. I have hope for the future of our nation. The future of my fellow citizens. The future of our world.

This is not the only reason my day is filled with hope. I have more hope for Emmy. Tomorrow is a HUGE day for us. This is the culmination of what we have been waiting for since we found out about all of her medical issues. Tomorrow is the day that she starts a colostomy bag free life. I cannot tell you how excited we are in our house. There are no words to describe how we are feeling right now. I'm SO excited for what the future holds.

So I will end today's post with a picture of Emmy's last ever bag change. The end of an era, and the beginning of a whole new way of life.

Counting down

Emmy giving me a sweet, SWEET hug.

The count down began on Saturday. We're VERY excited for this upcoming surgery. After Jake got done changing Emmy's bag tonight he looked at her with a big grin on her face and said, "Only one more time Emmy, and then we're ALL DONE!" I was standing there watching them grin at each other and I teared up. I'm SO excited that I cried. I know the morning of the surgery will be nerve-wracking and I'll be a total spaz, but I cannot even put into words how excited we are about what the future holds. I've been talking to Peder about Emmy's surgery and hospitalization. I asked him today at dinner what the surgery meant for Emmy and he said, "No more bags!"

I've been a very busy bee today. I made myself a massive list of things that I wanted to get done before Emmy's surgery and I made some GREAT progress on it. I have some big things to get done tomorrow, but I might actually have some free time tomorrow night. AWESOME!

Jake is still VERY sick. I made him go to the doctor today just to ease my worries about him having something more serious then a cold. The doctor doesn't think so, so that's a relief. He got a special mask to wear while he's coughing at the hospital. I think this will mean I'm taking Emmy back to the OR. That will be a bit heart-wrenching for me.

So we have one more bag change and one more dilation and then we're done with that stage of Emmy's medical issues. It doesn't mean it's the end of dealing with this medical issue, just the colostomy bags and dilations. I'm ready for the next step.

In 48 hours we're on to pain management and figuring out what she needs next. WA-HOO!

Trying REALLY hard to stay positive

I've been really trying to stay positive. I've been battling a defeatist attitude for about a week now and have to really tell myself that things WILL get better. Today was another day that felt like it was filled with struggle. This morning my mom called me to tell me that a family friend had died after a very short battle with ALS. It was a difficult journey for his family and just sad news to get this morning.

Then Mari has been sick. She has had diarrhea and actually vomited this evening. We ended up taking her in to the doctor to get checked because she was dealing with such horrible chills and her hands and lips were purple.

Jake is still battling his illness, whatever it is.

I had my first physical therapy appointment this afternoon. It was painful and I learned that because I've been compensating for the pain in my left hip so much that I created issues for my right hip. The exercises she gave me are barely anything, but they send me into a great deal of pain. She also gave me new ways to sit, stand and get up from sitting to help retrain my muscles and get my pelvis more stable. She said it's going to be painful, but hopefully we can get it stable and strong. Then she said if I get back into working out that will help stabilize it tremendously. So back to the lifestyle change I made before Emmy got sick over the summer, and I will need to exercise consistently for the rest of my life.

But I'm trying to stay positive. I'm trying to look at the positive in my life and look forward to the good things. I don't want to be whiny. So here are some things that are good in our life and things we have to look forward to.

1. We have a wonderful support system. Our friends and family are SO great to us.
2. Saturday we get to go out to a really nice restaurant with my aunt and uncle. We always laugh with them and it will most definitely be a good time.
3. Emmy is having surgery next week and will no longer have a colostomy bag. What a POSITIVE step.
4. In February, Jake and I are taking a long weekend and heading to Stillwater for 3 nights. We are VERY excited for the opportunity to reconnect, do some fun things together and just hang out together. We've had 2 opportunities for "dates" since Emmy got sick in July. We need this!
5. In February I am taking a long weekend and going to a scrapbooking retreat with my sister-in-law. I am really looking forward to a weekend with a group of ladies who share the same passion as I do. SO FUN!
6. Our children are beautiful, wonderful and sweet. The cute incident of the day: Jake gave each of the kids a milkbone to give to Jesse. Emmy could care less about doing it, but Peder loves it and Mari was interested. Mari gave Jesse the milkbone and Peder gave her a hug and kiss and said, "Good job Mari! I'm SO proud of you!" How cute is that?

So that's a start of what I can remind myself of when I'm starting to feel bummed or just overwhelmed. I KNOW this illness will end, even if there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.

A Post-nap Fog

That's what I'm in right now. But it actually feels good. I was SO exhausted after I put the kids down for a nap that I once again crashed on the chaise lounge. I was also SO freaking cold that I was in my Snuggie blankie, under another blankie and had the GLORIOUS rice filled washcloth my mom made all us girls for Christmas warming me up. I was out in minutes and I think I got about an hour and a half nap in. WON-DER-FUL!

The girls had their 18 month appointments this morning and can I just say how NOT fun that was? Mari was crabby all morning anyway and then she just was not happy about others touching her right now. And Emmy, of course, hates all things medical so she screamed through her whole exam too. At least we got a bit of a comedic break. Mari was so upset about having to get weighed that she refused to sit down, so she was standing on the scale, on the counter top, buck naked just crying. She couldn't get her diaper back on fast enough. Somehow, 5 minutes later her diaper was off and she was walking around the exam room buck naked again. That girl LOVES running off diaperless and now her clinic knows it.

Emmy's weight is still a concern. This morning she weighed in at 17 lbs. 5 ounces. Last week she was 17 lbs. 12 ounces. So once again she got the stomach flu and went back a step. It's very frustrating for us because whenever she makes any progress something happens where she is either hospitalized or gets sick and she loses whatever weight she has gained. Since June of 2008 she has gained a pound. She's actually been up over 18 pounds a couple of times, but we can't seem to keep that weight on. It's VERY hard to know what to do.

On the upside, in one week, ONE WEEK, she will no longer have a colostomy bag. SERIOUSLY! Without the colostomy bag, our hope is that if she gets sick it won't affect her the same and she'll not have as hard a time with it since she'll have use of her colon. I'm so excited! Of course, there is the nervousness that goes along with any surgery and the deep fears that go with it, but this is the surgery we've been waiting for. SO EXCITING!

Tomorrow I have my first PT appointment for my pelvis. Wish me luck! I'm really hoping that tomorrow is the first step in a wonderful recovery process.

This Saturday my parents are taking the kids and we're having our "Christmas Party" with my uncle that I do administrative work for while the kids are napping. We're going to the Downtowner Woodfire Grill. A nice dinner out, a good time and the kids having fun at Grandpa and Grandma's....it will be a GREAT night!

Last night was book group at church. I love those ladies (hi there my other bloggers!) and I love the discussions we have. Right now we're discussing a book on how to revitalize our church. It's VERY interesting to see where people think our church needs to grow and what the strengths are. Last night was just such a good discussion. I went to book club feeling cruddy and exhausted and I left still feeling exhausted but my soul felt lighter. It's SO great to have that.

I want to end today's post with some of my favorite Peder quotes of late. He is constantly cracking me up with his very adult sounding responses to things. So here are some of my favorites:
"Okay, sounds good!"
"Yes, sir!"
"I think it's a good idea."

That's all for now! Thanks for the encouraging notes, they reall do help!

What a day...

Another day of our streak continues, with a few added players. I am ready to crash. Really what a day.


Jake is SO sick. SO sick. He went to the doctor today and got some cough syrup, but still has a temp of over 102. He thinks he is getting worse as the day goes on. I was talking to him and told him it wouldn't be so bad if he was the only one sick, but alas that is not meant to be. He has been sick 3 times in the last ten years, and two of those times have been in the last month. Both times, I have had at least 2 sick kiddos too. Here is a picture that I took of Jake after Peder had tucked him in yesterday. Jake fell asleep on the couch and Peder brought his sheet and covered Jake up and snuggled his favorite kitty up to him. SO SWEET!


On to the next sicky. That would be Emmy. She has had diarrhea for two days now and then this morning she started throwing up. She threw up 3 times and I think may be on the mend, but for most of the day she was miserable, sitting on my lap and snuggling with me. At one point I set her down on the chaise lounge so I could do a couple of things and I came back and asked her, "Are you ready for Mommy to come sit by you again?" She looked at me and gave me a HUGE nod and smile. It was so sweet.

Peder and Emmy sitting on the chaise watching a movie. One of the few times Emmy wasn't clinging to me or Jake.

After dinner I had both girls clinging to me. They both really needed some Mommy time. It turned out that Mari was needing Mommy so badly because her tummy was upset too. She ended up throwing up several times this evening too. So we had two very sick girls and one very sick hubby tonight.

Peder has been pretty good today, but he still has a nasty cough and a somewhat runny nose. At least he has been super sweet about all the other sickies in our house and giving out lots of love.

After the girls were in bed and we had one last clean up session with Mari, I did all the dishes and got Peder ready for bed. Once he was in bed I bundled up and headed out to shovel the sidewalk. I had already been in pain for most of the day, so I took some pain medicine right before I headed outside. When I got back in I told Jake he better get better before it snows again because I can't do that again until my pelvis is better. Luckily one of our neighbors (actually 2 houses down) has a snow blower and cleared the main part of our sidewalk for us. Tonight, they are my angels.


So now, I sit. I'm eating popcorn and sitting under my present I got today. While Jake was waiting for his prescription at Walgreens he found something I've been wanting for months. A Snuggie blanket: the blanket with sleeves! He walked into the house, handed it to me and said, "Thank you for taking care of all of us." I burst into tears. It was SO sweet and just what I needed to make it through the day. I want one because of all the cross stitch I do....it's the perfect way to stay warm and still be able to work on my projects. I LOVE IT!


Now I just need to figure out how to get 61 pages read in my book group book without falling asleep. Not going to happen. :)

And the streak continues...

Just as I am starting to feel better (my energy finally started coming back late last night), Jake is horribly ill. He started feeling sick around 4 or 5p last night and has gone down hill since. Poor guy....I know exactly how he feels, because that is how I was feeling last week.

Since I finally woke up with some energy today (I'm shocked, it's been over 2 weeks since I've had energy to do anything) I've been trying to get things done around the house. I spent the morning finishing up thank you cards, working on laundry, going through the girls' clothes to get rid of things that are too small and purging toys that haven't been played with in several months. So by noon I had gotten A LOT done, which was good because that was about the time that the pelvic pain wasn't letting me get any more done. I'm taking a small break now until the medication starts to kick in. Then I need to head upstairs and fold that laundry I've been working on. Fun, FUN!

Peder has been really cute today, taking care of his daddy. He always takes care of us when we aren't feeling well. If we fall asleep on the couch he will bring a blankie over and tuck us in. Every time Jake coughs Peder asks him, "Daddy are you ok?" He really is the sweetest, most caring boy I have ever encountered. Mari has been snuggling Daddy a lot and Emmy will come over and just hand out a big hug. Everyone is so stinkin' cute, it's SO easy to love them.

So here's hoping that Jake has a speedy recovery and that Peder, Emmy and Mari are on the tail end of their colds. I would really love for everyone to be healthy a couple of days before Emmy's surgery so that is a weight off of my mind.