Nephew Time

Last week was hectic for sure. My 5 year old nephew Emerson went to the hospital again. I can't even count how many times he's been in this year. He's the nephew I have that has Trisomy 18, which is too much of the 18th chromosome.

It started with him going in awhile back because he wasn't able to breathe very well. He went in and out of the hospital about 3 times for that. My sister wondered the whole time if it was from a hernia he had - possibly it grew. Instead of checking that, they were looking into small seizures he was having. That wasn't his main problem. The hernia was. The hernia was finally fixed. It was pressing on his lungs, and colon. The surgeon doctor decided to put in a tube that would help flush him out when he needed to go to the bathroom. Before the hernia grew he had no problem going to the bathroom.

Since then the flush tube has been a huge problem. We all wish it was never put in. His little body doesn't want to accept this foreign object inside him. He's fine while he's on antibiotics, starts to go off them, then he's a mess. Recently the antibiotics were making him sick. He starts draining through the tube, he gets a fever, his white blood cell count goes up, and he's not himself.

After a few days in the hospital he's fine again. The IV fluids help!

It's a back and forth affair.

Last week at the end of the day I went over to watch my other 3 nephews, and my 2 sons to help out. I was supposed to pay my sister back with a date night. Instead it was a hospital trip night. One nephew was closed into his room because they thought he had Strep Throat. He ended up testing positive to that. Yuck! That's like the 2nd or 3rd time he got that this year. When it rains, it rains hard! He's the one that's Mica's age.

I really only had to watch 1 kid with all 5 I had to be responsible for. Mica, Isaak and my nephew Elijah played and played. No fights! I love watching Elijah and Isaak play together. They are such great buddies. They are only 2 months apart.

They played basketball, on the trampoline, and some video games. They included Mica too. I wanted to get a good photo of just them though.

The one I had to watch like a hawk was Edison - the almost 3 year old. He usually wants nothing to do with me. We became friends after a little time. We made faces at each other. He's really into Back to the Future, so we watched that.

Edison looks like his brother Elijah above!

Edison and I finished the evening out by reading lots of books! He kept handing me Sandra Boynton books, which I've made up my own songs to them. Edison enjoyed me singing to him. He kept say, "Again!" But his favorite word is, "What?" 

Elijah had his big friend birthday on Friday. The only thing he asked for was Orange Fluff for dessert. His Dad was too busy cleaning, and preparing for his party to get the fluff. We checked 3 store's deli sections. No Orange Fluff. I call it "Orange Crap" because I don't like the stuff. Ha! 

Emerson's (the one in the hospital) old Occupational Therapist came in to see him when my sister was feeling really low. My sister told her about the many hospital visits, some doctor's not making time to see him, and missing Elijah's birthday, and him not getting the one thing he asked for. That sweet girl went home to make Orange Fluff. She brought it to Elijah the next morning for breakfast. It's so crazy how something so simple can bring tears to your eyes. Things can be so dang frustrating, and turn your emotions around like a snap of a finger. Then you feel blessed. Orange Crap turned into Orange Fluff Gold in my mind.

What has made you feel blessed this week?

Random Tid Bits

1. What a week! I'm writing this ahead of time. It's Wednesday. It snowed last night. I walked into the classroom, and not one of my student's was in. I suppose I don't blame them. It was pretty slick out, and staying in bed sounds really good right about now!
   
   
   
   
   I have one student that has been gone 4 days out of 5. That's not cool! There are a few others that have been gone 3. When they get this far behind it's hard to catch them up!


2. I have a blogger friend that passed away this week. I would message her to chat on Facebook at times. So long Jacqueline Mitchell. You were a good friend. She had Parkinson's Disease. Somehow towards the end of her life her trimmers started to stop. She had a weak heart, and passed away from that. I never met her, but I feel like I did. She was one that would comment on almost every picture I posted. She'd comment often, but the trimmers made it hard for her to type.
   
   That's the second blogger friend that's passed away. Judy passed away quite some time ago. She was a twinless twin. Her twin passed away years before she did. It makes me sad.


3. My nephew Emerson has been back in the hospital this week. We were just thinking he was doing great, and then another infection happened. A surgeon had this great idea to dig into him to put this tube to help clean out his gut. Well it keeps getting infected (twice now, since his original surgery). The surgeon didn't believe my sister when she called to have the office treat him. She was bitchy at the doctor the first time, this time she was livid and turned the office in for neglect. I don't blame her at all. They wanted to do yet another surgery, but she and another doctor over road their decision. He's been on IV antibiotics, and they are letting the fluid drain. She made them do a culture of the fluid. They found out he also has a Strep infection in it. He got that from his oldest brother. I've been worried about him. He gets out of the hospital tomorrow (Thursday). I hope he stays infection free!
   
   
   


4. I oftentimes forget that I have pens or pencils in my ears. Do you ever put pens or pencils behind your ears?


5. Isaak usually has better handwriting. But I found this quickly written note in his coat pocket at his basketball game. It's all about how his team needs to be more serious at practice. If they clown around Isaak was going to call them clowns. 

All Better

My nephew Emerson didn't get out of the hospital until Friday. He had an infection where his feeding tube was put in after Christmas. Later we learned that part of it fell off inside him. The worst part of the whole situation was that the surgeon didn't want to see him when my sister called him initially. The doctor said, "He'll be fine." Shaking my head - what?

When my sister messaged me at work about this I messaged back telling her that it had to be an infection, and to call our Pediatrician Doctor Harrison (my kids go there as well). Doctor Harrison saw Emerson within an hour, he called the Surgeon's office, "Yes! You are seeing him! He has an infection!" By that time it had spread, was really red, the redness was hot, he had a temp, a high white blood cell count, and Emerson was not a happy camper. The Surgeon proceeded to tell the Pediatrician that he didn't need to be seen. Anyhow Doctor Harrison won that fight. The Surgeon got some not so nice comments from my sister at the hospital.

Emerson had antibiotics, slept a lot, his infected area drained a lot. Once he could have surgery to take his feeding port out to put in a new one they did. He is doing better, but still tires out easily.

The hospital's therapy dog came by right as Emerson was about to leave.

I guess it sounded like Emerson said, "All Done!" when they got in the car. He does say a few words, but not consistently.

By the time they started to ride up their hill he was clapping.

Emerson was smiling a lot because Edison and he kept hugging.

Have you ever had a hospital stay? What did you have to go in for? I think my boys have had more medical care than I ever have when they were babies.

E.T.

What a weekend!

On Saturday we had a family get together. My nephew Emerson was fussy the whole time. My sister took him to the doctor's office. They determined it was his 6 years molars coming in that was bothering him. I held him. It seemed like the only time he'd stop fussing is when I blew raspberries on his cheeks - in the spots where his molars are coming in.

In the night Emerson got worse. He was super fussy, was having trouble breathing, was cold, and when my sister Terra checked his heart rate it was all out of wack. They called my parents over to take care of her other kids, and rushed Emerson to the ER.

They ran some tests, did some x-rays, and came up with no answers.

I took in my other nephews on Sunday. It was a packed day for sure! The youngest Edison is only 2. We had potty training going on. He repeated everything the boys said. Edison wouldn't go anywhere without his brother Elijah by his side. Elijah had to go to the bathroom with him. Edison said, "You pee too!" Edison had no accidents.

We built a giant train track for Edison.

Here they all are:

My oldest nephew Evan was pooped! He had a Boy Scout sleepover. 

We went to the hospital. I didn't know if I should take up my two. As if I want them to get whatever nasty germs there are in the hospital. It was kind of hard not to. We had a potty seat in our car. Evan hadn't seen his parents all weekend because of the Boy Scout sleepover. Edison was asking for Mommy and Daddy all day. We washed our hands at every elevator stop. 

The lady at the front desk couldn't believe how many boys there were. We had to spell out all their names because they are unusual names for the most part. I think at first she was thinking, "Oh no! Look at all these kids!" She quickly realized that they are good kids. 

Emerson was still fussy. My sister was dead tired. Isaak asked why his finger was glowing. I said, "He's E.T. phoning home." My brother-in-law laughed and said, "Actually he's E.C. Emerson Charles." I explained the real reason why Emerson's finger was glowing to Isaak.  

The hospital still doesn't know what's wrong with Emerson. He did vomit in the middle of the night, and seemed much better after that. He slept pretty good, and went to the bathroom on the toilet. He's a little more smily.

My sister with Emerson

It takes 24 hours to get blood samples tested, so maybe something will turn up. With kids like him that have Trisomy 18 they kind of have their own unique systems. They get Pneumonia really easily. Emerson does have a hernia that she thought may be the culprit of the problem, but the X-rays showed no real threats. He does throw doctors for a loop at times. 

Evan their oldest son went home, and threw up. I'm hoping it was just because he didn't sleep and eat well because of his Boy Scout event. I used to get stomach issues after a weekend where I had an overnight. It seems like every Thanksgiving and Christmas one family has the stomach flu. I hope we're not next. 

I Wish I Had a Magic Wand

The week started out with a call from my mom saying, "Your Grandpa is in the hospital. He was driving down Dodge Street the wrong way." We're lucky he didn't get in an accident. Dodge Street is a busy street. He's in his 80's, and totally with it prior to this incident. The doctors found out he has a Urinary Tract Infection. He's been in the hospital with one of these before a few times. He doesn't remember Monday at all. Since then he's been seeing cats in his hospital room.

I picture this:

Source

My Grandpa is still seeing cats. My aunt moved his bed in hopes that the cats had something to do with the light above his bed.

I wish I could swish a magic wand in the air to make my Grandpa better. 

Yesterday I had a student show up with tears running down her face. She just had a baby a month ago. It's hard enough to go to school full time after having a baby, but she also works.

Her boyfriend is an ass! He has 5 other kids with other women. He had a job, but quit because child support was taken out of his check every week. A real stand up kind of guy! NOT! He's uber controlling.

My student had to remove her guy friends off facebook, she had to change her name to be his on facebook (they are not married), he tells my student that he doesn't want her to go to class because he does everything around their apartment, he complains about making dinner, he has hit her, and he threatened to leave if she left to go to school.

I told my student to number 1, go check on her baby. If her ass of a boyfriend threatened to leave after she left for school then that would leave the baby home alone. Then I told her I'd leave phone numbers for her to call for help, paper, and pens to try and get help in an office no one, but her could use. She left to go check on the baby at 10 AM, and didn't get back until 1 PM. I think she gave up the idea of getting help.

Some women think their emotions are running high due to postpartum issues. You and I know full aware that this dip of a boyfriend is an ass. My student is smart and kind, but not smart with the current situation she's in. She wouldn't make those phone calls. I gave her the sheets of papers with the helpful organizations, and told her to hide them. She needs support.

I stalked checked out my student's ass of a boyfriend on facebook. He said hurtful, awful things in reference to my student. Like, "It would be nice if I was made dinner every once in awhile." Hummm...she was working last night to support them. and "History repeats its self. The women in my life have to just do their own thing." Going to class is doing your own thing!? I wish I could kick his ass. All he does is watch their kid. He lives off my student's Target job, and student loans. Shaking my head!

I wish I could swish a magic wand in the air to make my my student get out of the current state she's in. 

Was it an Asthma Attack? Nope it Was Croup!

I thought Isaak had allergy issues all of last week: Stuffy nose, sore throat, warm, but no fever. His throat looked fine. He was extra emotional, but I've always said that Isaak's the girl I never had (emotional wise). I don't say that to his face.

Then on Saturday I heard a loud bang at 2 in the morning. Travis and I both rushed into his room. He was crying hysterically. I thought he fell out of bed. I don't know what happened exactly. I just know he was screaming saying, "I can't breathe! I don't want to die. Please don't let me die!" He was wheezing. 

I thought he was having an asthma attack. I've had them. Sometimes if allergies get really bad, an asthma attack can occur. 

I was trying to stay calm. I grabbed Isaak, told Travis to get the Vics Baby rub to rub on his chest, and a drink of water. I know Vics does nothing. I was just trying to calm him down. Then I told Travis to get my phone, so I could call the oncall nurse. Travis at this point was about to come unglued on me. He said, "I know I'm quitting my job, but we NEED to get him to the emergency room NOW! It's not time to be cheap Alissa!"

I said, "I know Travis, but we need to ask the nurse, and we need to calm Isaak down. Calming him down will help him to breathe."

The nurse asked me some questions and said, "Take him to the ER."

So we threw some clothes and slippers on Isaak, to go to the ER.

Travis nearly went threw red lights, and sped the whole way there. Isaak by that time calmed down.

The doctors, nurses and receptionist were great. They really knew what they were doing. I didn't have to deal with insurance - Dad did that. Isaak and I went to get him treated. They said, "Hear that cough? It's a seal's cough. He has Croup."

I said, "He was freaking out because he couldn't breathe." They said, "Yep they all do."

They handed Isaak an ipad with Fruit Ninja on it.

Then they gave him a Steriod drug to open him up.

Besides his seal cough, here's the difference between an Asthma Attack and Croup: Asthma is tightening in the chest and Croup is tightening in the throat. They both need a Steriod treatment if they get bad.

I know what Croup is. Mica had it as an older baby. I just thought only babies and toddlers got it. It's a parainfluenza virus. It's most common in babies and toddlers, but any child can get it. 

Since then I got this sickness. Adults can get it to. They just don't get the breathing problems that go with it. Now Mica has it. He's just sneezing, and coughing. 

What to do with Croup:

• We did do the right thing to go to the emergency room. Steriods will help open the airway. They even said we could come back if needed.

• Steam helps. We've had some baths and our Crane frog humidifier with peppermint oil has been getting a workout.

• Drink a lot of water. My kids swear I'm trying to drown them. You know they aren't getting enough water if their lips are dry, or their pee is yellow.

• I had to point this next one out to Dad: Keep them calm! If a child, or an adult gets panicked during an Asthma or Croup attack that can close up their airway even more. 

Croup gets worse at night. 

Isaak feel Croupy!

 Yes I know Mr. Sicky needs a hair cut.

I'm not looking forward to the bill we'll get, but we did what we had to do. The hospital was wonderful!

WW: Hospital Visit {Linky}

My Dad has his 2nd heart ablation. He's had problems with an irregular heart beat since he was in high school. I was nervous because his doctor said it was going to be more work than the last one. He pulled through.

Not his best picture.

I asked my mom if it was ok to take the kids up? She used to be a nurse for years. She said, "Sure it's a private room, and they are not sick."

The boys were so excited. It was like going on a field trip to them. They couldn't wait to see Grandpa. When we walked in the door they loved it because Grandpa was channel surfing, and happened to be on Cartoon Network. 

They loved it even more when we filled up the chairs, and they had to share. At home this would cause a fight, but at the hospital it was a brother bonding time.

They loved it even more when the nurse saw them and brought them bomb pops.

We teased my Dad. We had full blown conversations about work, the nurses, and the kids. The next day he didn't remember a thing. He only knew we came because he saw the card sitting there.
 
The oddest thing was when he was looking for a knife (he swore he packed) to cut the peeling off his apple. I looked, but couldn't find a knife. I finally said, "Dad just eat it. If you're worried about pesticides they soak through the skin of the apple anyhow." 
 
I had no idea he was that out of it. 
 
He's home now - taking it easy.