Grandma's New Knee

It's Grandma's turn! Now that Grandpa has healed up nicely from last year's knee and hip replacements, Grandma headed into the same surgeon's operating room to have her knee replaced on Monday. She is not quite comfortable yet, but she's healing well, and Sweet Pea and Little Man and I were very happy to see her up and about when we visited today.

Hopefully she'll be much more comfortable and mobile soon!

Grandpa's Surgery

Last week Grandpa had another major surgery: a hip replacement (on the same leg as last summer's knee replacement). A few days afterwards, we visited him to bring him some hugs, brownies, and a homemade card.

He was in good spirits, and says he's comfortable. We are praying that he continues to recover well, that this is the solution to his mobility issues and pain, and that this all isn't too much of a load on Grandma.

Black Lives Matter

I've always believed in having honest conversations with my kids about real issues. Since they were as young as 4, one of these topics has been racism. And with all the recent social action about racial injustice, our conversations have been more frequent and deep than usual.

Last week I took them to see some of the street art that has been painted around town by local Black artists. It was moving and really profound to see the way the artists expressed their feelings through their art. Some of it was hopeful, and other pieces were dark and heavy.

Sweet Pea absorbs it all in her quiet way, and Little Man gets impatient and distracted. They're young, I know, but I still gave them a few reminders to be respectful. 

CC, perhaps because she's slightly older, has been very interested and touched by this movement, prompting her to make her own street art.

Poor Rory

It began as a mildly humorous stunt: Rory ate (yet another) batch of cupcakes. The old gal's still got it! It wasn't until she started vomiting -- and I could see large shards of wood in it -- that I realized she'd also eaten the long wooden skewers that held decorative flags in the cupcakes. And then I really started worrying.

With all that's wrong in the world, it seems silly to ask for prayers for a dog. But she's a big part of our lives, and already very old. I am incredibly worried about her. We thought she was getting better after a few days, and now she's worse again. I'm concerned that one of the sharp pieces of wood punctured part of her esophagus, or stomach, or intestines. Tomorrow I'll call the vet, but I'm not optimistic that they'll be able to do anything -- wood wouldn't show up on an xray, as far as I know.

A Little Prayer ...

I'm saying a little prayer right now for MJ's Aunt Sharon. She lost her husband a few months ago, rather suddenly, and he is being laid to rest this morning at Arlington National Cemetery. MJ is there, in full dress uniform, to pay his respects. 

To read a nice memorial written by MJ's cousin, click here.  

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Bryson Update

Thanks to all of you for your continued prayers. I've received a lot of questions about him, so here's another update:

Bryson is still in the hospital, thankfully back in a regular recovery room after a scary stint in the ICU when he experienced breathing problems.  The recovery from the surgery has been going very well, but unfortunately during the procedure several other medical concerns were discovered, mostly with his respiratory system. 

He is still not breathing as easily and as quietly as he should be, so he will be having another procedure done under full anesthesia, which will provide live imagery of his airways.  This should shed some light on his breathing problems and allow doctors to make a plan.

I was able to visit him yesterday, and even hold him and feed him.  Every moment with him was precious, but I feel terrible for my brother and sister-in-law, who are exhausted and worried.  Please continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers!

Updates

Thank you, everyone, for your prayers and support.  Bryson's surgery went better than expected, and he is recovering comfortably in the hospital.  He should be there for about a week before he can return home with his parents.  Please continue to pray for a speedy and smooth recovery.

Also, an update on CC:  she is (finally) getting one of her top teeth!  After getting her two bottom teeth unexpectedly early, she went almost 4 months without any new dental developments.  Well, while rolling around with her on the floor yesterday, I got a glimpse of the roof of her mouth, and much to my surprise I saw a tiny speck of white behind the ridge of her gums.  It will probably be several weeks before it will be visible from the front, but it's definitely broken through and on its way.

Prayers Needed

Please take a few minutes this morning, and say a prayer for our newest family member, our nephew Bryson.  He was born with quite a few medical concerns, not least of which is an intestinal malformation.  This puts him at risk for a life-threatening blockage of his intestines, so he is having surgery at 10:30 this morning to correct the problem.

He is such a little guy, just barely one month old, and it makes my heart hurt that he has to go through such a procedure.  He needs all the prayers he can get!  And my brother and his wife, too -- they need prayers for peace and comfort.

Labor Update

Well, maybe I should have titled this post "Lack of Labor Update."  I did not know this was a possibility, but my body is absolutely refusing to labor.  At all.

As per doctor's orders, I checked into the hospital within an hour of my water breaking.  We expected contractions to start any minute ... but nothing.  After waiting for 8 hours (walking the halls continuously), we opted to add Pitocin to the mix late Sunday night, to speed things up a bit.

Pitocin caused contractions to start, but they never really got uncomfortable, even when the Pitocin was cranked all the way up to 20 units.  Today at noon, my doctor (back in town!) checked me and discovered that despite being on high doses of Pitocin for over fourteen hours, I still had not progressed at all beyond my appointment last Thursday.

At that point, we all agreed to discontinue Pitocin; clearly it was not working.  And the minute the nurse turned off the Pitocin drip, my contractions disappeared.

My doctor recommended trying a different drug instead of Pitocin, called Cytotec.  This drug was originally created to treat ulcers, but has been used by OBs for stimulating labor for years.  After weighing the pros and cons, and talking with our doctor about it at length, we decided to give it a try.

This is our last chance.  We are already well outside the 24-hour window in which most doctors prefer you deliver after your water breaks.  Every hour Otto stays inside me, his chances for infection go up.  My doctor feels confident about monitoring Otto closely for infection, but agrees that time is not on our side and we need to be very proactive.

Tonight they started me on Cytotec, and they will give me a second dose late tonight, combined with some Pitocin.  We hope and pray this combination of drugs works.  If my doctor checks me in the morning, and I am still not progressed at all, we are out of options: I will need to have a c-section.

Stay Safe, Brother

Today my younger brother, P, is flying to Afghanistan for yet another deployment.  This one will last until February, but hopefully it will be his very last deployment.  Like all military families, we always hold our breath and pray like mad until he's back home safely, and this time it will be no different.

About 10 days ago we all got together to see each other again to say good-bye to P.  It was bittersweet, but I'm so glad we were able to gather before he left.  Unfortunately P's wife Karen wasn't able to make it, and neither was MJ.  But here's a family pic of the rest of us (P is next to me, top center):

Our family will celebrate several milestones while P is gone.  Obviously, he's missing Otto's birth (by just a few weeks -- argh!).  When P gets back, our baby will be almost a year old!  And P will also be promoted to Major during this deployment, which is a big accomplishment we will celebrate when he returns.

Be safe, P!  You will always be in our thoughts and prayers.