abbie jo

Abbie likes to have her diaper off. Plus she also pauses for a sec to pee, she knows what the feeling means. So, i brought out the potty chair. She hasn't peed in there yet but she'll sit for a minute. With a DS.

Kaitlen lost her 3rd tooth

This took months and months to get loose. It finally got to the point where she couldnt wait but didnt want me to pull it. She wanted to do the string trick. So i tied string around it and she walked around for a half hour kinda pulling on it. Sooooo finally i told her to come here and i grabbed both strings and one tug it was out.

Alex Today

Very cool

Instead using the disposible cups at coffee joints, home, where ever. you use this. pretty cool.
Double walled; thermal porcelain cup with silicone top. Eco-friendly and reusable. Dishwasher safe. This product retails at approximately $20/piece. If you would like more information or to purchase this product- please email : info@dcigift.com.
Dimensions: 3.5" diameter; 6" tall

Sheila

PLease keep sheila in your prayers. She really needs them right now. I will update later on her when i have the whole story, but please pray.

Alex update

Tina told me tonight that he got his socks! yea! so hopefully they fit and i get a pic tomorrow. now for the update...........


Well all and all today was a good day. Alex is very sore. His abdomen is very sensitive. ….but hey who’s wouldn’t. They installed a three way valve in Alex’s drain. They back flushed it to make sure it doesn’t clog. He has been watching movies …playing guitar hero and building sculptors out of plado. Been tiring to keep him occupied. We have had a lot of laughs today. Tried to get up today but was unable to straighten up. Dr’s are going to retest his white blood count on Monday. So it is just a waiting game for now.We learned something yesterday that really pisses me off. When they install a drain it has a wire attached to a string that goes up the tube. The reason is the tube is a coil like a piggy’s tail with holes in it to absorb infection. The way to remove the drain is u cut the tube which takes tension off string and wire. That way it comes out straight with no tension on it. Well………..one of the worst things Alex has gone through is when they pulled his drain out in Astoria. They never cut the tube. They just grabbed it and jerked it out of him. Alex hit the roof. The pain that was supposed to last 5 seconds never went away. That’s when all the problems seemed to progress. I told the Dr up here how they removed it and he grimaced. He said that would be like pulling the tube out with a rock attached to it. Nice! Alex is really nervous about the removal. I can imagine after the first one. I will never get anything major done at that hospital again. I will rent a helicopter and fly to Portland if I have to.Alex is currently working on his guitar hero skills. I do fear that he is enjoying bossing dad around a little too much…LoL We love u All…..

Moms Obituary

I looked for it on line. They got the date wrong, Its 04/04/08 and they put 04/05/08.

Alex update

Met with the Dr's this morning. They are not wanting to operate on Alex's second abscess. They are hopeful that the antibiotics will do there job. The plan is to wait a few days and retest his blood count. He is very sore and tired today. The staff was in our room what seemed like 100 times last night. He is resting comfortably watching blades of Glory. Nothing planed for the day. Hopefully we can get the boy some rest. We are going to try and get Alex out of the bunk today. He doesn’t feel like he will be able to get up today..We will try our best…….Everyone have a great day!

Alex update from BIL

4/17/08Well Alex had his procedure this afternoon. It went really well. They installed a drain tube right through his abdomen right below his belly button. He had a huge amount of fluid drained by the surgeons. They could not believe how much was in there. Its been several hours since surgery and his bag has so much in it its amazing. No wonder he was so sick. They don’t believe that his two abscesses are attached. The plan is to wait till his drain quits oozing. Then retest his blood count.

On the lighter side Alex was hilarious when they gave him the Anesthesia. He was pretending he was on a roller coaster. He was also pretending his heart rate monitor was a light saber. I was laughing so hard.

After the surgery he woke up in lots of pain. After some meds he was able to tolerate the pain. He quickly went to bathroom after which is a good thing. Going to talk to Dr’s at 600am. They are going to look at some pictures tonight. They will have a clearer idea in am. Was told that if his drain dries up and his count goes down. He will be able to go home Sunday or Monday. That would be awesome! I will keep all informed. Thanks for all the support. I promise I will blog more in Am when I have a clear picture.

Abigail

This was at Kaitlens Tball practice. It is with my phone so a little grainy.

Tinas update on Alex

Just wanted everyone to know Alex is out of surgery. He's in a lot of pain and is resting. Brian will update later....

Forgot i can text and update. he got out of surgery about 40 min ago

Surgery

Alex left for surgery about an hour ago. Ill update when i get home from tball and baseball practice.

Aleex morning update

4/17/08Good morning everyone!The Dr’s have decided to go ahead with the less intrusive procedure. The consciences among the board this morning is that the two are not connected. They are still going to go after the one in his abdomen. The hope is that with less infection his body he will be able to heal the other with antibiotics. If after a couple days its still there……Then we will deal with it then(think positive). It involves a very invasive procedure. While he is under today they are thinking about draining his scrotum. Not for sure though. Dr’s really do not want to subject his body to the possibility of more infection. His testicle swelling has slightly gone down. If it was a 20 story building he is down to the 16th floor.Still a long way from the lobby!So last night Alex felt great. On of two things either he was feeling a little better or the meds finally did there job. I think it was a combination of both. Him and I took a long walk. Had to stop him for fear of the pain he might feel later. He was laughing and joking around. We played guitar hero and had a good time. Around 10 we decided to go on a little adventure. Lets just say both him and I needed to get out of his room. We loaded him up in a wheel chair and took off. The hospital here at night is like a ghost town. So we rode the elevator to several different floors. We also speed tested his wheel chair running down the halls. After many donuts in his wheel chair. We got something to drink in the cafeteria. Then back to the room. He was tired and fell asleep fast. Around 2 he woke up screaming but pain didn’t last long.Today he is feeling pretty good. He is on a no food and drink again. He is eating his breakfast in his Iv this morning. Will keep posted.Keep up the faith! We are feeling it!

How AWESOME!!!!!!!!

LOL, Its a good night!!!!!!!!!!

I talked to Alex to night on IM. Here's some of it. his Dad typed or him.

Alex-hi aunt lisa this is alex

Me-hi babyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Me-How are you feeling tonite?

Alex-thanks for thinking about me and stuff

Alex-good

Alex-walked and stood and played gutar hero

Me-Your welcome. i just want you to be better

Me- thats so wonderful

Alex-i wanna feel better with out medication

Me-SOOON VERY SOON!!

Me-you know you are the toughest kid i have ever known

Me-it makes me happy to see you smile in a picture

Alex-um huh going threw all that pain do u know how bad that hurts

Me-No, baby, i cant even begin to imgine how painful that is

Alex-just hurts bad

then he had to go potty and go for a wheelchair ride.

Some stuff Brian typed to me:

well right now he feels so good

i just watched him pic something off floor

trying to slow him down...dont want him to over do it...plus he had a good dose of meds

not sure if he is feeling better or if meds finally are working

BIG update from BIL

Latest news on Alex. Tina Alex and I just met with Dr to discuss Alex’s case. So Alex’s has two abscesses That are rather Large. His surgery is scheduled for 2:30pm tomorrow(but could be changed). They are going to insert a drain into the abscess using Ct. There is only one access that they can get to with the ct. The other is in a place where they would be unable to get to with out serious risk. There is a slight chance that the two abscesses might be connected. Tomorrow morning Dr’s are going to meet to discuss his case in front of a team of Dr’s. We are hoping for the ct which is far less intrusive. If not he will have to go into surgery so they can see layer by layer as they go in.We really need for them to be connected………Today Alex’s meds have been changed from morphine to an oral medication. His pain seems to be in check. He woke up in a great mood. His mind seems to be much clearer today. He had a teacher come to his room to help him work on math. He really enjoyed this. After We loaded him up in a wheel chair and took him down to play bingo. The volunteers her run a bingo game on Wednesdays for the patents. They have great prizes for the kids and everyone is a winner. They broadcast the bingo game threw the TV so Ever child can play. Kids from their rooms call in when they get bingo. Alex enjoyed this. I believe it was nice for him to just get him out of the room. It took a little maneuvering (mom was having a hard time keeping up with his Iv stand). Lets all think positive and keep the prayers coming.We want our boy healthy!

Thank you Sheryl

Sheryl made us yummy Taco Soup for dinner and a wonderful Chocolate cake. Everyone loved it especially Cody. He couldn't stop talking about either of them.
Sheryl, that was sweet of you. thank you!!
I totally ment to take pics of it but never did. it looked good and tasted better!

little update

They are not going to do anything today. Alex was happy that he gets to eat. He hasnt ate all day and it's 3pm there.
The Dr will be in to tell them the plan.

1 minute remaining

i have 1 minute of recording time left on my answering machine. I'll have to erase my messages. The thing is my mom is on there. I don't want to erase it but i know i need to. Now i do have her on my old machine. I bought a new phone and put the old machine up because she was on it. So i will have a recording but hate to erase this one.

Tina and alex

He looks so happy

Socks

I ordered Alex a couple pair of socks to keep his footsies warm and cute.

Hey Doc, my feet feel boney, HAHA!!!
I ordered them from Sock Dreams they are in Portland Or. So he should get them by tomorrow. I've ordered socks from them before and they are great.

CT update

Well its a new day. I just got the results from Alex's ct scan. There is a reason for all this madness. He has two abscess(pockets of pus). One in his abdomen and one next to his rectum. The course of action to relive this is uncertain right now. My understanding is that they might be able to use a machine similar to the ct machine .It will use computer imaging to insert a drain where needed. This is supposed to be less invasive than full on surgery. Radiology is looking at ct to see if process is possible. As far as his testicles go the best description I can use to describe the appearance is ANGRY. Still extremely swollen and sensitive. Hopeful if he can get his abdomen drained we will start seeing some relief there also.Last night his pain was tolerable. He slept pretty good. He is currently sawing logs. He wasn’t fully awake this morning to hear the Dr’s talk. I’m sure when he wakes up he will have 100 and one questions. I know one of the first ones will be “do I have to drink that stuff again?” I sure hope not. If he does he is liable to throw something at me. We hope everyone has a great day. Today is our day….I can feel it! I know you all have Alex in your thoughts. It means more than you know….We love you all……..

Prayers for Sheila

Tinas first Mother-in-law Sheila Conner needs some prayers (i think everyone know Tina was married before and David passed away.) She ended up in the ER/hospital the other day and it was really bad but she was release home. I have no details about what that was about but then yesterday she ended up in the hospital again. this is what i got from Sheilas Niece
sheila just got out of surgery and it went very well. they hardly had to give her any anesthesia because she was so drugged up from all the meds they gave her. She has a compound fracture in her leg from falling this morning. They put pins and screws in her leg and she will be in ICU for a few days. It was a very high-risk surgery because her lung condition is so bad and combined with her diabetes, putting her under anesthesia is very risky. We're just praying now she doesn't get any infection or she could face possible amputation, but for now, it's good news. hope you are hanging in there. i know this is a really hard time for you and i think about you and tina all the time and hope you are okay.
Sheila is a wonderful lady. i've known her for 16 yrs. she sent me flowers when mom died and called me. shes a wonderful grandma to Tina's boys.
just keep her in your prayers too. I'll update on her when i know more.
thank you.

Out to dinner

We took Ashley Lily and Jason out to dinner for watching the two boys for us. Yummy Mexican food. Abbie for a change was wanting to play with Lily and Lily was not having any of that, lol. She scooted over in her high chair away from Abbie. The girls ate crackers shared goldfishies and were really good.
Jason was running late and would meet us there. no problem. So Ashley orders for him. Enchilada plate and fruit punch. When dinner comes they bring him a child's plate. one little enchilada and little bit of beans and rice, lol. that poor guy. we take him out to dinner and feed him a kids plate. and yes, his punch was in a styrofoam cup with a lid. they did bring him a second enchilada but it was way later when he got it.
on the way out Ashley grabs Abbie from Thomas (and i avoid eye contact with abbie) and by the time we get to the car abbie wants to stay with Ashley. says no when we put are arms out to her. this went on for 5 minutes and i finally had to get her and she cried,lol. She has NEVER let someone other than me, ben or thomas hold her. shes becoming a big girl.
now that i think about Matthew, kailten and cody were very quiet during dinner. that was weird. Busy eating.

alex update from BIL

Well another day in the books. Today was a very trying day for both Alex and I. Poor guy had a fight with a fever and pain today. Things were a struggle. First his iv stopped working right when the surgeons came to look at his bandage. So he had a bandage change with no morphine. I refused to remove his bandage. Was not going to subject him to pain directly from me. He got through it ......but were some rough moments.Iv team showed up shortly after the bandage change. Alex has had so many iv's. Since we have been in the hospital no one has got it on the 1st try. So today they missed 3 times got the 4. I was ready to come unglued. So by the time it came to drink his contrast meds we were in for a fight. He wanted no part. He was mentally tired. With some persuasion from dad he was able to get most of it drank. After he got 3/4 done. It was tiring to come back up. He fought back the urge to vomit until the nurse could give him anti nausea medicine. For the next several hrs we waited to get the ct scan. The scan is done and all we have to do is wait for results. Tomorrow we are excited cause mom is coming. I will keep everyone updated as much as I can.Thanks for all the calls and prayers!

Alex update

THis was an update from a while ago. He should be getting the CT any minute

The results of Alex's white blood count came back bad. Shortly after he came down with a fever. Dr's have decided to give him another ct scan this afternoon. Doing the Ct they have to use a contrast solution. Alex says the solution is like drinking snot. He asked the Dr if there was a pill or another way he could take it. Dr said they could give it to him through his rectum. Alex said lets do it that way. I was shocked..but at this point i don't blame him. As dr was getting ready to leave Alex says "excuse me.....I think I would rather drink the stuff". So how bad must that stuff taste to contemplate getting it rectally.

small update

Tina called to tell me that they are going to do another scan. That there is something going on. His fever has gone back up.
When my BIL updates i'll let you know.
He did send a pic of the dressing change.

home away from home

Alex with pig watching tv?

The Pig

I had told my dad to take alex a stuffed animal for me back when they were still in Astoria. Dad said oh he doesnt want a stuffed animal............... so when he told Alex I was going to get him a stuffed animal he wanted a pig................ Yea! he wants a pig......... sounded simple right?! nope...... Tina looked in her little town. I called the hospital gift shop... nope. So we got a number of someone who might have stuffed animals.... nope. got another number and they didn't have a pig either BUT they would call Ben back after they called someone else to see if they could get a pig........... THEY DID Yea. and after waitng ALLLLL day. Alex finally got this long awaited Pig. and hes happy, which is what i wanted.And he sang Spider Pig, from the simpsons movie, LOL

Alex update from BIL

Another tough day for the boy. Yesterday they stuffed his wound with gauze. They shoved gauze up into his abdominal cavity. Today the removal of the gauze was excruciating. Alex was given morphine for pain but said it felt like he was being stabbed in his stomach.He was able to get a little rest after but remained in pain. Mom and grandpa got here for a visit. He was very happy to see mom and grandpa. It was time for Him to get out of bed. Today was the hardest day for him to get out of bed. It was very painful. Once again with tears flowing he was able to force himself up. He is a trooper. He was unable to walk very far today. His pain was mostly in his testicles.We got back to the room and he watch Night at the Museum. Which gave him many laughs. Alex's has been having cramps in his legs. Mom rubbed his legs with lotion and I washed him up with a wash cloth. I think this made grandpa jealous. He said he didn't get care like that when he was in the hospital.He has walked twice today. Going to try for one more today! Thanks everyone for supporting us.

LOVE YOU ALEX, HOPE YOUR PIG GETS THERE SOON.

New pic of Alex

a little update on Alex

Alex had a great evening last night. He felt pretty good. For some reason though nights are really hard for the poor guy. Once again he ran a small fever. He went 7 hrs with out any pain med. At 2am his pain level was unbearable. He was really tired but couldn't sleep. Its 9 am and he ate some rice krispys and is snoring logs. Its a new day. So when he wakes mom and grandpa will almost be here. Have a dressing change this morning that he is not looking forward to. After that we are going to try and get him out of bed lots today.Thanks everyone your support is felt!

Alex update.. incision cleaning and beyond

My BIL's post---

So first of all I have to say the glass is half full. Alex's morning started a little rocky. His wound site had become massively infected.They decided that it would be best to remove his staples and clean the wound. Lets just say Alex was not excited about this. They gave him morphine which once again didn't seem to work that great. It was an intense 10 mins while they remove his staples and cleaned things out. What i saw I was not expecting. What looked irritated and red on the outside.........Was green on the inside. I was absolutely shocked. The whole time Alex was in lots of pain. Once again he amazed me as he sucked it up even though it was hard. They are not going to stitch him up. They are going to allow the wound to heal from the inside out.After the cleaning he was exhausted and fell right asleep. When he woke his mood seemed so much better. Anna Scott Nicole and Izzy came by for a visit. They stopped at sporting good store and picked up a supporter for A lex. He showed off some serious guitar hero skills and watched the Lakers win(which i don't think sits well with a couple nurses)......When everyone left Alex and I looked at his side. I didn't seem as red and he claimed didn't hurt as bad. So we decided to try and get up and walk. Getting up for him is an event that takes time. I noticed that he moved a little faster then the past. We put on his supporter which helped with support. He was very stiff at first. He hasn't been up for 2 days. Once we got going it went good.His spirits have lifted cause he feels a little better. As i am writing this the lights are turning on and off(he has a control attached to his bed). Its the little things that make u smile! Thank u everyone who has sent flowers and balloons. He lights up when he reads the cards. Have to go I have a request to find some pretzels.......

Small update

They removed alex's staples because it's infected and cleaned it up and are going to let it heal from the inside out, no sutures or staples. Here is a pic. It is not easy to look at and it was taken before they cleaned it all out so you dont have to look. you are warned it's nasty.

Another Alex update from his Dad

Alex is pain is under control right now. The surgery team has decided not to operate.They want to give the meds a chance to work. A urologist is coming to give results of ultra sound. Alex's incision site has become infected. So they are going to remove his staples and clean the wound. They are going to leave wound open so it can drain as it heals. So his wound will take longer to heal because it will heal from the inside out. Alex is a little down today...Which hey who wouldn't be. I asked him if he wanted me to tell everyone anything. He said "Tell them I'm OK.". Alex likes that so many people are following his recovery. I told him he is popular. He said "I know". Update more later .............Thanks everyone.........Our friends and family are amazing! We truly appreciate all your support.