Wrapping up Sept.

We were trying hard to keep ourselves busy while we were waiting for the MRI. Here are some of the things that we have been up to.

Grandma Bernice came for a visit. So glad that she could come and see how big Cole is getting.

 We celebrated Luke's birthday! Man these kids are growing up way to fast!

Mark bought this outfit for Cole before he was born. Now he finally fits into it! It was so fun to have him all dressed up for church.

We had a fun neighborhood party this last week. It was so great to get to know our neighbors better. There was a train ride, blow up slide, face painting, dinner and so much more. So grateful that I live by amazing people.

 

Gabe and Cole are always up to something. Building a fort with cups, they had a blast!

Gabe was kind enough to let Cole play with one cup. MOST of the time. ;-)

 

 

MRI

Today we had Cole's MRI. He was a trooper.

Our prayers have been answered. The Dr came back to us saying he was surprised how well everything looked. He said that we aren't out of the woods yet. But he is okay with watching him closely. We have an appointment in a month. Thanks for all the prayers in his behalf. The Lord has truly blessed us.

One more week

One more week until Cole has a MRI. We have been watching him closely. He has a cold but nothing that makes us feel that there is pressure on his brain. So we will keep watching him.

So life goes on. Gabe is always very excited to help out with Cole. Cole loves taking a bath!

Gabe is getting so big. He loves to cook.

 Our dear friend and old back door neighbor came into town. It was fun to get together. So happy that she is doing so well in her new area.

Football! Cole is a great supporter to his brothers. Always watching their games! Drew was so excited to be able to help feed Cole.

All the boys love holding Cole while we are at the 3 football games every Sat.

Tay was able to go with her friend's family to Yellowstone.

She said they saw Bison, Elk and Otters. It was a fun little trip.

This Morning

We are second guessing ourself now. The doctors office didn't open till 9 so we were waiting and now his head feels really great. I think we're going to wait.

Cole Update

Mark and I have been watching Cole very closely these last couple of days. Last night Cole's soft spot wasn't feeling as soft as it normally does. We decided that it maybe because of a couple different reason and that if it felt the same in the morning then we would call the Dr and see if we could push up the MRI. So that is the plan this morning. I will update soon.

Head Appointment Today

 Today there was really no new news. It was just the same thing Cole's head has gotten a little bigger, The Dr is wanting to do a EVT or shunt. We say no we don't want to unless we see symptoms. The Dr. says okay we can watch him for two more weeks, but if there are any symptoms you have to come in. And we say of course we will.  The only new thing is Cole will be getting another MRI in two weeks. Which Mark and I are happy about. We feel like you can measure all you want but it really doesn't tell you what is going on in his head. A MRI will. But they did warn us this time that they will be scheduling the surgery for the next day. We can cancel it if we decide that he still doesn't need the surgery.
      On the way home Mark and I read a talk by Pres. Oaks called Healing the Sick. It really helped me out with how to think about this whole thing. It says that you shouldn't be sick and ask for a blessing to be well without doing anything. You need to do your part and then ask the Lord. I feel like we have done that. I went to SF and had fetal surgery in hopes to help his brain work proper. I have prayed for him. His name on the prayer roll at the temple. I have tried my hardest to have the faith that the Lord will bless his body and it will work properly. So after you have shown forth effort then you asked the Lord for his help. So that is what we have done. Mark gave Cole a Priesthood Blessing tonight. I'm so grateful that we have this blessing in our lives. But I will also be praying. Now my prayer is that the MRI results will come back and the Drs. will feel like Cole doesn't need the surgery because of how good his brain is working. That is what I want. But at the end of my prayer I say but Lord thy will be done. Which is really hard to say! But I know it's the best thing because I know that the Lord wants the best for me and my family. So I will put my trust in him. So in two weeks when Cole has his MRI and if the results come back saying that Cole needs to have the surgery then I will feel that the Lord has told me his will.  I also pray that my faith will be strong enough to carry me for the next two weeks. This has been a growing experience for our family. Thank you for all of you love and support it really means a lot to our family.

Did I tell you that my brother and sister in law gave us this cute activity saucer. Cole loves it!

Cole is getting bigger!

   Cole has been growing bigger and stronger. He now can roll over faster than you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. ;-) it's hard to practice tummy time because he flips himself right over. He is sitting up more and more and showing signs of growing stronger tummy muscles. He still is his brother's biggest fan and goes to all of their practices and games.

He is becoming a pro at the Bumbo chair.

Gabe is feeling big and wants to carry Cole around like his big brothers do. Not sure if Cole is excited about the plan as much as Gabe is.

At our house we are all in agreement that Cole is the cutest baby EVER!

We took Luke birthday lunch at school. Luke thought it was awesome to show off his little brother.

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Recovery time

Back with our baby- who now has a brand new shunt and the world's worst haircut 

You guys - SHE DIDN'T EVEN TAPER!

In other news, Calvin celebrated hydrocephalus awareness month by getting a brand new shunt. And in true neurosurgeon fashion, our Dr. said of the surgery, in not so many words, "I think I fixed the problem, maybe, maybe not, lets give him some time and get an MRI in 3 months and see."

So I guess we will wait and see some more. Hopefully going home tomorrow. Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers, and kind words and thoughts!

Calvin surgery update

Calvin is still in surgery. It took a little while for the OR to be ready, but he was so good during the pre-op wait.

Update on Calvin

Here is an update on our good buddy Calvin. His Mother is beside herself  with worry, if you could keep them in your prayers.

This is her post on facebook-
Calvin is having a shunt revision tomorrow morning. His last MRI showed a syrinx (t3-t6) that was there before, but has gotten bigger as well as slit ventricles. I know it's just a revision and not a huge deal, but I'm freaking out. Past brain surgeries have NOT gone well for us and I have lots of regrets. This is his 6th surgery in 6 months and I think I'm more nervous for this one than any other one. 

 Here is her post from her blog today, to give you more info.

SHUNT HAPPENS

September 8, 2014

When we were making the decision whether or not to have fetal surgery our main goal was to avoid the shunt.

Fetal surgery cut the risk for getting a shunt in half, so it wasn’t too difficult of a decision for us.

The shunt itself isn’t a big deal. One quick little brain surgery, a tube here, a valve there, VOILA, the brain is now draining like it should!

(Of course, we had some unexpected complications, but that was pretty rare.)

The problem with shunts is, they break.

When your kid has a shunt, you are always wary.

He’s sleeping more than usual – growth spurt? Or is his shunt over-draining?

He’s sleeping less than usual – growing up? Or is his shunt under-draining?

He has a little fever – teething, or shunt infection?

He’s being extra fussy – normal baby, or broken shunt?

And my personal favorite – swollen scrotum – OMG, is that an inguinal hernia that his shunt tubing is poking through and now his brain fluid is draining into his scrotum?

Why yes, yes it is.

New mom paranoia takes on a whole new meaning when a shunt is involved.

SOOoooOOOooo, while many shunts do have to be fixed throughout a lifetime (especially when the shunt is placed so young), sometimes you luck out and never need a revision.

We were hoping Calvin would luck out.

But he didn’t.

His last MRI showed his ventricles that were TOO BIG are now TOO SMALL, probably from his shunt malfunctioning.

So tomorrow morning, Calvin will head down to the OR once more, for the 6th surgery of his little life.

We are hoping after tomorrow his brain will be JUST RIGHT and that perhaps his breathing issues will be resolved.

(FINGERS CROSSED!!!)

I was reading through my feelings about his last surgery and a lot of them are the same – except this time I feel like kicking and screaming and throwing a toddler-like temper tantrum.

“I don’t WANT to!!! YOU CAN’T MAKE ME GO!!!”

That’s how I feel half the time – the other half I want to cry.

Nate and our neurosurgeon both assure me that this is what is best for Calvin. That this is what he needs.

I hope they are right.

Finishing Up Summer

    We were able to take the boys miniature golfing. They now think that we need to get a golf cart. "What for?" " Because it would be fun to drive around" Sorry boys not going to happen!

  We celebrate Gabe turning 5 years old. We are so amazed at how time flies by and how big he has gotten. We sure love him and are so glad that he is apart of our family. The last 5 years have been very life changing for our family. It hasn't been easy but we have felt the Lord in our life through the people he has sent to us to help us get through the hard times. We can't tell you how blessed we feel.

 We also celebrated all the Aug birthdays on my side of the family. Gabe and Eric are almost exactly 1 year apart and I have about 30 years on them. ;-)

We went to our first Saturday of football games. 3 little league games in one day! 7am -4pm It was a long day but it was so fun to see the boys work hard and have fun.

The Dr said we could start feeding Cole rice cereal. It was so funny to see the faces that he pulled. He isn't a real fan of baby food but we will keep trying!