10 Weeks at home.....together

I know, that sounds like the start of a terrible horror movie. And believe me, I almost thought it would be horrible. But it turns out we like each other a lot more than I thought. 

These 10 weeks at home together with Anthony after his transplant have been such a blessing to our little family. We have enjoyed more time just being together than we ever have before. Anthony got to enjoy plenty of quality time with each of the kids, not just the 2 hours he sees them after work and before bed. What a difference that makes. To him, and to them. Anthony and Aspen really bonded, and he got to learn even more about Lincoln's amazing personality. They truly are amazing little people.

The best part of this has been Anthony's new appreciation for me...the stay at home mom. Before he would come home and look around the house in it's messy, and usual, state and make off-handed comments like, "What did you do all day?" These ten weeks have truly opened his eyes to the amount of things that we do on a daily basis, me and the kids. Moms aren't just moms. We are teachers, doctors, nurses, mediators, referees, short-order cooks, maids, playmates, wives, women, and mommies. There is no free time to sit down. We don't just spend the day lounging in our PJs in front of the TV. Ok, many days are spent in our PJs but that's just because they're comfy! We're definitely not in front of the TV, ever! No time for that!

Anthony now comes home and is more appreciative of me, and what I give to, and for, the children. He says thank you more often for the meals I cook. He understands how tired I really am after a long, hard day of screaming children and he offers to bring home dinner so I don't have to do one.more.thing. He calls at lunch to check up on me to make sure the morning is going smoothly, or offer condolences when it's not. Then he rushes home to love on the kids so I can get a break. Nothing will heal, help, and support your marriage than when your husband appreciates all the little things you do, day after day. It's amazing what just this time at home as done for our family. We're nicer to each other, we respect each other just a little more, and we have a greater understanding of what it's like to spend quality time together. 

We did tons of fun stuff while Anthony was home with us. Here is a VERY short, and VERY abbreviated list:

We went to Christmas parades.

We saw Santa!

We went to Boone.

We went to Gatlinburg, TN with the kids for the first time.

We had a beautiful Christmas together.

WE WENT TO DISNEY WORLD!!!

We made cardboard cars.

And so much other stuff I can't even remember. So much of that time was spent just being together. We took lunch trips to the mall, just because we could. We had movie night in our PJs, because it's fun. We ate lots of Sweet Frog...no explanation needed. And we loved each other.

I am so thankful for this time our family has enjoyed. We have been truly blessed. God has taken care of Anthony, and of our every need and I am thankful every day.

Anthony went back to work on January 22, 2014. He's doing great and feeling wonderful. He's traveling to Baptist Hospital's Transplant Clinic every week or every-other week for blood work and testing. They're always checking his blood for the level of medicines and creatanine, the yucky stuff that your kidneys filter out. Nurses call back every week to tell him how to adjust his medicines to keep everything on the right levels and even. So it's just a process. Slow and steady, right? Hopefully soon he will be able to only travel to Winston once a month to get checked, but they're still keeping a really close eye on him right now. I am so thankful that we have such a great team of doctors taking care of him. Our family sure does need him.

Day One

We made it. We survived the first day at home. Together. Our night was pretty good. Anthony got up several times to pee and at one point his drain site leaked and got him messy. He had to get up and change his shirt and clean up a little. I woke up every time he got up and it felt almost like having a new baby in the house again. Fun. But thankfully Anthony did get sleep and we were together for the first time in several nights. Anthony always says he doesn't sleep if we're not together. 

The day went pretty well. We spent a long time lounging in our pajamas with the Disney Channel this morning. Quality family time. Lincoln's doing really well with Anthony's wounds and drain. He is being very easy and isn't hugging him tightly or running into him. Aspen on the other hand just wants to roll all over him. There has to be a lot of supervision with her. It was so beautiful today that he even managed to come outside with us for a little while. Sunshine makes everything feel a little better.

He has to measure his urine output, take his blood pressure, record how much his would drains for a while. Tomorrow is our first clinic day where they will do blood work to see how his kidney is doing and how his body is reacting to the anti-rejection meds he's taking. I'm hoping we'll get more information tomorrow. It seems like everyone in the hospital had different opinions of what he can and cannot do now that he's a transplant patient. We're hoping for clarification and somewhat "official" word on some dos and don'ts. 

It's really hard to be Mom and Dad at the same time. And to have to take care of Anthony and the kids is tiring. Anthony can't pick up more than 10 pounds for at least 6 weeks. He can't drive while he has staples. That means he's dependent on me and I'm the one who has to do nearly everything. I'm sure I'll be leaning heavily on our parents for help with the kids. A big big thank you to Michelle Smith for delivering a yummy dinner tonight! Lincoln was starving and she rescued us just in the nick of time!

Almost K-Day

Well here we are...we checked into the hospital this morning. We reported to Baptist Hospital around 9 this morning and Anthony was admitted to the day hospital for a full body work up. 

Pretty much as soon as we got here the vampires came to visit! Beth & Jackie took 17 vials of blood this morning...at least they were lots of fun to hang out with! 

About an hour later he had a EKG to check on his heart. Gotta make sure it's kicking strong!

Shortly after that he had a chest X-Ray. I guess to make sure there was no infection or anything.

I really think that part of Anthony's reason for having a kidney transplant was revealed to me today. He is touching everyone he comes in contact with. In a positive way. No one comes into our room or takes him somewhere for testing that he doesn't make smile. He truly has a personality that everyone loves and he makes a point to talk to everyone and treat them well. Everyone who helped us today kept telling us they wanted to come back and check on us, to make sure he was doing OK. They said they would miss him if they didn't see him tomorrow. I know there are tons of patients who aren't very easy to be around but Anthony is not one of them. He's so charming and such a blessing in everyone's lives. You can truly see God's love through him as he reaches out to everyone.

We also met with his surgical team today. Dr. Rogers is his name and we really like him. He just has a likable personality and he's really easy to talk to. He's saying that Anthony should have a super easy surgery and a relatively quick and easy recovery. He's feeding Anthony's unhealthy desire to leave the hospital early. He's already asking when he can leave...and when he can ride his bike. Ugh. Dr. Rogers said it's not unusual for healthy people to leave the hospital within 3-4 days. We shall see. I won't let him leave until I know I can take care of him at home...and his pain meds are working well!

We talked to anesthesiology today too. He signed several waivers...the usual stuff. 

Anna came over to say hi at lunch and hung out with us for a while. She just left, actually. Thankfully we have a friendly face nearby who knows her way around here so she can show us where we need to go. She's coming back tomorrow morning to be with us, too.

I checked in at the Holiday Inn that's literally across the street from the hospital so I have a comfy place to stay. My mom is coming in tonight so she doesn't have to be here super early. 

Tomorrow's plan is early. They are going to take Amy down for surgery prep at 7 am. Anthony will follow shortly after that around 7:45 or 8. They're hooking him up with some great meds in the morning so hopefully some funny videos will be captured! :)

The whole surgical process will take roughly 6-7 hours. The surgery itself only lasts about 3-4 of those hours. The rest of the time accounts for anesthesiology, putting in a central line, a catheter, and all the closing up and waking up process. I'll be sure to post updates as it goes. 

I love knowing they're going to be in side-by-side operating rooms..Amy in 12 and An

thony in 13. Dr. Rogers said they will actually take it out of Amy, walk through the door and hand it off to him to insert into Anthony. 13 is Anthony's favorite number so it's only fitting! They're taking Amy's left kidney and putting it in Anthony's left side. It will be inserted "backwards" or facing the opposite way from usual so it will be more protected from any impacts or falls. They both have marks written on them to show the side where the kidney will be removed or inserted. 

We met Amy today. I cried. How do I say thank you to someone for willingly donating a part of her body to save my husband? To save my family? To keep us together forever? To let Anthony walk Aspen down the aisle? To be there when our children graduate college...or when our grandchildren are born?

Amazing. God is so good. We are so blessed. 

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?

 Well...it has come and gone. Our first big together birthday bash was a fabulous success! They came, they played, they ate...and they didn't want to leave!! 

Check out my tissue puffs! Erin made them for me. There's even a goldfish hanging on the left. They were beautiful and better than I even expected!  They are actually still hanging in my kitchen because I don't want to take them down!!

We decorated with bright colors that matched the Eric Carle book Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see? I added pink owls for Aspen's theme. There are no owls in Brown Bear...but I wanted owls, so owls we did! The circles hanging in the background, the buckets, and the tablecloth were all borrowed from our sweet friend, Jenn Rice. I made the cupcake toppers and food tents all by myself! And the invitations, I think I posted those here already. 

Isn't this pretty? Brown bear, goldfish, pink owl, blue horse, purple cat, green frog, red bird. The cupcakes and two smash cakes were from Alex Bell, of course. You can see her website here. I must say her cakes are fabulously delicious!!  We ordered 36 cupcakes and two smash cakes so each of the kids could have their own. We only ended up with 6 cupcakes left over! 

Lincoln's Brown Bear cake...I think it's fabulous!

Aspen had her pink owl cake with chevron on top! Love it!

I must say they both LOVED their cakes. Lincoln didn't want a fork and had already leaned in and taken his first bite before we had even finished singing Happy Birthday! He really enjoyed eating the bear piece by piece. 

Aspen was very happy to put handful after handful of delicious cake in her mouth!!

She shoved her mouth so full she couldn't even chew! She had cake boogies, too! We actually had to cut her off. I think she would've eaten the whole thing!

Cheesing it up! He loved his cake. 

I used an idea from Pinterest and made a bubble station out of an old detergent bottle. It worked like magic! Jeromy actually sat down there and filled up the tiny bubble bottles. The kids had fun and took their bubbles home as part of their favors.

The birthday boy getting some bubble action.

Our happy family, post cake. They were both covered and we didn't really want to touch them! Aspen had cake in her ears, her nose, her hair...a whole wardrobe change was necessary! 

We had a great time. We don't actually know how many people came. All we know is we went through 3 gallons of lemonade, 30 cupcakes, 21 hamburgers, and 30 hotdogs. The party was scheduled to be from 11-1 but we put both the tuckered out birthday babies to nap and still had people here around 4. My mother in law says that's the sign of a good party, when people don't want to leave. We noted that gifts were not necessary but of course they got WAY more than they needed. Fortunately, several friends and family members blessed them with a monetary gift so we will put that in their college funds for later. I must say that I could not have pulled this party off without the help of some fabulous friends. Erin and Anna were so incredibly helpful. EE made the tissue puffs and hung them. She and Anna helped with anything and everything that was needed. From tying up balloons, to cleaning the kitchen they were instrumental in the success of the party. 

This is who I remember for sure:

Erin Leonard

Jeromy, Anna, & Ian Fitzwater

Kelly, David, Will, Elise & Benjamin Wortman

Betty Bostain & Faith

Collin, Faith & Corbin Delp

Gina & Joey Lindsey

Jenn & Carter Rice

Kaleb, Leslie, Zane & Zoey Taylor

Marci & Rocky Taylor (Nana & Papaw)

Toni & Carroll Vance (Grammy & Dadaw)

Carol Hamby (Mamaw Carol)

Molly & Micah Rice

Carmen, Doug, & Landon Suttles

James, Jan, Daniel & Jace Barnhill

Stephanie Pelliccione

If I missed someone it was inadvertent! We were so busy and the kids played outside the whole time. Everyone had a fabulous time and we can't wait to do it again! The double deck worked out perfectly and people could sit upstairs or downstairs. There was a place for everyone to sit and eat and Nana got Aspen and Lincoln a sweet picnic table with umbrella and the kids loved it. 

We can't wait to have another cookout. Anthony said that was the whole reason he built the decks and the play set. So we'd be the place to hang out. It will definitely be a regular thing. :) Just don't always expect such pretty decorations!

I must say that my babies had a fabulous time and really seemed to enjoy themselves. They sure were tuckered out at the end of the day. It's incredible to think that I have a one and three year old. Every day they amaze me.

At their doctor's appointments on April 4 here were their birthday stats:

Lincoln

 31 pounds - 25%ile

38 inches - 50-75%ile

He got two shots...so sad.

Wearing 2T & 3T shirts, 3T pants with adjustable waist, 2T shorts with adjustable waist, size 9 shoes.

Aspen

20 pounds 3 ozs - 30%ile

20 1/2 inches - 60%ile

Head 44.5 cms - 60%ile

She got 4 shots...even more sad.

Wearing 12-18 month clothes, size 4 shoes (Stride Rite)

Oh doctor, my doctor.

Seriously...we just can't catch a break. If you read my last post you saw that we are already under an extraordinary amount of stress. WAY too much going on. Well over the past few days it hasn't gotten any better.

I feel like everyone at The Child Health Center should know us by name. I have literally spoken to the nurses or gone in for an appointment with one of the kids 4 times in the past 6 days. And yes, that's a $30 copay for each visit... Lincoln took his Tamiflu and managed his fever and by Sunday night he was back to his old self again. Hooray. He's playing and laughing, and having a good time again. Aspen on the other hand is under the weather again. She is over her UTI, hopefully, after 10 days of antibiotics...that she hates to take. But on the 11th day she spiked a fever of 102 again. So of course, you have to wonder if it's still the UTI or if it's something else. So I called the nurses and they didn't have an appointment for me yesterday but said to call back today if she wasn't doing any better. Well....she wasn't. She was sad and pittiful. She wouldn't play, just wanted to be held, cried if her feet touched the floor. Still had a fever of 101. So back to the phone I went..then back to the doctor again. Our appointment was for 4:40 and we didn't leave until 6:45!! Ugh. They pricked her finger to check her white blood cell count...so see if it showed infection or if it might just be viral. They put on another urine bag to get a sample to check the UTI again, but she wouldn't go. So they had to catheterize her again. SOOOOO sad! She now screams when you just put her on the scale. She hates the doctor, hates to be laid down now, and it will take like 3 days before she'll let me change her diaper at home without screaming at me. :(

Turns out it's probably not the UTI, it's probably viral. So just keep her on ibuprofen and keep her comfortable...if she gets worse I should come back. You know what stinks? We'll be there again on Monday anyway..for our well check! HA!!! Like we're well!! Also on Monday we'll be going back to Charlotte for an adjustment to her helmet. But BEFORE that...tomorrow she has an ultrasound of her kidneys to check their formation. Since she had the UTI she has to be looked at. It's standard procedure. We're still waiting on the call back from a pediatric urologist so we can get the VCUG done to check for reflux in her kidneys. None of this is fun.

I have to say that the Lord sure knows what He's doing. How in the WORLD would I manage all these appointments and things if I was working? No way she'd make it to these doctor visits, or every two weeks to Charlotte. I mean really.

Besides all the medical drama this weekend it really only got worse. Freezing rain/sleet/ice on Friday and into Saturday and guess what?! Our heat pump stops working!! Oh jeez....just one more thing. The breaker from the Duke Power line into the house had busted and wasn't sending power to the unit. SO after 14 emergency calls to specialty lighting stores that aren't open on Saturdays Anthony finally finds someone who will meet him at the store to see if they have what he needs. $128 later he has the part in hand and hooray.....but it's still not working. Only the auxillary heat will come on. Problem not solved. So it's cold....and no heat. Thankfully we have gas logs in the basement that heat the house to a nice toasty temperature quite easily. Goodness gracious. We made it through the weekend and the guys came to check it out Monday  morning. Turns out the thermostat was broken and not sending the right signals to the unit. Easy fix. No big purchase...labor cost and cost of thermostat: $130.

PLUS!! I know right....it couldn't get any worse. Our 55" projection television stopped working Sunday. Really? So no tv in the living room, and a fight with Lincoln every time he wants to watch Mickey. We went downstairs to play for a while, but that feels like I come up and down the steps like 15 times an hour looking for something, changing a diaper, finding a toy. So Anthony had to order a new bulb online: $200.

And really, just to add icing to the cake, my back started killing me. I had to go see Anthony at work to get it straightened out. What a disaster our lives have been this last few weeks. Something good has got to be coming our way...cause I can't take one.more.thing!!!

On a happier note Aspen turned 10 months old yesterday!! My how the time does fly. She's now walking all over the house...almost ready to run, she's getting so fast! She waves bye bye and makes lots of jibberish sounds. No idea what she's saying, but it's awfully cute! She loves food now, finally. She'll suck down a food pouch in under a minute and eat anything on your plate. She's nursing 3 times a day now, but not for very long each time. I don't think our breastfeeding will linger on like it did with Lincoln. She just doesn't seem terribly interested. I'll post her official stats after our well check on Monday, providing that she's actually well!