Difficult Times

It has taken me a while to get to this but it's for good reason.  Merrick has had his second heart surgery inside of a year's time.  The toll that it has taken on him and the rest of us has been great.  He has been very good throughout the whole ordeal.  I'll sum it up as quickly and precisely as I can.

He went in on Sept. 28th very early in the morning to Primary Children's Medical Center.  We met with Doctors and the surgeon and got him ready.  Sadly there isn't much preparation for the parents in this situation, you have to just deal with it.  After meeting with the surgeon Andrea and I felt a little more comfortable with the surgery.

This surgery wasn't the most ideal for Merrick, but time and circumstances dictated our options.  Our options were one, The Ross procedure.  This is where they remove the deformed aortic heart valve and replace it with his own pulmonary heart valve.  Then the pulmonary valve is replaced by an artificial or mechanical valve.  Merrick actually had the option of a pig valve or a human valve.  In the end the surgeon saw fit to use the pig valve to replace the relocated pulmonary valve.

The surgery lasted from about 7:30am until 3 or 4 pm I can't really remember.  We had a nurse that would come out every hour and give us an update.  When she came out and said that they had made the first incision into the chest your heart begins to sink.  It becomes "too real" at that point.  It becomes "real" when you follow him and the anesthesiologist back to the surgery room and then you have to leave him in their hands.  We have done this before but it's never easy and it doesn't get easier.  We have also done it before when the kids got tubes in the ears and when Gavin got his tonsils out.  Those trips are absolutely nothing like this kind of trip, not even comparable.  Sadly we won the prize for longest stay in the O.R. waiting room that day.  It turns out that the only prize for winning is the coinciding bill.

(He had 3 chest tubes and pace maker wires pull just moments earlier.)

The bill of course is a necessary evil.  The wonderful people at PCMC need to get paid and I shouldn't complain too much because they did provide us with tremendous service.  I had to take the week off to take care of Merrick while he was in the hospital.  Surprisingly we brought him home a day earlier than last time.  He came home that Saturday (Oct 2).  He had essentially twice as much work done on his heart but he was released a day earlier this go around.  This was such a blessing.  He has been home now for a week and a half resting.  Really all he does is play video games and watches movies.  There are time we have to grab him and sit him down because he wants to run and jump around like normal.  We have to convince him that he is still sick and needs to take it easy.  Not an easy task, he's a very stubborn 3 year old.  Just when things seemed like they would get back to normal they didn't.

I went back to work on Monday but I didn't feel quite right.  Tuesday was worse and Wednesday was hell.  I couldn't make in on Thursday and Friday I went to the Dr's.  I had come down with pneumonia.  This was not a good time to come down with pneumonia.  I have been dizzy for days now.  I have had two painful shots of antibiotic and I'm on another daily dose also.  I should be getting better but I just don't feel like I am.  Andrea has also been stricken with a severe migraine that just doesn't want to go away. She seems to be recovering from that now but its been a slow recovery for her.  Eventually our luck has got to change.

Thank you to all who sent us well wishes and kept us in your thoughts and prayers.  We really appreicate the extra strength that we get from you.

Merrick getting in some bp

I took this on my phone yesterday as we were playing. I was only going to do a toss or two but he just kept hitting everything I threw.  He is hitting real baseballs using an aluminum bat that's 27 inches.  That's only slightly shorter than he is and it's not as light as you might think.

Catching Up

 Just trying to catch up on some events and stuff. 

So I've been overly proud of Merrick here lately.  At only 40 months old (just shy of 3.5yrs) he has learned to ride his bike without training wheels.  He can start on his own, break and stop.  Not bad for a kid who should be far behind his peers given his setbacks.

 Here's one of Merrick fielding a ground ball and throwing it back.  I'm using a real aluminum bat and a real baseball here, none of that soft stuff for this kid.  He really loves baseball. I'm not sure what happened to the sound on this but it was too hard to hold the camera and hit him a grounder to bother with doing it over.

We took them to Boondocks to play some mini golf.  By the third hole Merrick had lost his ball in the pasture next to the course.  He did hit it pretty far though.  Gavin was sinking puts all night.  They loved it.  We also played some video games for awhile and the boys really loved that.

I finally got to take the Gavman out shooting.  He had so much fun.  He actually hit a balloon on his second shot.  I could not ask for a better son.  He really loved the paintball marker too.  I let him shoot that one by himself and he got a kick out of that. 

Just when I'm puffed up and proud of my boys, I walk into the boys room and see this going on.  Appalling, just appalling. They did not get this behavior from me. 

Hopefully between the guns and their dancing the boys will be able to scare off any would be suitors of Sophia.  "My precious..."

My family means the world to me, in fact, they are my world.  Without them I have nothing, with them I have all that I need.   

Quick Sprinkler fix

Here is just a quick sprinkler fix that's easy to put together when you don't have the means to put in a real sprinkler system.  I was tired of having to set a few sprinklers each time I watered.  I used to use the impact heads that would stake into the ground.  I would have to spend a few minutes making sure that it was properly aligned each time I watered.  After a while the water would loosen up the soil and the stake would shift casing the water to go into the street on onto our driveway and cars.  Needless to say I was tired of this happening.

So I did some research and copied a sprinkler system I found online.  All the materials used were purchased from Home Depot for about $25.00.  It simply consists of a gear driven sprinkler head (an impact head would work fine too) some funny pipe, the necessary fittings, a valve box, and a quick release hose connector. The quick release hose connector is the key.   This allows you to just connect the hose turn the water on and you're done.  The rest is buried and set like a permanent system.  This is kind of a permanent system but instead of piping it all in you just use a regular hose.  Here are some pictures of what it looks like.  If this is something that you would like to do too just let me know if you need any help or advice.

The Fourth's Festivities

 

She takes after her mother. So very beautiful, among other things...

 A good showing this year Kaysville city, Kudos. 

 

(Be very quite I'm hunting a purple polka doted octopus.)

I realize I'm getting older when I pull out the camping floppy hat to stay out of the sun. 

We had another good 4th this year.  Thank you to all who came and hung out with us.  Family and friends is what its all about. 

P.S. The garden is coming in nicely. 

The Garden is finally in

It has taken us a while to get to it because of all rain but the garden is finally in.

We planted a lot this year.  Probably too much for us to take care of sadly.  As usual, we planted a ton of tomatoes.  We managed to put in our favorite little yellow pear tomatoes and some grape tomatoes as well.  Overall there are probably some 12 tomato plants this year.  We also planted 5 or 6 hills of pumpkins of two different kinds so we will see how they turn out. The last time I planted pumpkins they didn't turn out well because I never weeded and they just didn't grow very big. We planted two kinds of watermelon in hopes that they would actually grow.  We haven't heard good things about planting watermelon but we thought we'd give it a try.  We also have some squash, zucchini, jalapeños, bush beans, cantaloupe, onions, and red and green bell peppers. 

This was the first year Andrea has been able to do some gardening.  Last year I didn't even bother with one because of Sophia's arrival.  As it turns out looking back, she has been either pregnant or just recovering with a newborn and too busy to help in the garden.  So I guess you could say she was the "garden" there for a while.  Our little weeds are growing fast too. Gavin will finish kindergarten at the end of this week.  Merrick is already talking about going to school even though he is still a year away from preschool.  Sophia is finally walking some now.  Time just flies by.

One Handsome Devil

Gav's birthday is next week.  I know what I have to get him.  A STICK!!! So he can shake off all the girls! I wish I could take all the credit for his great looks but his mother is responsible for them.  She is one hot momma! I am grateful that she is mine. Honey, it's a good thing you like running now because you will be doing a lot of it as you chase girls off over the next 15 years. Ok... ok... I know... I am an overly proud parent and husband, so sue me. :-)

...and you thought that I was exaggerating.  pfffft!!

Soccer is back on.

This post was messed up from the beginning.  I tried to do it from my phone and didn't quite get it right.  At any rate, the Gavman is back in soccer.  What a difference a winter makes.  Gav is finally becoming more aggressive.  Although we overheard him say "oops sorry" while in the beehive trying to get the ball and he accidentally kicked a teammate.  He stopped to see if his teammate was ok.  I'm glad that he's such a polite kid but come on boy this is soccer!! Save your sorrys for the end-of-game handshake.

Amazing kid

Merrick is just the most amazing kid ever.  Lately he has been waking up looking puffy.  We think his heart may be having trouble getting the water out of his system.  They did x-rays this Saturday, but we have yet to hear back from the Dr.'s.  Even with all the obstacles placed before him he manages to push forward.  Here he is at Cameron's birthday party hitting my pitches.  Keep in mind he just turned three 3 weeks ago.


I got this on the second take too.  (The first take was a bad pitch, my bad.) Yesterday he drilled me with a tennis ball that I pitched to him.  He hit it so hard I couldn't even get out of the way and it hit me right in the chest.

Happy Birthday Merrick!!

Things have been kind of lean around our house lately, what with the medical bills and all. Fortunately we have great friends and family that help support us in these trying times. We were given this new Power Wheels toy for Merrick. Thank you Cascade Chiropractic (Brett and Tulio) this really made Merrick's day. We gave it to him on Saturday and he hasn't stopped ridding it since.

We love you Merrick and wish we could give you more.

I did manage to get out this weekend and take the boys to the park.  Sophia and I have been sick.  She has gotten the worst of it since she is so little, but it looks like she is getting over it.  "It" would be an ear infection, strep, and RSV.

 

Feb PCMC vist x 2

Yesterday we took Merr and Soph to Primary's for checkups.

Merrick's heart function is virtually unchanged when  pre and post surgery functions are compared. There is a possibility that the repair will still buy him some time before his next surgery. We are still hoping for a few years, but we just don’t know right now. At this point only time will tell. We go back in August for more ultrasounds and evaluations. We then should hopefully have a better idea of what will happen next and when. This trip, the poor kid had to be catheterized and have his bladder filled to check and see if he is having back pains from his kidney function. There was some reflux from the bladder back to the kidneys that can cause urinary track infections but the nephrologist didn't seem to think that his back pain was being caused by any type of function of his kidneys/bladder. So we have no answers for whats causing him terrible back pain at this point.

Sophia had a heart check up too. She had us worried because our pediatrician was thinking that her heart was sounding different. Fortunately our cardiologist at Primary's thinks that she is doing fine and that there is no change in her heart. She is good for another year.

It's kind of funny when I have to explain health history's to every new doctor that we meet with. They are all amazed that in one family a father and two children all have aortic stenosis. My cardiologist has been around for probably more years than I've been alive and he has never even heard of such an occurrence. I guess we drew the winning lotto numbers for heart defects.

So, here we go again. We continue on trying to live our lives for the next 6 months all the while agonizing over our situation. Even with his burden of doctor’s visits, tests and surgeries, Merrick is still just a happy little boy. At the tender age of 2, he is an inspiration to me. He goes through so much and comes out of it as if nothing has happened. My hope for him is that he isn’t forced to give up his childhood because of his health. It is inevitable that the innocence and joy of what it means to be a child is ultimately lost to the realities and pains of adulthood. I just don’t want him to experience that loss prematurely. I wish I had Merrick’s strength and cheer so that I could remember what it means to truly live, as I once did, as a child and without constant worry.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.  We couldn't make it through this life of ours without you.  

Quick Update

I just love that picture of Sophia.  I had to included it.  It's a copy of a copy of a copy and it's a little grainy because of that but I just love it.

Gavin started basketball this January.  He really likes it.  I had to go out and find a basketball hoop for us to play on.  Fortunately the family had one laying around so we grabbed it and fixed it up a bit and it works great.

I would have posted a picture of Bear too but he is just too elusive for photographs.  You have to catch him off guard to get a usable picture of him.  I don't recall if I posted about his newest problem and I'm too lazy to go back and look so I'll sum it up here.  He had an ultra sound of kidneys after he had been complaining of back pain.  It turns out that he has one kidney that is about 15% smaller than the other but the staph infection was gone so that was good.  He has been referred to Primary Children's AGAIN for more tests.  I think its about time that I ask for a wing to be dedicated to our family.  Andrea took the phone call from Primary's about getting him checked in.  They have us scared right now because they said that we have to meet with a doctor over at the U of U hospital in the transplant department.  I'm sure it's just where the doctor is based out of but nonetheless its scary to be told that's where we will be meeting him.

So towards the end of the month is when we find out more about Merrick and Sophia's health problems.  Wish us luck, pray for us, remove the voodoo pins whatever you can to help out would be much appreciated.  Thanks.

Good Riddance 2009

 


Good Riddance 2009

One totaled vehicle by a pregnant wife, $47,500.

One premature little baby girl via emergency C-section with a collapsed lung in the NICU, $62,000+.

One open heart surgery on a 2 ½ year old, $70,000+ and counting.

Being a husband and father, priceless. 

I for one am glad 2009 is over and by the sounds of it I’m not alone.  I’m not really the type that puts much emphasis on dates or years but this calendar year has been one catastrophe after another; I’m glad to see it go. 

We started the year off with Andrea totaling our car while she was 8 months pregnant.  Four days thereafter Sophia was born.  She ended up in the NICU because she was premature.  So premature that one of her lungs collapsed from being underdeveloped and overworked.  Needless to say that was a very difficult period. 

Then Merrick had his well documented surgery (*) over the Thanksgiving holiday.

And finally to send the year out with a bang, I start having chest pains, of which of course I told no one about. When I called for an appointment to see my cardiologist they tell me he’s booked until February.  I explain my situation and they manage to squeeze me in for a stress echo on Dec. 29^th.  I wanted to keep this my little secret because I didn’t want Andrea anymore stressed out that she has already been.  If it wasn’t for McKay Dee calling the house to preregister me, then no one would ever have known about it.  Thanks McKay Dee for that one; you added a little more stress to Andrea’s holidays that I was trying to avoid.  Then, on Christmas Eve while playing hockey early in the morning, as we do each year, I separate my shoulder.  It was a good one too; the ER feared I needed surgery to repair a possible torn rotator cuff.  The 29^th rolls around and I have to go run on a treadmill for my stress echo.  Needless to say that didn’t happen.  I did get a regular echo done and everything appears to be ok for now.  So my heart condition remains “moderate-severe” and I’m good for another year.  The following day I went to see the orthopedic surgeon to see about my shoulder.  Fortunately it seems I have a normal grade 2 shoulder separation that will only require time to heal. 

It seems like we may be starting off 2010 the way we ended 2009.  Gavin now has walking pneumonia and is pretty sick.  It just seems like everyone is always sick and all our finances go towards outrageous doctors bills.  I got a $1600 ER visit for my shoulder.  I spent a grand total of maybe 20 minutes with either a tech, RN, or Dr.  Most of that time was spent taking a few x-rays.  The rest of the time I was just sitting there wasting time.  It basically cost $1600 bucks for an arm sling and some x-rays.  Ya that sounds about right.  Now Merrick has been complaining that his back hurts.  We just found out that it appears to be a staph infection in his kidneys.  He will go in for an ultrasound of his kidneys in a week or so (I forget the date).

Our luck had better change or I’m going to go insane.  Oh yes, I almost forgot (again) that in the mist of all this turmoil Gavin had his first basketball practice, and his idiot of a father couldn’t even remember to take a picture.  I think I’m losing my mind.  Thanks again everyone for all your support, without it we would be lost.