My Dad has Cancer

Somewhere back in January of this year (when we were visiting for Christmas), my dad started having some urinary tract symptoms.  I don't want to go into too much detail for his privacy, but I want to point out that this didn't exactly happen over night.  My dad was planning to come visit in Texas immediately after we left and bring back Callaway.  His symptoms prevented him from coming.  He said he was going to get better, then come down later.  

Weeks go by and I start urging him to go to the doctor.  He's always been healthy (as far as we can tell), so he has managed to avoid seeing a doctor for decades.  I'd bet he hasn't seen one since he and my mom were married (prior to 1996).  My dad's a "don't worry about it" kind of guy so I don't know the details on his health.  He lives alone, so I've kind of always worried something would happen to him at home and no one would know about it.  I always figured it would be a heart problem since those seem to run in his family.

About a month ago, his texting dwindled down to nothing.  He used to message me at least five times a day so when he stopped, I got suspicious.  The week of my wedding anniversary I called him to see how he was doing and he sounded horrible.  His voice was weak and he complained about being so tired that he had to sleep every afternoon.  There were several new symptoms, all of them worth a visit to the doctor.  He'd told me he'd been to the doctor a month prior.  Obviously, the medication wasn't working so I urged him to go again.  He seemed really out of it.  The next day, my sister called after having a similar phone conversation with him.  

In fear, I decided to go behind his back and call his good friends to see if they would go check on him.  When I talked with the wife, she admitted that he hadn't been out for Whiskey Wednesday with her husband in over a month.  They used to meet every Wednesday to try out fancy whiskeys at one of the bars in town.  My dad is the poster child for 'social butterfly', so this news scared me even more.  That night (Friday), she called me back to give me the update.

I was on the road to Austin to visit friends for the weekend.  She recounted her husband's visit and it was horrible.  She said my dad was pale and had no energy to stand.  He had told me he hasn't been eating much lately so I asked if he looked like he'd lost weight.  She said he was so swollen, she couldn't tell if he'd lost weight.  I called Ariel and that's when we decided to drive to Illinois (I looked into plane tickets, but the last-minute cost was outrageous.)  Unfortunately, I was almost to Austin by this point.  We opted to use the weekend to make arrangements for our jobs and my family, then leave first thing Monday morning.

We got a late start on Monday, so we didn't get in until 4 am Tuesday.  We didn't tell our dad we were coming and went straight to our mom's.  In the morning, we went to the store and bought some easy to prepare foods and drinks, then headed over to his job site.  We didn't know where he was, so we were discussing which way to go in when we heard a weak, "You're not supposed to be here..."  It took me a moment to find where my dad was sitting.  He was slumped on a bench between two trees not moving at all.  He looked horrible.  Exactly as his friend has described.

He asked what we were doing there and we told him it was a Father's Day surprise.  We know how much he has fought going to the doctor so we didn't want to scare him away immediately.  But then he said he felt bad because he didn't have the energy to do the fun stuff we probably wanted to do.  I told him we just wanted to go to his house and make him lunch.  He immediately refused and said he'd rather go out for pizza.  At this point, I knew he was avoiding us going to his house.  Our college-aged brother had gone by to bring him food a couple weeks prior and said our dad had apologized constantly about the smell and mess.  He hadn't had the energy to clean the house and Callaway was having accidents inside.  

It took some coaxing, but we convinced him to let us come over.  Ariel drove his car and I played chauffeur.  The house was dusty, but I didn't notice any odor.  Alex had come over the weekend before to take Callaway for him.  He must have cleaned up that mess.  The one thing I did notice is how hot it was.  He complained about being so cold all the time.  

Dad obviously did not want us in the house, so he announced we were going to the pool.  He was in no state to walk anywhere.  To appease him I said, "Sure, go get changed."  It took him HALF AN HOUR to change clothes.  He was wiped out so I told him to go take a nap.  While he was sleeping we cleaned his house and did some laundry.  When he woke up I listed off all his symptoms together and explained he was going to the doctor and we weren't leaving until he did.  Hoping he would take the bait, I gave him three options: his previous doctor, urgent care or the ER.  He said he didn't like his doctor, "so I guess take me to urgent care."  It was weak annoyance on his part.  He honestly didn't have the energy to fight us.

The urgent care doctor took a blood and urine sample and said he had a mass in his abdomen.  Go to the ER immediately.

We hobbled back to the car and headed to the ER (where I wanted to go from the start).  They brought him in back immediately.  I am seriously impressed with the efficiency, cleanliness and friendliness of that hospital and all it's employees when compared to ours in Texas.  No wonder it's a Magnet hospital.

The doctors announced the mass was his entirely-too-full bladder.  Something was blocking the proper flow of things and it caused renal failure.  His kidney values were through the roof.  They worked their magic to relieve his immediate discomfort and admitted him that night.  We were back at my mom's by midnight.  

A week after he was admitted, the doctor was finally able to do a cystoscopy and found a large tumor in his bladder.  He removed two thirds of what he could see.  The pathology report stated it was malignant bladder cancer.  The next step is to do a CT scan to determine the extent of the tumor.  They use iodine (a dye) in that procedure, but it is renal toxic.  After his kidneys recover, they will do the scan.

Ariel and I spent as much of our time as possible in the hospital with him for two weeks.  I needed to come home to attend to my family and get back to work, but Ariel chose to put her job on hold and stay with our dad.  I'm going to try to get back on here and give some more details about what happened during those two weeks soon.

Never Again

Whoopsie!  I totally forgot to post about our road trip to Illinois.  It was pretty horrific, so honestly I think I was just trying to block it out for sanity reasons...

The drive TO Illinois wasn't anything extraordinary.  We left the area by 7, after a full day of work.  Ariel, Travis and I were supposed to share the driving responsibilities, but an hour into Ariel's first turn threw that out the window.  She got pulled over because the license plate lights were out on the truck (we had no idea).  She was mugged a while ago and has never gone back to get her license renewed.  I don't really understand why, but that's how it goes.  She's been using her Passport as a photo ID in the meantime.  When the cop pulled up her driver's license on his computer, it turned out her license was expired.  He was really nice and let her off with a warning, but that took her off the drivers list.  Less sleep for Nikki.  We stopped at the first truck stop we passed and bought replacement bulbs so we wouldn't get pulled over again.  The entire trip took us 17.5 hours.  Before kids, the trip took us 16 hours, so I didn't think that was so bad.

The drive back was a horrific nightmare that easily competes with the Hurricane Ike evacuation.  Here's a quick overview of the Ike drive: 4 humans, 3 dogs, 3 cats (One of which was mewling incessantly and peed all over herself.  After the Benedryl she drooled all over her cage as well.)  Two hours into our hungover ride back, all the luggage fell off the roof rack into traffic on the Interstate.  Imagine all the headache/nausea-ridden people chasing down suitcases before a semi ran over it.  Good times.

But this trip may have been worse.  I think it was because it lasted three times as long.  The drive back from Illinois took us 22 hours and here's why:  We left at 5 pm and I was the first to drive.  It was POURING rain, so we had covered the bed (with all our Christmas presents, luggage and Ariel's new moped) of the truck with a giant tarp.  The radar on weather.com showed a giant red rain cloud over our entire route.  We decided to change our path so our entire drive would not be in rain.  

Two hours into our trip (still in Illinois), all traffic was being directed off the Interstate.  All of it.  No cars going, no cars coming.  We stopped at a gas station for dinner and to see what was going on.  When we got out of the truck, we noticed the tarp had split in half and all our belongings were soaked.  No tarps for sale at the gas station.  Traffic was being redirected because there had been a hazmat semi accident/chemical spill TWO DAYS PRIOR and they were still cleaning it up.  I remember saying, "Starting this trip off with a bang."  There was no advance warning about what we were supposed to do.  How hard is it to get a road sign out there?  We were redirected onto some tiny two lane road without street lights.  Because it was so late, it was mostly 18-wheelers out on this winding, dark, wet road.  SO SCARY.  Three miles later, we were back on the Interstate headed to the nearest Walmart for a tarp (20 miles away).

It was 45 degrees out and we weren't up for spending the remainder of the trip soaking wet, so Travis picked up some rain ponchos when he got the new tarp.  My hands were numb by the time we got the tattered remains of the old tarp off and the new one on.  That stop took us an hour and a half.  Three hours later we stopped for gas and noticed the second tarp had tore in half as well.  We gave up on it at that point. 

Travis and I took turns driving 50-60 mph in the torrential down pour.  It finally let up when we got to Mississippi.  We made a stop for gas at some point.  Aiden had to use the restroom so I took the time to check Mila's diaper.  At some point unbeknownst to us, she had a complete poopy diaper blowout.  I couldn't believe none of us smelled it.  Maybe it was packed under her well enough we didn't notice?  Maybe we were all too stressed to notice anything aside from the task at hand?  Thankfully I had an extra set of clothes for both kids in the cab of the truck.  I threw Mila's clothes directly into the trash since I knew the stain would set before we made it home.  I didn't want to carry her through the gas station, so she got a bath by baby wipes in the parking lot.  Between cleaning her and her car seat I think I used half a pack of wipes.

Back on the road again... I think it was 7 am when we stopped for breakfast at a Waffle House.  The kids were both awake (Aiden didn't sleep much) and I wanted to give them a chance to stretch their legs.  We had a greasy breakfast, refueled the truck and got back on the road.  About an hour after breakfast, Aiden decided it wasn't sitting well with him and regurgitated the entire meal.  Thankfully he complained first so I had a bag handy, but some of it made it down his front despite our efforts.  Stop #352.  Wipe bath #2.  Hoping there were no more stops for clothing changes or our kids would drive the rest of the way naked.

That was it.  I think.  Travis, Mila and I were all on the tail-end of horrific colds during the drive.  Ariel was on the front-end of her's.  Aiden made it through it all without ever getting it.  We hadn't slept all week because Mila was teething, so she thought waking up between 4 and 5 every morning was necessary.   Needless to say, it was the worst drive of my life.  I was absolutely exhausted and thankful I had taken Monday off from work to unpack and do laundry.  I was hoping to take a nap that day, but of course I didn't.  I took a couple breaks to read though.  

I think, at this point in the kids' lives, the longest road trip we will tackle is 4 hours.  When they get older, perhaps we'll try it again.  I remember taking lots of road trips when I was a kid and I remember them fondly.  Though most of them were in an RV, so we had room to sprawl out.  No different than being stuck inside on a rainy day at home, really.

See why I was blocking it out?

Awkward Stage

I am at a weird inbetween stage with my clothes right now.  So far I have been wearing my maternity clothes, but lately some of them have ceased to fit me.  Now I just look pregnant when I wear them.  BUT, I don't quite fit most of my pre-pregnancy clothes. 

I don't remember this being such a huge issue after I had Aiden and I've come to a conclusion.  After I had Aiden, I was working in a lab where I could wear jeans and a t-shirt if I so desired.  Many of my jeans are stretch fabric, which makes them easy to fit if my body size is within a certain range.  This time around, I'm working at a job that requires me to dress up a bit.  That means fitted pants, skirts and tops.  I don't have many clothes appropriate for this position.  I was hoping to go shopping after I'd lost the baby weight, but I'm lost as to what to do during this transition time.  I'd hate to go purchase clothes that fit me now only to put them in storage after I lose the weight.

My clothes are DRIVING ME BATTY.  When they are too loose, I feel like I'm in a bag.  Plus, I have to wear a tank top underneath so nothing is exposed when the fabric flaps around when I go outside.  When my clothes are too tight, I'm uncomfortable.  I'm constantly aware of some section digging in, or the shirt rides up constantly.

What's troubling me lately is wondering how long it will take me to get back to pre-pregnancy (or at least really close).  With Aiden, it took me about seven months.  I didn't lose the last 7 lbs until after I had quit breastfeeding.  This time, I had hoped my weight would drop easier when I quit breastfeeding as well.  It probably would've helped if I'd breastfed for a little longer (since it does help you lose most of your weight).

I'm losing about a pound every two weeks.  I still have 11 lbs to lose.  At this rate, I won't be back to my pre-pregnancy weight until February.  Do I really want to deal with too-tight and too-loose clothing until then??  I have been asked on three separate occasions when I am due.  I am so tired of fighting back the tears while explaining that I have a 3-month old at home.  I wish I had the energy to speed up this weight loss.

Surprise Visit

My father-in-law stopped in for an impromptu visit this weekend.  He hadn't met Mila yet and it's been a while since we've seen him.  He drives a truck (which he is in the process of buying) which puts him in our area from time to time.  That's a plus for us because he lives in Alabama now.  With Travis' mom in North Carolina and the rest of our family in Illinois, that makes visiting everyone a lot more difficult.  If anyone can make it our way, we greatly appreciate it.

Curt got in Friday night.  I made tacos for dinner and then we stayed up late catching up.  Saturday was a lazy day.  We hung out at the house; Travis and Curt did yard work.  We've been getting tons of rain lately.  It's nice because that means I don't have to water the plants as often, but that also means the grass grows a foot a week.  Travis hasn't had to mow he lawn twice a week since the summer of 2010.  Last year we had the drought, and this year he doesn't really have time for that.



Post-yard-work nap

 Saturday evening we went to the Yeager's for Luke's third birthday party.  Luke is obsessed with dragons, so they decided to have a movie night with How To Train A Dragon.  Before the movie, we had pizza, cupcakes and Luke opened his presents.  There was a game with a bunch of balloons taped to the fence.  The kids got to pop them with a dragon stick and a toy or confetti fell out.  They played the movie on the back wall of their house so everyone could see easily. They rented a popcorn machine, passed out a bowl of candy and had balloons with a glow stick inside.  Aiden was one of the younger kids there, so he quickly lost his balloon to an older kid.  I felt really bad for him (I didn't see it happen or I would have done something about it), but he seemed to handle it okay. 

Singing Happy Birthday

Opposite outfits



Watching nicely as Luke opens his presents

Opening gifts



The movie crowd

We didn't get home until 10 that night.  Aiden had a long nap earlier in the day, so he was good the entire time.  I didn't get to bed until 11.  I was thankful when I woke up at 8.  Aiden had woken Grandpa up and they started a movie together.  It was nice to finally sleep in!  We wanted to get out of the house, so we went to a seafood restaurant for lunch.  It's right next to the new carnival pier in Galveston, so it was interesting to watch all the people coming and going and riding the rides. 

After lunch I got in my first real nap that I can remember.  I slept for TWO AND A HALF HOURS.  Can you believe it??  I didn't set my alarm because I was sure someone would wake me up.  BUT NOBODY DID.  Travis came in at 5 to see if I was still going to my friend Michelle's.  Whoopsie!  It was fantastic though.  I can't remember the last time I felt that refreshed.

That evening, the boys stayed home and grilled out.  Mila and I headed over to my friend Michelle's house for our weekly viewing of True Blood.  We always do some sort of food.  This weekend was Mexican themed.  I brought sopapillas and margaritas and everyone else provided the meal.  Since I didn't have Aiden, I stayed an hour later than we normally do.  So basically I null and voided any rest I got this weekend.  I didn't get to bed until midnight and then woke up with Mila at 4 AM.  Four hours of sleep just isn't enough.  I feel hungover.  I'm so happy there's not a drug test or breathalyzer for exhaustion because I would surely fail it.  I need to make an effort to be in bed by 9:30 from here on out. Otherwise I might go crazy. 

I've really been struggling with my weight.  I've had a hard time shedding the pregnancy pounds and it's really eating away at my self esteem.  So far I have lost 19 pounds.  I still have another 15 until I can fit my pre-pregnancy clothes.  I never realized how important my weight is to me.  I've never gotten into exercise, so the only way for me to manage my weight is though a healthy diet.  I'm trying to do that now, but I've pretty much plateaued on the weight loss.  It's so frustrating!  I think part of it might be my sleep deprivation.  I know that can lead to obesity.  I feel like I am fairly active in my daily life.  It's not like I'm sitting on the couch all day. 

One thing that is nagging at the back of my mind is 'what if it's hypothyroidism??'  My mom had a hard time losing weight after she had her third child.  I think it was about a year after having my brother that she went to the doctor to discuss the possibilities.  That's how she found out she had hypothyroidism, which can cause unexplained weight gain . I know it's only been two and a half months since I had Mila, so I'm trying not to over react yet.  It's just a thought that keeps worrying me.  I really want to wear all my old clothes.  I despise that the only thing that currently fits me are maternity clothes.  I'm sure it doesn't help that a couple weeks ago a woman asked me how far along I am.  So embarrassing.

White Trash Travis

If you are squeamish, particularly when it comes to teeth, you might want to skip this post.

When Travis was little, he was playing baseball at the park with his friends. He was playing the position of catcher when the batter decided to throw the metal bat behind him as he ran to first base. Unfortunately for Travis, the bat went right into his face and shattered his three front teeth. He started the trek home to show his mom what happened. Of course, as a mom, she flipped when her son came home with a mouth full of blood. They were able to get three crowns put over what remained of his teeth.

A few years later, he was having a water fight with his dad on their concrete patio when he slipped and fell, landing on his face. He broke a couple of those same teeth again and had to have those repaired.

Fast forward to high school... Travis' teeth are now too small for his mouth, so he has to get them replaced with adult sized crowns. I knew him when he had that procedure done. I know that it was not a cheap experience for single-mom Brenda.

For many years, Travis and I have been using whitening toothpaste. It became apparent that this was not the best idea for Travis because his real teeth were getting whiter, but his crowns were staying the same color. We decided that we wanted to get his crowns replaced again in a crisper shade of white, so when he went to his last dentist appointment he requested a quote for the elective procedure. The dentist told him sometimes the dental insurance doesn't cover it if it's for aesthetic reasons, but they sent off the request to our insurance anyways.

That weekend, Travis and I were in the middle of our daily snooze-button-party when there was a loud thud from Travis' side of the bed. He shoots up in bed mumbling loudly, "What was that?! What happened?!" Since I had no idea, I told him so. We were both awake so we got up for the day. Travis went to brush his teeth and noticed that there was a chip in one of his outer incisors - one of the crowns.

He went to bed with all his teeth and woke up with a partially missing tooth. I have no idea if that bump in the morning was at all related to Travis' now-crooked smile, but I'm willing to bet it was related.

Travis quickly voiced his fear that the insurance company would surely decline coverage now that it seemed he was purposely trying to damage his facade. Lucky for us, it was accepted that following week. They don't cover near as much as I would have liked. I'm just going to think of it as using a coupon. I'll take any discount we can get.

Since we were already making plans for the new patio, we decided to postpone this work until the fall. Then this happened:

Travis was unscrewing an exhaust fan cover in the ceiling. He thought there was still one screw left in the plate as he removed another screw, but he was wrong. It swung down and hit him smack in the front incisor, shattering it into four or more pieces. It's hard to tell if the front is still attached to the back. The good news is all the pieces are still holding on. Travis is being careful about what he eats until he can get the replacements.

He has an appointment for three new crowns set for May 2. That's two weeks of soft food for Travis. I sincerely hope that tooth stays together because I'm not going to be able to talk to him with a straight face otherwise. I told him either way, he should avoid wearing camo for the next couple of weeks.

I'm contemplating purchasing a mouth guard and a hockey mask for Travis to wear after he gets his new teeth. That way, we won't be spending thousands of dollars on teeth too often and maybe his pretty face will stay intact. I've already mentioned the ladder incident that scarred his face. A few years prior, he was standing on a ladder using a drill when he fell off. The drill went up into the air as he was falling, so that it landed on his face after he fell onto his back on the ground. The Phillips head drill bit landed right in between his eyes, leaving a plus-shaped wound behind.

Yep. Definitely getting a hockey mask.

Logan's first T-ball game

This past weekend Travis, Aiden and I piled into the car and drove to south Austin for the weekend. Logan celebrated his 4th birthday. Friday night, we ate dinner after work, then got on the road for the three and a half hour drive. We hit some traffic in west Houston. Thankfully it was in an area of town that Travis knows, so we were able to quickly maneuver around the mess.

We got to the Luck's new house a little after 10. I fell asleep at 9 and I was told that Aiden finally fell asleep at 9:30. I felt drugged when it was time to unload the car. Aiden was ready to climb into his travel crib as soon as we brought him in the house.

We sat up for an hour doing a little catch up before heading to bed. It was nice to see our old friends again! And I was impressed with how much weight JR has lost. He's been on a diet for a little over a month now (Sara?) and he's lost about 40 pounds. It's amazing what just a change of diet can do for somebody.

Saturday morning we got up for Logan's first T-ball game. Logan's team consists of three- and four-year-olds. I was so excited to see a bunch of little kids play an organized game like that. It was HILARIOUS. I laughed so much. Every time the ball went into the field, every single kid out there would run after the ball. There was an adult at every base and placed sporadically around the field to coach the kids on what to do. All in all, I was pretty impressed with these kids' abilities. They seemed to grasp the basic concept, although there was the occasional batter that ran towards third before an adult could redirect him or her.

Logan's team is called the Purple Lil' Wranglers. All the teams are called the Lil' Wranglers, but each one has a different colored shirt. It worked out well for the referee. Before he placed the ball on the tee for each kid, he would yell "Lil' Wranglers, are you ready?!" in his booming baritone voice. Of course, that would get the attention of all the kids since they all fell under that name.

Here's JR, getting Logan's team shirt on. (It was their first game, so he didn't have a t-shirt yet.)

The bats seemed to be half the length of a normal bat. They made me chuckle. Sara gave Logan some batting tips.

Aiden was pretty interested in the game. He was also really interested in the dugout, in general. I think he wanted to get in there and play with the other kids. He also found that it was fun to scale the chain-link fence. That was scary for me, but we just let him do it. We figured that if he hurt himself, he'd hopefully learn from it (he never got higher than two feet). But then he never fell down or hurt himself! That kid constantly amazes me.

Aiden and Landry spent much of the game playing the red dirt. Everyone looked like they had bad spray tan with orange hands and feet by the time we headed home.

The guy in the cowboy hat and red shirt is the referee. He would show each batter the ball and ask them which picture they wanted to aim for on the ball. Then he would set up the ball with that photo facing the batter. He was really good at luring them into what they should be doing. Some of the kids were reluctant to get up to the plate. The picture decision on the ball helped distract them. Logan's a lefty, so if he sticks with the game, he'll have one up on his opponents later in life.

After the ball was set up, the ref yelled at the "pitcher" to throw the ball. The pitcher then made the hand motions like he was throwing the ball for the batter. (Lol!) After Logan hit the ball, he knew which base to run to first.

I don't know how they decide what to do, but sometimes the kids run just to first, sometimes they had home runs. It didn't seem to matter how many times they got tagged with the ball. I guess there are no outs or strikes or balls in T-ball. It totally makes sense to me, but man was it humorous.

Sometimes Travis makes me laugh

While reading Sesame Street books just before bed the other night, Travis contemplated the origin of Oscar with Aiden:

"Is Oscar a grouch because he lives in a trash can? Or does he live in a trash can because he's a grouch?"

---

Three weeks after his hernia repair, we are sitting on the couch with my feet in his lap:

He sneezes.

The sneeze sprays all over my feet because he makes NO EFFORT to cover his mouth.

He immediately says, "Ow." I guess it still hurts. =/

Oh, and COVER YOUR MOUTH, TRAVIS.

Please be a better week

Last week was a painful one for Aiden, and therefore for me also.

He had the fever associated with his croup on Monday and he was feeling all crummy Tuesday. He didn't sleep well all week because of the barking croup cough. Somewhere during all that his top two-year molars came in. He got a bloody nose Wednesday night. I didn't even know about it until he woke up Thursday morning and had dried blood under his nose and on his sheets.

Thursday he came home with a giant splinter in the palm of his hand. His teacher tried to dig it out, but only got the tip to break off. We were going to let it try to work its way out on its own, but it was really red and inflamed Friday morning. I dug out another third of it before taking him to daycare. The rest came out on its own during his bath that night.

Saturday morning, Aiden was being cranky so I tried taking him outside. That usually cheers him up. He was doing okay until he fell off his tricycle, busted his elbow and got his very first bleeding scrape. I know there will be many more to come, but it still bothered me. I brought him inside to clean it off and put on a bandaid, but he would have NOTHING to do with that bandaid. And it had Elmo on it! I think it was just a constant reminder that his elbow hurt. I tried bringing him back outside to distract him, but that wouldn't work. Finally, I brought him inside, took off the bandaid and laid with him until he calmed down.

Saturday afternoon, he fell down and scraped his knees on the sidewalk, but thankfully there was no blood this time.

Sunday we got by without any painful episodes.

Today was our first weekday after Daylight Savings Time. Aiden was so tired that he didn't fight me at all this morning. I just had a little trouble getting him to wake up (shown above).

Post-op Update

Travis just got out of his post-op appointment with the surgeon. She took off the Steri-Strips that have been covering the surgery site for the past two weeks. Turns out he only had body glue! No stitch-removal required! He just has to make sure to wash it in the shower.

She said everything looks great. He can go back to work, but can't lift over 30 pounds and light duty only. He can drive and the doctor said he should be completely back to normal in another six weeks.

Oh, and the "Great Anatomy" doctor asked Travis to tell me hi.... Um, hello?

Recovery

Travis is doing SO MUCH BETTER. Every day he makes huge steps in recovery. From the time he got home from the hospital, until the following evening, he only got out of bed to use the bathroom. We brought him food in bed and he watched TV all day. He did come out to sit with us for about 20 minutes on Saturday morning.

That night, he came to the dinner table and ate with us. He only sat at the table for maybe 10 minutes before the pain got too strong. The pressure of his organs on the suture site was too much to take. That night I only had to get up once to give him pain medication.

Saturday, Aiden did not want to go to sleep during nap time. He left Mr. Lion at daycare all weekend, so he was having some trouble relaxing. After an hour and a half of struggling with him to go to sleep, I finally thought to pull out the travel crib. I was so exhausted and just wanted to take a nap (awake from 4:30am - 10pm Friday, then up every 3 hours Friday night). I couldn't do that unless Aiden was sleeping too. Thankfully, he went right to sleep in his travel crib.

Sunday, Aiden and I went for a walk to the park, to help wear him out for nap time. I didn't even want to mess with him fighting it, so I put him straight into the crib. Travis got up and walked around more frequently. He ate lunch and dinner at the table with us, but he spent the rest of the time either sitting on the couch or laying in bed. He also developed a taste for Angry Birds on Rich's phone.

Monday morning I got up with Aiden, we ate breakfast, then I dropped him off at daycare. On my way back home, I picked up some breakfast burritos from this great place in Galveston. I was hoping it might get Travis' bowels back on track. Having Aiden at daycare gave me the day to focus on Travis and catching up on laundry. (Six loads!)

Tuesday I brought Aiden to daycare again. I cleaned the house in the morning, then Travis treated Brenda and I to pedicures that afternoon as a 'thank you' for taking care of him. I told him it was one of the perks of having a wife, but he wanted to do it nonetheless. It was really nice to relax for a minute without having my brain pulled in a hundred directions. What should I make for dinner? What's Aiden getting into? What time is it - does Travis need medication? Does Travis' ice pack need to be refilled? I'm hungry... I'm tired... Aiden's hungry... Aiden's tired... Travis is hungry...

We got the salt scrub and hot towel treatment. I couldn't believe how relaxed I was when I left that place. It took every ounce of energy left in me to get my body to work after that. I dropped Brenda off at the house and then continued on to the island to pick up Aiden. The Ramby's brought us pot roast for dinner, which was amazing. It was nice to not have to cook and also nice to shake things up a little after the monotony of recovery.

Wednesday? Back to work! I had a lot to catch up on, since I missed a large part of a study. So tired... I think I'll go to bed soon...

Pain Monster

I feel like Travis had a c-section yesterday and we brought home his little pain monster bundle of joy.

I kept having flashbacks yesterday of my time in the hospital when I was induced. Then when we got home, we had to get up every three to four hours to feed the pain monster. And by feeding, I mean stuffing Travis full of Ibuprofen and Hydrocodone.

I'm having serious baby flashbacks here, people. Travis even had a "FALL RISK" wristband just like I did!

Oh and besides giving him pain meds, I also had to change the ice on his ice pack. That reminded me of making formula bottles by the glow of the nightlight. I periodically tried to feed Travis yesterday evening and then through the night, but he was to nauseous for most of the offers.

So, the schedule yesterday didn't go exactly as planned. They made it sound like he'd be out of there by 10, but he didn't actually check out of the hospital until the afternoon. We got to day surgery on time and they gave Travis a gown and socks to change into. They took him in back at 6:20 and then I sat in his post-op room while I waited. I had my own bathroom, TV and reclining chair to "relax" in.

At 8:30, his doctor, a cute little woman in pink scrubs, came in to tell me how the surgery went. She said it all went exactly as planned. Throughout the five minute talk, she said "He's got GREAT anatomy," three times. Uh, what does that mean?! She said it the last time as he was walking out the door. WEIRD.

Soon after the doctor left, Brenda came from dropping Aiden off at daycare. I had assumed they would bring him back right away for his "recover period", but by the time 9:20 rolled around and he still wasn't back, I started to panic a little. I went out to find a nurse and he told me that they would keep him for close to an hour in the recovery room outside the operating room. He told me I could go visit him there, so I rushed down there with Brenda.

Travis was really groggy, but he wasn't loopy. We were only allowed one person at a time, so I went in first. I stayed for a couple minutes, then let Brenda go in. After a few more minutes she came back out and said they were going to be bringing him up soon so she would meet us there. At 10 o'clock, I walked up to the room with him getting pushed on the bed by a nurse.

We spent the next several hours waiting for Travis to "void". AKA, pee. At 1:30, he needed some pain medication, which meant he had to wait at least an hour before he could go. Even if he peed. At 2:10, he finally had to go to the bathroom, so the nurse unhooked him from the IV and I helped him. The pain he incurred during the walk, most likely crossed with the anesthesia, made him really nauseous. He breathed through it, thankfully. He was terrified of vomiting after an abdominal surgery.

When I got him back to the bed, I called for the nurse. The CNA came in to hook Travis back up to his IV bag. While she was hooking him up, I ran out to fill up his ice pack. When I got back, the nurse was gone and Travis asked me to check his IV because his back was getting wet. The nurse hadn't unclamped the line AND she turned some valve the wrong way, causing his back to get soaked. She gave him new blankets and then ran out. I think she was embarrassed. I was irritated.

By 3:30, Travis' nausea was gone and he'd stayed long enough to let them know he didn't have any serious adverse reaction to the pain medication they gave him. We were talking with the RN when Travis realized he had a heart monitor patch stuck in his arm pit hair.

REALLY?! The guy's not enough pain? Now we have to yank a sticker out of his arm pit hair?! It took 5 hard yanks before the thing finally came out. Travis was a champ. He didn't even flinch. Or maybe the pain meds were doing their job.

I went out to pull up the car, while Brenda waited with Travis and the nurse. By 4 o'clock, we were on our way home and Brenda was headed to pick up Aiden from daycare.

The rest is history!

Today's Schedule:

5:30 am - Arrive at hospital.

6:45 am - Surgery begins.

7:00 am - Brenda drops Aiden off at the daycare.

6:45 - 8:45 am (approx.) - Travis goes under and I plan to ignore the real world by immersing myself in a fictional novel.

8:45 - 9:45 am - Travis' recovery period as an in-patient (I really hope I get to be around for that part).

9:45 am - Discharge from the hospital and then we're on our own!

I still have no idea if Travis has any food restrictions after the surgery. If he does, and it's not something we already have at home, then I will make a trek back out for food. I'm REALLY hoping they send him home with his pain killers. I really don't want to immediately run to the pharmacy.

I'm planning to wait until the very last minute possible to go pick up Aiden from daycare. It sort of sucks because his daycare is on the island and we don't live on the island. That means I'll have to drive back down to pick him up at the end of the day. That said, I would prefer to do that than have to take care of him all day at the same time as I'm dealing with Travis.

Eek! Wish us luck!!

Monkey

When Travis and I were trying to pick out baby bedding for Aiden's nursery two years ago, we felt like our options were limited. We didn't really like much of the pastel colors and we really wanted something a little more bold. When I was looking through our options online, I was strongly drawn to safari decor. We ended up with monkey bedding and the hopes of a safari theme in the nursery.

For our baby shower, Alexa continued the monkey theme. We ended up with a lot of monkey gear to bring home. Last night, I piled all the portable monkey items on the futon in his bedroom and stuck Aiden in the middle of it. It's borderline ridiculous.

You can see the Valentine's sock monkey in the top right corner of this photo...


Love it!


Travis' mom got in yesterday afternoon. (Thanks Brenda!) She is staying with us for a couple weeks to help take care of Travis, Aiden and the house during Travis' recovery period. His surgery is scheduled for Friday, although we won't know the exact time until they call us the day before. The hospital called on Tuesday to tell Travis that the surgery should take about two hours and he is not allowed to take Tylenol or Ibuprofen for a week prior to the surgery. Three days before the surgery they finally decide to let us know that? Thankfully, Travis doesn't think he's had any. Phew!


Then yesterday, they called again to ask how he was feeling.


"Fine," he says.


"Are you taking any pain medication?"


"No," with a lilt at the end, as in 'why are you asking me that when you told me I couldn't have any yesterday?'


"No pain medication?! How are your sutures?"


Blink, blink... "Uh, I haven't had the surgery yet."


"Oh. Well sorry about that! We'll call back later then..."


My faith in this hospital dwindles daily. I know it is a teaching hospital, but COME ON PEOPLE! I purposely did not deliver Aiden at that hospital because I did not want to have some student testing out their abilities to hit a vein while I was in labor. I'm quickly regretting not bringing this up to Travis when he went in for the check up on this hernia thing.

A Date with the Docta

It's official. The date for Travis' herniectomy has been set for February 18th. I took off that Friday, plus the following Monday and Tuesday so I can be there to help him in the first few days. He has to take three weeks off to recover, then he plans to take it easy for his first week back to work. He has already gone over a list of things with his boss that he can do that isn't too rigorous.

We're in the talks with Travis' mom to have her and her husband come down to help out. Help out with whatever Travis needs after I am done with my time off, or help out with Aiden. Whichever we need most at the time.

Eek, here we go!

Run-in with a ladder

Travis injured himself at work on Friday...

He was walking through a narrow walkway between open studs, when he slipped on some rebar. He was carrying a ladder that ran into a stud when he lost his balance. The ladder stopped suddenly, but he kept going. That means his eye rammed into one of the ladder rungs.

Travis is okay, but he's got a pretty black eye. Or should I say blue? He's missing some lashes where the cut is. There's a minor abrasion on his cheek His entire eye socket is swollen and purpley-blue.

Today we were jumping in the leaf pile in our yard. At some point, I noticed that Aiden had a red scratch below his right eye. It's in the same place where Travis' abrasion is. They're twinkies.

*Warning* I Speak of Poo

Aiden is suffering from constipation. It is so horrible. I know this from personal experience. So of course that means Aiden must have gotten MY digestive system because Travis' body goes like clock work. Twice a day - same time every day. Makes me sick. I know Alex had trouble with constipation when he was little, but as far as I can tell he's completely normal these days (please don't hate me, little bro). I can only hope that Aiden's problem will get better with age.

Aiden has been dealing with this for as long as I can remember, but it seems to be getting worse. He is still going Numero Dos once a day. The doctor told me if he ever skips a day that I can give him a glycerin suppository (yay fun). Thankfully, I have not had to do that yet. In the past, the doctor told me to give him nothing but juice for a day whenever he was having painful bowel movements. But now she said we need to up the fiber in his diet and exchange one cup of milk a day for a cup of juice on a regular basis.

We've been doing that for a week now and he is still having problems. Sometimes he bleeds because it is so hard. I know when he's having trouble because he hunches over on the coffee table, or something that height, and whimpers. It can take anywhere from five to 15 minutes. If I move or touch him during that time he screams. Gah, it's so horrible.

I wish there was more I could do for him. The nurse said he is too young to go on medication, so we have to take care of this with just his diet. We've added the juice and now I'm trying various fruits to see if I can find one he likes. He won't eat apple slices, but he likes applesauce. He LOVES bananas, so we go through a bunch per week. He loves raisins, but he doesn't actually chew them. They come out whole. So is he getting any fiber from that? I found out last night that he likes ripe pears, so I'll be buying a bunch more of those. Texture seems to be a big issue for him. He doesn't like beans, carrots, blueberries or grapes. He is too young for nuts, so that's not an option yet.

My question is this, even if we add a bunch of fiber to his diet will that actually affect the solidness of it? He IS having bowel movements. The problem is how hard they are. This is the same problem I've been living with for years, so I don't even know where to start.

A Weekend Full of Family

New Year's Day was laid back for us. Travis cleaned up the garage and put together the wagon we got Aiden for Christmas. Gpa got him the canopy to help keep the summer sun out of his face.

Pierre wanted to go for a ride.

Pierre didn't like Aiden much so we had to be careful of him in the wagon with Aiden. But they were both too focused on not falling over to annoy one another.

Travis did a few odds and ends around the house. You know, all things that are good for hernias...


Speaking of hernias, Travis got a letter in the mail with a consulatation scheduled with the surgeon on the 20th. Unfortunately, he's going to have to go north for that. We usually see doctors in Galveston so we don't have to miss as much work. Apparently, there are no hernia surgeons on the island. No word yet on where the surgery will actually take place.

"Push me?"



That night, Bill and Joyce treated us to dinner at Pappasito's. It's funny because the only times I've been there are with David and Stephanie. It is their favorite Mexican restaurant in the area, so they always want to go when they are in town. Alex had actually been there before. He went with my dad, Ariel and Robert the night I was in labor with Aiden. It's right down the road from the hospital. They brought back their leftovers for Travis, who so graciously ate in the cafeteria so I wouldn't have to smell the grilled goodness while I was fasting. Thankfully, there was no fasting on New Year's Day for me!

On Sunday, Travis' dad just happened to be driving a load into Houston (he's a truck driver). Travis and his family drove up and brought him back to our house for the day. Curt brought Aiden a late Christmas present.


Whhheeerrree's Aiden?!



Four generations of Ward's:

Grandma Joyce, Curt and his two sons, Travis and Sean, and grandson Aiden.

We snacked all day on the food we didn't eat on New Year's Eve. Then they all went to Travis, Ariel and Robert's softball game that evening. I stayed home, put Aiden to bed and enjoyed a few quiet moments on my last day off from work.


We had quite the full house for a while there. Bill and Joyce stayed in our room, Sean slept on the floor in there on a futon mattress, my mom slept on the guest bed, Travis and I slept on the air mattress in the living room and Alex even stayed on New Year's Eve! Like I said, FULL HOUSE.


I really enjoy being able to visit with family, but we have something new to factor in now: Aiden. He was sooooo cranky by this weekend. He was clingy, clingy, CLINGY. I have already noticed a change in his demeanor. He was deleriously happy last night after Travis picked him up from daycare. So much so, that my dad even commented on it. It makes me a little sad that Travis' family didn't get a good idea of what Aiden is normally like. In general, he tends to show a preference for hanging out with the guys. I already have to deal with women being upset because Aiden shunned them for a guy. Add extra people living in our home and he expanded his shunning to everyone but Mom. Sheesh.

Holey Hernias, Batman!

Santa came a little early for Travis this year. He got his very own hernia! Brace yourself Internet, for I am going to explain what a hernia is. Basically, some event occurs that causes a tear in the stomach muscles. Then the abdominal organs (generally the intestines) are free to move in and out of the abdomen.

We believe Travis' defining moment was last Thursday when he was throwing up all morning. He said he felt a pull in his groin, but assumed he just pulled a muscle. It wasn't until Monday (after working all weekend and playing a game of softball) that he noticed the bulge. The next day he called to set up an appointment to have this most-likely-hernia checked out by a professional. I went with him to his Wednesday afternoon appointment. The doctor confirmed our fears.

Since his intestines still move in and out freely, the doc was not seriously concerned. He said the repair could wait, but there are many serious complications that could occur which would require an emergency surgery. If the intestines get stuck out, they could get a blockage or the blood flow could get stopped off. Both of these would result in necrotic intestines. That would be an even bigger surgery. This is exactly why we have insurance, so he is going to go ahead and have the repair done as soon as possible.

For the moment, he is still allowed to work and go about his daily life. He is not supposed to lift over 30 lbs, which means he can still carry our son. If it ever hurts, he is supposed to stop what he is doing immediately. He has a cough. And coughing is painful. Having a full bladder is painful. Taking large steps is painful (like when he skips rungs on the ladder).

We have to wait for the surgeon to call us to schedule the pre-op visit. The Internal Medicine doc told us to give the surgeon a call on Monday if he hasn't called us yet. They put a rush on the appointment for Travis. Not because it is life threatening, but because he works a manual labor job.

While it will be a huge bummer for him to be in serious pain during the holidays, I am actually hoping he will have the surgery soon. I will be home for the next two weeks. That means I will be available to help him out in his first few days post-op with daily activities. My family will be around to give us a helping hand as well.

Our main concern at the moment is how we are going to pay for all of this. Travis does not have paid sick leave. The recovery time for this procedure is 3-6 weeks. Then on top of having half our income, we have to pay for the surgery. It's going to be a rough couple of months - that's for sure.

I sense the Grinch returning...

New Pharmacy

After a 4 1/2 hour nap yesterday (he normally sleeps for 3 hours), Aiden finally woke up so I could take him to the doctor. I checked his temperature before we left and thankfully it was back to normal. Because he was feeling so badly and I just knew if I didn't take him that he would wake up sicker than before, I decided to still bring him to the doctor. His normal doctor was not available until Thursday, so I took him to the urgent care clinic next door.

This was the second time I have taken Aiden there and both times there was no waiting time. We just filled out one page of paperwork and then were called into the back.

The doctor took a look at Aiden and said he had a mild ear infection and congestion. That congestion is draining into his throat, causing his vocal cords to swell, hence the nasty sounding cough and nasal drip. Yay. He prescribed Amoxicillin and sent us on our way.

The receptionist asked the name of a pharmacy in which I would like the antibiotic called. I thought for a moment, because I absolutely despise the Walgreen's near our house. I have never been there with a wait under an hour. And usually when I go in around 5 pm, the wait is closer to two hours. As I was pondering where else I could go (it was getting close to Aiden's dinner time), the receptionist recommended Target. Since that is right on my drive home, I agreed.

The Target pharmacy is AWESOME. I don't know why I've never thought to go there before. It is directly on the route out of Galveston, so I pass it almost every day after work. It's the perfect place to go, since I usually need something else from there. We buy Target brand diapers and wipes for Aiden (used to get Target brand formula too), so I go at least every other week. Usually every week.

The best part about Target's pharmacy was the non-existent wait. The longest part of our visit was when I realized my wallet had fallen out of my purse, so I had to go back out to the car to find it.

Also great? The different color rings around the medication, marking each person's prescription as their own. For example, Aiden's meds now will all have a green ring. If I go, I can get a different color ring. That way, each person in the family has a different color ring and we have less chance of mixing up our meds. Thankfully at this point, we don't take enough prescription medication to really need this, but it's an interesting thought for the future.

Greatness #3 = The children's suspensions come with an easy-to-use syringe and withdrawal "port". I don't have to dunk the entire syringe in the liquid to pull it up. If I accidentally tip the bottle over, the hole is so small that only a drop comes out. It's the work of a genius. Or a mother. Either one.

I promise, Target is not paying me for this post. They should be though...

Aiden has been on the antibiotic for a little over 24 hours now. I had noticed this weekend that Aiden's balance has been really off. After about the third time Travis or I joked that he was walking like a drunk, I put two and two together. It equaled four... The ear infection. Although it has not improved quite yet.

He went back to daycare today. No fever and no bites. I consider that to be a successful day for our wee man.

Another crappy weekend, minus the crap

Another messy weekend in our house. Aiden woke up Saturday morning with a barking cough. He didn't feel warm, but just in case I checked his temperature. No fever. Aside from the funny cough, Aiden was fine for the rest of the day.

Oh except for when Aiden decided that his new favorite thing to do is climb. He climbed up onto his toy chest in the living room and then fell off, scraping his forehead in the process. Then later in the day, he did the same thing off the futon in his room. Thankfully that one was onto the carpet, so he was fine.

The final climb was in the afternoon on the shelf in his room. I walked in as his feet were on the second shelf, hands on the top shelf. He fell down a second later. I ran to pick him up and that's when I realized he had reached into the reservoir on his vaporizer. His hand was covered in lavender oil, and now, so was my hair. I had lavender stuck in my nostrils for the remainder of the day.

That night, Travis and I went out for Zach's birthday and we left Aiden with the woman who watches him periodically. Last time I left him with her, he cried for an hour before falling asleep. After he woke up, he was fine and enjoyed the rest of his time with her. While I am glad that he got over whatever it was that bothered him, I really did not want him or the babysitter to have to go through that again.

To prepare, we stayed for 20 minutes, fed him dinner and played with this toys. Once he started running round the couch and he let the babysitter pick him up, we decided that was our cue to make our escape. The babysitter said that he cried for five minutes but was fine after that. He thought her son (who is around 19 years old) was the best. We were back by 11pm to take him home.

Sunday morning, though, he woke up with a fever. I usually set my alarm for a later time than he usually wakes up during the week, but I forgot to on Sunday. I woke up at 8, suddenly feeling like something was wrong. Aiden never sleeps in that late. I ran in to his room and he woke up. He didn't get up or say anything, but he was burning up. I checked his temperature while he drank his bottle and it was at 100.8F. I gave him some Tylenol and he started to feel better pretty quick after that.

We spent the rest of the day, alternating doses of Tylenol and Ibuprofen. His appetite was not completely normal, but it was better than I expected it to be. Sadly, we had to cancel our plans with the Ramby's. We just hung out at home.

THEN, Monday morning, Aiden woke up at 3 crying. He was burning up. I had to give him Tylenol, a drink of water, then held him for a while before he would go back to sleep. This morning I decided I was going to bring him to the doctor. Ariel has watched him all morning for us and now I'm just waiting for him to wake up from his nap. We have to go to Urgent Care since his doctor doesn't have an opening until Thursday. (!!!)