Home 5/22/12

Our trip back to Nashvegas was uneventful and Annie did great. She is so happy to be back home amongst her toys and familiar environment (wait, is that me or Annie I am talking about?) :-) Alexander was also quite excited to have us home. He really loves his sister, and the feeling is mutual. They give each other a hug every morning, which is so cute! He still has his very jealous moments, and he does naughty things, like he tries to sit on her, but generally speaking they get along quite well (knock on wood).

Annie has been very up and down the last several days, where she is delightfully happy one minute, but unhappy and crying the next. It is a guessing game as to what is bothering her. She is cutting molars, so it could definitely be that, she has been tugging on her ear (which is somewhat of a habit for her) so she could have an ear infection (she has already had 4 this year), or her hand could be hurting her (I hope she is not getting a wound infection under her bandage). She has been a little clammy lately too, but any of the above mentioned could be causing that. So hard to figure it out! She was up last night from 3-5 and was very agitated again (I rocked her from 3-4 and Gee rocked her from 4-5). We have not been giving her medicine (Tylenol) but maybe once every 24 hours or so, so I don’t think the medicine is negatively affecting her. Maybe we will go back to giving her Tylenol on a regularly scheduled basis to see if that helps sooth her. Guess we might be visiting the pediatrician before the week is over. It has been about 3 weeks since we have seen him after all, which is a record for her these days, lol.

I am currently on my way to CA to meet with a perspective client. It is an exciting thing from a business perspective, but it sure was tough leaving the kiddos! I will only be gone for about 24 hours, but still, that can seem like an eternity, especially when you are worried about your babies. I have to admit; however, traveling sans kids is MUCH easier! Security was a breeze, as I could go through the scanner like normal (we usually have to be pat down because of Annie’s pacemaker).

Thanks for the continued love and support. And thanks for the prayers for my nephew Ryan. They have determined that the culprit of his woes is Mono. He does not have an active case, but he is still battling the lingering effects of extreme fatigue and migraines. The poor kid has not been able to do much of anything the past several weeks, including go to school. Praying for some relief for him soon (and my sister too).

Doing Great 5/15/12

Annie continues to make daily progress, and in fact has not needed anything for pain in almost 24 hours.  Pretty amazing considering where she was just a few days ago.  She is such a resilient little girl with such a sweet spirit and zest for life.  Nothing is going to keep her down for long. 


Michelle went back to Houston on Saturday night and Stephen and Alexander went back to Nashville on Sunday, so it is just me, Gee, and Annie hanging out in West Palm Beach.  It is kind of lonely and I miss my boys like CRAZY, but this way Stephen can go to work, Alexander can be in his environment (where like any toddler does much better) and Gee and I can tend to Annie’s every want and need.  Her nighttime sleep pattern is all screwed up right now.  She will go to sleep for about 3-4 hours then wake up and want to be up for about 3-4 hours.  At first she tries to get down to play, but once she realizes that isn’t happening, she is content to just lay in our arms and sleep.  Great for her, not so much for us!  


Oh well, my mom and I trade off every other night tending to the princess, so that helps.  Hopefully she will get back to sleeping better when we get home, which can’t come soon enough!  Including tonight, just two more nights.….yippee!!  


Michelle and Annie:

We got to take Alexander to the beach for a couple of hours and he had a blast!

Amazing Progress 5/11/12

Wow, what a difference a day makes! After 12 straight hours of crying, and my insistence of no more morphine, Annie finally calmed down and went to sleep (albeit 3 o'clock in the morning). Of course they had to come wake her up to take her blood before the sun was even up, but her pain was so much less! Don't get me wrong, she is one grumpy bear, but given what she had done to her, I think she is allowed to be a little pissed at the world! As long as she is not hurting like she was, I'll take it! I have no doubt that all of the prayers sent up for her have played a role in her markedly fast improvement.

She is doing so well that they agreed to my request of discharge home (well, home away from home) instead of to the regular floor. So excited! She hates the hospital, and anyone coming at her with a stethoscope, so I know we will see continued speedy improvement in a quiet and peaceful environment (well, I am not sure how quiet and peaceful it is with Alex in tow, but considerably better than the beeping). I am sure it will take eons to get discharged, but at least she is resting comfortably right now :)

Watching Dora with her Gee

Surgery Complete 5/10/12

Annie has thumb #2! According to dr all went very well. As usual she struggled with her breathing upon waking up, but not nearly as bad as before. She is extremely agitated and seems to be in a lot of pain; therefore cannot settle in and rest. Valium just given and a different pain med, but still no relief. I hate, hate, HATE this for her and just pray all of this is worth it for her in the long run. It is heartbreaking. She is in the PICU so she will be watched carefully. Thanks for all the prayers, please keep them coming!

She could barley open her eyes to eat some ice cream.  Michelle had to hold her up...