Tyler goes to the hospital - a long one!

Last Friday, Tyler complained of an earache in the morning. I gave him Motrin and he seemed fine with that but did not want to go to school! I sent him to "Grandma's" the local babysitter, since I was subbing. I got a call around 2 that his ear was still hurting, he was running a fever, and now his neck was hurting. I brought him home and called the Dr. who couldn't see us until Saturday morning. It was a LONG afternoon, evening, and night, he would sleep about 20 minutes and wake up screaming in pain. Finally it was Saturday morning and off to the Dr. Tyler and I went, thinking he had an ear infection or strep throat. When I put him on the examining table, I noticed his neck on the right side was really swollen. The Dr. came in, took one look, and went out to find another Dr. I began to get a little nervous! They tried to open his mouth and he just screamed in pain. They asked me to take him directly to Fairfax Hospital, they really didn't know what was wrong, but something definitely was and he would probably need "specialized" care. So, off we go to the Hospital, he asked for a sprite along the way and that was about it. We arrived and were taken right into the ER room, it wasn't long and they knew he was really sick and in lots of pain. They put in an IV (once again, this boy never even noticed) so they could take blood and administer morphine, which put him in a nice sleep for several hours! The blood test came back that he had a bacterial infection and then they ordered a CAT scan of his neck. That reveled a collection of bacteria around the glands in his neck. His nurse came back in and said, "You'll be admitted soon, we're just waiting for a room to open up!" I was going a little crazy because my cell phone had limited coverage in the ER, Tim was at a soccer game for Lukas, Isaak needed to be at a birthday party and Tim really didn't know any of the plan! I could only call local numbers from the hospital phone so a few of our good friends, who have local cell phone numbers, got a call from me, begging for help! Poor Tim, he got calls and visits from people who knew more about the situation than he did! We got to his room about 4 and he woke up, talking non-stop. Tim, Isaak, and Lukas came to visit that afternoon, Tyler was pretty content to stay in his bed. That was a LOOOONG night, every hour a nurse came in to check on him, plus he was hooked up to 3 heart monitors and the IV, which kept beeping. I saw the clock a lot that night from my "bed," the convertible chair into a bed thing I got to sleep on, plus I was still in my clothes, never thought to ask Tim for something to wear to bed! The worst was the ENT Dr. didn't want him to eat or drink after mid-night in case they had to take him to the OR to drain the mass that had gathered near his airway. Try explaining that to a kid that "just wants a drink!" Sunday, the Dr. who sent him to the Hospital came to check on him and was happy with his progress, but hinted that he might be in the hospital a few more days..... His heart was doing funny things most of Sunday, very slow, and irregular, so the monitors kept beeping along with the IV machine. Tim, Isaak, and Lukas came back in and Tyler was so happy to see them! I had Tim bring me clothes and my hairbrush, I'm not a big fan of sleeping in a straight jean skirt! They left and Grammie came, bringing more stuff for me and Chitty Chitty bang bang for Tyler to read. He soon was sleeping and a few more visitors came. By then his heart was going really crazy slow so his nurse ordered an EKG. The lady came, waking him out of a sleep to stick these sticky, cold things all over him and he was not pleased. In fact, he was MAD and the EKG showed a fast beating heart! When that finished, his girlfriend, Chelsea, arrived with the biggest sprinkled donut, his favorite. (In the middle of the night, we were watching TV to pass the time and saw a commercial for Dunkin Donuts showing a big box of donuts, boy did that look good to a boy who couldn't eat or drink!) He calmed down finally and enjoyed seeing Chelsea and eating his part of his donut! Grammie entertained Tyler so I could take a shower, go for a little walk to the cafeteria, and take a nap. Sunday night was pretty calm, they turned the beeping monitors off in his room so that we could "sleep" a little better. At 6, Monday morning, his IV machine started beeping and I got up, after calling the nurse, to see if I could "fix" it! I touched the bed and it was all wet. Thinking he had wet the bed, I turned the light on and discovered a pool of blood. Well, I got a little excited, and yelled "BLOOD" and boy did the nurses and Dr's come running! His IV had fallen out between 5 AM and 6 AM and the blood was from the injection site on his arm. The nurses so kindly cleaned him and the bed up. I noticed that the room started spinning a little too quickly. I was sitting, thank goodness, and just passed out. When I came too, I was sure my sugar was low!!! But no, just a little too excited about the blood from my poor boy apparently! We got back into our beds and tried to go to sleep when a nurse came in and said he really should have that IV put back in. We've had such "good" luck with the other IV's that I didn't think it would be a big deal. So off to the procedure room to get this done. Well, it wasn't like any other time. His veins kept rolling every time they would try. Finally, a specialist was called in and she got the job done after many tears shed by Tyler and mom! Back to the room and Tyler slept most of the day. The ordered more blood work and a visit from the pediatric cardiologist, who doesn't think there is a major problem, just a slow irregular heartbeat that could be from the medication. Lab work came back, with numbers still high, but working their way down from Saturday. Tuesday, he saw his Dr. again and she cleared us to go home. Tyler did not want that IV to come out, he hates the 10 miles of tape ripped off his arm. He kept sleeping and finally I told him that I was going home, was he coming with me or not? He called for the nurse and said to take it out! He still had high blood pressure, but they thought trying to return to "normal" might help that. We had an uneventful ride home and Tyler slept most of the day and all night. He's still pretty worn out, but the sparkle is coming back in his eyes. He is on an oral antibiotic for 2 weeks and has to stay home till the weekend. Friday we see his Dr for a follow up. Thank you so much for all your calls, e-mails, visits, and prayers!

A few more Florida pictures!

Grammie knitting a scarf, just in case it got too cold.

Isaak jumping in with a noodle!

Lukas the rock star

Our three boys!

Tyler does his special dive!

Venice, Florida December 26 - January 3, 2009

Well, this wasn't in Florida, but this is the buck that Tim got!

Lukas, Isaak & Tyler

Henry, Brian, Helen, Jane & Kate Magill

Linda - photo compliments of Lukas!

Grammie and Tyler reading a book while taking a break by the pool!

The crocodile that was in the pond out back.

Isaak, Tyler, Mom & Lukas jumping in the pool. According to Lukas, the best part of his vacation was this day, "Grammie got her hair wet!"

Isaak checking out something!

Tyler explaining to Lukas how to use this shovel thingy to catch some shark teeth!

Lukas thought a shell would be a good addition since he doesn't have many teeth!

Grammie and Isaak looking for some more shark teeth!

Lukas with his sand beard and magic tooth and Tyler being a goof!

Tyler and Mom in the water

Tyler at the beach!

Isaak

Lukas

Tim went off to Iowa for a "guys only" hunting expedition so the boys, my mom, and I headed to someplace warm and sunny. We had a nice house with a pool and found our way over to the beach for a few days! Mom rented a "Southern Snow shovel" and we found some shark teeth. The time went by much to quickly and soon we were back on the road home.

October and November

Happy Birthday Lukas - just what he wanted, an action replay for his DS. (Whatever that means!)


Isaak's team - the Blasters!

Lukas

Tim, Tyler, Isaak and Lukas going on a wagon ride at Uncle Gards.

Tyler enjoys the wagon ride at the apple festival

Happy Veterans Day!

October was filled with soccer practice and games, a camp out at Tom & Susan's, Uncle Gard's picnic, more soccer practice and games, and did I mention soccer?! We also celebrated Isaak's 10th birthday and Halloween. Lukas dressed up as Spider man and Tyler dressed up as a race car driver. We had over 400 kids at our home on Halloween! We had our annual Halloween dinner with Synstads, Tischners, Smiths, and McGroddy's! November came and we celebrated Lukas's 7th birthday and the end of the fall soccer season. Now we're looking forward to Thanksgiving, a parents only trip to Austin, TX (for business) and Christmas vacation in Florida! Yipee, I can't wait to get to the beach.

In loving memory

This picture was taken last fall at the annual "Uncle Gard's picnic" October 2007. I can just imagine Sally and Gard discussing all their grandchildren together!








Today, September 19, 2008, Tim's mother, Sally Clites, passed away. She fought a long, painful fight with lung/bone/brain cancer. We tried to prepare ourselves for this day, but as one of the boys said tonight, "I never knew it would hurt my heart so bad to hear those words." Isaak has decided that tomorrow, he will score one goal in MeeMa's memory. We have lots to be thankful for and glad for the time we had together. She taught us so much and we will miss her everyday, especially when its time for some homemade chocolate ice cream, it was simply, the best! Her funeral will be on Tuesday in Elliottsburg, PA at 11:00 AM. Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts during the last 2 1/2 years and especially today, it really means a lot.

A long time....

I know, its been a long time since I have posted. I need to get myself either a driver or a laptop to keep up since we are on the road most of the time. Lukas has soccer practice on Tuesday and Thursday nights and Isaak has soccer practice on Wednesday and Friday afternoons. On the weekends, we have games! The boys are all loving school, except for the "stupid" homework! Hope to post some pictures tonight!

I've been tagged - thank you Shelly Howe!

One of my "friends" tagged me for this fun little project. At first I thought I didn't have time for this, but I learned so much about others, I thought it was the least I could do! List 7 facts about yourself and then tag 7 people at the end of the post. Let your 7 tagged friends know by leaving them a comment on their blog!

1. I come from a family of 3 boys and 1 girl, my husband comes from a family of 3 boys and 1 girl. My husband and I have 3 boys and we think that's plenty for this nut house!

2. In 2000, I had half my thyroid removed because of a supposedly cancerous growth. The Doctor told me I would have a permanent smile on my neck for the rest of my life!

3. I love being a full-time Mom, working at Tim's architectural office, and serving as VP of the PTO at the boy's school. It keeps me out of trouble (sometimes!)

4. I love watching soccer, especially when its one of our boys. (I'm what you call a true soccer mom!) However, I love to play softball and walleyball.

5. I love the closeness and spirit of our church meeting, I hate to miss meeting. I wonder where I would be right now if we didn't have such great friends who really care?

6. When I was 16, my lung collapsed after spending a day hunting with Tim. I'll never forget the feeling of that tube being pushed thru my chest. It was supposed to be an overnight stay at the hospital, but because of a mistake, I ended up staying 5 days. (The orderly disconnected my tube when it wasn't the right time.)

7. My mother-in-law has terminal lung/bone/brain cancer. The experience has taught me so much about love, patience, and being ready. "Oh for the peace of a perfect trust."

I'll tag Sue, Holly, Deb, Stephanie, Jami, Mamie, and Jody.