The Big City & Little Diagnosis

Let me first start out by saying, we had a great time in Minneapolis this weekend! Steve and I really needed this little get away. We picked up Bryan and Wendi Saturday morning at hit the dusty trail. The weather was a little cool, but decent, which made for a nice ride. We got to the hotel a little after 3:00pm and unpacked our bags. This was the view from our hotel parking ramp. How beautiful!

After we got settled in we decided to take a walk around downtown since our hotel was right in the middle of everything. We didn't venture off too far since it was a bit chilly, but we found a place to grab some supper and chat.
On Sunday we got up, got ready and headed to the big game! This was both mine and Steve's first NFL game, so we weren't quite sure what to expect. There was a lot to keep a person entertained, I'll say that. It was cool being able to see all the different attractions and diversity. It also ended up being a really good game. I think we were all holding our breath the last few minutes of the 4th quarter.




















I think we were all excited and relieved the Vikings won another game. It would have been a long ride home had they lost. LOL! Seriously, I'm very thankful we had the opportunity to go see them play. They've been my hubby's favorite NFL team his whole life and I know it definitely put a sparkle in his eye to see these guys in action.

I am glad to be home now. We both missed Olivia like crazy. I think she was starting to miss her Mama and Daddy too. It's just too bad we've got to unpack now and get the house back in order from when I was laid up last week....ARG!

I had my post-op appointment with Dr. Viner this morning. He took out the stitches and looked things over. My neck is still a bit swollen and not too pretty. But, give it a few weeks and I bet you can hardly notice.

Dr. Viner said it looks like there was an infection in the lymph nodes. There's really nothing to do about it now. He said if any of the other nodes swell up to the size of the one he removed under my chin to let him know, otherwise, to try not to worry too much. I am happy with this news....I guess I was just expecting him to say, "You have ____. Now, here's what we can do to fix this." Thankfully, I found out I don't have Cancer out of this whole ordeal. Praise God! However, I do still have a stiff neck, swollen nodes, hair loss, and acne...But, things could be worse! I will just let these worries go to God and hopefully with time these ailments will clear. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers through all of this. It was so greatly appreciated!

Sugar Cookies & Surgery

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a good week thus far. It has been quite the week for me...

On Monday we headed to Heidi and Ellie's to frost Halloween cookies. We strapped Ellie, Liv, and Carter into their highchairs and let them go a little crazy! It was a lot of fun seeing them make such a 'fun mess!' Olivia kept patting Carter's back, not realizing she was getting orange frosting all over him. LOL. Poor kiddo. I think Liv must have really missed him!







Little Miss Livi-Pie decided her favorite part of the cookie was the bat sprinkles we put on top. As you can see, she ate enough of them to turn her tongue black. LOL!

After us mommies cleaned up the big mess we headed down to Ellie's play area. The girls cooked Carter some num num in the kitchen and they spent some time coloring too.





Three's company

On Tuesday I had to leave work in the afternoon for a telephone hearing with our secondary insurance company. I swear, after all the research I've done and the letters I've written, I am just exhausted! Hopefully we will be hearing a verdict within the next week or so. Without our secondary insurance we'd have to pay 25% of the synagis shots each month, which are $6,000 each time. We'd also have to satisfy all of our deductibles. Yes, we'd meet our out-of-pocket maximum of $2500 per person after a few months of synagis...and we might not have to pay for it in December. However, we'd have to start all over in January, which would be horrible! It'd be like shelling out $2,500 then having to do the same thing 2 months later.

Yesterday was Steve and my anniversary. We celebrated by heading to Iowa City and having one of my lymph nodes removed. The surgery went well with no complications. I am just tired and sore today. I can definitely relate with our heart kiddos on how much a person's throat hurts after one of those breathing tubes....Ouch! I've just been taking it easy and am supposed to stay relaxed until I see Dr. Viner on Monday. We were under the impression we'd get the pathology results yesterday....However, they won't be in until Monday. Thank you all for your prayers, I really appreciate it.

This weekend Steve and I are going to go see The Minnesota Vikes play with our friends Wendi and Bryan. We are extremely excited to go. I just hope I feel up to it. I'm sure after a couple more days I'll feel just fine. Steve and I are considering this our "Anniversary Trip" this year. We usually go to Dubuque or Galena for a night. I love looking at all the shops and tasting wine. I'm sure Steve is much more excited about our adventure this year, though. This is our first time going to an NFL game!

Well, I am pretty tired. I think I'm going to try and relax. Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers.

Please leave us a message...We REALLY miss getting those from you all. They always brighten our days!

A Few Appointments and Some Farm Yard Fun

Last Monday Olivia and I made the trip down to IA City for her therapy appointment and feeding evaluation. Of course, Liv had a great time playing with Melissa. I was a little sad knowing this would be our last trip down there for awhile seeing how much Olivia enjoys it. However, it just isn't worth exposing her to all the germs during this nasty, cold & flu infested season. Melissa is going to write an order for Grant Wood AEA to check in with us a few times until next spring. She is also going to order Olivia a new brace, called a supination brace. Liv has been using her left hand and arm a bit more, but it is still very tight. She's got a lot of problems turning her arm over to grab things and to use her arm correctly in her daily activities. The brace will slowly turn her arm and decrease some of the tightness. I am really hoping this works. I'd like to see Olivia using her arm as much as possible. As of right now, she does use it but she has modified how she grabs things and will hold things in the crease of her arm rather than with her hand.

After we met with Melissa we went over to the Otolaryngology clinic to meet with the speech therapist. Olivia was a bit nervous about this, but once he got out a few toys for her to play with she relaxed a bit. He set up several different types and textures of food to watch her eat. I got Olivia sat down and she actually tried a few bites of everything except the pears. He watched her eat and asked me several questions. He said she seems to chew and swallow just fine so he isn't worried about any problems in that department. He had one tip for me...During the day we leave a tray of snacks out for Olivia to graze on. We had thought this was a good idea, this way Liv can just grab a bite to eat whenever she felt like it and we could get in some extra calories...However, the speech therapist felt that Olivia may be just grazing enough to 'take the edge off' all day and not truly building up an appetite. I hadn't thought of this....So, we are trying it. It's a little more difficult than I imagined, as I now have a little girl begging me for fish crackers and teddy grahams all day! LOL. We will keep working at it though, and see if it makes a difference. After this we mosied by the gift shop. They always have the cutest clothes for little girls in there! On our way through Olivia happened to find a stuffed horse. It was a little pricey (as most gift store items are), but I couldn't help but have a soft spot in my heart as I watched her gently carrying the horse under her arm, talking to him softly...On the way home I looked in my rearview mirror to see Olivia, asleep, hanging on to her new horse, who we now call "Black Beauty." This horse has now become a big part of Olivia's day. She tells everyone about "Black Beauty" and informs us that she must sleep with this new horse every night as well.




After our big day we came home and unloaded our bags. I put Liv down for a quick nap, then reloaded and headed to Dr. Rick's for Olivia's two year check-up. We ended up being a little early and got stuck in the waiting room. Olivia and I stood clear in the back and were careful not to touch anything! There were a few other kids in the waiting area who Liv wouldn't have minded playing with. She kept asking me to let her down (yea right) and at one point turned to them and said, "Hey everybody!" I couldn't help but giggle...such a little socialite! Once we got in the exam room Olivia's mood changed a bit. She knew something was up and was not happy about being there. After a few minutes Dr Rick came in. He evidently had a cold and was wearing a mask, which naturally scared Olivia even more. In between screams we discussed Olivia's progress and looked at her growth chart. He was very impressed with her language skills and had no worries about her development. As far as the growth chart goes, things were just as impressive! Olivia is in the 50th percentile for height, and even though her weight gain has dramatically slowed down, she is in the 25th percentile there! After this Dr. Rick scooted out and sent the nurse in to do his dirty work (the flu shot). We had to wait about 15 minutes for the nurse to come in and Olivia was already in a horrible mood. It was not fun! Of course, we had a major melt down with the shot...but at least we've got her covered now. I've made sure to get my shot and so has Steve. I'm hoping this flu season isn't as bad as they are predicting...I'm sure it will be recommended Olivia and I also get the H1N1 vaccine (I don't have a spleen so I am immunocompromised)....But...this makes me a bit nervous. The trials didn't have the most favorable results in infants, with a lot of them having reactions. Does anyone have a bit more information on this?


On Sunday we bundled up and headed to Sander's Farm, the pumpkin patch just outside of Vinton. I've been coming there since I was a little girl and remember having some really great times there. I feel so blessed to be able to take my daughter there too and start a bit of a tradition for our family. The farm has hundreds upon hundreds of pumpkins, gourds, squash, and maze. They also have goats and an ostrich! Livi loved all the animals, of course...She also helped Daddy and I pick out the perfect pumpkin and rummage for gourds.




















This past Monday I had my appointment with Dr. Viner. He was a very nice doctor, who actually took the time to listen to me as well as exam me. He said most of the lymph nodes he could feel were pretty small (too small to biopsy). However, there is one under my chin that measures about 2cm. He'd like to put me under and remove the lymph node. He said they would send a biopsy to pathology while I was still under to check for anything from Cancer to an infection. Although I am pretty nervous about surgery, I am relieved that we will be getting some answers eventually...The surgery will take place on our Anniversary, October 14th. It seems like Steve and I are always doing something out of the norm on our anniversary. Last year we actually got to go some where together....but the year before we spent it in the hospital with Livi and this year Steve will have to accompany me to IA City. If you could say a few prayers for me...for a little piece of mind until the 14th and for a good report after the biopsy it would be greatly appreciated.