Parks and Pirates and Pizza... Oh My!

We spent a fun weekend in St. George last weekend. The weather was nice and sunny minus Sunday when we were getting ready to leave. Talease found a fun park that we took the boys to. It's a neat park that has lots of fun things to do and lots of grass to play on. Lucas & Kody practiced their baseball skills which may need a bit more work! There were some fun rock climbing walls that Lucas liked. Kody was partial to the swings and the slides.

For lunch we headed to Pirate Island Pizza. It's a neat place, especially for kids. It has a little arcade which Lucas thought was heaven! The boys each got a little tattoo and thought they were pretty cool. I don't think I've ever seen a pizza that big!

We had a great time playing games and visiting with family. Thanks for letting us come visit!!

We might need to work on keeping our eye on the ball!!

Rock-it

We couldn't let today's awesome weather keep us indoors all day... even if the kiddos are coughing up a lung! I promised Lucas this morning that we could go for a walk (after Kody's nap). When will I learn to never say anything until I'm ready to do it!! Seriously... he was ready with his bike helmet on at 9:30. I convinced him that he could remove it to eat lunch! I put Kodes down for his nap after lunch and let Lucas watch a movie.

And then he woke Kody up... cause it was time to go for a walk!

Lucas rode his bike "Rockit" and Kody and I kept pace in the Jeep. Lucas insisted that he wear his "fancy" shirt today so by the end he was pretty warm.

This is my kind of weather (although a little green would be nice)!

I might possibly break out the flip flops this weekend...

Health Fairy... please visit!

We just can't quite seem to catch a break from co-pay's and prescriptions at the Valentine household!

And it's only March...

I took Kody to the dr. yesterday. For the last few days he's had a yucky nose, a fever high enough to fry an egg, a pretty bad cough and was extremely agitated! And to top it off... I could smell something (which reminded me to much of Lucas' horrible e-coli smell) and knew something was going on. You know he's sick when he'll lay on the couch and not move for an hour or more. And, in true child fashion, he didn't even act sick while at the doctor. It's a good think Dr. B could see past his little facade and determined he had an ear infection... in both ears (explains the smell) and croup! Lovely!

Lucas didn't see the need to be left out and started coughing yesterday afternoon... hopefully this will be short lived. Until then, we'll enjoy the sound of a couple barking seals.


And on a brighter note... Happy birthday to my amazing mom, yesterday! We love you and hope you had a terrific day. I'm pretty sure the knock-knock jokes were the best part! Your present will be done sometime before your next birthday!

Love Him Already!

Today was our follow up ultrasound mostly to check his heart and lips (they were unable to see on the 20 week), but we also got to see everything else again... and he's still a boy! I was glad to hear everything looks good and we're right on schedule.

At first he was a bit shy...


but he warmed up to us quickly.

Jed's pretty sure he looks just like his brothers... with two eyes, a nose and a cute little mouth, I'd say there is definitely some resemblance!

what do you think!! :)

11 weeks and we finally get to meet the little guy!

Sister T turns 23!

*photo courtesy of Lucas*


Happy Birthday dear Tawn! We hope you have a very exciting day. Too bad we didn't get to see you this morning. Oh well... your bday gift wasn't done yet anyways! As a matter of fact... I haven't even started it... oops!







Love ya.

Double Digits

I bought our first baby item last week...











I couldn't resist the adorableness of it! Besides... I had a gift card that needed using!

We are into the double digits now... 3 months to go!


Today was my regularly scheduled doctors appointment. Everything seems right on track and it's always good to hear a healthy heart beat. We do have a follow up ultrasound next week to look at the heart and lips. Due to his position, they were not seen in the first ultrasound. Dr. G also scheduled me to meet with a dermatologist tomorrow morning. I've been itching like crazy and I have red blotchy patches on my tummy. Hopefully it's an easy fix.

Lucas had his follow up appointment last Friday and he's doing great. They didn't even do lab work since the dr. took one look at him bouncing off the walls and decided he was doing very well. He'll have another appt in about 6 months and they will do lab work then.

6 Random Things

Talease tagged me to list 6 random things about myself.

1. I love Sweetened Condensed Milk! I could eat the whole can if I let myself.

2. I dream of having enough money one day to be able to give as much as I want to whomever I want with out it affecting our budget!

3. I secretly worry that if I have ever have a girl, I won't be able to do her hair cute... and there is nothing that bugs me more than sweet little girls with straggly hair all the time!

4. I hope that one day I can visit the Dominican Republic where I would have served my mission if Jed hadn't jumped in!

5. I hate the day I have to wash my hair. It takes me all day to get it done!

6. I enjoy the sewing/fabric store and putting different fabrics together to create something fun!

Single Parenting...

I'm not sure how people do it! Jed spent all of last week and all of this week up in Logan on a job. This week hasn't been so bad since Shara and Abby were here the first part of this week to keep my company.

Last week was not fun though! I didn't realize how much I needed that break when Jed walks through the door at night. I know my poor children were ready for their dad to come home! I spent the week working on one of my biggest weaknesses... patience! Due to some serious illness, (I diagnosed as Bronchitis!) Lucas wasn't able to go back to preschool although he desperately wanted too and I really wanted to send him! Between me and the two boys, we went through lots of tissues and and even more vicks vapor rub! But... we made it and lucky for Jed, he was able to avoid our germs. Tawnya so kindly offered to watch the boys while Jed & I went out Friday night after he got home. It was nice to spend time together and the boys had a great time at Tawn's... as always!

This week was a little different. Our noses were finally drying up. We went to our ward as a family for the first time since December. Jed left again Monday morning for Logan. Lucas was able to go back to preschool for the first time since before Christmas... and he's the VIP this week. When we were filling out his poster I asked him what he wanted to be when he grows up. His response... " a doctor's appointment". That ought to be fun! They are having a Valentine's party today and he can hardly wait to hand out his Valentine's to all his friends. Lucas & I picked Shara & Abby up from the airport on Monday. It's been great spending some time with them and letting the cousins play. Poor Shara... I'm not sure she'll ever come back. Every time she comes, she ends up with the flu and this trip was no exception. She spent yesterday in bed or on the couch. My mom came down on Tues. and took her, Abby, Kody & Reese back up to their house yesterday. We're hoping it doesn't spread to everyone else... fingers crossed! We have some serious projects planned so we need everyone healthy!




Since it was just Lucas and I last night, we went on a mother/son date! I took him to see the children's play "101 Dalmatians" at the high school. We had so much fun. I should have taken my camera so you could have seen his face. He loved the play. It lasted about 45 minutes with a 10 minute intermission. The perfect length for kids. It was great to spend time with just him and I. He can challenge me quite often, but in the end, he melts my heart... especially when he calls me "momma". Although... he did tell me I was "huge" yesterday! And out of nowhere last night he asked why hippos are so "plumpy". Always making us laugh!

A couple weeks ago I spent a few days at my parents house while Jed was suppose to be working in Logan... it didn't quite work out the way we wanted it too... so technically we've seen each other about 5 days in the last 3 weeks! But that's beside the point... Lucas was promised that when he got better, he could go pick out some new cowboys boots since his are a bit small now. Grandpa Mark (and grama Carole) took him try some on. He came home with some pretty fancy boots and a new hat. His old hat was passed down to Kodes. Here's a couple pictures of my "rootin' tootin' cowboys" as per Lucas!









Not sure about Lucas' face...

Back to Normal?

Were hoping February brings a bit more calmness to our home. Although we're not off to a great start... both Lucas & Kody were struck with the cold bug and they've each developed a killer cough. Lucas' is actually worse and the fits last for quite a long time. We doused him in Vicks Vapor rub tonight so he can possibly get some sleep! I'm hoping they'll be able to shake them soon. He's going to be really disappointed if he can't go back to preschool yet.

Here's baby boy #3's first pictures. Because our whirl wind last month I never got around to posting these. He'll be here in less than 4 months... so much to do, so little time. I think we've finally agreed on a name, but we've decided to keep it confidential cause we know it's going to drive our family nuts-o! We'll see how long it lasts!!

Was it all a Dream??!!

You know how when you come home from a vacation and once you unpack and settle in, it feels like it never happened?! Okay, maybe that just happens to me, but still... that's how I feel after our "vacation" in Salt Lake. We spent 10 days at Primary Children's with Lucas (not to mention the 4 very sick days at home prior to the hospital). What seemed like a never ending nightmare during the ordeal feels like a fading dream now.

You may be tired of reading about this by now, but I have to write it down. I need to be able to re-read everything we went through later on to remember what a miracle it was to bring Lucas home with us. Although not as common now days (but still possible and does happen), children can die from e.coli O157:H7 and the resulting HUS. I'm sure I've mentioned this in a previous post, but not everyone develops HUS. But for those that do, the kidney's begin to fail or their body starts destroying all it's red blood cells... or both. Lucas had both.

It was a blessing that we were sent to Primary Children's for his care. The dr.'s see enough cases of e.coli in children during the year (although extremely rare in January) that they know exactly what to look for. Our 3 Nephrologists were (mostly) on the same page and they weren't about to send him home until he was stable for a couple of days or improving in all areas. The residents were great, especially doctor Katie, who we got to see a lot and Lucas really liked. As much as I like our local hospital, I'm not sure the care would have been quite the same given the circumstances.

We were blessed with some incredible nurses and despite Lucas' mood swings (and occasional night attacks), they smiled and never complained. In fact, they claimed he'd reached celebrity status and was a highly requested patient by the nurses. We had many past nurses stop in to see him, even when they weren't covering our pod. They spoiled him with more prizes for being brave through all the pokes and pinches than I think he got for Christmas! And... they let me bug them with questions, concerns and requests without making me feel silly for asking.

We have the best family and friends. It's amazing how situations like this can draw people closer together. I know there were many prayers offered on behalf of Lucas and our family because we could feel them. Our families had special fasts just for Lucas. I'm extremely grateful for the power of priesthood blessings that were able to comfort Lucas and the men who remain worthy to perform them. I'm thankful to our ward that expressed so much love and concern for our little guy. For the phone calls and visits from so many of you. Thank you to those who helped with Kody so that I could focus my attention where it needed to be. There were so many tender mercies that came our way and we'll be forever grateful for those.

I'm most grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to remain calm through all of this. I had my moments, but I know that I couldn't have handled watching Lucas go through everything if it hadn't been for the comforter by my side. I know many who saw him at the beginning and/or heard his story thought the worst and rightfully so... he was very very sick. Looking around, at times I felt like I was the only one holding it together and I'm grateful that He put me in that position. It allowed me to remain at Lucas' side, even during the hard times. My testimony of my Savior has grown so much. He does hear our prayers and he does have a hand in all things.

And just a little update...
He had his blood drawn on Monday and we found out the results yesterday. (Apparently "stat" no longer applies when you leave the hospital.) Everything is within just a few points of normal except for his Hct, but that has gone up to 24.9 from 23.6 when we left. Every thing's looking up.

A true miracle.



Two things...

1) You know your child must be feeling better when he gets home from the hospital and immediately changes into his "hard" pants! (aka Jeans)

2) I promise we changed his pajamas daily (at least) even though the pictures would prove otherwise.

Saturday is a Special Day

Saturday is a special day

It's the day we leave Primary Children's

Our stuffs in the car

We've been discharged

We're ready to sleep in our own beds!

Battle Wounds

His blood levels came back a bit lower today and his phosphorous levels jumped up. I'm not giving up on Saturday, but his levels have got to head in the right direction for 24-48 hours. During his nap today his IV came completely out. Hopefully he won't need it. They'd have to redo it for the 3rd transfusion if need be and I'd just as soon he not have to go through that.

The tape holding his IV in place really did a number on his hand. So far it doesn't seem to be bothering him, but it doesn't look to good.

Most of his "pinches" have been taken from his arms and each time it causes another bruise.

Paulette stayed with him last night while I stayed at Grace & Jim's. He was excited to have a bath this morning and got to shoot the water out of syringe while soaking me and the nurse. We played in the playroom a couple of times and watched a couple movies. He's had a few visitors today which has been nice and breaks up the monotony of the day for me.

He ate really well today starting with peaches & a Sprite for breakfast, 3 chicken nuggets for lunch & some fruit loops w/milk for dinner. It's been a long time since he's eaten something for every meal.

He's definitely feeling better. It's nice to have my Lucas back.

One Week, but Who's Counting

We've reached our one week mark since arriving here. I never would have thought we'd be here this long. I hope none of you ever have to go through this.

e.coli O157:H7 = bad news bears

Today has actually been the best day so far. He just barely fell asleep for the first time all day, which is pretty amazing considering the 2-3 naps he was taken prior to today. The new blood must have really made him feel good. The lab results today showed his blood levels were up which is good and to be expected after the transfusion. He kidney levels continue to go down, although the dr. made sure to point out that they are still extremely high for a 4 year old! His platelet levels are still really low, but continue to rise slowly. Everything seems to be moving in the right direction which is what we like to hear. The dr. today (our 3rd Nephrologist) thinks Saturday doesn't seem to unreasonable for a discharge date as long as his blood levels don't drop tomorrow. I'd even take Friday, but don't want to push my luck to much!

It was a pretty uneventful day, but we'll take it if it means things are getting better.

A couple funny things he said lately...

As he walks into his room last night from getting a movie he says "ahh, home sweet home". Um... lets not get to attached!

I had walk with me to the laundry room to get the laundry out of the dryer. While I'm folding the clothes he says "I'm thirsty of walkin".

Oh Happy Day...

We had the dr. stop by this afternoon he mentioned that he'll be for at least a couple more days. With the new blood transfusion they have to make sure that his levels don't rise and than fall again like they did last time. They also have to make sure that his kidney levels continue to fall. We don't necessarily have to be in the "normal" range but need to be headed in that direction consistently before they'll consider releasing him. He also mentioned that he'll probably need weekly blood draws once we leave to make sure everything is maintaining. He's going to love that!

I'm shooting for a weekend discharge date. I don't want to get my hopes up too high!

The resident that was with the dr. also talked about how they were doing everything they could to get the isolation ban removed. I wasn't to optimistic since they were pretty adamant this morning that there was nothing we could do until he poops. Although... I still pled my case... again! About 30 seconds after they left the room he came back in with some very good news... we no longer have a nice "contaminated room" poster adorning our door. The senior resident from this morning went to the top of the supervisor chain and they finally gave the go ahead. Apparently some of his stool had come back negative for shiga-toxins, but they weren't able to test for e.coli. Not sure why we didn't find this out two days ago... oh well.

We're Free At Last!

Tonight Jed pushed him down to the playroom in his car. He walked with me to the candy machines. And I pushed him again in his car to pick out a movie. I think he's enjoying his new found freedom. I know I am.
He and his dad enjoyed some playstation baseball and we all played a game of animal rummy, Lucas style.

His transfusion went well this afternoon. He slept through about 3 hours of it, although he was not cooperative during the vital checks. We're glad it's over and hope his body decides to keep these instead of destroy them.

Holding Strong...

I normally consider myself a strong person.

I'm not one who cries when my kids get their routine immunizations since I know it's for their own good.

I may have shed a tear or two during his first dr.'s appointment last Monday when I had to watch him in so much pain and go through his first blood lab.

I did have a slight break down the day after we were admitted.

But today... I lost it... over a stinkin' wagon ride! Infection control will not lift the isolation ban and therefore he's been confined to his room... again! Until they have a stool sample they won't consider it. He wanted to go for a car ride this morning and it broke my heart that he couldn't, especially since he got to yesterday. I'm upset because he could be off isolation but because of mix up at the lab they didn't run the two samples and now there's nothing we can do until he poops again. It's frustrating, but we'll get through it.

And... I had to say goodbye to Shara today since she had to fly back to "Sharizona". I've loved having her here to keep me company and to explain everything to me. I'm sure Abby has missed having her mom. Luckily we'll get to see them again next month when there original Utah vacation was scheduled!



P.S. They started the transfusion about 10 minutes ago.

Quick Update

He did so good last night. He must have really liked this nurse cause he let her do vitals all night without screaming or trying to attack her. They came to draw blood this morning and he screamed through that, but still laid real still. And he immediately stopped crying when I offered him a drink of Sprite!

FYI...

Blood levels: Low = BAD
Kidney Levels: High = BAD

The nurse came back in about a half hour ago and said his Hematocrit level dropped to 18.8 which makes him critical for another blood transfusion. When they gave the transfusion last time it was 20.1 so it's even lower this time. The resident will be around in the next little while to make the order.

It looks like the kidney levels have finally reached their peak. Today's the first day they are headed in the right direction. His Phosphorous also went down, still high, be did go down some. Some good news this morning. Although they are not in normal range yet, we hope to make it there sooner than later!

Dr. Nelson did say that his kidney's may turn around and be just fine and the blood issue might be what keeps him here... hopefully this transfusion will do the trick.

A Change of Scenery

If there is one person Lucas has missed during all of this, it's Kody. He keeps telling me how much he misses Kodes and and wants to see him. Yesterday Jed and my mom brought him up and it made Lucas' day. Kody wasn't quite sure what to think at first, but soon found it fun to push the bed buttons. I just love these two and can't wait until they can play (or fight) together again!




Yesterday his blood levels had risen a bit, which is what they were hoping for after the transfusion. They weren't in the normal range yet, but they didn't expect them to be. He looked a lot better also. He's sort of on a roller coaster ride with mood swings and I'm sure being confined to a room for 5 days hasn't helped much. His kidney levels were still slightly rising making his kidney function still low, around 35% (I think). Dr. Nelson came in and still gave us at least 3 to 4 more days. It was more of a quiet day, which was nice. Jed, Shara, Kody & I left around 3:30 for home and my mom stayed with Lucas overnight. I needed to get some sleep and I wanted to spend some time with Kody. I also needed to restock my bag before heading back to our luxury suite at the fabulous five star PCM this morning. He did have two bowel movements last night, but unfortunately there was a mix up at the lab and neither one of them was tested so he's still under isolation and they won't take him off until they get another sample. I wasn't too happy about it, but there isn't much I can do! He did eat two slices pizza and drank a can of sprite.



Today he's about the same. His blood levels did drop again so they'll be watching those and his phosphorus jumped higher. He got to go for a wagon ride this morning and his dad pushed him around in a car this afternoon. That put a smile on his face which was nice to see. He also got out of bed a couple of times to play Go Fish with Shara & I and play with some toys/books. This was good since he did it all on his own. I did have to force him to take a bath, but at least he's clean now! He's still not eating that great, but he's loving the Sprite! Hopefully his lab work will come back with some improvement tomorrow and we can begin the downhill slide to all of this. We met his new dr. today, but he didn't have much to tell us, but it still sounds like a few more days. I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever make it out of here. I'll let you know of any new news tomorrow.



After 5 days, he finally got to experience the life outside his room!



Our favorite patient & favorite nurse.

New Blood

They started the transfusion about 9:00 tonight. Here's a couple of pictures of Lucas showing off his new blood. It'll take 4 hours to complete the process.

A Little Better... A Little Worse

We're still here!

The pain is gone in his stomach and the diarrhea has stopped. If we can get two stool samples that are negative for the toxin then he'll be isolation free and be able to leave the room for walks. Of course after they tell us this, he decides not to poop at all today! Go figure!

Last night he was literally bouncing off the walls. He was talking non stop and had the funniest things to say. He thought he'd try a running leap for some balloons, but collapsed before he could get his feet off the ground. This was his first venture out of bed and apparently didn't know that running and jumping should come after you've been on your feet more than 30 seconds in 5 days! We all had a good laugh, including him!

Jed slept at the hospital last night with Lucas. I slept at my aunt and uncles house just a few miles from the hospital. I slept so good! I don't think I moved all night. It was nice to get some rest, but I still woke up tired. I think everything has finally caught up to me and I'm draggin' a bit. Jed said he didn't get much sleep, but Lucas slept good.

When we got over this morning, Lucas was still sleeping. He looked quite white/pale and slept until about 10:00. The poor kid had to have 3 blood draws this morning. They first 2 they did from his finger and both samples clotted. The third one they finally did through the vein. He's about had it with them taking his blood. We practically have to hold him down so they can take it. His levels from this morning did not shown signs of improvement. His kidney levels are still rising and his blood levels are still dropping. He pretty much spent the day laying around and sleeping. He didn't look so great which had me concerned. They did another blood test this evening and things continue to worsen. Tonight they decided to do the blood transfusion and will start that in the next hour or so. Hopefully that will give him the boost he needs. Of course after they ordered the transfusion he decides to get all happy and talkative again!

Dr. Nelson came in the morning to discuss his kidney levels with us. At first he thought he might need the dialysis, but he's hoping to wait it out a bit and see if they start to drop on their own. He thinks the trend shows signs of peaking in the next day or so. I would rather see him get over this on his own rather than have surgery and dialysis. We'll see what the dr. says tomorrow. Even after this is all over, they'll be doing follow ups on him to make sure the kidney's are still functioning properly.

I think that's about it for today. We'll see what tomorrow brings.


Now... as you may remember. We had the ultrasound yesterday and apparently there were more of you thinking blue than pink. Our little he looks really good. Because of his position they weren't able to get a good look at his heart so they may send us back in a couple of months to get a better look at that. Were very excited to welcome this little guy to our family.

Fifty Percent

Although there wasn't a lot of change in his blood work yesterday afternoon, it still did not show any signs of improvement yet. They've already come this morning to draw more blood and I'm anxious to find out the results in a couple hours.

The Nephrologist came by yesterday afternoon to take a look at him. He's been turned over to the kidney team now and they will be monitoring everything. As of yesterday he still had a ways to go before a blood transfusion or dialysis which is always good news. His kidney's are currently performing at 50% and around 15% is when they consider dialysis. They printed out the lab results for me yesterday and in my limited medical language (and some help from Shara), I can see why Dr. N talks as if it's going down before it'll go back up. His levels for kidney function are quite high so even if they reverse themselves, it may take awhile before they reach the normal zone again.

They would like to trace the E.coli back to something, but so far, we're all drawing a blank. Between St. George for Christmas, our house for a couple of days & Honeyville for New Year's we have a lot of ground to cover. Since nobody else has been sick, it's been hard to track, especially since so much of it was shared. The case has been reported to health department and they'll be talking to me soon.

He finally ate 2 bites of Cream of Wheat and about 5 grapes yesterday. Not much, but since he hasn't taken a bite of anything since Sunday, it's an improvement. He'll only drink water and apple/grape juice and unfortunately he's not drinking much of those either. He only wants "little sips"! He's been put on a dietary restriction with low potassium & low phosphorus so his choices can be limited a bit.

It's pretty much a waiting game around here. The Dr. did say yesterday to plan on at least 3-4 more days but more likely a few more. I've requested that Dr. Nelson come see me this morning before I have to leave for my ultrasound in Provo. I'm hoping they'll follow through with making sure he does. I'd rather be here when he comes.

Thanks again for all your love and support.