Happy Birthday Dear Thatcher

Happy first birthday Thatch!! What a first year you have had...you have certainly earned the right to celebrate. Yesterday held special meaning for the Link family. While all first birthdays are special, there was a time when we were not sure that Thatcher would reach this milestone so we were particularly grateful for July 28, 2011. To avoid germs in the house, we decided not to have a first birthday party for Thatcher. Even though I realize Thatcher hasn't a clue about first birthdays, I was disappointed. However, we ended up having a wonderful yet not completely uneventful day.

I got a new swing!

My Turtle cupcake cake

Thatcher definitely got the hang of eating his cupcake...the bathwater was green!

And Amelia got the hang of "helping" Thatch open his gifts

Our Family

Several people dropped in to say happy birthday and bring sweet sweet presents...thank you!! While my sister-in-law and kids were visiting, Thatcher gave us a choking scare that involved me digging very deep into his little throat, holding him upside down and beating his back, then calling 911. He is fine, maybe has a little sore throat, but he scared me to death. I didn't see him eat anything so I'm not really sure what happened and will admit it may have been an over reaction on my part. However, in the midst of my panic I screamed out to Jesus, literally thinking, "We are NOT going to lose you on your birthday to choking after all we have been through!!" This kid is going to be the death of me.

Looking back over the past year brings mixed emotions. I still look at pictures of when I was pregnant or pretty much any time before we knew of Thatcher's illness and feel sick. This is getting better, but I think about how much our life was turned upside down. I would not want to relive that for anything. I feel as though we are a happy ending, even though the ending is nowhere near. Everything else is just icing on the cake! Here are some pics of Thatcher by month and before his arrival.

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months...getting pretty sick

7 Months...sicker and sicker

8 Months...getting better!

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

12 Months

Besides the choking incident, a great birthday was followed by a great clinic visit today! I have not officially heard back from the doctors, but what I can tell from his lab reports everything looks good to me. We do not have to go back for a whole month! He had labs, and we saw Dr. Gillis briefly. Thatcher is just under the 20th percentile in height and weight...yay Thatcher!

I talked with Dr. Gillis a little bit about the future. I always pray that Thatcher gets off meds completely one day since I had heard of this happening with some kids. I asked Dr. Gillis if I was off base in hoping for this (even so, I would have still prayed for it :)). She said there is certainly a good possibility - especially with the kids transplanted as babies like Thatcher. We are still on track to drop down to about 1 or 2 meds in September, 6 months post transplant (we celebrated 4 months post transplant on 7/22). I am really looking forward to this. By the time he is school age or maybe a little younger, she mentioned the possibility of just once a day dosing. Also by this age, his level of immunosuppression should be much lower than it is now, meaning he will be less susceptible to infection. Praise God for this hope and good news today.

What a year. I like to think Thatcher just got off to a rough start and things will only get better for him. As his mother, I hate that he has suffered and gone through some of the pain he has endured but am grateful he will not remember this. The Lord has provided for Thatcher and our family through friends, family and complete strangers in ways I didn't even know to pray for. He is so good. I'm sure Thatch was put on this earth for a reason. He has certainly already had quite an impact and changed our family forever. I am still so humbled to think of all the support we've received. I pray God uses us for His glory and that we are able to be his instrument to others as well.

Happy Birthday little man!

First Fever

Thatcher had his first fever since transplant and was admitted to Vanderbilt Children's over the 4th of July weekend. Thatcher was admitted Saturday morning and discharged Tuesday evening. He's better now and we're glad to be home, again. It was apparently a virus, but nothing with Thatcher is simple. All fevers, especially this close to transplant, have to be fully investigated to see if it is rejection.

Our holiday weekend began Friday with labs as usual that revealed Thatcher's white blood cell count (WBC) was high. Thatcher was acting fine, no fever, but I had a sneaking suspicion we were going to be admitted to the hospital. In the past, prior to transplant when Thatcher was a breeding ground for bacteria, a high white count meant we knew to pack our bags for at least a 48 hour stay. However, post transplant they did not feel the need to admit him over a high WBC. Dr. Gillis called Friday and said if it was a bug, it would let us know before Tuesday...it did.

The sides of the hospital bed look like prison bars when they're all the way up

Thatcher acted fussy and tired Friday night but still no fever but woke up Saturday morning early with a low grade fever. Knowing his white count was high, we had been instructed to head into the ER if he showed a fever. I packed our bags, said good-bye to Amelia and BJ, and took Thatcher into the ER as we called the on-call doctor. By the time we got to the ER, Thatcher's temp was 103 rectally. (We cannot give Tylenol until we are instructed to do so). Long story short, Thatcher's last fever was Sunday evening and none of his cultures grew anything meaning it was not bacterial and likely viral. Most importantly, his liver numbers have remained good.

Needless to say, Thatcher has impeccable timing...somthing about the holidays! Thatcher's first Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's, Easter, and now 4th of July have been in the hospital. He doesn't have a clue of course, neither does Amelia. This is such a blessing, but honestly, BJ and I take it pretty hard. We were pretty disappointed about being admitted over the holiday. Besides worrying about Thatcher being ok, the service is not the best over a holiday and it feels like the world is moving past you. I feel completely childish and selfish for feeling this way. Poor Thatcher was stuck 10 times from Friday to Tuesday!

Happy 4th of July

He is catching back up on eating and back to his old self, thank God. I hope and pray this will get better the further from transplant we get, but we are only 3 months out and must remain patient. No doubt, I blame myself partially, but I plan to learn from this and continue to be diligent in Thatcher's care and pray for his full recovery.

Our view of the downtown fireworks