Saturday, December 31, 2011

Happy New Year




Adios 2011!!! I would not relive this year for anything. While it has been filled with many blessings, I'm exhausted and would not wish our experience on anyone. None of us will ever be the same, but the Lord has a plan and I find comfort knowing we are living it.
Making Cookies

We had a wonderful Christmas, at home, surrounded by family and friends...it's what it's all about! Not to throw caution to the wind, but I am relieved that we made it through Christmas without any fevers/hospitalizations.

Surrounded ;)

"Cheese"

Check out that static

We did have a scary allergic reaction incident Thursday night. Thatcher ate an overly ripe banana at dinner. He begged for the "nana" on the counter (you know, the one that should have been thrown away a couple of days before). Even though he is 17 months old the kid has never eaten a banana. I've offered it a ton of times, but he's super picky. Anyway, this is what happened...

Duck lips!

We were on our way into the ER after speaking with the pediatrician then transplant, but his lips deflated pretty quickly and we were okayed to give him benadryl. We will follow up wit the docs on this issue next week and avoid bananas in the meantime.

Terrible pic, but his lips were going down

We're 9 months out from transplant now and counting down to our 1 year anniversary. Here's to a happy and healthy 2012!!!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

December 2011

We did have labs again the first week of December that showed what have become usual results for Thatch - normal on 2 of the 3 liver indicators but a slightly elevated AST. They have not adjusted his medicine and I get the feeling we are low on the priority list right now, which is a good thing.

In the meantime, we are trying to be germ conscious during this busy time of year. Our Thanksgiving was a bit untraditional in that we did not see my siblings and their children because they were all getting over upper respiratory infection and coughs. We really do have simple instructions for Thatcher's care - give him his medicine on time and stay away from sick people. It's a hard call sometimes, but we cannot knowingly be around sickness. It is the unknown sickness that is so difficult to gage, church, shopping, etc. We've all been praying for the family to stay well for Christmas. Even so, this first year post transplant will surely be the most difficult, and we are willing to make sacrifices.
He was so handsome in his little suit!
That said, I feel as though Thatcher has been around more people than normal the last several days and I'm nervous to discover a fever or the tell-tell "sick eyes" indicating that he caught something. If he remains well by Friday, I'll feel a bit out of the woods. Thatcher was a stand-by ring bearer at his uncle's wedding this past weekend, went to church with us Sunday, and ran errands with me yesterday. All relatively normal activities that for us involve alot of germ-x and making sure anything that he drops on the floor doesn't go in his mouth.
Daddy & Thatch wearing his Braves hat
One pooped flower girl


Like alot of people this time of year, I have alot of things to go do and struggle with the feeling that I'm putting Thatcher's health at risk. I reason that he does not get down, touch anything, and I wash his hands often throughout our trips. To catch an airborn illness you have to be pretty close to someone's face and carseat covers keep us from touching surfaces...is this enough?? All things that run through my head. I'm certainly not complaining! I simply share this to give a more accurate picture of life after transplant. What a much better life it has been!

Thatcher is 16 months old now. He's also black and blue right now. A jumping on the bed incident and trip in the hallway left his head and nose quite swollen. They're much better now, but I was afraid he had broken his nose at one point. He'll let you know what he wants, which I often have to translate - "coo-coo" for "Blues' Clues", "cacka" for "cracker", etc. Christmas decorations have been interesting. Like most parents with children this age, the bottom third of our tree is not really decorated, almost all ornaments are plastic, and Thatcher thinks it is filled with "balls!" he likes to throw around the living room.

"Balls!"

He and Amelia love to play together, and we are super excited about Christmas this year. The whole concept of these wrapped presents under the tree is baffling to Amelia. She thinks it's everyone's birthday present and wants to makes sure everyone will share their presents with her. I've explained the meaning of Christmas and that we are waiting until Christmas to share the gifts. We even have a paper chain to count down the days, but we worked so hard on it that Amelia did not want to tear them off at firts, ha! She will be 3 the first of January and is so excited about her birthday party...um, a Tangled party. We'll see what I come up with :). I'm more nervouse about having alot of people in our house in the winter time.

We continue to pray for Thatcher's healing and for a healthy family. We are so blessed to be together this holiday season...not in Pittsburgh (as I know many families are up there in that Ronald McDonald house right now). God has taken care of our family beyond what we could have imagined. Merry Christmas!

One of Pittsburgh nurses that took Thatcher's blood pressure everyday sent us this Pirates outfit...how sweet!! He wears it even though it hurts his dad's feelings a little being such a Braves fan :)