Surgery Drama

Christy and I celebrated our 6th anniversary on Aug. 28th of this year. In those 6 years Christy has had 8 surgeries (6 orthopedic and 2 c-sections). She's had her left wrist operated on 3 times: 1) Removal of hardware (from a previous ulnar shortening surgery before we met), 2) scapholunate ligament repair 3) a partial fusion. Her right shoulder has undergone the following 2 surgeries: 1) subacromial decompression and SLAP lesion repair and 2) a biceps tenodesis. And most recently she tore her medial meniscus in her right knee requiring a partial menisectomy. Each time she has surgery I just pray that things will go right, since I'm the pessimist of the family and I work in the hospital and see daily all the things that can potentially go wrong with surgery, so naturally I'm fearful each time she "goes under". Well my fears came to fruition this last surgery.

On September 28th Christy had a partial menisectomy on her right knee. This means she had a torn piece of cartilage in her knee that was removed. The doctor said she would "be back to herself and feeling great" in 2 weeks. He even told us she wouldn't need crutches but of course I got them "just in case". The first few days were uneventful but then Christy began to complain that her calf was severely hurting. I told her to call the doctor immediately fearing a blood clot could be a possibility and unfortunately I was right. Christy had an ultrasound of her leg and was found to have a DVT (deep vein thrombosis). She was started on Warfarin (better known as Coumadin) and Lovenox (a low molecular weight heparin injection). She had to inject her stomach twice a day causing severe bruising (as seen below).

Christy's brother Matt is in the Navy and has been in Iraq since January and was coming home for a couple weeks before returning to Iraq. It was very important to Christy to be able to see him so we had planned on going to California from Oct 6th-13th to visit her family. We spoke with the doctors and they agreed it would be okay for Christy to travel. We had to schedule an appt. in California at a lab to have her blood drawn to check her Coumadin levels, but that was no big deal. The trip down in the mini-van was uneventful but Christy soon began to have excruciating pain in her knee. It was very swollen and she could not bear any weight. On Saturday morning Christy woke me up at 3:30 a.m. and told me she was in so much pain she couldn't bear it anymore so we ended up in St. Mary's Hospital in Victorville, CA. She was given some pain medication and discharged, but after the meds wore off she was no better off.

We made to to the family party and then got in the mini-van and made a beeline for home so we could meet with Christy's surgeon to see what was going on. Poor Christy was so uncomfortable on the way home, but luckily we had the mini-van so Christy could elevate her leg the entire way home. Easton was such an angel and Ryley was good for most the ride, but thank goodness for books on tape and Songs for Wiggleworms (which I sang to while everyone slept). Upon arriving home we immediately took the kids to our friends and drove straight to the ER at St. Mark's where I work. Christy's doctor met us there and drained 75 cc of blood from her knee. She had a severe hemearthrosis (bleeding into her knee joint) caused by the Lovenox shot. Fortunately she felt immediate relief and was able to relax a little. It's been almost 3 1/2 weeks since surgery and Christy just barely got off crutches and started physical therapy (not from me of course, she doesn't listen to a word I say when it comes to therapy).

We have a trip to Orlando planned Nov. 6-13th and I'm hoping Christy will be ready to go by then. I've already said NO MORE surgeries, but we'll see how that goes as we're getting older, not younger and apparently falling apart quickly.

School, T-Ball and Gymastics, oh My!

I can't believe the time has gone by so fast. Ryley started Pre-School a couple weeks ago and is absolutely loving it. She attends Little Learners in West Jordan for a total of 4 hours a week, Tue and Thu from 11:15-1:15. This give Christy a few hours a week to recover her sanity. Ryley has learned letters A through E and loves to point them out in books we read at night.

I know Ry is only 3 but we wanted to get her started in some extracurricular activities so she could meet some friends and develop some athletic skills as well. So naturally we signed her up for t-ball, since Christy and I both love to play softball. The night I told Ry we had signed her up for t-ball she turned to me and cried, "But Mom I want to be a ballerina". These are not the words I was hoping to hear but a 3 year old has their own ideas. She plays on the same team with her cousin Braxten, the White Sox, and Ry is the only girl on the team. I'm so proud of her for trying, although I'm thinking we may need to revert to plan B next Spring, Ballet.

As if Mon and Wed wasn't enough, we decided to sign Ry for gymnastics on Thu. Of course she loves it but man we are in over our heads. The girl is 3 and she's booked 3 nights of the week already. It's only to get worse I hear so we'll just strap ourselves in for the ride.

New Addiction

I've discovered a new addiction: Sprint distance triathlons. I entered my first mini-tri last October in St. George. It was a 200 yd swim in a pool, 5 mile bike ride and 1.5 mile run. To be honest, I ran one time on the treadmill for 15 min prior to the race just to make sure I wasn't going to die. I finished the 1.5 miles in 18 1/2 min and realized, I think I need to train if I'm going to do a Sprint distance. So this has been my life for the last 4 months.

Since Christy was pregnant I had to do all the training by myself and literally "force" myself to go to the gym at times but it was nice having a goal and a purpose for the workouts. I literally had not been swimming since junior high, besides recreationally or at the beach. Swimming laps was a different story, but I've grown to love it. I still hate and will continue to hate running, but I'm learning to endure it. Biking is awesome, but is not the same during the winter on a stationary bike at the gym. Bring on the warm weather please.

I participated in my 1st Sprint distance triathlon on Sat. March 2oth and did ok, not great, but I finished and I did significantly better in the run portion than I thought I would.

My new year's resolutions included competing in at least 2 Sprint triathlons this year and improving my time each event. Yesterday I swam 300 meters in 6 min 48 secs, (average by my standards) biked 12 miles in 46 min 59 sec (horrible by my standards), and ran 3.1 miles in 30 min 9 secs (good by my standards).

I definitely have a lot to improve on but I've found a new love that is healthy and competitive. Next goal: have Christy do one with me. I'll keep you updated on the progress. Next stop St. George on April 3rd for the SHAC Sprint Tri.

Life with 2 kids

So we've officially survived the first month of life with 2 kids. It's been an adjustment, but it's our reality and we're learning everyday. Here's just a few of our "fun" moments.

1. We took Easton in for his 2 day checkup after discharge from the hospital. They wanted to check his weight and his bilirubin levels because he was jaundice. Thought it was going to be a quick visit so we took Ry with us. 2 year olds don't have a great attention span. After waiting in the doctor's office, Ry did not want to wait for the registration process to have blood drawn. Nicole took Easton in for his blood draw and Christy stayed with Ry. Mind you we are the only people of the 30 people in the waiting room under 70 years old. Ry had a fit, threw a temper tantrum and was screaming, "I want my brother". As Christy tried to calm her she received kicks and slaps to the face and just about tore open her c-section incision while attempting to discipline Ry. You wouldn't believe this behavior was coming from this sweet little thing.

But then again, after you look at the next picture you can see how she has the typical 2 year old attitude. She pretty much does what she wants, when she wants. She lets us know who is boss.

2. Nicole took Ry to the McDonald's playland to keep her busy while Christy went in for a post-op ultrasound. Easton was along for the ride as well. About 10 minutes into the adventure Ry began yelling "Mom I peed my pants" from the TOP of the playland. So Nicole quietly tried to coax Ry down but she refused. "Come get me". Nicole kept explaining she had Easton and couldn't "come get her". After several minutes and getting nowhere with the negotiation Nicole quickly removed her shoes, left Easton in the carrier, and desperately made her way up the tubes to save Ryley. If you are not familiar with these tubes, they are not big enough for 32 year olds to maneuver gracefully up or down while carrying someone soaked in urine. Fortunately, I had spare pants in the diaper bag, but no underwear. This was my white trash realization moment. Had I sunk this low? Going to McDonald's, not ordering food, just playing on playland, my child had peed their pants, was now in pants with no underwear and no socks, I'm leaving my 1 month old alone while I maneuver through a tube 1/2 my size. Please no one call DCFS.

At the end of the day you look at a picture like this and realize this is why you do what you do. These moments are precious and cherished and outweigh the moments described earlier.

Suprise I'm here!

Easton John Heyer-Wilkinson entered this world 1 month early via c-section on Wednesday February 10th, 2010. He weighed in at 6 lbs. 10 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. He was born at St. Mark's Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT. For those of you wondering "What happened?", here goes:

Easton's due date was March 9, 2010, but since Christy was having a repeat c-section she was able to schedule her surgery at "our convenience". After careful consideration, we chose March 3rd (our doctor would only do c-section 1 week before due date). Nicole had her days off from work scheduled and covered and both Christy and Nicole were prepping for a March baby. However, Easton had other plans.

At Christy's 35 week appointment the doctor measured Christy's belly and felt she was measuring 3 cm too small so she sent Christy for an ultrasound to double check Easton's growth. Nicole went to work as usual on Wed. Feb. 10th and Christy dropped off Ry at Nanny's and went in for her ultrasound that morning. Everything was great per the ultrasound report and they guessed Easton weighed 6 lbs. 12 oz. Christy went grocery shopping and after getting home she felt things "weren't right". She felt like she was "wetting my pants". She called Nicole at about 11:00 a.m. and Nicole advised her to call the doctor immediately. They told her to come in at 2:15 p.m. , but after "wetting her pants" several more times she felt she should go in immediately. Luckily Ry was still with Nanny and Nicole's brother Mike was able to drive Christy to St. Mark's (where Nicole conveniently works) to see the doctor. We met with the doctor and it was obvious her water had broken, so a c-section was immediately scheduled and Voila! we had a handsome baby boy by 5:20 that night.

Easton's respiratory rate was high, anywhere from 80-120 breaths per minute (normal is less than 70 bpm). Since it was so high, it wasn't safe for him to eat by mouth so they kept him in the NICU for 1 1/2 days hooked to IV fluids to feed him. He had to prove he was able to eat and thrive before he could be moved to the well-baby nursery. He was also a little jaundice so he spent some time under the lights, hence the cool shades he's wearing in the picture below.

The first night was tough for us since we didn't know what to expect but the staff was great and made us feel so comfortable and reassured us he was safe. We had so much support from friends and family that night, and we appreciated that so much. Ryley was able to see Easton through the NICU window the next day, but I still don't think she really knew what was going on. Reality hadn't hit her, or really us yet.

Luckily Easton's respiratory rate slowed down and Easton was able to eat and eventually moved to the well-baby nursery. Ry was able to hold him for the 1st time and was even involved in feeding him a bottle. She was in heaven. Christy and Easton were able to come home on Sunday Feb. 14th. The best Valentine's Day present ever.

Everyone is doing well and life is full of adjustments for all of us, but we're happy to welcome another member to our family.

Part 2: Life at home with a newborn and a 2 1/2 year old........To be posted when I have time, probably never from now on. Stay tuned.

Hypochondriac

We all know I'm a hypochondriac, but apparently that only applies to my own health and not to my children. Ry came down with a fever last week, started Thursday morning at about 3:45 a.m. and got as high as 104 degrees. At this point, if you know me, you'd have thought I would have called the paramedics or rushed Ry to Primary Children's Hospital. However, I kept my cool and told Christy to wait it out. By the next Monday she still hadn't kicked the fever and my neighbor had come by and scared the crap out of Christy telling her, "Sounds like H1N1 (Swine Flu) to me." So we made an appt. for the doctor the next day.

To be honest with you Ry looked like the healthiest "sick" child in the waiting room. Running around and chattering just like always, but by the time we made it to the room she looked horrible. Turns out both her ears are infected and she has pneumonia. Christy's crying because "we're bad moms" for not taking her in. Lovely.

The doctor decided to start Ry on 2 antibiotics, one for her ears, and one for her lungs. The doctor warned us this may cause diarrhea and advised us to start Ry on Acidopholous to help lessen the blow. This is where the picture comes in. Antibiotics are working great but diarrhea has hit, and hit hard. This is a pic of Ry after I found her in the closet crying this morning. I tried to pick her up since I thought she had peed her pants (we're currently in the process of potty training). I totally spaced it and her put her in "big girl panties" totally forgetting the warning from the pediatrician. Not a pretty scene so tubby time it was.

7 more days of antibiotics to look forward to. Yeah!

Fireman Mike

What's the scariest thing you can think of if you're 2 years old? Hmmm monsters in the closet or under the bed, the dark, loud sounds or ........Firemen? Picture this scenario. Grandpa Heyer bought Ry a "big girl bed" for Christmas, but looking at it, napping in it and jumping on it are much easier than sleeping through the night in it. Needless to say we've tried different tactics to get Ry to sleep in the bed without escaping into our bed in the night. She's even figured out how to dismantle the child "safety locks".

So one night Mama Cole decided to read books and lay in bed with Ry until she fell asleep until we heard some weird noises coming from outside the door. No monsters here, just Fireman Uncle Mike, O2 tank and all. Mike is training at the Fire Academy and had just received his gear from class and wanted to try it out, and who better on than an already terrified 2 year old?

Wish for a Happy Birthday....Denied

If anyone really knows me, then they know that my birthday is my favorite day of the year. I think everyone should think this way. It's THE only day of the year dedicated to ME. I look forward to this day every year, and this year was no different. I went to bed Thursday night Jan. 7th waiting to wake up to my Mom calling me to wish me a Happy Birthday. Instead I woke up to an upset stomach and serious lack of energy. I spent my birthday Friday Jan 8th flat on my back in bed. Christy had to cancel dinner with friends at The Cheesecake Factory (bummer), but to be honest cheesecake was the last thing on my mind at this time. I was hoping this "sickness" was a one day deal but it's now Sunday night the 10th and I'm still dragging. Even took today off work to feel better, but I'm still not myself. So I'm making up a new "birthday" for me in 2010. It will be celebrated this Friday the 15th, that's if I can get feeling better by then. Wish me luck.