Whew, and he came home just in time. I think Jordan and I were on the brink of massive temper tantrum because of how much we missed him at home. Going up to the Hospital doesn't even come close to satisfying us. Poor Roscoe, he got so excited he ran smack into a wall because he couldn't see it.
Apparently Graham's Kidneys are not excreting potassium, so it just keeps building up and up. So what are they going to do for him? More pills. I guess when you are taking roughly 60 pills a day, what's a dozen more? If it helps and fixes him so we don't have to worry about Heart issues, fine by us - he likes apple juice anyway, gives him an excuse to take another drink.
He goes back on Friday to check his levels again. Fingers crossed they are fine, we have big plans starting Friday evening. Date night, sleep in, Golf, sleep in, catch up on all the Jersey Shore episodes we have never seen, sleep in...oh the possibilities when I have a week off for Thanksgiving and Jordan is with the Grandparents for the weekend.
I have had a mounting list of things I am thankful for this holiday season, but I am DEFINITELY thankful my hubby is home to help us relax this week.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Huh?
Imagine: Sitting in bed, relaxing, thinking...I might get to go home today - home, where I want to be more than anywhere else in the world. Frustrated at the events that have taken place in the last week. Frustrated that there was actually nothing you could do to prevent them, and almost nothing you could do to prevent them again. But nonetheless, you feel completely fine. Then over the loud speaker you hear an all call RRT to room 1005, RRT to room 1005. You realize, hey, that's me...then in comes every nurse, doctor, tech available rushing into your room.
Yep, that was Graham this morning. Graham's Potassium Levels were so high he was at risk for Cardiac Arrest. They poked and prodded him, drew more blood and made him drink some nasty tasting medicine, and now is hooked back up to a heart monitor. The scary part about all this, he couldn't feel a thing. He felt completely fine. How are we to know now when he needs emergency care before it's too late?
He was given a list today of all the foods that are high in potassium. I do believe that the list for foods that are not high in potassium is much smaller, and leaves no guess work. Chicken and rice, I think that's it. But then again, he still has to watch his sodium too.
So here we are again, watching levels...waiting for the doctor to say the magic words: "You may go home." I really don't want him going home before they fix his problems though. I would like him home safe and sound please.
Yep, that was Graham this morning. Graham's Potassium Levels were so high he was at risk for Cardiac Arrest. They poked and prodded him, drew more blood and made him drink some nasty tasting medicine, and now is hooked back up to a heart monitor. The scary part about all this, he couldn't feel a thing. He felt completely fine. How are we to know now when he needs emergency care before it's too late?
He was given a list today of all the foods that are high in potassium. I do believe that the list for foods that are not high in potassium is much smaller, and leaves no guess work. Chicken and rice, I think that's it. But then again, he still has to watch his sodium too.
So here we are again, watching levels...waiting for the doctor to say the magic words: "You may go home." I really don't want him going home before they fix his problems though. I would like him home safe and sound please.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Faith
I've always believed that Faith is a personal thing, to not judge what others think or believe. But I will say, I've always been frustrated at those who don't believe in anything. This whole transplant process has really been an eye opening experience for me in the area of Faith. Before it all began, I was a strong Christian who prayed regularly and tried to at least watch a Church on TV if I didn't make it to our Church on Sunday Morning. Graham on the other hand questioned a lot, and I never understood why.
Once Graham went on the list, and he increasingly became more and more sick, the strangest thing happened. Graham's Faith became very strong, regularly praying and watching Church on TV; where as my Faith began to fade. I was the one questioning what God's path for us was, never thinking God didn't exist, but thinking God had it out for me. Why would he let an amazing person be misunderstood, why would he let an amazing father slowly die a painful death and not allow his daughter to ever truly know him. Then transplant came, and again, Why did Graham have to struggle so hard in recovery? Why did Jordan have to get sick when Graham finally got to come home? These are just a few of the questions (tips of my everlasting ice burg) and frustrations I had...and you know what's weird, I got my answers.
1) Graham's Faith has become so strong, that he helped pull me out of my darkest times. 2) God didn't just answer me once, but made sure there were signs EVERYWHERE I turned. 3) I started to slow down, and figure out the silver linings of everything. And 4) I now fully understand where Graham was and why he believed what he believed.
From sermons speaking of God still loves you and thinks of you when things are not going right, to a sign at Debbie and 360 saying almost the same thing. There was an article in people about a man losing his entire family, yet he still goes on, honoring them everyday. Jordan, one of the most perfect angels. Everyone of our family and friends who have reached out through texts, flowers, support, prayers, and aid. I get it now, I get it all.
If Graham didn't stay in the hospital for 5 weeks, he'd be in a home in Dallas, not with Nurses and Doctors visiting him daily. He was right where he was supposed to be. Now, I don't understand this latest bump in the road, but I now have Faith that God does and will help up through it.
Thank you to everyone again.."I Thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in everyone of my prayers for all of you." Philippians 1:3-4
Once Graham went on the list, and he increasingly became more and more sick, the strangest thing happened. Graham's Faith became very strong, regularly praying and watching Church on TV; where as my Faith began to fade. I was the one questioning what God's path for us was, never thinking God didn't exist, but thinking God had it out for me. Why would he let an amazing person be misunderstood, why would he let an amazing father slowly die a painful death and not allow his daughter to ever truly know him. Then transplant came, and again, Why did Graham have to struggle so hard in recovery? Why did Jordan have to get sick when Graham finally got to come home? These are just a few of the questions (tips of my everlasting ice burg) and frustrations I had...and you know what's weird, I got my answers.
1) Graham's Faith has become so strong, that he helped pull me out of my darkest times. 2) God didn't just answer me once, but made sure there were signs EVERYWHERE I turned. 3) I started to slow down, and figure out the silver linings of everything. And 4) I now fully understand where Graham was and why he believed what he believed.
From sermons speaking of God still loves you and thinks of you when things are not going right, to a sign at Debbie and 360 saying almost the same thing. There was an article in people about a man losing his entire family, yet he still goes on, honoring them everyday. Jordan, one of the most perfect angels. Everyone of our family and friends who have reached out through texts, flowers, support, prayers, and aid. I get it now, I get it all.
If Graham didn't stay in the hospital for 5 weeks, he'd be in a home in Dallas, not with Nurses and Doctors visiting him daily. He was right where he was supposed to be. Now, I don't understand this latest bump in the road, but I now have Faith that God does and will help up through it.
Thank you to everyone again.."I Thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in everyone of my prayers for all of you." Philippians 1:3-4
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Interesting Week...to say the least
Well, Graham is back in the hospital...to find the silver lining...NOT for a rejection! We were trucking along, in pure bliss, when we decided to order Chinese take out. The following day, Graham woke up swollen, like he was towards the end of his hospital stay. We thought, "That's weird, must be the sodium." So the real geniuses that we are, we ate Mexican food, I made Jambalaya (sausage, ham, chicken broth - sodium ridden) and by Tuesday, he woke up with his eyes swollen shut. Had to be the sodium, right?
We had big plans for the weekend, a childhood friends wedding, and we both really wanted to get out of the house leaving Jordan safely at home. But by Saturday, his swelling hadn't changed (even with us eating sodium free all week). Luckily, swelling went down my the evening and we headed out all dressed up to have fun. And boy did we ever! Vice President Biden was in attendance, and it was pretty cool getting to hang out with him. Graham was excited that a Secret Service Agent liked his truck (big eye roll). We hung out with my brothers and a friend I hadn't seen in awhile and left happy as larks. Graham had spoken with the doctor on Friday, and just as precaution, he wanted to see him in clinic on Monday.
So on Monday, he went through his normal schedule: blood work, physical therapy, PT's, but then they added another test (and yep, the name has completely escaped me!). The doctor who ran the test came out and told Graham to sit in the wheelchair and not move again. Turns out, Graham had a massive clot in his right jugular, and a minor clot somewhere in his chest. He called me around 4:30, I have my phone hooked up to my speakers in my car, when he told Jordan and I that he was being admitted, we both started crying. We finally had our Man back and now he's gone again. Poor Jordan just screamed for 30 minutes (until I could get her McDonald's - always cheers the kid up), she knows what "hospital" means, but doesn't understand why.
Turns out, Graham had all the signs of SVC Syndrome. In layman terms, there is an obstruction (in Graham's case it was his central line during and after transplant, and also his port) that presses against the vessels that connect the chest to the head, and then causes clots. So they had a plan. First, pump him full of Heparin - thin his blood out enough to get blood flowing and hopefully dissolve clot. Second, have a procedure done where they scope his vein/vessels/arteries to see what is going on. If need be, balloon his vessels to help blood flow. Third, medicate during procedure. Fourth, start Graham on Coumadin, a blood thinner that levels would need to be monitored (why not add another one). And last, put stints in.
After 24 hours of heparin, and no progress he went down to have the procedure done early Wednesday morning. I was at work under the impression this was a quick thing, 4 hours later Graham's Mom finally told me that he was back in his room and that it was nothing what they thought once they got in there.
They found that he did not have SVC Syndrome, but a totally different one. Instead of the vessels connecting chest to head, it was arms to head - and not just one side, but both left and right. And instead of blood clots, they found that they were completely blocked. They were able to get into his right side and balloon those vessels, but not his left. Their only answer was he needed stints put in both sides and needed to remove his port; the consequence...they would be ruining any chance of him receiving IVs via port or pic line (his veins in his hand or arms have never been able to keep with regular IVs). In a perfect world with no rejection, illness, accidents, etc. this would be fine. But if we were ever in a situation that Graham needed IV antibiotics fast, did we really have the time for them to sit and think on creative ways to administer them to him? Yes, if there were no other option, but are there other options?
I was so tense all day long, by the time I could relax, I felt as if I was in a car crash - ached all over. Jordan and I went to see him - she was so excited, she missed him so much. Graham was so tired, but he was already looking better. Dr. Rosenblatt came in, we were talking about the wedding and I began to show him pictures. Where everyone on Saturday night thought he looked so great, Dr. Rosenblatt was thinking how awful he looked (it's all about perspective I guess). He took my phone and began showing the nurses, teaching hospital - signs of clots - ha! When we began talking about stints, you could see the how uneasy Dr. Rosenblatt was. He didn't like the fact that it would be difficult for Graham to get IVs either. But the other doctors were still pushing it. This was all on our 3rd Wedding Anniversary - I can think of many better ways to spend it. But at least we were together.
Thursday came, and still no word when Graham might be able to come home; but the decision was made...not stints. If everything works right - the ballooning, Coumadin, Heparin, Graham should have no more problems with clots. No Clots = No Stints. No Stints = possible IVs. I feel better. This world is a scary place!
So Day 6 in the hospital today and Graham needed a pint of blood - platelets were low, hopefully because of meds. Jordan and I met my parents and Aunt Kim up there and we had a blast! The blood really perked him up, I think we did too. He is so tired and frustrated, he wants a break so bad. And he deserves it! Supposedly he needs his Coumadin levels a 2.0 and then maybe he can come home. They are only at 0.9, ugh.
We had big plans for the weekend, a childhood friends wedding, and we both really wanted to get out of the house leaving Jordan safely at home. But by Saturday, his swelling hadn't changed (even with us eating sodium free all week). Luckily, swelling went down my the evening and we headed out all dressed up to have fun. And boy did we ever! Vice President Biden was in attendance, and it was pretty cool getting to hang out with him. Graham was excited that a Secret Service Agent liked his truck (big eye roll). We hung out with my brothers and a friend I hadn't seen in awhile and left happy as larks. Graham had spoken with the doctor on Friday, and just as precaution, he wanted to see him in clinic on Monday.
So on Monday, he went through his normal schedule: blood work, physical therapy, PT's, but then they added another test (and yep, the name has completely escaped me!). The doctor who ran the test came out and told Graham to sit in the wheelchair and not move again. Turns out, Graham had a massive clot in his right jugular, and a minor clot somewhere in his chest. He called me around 4:30, I have my phone hooked up to my speakers in my car, when he told Jordan and I that he was being admitted, we both started crying. We finally had our Man back and now he's gone again. Poor Jordan just screamed for 30 minutes (until I could get her McDonald's - always cheers the kid up), she knows what "hospital" means, but doesn't understand why.
Turns out, Graham had all the signs of SVC Syndrome. In layman terms, there is an obstruction (in Graham's case it was his central line during and after transplant, and also his port) that presses against the vessels that connect the chest to the head, and then causes clots. So they had a plan. First, pump him full of Heparin - thin his blood out enough to get blood flowing and hopefully dissolve clot. Second, have a procedure done where they scope his vein/vessels/arteries to see what is going on. If need be, balloon his vessels to help blood flow. Third, medicate during procedure. Fourth, start Graham on Coumadin, a blood thinner that levels would need to be monitored (why not add another one). And last, put stints in.
After 24 hours of heparin, and no progress he went down to have the procedure done early Wednesday morning. I was at work under the impression this was a quick thing, 4 hours later Graham's Mom finally told me that he was back in his room and that it was nothing what they thought once they got in there.
They found that he did not have SVC Syndrome, but a totally different one. Instead of the vessels connecting chest to head, it was arms to head - and not just one side, but both left and right. And instead of blood clots, they found that they were completely blocked. They were able to get into his right side and balloon those vessels, but not his left. Their only answer was he needed stints put in both sides and needed to remove his port; the consequence...they would be ruining any chance of him receiving IVs via port or pic line (his veins in his hand or arms have never been able to keep with regular IVs). In a perfect world with no rejection, illness, accidents, etc. this would be fine. But if we were ever in a situation that Graham needed IV antibiotics fast, did we really have the time for them to sit and think on creative ways to administer them to him? Yes, if there were no other option, but are there other options?
I was so tense all day long, by the time I could relax, I felt as if I was in a car crash - ached all over. Jordan and I went to see him - she was so excited, she missed him so much. Graham was so tired, but he was already looking better. Dr. Rosenblatt came in, we were talking about the wedding and I began to show him pictures. Where everyone on Saturday night thought he looked so great, Dr. Rosenblatt was thinking how awful he looked (it's all about perspective I guess). He took my phone and began showing the nurses, teaching hospital - signs of clots - ha! When we began talking about stints, you could see the how uneasy Dr. Rosenblatt was. He didn't like the fact that it would be difficult for Graham to get IVs either. But the other doctors were still pushing it. This was all on our 3rd Wedding Anniversary - I can think of many better ways to spend it. But at least we were together.
Thursday came, and still no word when Graham might be able to come home; but the decision was made...not stints. If everything works right - the ballooning, Coumadin, Heparin, Graham should have no more problems with clots. No Clots = No Stints. No Stints = possible IVs. I feel better. This world is a scary place!
So Day 6 in the hospital today and Graham needed a pint of blood - platelets were low, hopefully because of meds. Jordan and I met my parents and Aunt Kim up there and we had a blast! The blood really perked him up, I think we did too. He is so tired and frustrated, he wants a break so bad. And he deserves it! Supposedly he needs his Coumadin levels a 2.0 and then maybe he can come home. They are only at 0.9, ugh.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Why Not Add One More...
Yes, I know, it's been awhile. Not posting my excuses. Graham has been doing great! Everytime he goes to the doctor, only good things come out of it. So good in fact (still crying over this one) that Dr. Rosenblatt is NOT renewing his handicap placard. No more close movie spots, Wal-Mart parking, and what hurts the worse, no more close parking during the holiday season!!! His current placard ends in November (what!!!!), all because the Dr. says, "He needs more exercise." Please, Wifey needs to shop too! But, I will trade Graham's health over 2 miles of walking to the mall.
Graham went again to clinic today. Lung functions were up to 60% (omg!!!), every little step is soooo awesome. His levels of anit-rejection meds have been all crazy though. Friday they were really high, and today were really low. Don't know if they will ever level out, but what's changing the medicine box every few days when you get a whole new lease on life.
And because of this whole new lease on life, Graham has become the energizer bunny. Up at the crack of dawn, running and playing and doing whatever until he goes down around 10. This last week, he's walking around moping, thinking he's hit this "brick wall" and has the doctor test him for colds, infections, etc. when all it was...HE WAS TIRED! Hello...people do need rest. New lungs or not, you can't just go and go and go. Lesson learned, we think. But again, he was dragging wife and child all over the place over the weekend. We had a great weekend planned: breakfast at "Our Place," pumpkin patch with cousins, then birthday cook out for our sister-in-law (this was just Saturday). We had a great breakfast and were on our way to the patch when we learned that it was closed. This was not ok for Graham...he began looking up more pumpkin patches and didn't settle until we found one. Thankfully it was right by our house. By the time we got there though, it closed due to weather. So we headed on down to Cleburne and made a day playing with my side of the family. We talked, played, ate, carved pumpkins (Graham's was NOT G Rated...those that know him, most likely received the picture) and had a blast. Thank you Andrea for such a fun party! On Sunday, we went to Church for the first time as a family in a very long time. It was so nice. I have been waiting for this day for a really long time. We get in our Sunday best, get to church, sit in the pew and Jordan looks at me, "Momma, I need to go potty." Are you kidding me...ugh - I decided to wait. Five minutes later we smell her toot. I ask if she still needs to go and she says yes. So we depart. After a successful potty trip we are on our way back down the aisle, pastor giving announcements (so congregation quiet) and Jordan starts hollering, "DADDY, I POO POOED IN THE POTTY!" at least 3 times. Several people congratulated her - Welcome Back Johnston's to Church!
After church we met our friends at the Pumpkin Patch and J had a blast. She bounced, and mazed, and rode a pony...she listened to stories, rode a hay ride and a Daddy piggy back ride. The highlight was picking her own pumpkin. We had such a great weekend! I would have NEVER imagined doing all this pre-transplant and still having Graham up and sitting next to me (with energy) today.
But sadly, my duties of care taker are not over. Our poor little Boston Terrier might lose his eyeball :( He and our other dog, who is significantly bigger, were playing. Bo accidentally bit Roscoe's eye. Roscoe is blind, and we are now medicating the fool out of his eye trying to save it. Thank you to Cassie for driving and helping us take care of our sweet boy. Poor dogs can't play with each other anymore.
But it's been a great couple of weeks. His Aunt Sharon came and helped out the first week I went back to school. Thank you sooo much! She drove him all over the metroplex...doctors, cars, alarms. Probably more than she bargained for, but they had some great times. And now his Dad is here. Graham has been released to do almost everything (doctor even says for a haircut too - hahahaha), but the company is nice to have - so thank you Dad!
Graham went again to clinic today. Lung functions were up to 60% (omg!!!), every little step is soooo awesome. His levels of anit-rejection meds have been all crazy though. Friday they were really high, and today were really low. Don't know if they will ever level out, but what's changing the medicine box every few days when you get a whole new lease on life.
And because of this whole new lease on life, Graham has become the energizer bunny. Up at the crack of dawn, running and playing and doing whatever until he goes down around 10. This last week, he's walking around moping, thinking he's hit this "brick wall" and has the doctor test him for colds, infections, etc. when all it was...HE WAS TIRED! Hello...people do need rest. New lungs or not, you can't just go and go and go. Lesson learned, we think. But again, he was dragging wife and child all over the place over the weekend. We had a great weekend planned: breakfast at "Our Place," pumpkin patch with cousins, then birthday cook out for our sister-in-law (this was just Saturday). We had a great breakfast and were on our way to the patch when we learned that it was closed. This was not ok for Graham...he began looking up more pumpkin patches and didn't settle until we found one. Thankfully it was right by our house. By the time we got there though, it closed due to weather. So we headed on down to Cleburne and made a day playing with my side of the family. We talked, played, ate, carved pumpkins (Graham's was NOT G Rated...those that know him, most likely received the picture) and had a blast. Thank you Andrea for such a fun party! On Sunday, we went to Church for the first time as a family in a very long time. It was so nice. I have been waiting for this day for a really long time. We get in our Sunday best, get to church, sit in the pew and Jordan looks at me, "Momma, I need to go potty." Are you kidding me...ugh - I decided to wait. Five minutes later we smell her toot. I ask if she still needs to go and she says yes. So we depart. After a successful potty trip we are on our way back down the aisle, pastor giving announcements (so congregation quiet) and Jordan starts hollering, "DADDY, I POO POOED IN THE POTTY!" at least 3 times. Several people congratulated her - Welcome Back Johnston's to Church!
After church we met our friends at the Pumpkin Patch and J had a blast. She bounced, and mazed, and rode a pony...she listened to stories, rode a hay ride and a Daddy piggy back ride. The highlight was picking her own pumpkin. We had such a great weekend! I would have NEVER imagined doing all this pre-transplant and still having Graham up and sitting next to me (with energy) today.
But sadly, my duties of care taker are not over. Our poor little Boston Terrier might lose his eyeball :( He and our other dog, who is significantly bigger, were playing. Bo accidentally bit Roscoe's eye. Roscoe is blind, and we are now medicating the fool out of his eye trying to save it. Thank you to Cassie for driving and helping us take care of our sweet boy. Poor dogs can't play with each other anymore.
But it's been a great couple of weeks. His Aunt Sharon came and helped out the first week I went back to school. Thank you sooo much! She drove him all over the metroplex...doctors, cars, alarms. Probably more than she bargained for, but they had some great times. And now his Dad is here. Graham has been released to do almost everything (doctor even says for a haircut too - hahahaha), but the company is nice to have - so thank you Dad!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Our Thank Yous
Hopefully from here on out, this Blog will get more and more boring for y'all (just means nothing but progress is going on). I will keep writing because I have found it to be a calming thing for me though. For a quick update: we were here on Monday for all his tests and visits. His blood work came back that almost everything was normal!!! That means kidneys, vitamin levels, lung functions improved to 48%, fluid was slightly reduced so no tap this week, and cholesterol was looking good - he's eating better :) The only thing a little off was his Prograf (anti-rejection med) was slightly low. Remember last week it was toxic high; so they changed his dosage again and sent us on our way. This could be a life long thing of constantly changing his dosage - if you could only see my sweet, OCDesque, husbands face when they told him there might not ever be a set dosage, haha, this bothered him; but he has new lungs, no complaining. Now I want to take sometime to thank everyone - specifically. Thank you notes to come, my mother raised me better than that, but I wanted to share all the great things that others have done for us.
First and Foremost, thank you to everyone who prayed and sent positive, happy thoughts our way. I couldn't imagine doing any of this without God, and your thoughts and prayers certainly gave him a positive influence. Up until his surgery, I wondered if he would ever make it. It was November of last year that a doctor at St. Paul gave him a year to live. Now, doing the math, by that doctors mouth, he didn't have much longer (and come to find out, his favorite doctor had similar thoughts). And then came the surgery, that without the amazing anesthesiologist sweating bullets for 8.5 hours, he wouldn't have made it either. Prayers were definitely answered...THANK YOU!
The Zahradik Family: Thank you for taking in Jordan for that first week. Because of you, our little angel had a warm, happy place she calls her second home to go to. She was happy and didn't think anything of her Mommy and Daddy being gone. I was able to focus all my thoughts on Graham, and never once did I stress and have a bad thought about J. Y'all took her in without question, and considered her your own, we'll never be able to thank you enough.
The McMillin Family: Before there was J, our babies were Bocephus and Roscoe. Without thinking y'all watched over our dogs and not just feed them, but played with them so they didn't get too cooped up. Y'all didn't stop there either, thank you for all the upkeep to our house, cleaning, mowing, Brandon being Handy Manny, and my favorite...all the great distractions Stacy and Kendall gave Jordan and I. In a time I didn't think I could smile much, I smiled A LOT! J and K are so funny. And I'll never forget that Friday night of poster making, paint and masks. We love y'all and thank you sooooo much for everything!
The Rash's: Words will never be able to explain just how much y'all mean to us. No matter how much we begged that y'all really didn't need to be there, y'all came every time no matter the hour and helped pass the time in the worst hours...waiting for those lungs. The second trial will always be my favorite, all of us crammed into that tiny room, "sleeping" in the most awkward positions, and literally laughing through the entire wait. Without y'all, all three waiting periods, would've been horrible...we might've said we could do it without you, but Graham and I agree, we couldn't, you are both members of our immediate family.
Our Families: Thank you for all of your patience this past year. All the "on calls" and vacations on hold, the missed parties, baptisms, births, and graduations. Contrary to popular belief...we REALLY wanted to be at them all. We were so lucky to be at our Cousin's wedding (getting the third degree from the doctor meant nothing), and hopefully can make up for lost time within this next year - get ready, Graham's favorite bathing suit is! Thank y'all also for entertaining us all those times...taking us to eat, shopping, swimming, parks, endless hours of sitting and waiting. We love y'all all so much, and would've never been able to do any of this without y'all.
The Kelly's: I know y'all are family, but all the help y'all have given us over the past couple of weeks needed another note. Thank you for helping J through all of this, she sooo loves y'all and her cousins and we love that everyone is getting to know everyone better. Y'all were amazing distractions for her and will thank y'all for many years to come. Thank you also for all your help with the house, all the set ups of cleaning, moving of furniture, moving it back, mowing and edging our yard, Holly, dinner, phone calls and allowing me to cry, hospital visits that might've scarred your eyes (hahahaha). We love y'all!!!
The Reid's: OMG! Thank you thank you thank you! Because of y'all, we were able to get our house clean enough for Graham to come home and stay home. This was one of the biggest stress relievers and we'll thank you a thousand times before we start over.
Barbara Boulware: We LOVE our good luck pillow cases. They are still on our bed. They brought on a smile when I didn't think I had one. The cowboys and cowgirls fit our personalities well and the horse shoes really brought us some good luck. Thank you also for all the treats and magazines...I had completely forgotten how great Cheez Whiz was - and now I'm keeping a steady supply in the pantry :)
Sam Pettit, Rene Kirchoff, Sondra Thomas, Scott and Kathie, Michelle Meister, Angie Stevens, Tammy Ledesma, Cassie Rash, Rachel Kim, Bryan Kelly, Mom Kelly: Thank you for all the yummy food or gift cards to get food! I didn't realize how hard it would be to care for 2 people and cook at the same time, I tried and cried and am REALLY GRATEFUL for all of y'alls food! It has been wonderful and greatly appreciated! Graham is beginning to put weight back on (wahooooooo) thanks to y'all (so am I, but it's worth it), thanks again.
To all of you for keeping in touch with us...through phone calls, visits, text messages, facebook, emails, cards. I don't think I can put into words how much this has helped us through everything. A big fear of ours has been that because of Graham's health and our lack of being social, we have lost contact with some. So even what you think is a simple text, it gave us a smile and warmed our hearts. It was not just a simple text, card, message...it was sooo much more!
Our families at work: We are the luckiest 2 people to have such supportive and loving co-workers. God really knew what he was doing moving me all over MISD and Graham to Wachovia. We love y’all very much and can’t wait to be back!
To anyone I may have forgotten, it is not lack of appreciation, but my abundance of spacey-ness. We thank everyone who helped us out on this road!
First and Foremost, thank you to everyone who prayed and sent positive, happy thoughts our way. I couldn't imagine doing any of this without God, and your thoughts and prayers certainly gave him a positive influence. Up until his surgery, I wondered if he would ever make it. It was November of last year that a doctor at St. Paul gave him a year to live. Now, doing the math, by that doctors mouth, he didn't have much longer (and come to find out, his favorite doctor had similar thoughts). And then came the surgery, that without the amazing anesthesiologist sweating bullets for 8.5 hours, he wouldn't have made it either. Prayers were definitely answered...THANK YOU!
The Zahradik Family: Thank you for taking in Jordan for that first week. Because of you, our little angel had a warm, happy place she calls her second home to go to. She was happy and didn't think anything of her Mommy and Daddy being gone. I was able to focus all my thoughts on Graham, and never once did I stress and have a bad thought about J. Y'all took her in without question, and considered her your own, we'll never be able to thank you enough.
The McMillin Family: Before there was J, our babies were Bocephus and Roscoe. Without thinking y'all watched over our dogs and not just feed them, but played with them so they didn't get too cooped up. Y'all didn't stop there either, thank you for all the upkeep to our house, cleaning, mowing, Brandon being Handy Manny, and my favorite...all the great distractions Stacy and Kendall gave Jordan and I. In a time I didn't think I could smile much, I smiled A LOT! J and K are so funny. And I'll never forget that Friday night of poster making, paint and masks. We love y'all and thank you sooooo much for everything!
The Rash's: Words will never be able to explain just how much y'all mean to us. No matter how much we begged that y'all really didn't need to be there, y'all came every time no matter the hour and helped pass the time in the worst hours...waiting for those lungs. The second trial will always be my favorite, all of us crammed into that tiny room, "sleeping" in the most awkward positions, and literally laughing through the entire wait. Without y'all, all three waiting periods, would've been horrible...we might've said we could do it without you, but Graham and I agree, we couldn't, you are both members of our immediate family.
Our Families: Thank you for all of your patience this past year. All the "on calls" and vacations on hold, the missed parties, baptisms, births, and graduations. Contrary to popular belief...we REALLY wanted to be at them all. We were so lucky to be at our Cousin's wedding (getting the third degree from the doctor meant nothing), and hopefully can make up for lost time within this next year - get ready, Graham's favorite bathing suit is! Thank y'all also for entertaining us all those times...taking us to eat, shopping, swimming, parks, endless hours of sitting and waiting. We love y'all all so much, and would've never been able to do any of this without y'all.
The Kelly's: I know y'all are family, but all the help y'all have given us over the past couple of weeks needed another note. Thank you for helping J through all of this, she sooo loves y'all and her cousins and we love that everyone is getting to know everyone better. Y'all were amazing distractions for her and will thank y'all for many years to come. Thank you also for all your help with the house, all the set ups of cleaning, moving of furniture, moving it back, mowing and edging our yard, Holly, dinner, phone calls and allowing me to cry, hospital visits that might've scarred your eyes (hahahaha). We love y'all!!!
The Reid's: OMG! Thank you thank you thank you! Because of y'all, we were able to get our house clean enough for Graham to come home and stay home. This was one of the biggest stress relievers and we'll thank you a thousand times before we start over.
Barbara Boulware: We LOVE our good luck pillow cases. They are still on our bed. They brought on a smile when I didn't think I had one. The cowboys and cowgirls fit our personalities well and the horse shoes really brought us some good luck. Thank you also for all the treats and magazines...I had completely forgotten how great Cheez Whiz was - and now I'm keeping a steady supply in the pantry :)
Sam Pettit, Rene Kirchoff, Sondra Thomas, Scott and Kathie, Michelle Meister, Angie Stevens, Tammy Ledesma, Cassie Rash, Rachel Kim, Bryan Kelly, Mom Kelly: Thank you for all the yummy food or gift cards to get food! I didn't realize how hard it would be to care for 2 people and cook at the same time, I tried and cried and am REALLY GRATEFUL for all of y'alls food! It has been wonderful and greatly appreciated! Graham is beginning to put weight back on (wahooooooo) thanks to y'all (so am I, but it's worth it), thanks again.
To all of you for keeping in touch with us...through phone calls, visits, text messages, facebook, emails, cards. I don't think I can put into words how much this has helped us through everything. A big fear of ours has been that because of Graham's health and our lack of being social, we have lost contact with some. So even what you think is a simple text, it gave us a smile and warmed our hearts. It was not just a simple text, card, message...it was sooo much more!
Our families at work: We are the luckiest 2 people to have such supportive and loving co-workers. God really knew what he was doing moving me all over MISD and Graham to Wachovia. We love y’all very much and can’t wait to be back!
To anyone I may have forgotten, it is not lack of appreciation, but my abundance of spacey-ness. We thank everyone who helped us out on this road!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Nothing Can Bring Us Down
We have been having the best days since Friday! Graham finally got to come home to his own home, bed, dogs, FAMILY...and we've just been smiling ever since. Jordan's day on Friday would bring a smile to the saddest person's face. As I picked her up from school I asked her, "Guess who's at your house?" She said, "Daddy?" Daddy's at my house? DADDY'S HOME DADDY'S HOME!" She began screaming in the car and flapping her arms and kicking her feet. When we pulled into the drive way I told her she had to wash her hands really good then she could go see Daddy. She ran into the house chanting, "Must wash hands, go see Daddy; Must wash hands, go see Daddy." And she washed them Good! She sang her whole wash hands song, quickly dried her hands and ran into the bedroom screaming DAAAADDDDDY! It was awesome! She gave him the biggest (softest) hug and it was chaos from there on out. Daddy do this, Daddy do that, Daddy I have trash, Daddy I'm eating...Daddy Daddy Daddy! I can't tell you how happy we all were, my family was finally under one roof.
We went back to the doctor Friday morning for lab work, and by the afternoon he had his new Prograf dosages to take. We were able to give him a shower Friday night and by Sunday he had perfected doing it all by himself (Wahoo! It was hard bathing him and chasing a 2 year old at the same time without me getting wet and trailing water all over the house - all the while our Boston Terrier chasing me and barking at me too).
Friday we also had a nice surprise, our neighbor friends bought poster board and paint for our two girls to make "Welcome Home" signs for Graham...that in itself was hysterical. They had so much fun, and when we came back to the house to give them to Graham, everyone wore masks. Imagine two 2 year olds, covered in paint, giggling and trying to keep the masks on. Made the night even better.
On Saturday, we watched the Longhorns lose to OU...we kind of expected it, and were happy it was a closer game than we predicted, but nonetheless, HATE seeing them lose. However, we were still smiling - Nothing could bring us down :) And you know that time, the time that is the most inconvenient how am I going to fix that now time? Well...our microwave broke, guest toilet is leaking everywhere, freezer blew a circuit and we lost OUR ICE CREAM (but luckily last season's deer meat is still good!); all we did was smile and plan a trip to Lowes (oh and press the reset button). If we could get through the past 6 weeks, pretty sure I can learn how to reheat left overs in the oven. Even though IT IS A PAIN! You never realize how much you use your microwave until it dies on you, and then you wonder what they did in the pre-microwave era!
We are back at the hospital today going through all the different labs, PT, X-Ray, tests and Clinic mambo jambo. Graham is dreading getting his lungs tapped. All I can do is look at him and say "Really? You just went through one of the most painful experiences ever and you are afraid of a needle in the back?" He just smiles and says, "I Know." I'm so glad he's home :)
We went back to the doctor Friday morning for lab work, and by the afternoon he had his new Prograf dosages to take. We were able to give him a shower Friday night and by Sunday he had perfected doing it all by himself (Wahoo! It was hard bathing him and chasing a 2 year old at the same time without me getting wet and trailing water all over the house - all the while our Boston Terrier chasing me and barking at me too).
Friday we also had a nice surprise, our neighbor friends bought poster board and paint for our two girls to make "Welcome Home" signs for Graham...that in itself was hysterical. They had so much fun, and when we came back to the house to give them to Graham, everyone wore masks. Imagine two 2 year olds, covered in paint, giggling and trying to keep the masks on. Made the night even better.
On Saturday, we watched the Longhorns lose to OU...we kind of expected it, and were happy it was a closer game than we predicted, but nonetheless, HATE seeing them lose. However, we were still smiling - Nothing could bring us down :) And you know that time, the time that is the most inconvenient how am I going to fix that now time? Well...our microwave broke, guest toilet is leaking everywhere, freezer blew a circuit and we lost OUR ICE CREAM (but luckily last season's deer meat is still good!); all we did was smile and plan a trip to Lowes (oh and press the reset button). If we could get through the past 6 weeks, pretty sure I can learn how to reheat left overs in the oven. Even though IT IS A PAIN! You never realize how much you use your microwave until it dies on you, and then you wonder what they did in the pre-microwave era!
We are back at the hospital today going through all the different labs, PT, X-Ray, tests and Clinic mambo jambo. Graham is dreading getting his lungs tapped. All I can do is look at him and say "Really? You just went through one of the most painful experiences ever and you are afraid of a needle in the back?" He just smiles and says, "I Know." I'm so glad he's home :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)