Taking a City Boy to the Country

So we took a city boy to the country last week and he fit in pretty well. You would have had no idea he was from the city except for when he was eating blueberries and he found one with a stem.....this was his response, "Gama, this blueberry has mulch on it." Too funny. Gama and I couldn't stop laughing.

Would had a great time visiting our Chiefland family. Parker just thinks that uncle Chuck is the coolest thing ever, especially when uncle Chuck made him a ramp for all his monster trucks. Parker also had the best time playing and swimming with Bridget. We could barley get the two of them out of the pool. They were like little fish. Parker also let her play golf and baseball with him. Us adults decided that Bridget better stick to dancing...hahaha. After that, Parker busted out his four wheeler. Bridget rode on the back while he drove. All was going well until they discovered the edges of the concrete. No, they didn't fall, they went up and down like there was no tomorrow...actually until it broke the four wheeler. As of today, the four wheeler is in the repair shop waiting for Papaw and daddy to check it out.

Yesterday (June 24th) Parker went for a follow-up visit at the pulminologist. She said his lungs sounded great. He is scheduled to go for another chest x-ray to check the progress of the pneumonia. They said it can take six to eight weeks, if not longer, for pneumonia to clear in the chest x-rays. They also did a number of allergy test. We found out that he is allergic to macadamia nuts, almonds, shell fish, peanuts (not enough for anaphylactic shock, but will cause rash and itch), ragweed, dust, dander and pollen. We are so glad (I am so glad) he is not allergic to Hunter. She said that according to his allergy test the fall and winter months will be the hardest for him. We also found out yesterday that he has lost another two pounds bring him down to 31 lbs, which means he has lost 7 lbs in less then two months. She did inform us that the liver has a lot to do with the enzymes that handle digestion and all. We go to see the GI on Monday and will discuss further. My hopes are that the liver has no permanent damage from the illnesses.

I hope that you all have a great weekend and I will update you again after Monday's visit to the GI.

The Big Heat Wave

Ok, it is only the middle of June and we have already ready hit 100 plus degrees outside. Since we still need to be tender with Parker's liver the poor guy is still home with family and can not attend school. What does this mean? This means mommy, daddy, Nana and Papaw are the ones playing outside with this little guy in this heat wave. Last Thursday I decided I couldn't take it any more. Parker and I had been on a walk early that morning. Then, before it got to hot I thought that I would go ahead and mow the yard so that Justin wouldn't have to do it when he got home. After that Parker and I played a little baseball. Later that afternoon, once Parker got up from his nap he wanted to go back outside. This is when it happened....it came to me that we needed a pool that was not only big enough for Parker, but also big enough for his mommy, daddy, Nana and Papaw. So, I called mom and Justin and ran the idea by them. They agreed, so Parker and I made our way to target to make the purchase. It is amazing. Now, Parker wants to swim all of the time. Plus for me because I get to work on my tan and plus for Parker because it is much cooler then playing baseball and golf in the front yard.

Yesterday, when I got home from work, Parker and Justin were out in the pool so I went and put my suit on and joined them. After I got in and went under water Parker got this look on his face and then said the following, "Mommy, turn around. Where did your work hair go?" I about lost it. To make things even better, I was getting ready for work and after putting on my make-up I went to make the beds. When Parker saw me he said, "Mommy you got your work face on now." He is too much. He knows that when mommy is home she is home to play and there is no make-up on and no time to do her hair.

It's hard to believe, but it is coming up on Parker's third birthday and after what he has been through over the past couple of months I want to celebrate his birthday like there is no tomorrow. This year we have decided to have his party at our house. I have rented a big bouncy castle and slide combination. I think the kids will love it. The theme for this year is cowboys. It started out with monster trucks, but since we went to the rodeo in January he has been all in to cowboys and bull riding. His invitations are so cute. I begin working on them the other night and it brought such a smile to my face. I love planning his birthday party. As a mom, celebrating your child's birthday is always fun, but I think as a mom who wasn't sure what life was going to be like for her little boy due to her on health issues while pregnant with him makes birthdays even more of a blessing.

For an update on Parker's health, things are going well. We return to the pediatric pulminologist on June 24th for a check-up and a number of allergy test. On the 28th of June we will go back to see the pediatric G.I. to check out his liver. Our little guy is still not eating like he used to. He used to eat none stop. Now, he will eat here and there. He is even happy if you say, "If you don't eat you can not have any snacks." Before, he would eat his meal, have seconds and then still be ready for a snack. Oh well, healing takes time. If all goes well at his upcoming visits he will be able to return to school after the 4th of July weekend. We ask that you continue to keep him in your prayers.

Will chat with you again soon .........

.... and the Journey Continues

Ok. So I am guessing that you thought I fell of the face of the earth ....... not so much. Things around here have been very crazy, especially since the end of April...... Let the story begin....
It all started the last week of April when our little guy once again got croup. This is not unusual for him, but this time I was not able to get it under control, nor could the meds get it contained. A week after being diagnosed with the croup, Parker was admitted in the hospital were we would spend the next ten days. While there we learned that the baby had two forms of pneumonia, mono, sever asthma, an enlarged liver and then he ended up with a staph infection on his left hand.
As a mom, I thought that my worse nightmare would be the constant fear of always worrying that something would happen to my baby. Well, I found out that it is actually when something does happen. As I stood by Parker's bed as he laid so helpless I as a mom felt so helpless. There was nothing I could do or say that could make my little guy better. As he laid not being able to lift up his little head or open up his beautiful blue eyes I filled up with tears on the in and outside. It was the most awful feeling in the world. On day number ten of our hospital stay Parker actually started to come around - not much, but we would take anything at this point - he eat something for the first time in two weeks and he begin to walk very short distances for the first time in over a week.
Once he was discharged from the hospital we begin our journey to wellness with a number of new pediatric specialist that were apart of his team of doctors during our stay at Florida Hospital for Children. As of last week things were progressing nicely. His enlarged liver was down in size by about 60%. Dr. Sanjay feels strongly that this enlargement was caused by the mono and all the other infections in his small body. We go back in a month and we are hoping that the liver will be back to normal. Until then, we must try to keep this very active two year old little boy from engaging in any contact type activities (almost impossible). We also met with the pediatric pulmonologist last week. Dr. Verma has taken him off the pulmocort via nebulizer that he was on (keep in mind it was five times the normal dose) and has replaced it with an inhaler that is just as strong, but only takes less then a minute. He will remain on his albuteral via nebulizer for whizzing (as needed). Before returning in a month he is to have another chest x-ray to see if the pneumonia has cleared the lungs. As well, at our next visit he will receive a number of allergy test. His staph infection on his hand is doing very well. I must say, it was one of the weirdest things I had seen. He is now using his had on a regular basis, but will still treat it tenderly at times.
As we continue our journey through the heeling process I will keep you posted. I want to thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, visits, calls and cards. God is truly a miracle working and Parker is a sign of that. God bless my little boy!!!!!