We've had night prowlers lately. Doors opening and shutting. Little feet padding down the hallway. They've entered our room...and we've even found them in the garage. Scary!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Checking Out a Different Pediatric Surgery Center
August 1st we checked out a different pediatric surgery center other than Seattle Children's Hospital.
Craig was born with an epigastric hernia. We were told that he would need surgery sometime to fix it-a minor surgery. We dragged our feet knowing how rough it was with an infant that can't communicate with us. So when Craig's vocabulary exploded in July and we found out that Natalie didn't need to have her Fontan surgery, we decided to schedule Craig's hernia surgery at Providence Hospital.
You can see the little bulge of the epigastric hernia in Craig's belly in the below picture. It hadn't really gotten any worse since his birth, but the surgeon told us that he had see school-age children present with complications from hernia's like this because their parents waited to have the surgery.
The day of the surgery, I woke up with knots in my stomach. Even though I had been talked through the surgery and was told that he may be under general anesthesia all of 15 minutes, my mommy's heart kicked in. I had a fitful nights sleep before surgery morning. I was unsure how my boy who was unfamiliar with hospital environment would accept being separated from mom and dad.
Natalie and Tim were in Anchorage with us. The two older girls stayed home. I took Craig and left early for the hospital. The plan was that after Craig was taken back for surgery, I would go get Natalie and Tim to be there when Craig came out of surgey. After we waited almost the whole two hours in a small intake area before getting an armband for "the patient," (I wasn't impressed) Craig was given his Ativan so he would be mellow when taken back to the surgery area. Because we were at a surgery center that had both adult and pediatric surgeries, protocal was a lot different and parents weren't allowed to be back with their child. Having gone with Natalie back until she had been put under for her heart cath in July, I tried to persuade them to let me go back, but didn't succeed. By the time they came with their little wagon and blanket for Craig, he was sufficiently "mellow" and all he could do was smile as he rolled away.
They weren't kidding when they said it would be a short surgery. Twenty minutes after I left the waiting area, I was buzzed to come back. The gal at the desk said that the recovery nurses wanted me to come back because Craig "was NOT happy!" And he wasn't! I was told that kids this age wake up from anesthesia very upset sometimes. The worst thing for my little man was that he didn't like his IV in his arm. He tugged and pulled, arched his back and pushed against me as I tried to hold him. He did calm down a bit after some apple juice and "happy juice" through is IV. To say the least, it was a quite different experience than I've experienced with our two million dollar daughter after her surgeries.
Craig was a champ. He didn't complain much about pain except for an occasional "owie." Tylenol and ibuprofen kept his discomfort under control. Below you can see the cute little airplane bandage that the assistant surgeon (NP) put on Craig's belly.
Craig's recovery went well and we are thankful that the Lord brought us through one more surgery.
Craig was born with an epigastric hernia. We were told that he would need surgery sometime to fix it-a minor surgery. We dragged our feet knowing how rough it was with an infant that can't communicate with us. So when Craig's vocabulary exploded in July and we found out that Natalie didn't need to have her Fontan surgery, we decided to schedule Craig's hernia surgery at Providence Hospital.
You can see the little bulge of the epigastric hernia in Craig's belly in the below picture. It hadn't really gotten any worse since his birth, but the surgeon told us that he had see school-age children present with complications from hernia's like this because their parents waited to have the surgery.
The day of the surgery, I woke up with knots in my stomach. Even though I had been talked through the surgery and was told that he may be under general anesthesia all of 15 minutes, my mommy's heart kicked in. I had a fitful nights sleep before surgery morning. I was unsure how my boy who was unfamiliar with hospital environment would accept being separated from mom and dad. Natalie and Tim were in Anchorage with us. The two older girls stayed home. I took Craig and left early for the hospital. The plan was that after Craig was taken back for surgery, I would go get Natalie and Tim to be there when Craig came out of surgey. After we waited almost the whole two hours in a small intake area before getting an armband for "the patient," (I wasn't impressed) Craig was given his Ativan so he would be mellow when taken back to the surgery area. Because we were at a surgery center that had both adult and pediatric surgeries, protocal was a lot different and parents weren't allowed to be back with their child. Having gone with Natalie back until she had been put under for her heart cath in July, I tried to persuade them to let me go back, but didn't succeed. By the time they came with their little wagon and blanket for Craig, he was sufficiently "mellow" and all he could do was smile as he rolled away.
They weren't kidding when they said it would be a short surgery. Twenty minutes after I left the waiting area, I was buzzed to come back. The gal at the desk said that the recovery nurses wanted me to come back because Craig "was NOT happy!" And he wasn't! I was told that kids this age wake up from anesthesia very upset sometimes. The worst thing for my little man was that he didn't like his IV in his arm. He tugged and pulled, arched his back and pushed against me as I tried to hold him. He did calm down a bit after some apple juice and "happy juice" through is IV. To say the least, it was a quite different experience than I've experienced with our two million dollar daughter after her surgeries.
Craig was a champ. He didn't complain much about pain except for an occasional "owie." Tylenol and ibuprofen kept his discomfort under control. Below you can see the cute little airplane bandage that the assistant surgeon (NP) put on Craig's belly.
Craig's recovery went well and we are thankful that the Lord brought us through one more surgery. Here Chick-Chick-Chick
Tim is a farmer at heart and loves to have animals around. When a friend proposed the opportunity for us to "chick sit" for the summer, Tim jumped on it. He knew our girls would love it...and they did.
The chicks started out being named by Jess and Heidi. The yellow one was Buttercup and the black one was called Blackberry. They lived in a little cat carrier in our garage with a light on them but quickly outgrew their tiny home.
Heidi learned some skills in craftsmanship from her daddy as they made a bigger cage for their chickens. The girls did a good job feeding and watering them too.
The chicks had a lot of play time. Each of the kids wanted to hold the chicks and as they got older, Heidi and Jess took them everywhere. They tried to teach them how to fly. They slid them down the slide. They carried them down the road in buckets to show to our neighbors. They had them perched four feet in the air, under an umbrella, on a bar attatched to the slide. I wish now that I had gotten a picture of this one. Those chicks were tough.
It was a sad day when we returned the full-grown chickens back to their owners. There were many hugs and some tears when we left, but the chickens were now part of a larger flock and many other animals on the little farm. Though we don't know for sure the fate of Buttercup and Blackberry, I have a feeling that if they ended up on someone's dinner table, they weren't very tender. Those were two tough chickens to endure a summer with the Hand kids.
The chicks started out being named by Jess and Heidi. The yellow one was Buttercup and the black one was called Blackberry. They lived in a little cat carrier in our garage with a light on them but quickly outgrew their tiny home.
Heidi learned some skills in craftsmanship from her daddy as they made a bigger cage for their chickens. The girls did a good job feeding and watering them too.
The chicks had a lot of play time. Each of the kids wanted to hold the chicks and as they got older, Heidi and Jess took them everywhere. They tried to teach them how to fly. They slid them down the slide. They carried them down the road in buckets to show to our neighbors. They had them perched four feet in the air, under an umbrella, on a bar attatched to the slide. I wish now that I had gotten a picture of this one. Those chicks were tough.
It was a sad day when we returned the full-grown chickens back to their owners. There were many hugs and some tears when we left, but the chickens were now part of a larger flock and many other animals on the little farm. Though we don't know for sure the fate of Buttercup and Blackberry, I have a feeling that if they ended up on someone's dinner table, they weren't very tender. Those were two tough chickens to endure a summer with the Hand kids.
Breaking the Silence
I've gotten to the place where it's been so long since I've updated the blog that I don't know where to start. So, this will be a more pictoral update of our Summer and Fall.
We had a beautiful Fourth of July. The kids love playing at their Aunt and Uncle's house after the parade. Craig "Cheesing" it up for the camera.
The Three Amigos in their patriotic t-shirts.
Natalie is displaying her self-taught shaving skills. I was told that she "was shaving like Daddy did."
She also checked out the baby powder in the cupboard at the same time. And I found powder in hidden places...days later.
Craig found his new love for a ball and bat. He loves to hit balls with anything he can find-paper towel tubes, sticks, toys and anything else that he can find. It's just too bad that this T-ball stand didn't even last 24 hours for him.
We had a beautiful Fourth of July. The kids love playing at their Aunt and Uncle's house after the parade. Craig "Cheesing" it up for the camera.
The Three Amigos in their patriotic t-shirts.
Natalie is displaying her self-taught shaving skills. I was told that she "was shaving like Daddy did." 
She also checked out the baby powder in the cupboard at the same time. And I found powder in hidden places...days later.
Craig found his new love for a ball and bat. He loves to hit balls with anything he can find-paper towel tubes, sticks, toys and anything else that he can find. It's just too bad that this T-ball stand didn't even last 24 hours for him.
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