As the Rieben World Turns. . .

It has been a tradition in the Rieben family that, when we go into the hospital for what should be "routine" procedures, we end up staying for at least a few days. Now, I realize that any and all surgical procedures carry with them the risk of complications and admittedly, prior to each surgery we have been prepped for potential hospital stays, but I guess the eternal optimist in me is always trying to stay focused on the best-case scenario. After our latest experience I have learned that you CAN pack a hospital bag and still be optimistic!

When I picked Joshua up from the orphanage in October, one of the first things that I noticed when changing his diaper was the absence of his testicles. Upon further examination once we arrived home, it was concluded that his left testicle was likely absent and that the right testicle had simply not descended. We scheduled surgery with the pediatric urologist and on Wednesday we headed to the hospital for the procedure. The procedure would consist of three things. To start, the doctor hoped to do laparoscopic exploratory surgery to locate one (or both) testicles. Upon finding the testicle(s) he then planned to attempt to descend it. If he was unable to descend the testicle, we agreed that it should be removed (as the risk of testicular cancer is greatly increased if a testicle remains undescended). We also planned to have Joshua circumcised (primarily for medical reasons associated with his condition, but also because the other boys in the family are). The surgery was scheduled to take 1 hour 45 minutes or less.

1 hour and 45 minutes into the surgery the doctor called from the OR to tell me that they had been able to locate both testicles, but that the left testicle would need to be removed because it was not functional. He had located it all the way up by his left kidney. He had also located the right testicle and it appeared to be healthy and was "mobile" so he planned to descend it. Unfortunately, because Joshua's anatomy is not completely normal and the doctor was not able to see well laparoscopically, he had to open Joshua's abdomen (so mommy and Joshua now have matching scars). 3.5 hours after the surgery began, Joshua was taken to recovery. The surgery was a success.

Because they needed to do more invasive surgery, we were informed that he would be staying overnight for observation so we were given a room in the "Almost Home" unit of the hospital and Richard and I went up to wait for him. Before heading upstairs, a nurse came to let us know that Joshua had spiked a fever of 104 and that they had given him tylenol. Usually the words "Joshua" and "fever" used in the same sentence give me a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach, but seeing as he had just come out of a difficult surgery, I took a deep breath and hoped it would come down without further incident.

2.5 hours after he had been taken to recovery, one of the recovery nurses came upstairs to ask us some questions about Joshua and his fever history. They said that they were having a little trouble waking him up and that they had not been able to bring his fever down. The nurse wrote down the phone number for our room and told us she would call us as soon as she knew something. 10 minutes later, another nurse walked into the room to tell us that we could come back downstairs and that they were going to let us go back to recovery to see Joshua. She told us to bring our things with us just in case we didn't come back to the same room. As soon as she said that, I knew we would be going to the PICU.

Once we got to recovery I got the full scoop on what was going on. Apparently it had taken over an hour to extubate him and that, once extubated, he needed an oral airway to keep his oxygen saturation up. They had given him two doses of tylenol, but his fever remained at 104 and his heart rate was extremely high. They decided that it would be best if he spent the night in Intensive Care so that he could be closely monitored. So, after 4 hours in recovery, he was taken to the PICU where he spent the night. His fever went down, his heart rate returned to normal and he was oxygenating at 98-100%. We learned the next morning that the urine sample taken prior to surgery showed bacteria and that he had another urinary tract infection which was likely the cause of the fever and so the doctor decided to admit him to the regular floor for at least one more night so that he could do a round or two of IV antibiotics.

He has done wonderfully and was released from the hospital yesterday morning. Once again, the resilience of children amazes me. He has 3 incisions (a small incision right at his belly button, a large incision in his lower abdomen and another small incision in his scrotum) and was circumcised and he is moving around, happy as a lark, as if nothing has happened! He is starting to sit for short periods of time and I can imagine that, in a few days, he will be tired of just lounging around and will likely take off crawling again. So, despite the post-op scare, surgery was a success and Joshua is recovering beautifully. Now if we could just stay out of the hospital for awhile! Have I mentioned how grateful I am for Aflac. . . .

Just Another Day...

In the hospital.

Josh is not coming home today. Good thing I had taken vacation days today and tomorrow for attending Hamvention. Daddy day care continues...

R-

Oh Goodness - Are We Really Doing This Again?

Outpatient Surgery? Not so much. Not in the Rieben family.

Josh's surgery today went well and the results are positive, but as a indirect result of the success they had to do a more invasive surgery which has resulted in Josh being in the hospital overnight.

We had really hoped this would be a simple process, especially considering how busy we are this week. We'll post more information tomorrow. Val will probably make a post tomorrow as well but for tonight I've got cleaning, etc. to do.

R-

The Dayton Daily News' Miami Valley Mother of the Year! (It's Val!)

(Richard Here)

All-

We’ve already mentioned this to some of you, but I wanted to share the exciting news about Val. Her mom nominated her for the Dayton Daily News’ “Miami Valley Mother of the Year” award, and a few weeks ago we found out that she had been selected to be the winner. They came to our house and interviewed her and spent a day taking pictures and video for the article. Since Val’s never one to brag, I’m going to do it for her – so here’s the URL for the article:

http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/content/oh/story/opinions/columns/2008/05/11/ddn051108motheroftheyear.html

And here’s a link to the video:

http://www.daytondailynews.com/m/content/oh/media/video/news/index.html?bcpid=1459469120&bclid=1486914913&bctid=1543236809

Cheers!
Richard

Valerie here:

A few weeks ago, as I was leaving my doctor's office after finding out I had strep throat yet again, completely miserable, with all 5 kids in tow, my cell phone rang. It was my mom. She was calling to give me an early Mother's Day gift. She told me that, several weeks prior, she had sent a letter to Dayton Daily News journalist, Dale Huffman, nominating me for the Miami Valley Mother of the Year, a tradition that he began 24 years ago. After weeks of pouring over hundreds of letters of nomination, Mr. Huffman and his committee had chosen me as the Miami Valley Mother of the Year for 2008. I was completely overwhelmed by this honor and immediately burst into tears (my kids probably thought I had lost my mind).

I could not, and still cannot, believe that I had been chosen out of hundreds of amazing and well-deserving mothers to represent the mother's of the Miami Valley as Mother of the Year. I am truly humbled. I was honored to share my story with the Dayton Daily News, not because I felt I deserved to be recognized in this way, but because I wanted to share with all that will read it, how truly blessed I feel to be the mother of 5 truly incredible children who I am blessed and privileged to be raising. This honor also gave me the opportunity to share my passion for adoption and the chance to promote all of the organizations that aided us in our adoptions, who work tirelessly to improve the lives of children across the world, something that I have been longing to do since before we even began our own adoption journey. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for the opportunity that this has given me to be a voice for His children.

I was a bit nervous at how it would all turn out seeing as the past few weeks have been a bit of a bumpy ride and we had to get creative to fit interviews and photo shoots in between illness, hospital stays, doctors appointments and nurse visits, but I am very happy with the final product (although, after watching the video, I wish I would've put on a little more make up to hide the enormous circles under my eyes and my pasty, pale lips. . . but that is the vain side of my speaking!). Not all of the details are 100% accurate, but with so much information to gather and pack into one short article, I have no complaints!

Mr. Huffman, who is battling cancer and has been away from work since late January to receive medical treatment, put his heart and soul into this article and this makes this honor so much greater to me. Again, I am truly humbled. Mr. Huffman is back in the hospital after undergoing another surgery on Thursday, so if you could all keep him in your prayers, I know he would greatly appreciate it.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the amazing mothers out there! Be sure to keep scrolling for some great Mother's Day pictures from my sweet kiddies!

Happy Mother's Day from the Rieben 5

Of course, to get this one decent picture, I had to take about 50, not-so-flattering pictures. Here are some of the better "outtakes":

Please note what Maren is doing in this picture. . . disgusting, no?

A Blogging Award

Several weeks ago, my friend Meredith nominated me for this blogging award. This particular award is for creativity, design, interesting material, and contributing to the blogging community.

I am now allowed to pass this award on to other bloggers that I feel deserve the award. Here are the blogs I have nominated:

Lisa at "A Momma Swamped"

Christine at "Smiles and Trials"

Kris at "Levario Family Adoption"

MamaChanga at "Da' Gorgeouses"

Theresa at "Misadventures of a Maniacal Mom"

Now, here's the rules:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and that contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog.

3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself.

4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of Arte y Pico blog, the origin of this award.

5. Post these rules.

All About Me!

. . .because I know you are all just dying to know all the senseless little details of my life!

My friend Charissa tagged me for this Mememe! Thanks Charissa! Hope you all enjoy!

What I was doing 10 years ago:

Bwahahahaha! Let's see. . .I was 14 years-old so chances are, I was babysitting while on the phone with one of my girlfriends (after the kids were in bed of course) talking about some cute guy I had a crush on! I don't know that at that age I ever could have imagined this is where I would be in 10 years!

5 things on my to-do list today:

1. Bathe 5 children and get them in their pajamas

2. Have our nightly scriptures, prayer and song and put the kids to bed

3. Prepare my primary lesson for church tomorrow (in the LDS church, Primary is basically Sunday School for children 3-12 years old. . . I teach the 9-10 year olds)

4. Iron and lay out everyone's church clothes and pack the "church bag"

5. Dig out from under the debris that 5 toddlers leave in their wake, finish up a few Mother's Day cards and spend some time with my wonderful husband before calling it a night!

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Hmmm.....Let's see.

1. Donate 10% of the money to our church (whose reach is far greater than mine)

2. Put all of my children through college

3. Establish a non-profit organization that assists in improving orphanages and the quality of life for orphans throughout the world as well as helping to fund the adoptions of older children or children with special needs (I hope to do this even if I never become a billionaire).

4. Buy a 12-15 passenger van

5. Adopt more children to fill that van with!

6. Hire a nanny for Charissa after she buys her 12 passenger van and fills it with more children (and spends all of her money on nannies for the rest of us)!

7. Donate to other adoption ministries and organizations like Reece's Rainbow who help to find families for children with special needs.

8. Go back to school to get my Nursing degree (again, something I plan to do regardless of my billionaire status)

9. Take a nice vacation, entirely kid-free, with my wonderful husband!

Hmmmm. . .I'd better start working on my billionaire status, since it appears that I plan to do about 90% of these things regardless!

Bad habits:

1. Blog reading

2. Browsing adoption photo listings

3. Chocolate

Places I've lived

1. Kentucky (thrice)

2. Tennessee

3. California

4. Texas

5. Maryland (twice)

6. Montana

7. Utah (twice)
8. North Carolina (twice)
9. Virginia
10. Ohio

5 jobs I've had:

1. Babysitting

2. Cyberkids (teaching kids 2-12 how to use laptops)

3. Aid for a child with Autism

4. Director of Conferences and Workshops and Head Cheerleading Coach at Southern Virginia University

5. Mommy to 5 incredible kids

Tag...you're it!

1. Jill

2. Elaine

3. Leanna

4. Lisa

5. Jennifer

No blog update is complete without pictures. . .

Lukas and Jacob "camping" (wearing t-shirts from Ukraine. . if anyone can translate, I would greatly appreciate it. . .I can pronounce the words and know a few, but not enough to make sense of it!)

Jacob and Lukas showing off their cabin

Daddy, Jacob and Lukas after a fun night of camping

Evan watching the kids run around the playground (notice the bright orange cast. . .he wanted to look like Nemo)

This face cracks me up. He is such a goof ball! He definitely keeps me laughing!

For a child who loves to be the center of attention and is constantly asking me to take her picture, I can never seem to get a normal shot of her!

Joshua enjoying the park

My little drool king!

Some sunshine after the rain. . .

Sorry to leave everyone hanging! Needless to say, it has been a busy few weeks!

Evan was discharged from the hospital last Thursday and is now being seen by a nurse at home three times per week. He was sent home on wound vac therapy which involves being attached to a machine 24-7 and he is not a huge fan of that, but he is tolerating it fairly well. I never cease to be amazed by the resiliency of children! I think it is fairly safe to say that he has actually held up better than I have through all of this. The first few days at home were a bit stressful. Less than 24 hours after being discharged from the hospital, Evan's wound vac machine stopped working (we later learned that it was because the tubing was clogged which caused the machine to burn out). I am generally a pretty laid back person, but last week's chain of events had me a little stressed out and this did not help! Thankfully we were able to get it replaced quickly and in conjunction with the nurses visit and all was right in the world again! On Sunday night, as I was getting ready to hop into bed (at 1 am) I heard the machine's alarm sounding. The tubing was clogged again and the machine had shut itself off. Although, in the back of my mind, I already knew that I needed to do, I called the on-call nurse just to be sure and she instructed me to remove the dressing and do a wet-to-dry (this involves placing a piece of gauze with a saline solution into the wound and then covering it with a dry piece of gauze, hence wet-to-dry). Normally the thought of getting my hands on a grotesque, gaping wound would excite me (gross, I know. . . my degree is in recreation administration, but, once the kids are in school, I would LOVE to go back to school and get my Nursing degree), but it is different when it is your child and you know that you will be causing them excruciating pain (thank goodness for liquid morphine. . .definitely takes the edge off of those dressing changes. . . for Evan of course!). With Richard's help, I got the dressing changed and put Evan back to bed, unattached for the first time in a week. When I went to get him up the next morning he was laying on his stomach in a state of absolute bliss (he is a tummy sleeper and has not been able to sleep on his stomach for almost a month now). The home care nurse came on Monday morning to reapply his wound vac dressing and get him hooked back up to the machine, but we made sure to take advantage of his "freedom" while we could and he spent a good half hour swinging in the back yard. . .his favorite activity of the moment!

His foot is actually healing quite nicely. We saw the orthopedist again today and he was pleased with the progress of the wound. Evan will likely continue the wound vac therapy for another 2-3 weeks (and his right foot will remain casted) at which point the doctor will close the deepest part of the incision (remove the cast on the right leg) and fit him for AFO's (ankle-foot orthoses) which will support his feet/ankles and hold them in the correct position (they are kind of like "retainers" for your feet!). These will be a part of his life for a very long time! Because he does not have a cast on his left foot, I have obviously been able to see his foot and am very impressed with how straight the doctors we able to get it. I will not be posting pictures until his incision has healed as it is pretty gruesome and is not for the faint of heart, but I am excited for the day when I can share the final "product" with everyone who has been cheering us on!

As always, I am amazed with how well Evan is handling all of this. We certainly have our good and bad days and he is definitely not a fan of doctors and nurses, but when he is not being poked and prodded, he is generally a happy and content little guy! I certainly admire his strength, courage and resiliency through all of this and am so proud of him for being such a trooper! After the events of the past month, there is really no doubt in my mind that he will do anything and everything he puts his mind to!

The other kids are doing great as well! Richard was able to take Jacob and Lukas "camping" on Friday night (it ended up raining, so they rented a small cabin at one of the local campgrounds. . .not exactly "roughing it" but they had a blast) and I took Maren out to dinner. With 5 young kids, we try our best to make sure everyone gets one-on-0ne time as much as possible. The kids look forward to their mommy/daddy "dates" and so do Richard and I! Joshua's mysterious fevers seem to have subsided for the time being. Now that he is seemingly healthy again, we are going to run a few more blood tests to make sure that all is well and that nothing serious has been overlooked, but it seems as though we are out of the woods for now.

For the time being, it looks as though the storms have subsided and the sun is shining through. Although the past few weeks and months have not been easy, I have seen the hand of the Lord in everything and there is such a peace that comes with knowing that He is guiding our lives. Even in the most stressful moments, I can't help but feel incredibly loved, blessed and privileged!

Heading Home

Just a quick update to let everyone know that we will be heading home tomorrow. Evan is doing well and the doctor feels that he will continue to heal well at home. He will be coming home on the wound vac machine and will need to have the dressing changed every three days until the incision site heals and is able to be closed again. I will update with more details once we are home, but I am exhausted and need to get some rest (well, as much rest as I can get at the hospital). A big thank you to all of you who have kept us in your thoughts and prayers! We appreciate each and every one of you so much!

And we're back. . .

. . .in the hospital again! We went in for Evan's cast change this morning and when they removed his left cast they found that one of the incisions had opened and some of the skin surrounding it had "leathered" and died. The wound had to be irrigated and the dead skin removed and he is undergoing "wound vac" therapy (there is a "sponge" covering the wound that is attached to a long tube, attached to a machine. . the sponge basically sucks the impurities out of the tissue and helps create healthy tissue so that the wound can heal properly). He is also being treated with IV antibiotics. He will probably be here for AT LEAST 2-3 days while he is on IV antibiotics. We could potentially go home with the wound vac equipment and have a home nurse come to the house each day, but I think his doctor is currently leaning towards keeping him here until he is done with the wound vac therapy (this would likely be a week or more). Once the wound vac is done he will have to have "wet dressings" applied and changed daily (this will likely be done at home by a home nurse). He currently has a short, orange cast (he wanted to look like Nemo this time around) on his right foot and a soft splint covered by an ace bandage on his left. I am very glad that we made the decision to do this cast change under anesthesia as the doctors were able to take care of everything very quickly and efficiently. I am hoping that we might be able to get out of here sooner rather than later. . . but we do kind of have a bad track record as far as that is concerned! While being admitted today caught me completely off guard, the complication did not come as a complete surprise. We knew it was a possibility before he even went into surgery, so we are rolling with the punches and are grateful that it was caught quickly and is being treated.

We should know a little more over the next few days and I will update as the information rolls in. Evan is doing fairly well. I think he is pretty frustrated that he is stuck in bed, hooked up to monitors and IV's, once again, but he is still cracking jokes and smiling so he is hanging in there! For the past week or so he has slowly regained his appetite and I was worried that he might regress again after this cast change, but he actually came out of anesthesia asking for pancakes and cookies (surprise) and has already polished off 5 pancakes, 4 cookies and a small box of cereal (and 5 cups of apple juice as well), so I don't think we will have to worry about his appetite waning this time around!

Stayed tuned. . .I will try my best to keep things updated.

The BEAUTIFUL little girl to the right. . . .

. . .is Miss Emma Cornish. Emma (and her new little brother, Micah) were adopted from Ukraine by the Cornish family earlier this year, after what I would consider to be the ultimate roller-coaster ride of adoption (if you have time, please consider reading about their journey on their blog, as it is a wonderful testament of faith and miracles. . .be sure to break out the tissues). Emma was born with Down Syndrome accompanied by a very complicated heart condition (further complicated by pulmonary hypertension). Emma has been through more trials in her 5 years of life than many experience throughout the course of their entire lifetime. . . .but the Lord has been with her and has always carried her through. The fact that she is alive today and part of a wonderful, loving family is a miracle in itself. Upon her arrival home, she was tested and evaluated by several doctors regarding her heart condition. At this time, it is not known whether the condition will be operable. The Cornish family will be faced with many difficult decisions in the days, weeks and months ahead. Mike and Meredith Cornish are two of the strongest, most faithful people that I have ever known and they have handled every trial placed in their paths with such dignity, faith and grace, but I know that the days ahead will be difficult for them and for their entire family. Please pray for their family that they will have the strength, peace and faith to face the day, weeks, and months ahead. Please pray for the doctors responsible for her care that they will have the clarity of mind needed to help Miss Emma. And please pray for sweet Emma, that she will continue to grow stronger and that the miracles that the Lord has performed in her life will continue. She is such an amazing little girl and she has already touched so many lives. It is my prayer that she will continue to do so for a very, very long time!

Some weeks are harder than others. . . .

While this week has most certainly not been a bad one, it has definitely been draining. . . .emotionally, physically and mentally.

The week started out on a positive note. Joshua slid into Evans spot for a physical therapy "checkup" on Monday and was successfully discharged from the program for the time being. He is doing exceptionally well and, at this point, there is very little that his therapist can do for him that he is not already doing for himself.

Unfortunately that triumph was a bit short-lived as all the kids proceeded to come down with a nasty cold. . . .which they so kindly passed along to me! Somehow Richard has managed to stay relatively healthy through it all, but it has been a regular snot-fest between the rest of us (I know, not a pretty picture).

On Monday afternoon I noticed that Evan was developing blisters on the tops of both of his feet right at the opening of his casts. The blister on the left foot was relatively small, but the blister on the right was literally the biggest blister I have ever laid eyes on. I called the nurses line at his orthopedists office and left a message, unsure of what I should do should the blister burst. She called me back on Tuesday morning and asked us to come in that afternoon so the doctor could examine him. I took him in and the doctor decided to split his casts a little more to relieve some of the pressure, but to leave the blister alone. The nurse let Evan pick out some fiberglass to cover his casts and he chose to go red. . .like Elmo, of course! We will be going back in on the 28th for a cast change. We decided that it would be best to take him back into surgery and do the cast change under anesthesia. While I would certainly prefer that he not have to go under anesthesia again, I feel like it will probably be best for him. The clubbing of his feet was severe and the doctors will likely have to do some stretching and manipulation on his still very tender feet and I can only imagine how painful that will be. On top of that, Evan just doesn't do well with the hospital scene in general and I am worried about the effect it might have on him psychologically if he is awake and alert for the procedure. While I do feel comfortable with the decision, it certainly wasn't an easy one to make.

Evan is recovering beautifully from his surgery. He is now off all pain medications and seems to be feeling much better. . . .good enough at least that he asks me several times a day if he can swing, slide or drive his cozy coupe car! His feet are still pretty swollen, so he spends most of the day with his feet propped up on a pillow, but occasionally I can't help but give in to his pleas. Today I let him "drive" his car for awhile. Usually he sits in his car and I push him around and we play "bumper cars" with the other kids. Obviously we did not do that today. Instead I just let him sit in the car while I ran inside to make the kids' lunch. A few minutes later I looked out the window and saw him using his mouth to lift up his arm (using his sleeve) so that he could move the steering wheel! Talk about a smart kid! I never cease to be amazed at the things he figures out!

Not everything has been sunshine and roses for Evan however. We are still really struggling to get him to eat. We had made such progress with him in this area prior to his surgery, but I feel like we have taken 10 steps backwards. He is drinking, but it has been next to impossible to get him to eat. I'm not at all worried that he is going to starve himself. When he is hungry he WILL eat, but sometimes he only eats a few bites of something once or twice a day and as a mother, it is stressful! He is also having a really hard time sleeping. Evan is not a back sleeper and unfortunately, being casted all the way up his thighs has forced him to become one. . .and he is NOT happy about it. He wakes up several times each night screaming that he is "stuck" and begging me to take his casts off. It absolutely breaks my heart and tears me up that I cannot do anything for him. It is emotionally draining to watch your child go through that. I am hoping that he will be able to move better once he is in the short casts so that he can get a better nights sleep.

On a bit of a brighter note, Jacob and Lukas have been working on potty training this week. . . and I am very happy to report that they are doing a FANTASTIC job! Sure, we have had some accidents here and there, but I have to say, I have been very impressed with both of them and I am actually glad that I waited until the boys were home and things had settled a bit to start working on potty training with them! I'm so proud of my big boys!

This week has been full of emotional ups and downs for me, but I have to say, amidst it all, my heart is full and I feel so blessed to be where I am right now! The Lord is truly smiling down on us and just knowing that makes the more difficult moments a little easier to bear!

Home!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that we are home. Evan was discharged this morning and we were home and settled by lunch time. He is doing great! He is handling the pain much better today and we have been able to go for longer intervals between pain meds (which is great because they make him nauseous).

He is still running low grade fevers, but the surgeons feel that this is most likely due to a lack of deep breathing following surgery. As strange as it sounds, it is actually quite common after surgery for people to avoid taking the deep, cleansing breaths that help to expand the small air sacs within the lungs. After surgery (especially if you've had a breathing tube down your throat), taking a deep breath can often be painful. If you don't take these deep breaths however, the lungs never fully expand and this can often lead to infection/lung complications or increased temperatures. To be quite honest, it sounded a bit crazy to me at first, but after observing Evan breathe yesterday, I realized that this is likely the cause. We started doing some "incentive spirometry" (aka, deep breathing) with Evan yesterday and are continuing to work on it at home. Because he is 3 and, at times, very stubborn, we have had to get creative when it comes to getting him to take deep breaths. Right now we are having him blow bubbles and blow on party favors (you know, the annoying ones that extend and make noise when you blow into them). Hopefully we will see the fevers leave within the next day or two. If they don't we will have to take his casts off and inspect his wounds for possible infections and we really don't want to have to do that, so hopefully these "cleansing breaths" do him some good!

He is sleeping peacefully on a mattress in the living room at the moment (there is no way I am going to put him back in with the boys right now. . .they are just too rough and too curious). He is so happy to be home . I am already amazed at how quickly he is bouncing back from this surgery. We will go back to see the orthopedist sometime later this week to close his casts (they are currently split on the sides to allow for swelling) and the plan is to keep him in these long casts for 3-4 weeks. Here's hoping that everything goes according to plan for once!

Thank you again to all of you who have been keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers. We appreciate each and every one of you so much!

We're still here!

Well, we started the day with hopes of being discharged, unfortunately, today is not going to be that day. Evan has been running fevers on and off since yesterday afternoon and his pain meds are making him a bit queasy, so his doctor has decided he wants us to stay one more night. If he does well tonight, we should be able to go home first thing tomorrow morning. He is starting to tolerate the pain a bit more and was able to get a lot more rest today. He still isn't eating much, but that does not surprise me at all. He is a picky eater to begin with and, when he is out of his element and needs to feel more in control of his surroundings, he tends to become a lot more selective about what he will and will not allow us to feed him. That in addition to the nausea caused by his pain meds and he just isn't up for food right now. I can imagine that, once he is home and his pain has lessened, he will resume his normal eating routine.

The rest of the family is doing well. My wonderful mother-in-law has been helping Richard hold down the fort at home for the past few days. We have been so fortunate to have her here to help us and really appreciate her willingness to take time out of her own busy life to help us with the kids so that I can be here at the hospital with Evan. The kids love spending time with Grandma DD so this has been a real treat for them. We really are blessed to have such a great support system. Knowing that the other kids are in such good and capable hands definitely makes situations such as these much less stressful.

So, as we settle down for another night in the hospital, we hope and pray that tomorrow morning will bring a happier, healthier Evan and our golden ticket home!

One of few smiles that escaped today. . resting with bear by his side!

Not quite home. . .

Unfortunately, Evan will not be going home today. While he is doing MUCH better than he was yesterday and even last night, he is still in a lot of pain and needs the morphine to take the edge off. He is much more awake and alert today and while he is definitely miserable, there have been several times when he has flashed that big, beautiful smile at me. What a trooper. I was a bit worried going into the surgery that he would not be able to tell me whenH he was in pain. I am relieved that that has not been the case. He has been very good about letting me know when his "boo boos" hurt and even if he feels sick and that has definitely helped us stay on top of the pain.

Smiling through the pain

His doctor ended up putting him in hard casts following the surgery and splitting them up the sides to allow for swelling. His left foot has done well, but the toes on his right foot were starting to feel a little cold and were not as pink as we would've liked them to be so they came in last night to split the casts a bit more. His feet are looking much better now that they have a little more room to breathe. The doctor told me after his surgery to expect to see some blood seeping through the casts. When Evan was first brought to his room yesterday afternoon, I could see some blood where the casts were split and a few spots on the right cast where blood appeared to be "seeping" (but as you can see in the pictures, they really looked nice and white on the outside). Now both of his casts look like they are soaked in blood. It is a bit disconcerting (although I have been reassured that it is absolutely normal) and I am so glad the doctor prepped me for it, otherwise I think I might have freaked a bit!

Misery (you can see the blood on his right cast)

He will be in his current casts for 3-4 weeks (we will come back next week to close the casts once the swelling starts to go down) and then he will likely move to short casts for another 3-4 weeks. I was actually a bit relieved to hear that they would not be changing his current casts for a few weeks, because I cannot imagine having to be re casted so soon following surgery. Just thinking about it makes my feet hurt.

Hopefully we will be able to get his pain under control and get him off of the morphine so that he can go home tomorrow. He is doing such a great job and I am so proud of him for being such a trooper! Although I know it will still be awhile, I am so excited for the day when these casts come off and we get to see his beautiful new feet! Even more, I cannot wait for the day when we get to see him UP on those beautiful feet!

Stay tuned. . . .

Surgery Day Pictures

Ready for surgery

Versed

Sleeping off the anesthesia

Look at those beautiful, straight feet!

All Done

Houston, we have flat/straight feet! Evan came out of surgery at noon. His doctor said that the surgery went well and he is pleased with the results. He did say that it was a difficult surgery because of the severity of the clubbing and that we need to keep a close eye on circulation (his toes are nice and pink, but he is most concerned with the back of the foot and heel area). He mentioned that there is a possibility that we could lose some skin on the backs of his feet and that he might need a skin graft down the road, but right now, all we can do is monitor his feet, keep them elevated and wait.

Unfortunately, hospital policy does not permit you to go back to the recovery rooms and so I wasn't able to be there when Evan came out of his surgery as I had hoped. Instead I was given his room number and had to wait for him there. Richard came with lunch and was able to be there with me when Evan arrived in his room. He is miserable and obviously in a lot of pain, but he is finally sleeping soundly and hopefully he will feel a little better once he wakes up. He was just sobbing when they first brought him upstairs and it was absolutely heartbreaking. He kept calling out for his brothers and sister (Mommy and Daddy too) and saying, "Good job Evan. All done. All done." After we got him settled in he managed to open his eyes a bit (he is very swollen) and looked at me and said, "Boo, boo. Ouch" Again, it just broke my heart. He has since downed several cups of apple juice and water and is now sleeping "peacefully" as the morphine pumps through his body. The plan at this point is to keep an eye on the circulation in his feet and to manage his pain. If he is still feeling miserable in the morning, he will likely stay in the hospital for one more day before going home.

As hard as it has been to see my son go through this miserable and painful process, my heart also rejoices that we are one step closer to getting him up on his feet. . .something that never would've been possible for him in Ukraine. For the past few weeks he has been telling me that he wants to walk. . .he wants to be up on his feet and running around with his brothers and sisters. Although we still have a LONG way to go, the thought that he will someday be doing just that, brings tears to my eyes. We are on our way!

I am so proud of our sweet little man!

Thank you again for all of your thoughts, prayers, encouragement and support! We truly appreciate them!

The package has been delivered. . . .

We arrived at the h0spital at 5:30 am this morning. Evan was not very happy about being dragged out of bed before the sun was up, but after telling him his bear could come along he was a much more willing participant. He cried and wanted nothing to do with the nurses and kept telling everyone that he was done and that he wanted to put his jacket on and go home. It always breaks my heart to see him so distraught. We turned on one of his favorite shows which helped to calm him a little, but he still kept telling me he wanted to go home (and who could blame him). About 45 minutes before they took him to the OR they came in and gave him some tylenol and versed. Once the versed kicked in he was much "happier" (I've got some great pictures/video of him during "happy hour"that should come in handy during his teenage years). I was a bit nervous about how he would do when they took him up to the OR, but he let me lay him on the bed and the nurses wheeled him away without him so much as making a sound (ah, versed)! The surgery should last about 4 hours and then he will be staying overnight to monitor his pain and to make sure that there are no adverse effects from surgery or anesthesia.

I will continue to update as the day progresses. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. They are greatly appreciated!

Hand splints, wheelchairs and surgery. . .OH MY!

It has been a crazy week. . . and it is about to get even crazier! It is surgery week for Evan, so we have been trying to squeeze in as much as possible before he is laid up and in casts. Monday was GORGEOUS so the kids and I spent the day purchasing and replacing the swings on our swing set and enjoying the great outdoors! On Tuesday we FINALLY received Evan's hand splints. . .and he is actually really enjoying them (definitely didn't expect that). We are having a bit of a struggle keeping his left thumb (which is shorter and has a significant amount of webbing) strapped down, but otherwise, all is well on that front. My biggest concern with the hand splints is keeping the other kids from messing with them. I have a feeling I am going to have to be extremely vigilant when he has them on to make sure that they don't mysteriously disappear!

Evan modeling his hand splints . . . and a cute pink and purple hat that Maren so kindly placed on his head! He is an easy "dress up" target!

After we got home from OT yesterday, my friend Stacey and I took all of our kids to the zoo (that's 7 children 3.5 and under). It was another BEAUTIFUL day and I really wanted to take Evan before his surgery. I am so glad that we did as he absolutely LOVED it (as did all of the other kids)! He was so excited to see all of the animals (especially the indoor aquarium. . .as soon as we walked in he shouted, "NEMO!") and he loved riding on the carousel.

This morning I had to take Evan to see the wheelchair supplier so that he could be fitted for a rental wheelchair for use after his surgery. I debated on whether or not we would actually need or use it since I use the double stroller for most of our outings, but have decided that it will be nice to have it at home, church and when I am taking Evan to his various therapies and appointments over the next few months.

The rest of the day today was spent in preparation for the next few days. Meals are cooked and in the refrigerator, ready to be popped into the oven, the laundry is clean, the grocery shopping done, the hospital bag is packed, a babysitter is lined up for tomorrow (thank you Stacey!) , my wonderful mother-in-law will be flying in tomorrow night and is staying until Monday evening. . we are SO grateful for her help!

We have to be at the hospital at 5:30 am tomorrow morning for a 7:30 surgery, so we will be up and out the door before the sun comes up. The surgery is estimated to last approximately 4 hours (2 hours for each foot) and he will be staying in the hospital overnight. If all goes well, he should be able to come home sometime on Friday. He will be coming home in "soft casts" which will allow for the normal post-surgical swelling (I'm a little nervous about this as well, with 4 other curious, rowdy children at home) and then we will go back next week and check the incisions (to ensure that they are healing properly and that there is no infection) and get his hard casts. He will be in long casts (these extend all the way up his legs) for several weeks and will likely have 2-3 cast changes over the course of the next 8 weeks.

Although I know that Evan doesn't really understand what is going on, I can definitely tell that he has been able to sense that something is about to happen. He has been very sensitive this week and starts to cry whenever we talk about the surgery or his feet. I know the next few days are going to be difficult for him, but I have a feeling that he is going to come through this with flying colors and surprise us just like he has with everything else!

Pre-surgical feet

While we are definitely nervous about this surgery, we know that the Lord will be watching over all of us, especially Evan and the doctors performing his surgery, and that all will be well. If you could keep Evan, our family and his doctors in your prayers, we would greatly appreciate it.

I will be bringing a laptop with me to the hospital so be sure to check for updates over the next few days!

"Look Mommy! A chicken!"

Wednesday was a BEAUTIFUL day (although still a bit chilly) and after being stuck in the house for several days due to rain, I decided to take the kids to the park. We packed a picnic lunch, loaded into the car and headed to one of our favorite parks. I like this park for many reasons. 1) It has four toddler swings as opposed to the two that most of our local parks have. With 5 toddlers, this is a great feature (although I have noticed recently that Maren, Lukas and Jacob are getting a bit big for these swings), 2) It has different playground equipment for different ages and "skill levels," (although my kids insist on playing on the one with the tallest, curviest slides nonetheless) and 3) It has a duck pond. . . and who doesn't love a duck pond!

So we got to the park, played on the swings, went down the slides and played in the dirt (because what trip to the park is complete without covering yourself from head to toe in dirt) and then decided to take a walk around the pond before sitting down for lunch. As we headed towards the pond, several ducks and geese crossed the path in front of us. Evan got really excited when he saw them and started bouncing up and down in the stroller. Then, in his most excited voice he exclaimed, "Look Mommy! A chicken!" I couldn't help but laugh! Although I did inform him that the "chicken" was in fact, a duck, I couldn't help but be impressed that, a child who, only 3 months ago spoke and understood no English whatsoever, actually knew the word chicken and associated it with a bird. He has since informed me that penguins and flamingos are "chickens" as well! And people wonder why I always have a smile on my face! Such a funny guy!

House of Pancakes

We eat a lot of pancakes. It is one of the few things that Evan will consistently eat and everyone else loves them as well, so pancakes appear on the menu quite often. I have quite the pancake repertoire and what I love the most about pancakes is the ability to "hide" other ingredients in the batter to make sure that my kids (particularly Evan) are getting the nutrients they need in their daily diets (if you have a picky eater and you've never read "The Sneaky Chef" or "Deceptively Delicious" I highly recommend them).

That being said, I am constantly amazed at how many pancakes 5 toddlers can go through in one sitting. This morning, the tally was as follows:

Maren: 2
Lukas: 3
Jacob: 3
Joshua: 3
Evan: 6 (yes, SIX)

That is 17 pancakes between 5 toddlers! Holy pancakes batman! I can only imagine how many we will go through when they are teenagers!

Pancake aftermath (who doesn't love a pancake with chocolate chips. . .just in case you are wondering, those are not my secret, nutritious ingredient)

Ecstatic about pancakes

The many faces of Joshua. . .

I managed to snap the above photos within about 2 minutes. Joshua is the king of facial expressions and is such a ham. My favorite facial expression of the moment is his pout. He's got the sad puppy dog face down to an art (he perfected it during his hospital stay). He has quickly learned what a powerful tool of manipulation it is (seriously, who can resist an adorable baby with a pout), so we have seen this face quite often lately.

Apparently during our lunchtime "photo shoot" he grew tired of having the camera in his face and decided to close his eyes. For a minute I thought he might have fallen asleep, but when I called his name he broke into a huge grin (although he kept his eyes closed). I quickly switched the camera onto the video setting and managed to get a video of him "playing dead" over lunch. . .unfortunately I cannot get it to upload (maybe I will try again later)! Such a funny kid! He certainly keeps us all entertained.

Down but not out. . .

Joshua has proven over the past month that nothing can get him down. Although he has been sick and consequently miserable, he still manages to charm us all with his beautiful smile and his charismatic personality. A few days ago the kids were all in the playroom when I heard them all start laughing. I came into the room to find Joshua entertaining them all with his infamous "noises" as demonstrated in the following video (you will notice also, that poor Evan has become one of Joshua's favorite "toys"):

Such a goofy kid! Be sure to keep scrolling as I have posted several blog entries this evening. There will be more to come, so stay tuned!

TV Time

I am ashamed to admit that, in the past few months, my kids have probably watched more television/movies than they have in the course of their entire lives. While I am certainly not proud of plopping my children in front of the TV so much, it has had its benefits. For example, Evan has learned the alphabet and how to count to 15 from watching Sesame Street. And I would've never been able to snap the following, ADORABLE, pictures if Joshua was not hopelessly addicted to Curious George. . .

All About Evan

Lest anyone think we have forgotten about Evan, this blog entry will be entirely devoted to him and all of the wonderful progress he is making as the newest member of our family!

Evan is such a bright spot in our lives! His 1000-watt smile just grabs you and reels you! He is adjusting so well to his new life that, at times, it is hard to believe that he hasn't always been here. While he is very happy to have a new mama and papa, he is even happier about having siblings! After spending 3.5 years lying in a crib, listening to all of the other kids play in the next room and likely wishing he could be there too, he is finally able to be right in the middle of all of the action and he absolutely loves it! Although he is not able to physically do everything that Maren, Lukas and Jacob are doing, he is happy and content as long as he is with them, even if all he is doing is observing. Up to this point, Evan and Joshua have shared a bedroom and he has seemed content with that. However, a few days after coming home from the hospital with Joshua, he started asking me what Lukas and Jacob were doing as I put him to bed (he can hear them talking and laughing through the walls). It was obvious to me that he wanted to be in there with the boys, so last night Richard bunked the boys beds and we moved Evan in with Jacob and Lukas. They boys were so excited to welcome Evan into "the club" and I am happy that he is able to be in there with them rather than having to listen to them through the walls. . . he has had to do that enough in his life already.

I am a very firm believer in integration and I try my hardest every day to integrate Evan into all of the activities that the other kids are doing (bathing with them, sitting at the table to eat, playing with toys or in the backyard, coloring, reading, etc.). Because he still relies 100% on me for his mobility, that can be tiring, but having witnessed the progress that comes from being able to be a part of the group, it is worth every minute of my time and every ounce of my strength! It is just amazing to see how he has flourished over the past few months!


The day we took Evan from the orphanage, one of his caretakers said to us, "He has a beautiful mind and is very smart, his body just doesn't work." Over the past few months I have witnessed for myself what a beautiful mind he has. While I believe that all of my children are smart, I can honestly say that Evan is one of the smartest kids I have ever met. He has been home for three months and already speaks amazing English. His expressive and comprehensive language are impressive. While it is, at times, still difficult to understand him (especially when he is excited), it is just amazing how much he has learned in such a short time. Not only is he smart, he is also very determined (and very stubborn). I really feel like there will be nothing he cannot accomplish if he puts his mind to it.

Smart, determined, stubborn, funny and also very loving and caring. He hates to see others hurt or upset and is always the first to tell you it will be okay if you are having a tough time. He loves to gives hugs and kisses too! Needless to say, I enjoy taking advantage of huggy, kissy, snuggly nature!!

Not all has been peaches and cream. We have had our struggles over the past few months. Our biggest struggles have been with input (eating) and output (constipation), but we are slowly working our way through those issues. In the orphanage, Evan got most of his nutrition from pureed, watered down food fed to him in a bottle with a large hole in the nipple. He also ate a lot of bread and cookies. Consequently, he hasn't been very open to trying a lot of new foods up to this point. Bread, bagels, muffins, pancakes, rolls, biscuits, dry cereal, pbj sandwiches, pretzels, cookies and baby food (generally only fruit) are among the only things he will eat. He is finally starting to eat off of a fork which is fantastic and occasionally he will broaden his spectrum of what he will allow in his mouth, so we feel like we are slowly making progress.

Medically speaking things are coming along quite nicely as well. We are well into physical and occupational therapy now. We just finished fitting him for his hands splints which he will officially start wearing next Tuesday. He is sitting for longer periods of time and is even able to kneel (when placed in the kneeling position) while leaning against something (usually the couch). He will be having surgery on April 10th to correct his clubbed feet. He will be in casts for several months following his surgery and then he will have surgery to help with the contractures in his knees. Hopefully he will be able to start working on bearing weight in his legs by the end of the year.

All-in-all, Evan is doing exceptionally well and we absolutely love having him as part of our family! We are incredibly blessed!

Quick update on Joshua

Well, it is already 10 pm and I have got to be up with the sun to take Evan to physical therapy in the morning, so unfortunately, I will not be able to publish my backlog of blogs this evening, but I did want to pop in quickly and give everyone an update on Joshua.

I wish I could report that all is well and that he is happy and healthy once again, but unfortunately, that is not the case. As Richard posted, we were released from the hospital around noon on March 11th. By late afternoon he had spiked a fever again. I took him to see his pediatrician first thing the next morning and we rehashed the entire saga from the very beginning. We poured over his chart, looked at every test result multiple times and talked about all of the different possibilities. We left the office with orders for more blood work and to call the doctor if his fever spiked over 101. By that evening he had been fever-free for 24 hours. He continued to be fever-free for almost a week. . .when suddenly he began spiking fevers again on Monday afternoon. That same day we received the results from the blood work that had been done the previous week. The results showed that his t-cell count (the white cells that make up your immune system) was still low (we ran the same test in the hospital). While they had increased slightly from his numbers in the hospital, they were still low enough that our pediatrician decided that we should have an official consult with the Infectious Disease doctor that we had worked with at the hospital (currently scheduled for April 1st). What exactly does having a low t-cell count mean? Well, unfortunately, all it really tells us is that his immune system is compromised and that something is, in fact, going on.

His fevers continued on Tuesday and Wednesday and, after speaking with the nurse who then spoke with the doctor, we were told to call if the fevers continued into Thursday. Of course, he woke up with a fever on Thursday, so we received orders to get more blood drawn and have an xray of the sinuses done. Late Thursday afternoon we received a call from the nurse that his xray showed that he did, in fact, have a mild sinus infection and so they immediately called in a prescription of antibiotics which we were to start that night, with orders to call them if, after 4 days, he was still having fevers. Well, we are on day 4 of the antibiotics and, unfortunately, his fevers seem to be heading up (103.6 at bedtime this evening) rather than out, so it looks like we will be making that phone call in the morning.

We have already done xrays, ultrasounds, blood tests, viral panels, respiratory panels, urine tests, CT scans and bone scans which all yielded very little information on what could be causing these persistent fevers, so our next step will likely be looking at his heart (one of the few places we have yet to look) and possibly doing a spinal tap (although the doctors seem pretty certain that this is not meningitis, viral or bacterial).

To say that this has been a bit unnerving would be putting it lightly. When this all began almost a month ago, he had RSV and a urinary tract infection and the fevers made sense. But those things went away and the fevers persisted with no explanation. When test after test yielded no answers and the doctors even started to become frustrated, it became a bit overwhelming and scary. When it seemed like his fevers might take their leave as mysteriously as they came, I was more than happy to send them on their way without further explanation. Had I known that they would simply be taking a brief vacation, I might have asked them to stay so that we could get to the bottom of this a bit quicker!

Underneath all of the unknowns, there is one thing that I do know and that is that Josh will be okay. We will all be okay. I have spent a lot of time on my knees praying for answers, praying for peace, praying for the doctors that are presiding over his care, and the spirit has most certainly witnessed to me that all will be well. Will he be miraculously healed? Maybe not. Will it take time to find answers? Most likely. But I have faith that all will be well in the Lord's time and that the answers and the healing will come. We have been blessed with an excellent team of doctors who are very skilled and very proactive and I know that, eventually, we will get to the bottom of this.

We appreciate the thoughts and prayers of all of our family and friends during this difficult time and hope that you all know that those thoughts and prayers are what lift us up and keep us going! Please continue to pray for our sweet boy and for the doctors who are working hard to find out what is causing his illness. We have witnessed many miracles in our lives as the result of prayer and know without a doubt that the Lord hears each and every one!

Happy Easter!

First and foremost, my apologies for the prolonged silence. I know that many of you have been waiting patiently for an update and I promise that it will be coming soon. To say that the past few weeks have been a bit chaotic would be an understatement, however, I have been working on several blog updates and hope to find a few minutes to sit down and finish them all this evening.

In the meantime, I know two, very cute little bunnies who would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter!


Unfortunately, my three other little bunnies hopped away before I could snap their picture! Stay tuned. . . there is much more to come!

Discharged.

From Richard:

They just got discharged and they're headed home. Send Val lots of email so she spends the next seven days digging out.

Could This Be The End?

From Richard:

Josh's temperature has remained stable since late Sunday, so they've said that if it does not spike again by this afternoon they're going to send him home.

Stay tuned...

R-

Josh Update - Monday

From Richard:

Well - today went well I guess? The blood results came back with some elevated levels which means... there's something going on. But nothing to tell us what.

Josh had his CT scan and his bone scan today to look for any freakishly weird things. He was sedated for that and thus spent 3/4 of the day sleeping, and when he was awake he was too drugged to sit up.

No real news for tonight folks, sorry to disappoint. Oh - except the kids and I are alive and well. Yipee! Gotta go clean.

R-

BLIZZARD!!!

Blogger decided to do pictures today, so here are some of them from the Blizzard of 2008.

Jacob, Lukas and Maren all prepped for snow time.

Kicking the snow around.

Using the lawnmower to "snowblow" the walk.

Even in the snow, they still want to ride bikes!

Weeeeeeeeeeee!

My mom walking Evan in the stroller, Maren making her rounds.

This is the edge of a cornfield near the house. I liked the way the drifts looked.

And my trusty Jeep, which provided diapers, food, and visits to see Val and Josh

Josh Update - Saturday (One Week Mark)

From Richard:

Josh was doing better on Friday, but not today. He's started to have cold symptoms again, and his fever once again spiked to nearly 106 deg.

At this point the assumption is that he won't be coming home anytime soon. This is mainly disappointing because the doctors still don't have any ideas as to what is going on. The plans for today included a CT scan, virus panel tests, and possibly a bone scan... Oh Joy!

Val has been staying at the hospital, but I delivered a laptop to her before I headed home prior to the storm hitting yesterday afternoon, so now she can surf the web and do email. For those interested, Josh is at Children's Hospital of Dayton.

Here at home the kids are doing pretty good. Having my mom come visit has been fun for them and relaxing for me. It's given me some opportunities to "deflate" and also allowed me to spend a little more time with Val and Josh.

But the best news is the WEATHER!!! We have already received a foot of snow, and boy do I love my snowblower! We got the kids bundled up this morning and they came outside and played for almost an hour while I used the snowblower. This afternoon I picked up Dave and we headed over to our old house to help dig out my tenant's car - which was buried in a snow drift almost 4 feet deep. The snowblower made quick work of that and then we went back to Dave's and cleared his driveway as well.

I had some pictures to add to this post but blogger was being crappy and wouldn't let me upload them. I'll have to add them later.

Josh Update -- Thursday

From Richard:

Well - today was a step forward, but only in the sense that his fever has subsided a bit - I believe his highest temp up to this point today was 101. We're still awaiting the results of the most recent blood work, so there's still no indication of the root cause. If his fever continues to mellow out it's a good possibility he could come home sometime this weekend (but I'm not going to hold my breath.)

Fortunately many of our friends have been very helpful in a number of ways by babysitting, bring meals and more. Additionally, Val's brother Keenan helped out a lot by hanging out with the kids most mornings this week. My mom is headed here from Virginia tonight to spend the weekend and hang out with the kids, who have had a tough time with Val being gone. It's an 8 hour drive, but we appreciate her willingness to help out. It's easy to overlook the effect that this situation has on the kids here at home, so I focus on spending quiet moments with the kids when I can.

Surprisingly, the house is in great shape. Dishes are done and the laundry is all folded - I've developed a nice little routine that I follow each evening to keep on top of things.

As of this evening, the weather folks are calling for 6-8 inches of snow. But we'll have to see if that actually comes through.

Best wishes to all of our friends, and thank you for the positive comments.

Cheers-
R

Joshua Update - Wednesday

From Richard:

Sorry folks, still no good news. I just spoke to Val a few minutes ago and she said that Josh's fever had returned and his heart rate was over 200bpm (normal is 100-150).

This morning they re-did his chest x-ray and it was clear, they've also re-done his bloodwork but we have not yet received the results from it. From what we're told, the doctors don't have any good ideas of what's wrong. All of his systems seem to be functioning normally, yet his fever continues to be an issue.

At home, the rest of the kids are doing well with exception of Lukas who is having a terribly rough time with mom being gone and life being in flux. Lukas didn't do well with Val being gone for the adoptions either, so this is par for the course and I know pretty well how to help him (but there's no substitute for momma.)

Evan continues to get stronger and branch out into new activities. He's finally started to eat a greater variety of food - and I'm even able to get him to eat off a fork! Tonight he ate a complex meal of shepherd's pie and pear slices from a fork.

R-

We're still alive... but Josh is in the hospital.

From Richard:

Josh has been in the hospital since Saturday evening. He is being treated for complications of RSV - namely a "fever of unknown origin." The doctors are also a bit concerned about his "wheezing" which he has had ever since we brought him home (and to our knowledge he's always had it.)

Val is spending days and nights at the hospital with Joshua and I'm focusing on taking care of the kids and keeping the house in order. I'm working in the mornings while her brother watches the kids and then coming home while the kids nap and then I put them to bed.

Not a whole lot of progress has been made in determining what's going on with him, but we're hopefully they'll get it figured out. At this point I think we'll be lucky to have him home before the weekend comes around.

Val does not have much access to the internet, so anyone wishing to contact her should call her on her cell phone.