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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Kid Pics


We were hanging outside in the backyard this past weekend, and I got a few shots of the kids. Cade is a hard one to photograph because he NEVER has a normal smile on his face. So I think I got one of him talking, but it looks as if he's trying to smile. *sigh* There goes my shot as a professional photographer!

Cade - 7

Jack - almost 5

Claire - almost 3

Friday, May 21, 2010

Respect the Wagon -- the Swagger Wagon

I'm sure you've probably seen this floating around Facebook. But I just had to post it because it's so dang funny.
Watch this and enjoy.

Here are the lyrics if you are hearing impaired or can't stand rap:
[INTRO MOM AND DAD]

Yeah

This one goes out to all you minivan families out there.
Sienna SE...in the house.
Where my mother/fathers at?
Where my kids at?

Where my kids at?
Where my kids at?
Where my kids at?
Where my kids at?
Where my kids at?

No, seriously honey where are the kids?
They're right there, see?
Oh, cool beans.

[VERSE DAD]
I roll hard through the streets and the cul-de-sacs,
Proud parent of an honor roll student, Jack.
I got a swing in the front, a tree house in the back,
My #1 Dad mug says, Yeah, Im the Mack.

[VERSE MOM]
I'm the world's best nurse when my kids get sick,
I make a mean gel-mold, I perfected my tricks,
Back when I used to party as a college chick.
Now I'm cruising to their playdates lookin' all slick...

[CHROUS]
In my Swagger Wagon,
Yeah, the Swagger Wagon,
It's the Swagger Wagon,
I got the pride in my ride.
In my Swagger Wagon,
Yeah, the Swagger Wagon,
It's the Swagger Wagon.

[VERSE DAD]

Check it...

I love hangin' with my daughter sippin' tea, keep my pinky up,
All the drawings on my fridge sport an A+.
I'm an awesome parent, (Right!) and it's apparent, (True!)
And in this house there's no mother/father swearin'.

[VERSE MOM]
Straight owning bake sales with my cupcake skills,
I'm better with the money, so I handle the bills,
And I always buy in bulk, ain't afraid of no spills.
Every Mother's Day proves...I'm kind of a big deal.

Daughter: Mommy, I need to go potty.

Bring the beat back, 'cause, yo, I got more to say,
You know I'm always front and center at the school play.
I kiss their boo-boos, clean doggie doo-doos,
Cut the crust off of PB&Js, chill the Yoo-hoos.

[VERSE DAD]

Singin' "Farmer in the Dell" in perfect harmony,
When I'm rollin' with my posse in the HOV.
We rock the SE, not an SUV,
And it's true, if I were you, I'd be jealous of me...

[CHORUS]

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Smooth Moves

The following is an update email I sent out to those for whom I had correct addresses (I almost typed that with a dangling participle. Yikes!):

Hi Friends-

You're receiving this update email because you are a part of Jack's life and have been concerned and/or praying for him over the last couple of months. I wanted to let all of you know what we've found out and what the future holds for sweet Jack.

We Know What's Wrong
Jack's colon is stretched out (diameter-wise) 2.5 times as wide as it should be. This makes it darn near impossible to poop normally. The colon got stretched out because Jack was holding his stool. A lot of it!

How it Got That Way
After quite a few tests, there seems to be no physical reason why Jack was holding his stool. The GI doc has been able to rule out quite a few diseases, physical abnormalities, and congenital birth defects. The reasoning behind the holding appears to be behavioral. For whatever reason, Jack has been purposefully holding his stool (which stretched out the colon)

So What Do We Do Now?
The doctor is confident that Jack's colon will go back down to normal size (and have it's motility/squeezing functionality back) if we can keep him "cleaned out." So we're going to be giving him stimulants like Ex-Lax to help encourage those muscles to push out the stool. If that doesn't work, then we'll be continuing to give Jack enemas every couple of days to keep him cleaned out (not fun).

And If That Doesn't Work?
A second option, if the above doesn't work, is to use Botox on his sphincter muscle to help him relax. Guess that would make his bum look younger?!? This would give him 6-8 weeks of relaxation down there to help ease things out.

And If We Had To Go To Extremes?
Our third and highly unlikely option is to have a colostomy bag outside of his body to bypass the colon and let it 'heal'. Again, this is highly unlikely, but it is an option if we can't get this under control.

Prayer Requests
  • pain -- that it would go away or decrease. Jack still has painful episodes every 30 minutes to two hours during the day. They can be quite painful. Thankfully, since his colonoscopy, he's been sleeping through the night without pain.
  • colon -- that it would get back down to normal size and have it's functionality (squeezing) back
  • being regular -- that Jack would be able to, um, poop regularly and not hold it.
  • being regular -- Jack mentioned the other day that he wants to just be a regular kid again. I'm sure its embarrassing for him (when he yells and screams in pain), and he wants to be normal
Thank you for being a part of our lives, and thank you for your prayers. If any other major developments erupt, I'll let you know. God is good. All the time. And He's overseeing this process and knows what will happen in His time.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

The "No Update" Update

The MRI has been rescheduled, rescheduled, and rescheduled again due to our insurance company needing proof that the MRI was necessary. And then, on Wednesday, we finally had our appointment to do the MRI. We arrived and promptly decided that there was no way Jack could do it. We're not sure how it slipped past the Gi doc, the nurse, and the MRI clinic that a 4 year old cannot lay still for 45 minutes without being unconscious. So we've rescheduled the MRI for tomorrow morning at the hospital where they can knock Jack out and do the MRI.

Other than that, status quo. Jack still has painful episodes that we can't do much about. We're giving him a restricted diet to help relieve some of the gas pain, and we're giving him enemas every three days to help him stay cleaned out.

One funny story that has come out of all this:

One of the first times we were administering the enema to Jack, he was rightfully screaming and mad that we were "assaulting" him the way we were. I was holding Jack down, and Scott was, ahem, doing the deed. In the middle of his screams to "please stop", Jack yelled at us that MawMaw should give us both spankings.
It did provide some comic relief to the situation, although the experience was terrible. We're looking forward to never having to give Jack enemas again. I'm praying that he won't remember any of this in a few years...