Feb heart month

Well, February is heart month. Everyone needs to take care of their heart. Exercise. I know coming from me is frickin funny, but I vow right now to move more. There are people out there who were born with bad hearts and some even need a new heart. Most all of you know how big of a deal this is in my family. Bethany had her surgery over 2 years ago. We know people who have babys who got a new heart or is no longer here because they needed a new heart and didnt get one in time. This kids will always appreciate the heart they have so we need to as well. We were VERY lucky with Bethany. She had major surgery on her tiny heart. She didnt need a new heart and she only had one surgery. she was out of the hospital in 6 days and has been healthy ever since. Now i am going to make sure i keep my heart healthy so I can show her i dont take that for granted. Just gotta move more! Wear you red this month and donate if you can.

New Blog

I have a new "personal" blog. this one will still be here but it is for "family"


http://justheather00.blogspot.com/

Ultrasound.....the BIG one.

So last week we had our big ultrasound...bigger than normal. Since we have one heart baby the likelihood of having another is doubled. This fact makes me a bit nervous. We were in such shock when they told us about Bethany. It felt like someone punched me in the gut and I couldnt breathe for months. When we found out we were going to have another baby I got very scared. I dont know if I could go through that all over again. I already knew the odds of having another heart baby. So I told my doctor about everything and she said when we had our big ultra sound it would be BIG! We went to specialists who can look for defects. Now, when we talked with Bethany's cardiologist he told us her defect would probably not have been found. That shocked me a bit but also understandable. I guess what they look for is to make sure the baby has all 4 chambers of the heart. Well she does all 4 chambers...just one of them is funky and her valves were screwy. So then I got even more nervous. So we go to our BIG ultrasound. He allowed them to confirm it defintely is a boy (not shy at all). The blood flow in his brain and major arteries looked great. They saw all 4 chambers and the blood flow from and to his heart looked just as great. All this information has allowed me to relax a little more. So now I will tell you the numbers in the statics from above....1 in every 100 babies are born with a heart defect. There is a 2% chance of having a heart baby. It is not genetic. So if you double that we now have a 4-5% chance. When I was told 4-5% I was relieved. Even though are chances are "doubled", 4-5% is such a small number. Yes, the 2% was smaller but really, I cant complain. The odds are still in our favor! I now believe he is going to be a very healthy little boy. Now, again, time to worry about the name!

Coming of Age......bummer

So as I look back to when I was 10-11 yrs old I remember having a couple of really good friends. I considered my BEST friends (now-a-days its called BFF). I had other friends too that I would talk to or play with at recess but mostly just a couple of us that were always together. I have since lost touch with most of them. I just recently found my bestest friend from that time on Facebook. Funny thing is we have a TON in common even now...some good, some not so good. Anyway, when we were younger things happen, things get said, or maybe we just evolve and grow apart. I have noticed, with my experience and now watching my oldest daughter, that it is mostly because girls are just plain mean. I remember girls I grew up with and I still hold some resentment because I know I did nothing to make them treat me the way they did. It was just fun for them. Now I watch my oldest go through the same thing. She is far from perfect...boy do I know this first hand. What I can tell you is that she has such a big heart and it kills her if she hurts someones feelings. You could call her names and beat her up but she will not retaliate. She willnot stoop to that level. She is always thinking of others and what she can do to make them happy. This includes her friends, even if they are playing a game she doesnt like or make fun of her for doing something they think is silly. She stays true to herself and for that I am VERY PROUD of her. I watch her outside playing and most the time she looks like she is having fun....as 10yr old should. But it breaks my heart when I see the kids avoiding her and playing mean tricks on her. Telling her if she wants to play with them she needs to put mud on her face. Really, put mud on her face??? I know when she get older she will love it (facials) but for now to play with these "friends" she needs to put mud on her face??? Or when she asks one if she can play she says "no" then she goes to the next girl and she says "no". Five minutes later they are both out playing so Hailey will run out there to play and they will run from her and hide. Then of course Hailey is crying because she has no idea they are being this way. I told her girls are just mean. Then, because she is frickin smart, she says I am a girl and I'm not mean. These are the same girls who a year ago told her dance was stupid and for weak people and not atheltic. So after that she didnt want to do dance anymore. She was good too. I am amazed that girls are still so very mean. I am just going to have to figure out some super fun stuff to do with her during these mean episodes so she can cope.....Girls are mean...no wonder why MOST of my friends in H.S. were not girls!

Heart Update....

Ok, so on Friday we went to Primary Chldren's for Bethany's one yr check up for her heart. She had to be sedated so they could do all the testing. now, if you know Bethany you will know how VERY stubborn she can be (not sure where she gets that from....Anyway, she was super brave and cried a little while they put the IV in but was great after. They put the first dose of meds in for her sedation and she got loopy....she kept trying to say momma but more like mmmmmmma...lol...her eyes glazed over and we laid her down. She freaked and started yelling at us "no, no, no" so they gave her more meds. So you understand, she needs to be completely still for this test. They are looking at her heart to make sure all the repairs are holding up and the heart is doing what it is supposed to do. If she isnt still it takes longer. Normally they will give her the meds in tiny intervals to keep her out longer but not this time. She wasn't having any of it. They maxed her out on her sedation within the first 10 minutes! When the test was over we went up to recovery so she could have a popcicle and juice. If she can keep this down we get to leave....again not happening. Because they had to give her all the meds at once she got super sick. She ended up throwing up on Tyson twice. They both fell asleep in the rocking chair. She was out for a few hours. Dr. Arrington (her cardiologist) came up to see us. Again, he made me cry. This time is was great news (getting teary eyed typing). He said she looked great. All the repairs are holding up and her heart is working the way it should be. He thought she would have her pacemaker by now and is very surprised at her health and the fact she wouldn't take the sedation. We only have to go back yearly now! We are so happy and cant believe after all the crap she has had to go through she is doing so well. There is nothing holding this little girl back. She was so brave! I am so proud of her.

BOY or GIRL......Aug. 5th.....

Ok so most of you already know we are expecting baby #3. I am at 18 weeks and we got to find out on Monday what we get this time. Honestly we dont care as long as he/she is healthy. Wow, so many parents say that and it sounds cliche but we totally know what that means. We just dont want anymore heart surgeries. Anyway, we went in and had an ultrasound and they took some of my blood to test for downs syndrome. My Dr. asks us if we want to find out and we both said YES! So she shows us the heart, head, arms, hands, and all 3 "legs" ....yep we finally get our boy! Tyson is happy but keeping it in a little bit. Hailey is super excited and Bethany doesnt quite get it yet but she comes up to my belly and says "my brother" So now the hard part...we need to agree on a name!

Feb. 2010

It has been a little while but there are some things we would like to share.

Hailey is doing great in school. 4th grade is half way over. She gets all 1's and 2's...thats the equivalent of A's and B's. She has been reading a lot and enjoys mystery books. She is a great big helper with Bethany. She can make her laugh harder than anyone else. You can tell she loves her little sister. She loves to spend her money but not on herself...she will spend it all on Bethany if we let her. Last week she started guitar lessons and loves it so far. She started because she likes Taylor Swift! Hailey also chopped her hair off to donate. She had to cut 10 inches off and her hair is still past her shoulders. She loves it. The whole time we were there she had the nervous giggles but whe was super brave! We are proud of her.
Bethany is doing great. She goes to her cardiologist next month. If this one goes well then we will start going yearly instead of every six months! WOO HOO! She is super sassy and a typical 2 yr old! She tries to push her limits then when you get mad she gives you a hug and says sorry...what a kiss up! She will let you know if she does or doesnt want something. She loves to follow Hailey around and if Hailey is busy she yell across the house "Hailey Paige, come here" Hailey is really good about getting to her fast! I have a feeling in a couple yrs that will stop and Hailey will just be annoyed! lol

Tyson and I are doing so much better these days. We just celebrated out 3 yr anniversary last month. We had a rough year last yr but I think we have gotten past the worst of all of it. We found out in November we are expecting another little one. I am due August 5th but will probably end up going the end of July. Finally a baby that is nowhere near Christmas!!! We will be finishing our basement so Hailey can move down there and we will move Bethany into Haileys old room and the baby into Bethanys room. Hailey thinks she has to share a room with Bethany! That has been fun teasing her about it....we will eventually have to tell her she gets her own room!

One Year Ago Today.....

I will actually start with 2 yrs ago...almost to the day. Bethany was 3 weeks old and we found out she was sick. She needed to have open heart surgery. She has PAPVC (Partial Anomolous Pulmonary Veneous Connection). A very scary day for all of us.
Now, to one yr ago today.....
January 6, 2009 Bethany had her surgery. They went in and made all her valves and arteries connect to the right places. We sat in that waiting room all morning. The nurses were amazing. They called us every hour to update us on how the surgery was going. I looked around at all the other parents in there and wondered why they were here. Was it something serious like Bethany or was it something less complicated and they would get to leave later that day? I would watch parents come and go and got more nervous and sick to my stomach as the time went by. The nurses phone would ring and I thought I would throw up. But everytime they called for us it was good news....she was doing great. Four hours after it all started we got one last call. They were done. She was in recovery. I immediately went to the bathroom and threw up. All the nerves and axiousness finally decided to leave me! She did great and they fixed it...her heart, although still not like a normal heart, had been repaired to the point it would work correctly. The Dr. came and talked to us and told us what he did. Not sure I listened to all of it....the important part was she was going to be ok. As I shook his hand I realized he had our babys tiny little heart in that very hand not 30 min before that. I sat there for a few minutes and cried as Tyson just held me.
The nurses took us to the PICU where she was awake. She was just lying there with all these tubes coming out of everywhere! I was so scared for her. She was hooked up to 6 different medicine machines. She had 4 IVs...one in each hand, one in each foot. She had a chest tube in for drainage, a catheter, and a wire in her neck to help measure her heart rate. She had wires coming out of her chest that were hooked up to a pacemaker. She looked up at us and reached for us. We werent allowed to pick her up or hold her and she was crying. It broke my hear because for the past 5 or so hours all I wanted to do was hold her. It would be 2 more days before we could hold her. She had some amazing nurses. Our favorite was a lady named Mary. She had been a cardiac nurse for 25yrs. She did a great job keeping Bethany calm and mom and dad informed. She kept us updated on everything. She was a fun nurse. We met some other moms there whose little boys were worse off than Bethany. Ben had been there his whole 8 weeks of life and wasnt going home anytime soon. He ended up getting a heart transplant a month later. He is doing great. Bridger, whose mom Staci helped us more than anyone, had been there his whole 4 months of life. He got to go home for a bit but ended up back in the hospital. Sadly, he passed away in August, one month before he was to turn 1.
Bethany got to leave 6 days after her surgery only hooked up to the oxygen. We go in for check ups but they all say she is doing great. We are just waiting for the day she needs her pacemaker. The longer we can wait the better. I wish I was financialy wealthy...I would donate money for research for Congenital Heart Defects and spend my time volunteering at the hospital instead of at work! We do fundraisers for the cause so if you can help out it would be greatly appreciated!
So we made it through the first year post surgery. She has turned 2 and boy is she sassy and active. We wouldnt have her any other way!

All of us....

So, the yr is almost over. I cant believe how fast it has all gone by. There have been good times, sad times, scary times, and sick times! You ould never know Bethany had heart surgery. She is a normall 2 yr old (almost). She can count to 14 and knows a couple colors. She talks jus tlike her older sister....A LOT!!!! She loves the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow and can sing it word for word. She isgetting so big!
Hailey is in the 4th grade. She is loving science. If it has anything to do with space she wants to learn more. She is liking reading more and more. She didnt for a while but I make her read for 30 minutes before bed and now she asks to keep going. That makes me happy. She won $58.00 in he money machine at school. She spent it all on her sister for Christmas. What a wonderful big sister with an even bigger heart! She didnt want to do dance this yr but she wants to learn how to play the guitar.
Hopefully soon there will be more to talk about but for ow this is it.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday!

Starting Over

Well, this yr has had its ups and downs. Mostly downs but I have a feeling it is going to end on the up and be great. Of course it started with Bethany's surgery...a very scary time for all of us. She did great and was home 6 days later. Hailey had 4 dance competitios and got first or second place in all of them...she did great as well. She continued to get straight A's all year annd is now going into the 4TH GRADE!!! Yep, I am old. Me and Ty have had our ups and downs, and ups and downs, and ups and downs. Even though we are separated we love each other very much. We are working on ourselves and our marriage. We both are determined to make it work and stay together forever. It is a 50/50 thing and we both are trying very hard. I thank everyone who has been with me and supported me through this past yr. no matter what happens here on out I know it will end a million times better than it started. Love, Tyson, Heather, Hailey, and Bethany!