Our little sicky

Trying so hard to smile through the yuckies. (I look frightened/scared but really I'm just focused on Special Agent Oso.)


Not feeling so good, watching a little Boz before dinner (not that he'll likely be hungry).


That's an Easter-themed Kit-Kat in his hand. It's a security thing for him to always be holding onto something. Today the Kit-Kat was that thing.

Surgery date

Looks like Father's Day and the summer solstice are our holidays to spend in the hospital this time! Surgery has been rescheduled for June 18. Elijah will need to remain flat on his back for two days after surgery (which means he will be heavily sedated during that time), and mostly on his back (and still in the hospital) for another 3-5 days.

Elijah is feeling crummy. It's so sad. Goop is oozing out of his eyes, his tummy is upset, he grabs at his ears a lot and his cough sounds just awful. He smiles through it all, though. Our tough boy. The goopy medicine we have to put in his eyes three times a day is torture for him, and it is awful to see him so upset.

Dan will be spending the majority of the week caring for the little sicky, so keep his well-being in your prayers, too, along with Elijah's health. Thank you!!

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Despite being ill, he is still progressing really well with his communication. Yesterday he started saying TRUCK (kuck) and STRAW (aw). Then he showed me one finger and said UH, two fingers and said OO and so on, all the way to five. I didn't even prompt him with this, he just started doing it. Go Elijah!

What a mess!

Wow, welcome home, Us!

We just got done with Elijah's pulmonology appointment, which was scheduled months ago as a croup/asthma follow-up. The timing of this appointment could not have been more perfect, with Elijah being so sick right now (and especially since Dr. K is also an intensivist, which makes him a very smart guy).

Elijah has a double ear infection, double pink eye, bronchitis and a touch of the flu or some bug that is making his tummy upset. He has never had pink eye or an ear infection before, so this is crazy!

Because of all of the medications he will be taking for the next three weeks to cure all of these ailments, we are going to need to reschedule the tethered cord surgery. That's kind of a bummer (especially since this morning we were given the opportunity to do it two days from now), but we have to remember that our timing is not always aligned with God's timing.

Elijah's BIG event days tend to fall on or very close to days with other significance, so I have kind of been feeling like June 4th wasn't HIS day for surgery anyway.

Since Elijah gets sick so often, Dr. K wants to run labs to check his immune system while he is sedated for surgery. He seems to think things will check out normal and that we are just "unlucky." That's us! Except, I don't like to use that word. I prefer to say that we are just given extra challenges. So far, extra challenges have been good for us, so I guess we'll keep taking them!

How to become Totally Exhausted Human Being (TEHB)

1. Leave for vacation an already sleep-deprived insomniac.

2. Wake up every morning at 4:00 while on vacation because that is when Elijah would be getting up (6:00 our time), and then remain unable to go back to sleep.

3. On the second day of vacation, after being tired of being tired, drink something called "Amp!" in an attempt to wake up because it has tons of caffeine and sugar and who knows what else in it.

4. A few hours after drinking the gigantic can of Amp!, lie awake in bed until 3:30 a.m. because the mystery contents are not allowing you to fall asleep.

5. Travel back home the next morning after only getting about 2.5 fitful hours of sleep.

6. Come home to very sick, coughing, vomiting, goopy-eyed, feverish, clingy little boy.

Ugh, we are indeed tired and sick here. Even so, Dan and I had an amazing vacation (and Elijah had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa)! I will update with a few highlights and pics later this week.

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A quick update on our appointment with Elijah's neurosurgeon last Friday...

Surgery to release Elijah's tethered spinal cord is indeed in the works, and soon. Like, next Thursday. That date could possibly change due to a piece of equipment not being available at the hospital, but we will find out for sure tomorrow. The thing about this surgery that we were surprised to learn is that recovery time is much longer than we expected. Dr. N estimated that Elijah will be in the hospital for a week following surgery.

The surgeon was unable to tell us that this surgery would help Elijah with his walking. It is possible, but there's no way to know until we do it. If left untreated, a tethered cord can cause a few different serious issues, so we want to get the surgery done as soon as possible.

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We have a previously scheduled appointment with Elijah's pulmonologist in the morning, which is perfect because it will be good to get him checked out since he is so sick right now. We're not sure what is going on with our little man right now, but he sure doesn't feel well. Please say a prayer for healing for him tonight! Thanks for checking in on him.

Cling

I couldn't help myself last night. He looked sooo cute when I checked on him before I went to bed.

Last night as I was putting Elijah to bed he felt just a tiny bit warm to me. This morning he still felt warm so I took his temp and he was 99.5 degrees. Not bad, but he usually runs a really low temp, so his body was up to something. Dan stayed home with him and he seemed a little extra tired, but other than that and the slight temp, he was fine. Dan took him to the doctor just to make sure everything was ok since we are leaving town tomorrow, and everything looked fine. The doctor thinks Elijah either has a very very mild viral thing going on or that his body is reacting to his new molars coming in. I'm about to give him a dose of tylenol (temp is still just barely above normal) and put him to bed early. He looks so tired.

Please pray that this is just something little and that he has a healthy, fun, safe weekend at Grandma's house.

We will bring him to his surgical consultation in the morning and then Dan and I are off to the airport! Unfortunately I probably won't be able to write an update about the appointment until next week. Maybe I'll find a computer and update quick sometime this weekend. I don't know, I might be too obsessed with sitting by the pool.

I'm pretty sure Elijah understands that we are going to be gone for a few days. He is normally a snuggly boy, but I've never seen him THIS snuggly. He has been literally stuck to Dan or me all day/night. I have to say that I don't mind it at all! Of course, it could also be because he isn't feeling 100%, but usually even when he's sick he doesn't get to this degree of snuggliness.


Awwww, laying on Daddy.

Ok, gonna go get my share of loves quick before bed. Have a good holiday weekend, everyone! Please keep our man in your prayers. Thank you!

Wearisome worry-wart

Update:

I just spoke with a nurse from the neurosurgeon's office. Dr. Nagib wants to see Elijah soon. This Friday soon. I am taking Friday off work anyway since Dan and I are leaving for vacation that afternoon, so it works perfectly that Elijah's appointment is in the morning. Yes, I am a tiny bit freaked out about the surgeon wanting us in so quickly, but that just means the sooner we will know what is going on!

And, doesn't it suit Elijah that a big event (this appointment) would fall on another significant date (Leave For Vacation Day)? This always happens, and I believe it is one of the little things God does to remind me that everything is going to be ok.

Original post:

Elijah's newly acquired neurosurgeon has not had a chance to review the scans of his spine. I suppose he is a pretty important guy, so I'll cut him some slack. During this period of waiting for more information, I can't help but worry a bit. Have we caused damage to our little boy's body by taking 2+ years to figure out he has a tethered spinal cord? I know it's good that we are learning this now instead of later, but what if we had known about it a year and a half ago? Would Elijah be walking by now? I see the things he misses out on by not being able to walk and it breaks my heart to think that maybe we could have prevented this by catching the tethered cord earlier.

To add to my worries, Elijah has been refusing (screaming, crying, freaking out) to use his walker for the past week or so. I wonder if he is in pain? Discomfort? Being stubborn? Just not interested? Who knows.

I know what you're thinking because I'm thinking it, too. How silly of me to worry so much about this. Elijah will walk when the time is right. He is perfect. We couldn't love him any less than we do now. He is happy and healthy. God has taken, and is taking, very good care of him.

It has been a tired, tense past couple of days (weeks?) in our house. Nothing in particular has happened, we are just sleep-deprived (Dan and I have suddenly forgotten how to sleep, which is totally maddening) and we feel weary. That's why it is a very good thing that we leave for vacation on Friday! Elijah is going to stay with Grandma for a few days while Dan and I travel across the country to lay by a pool, soak up the hot sun, eat lots of yummy food and just spend some quality alone time together. I honestly cannot wait. It is always tough for me to be away from my little boy (wait until you see the flashcards I'm going to make that are going to help me with this!), but Dan and I need this right now. When we get home, we will be a much better couple and much better parents because of it.

On a positive note, Elijah is saying new words left and right. It is just awesome to see (hear) this. Last night I heard him say TEETH (teet), MAP (ap) and DONE (duh). I love it! Keep it up, my amazing little boy.

Oh, and Elijah is 27 months old today!

I hope you all are having a good week. Thank you for checking in..

p.s. Miraculously, Elijah's croup didn't turn into anything at all last week. Not even a cough!

Waiting..

A shirtless neb. Funny thing, the other day I saw a photo of a little boy about Elijah's age without a shirt on and I actually gasped when I saw that he didn't have scars on his chest. All we know is what is on Elijah, so it was strangely startling to see a scarless torso.

We are still waiting to hear from the neurosurgeon. I suppose it is a good sign that he isn't urgently calling us, but we are still very eager to know exactly what is going on with our munchkin's spine. If I don't hear anything tomorrow, I am supposed to call the neurologist so he can push things along.

We had a nice evening together. Elijah was full of energy and he was in a great mood. He explored every corner of our patio, which was really fun to watch. He picked up a rock and said, "OCK!" and then pointed at the baby gate and said, "DATE!" His speech is coming along really nicely.

That's all I've got. Just a quick update for now. Hopefully I will have an update from the neurosurgeon tomorrow.

Two things I learned today

1. Elijah is terrified of hair dryers. I never "do" my hair. Unless I'm in a wedding, or unless there is an equally big event. It's one of those things that takes up too much precious time for me. Because of this, Elijah has never seen a hair dryer. Since I got my hair done yesterday, I figured I would try to style it for church this morning. The two of us were hanging out in the bathroom and I turned on the hair dryer. I'm pretty sure I would have seen the same reaction from him if someone were murdering me in front of his eyes. He was absolutely terrified. I turned it off and tried again a few more times, but always got the same horrified reaction, so I gave up. I guess I'm not meant to have stylish hair.

2. Elijah knows how to count! I heard him playing in his room this morning, counting his toys. He was saying, "uh, oo, ee, oh" (oo and ee are said with a closed mouth). I went into his room and asked him how old he was. He said, "Oo!" I asked him how many balls were in front of him. He said, "Oh!" I asked him to count to four. He said, "Uh, oo, ee, oh!" WHAT?! I was pleasantly surprised. My little smartypants.


Only our boy would be more interested in the gate itself than the many toys sitting behind him. He stared at the gate and touched it over and over, totally intrigued by it.


Eventually he made his way back to the toys.

Dan is still at the dropzone. He has been working all day. Elijah and I made it to the park, and we played outside for a bit. It is a beautiful Minnesota day. Right now he is munching on a peanut butter sandwich. When he's done we are going to finger paint and then take a bath and get ready for bed. Thanks for checking in! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

My haircut.

It has been a long time since I have had a good haircut. Thank you, SARAH.

Fiesty

Coloring a picture for Grammie P and Gramps. It's on its way to you, you guys!! He just loves these new markers I bought for him. He cries and cries when we have to leave the table after coloring.

I feel like a fresh, new woman! I got my hair cut and colored today. It always feels so good after a good hair cut. And I can't complain about the scalp/neck/hand massages. Earlier today, we got a visit from an old friend, Roger. It was his first time meeting Elijah, so it was a really nice visit. We haven't seen him since before Dan's and my wedding. Thanks for visiting, Rog! Elijah loved you, and we enjoyed catching up with you.


Putting a bow on his lips. There's Rog in the background.

Tonight Dan headed over to urgent care for a softball leg injury (all is ok for now) while Elijah and I went to the grocery store. It was quite an experience for us. Elijah was THAT child in the grocery store. You know, the screaming, fish-flopping one. And I was THAT mother. You know, the totally embarrassed, helpless one. Oh ugh. I took the imitation crab meat from his hands to scan it and pay for it and that's when it all began. The screaming and body flopping lasted for a solid 15 minutes. I had every eye within 50 feet turn and give me The Look. As I did my best to ignore Elijah's ridiculous behavior (after telling him firmly that his behavior was not ok), I had the thought, "Wow. So THIS is what it feels like to be THAT mother. Huh. Interesting." The young man behind the cash register said, "Whoa, kid. You just aaaaaaaren't happy."


My beautiful boy's face. I could smooch that all day long (when he's not screaming like a maniac in the grocery store).

Something is going on with our little man. Teeth, maybe? We had thought all of his teeth were in, but I think we were wrong. He has been sucking, biting, chewing on his hands constantly, which is very unlike him.


He very quickly and randomly fell asleep on me while playing with his letters this morning. This is very unusual for him.


See the pretty flowers Dan and Elijah got me for Mother's Day? Maybe someday we'll have the means to own a nice camera to take fun pics of pretty flowers. In the meantime, this is what you get, and with a happy, handsome man in the background.

Elijah v. Croup, Round 6 (Elijah v. Viral Infection, Round 13)

If any sort of illness is floating around our house, it is sure to manifest itself in Elijah in the form of croup. That is exactly what happened again last night (thanks to my illness). Well, very early this morning. At 4:30 we did our usual go outside, do a neb, give oral steroids routine. How sad that it's becoming routine for us.

The good thing is that it was pretty mild in comparison to his previous croup episodes. Hopefully that means only a short visit with The Cough.

What a week!

Tethered spinal cord

I spoke with Elijah's neurologist yesterday about his MRI results. The great news is that his brain looks perfect! I knew in my heart that there wouldn't be anything wrong with his smart, precious little head, so this news didn't come as a surprise. I was still relieved to hear it, though.

The other, not so desirable, news is that Elijah has a tethered spinal cord. We have always known that this could be a possibility because of his sacral dimple. The ultrasound that was done a few days after birth was normal, but obviously an MRI is a much more detailed test and it showed that it is indeed tethered.

What this means is that the end of Elijah's spinal cord is tightly fixed so there is not the normal movement on the lower end of it. There is something "binding" the spinal cord down, and therefore, it is "tethered." Dr. J claimed to not be enough of an expert to be giving me information on just how tethered Elijah's spinal cord is or where we go from here, so he is passing his scans onto a neurosurgeon. He did say that surgery to release the tether will likely be a reality for us. From the way it sounds, it's just as "easy" as that. Surgery would release the tether and the spinal cord wouldn't be constricted anymore.

Dr. J told me that it is a very good thing we are catching this now. Finding tethered cords later in life can be very bad, painful, stunting. So, thank God we went through with this test (especially since I was seriously thinking about not going through with it).

Now we just wait for the surgeon to call us and go from there. Maybe this news should have me really upset, but it doesn't. This could explain A LOT about our little boy. This could be the reason for the non-walking, and even some of his sensory issues. We are hopeful that this surgery will help Elijah out tremendously!

Dr. J told me that the neurosurgeon he is referring us to is the nation's BEST at fixing tethered cords. He claims this man can "work magic," and that he would trust him doing surgery on his own children. Again, we feel blessed to have so many amazing people caring for our little munchkin.

Which gets me thinking. How many people ARE caring for Elijah? We continue to add people to the list.

General pediatrician
Cardiologist
Pulmonologist
Urologist
Geneticist
ENT doc
Orthotist
Neurologist
Heart surgeon
Neuro surgeon
2 speech therapists
2 physical therapists
1 occupational therapist



p.s. Dan and I had a fabulous anniversary dinner last night. Thankfully my body held off getting sick till this morning! And thankfully I have leftovers!

At 3:00 this morning..

..I woke up with all-over body aches, a very sore throat and a headache. I poked Dan in the arm.

Me: I think I have the swine flu.

[Long pause.]

Dan: You don't have the swine flu. Go back to sleep.

Me: Ok.


I stayed home from work and slept until 11:00 a.m., ate some soup, and went back to sleep until now. My only prayer is that Elijah doesn't get whatever I have.


More on E's new diagnosis in a bit..

Three amazing, scary, fun, intense, adventure-filled, tiring, wonderful years.

My (bare-footed) husband, waiting for me to walk down the "aisle" (grass).


(Wearing shoes and) excited to get to him!



We took the chance of having an outdoor wedding and reception in May. In Minnesota. It was a cold (45-degree), rainy, windy day. We took it in stride, though. I refused to put anything on over my very pretty dress, and I didn't complain once! We danced to the music the band played and we enjoyed our time to its fullest. Many many friends and family members came to share our day with us. They were troopers, enduring the cold along with us. As Dan says, "'Twas cold outside, but warm in our hearts." :)



Lately I've been thinking a lot about our wedding day. I believe that God was giving us a glimpse of what our life together would be like. The conditions weren't ideal, there was some discomfort but we had a ton of support from loved ones and we persevered and remained happy and focused on the good things. Sounds familiar!



A lot has happened in three years. More than I ever could have imagined, as I shivered in my shoes on May 13, 2006. The pregnancy complications, the uncertainty surrounding Elijah's outcome, the premature delivery, the heart surgeries, the other surgeries, the hospitalizations, the panic attacks, the anxiety, the amazing way in which our loved ones, and most importantly GOD, carried us through all of that.. It hasn't been easy, but all of it put together has created some pretty cool things. Isn't it interesting what it takes for some people to "get it"? It has taken a lot for Dan and me (well, I speak for myself here). I'm thankful for the jostling, though, because I am very happy about where we are at right now, and I'll admit, I needed it.



I hope this doesn't come across as sounding insincere since it is such a cliche thing to say. I mean this very sincerely.. I could not have walked this incredible 3-year journey with anyone except my amazing husband. We are like two giant puzzle pieces who fit perfectly together. Any other puzzle piece wouldn't have worked. It had to be him and me. That's what God intended.

Happy Anniversary, Husband! Now, let's go to dinner!



p.s. Got Elijah's MRI results back already today. Good and bad news. His brain is perfect, his spine is not. I'll explain tomorrow.

My super handsome, newly-hair-cutted boys

God is present

We survived another day in the hospital. Elijah did amazingly well. He hadn't eaten since 6:00 last night, and by 1:00 this afternoon he hadn't complained once about that. We really do have a good little boy. We are so proud of him.

As we waited for anesthesia to come talk to us about what would be happening, I started to feel some serious anxiety. I kept wondering if this was the right thing to do. There is likely nothing "wrong" with Elijah's brain or spine, so is it right to put him through trauma yet again? I said to Dan, "Are we doing the right thing here?" He said yes, but I was still unsure. And then! One of those God Moments happened. We know this anesthesiologist at Children's who we absolutely totally completely love and adore. He took care of Elijah during his last open heart surgery, his hypospadias repair and I think maybe a heart cath or two. This doctor is the definition of wonderful. Really, he has everything you could ever ask for in a doctor, especially a doctor who is going to be by your son's side every second he is in surgery, or in today's case, getting tests done.

So, back to the God Moment. At the height of my anxiety, Dr. Altman entered the room and I couldn't believe it. OH THANK YOU GOD OH THANK YOU THANK YOU. He sat down and talked to us and within minutes I knew this was good, it was the right thing, and everything was going to be ok. Dan mentioned to him that E's neurologist wanted bloodwork taken while he was sedated and Dr. A said that it was not on the paperwork anywhere. So this amazing man called our neurologist and asked him to send in the orders so we could get this done. Some new guidelines had been implemented two days ago that requires ONLY doctors to be able to write in orders for tests, so we needed the neurologist to be available promptly. He was, but there were some problems with getting the orders into the system, so Dr. A took it upon himself to write the orders out himself, as if he were the one requesting them, so we could get this done. This is not something most doctors would be willing to do, and he even told us that. We were so thankful for his willingness to go around the system a bit. He said to us, "There is no way I am going to make a two-year-old come back to the hospital, fully awake, to go through the trauma of getting bloodwork taken when we can take care of it while he is sedated." THANK YOU DR. A! Oh man, we sure were thankful to have him as a part of our life today.

The MRI went well. It took about two hours. Elijah woke from the anesthesia just fine. We met him in the hallway (being held by a nurse, he wasn't just roaming the hallway alone) after the procedure and he was happy to see us. After his heart caths he is always grumpy, so it was nice to see a smile when we walked around the corner. We had to sit in the short stay unit for about a half hour and then we were sent home. Elijah was starving. Within about an hour and a half after leaving the hospital, he had: three boxes of apple juice, a huge ziploc bag filled with chocolate teddy grahams, a stick of string cheese, a huge slice of pizza, a cup of milk and about a zillion mandarin oranges. I guess he made up for what he missed today!

Elijah went to sleep well and was in good spirits this evening. The sedation has made him just a tiny bit hoarse, but otherwise all is well! We hope to get the results of the MRI in the next couple weeks. He was clearly upset whenever nurses were near him, but otherwise, he did really well today. We have such a strong, amazing little man.

We had a little detour on our way home from the hospital. As we were walking through the skyway out of the hospital, Dan and I were practically skipping. I think I said, "Wow! That was the easiest discharge we've ever experienced. This day is AWESOME!" We got into the car and started to drive away, when....thunk thunk thunk.. Uhhhh, is something wrong with the car? I got out to look at the tires and sure enough, the right front tire was totally flat. Oh ugh.

We have these stupid hubcaps on our car (they came with the tires) that make it so you cannot access the lug nuts (forgive me if I get this terminology wrong) with a normal tire iron. So dumb. So Dan and I just stared at each other like, what in the world are we going to do??? He looked in the trunk, in which I believe God had placed a bottle of Fix-a-flat. Dan pumped it into the tire and we quickly drove away, in hopes of finding tire help before it deflated again. Children's Hospital is in a very sketchy part of town, so I was biting my fingers as we drove. Please God, please God, don't strand us in this part of town. We thankfully came upon a tire shop, and we were totally blessed to meet an amazingly nice man who put on our spare tire almost immediately, and for FREE. I think we will go back there and bring him cookies and any other treat he might like.

I loved how we handled it all, though. I was proud of us. We could have freaked out and handled that situation poorly, but we kept humor in it and handled it lightly and I believe that was a good example for Elijah to witness. It was a good day. Everything went as well as it possibly could have and we are so thankful for that. God was with us today and it was so obvious. It's amazing what you see when you keep your heart and eyes open!

Thanks for checking in. Pray for good MRI results for our brave little boy. We already know he is just perfect.

Happy Mother's Day!

Wearing the neb mask like a big boy and sporting his cute new shirt from our friend Cecilia. I just love the color, and of course, Elijah is the king of long sleeved t-shirts and loungewear.

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mamas out there! I hope you have all had special days.

My boys have made today special for me. I woke up to a yummy breakfast waiting for me. It was supposed to be breakfast in bed, but I came downstairs too soon. Oops. Then all of the husbands (Dan's brothers-in-law and himself) made lunch for the ladies. It turned out great! They made a huge feast and we were impressed with what they pulled together. They even did the dishes, yay!


Stop me before I eat him up.

I got another treat this weekend, too. One of my very best friends in the whole world, Heather, drove up from Iowa with her two cuties for the weekend. Heather and I were roommates in college for four years and I just love and miss her to pieces. It is always so nice to catch up, and seeing her two kids was icing on the cake! We went to the Mall of America on Saturday for a while. Well, Elijah and I were only there for a while because of naptime, but Heather & kids were troopers and they stayed for the entire day. Elijah and I watched Molly and Ben (her kids) go on a few rides and we all had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.

Elijah showed a genuine interest in Molly and Ben, which is pretty unusual for him. It was so nice to see him approach them both, wanting to play, and not being afraid to physically touch them. I loved seeing it! Thank you soo much for driving up for a visit, you guys! It was awesome seeing all of you.


I tried giving Elijah a mix of foods/snacks to see if he would sample all, or at least most, of them. He didn't. I'll keep trying, though. His eating is getting pickier and pickier, and I want to continue offering him a variety of things.

I forgot to mention that Dan let me take a long nap this morning. Actually, it was just an hour and a half lying in bed since I couldn't sleep (which is totally ridiculous, as tired as I always am). It was nice, though. Tonight I'll get a nice long bath and then we'll watch my requested movie, Harry Potter (5th one), since I just finished that book this weekend.


Getting some work done.


Check out this cool book that Elijah's ECSE therapists made for him. I had put a bunch of photos together for them to laminate and put together into a book, in hopes of getting Elijah to point to the things he wants and to communicate better. There is an activities section, a food section, a people section, an objects section and a tv shows section. Since getting this book, we have learned what the two most important things are to him. Special Agent Oso (tv show) and cheese. He holds one of these photos in each hand and he carries them around with him literally wherever he goes.


Mr. Potato Head does not need to smell.

My tummy keeps turning periodically as I think about tomorrow's MRI. Ugh. It will be good to be on the other side of it. Please keep Elijah in your prayers tonight. Pray for as little distress as is possible. Thank you! And thanks for checking in.

Perspective, wow.

I just got done deleting the post I was going to publish that ranted about how yucky of a week I have been having, blah blah, poor me.

Before I was able to publish it, I found this. This little boy is in the hospital with serious head trauma after falling from three stories, head first onto concrete. His future is uncertain, his parents are devastated. A single moment has changed their lives forever. My chest literally aches over this. I had to step into the other room and let out a good cry to relieve some of the aching. It's almost like I can feel a millionth of a tiny sliver of what they must be feeling.

All of the screaming that we have heard this week (from Elijah, not us...although it's been tempting) and the tiredness we have felt are suddenly ERASED. None of it matters. Tonight, I'm not going to lose my patience, I'm not going to let myself get overwhelmed by the little things. Maybe I will even embrace those crazy screams (and The Cough?) because who knows when they could be gone.

Pray for this family. Go to their blog and show them support. Hug your families extra tight tonight. Tell everyone just how much you love them. Appreciate what you have.

Genetics

I wanted to share the good news quick! The microarray that was sent off to the lab to check Elijah's genes came back COMPLETELY NORMAL! Of course we would love him to pieces no matter what, but this news makes me very happy.

His geneticist has just one more thing she wants to do. She had taken a few photos of the sweet Elijah face when we were in her office in March. She wants to show those pictures to her colleagues to see if they are able to notice anything recognizable in his features that could tie him to a syndrome. If not, then there is really nothing more we will need from her.

She does want to see us back in July, after Elijah's MRI results are in (MRI a week from yesterday...pray!) so we can discuss the chances of birth defects happening with other pregnancies, if other pregnancies were to happen.

Another thing behind us, phew! I'm feeling super anxious about his MRI next week. I just hate having him sedated and upset and poked and in the hospital, but it will be another good thing to put in our past.

If you're wondering, The Cough is still an unwanted guest in our home. We generally only hear him during the day, which is nice, but it would be nice to have him out for good. We're really just through with this punk.

Little update: After writing this post, we noticed that Elijah's wheeziness and cough are worse today. :( Un. Freaking. Believable.

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have "not" been doing this week.

Here are my Nots for the week..

This past week, I did not turn a deep shade of red when Elijah continued to call the cow puppet at physical therapy "Dada!" And after hearing him say it for the fiftieth time, I did not start to question my memory of the events surrounding the conception of my child.

This past week, I did not meet some girlfriends for dinner at a restaurant that was holding an event for a singles mixer. Those of us who were married did not think it was funny to make our friends and husbands wonder if maybe we went there on purpose.

This past week, I did not dance with my husband like an idiot in our garage so vigorously that I was sore from head to toe for the next few days. And my flip-flops did not tear my toes apart, making it difficult for me to walk and impossible for me to take baths without squealing in pain.

This past week, I did not grab my husband's butt a thousand times because it is definitely not a butt that I have much interest in.


Fun, you play, too!