One Week Away

A week from right now, my baby girl will be in the operating room having her 4th open heart surgery.  To say I am okay would be a lie, I am absolutely terrifed right now.  I know it is the right time for this surgery and that God is in control and will be with her the whole time, but as a mom, it is just heart breaking knowing what she is about to go through. 

 

I was lying in bed last night thinking; the first surgery, we were just innocent.  We just did not fully grasp what was going on.  The second surgery, we were still nieve, but there were no other options at the time and we were desperate.  The third surgery, was a bit more difficult as Natalie was now 8 months old.  However, this surgery is a whole new ball game.  Natalie is 3 years old, she is talking walking and loving on all of us. Out of the blue at least 10 times a day, she will say, "I love you, Mommy."

 

As the time draws closer, my emotions are aweful.  I was awake last night until midnight crying, finally I went in and got her out of bed, just so I could snuggle with her and trust me she is a snuggler, like sharing your pillow kind of snuggler. 

I ask you all to please join me in this week and the weeks to come to pray Pslam 91 over our family...

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress,

My God, in whom I trust!"

For it is He who delievers you from the snare of the trapper,

And from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with His pinions,

And under His wings you may seek refuge;

His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

 

You will not be afraid of the terror by night,

Or of the arrow that flies by day;

Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

Or the of the destruction that lays waste at noon.

A thousand may fall at your side,

And ten thousand at your right hand;

But it shall not approach you.

You will only look on with your eyes,

And see the recompense of the wicked.

For you have made the Lord, my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling  place."

 

 

I was given a book, God's Shield of Protection, Psalm 91, by Peggy Joyce Ruth, 3 years ago by my sister in law.  I could not pick it up and read at that time, my mind was not in the right place to sit down with a book and then I eventually just placed it on my shelf and forgot about it.  After finding out that Natalie was going to have surgery again, I started to get anxiety and knew I needed a good book to read.  I saw this on the shelf and thought, this will work for now.  Wow, I was in for a surprise.

 

Psalm 91, has been a huge blessing for me this summer as I prepare for Natalie's upcoming surgery.  The pslam has giving me a since of peace when I need it the most. 

 

"He will cover you with His pinions and under His wings you may seek refuge" Psalm 91:4.  God is always there and he will cover us, but we have to run to Him; He does not come to us.  Just like a mother hen, she spreads her wings and calls out and the little chicks come running to her. 

 

Satan knows our weakness and takes advantage of that.  Just last week, our Sunday school class was having a little prayer service for us.  I thought the day was going to run smoothly.  Satan knew how to get to me that day so by the time I made it to the prayers service I would be frustrated and my heart just not there or he thought. The lady who was going to help with the Carter the first week of October backed out, Carter came home from school in the worst mood and it was a constant battle all day with emotions.  Finally, at about 4:30pm, I stood in my kitchen about to cry and said out loud, which I never do, "Satan, you will not win this over me today, go away." Now, did my kids stop crying immediatlely, no, but by the time we walked into that prayer service, we all were calm and had a since of peace about us. 

 

Satan has been attacking me alot lately, because he knows I am fragile right now, but he is not going to win.  In Ephesians 6:16 God tells us, "We have a shild of faith to extinguish all the flaming darts of the emeny."

 

So I ask you all to prayer Psalm 91 over my family this week as we continue to prepare for Natalie surgery next Monday. 

Rocking Climbing, Nails and Life

 

I know it has been a while since my last post, sorry about that.  September has been full of fun and craziness as we prepare for Natalie's surgery.

 

Kindergarten has been awesome for Carter!  He is doing really well and excelling.  We have been working on writing better and reading.  He brought home a book last night, My Playhouse.  The book is terrible, but that is what you get with begining readers.  He read the entire thing to me multiple times!  We also have been working on sight words for him, such as I, a, the, can, see, go and we.  He gets more each week, but for this week, those are the words.  He can spell them and pick them out in books!  I can't be more proud of him, he is doing amazing!

 

Last weekend, he went to a birthday at Amarillo Rock Climbing House, ARCH.  Oh yes, it was army themed, if you could not tell by the pictures.  He did great for the first time.  He did not make it totally up the wall, but did not do bad for the first time.  The party ended with the all the boys playing army, too funny to watch boys being boys.

 

Everett Thoennes and Carter climbing

Carter repelling

Natalie has been doing good for the most part.  As you can see in the picture below, she loves her nails painted. I have found that Sally Hanson Instant Dry, is awesome!  Believe it or not it really does dry in 60 seconds. 

 

Overall her health is steady for her.  She is not eating great, but I normally can get one good meal down  her and the rest I just try my best.  She has been tired alot, which is not abnormal for her. 

 

She got to start back to school for 3 weeks and this week I pulled her until after Christmas.  We are getting close to the surgery and she can not get sick.  Please pray that she continues to stay healthy until surgery.

Larry and I went to the Tri-State Fair Gala and heard Josh Abbott Band.  We were super excited to get out and enjoy good friends, food and music.

 

I have been preparing for us to go out of town for Natalie's surgery.  I told Larry it is so different this time, because I can actually pack my own clothes and get things organized at home before leaving.  Last time, I went to Dallas for the day and never came home for 9 months. 

 

I have had a lot of anxiety, but I have to keep remembering God is in control and she will be fine.  It just  as a mother and a parent, it is so hard knowing your kids is about to have open heart surgery again for the fourth time.

 

I was having a bad day a few weeks ago and got on facebook.  I do not even remember who posted this, but it was a huge blessing for me that day and always...

 

Philippians 4:6-7

"Do not worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God's peace which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

Kindergarten Here We Come

Go Puckett Panthers! 

 

I can't believe Carter started his first day of kindergarten today and it was a huge success!

 

I have been hyping up kindergarten now ever since Open House last Thursday.  Carter was a bit overwhelmed last Thursday at Open House, however I was too.  He has a new teacher this year, Ms. Wilson.  She is super cute and seems like she is going to be a great fit for Carter.  Carter also knows a few kids in his class so that helps too.

 

Today could not have gone any better.  We set clothes out last night and discussed what he wanted for lunch and breakfast before he went to sleep.  I woke him and told him I would give him 10 minutes then when I came back no arguing, because he needed to get up. Boy was I surprised when he busted out of his room all dressed, shoes on even.  He was super pumped!

 

I am not going to lie, I did get a little teary eyed in the car, but knew I needed to pull it together and not let him see him.  Larry, Natalie and I dropped him off, he gave us hugs and went and set down like a big kid...so cute! 

 

Lets just pray that our mornings continue to run this smoothly! 

 

Natalie's Heart Cath

Sorry I am just now getting around to updating on Natalie's heart cath, it has been a crazy week to say the least.

Natalie did awesome during her heart cath!  The cath itself lasted about 2 hours or at least she was gone from us for 2 hours.  Dr. Zellers said everything looked great in terms of her being a perfect candidate for her next surgery, the fontan. Dr. Zellers went in through her groan area and her neck, so she has two little incisions and she had two places on her hand where the IVs were, one the missed and the other hand actually had the IV.

 

Post cath was a little interesting. There is nothing like keeping a 3 year old still for 4 hours.  The nurse told us, she has to keep her leg totally still for 4 hours, if she started bleeding again from the spot of the incision the 4 hours would start over...needless to say, Larry and I were determine to keep her leg still. 

 

Natalie did great though!  We quickly downloaded the Wiggles on the ipad and got the joy of watching it 5 times; I know you all are jealous (same video by the way).  Of course, Natalie cried out off and on, but for the most time she was a trooper.  It was not until we finally set her up, that we almost had a problem.  When we set her up for the first time, it looked like she was about to throw up and then the second time we tried, she turned stark white.  However, third time was a charm in this case. 

 

By the time we left, she was chatting up the nurse and doctor like she was totally fine.  Poor thing though, passed out in the car, she fought it all day to stay awake.  We stayed in Dallas Monday night to be safe, plus we did not leave the hospital until 3:45pm.  Natalie was asleep by 7pm and it did not take more than 30 seconds to go to sleep.  She is doing great overall, still a little tired and cranky.

 

I wanted to thank everyone for all the prayers and support, we would not be where we are today without you all.  I also wanted to thank my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew for entertaining Carter Sunday night and all day Monday.  He had a blast with you all!

 

I also ask you all to start praying for us and the doctors as we move closer to Natalie's surgery, which is the first of October.  Pray for God's comfort to be poured over my family and for the surgeons  and staff at Children's who will be doing the surgery and taking care of Natalie post surgery. 



Natalie prior to heart cath; happy as can be for 6am

I know this is a bit hard to see, but she is so upset because we took her Minnie pjs off and put her in the hospital gown

Natalie and Daddy in pre-opt
Finally got her okay with the hospital gown, but she kept asking for her Minnie pjs the whole time



Natalie post heart cath, chillin watching the Wiggles on the ipad
I would like to point out that Natalie has her Minnie shirt on.  She asked for it right after she woke up, too funny



My brave little girl post heart cath
 

Heart Catheterization

Natalie has her heart catheterization this coming Monday the 20th.  I ask you all to say a prayer that all goes well and the doctor gets all the pictures and information he needs to pass along to the surgeon.

I have had several people ask me what exactly a heart catheterization is.  Children's Medical Center sent me this great little pamphlet, Understanding your children's heart catheterization.  I thought I would just write out a little about what they have down, because it is a great explanation:

"...the catheters in normally inserted in the groin area, at the top of the legs...After the are is numb, small plastic tubes called sheaths, are inserted into the large blood vessels. The sheaths are about the size of a piece of spaghetti.  Through these sheaths, long plastic tubes or catheters, are guided into the heart.  X-ray helps the doctor guide the catheters into the correct place.

Once the catheters are in place, small amounts of blood are taken through the catheters.  Blood is taken from the heart chambers and blood vessels in the heart.  This is done to find out how much oxygen is in the blood in different places of the heart.  The blood pressure in the heart is also measured at the same time.

Next, a special dye, called contrast, is injected through the catheters.  The dye goes into the chambers and blood vessels of the heart.  The dye shows up as a bright white shadow on the x-ray film.  This allows your doctor to see: 1. the shape of the heart structures and 2. the flow of the blood through the heart and lungs.  Motion x-ray pictures are recorded as the dye passes through the heart."

Natalie is first case, which I requested.  I mean, try explaining to a 3 year old, why they can't eat or drink.  I like to basically pull her out of bed and just go.  The heart cath itself should take 2 to 3 hours and then we will be in recovery for while (at least 4 hours).  The doctor wants her to lay flat and still (should be interesting), to help reduce the risk of bleeding.

I am hoping that by the time we get discharged, we will know the surgery date.  I have a little anxiety, but I know Natalie will be in great hands.  We are very blessed that our own pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Zellers, will be doing her heart cath.  We love Dr. Z and know he will take great care of Natalie! 

I will try to update everyone after Natalie's heart cath, but it will probably not be until Monday night since we have the awesome job of keeping her happy, while she had to lie still for at least 4 hours post heart cath...pray for us too

Psalm 91:1

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty"

Carter's Great Adventure

When the grandkids turn 5 years old, Larry's parents take them on a week to ten day trip to either Branson, MO or Hot Springs, AR.  Carter turned 5 in December, so this was his first trip and man was he excited!

After the first night, I think Larry's parents realized how much fun it will be for them too, because it has been so long since they have had a grandkid, where everything was brand new. I mean, we have never even taking him to putt-putt before.  My philosophy is, I have plenty of time for my kids to know about things, but lets do it in time.  Carter still does not know a place like Gattiland exists, but we do know all about Chuck.e.Cheese so I am not that bad.

Carter started his adventure with a few days in Texarkana before heading to Hot Springs, AR for the first time ever.  While in Texarkana, he got to hang out with some good friends and spend some time with Larry's aunt, uncle and grandmother.  Carter totally bounded with Larry's Uncle Steve, a high school football coach. 

Sunday afternoon, they proceed to Hot Springs where the spend 5 days in the miserable heat, but my kid does not know what that means.  Larry's parents took Carter to the Alligator Farm, Magic Springs (a cross between a Six Flags and a Wonderland, a scale in between), a waterpark and Carter even road a tube in the lake for the first time.  I know, but please remember there is not a lot of water around Amarillo.  Carter is unlike any of the grandkids and set a tone above all with his amount of energy!

He had a blast and is already talking about next year!  Thanks Gran and Papa, he had more fun with you all

Natalie's Scoliosis Update

Natalie had her yearly check up or over yearly check up, in this case at Scottish Rite in Dallas last week.  We got pretty good news for now.

Her curve in  her spine went from a 31 degree curve to a 33 degree curve over a 15 month period, which is great news!  The doctor, however did say, she has a lot of growing left to do and normally with growing the curve worsens.  The doctor, Dr. Richards, ultimate goal would to never have to do surgery on Natalie, but that if her curve gets worse enough, we will cross that bridge when we need to.

It has been a while since I updated on her scoliosis so I will do a quick refresher course.  Natalie was born with two hemivertebra both on the same side, causing her scoliosis.  A brace or casting will not work on  her type of scoliosis and will be to hard on her chest (from the heart surgeries).  The only thing that will help or correct her scoliosis, would be putting rods in her back.  The rods will only grow so much with a child, so if she were to have to have rods put in, we would pray she is old enough and mature enough in her growing to only need it once.

Dr. Richards will not intervene until her curve gets to a 60 degree curve and then we would all sit down and figure out the best plan.  However, she is only at a 33 degree curve so I will not even go there until we have to.  We go back in another year for a check up.