Remembering my Dad on what would have been his 70th Birthday

Yes, it's hard to believe that today would be my Dad's 70th Birthday.  The last birthday we were able to celebrate with him was his 50th.  We sure have missed him the last 20 years.

Here is a little video tribute I made for his birthday MANY years ago.  It still touches me to watch it.

Happy Birthday Dad!  I love and miss you!!!!!!!

Love,
Suzie

Ammon's First Day of First Grade

Ammon's First Day of 1st Grade - Sept 6, 2011

Yes, our "baby" boy has started 1st grade!!!  Sometimes I just can't believe how fast the time is going by!

Ammon and I had fun the other day labeling all his school supplies with my labeler - something I've had for probably 10 years, but was brand new to Ammon...and SOOOOO EXCITING.  You would think it was Christmas morning he was so excited.  We labeled everything - his pencil box, his folders, his scissors, crayon box and even his pencils.  He had a blast.  He is certainly my child!!!  My favorite part of a new school year was all the cool school supplies!

Last night I had Ammon help me make two photo collages on my computer for his school binder (we got one of the presentation binders with the clear sleeves on the outside so you can make your own binder covers).  I already had the front cover mostly finished, but then had him give me input on what other photos he would want to have on there.  To say he enjoyed doing this is a major understatement.  After a few minutes he wanted to sit on my lap and do some of the work himself.  He kept saying, "I love this!" or "Awesome!"  Again.....he's totally my child.  He loved that we could crop the pictures into different shapes.  We had a cute picture of him and Grandma at the zoo cropped in the shape of a heart.  He used the star shape to crop a picture of a ship we saw when visiting Grandma & Grandpa in Port Huron last summer.  We were just about finished when I suggested we shift some things and crop one of the pictures of our little family in the shape of a heart.  He said "Awesome!" 

Once I did it, he excitedly said, "Mommy, I'm so happy that I think my eyes are starting to get watery.  Isn't that strange?" 

I heard Jared chuckle knowingly in the other room.

I said, "No sweetie, that's not strange at all.  That happens to me all the time when I'm happy!"

He asked, "But why?"

I then had to explain to him how sentimental and joyous times can cause people to cry.  And for some of us it doesn't take much!!!  Not much at all!  I didn't get the "Quick Crying" award at a Youth Group retreat in high school for nothing!!!  It looks like my little boy may have got the crying gene too!!  I won't name names, but I know of a couple of my relatives who are like that too!!

Anyway, Ammon had a wonderful time getting his things ready for school.  He was doing his own cute little happy dance and song as he waited for his two collages to print.  It was difficult settling him down for bed last night.

He did a great job getting off to school this morning and not clinging to me when it was time for me to leave him there in his classroom.  Whew! 

I had to pick him up a little early from school for an eye doctor's appointment.  He excitedly told me about his day.  He got to play with clay.  Not just ordinary play-doh!  That was a new and neat experience for him.

To the left is a picture of Ammon holding his new Lightening McQueen lunch box.

Ammon's Surgery Time Tomorrow (Friday) AND New Procedure Added

Note:   If you're following this by email, please know that blogger only sends out emails notifying you of new posts once a day (usually in the morning).  So, you'll not be aware of any surgery news we post until the next day.  If you want immediate emails, go to the carepage and register.  http://www.carepages.com/carepages/ammon

I just received instructions and a time for Ammon’s surgery tomorrow (Friday). Check in is at 11:30 AM and the surgery will be around 12:30 PM.

They have added a procedure on to the surgery agenda tomorrow. In addition to removing his tonsils and adenoids and draining his ears if necessary, his urologist will be doing a procedure called a cystoscopy and dilation of the urethra. When he was a baby, they had to do some major “re-plumbing” of his urethra. Overtime the opening of the urethra narrowed (stenosis), which affects the urine stream – making it a thin, super high-pressured stream, which isn’t good. Last summer they did this procedure and it really helped to open things up. However, it has narrowed again and so they have to repeat it. We are really apprehensive about having this done again, because Ammon had such excruciating pain whenever he urinated afterwards for 3 days that it left him quite traumatized!!! It was horrible!! As much as I don't want him to be in pain in TWO very key places (where life sustaining fluids enter the body and where they leave the body), I also don't want him to go through two separate surgeries either. It’s safer to under go general anesthesia once and take care of both procedures. I’m just concerned about the recovery!!! At least this time he will be given prescription pain medication (Loratab) for the tonsillectomy pain. I’m hoping this will also cover the other pain.

I had really hoped for a morning surgery, so Ammon wouldn’t have to starve for so long, but we will just have to do our best to keep him distracted. He can’t have anything to eat after midnight, and water and apple juice up to 9:30 AM. That means that unless we wake him up around 11:30 tonight to eat something, he will actually end up going for 16-17 hours without food before his surgery starts, not to mention how long it will be before he's actually able to eat with his sore throat!! YIKES! And even if we do wake him, he will still end up fasting for 12-13 hrs before the surgery. For a little guy who has to eat immediately in the morning, and eat every 2-3 hours all day long, this is difficult. PLEASE PRAY for him to get through that. The prayers really helped last summer when he had his urology surgery. His surgery was delayed 3 hours and he ended up going without food for 10.5 hours before surgery – and no water for 6.5 hours. Unfortunately, this is going to be MUCH longer, so I’m praying for no delays and a comfortable Ammon.

Thanks for all your prayers! They really do make a difference!

Strep Throat - FINALLY it's a Goner!!!

I took Ammon to his pediatrician today (Monday) for a recheck. The rapid strep test came back NEGATIVE. This is one time when a negative is a positive!!! Of course they will send it to the lab for the full 48 hr culture time, but we hope the negative reading holds.

I can't tell you HOW HAPPY Ammon was when he finished taking his last dose of the Clindamycin Friday night!! He was definitely doing the happy dance the next morning when he didn't have to take it!! But he wasn't such a happy camper having to get another throat swab today. When I told him we were going to the doctor for a recheck, he said, "Do I have to get a throat swab again?" I thought it was funny that he knew what to call it. The first 3-4 times this year he had to get a throat culture, he did fine because he really didn't know what was coming. Then he started to anticipate it, and that always makes it harder. Each time got harder. Today was the hardest. He just wouldn't open his mouth, or keep it open. Poor little guy - and poor nurse. I sure hope that's the last one he has to get for a VERY LONG TIME!!!!

I called the ENT's care coordinator to let her know the cardiologist gave the "all clear" and see if she had received the report with the echo and EKG yet. She hadn't yet received it. However, I found out that there's no way Ammon will be getting his tonsils/adenoids removed any sooner than Aug 5th. Dr. Passamani is on vacation this week and his next scheduled surgery day is Aug 5th. So.....I guess we can stop hoping and praying for an earlier surgery. However, we ARE going to pray he stays healthy and there won't be anything to prevent him from having the surgery on Aug 5th.

As we share such good news, my heart is heavy with concern for Ammon's best friend's family and his baby brother, Wyatt Geers. He has been struggling since birth with multiple problems, but last night they nearly lost him as he coded and had to be resuscitated and intubated. Fortunately, they got him to the hospital before that happened. I share this with you because I know we have such faith filled people reading this, and he and his family really need all the prayers they can get. If you'd like to read more about him, you can go to his care page (it's actually through the Caring Bridge website). http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/wyattmatthewgeers

Hopefully the next 10 days leading up to Ammon's surgery will be uneventful. If so, I won't be posting anything until I find out what time his surgery will be. They will call us the day before (probably late afternoon or early evening) to let us know. I hope this time his surgery is in the morning because it's much easier for him to fast overnight than all day long and the surgery is less likely to be delayed 4 hours like his surgery was last summer!!! That was awful.

Thank you for your prayers and your wonderful comments. My only complaint about this site is that I can't respond individually to each of your comments! Know that we read each one and appreciate them!! :)

Best wishes!
Suzie

Ammon's Cardiology Visit - Good News

Hello - if you haven't checked out Ammon's Care Page, please do so if you want to get email updates regarding his health and surgery.  Here's the link:  http://www.carepages.com/carepages/ammon

Ammon had his Cardiology visit this morning and, much to our relief, his heart is doing fine!!! His awesome cardiologist (we LOVE him) reviewed the heart monitor recordings thus far and said he didn't see any problems. He said that some people are more sensitive and aware of the sensations of the heart beating. I'm thinking that perhaps the first incident where he felt his heart beating fast and hard drew his attention to his heart and made him worried and more sensitive to little fluctuations. Ammon has a few more days to wear the monitor, so when the cardiologist receives the final report he will call us with the results. But, he said according to his echo, his heart is doing AMAZINGLY well for his condition. When he listens to his heart, he can still hear the tiny leak from his VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect) patch, but he said it's not a concern since it isn't even visible on the echo. What I find amazing with these cardiologists is that they can HEAR these things when just listening to the heart with a stethoscope! What a skill!!

So, this good news means Ammon is clear for surgery to get his tonsils and adenoids removed August 5th. Quite a bit has happened since I posted the last update. A day afterwards, the ENT's office called to postpone the surgery two weeks, to Aug 19th. I told her that since our visit with the ENT, Ammon has his 3rd case of strep throat that month, and his sleep apnea is horrific. The thought of waiting until Aug 5th was hard to deal with, but to have to wait another 2 weeks on top of that would be really hard. I had just left a message earlier in the week for them asking if there would be any way to move up the surgery, if we could get the cardiology appointment moved up. They had left me a message saying they didn't have anything sooner available. Anyway, the nurse coordinator said, "After hearing how bad he's doing, I'll try to keep him on the schedule for Aug 5th, but if the doctor isn't able to be here that day I will have to call you back and reschedule." She also put him on the cancellation list, where they will call us if they have a surgery cancelled before his surgery date. I was so relieved they weren't going to postpone it. Listening to him struggle to breath at night is really hard.

Because I didn't want to wait around for a 4th case of strep, and the white spots on his tonsils never disappeared with the antibiotics, I scheduled an appointment for Ammon to get a recheck the day after he finished his antibiotics. Sure enough, he still tested positive for strep. But because he didn't have any symptoms, they suspected he was a carrier and also wondered if he might have mono. So, they did blood work to check (I've lost count of how many times this poor kid has had to have blood drawn in the past 6 months). It showed he did NOT have an active case of strep (meaning he's carrying the infection without symptoms). So, they put him on Clindamycin - which is supposed to WHIP OUT strep like this......along with all the good bacteria you need in your system. That's nasty stuff - on many levels. In order for them to get the insurance to cover it, they had to change the Rx from the liquid to the capsules and take it 3 times a day. He obviously can't swallow these big capsules (especially with tonsils that touch), so we have to open the capsules and put it in yogurt or apple sauce. IT IS HORRIBLE TASTING. Jared tasted a speck of it and said it is really awful, strong (kind of hot like spicy) and the taste lingers a long time. This is Jared - who likes spicy foods and Kimchee (sp?). So, we have to torture Ammon with this stuff 3 times a day. I will say that by trial and error we have developed a system that works and makes it less painful for him. It's a matter of mixing the capsule in a tiny bit of water in a medicine cup, then drawing it up into a syringe. We then very quickly, give him that, he drinks water immediately, then we quickly spoon about 8-10 spoonfuls of yogurt to help cool the burn and wash it down. He still hates it and resists taking it every time, but he takes it. And we just have 2 days left of this. THANKFULLY!!! I'll have to take him back for a recheck after he's finished. I pray the strep is finally gone!!!!

Ammon has been on antibiotic (5 different types) since June 3rd, with only 5 days in these 7 weeks where he hasn't been on antibiotic. THIS IS SO HARD ON THE BODY!! Antibiotics are important lifesavers, but they unfortunately kill off the good and essential bacteria along with the bad. Fortunately, I know the importance of probiotics and we have some really potent, good quality probiotics we've been getting through our chiropractor for MANY years and take them regularly. I've been giving Ammon double and sometimes triple the amount he normally takes on a daily basis, to keep him from getting some REALLY NASTY gastrointestinal problems and infections. Anyone ever hear of C-diff?? Awful. Fortunately, because of the probiotics he's getting, we've been able to keep the intestinal problems at bay. He threw up one morning last week, so I upped his probiotics and he's been ok since. I know we will have to continue the high doses of probiotics for quite a while after he finishes the antibiotic to help restore his intestinal flora. I'm so glad Jared has a job now, because we are going through this stuff like crazy and it's expensive!!! But I thank God for it! I shudder to think of just how much sicker he would be without it.

We are happy Ammon's heart is fine and he's cleared for surgery. Despite Ammon's fear of surgery, he is SO SICK OF BEING SICK and taking antibiotics that he can't wait to finally get his tonsils out. Wow....that says a lot about how miserable is tonsils are making him!! It's hard for him to go to sleep because he can't breath, he gets winded faster when he's playing because of how hard it is to breath, and he constantly has to take these nasty antibiotics. He loves taking amoxicillian, but these other ones are not good at all.

We'd love to be able to have the surgery sooner, but also know that it's not very likely. So, we will pray for it and leave it in the Lord's hands. What's most important is that whenever it takes place, the surgery will be successful, safe and his recovery will be speedy.

We are ever grateful to all our family and friends who have expressed their love, support and have been praying on our behalf.  THANK YOU!!!!

Ammon's Heart and Other Health Issues - Summer 2011

Ammon - April 2011

Here's what's going on with Ammon's heart:

On May 27th, Ammon first complained of an irregular heartbeat while lying in bed getting ready to sleep. He said, his heart was "spinning around super fast and it was bumping into bones." I thought he was being silly, but I noticed the really serious look on his face and I knew this was no joke. I put my heart to his chest and could hear the fast heart beat. I listened with the stethoscope and counted the beats - it was 104 beats per minute. His normal is 80, so this was higher than normal (especially considering he was lying in bed). He was really worried about it, so I called his pediatrician. She said 104 is fast, but not excessively fast. I told her how he had been EXTREMELY active a few hours before because I took him to Pump It Up (the inflatable party place) where he ran around for a couple hours non-stop. She thought this could just be from that, even though it had been a couple hours and he was lying in bed. She called back a half hour later and asked me to call the on-call cardiologist just to be sure. I told her Ammon had just fallen asleep. Before calling the cardiologist, I re-checked his heart beat and it had returned to 80 bpm. The cardiologist said it was good that it returned to normal, but to call if it happens again because he is at risk for heart arrhythmias due to having heart surgery.

A couple weeks later he complained of it again, but it wasn't beating fast at that time so I didn't think much of it. A few days later we were at the pediatrician's office because Ammon had strep throat, and this particular pediatrician in the group has the EXACT SAME HEART CONDITION (Tetralogy of Fallot) as Ammon. She explained WHY Ammon is at risk for heart arrhythmias because of his surgery. She said any time they operate on the heart it leaves behind scar tissue. Scar tissue can interfere with the electrical pulses that go through your heart and therefore affect the rhythm of the heart beat. She told me to listen for an irregular rhythm pattern (changing speed or skipping beats). So the next time he complained, I listened and I did find it was beating fast, then slow, then fast. So, I called the cardiologist’s office the next day. They ordered a "cardiac event monitor" for Ammon to wear for 30 days so they can see what's going on when he has these symptoms. I didn't think these episodes were happening that often, but he had to press the record button probably 9-10 times in the first 3-4 days. I've lost count of how many recordings we've done and submitted in the last 12 days. I'm glad to have this monitor to give the cardiologists an idea of what's going on, but I will say it's a huge hassle to have to have him wear this for 30 days!!! The pads that stick on his chest and hook up to the electrodes are really irritating his SUPER SENSITIVE skin and leaving eczema rashes. Plus, we found out after over a week that they sent us adult size pads, instead of child size.  We're still waiting to get the child size ones delivered.  We've also suddenly become more limited as to which shorts/pants he can wear because the monitor box, although it's only the size and weight of a beeper, is very heavy and big compared with Ammon's very small size. He already has a hard enough time keeping his pants/shorts from falling down because he's so skinny. Now we have to make sure his pants/shorts are quite snug fitting so the monitor doesn't pull them down. And then there's the time spent transmitting the recordings. Once the memory is full (after 3 recordings) it will keep beeping until you call in and transmit the recordings. So, it is an annoyance to have to deal with for 30 days.  But as I said, I'm very grateful for this technology because otherwise the cardiologist wouldn't be able to find out what's going on when he has these episodes. The chance of an episode occurring in the office during the echocardiogram is very slim!!

And now, here's what else is going on with Ammon’s health. He started Kindergarten last Fall, and was sick A LOT since September. In fact, he’s had 15 separate significant illnesses in the last 9 months. And this was despite the fact that I was doing NUMEROUS things every day to boost his immune system naturally (plenty of sleep, very high potency probiotics, Vitamin D, Ester C, and other natural immune boosters). Since the first week of November, he started experiencing hearing loss due to chronic fluid in his ears. The only time this cleared up was during the 2nd week of Christmas break. But after being back to school in January for less than a week, the fluid was back and his hearing was gone! So often we would just be a few feet from Ammon and have to yell for him to understand what we were saying.

Ammon’s had chronic nasal congestion for many months. And his tonsils have been enlarged, causing him to snore more than usual and have sleep apnea - he stops breathing for 20-30 seconds several times throughout the night and then gasp for air. And that's when he's HEALTHY.  It's even worse when he's sick.  The pediatrician referred us to a Peds ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) Doctor to evaluate him and also check his hearing. Unfortunately, the soonest we could get an appointment for the audiologist and ENT was June 27th (a month away). The good news is that the fluid in his ears had lessened, so he did well enough for the hearing test. However, the doctor took one look at his tonsils and found out he had strep 4 times since September, with the last two times being this month, and he said the tonsils and adenoids needed to come out, but he didn’t think he needed tubes in his ears. Side note: Our pediatrician who referred us to this ENT said she trusted him 100% when it comes to evaluating whether tonsils need to come out and tubes need to be placed in the ears. She said only about 50% of the children they send to him end up needing anything done.

The ENT said the overly enlarged tonsils are most likely causing the sleep apnea. They are so swollen there’s hardly any room for air to get through. When he sleeps, that area relaxes and closes up completely – causing him to not be able to breath until his brain signals him to wake up enough to take a breath. This results in “ineffective sleep.” And this explains why despite us ENSURING he gets a full 12 hours of sleep at night, he still seems to be tired when he wakes up and at times throughout the day. Aha!!

The ENT also noticed Ammon’s heart monitor and asked about it. We told him about the heart arrhythmias. He said the sleep apnea and obstructed breathing due to enlarged tonsils can cause irregular heart rhythms. Another “Aha!” This might explain why most of his episodes are when he’s lying in bed, or just sitting and playing quietly. It sure would be nice if that’s the cause, versus the problem originating in his heart.
He also said his tonsils and adenoids are most likely causing the problems with the ears. Because Ammon hasn’t had ear infections, despite the constant fluid, there hasn’t been any damage to his ears (like scarring from repeat infections). He said his ears look healthy, so he doesn’t see a need for tubes at this time. He did say he would examine them further when he’s under sedation for the tonsillectomy and, if necessary, would drain the fluid.

So, Ammon is scheduled to have his tonsils and adenoids removed on Friday, August 5th. Knowing how much trouble his tonsils are causing him, I sure wish we could get them out sooner. But we have to see the cardiologist on July 20th for his annual check up, and to get clearance for surgery. They can’t do the surgery without the cardiologist saying his heart is fit to undergo surgery. And the cardiologist won’t give the “all clear” until he sees him, get an EKG, Echocardiogram and reviews the results from the heart monitor.

Although I know he needs his tonsils/adenoids removed, it’s really hard to make him go through yet another surgery. This will be his 4th surgery in his 6 years of life. And they get harder each time because he is much more aware than when he was an infant or 13 month old, and he remembers his surgery last summer and the excruciating pain afterwards. That was really hard on all of us – for many months afterward. When he realized Monday that he has to get his tonsils out he started crying and said, “No, Mommy, no!!! I don’t want my tonsils taken out! Do they take them out with a KNIFE???? No, Please! I want to keep my tonsils!!” It’s so heart breaking to see the fear and sadness in his eyes. And now we have to deal with his mounting anxiety over the next 5 weeks while we await the surgery. Needless to say, we’re not looking forward to all this. Sadly, Ammon is still experiencing residual sleep problems from his surgery a year ago – resulting in hours upon hours of our time being spent helping him get to sleep at night and often being in the middle of the night trying to help him get back to sleep. It is frustrating, time consuming, and energy draining. And, of course, it has gotten worse this past week, as he has learned of his upcoming surgery.

We’re praying Ammon will be at peace and not be so anxious about the surgery. We’re also praying he can stay healthy until then!!! You won’t believe it, but he’s on his THIRD case of strep throat in a month. In the last 4 weeks, he’s only had 4 days that he wasn’t on antibiotics!! As soon as he finishes the antibiotic, he has strep 1-2 days later. His pediatrician suggested that perhaps there might be a carrier of strep in the family – someone who has the infection but doesn’t have any symptoms. So, Jared and I got tested ourselves on Thursday. They didn’t do the rapid strep test, because the traditional way is more accurate.  We just got the final test results today (July 4) - WE ARE BOTH NEGATIVE FOR STREP.

Since Jared and I aren’t carriers of strep, I don’t understand why he keeps getting it. The first case he had, they gave him Amoxicillian. On the 4th day, I took him back because he was complaining of vision problems. They rechecked and he was still positive for strep. They changed the antibiotic to a stronger one – Keflex – and he took that for 10 days. Two days later he woke up with strep again. That time they gave him Augmentin. One day after stopping the antibiotics he came down with it again, but couldn’t get tested until the next morning. Now he’s on Cefprozil. Believe me, I’m giving him lots of probiotics to try to replenish the good bacteria in his system. However…..this constant antibiotic use – especially the stronger, broader spectrum ones, don’t give the good bacteria much chance of surviving.

Please pray that Ammon stays healthy so his surgery won’t need to be postponed. And please pray that his heart is fine and okay for surgery. And finally, pray that he will feel calm and peaceful about the surgery so he can enjoy his summer up until then.

Three other minor health related issues: 
1 - Ammon's pediatrician referred him to get an eye exam because he didn't do so well on their vision screening at his last well visit.  We went to the eye doctor and sure enough, Ammon has inherited both his parents nearsightedness.  Although I didn't need glasses until I was 17 (not 6), and only barely then.  Fortunately, Ammon actually WANTS to get glasses.  Hopefully he still likes them after having to wear them all the time.

2 - At one of the last doctor's visits for strep throat, his pediatrician referred Ammon to see an allergist sometime in the near future.  She's seeing more signs of him having allergies, which I've suspected for a long time.  What I need to do is take him back to our awesome chiropractor (Dr. Stacey Francis) for more allergy treatments (this has proven to be MUCH more effective than Rx allergy meds, allergy shots and the like).  It's just costly.  Too bad insurance companies won't cover the treatments that actually CURE allergies.

3 - Ammon is still very skinny and even lost a couple pounds this past winter with all his many illnesses.  On the growth chart, he's at the 2 Percentile mark for weight and 9 Percentile for height.  His pediatrician suggested I do different things to help him at least gain back the weight he lost - like put olive oil on his foods and give him a milk shake each day.  I told her about these protein shakes I make for myself, which he always wants too.  It has plain rice protein powder (no flavoring) and I put a bunch of fruit and spinach in it and blend it up.  She said, "Oh, no, that's not enough calories for him.  I'm talking about a milk shake with ice cream in it."  Oh, well, sure he would love that!  The next morning I decided to use a Carnation Instant Breakfast Drink mix that we had bought a month or so beforehand in an effort to try to get Ammon more calories and nutrition quicker in his lunch because he eats so slow and they only give them 20 minutes for lunch.  Well, I forgot that I stopped doing that after a couple days because his behavior became atrocious!!  You see, Ammon is VERY SENSITIVE to sugar (like his Mommy), and his behavior goes down the tubes as does his ability to focus and stay on task.  So, having forgotten this is why we stopped giving him these, I gave him some shake with breakfast and some in his lunch (mind you, I don't even make them at the concentration they suggest....I add much more milk than called for).  Anyway, he suddenly started getting in trouble at school and wasn't completing his work, and it finally hit me!  DUH!  It's the sugar in the breakfast drinks.  I immediately stopped and sent his teacher an email apologizing profusely!  After a couple days of him going through withdrawal, he was back to normal!!  So, I've decided that I'd much rather have a skinny Ammon who is happy, well-behaved and able to do well in school and life, than have a "normal" sized Ammon who is irritable, a holy terror and flunking school!!!  He's a good eater for the most part - I'm amazed at what this little guy can eat.  He's just blessed with a good metabolism. 

On a happier note, here are some general updates about Ammon. He turned 6 in May - can you believe it???  I can't. Although he is very little for his age , he is FULL OF LIFE, LOVE AND HAPPINESS. He gets so excited about the simplest joys in life. It’s so wonderful to see his whole face light up when he is given anything - from an empty toilet paper roll he is eager to make a craft out of, to a shiny new toy, or a penny ride on the pony at Meijer. He loves life and all it’s simple pleasures! He is passionate about many things. He is very artistic and crafty. Fortunately for him, he doesn’t need any of my help to whip up masterpieces all the time. He just puts this and that together and “Voila!” I’m often amazed at what he can create. Larry Boy, the Veggie Tales Super Hero is his favorite character. He seriously wants to be a Super Hero when he grows up. He said to me one day, “When I grow up and I’m a super hero, I think Joey (his friend) will be a good side kick.” I said, “Oh, really?” He said, “Sure! I taught him how to tickle people.” I said, “Oh, you did?” He said, “Yeah, he didn’t know how before, but I showed him how to tickle people on their neck.” I said, “So, is that going to be your super power – tickling?” He said, “Sure! We will tickle all the meanies until the police come and get them.” He’s so cute…and so innocent.

He loved learning how to read this past year in Kindergarten. Although he’s far from being able to read the huge chapter books he’s been having us read to him for over a year, he is excited at the prospect of being able to read those on his own someday. 



Ammon running a race with his cousins at Brighton State Park - June 25
If you look closely, you can see his heart monitor box on the left side of the picture, attached to his pants pocket.

JUMP ROPE FOR HEART:  
Ammon was able to participate in the Jump Rope for Heart this year and was blessed by his wonderful family, friends and neighbors to raise an astounding $725.00 for the cause!!! His P.E. teacher who organized it was so completely shocked by this and literally cried she was so touched. I guess the highest record she had ever seen was $300 that another child with a special heart raised a couple years ago. I’m still amazed at the incredible generosity of those who gave!! What a special experience for Ammon to be able help others, like himself, with heart disease.

Jared's Graduation from Eastern Michigan University - April 16, 2011

Jared has been working hard since last June to finish up his degree at Eastern Michigan University. He went through the the commencement ceremony in April, since he only had two classes to finish this summer. He now has just one left and he WILL BE DONE in late August!!!! YEAH!!! I’m really proud of him. He’s done fantastic. In fact, he is graduating with a 4.0 GPA at EMU. WHOO HOO! Way to go Jared! Oh, and his degree will be a B.S. in Technology Management.

And now for one of our best bits of news for the year: Jared was offered a job in May!!! He’s working as an Assistant Project Manager and Turnover Coordinator of a 6.1 Billion-Dollar Construction Project. This is with the company he was contracted through his previous employer to work for during the last 4 years he was employed. His boss loves him and has been really pleased with how well he’s been doing in this new management position. He loves his job, even though he has to work 50 hour a week while finishing up his last two classes for his degree this summer. It’s been rough, but he’s doing a great job of balancing everything.



At Brighton State Park - we visited Jared's family for the day while they were camping there.

For the first time, I signed Ammon up for some activities this summer. One is an introductory Karate class that meets one night a week for 8 weeks through the summer. Ammon was really excited. I became even more excited when the instructor announced that parents can participate along with their child at no additional cost! SWEET! You bet I jumped right up to join in. The other two classes I signed him up for are Parent/Child little sport camps for ages 3-6. They are for 45 minutes each day for just 5 days and they teach the basics of specific sport and practice playing it and doing drills. I signed him up for T-ball and soccer. He’s gone to the T-ball one and loved it. He kept saying with his usual bright enthusiasm, “THIS IS SO MUCH FUN! I LOVE IT!!” And he did really well too. I wanted to sign him up for a really cool sounding art class, but no one else signed up for it so it was cancelled. I’ve wanted to sign him up for this class all year long, but knew it would be too much for him to do any extra-curricular activities during the school year with how early he had to go to bed. Maybe after he gets is tonsils out he won’t need to go to bed so early each night if his sleep is more restorative. Then he will have more than 3 hours after school before having to be in bed. So, perhaps he will be able to take that art class during the upcoming school year.

I’m still working in private practice doing therapy (counseling) in Plymouth on a very part-time basis. I enjoy it, though it has been harder to juggle it the last couple months with Jared being back to work while still finishing school.

I've had my own health issues to contend with over the years.  I won't bore you to death with all the details.  Let's just say that almost 8 years ago I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia due to chronic pain, fatigue and a whole host of other health problems.  I've lived in denial most of this time that I really do have Fibromyalgia.  Fortunately, just before Jared lost his job a year and a half ago, I found a really good doctor who helped me find at least some of the root causes of my symptoms: Digestive problems and food allergies.  I found out I was allergic to 35 foods that basically covered most of what I ate.  It was a daunting task, but I started this incredibly restrictive allergy free diet a year and a half ago (thinking I was just going to do it for a couple months until my body corrected itself and I could gradually go back to eating normal again).  Well, I'm still following it, although I have been able to add a few foods back.  Basically, the only grain I can eat is rice (no wheat, oats, barley, etc). I can eat a lot of different vegetables and fruit (though not all - like no apples).  For protein I can  have eggs, walnuts, almonds, fish and rarely I eat lamb or bison.  I can't have ANY sugar, yeast or chocolate.  So, I haven't had a single gram of sugar in a year and a half!  I just recently started being able to eat Great Northern Beans (yes, believe it or not I was found to be allergic to beans and lentils).  That's been a huge bummer because beans are such a great protein source.  As a result of following this diet, I have found that my fatigue has lessened considerably, though I would not say my energy level is back to normal.  I just have fewer "crash days" where I can hardly do anything.  My pain levels have also gone down considerably.  I used to be in pain constantly, and at high levels (7-9) throughout my body.  Now the pain is much less severe and persistent.  A lovely side effect of this incredibly restrictive diet is that I've been eating super healthy and have lost about 35 lbs.  I never thought I could follow such a diet for this long.  The things I really miss are NOT the breads, baked goods or sweets - not even chocolate!  Those of you who really know me, know what a chocoholic I was.  What I miss is being able to eat chicken, beans, apples and other good foods I still can't have. 

Well, that’s what’s been going on with us. Sorry for the extremely long update.  That’s what happens when it’s been a year since posting an update!!!

If you would like to get an email whenever I post updates on here, PLEASE enter your email address in the "Follow by email" section at the top right of this blog (just under our blog title and pictures).  After you click SUBMIT, you will get an email asking you to verify this subscription.  Just click on the link to verify and you're set.  I will mention that I tested this out.  The email letting me know there was a new post on the blog went to my SPAM folder.  I marked it as not being SPAM, so next time it should come to my inbox.  So, just beware that the messages might go to your SPAM box until you identify it as NOT being SPAM.

If you want to get immediate updates about Ammon's health, PLEASE BE SURE TO VISIT HIS CARE PAGE at http://www.carepages.com/carepages/ammon.  If you've never visited a Care Page before, you'll have to register first. It just takes a couple minutes.  Once you visit Ammon's page, you will automatically get email updates whenever we post an update.  You can change this later if you no longer wish to get updates by email.  Let me know if you have any questions or problems with it.

Update on Ammon - Painful Pee

Just a quick update on how Ammon's doing. I'd love to report that all is well .....but I'd be lying. Unfortunately, Ammon has had a LOT of pain when urinating. He held his urine ALL night Monday night (of course....the one night I actually want him to wake up with a wet diaper, he keeps it dry). As he started to pee in the morning the pain woke him up and he refused to let the rest out. He held it, and held it, and held it. He runs around, and around, and around and jumps all over the place to keep from peeing. I thought his bladder would explode. When the hospital called to check on him that morning (around 10:45 am), I told them he still had not urinated. They encouraged me to give him more water so he wouldn't be able to hold it any longer (and it would dilute it so it wouldn't be as irritating). He drank the water well, fortunately. But he kept refusing to go pee. I kept telling him that if just lets it out it will probably only hurt at first, but it will feel better. Finally, Grandma and Aunt Doreen stopped by at just the right time and brought Joe & Connor. This provided enough distraction that he just couldn't hold it any longer and he ran into his room and let it out (fortunately we still had the diaper on him because there was no way he was going on the toilet in that agitated, can't stay still state). He was so relieved to finally have it out. He said with great emotion and fists pumping for emphasis, "Mommy, I did it! It hurt at first, but I kept going and D I D N ' T G I V E U P !!!" That was too cute. We were so grateful for Grandma and Aunt Doreen stopping by at just the right time. That was an answer to prayers for help!

We were so relieved and thought the worst of it was over. Fast forward a few hours. We had continued to encourage him to drink a lot of water, so now it was time to go pee again. He was nervous, yet we convinced him to just try to go pee. Well, as soon as it started to come down the "tube" he started screaming and jumping around in pain. Oh no, not again. Yep, we went through the same thing. Ammon said, "I need Grandma and Aunt Doreen to come back again!!!" Well, to make a long story short, it was another fight to get him to finally let it out. And it's been that way every time ever since. I called the doctor's today and a nurse called me back around 3:45 this afternoon. She said it's not unusual for them to still experience pain a couple days afterwards, and that the older children seem to have a harder time than the babies. Yes, I can see that! Probably because they are more aware and can express their pain and fears. Now I know why he was so miserable when he had MUCH MORE than this done at 13 months.

It has been very rough 2 days post-op, and it's not over yet. I know part of the problem is the pain, but the other factor is he's now very anxious about going pee. I'm sure the anxiety and holding urine WAY TOO LONG add to the pain. I've tried using breathing exercises, relaxation, etc to help him overcome his fears and relax.....but they aren't working.....or at least aren't working well enough.....yet.

A lot of tears have been shed, and not just Ammon's. For those of you who think I'm so strong, you should see me the last couple days. I have a really hard time hearing Ammon scream and cry and carry on like this. It grates on my nerves, especially when my pain and fatigue levels from my Fibromyalgia are as high as they've been lately. And in the frenzied state that occurs for about an hour or more before he finally pees, he doesn't listen and is very difficult to manage. So, it's been a good thing Jared's been home to help out when I'm at my wits end. Unfortunately, it's taken time away from studying for his mid-terms this week.

The last two days have made Monday seem like a walk in the park. Mott's did an awesome job preparing us for the surgery, but no preparation for what would come afterwards - when they're at home under YOUR care. That has been much harder to deal with. Now I REALLY pray Ammon won't have to have anything else done down the road. After he started to experience the pain Monday night, he said through his tears, "What did they do to my pee pee? I don't want to go back there again!!" Uh oh. That's not good.....

Anyway, tomorrow is a new day and I'm hoping and praying for the best. Hopefully the pain will be gone and he will be able to get over his anxiety. And if not, I'll be praying my heart out for patience and guidance to know what to do to help him.

Well, that's my update. So much for being quick!!! (I'd be rich if I was a writer and got paid by the word!!)