we guessed right

He'd outgrown his dosage. We're going up on his Cortef and growth hormone dose. Kiddo weighs almost 27 pounds! :) Thanks again, all, for being with us through another twist in the plot. We're so thankful for your support.

good again today

Athan had a good day again. Sugars never went below 95, he was in a good mood, and is resting more normally. Tomorrow we'll go see Dr. Irene and talk about what might be behind the crash.

Thanks, all, for praying us through again. We couldn't do this without Him or you.

seems to be doing fine

Athan didn't nap today, but that's no surprise given the triple dose of Cortef he's taken. Aside from that, pretty normal day. He's his usual Athan self. He was silly-chipper at dinner. I tried to post a video clip, but technology is being cranky. Maybe later. For now, I'm going to help Prince and Princess Silly out of the tub.

Also, Morgan started learning to swim today. And I started learning how to can tomatoes (the lid to the pressure canning pot only jumped at us once). :)

Good News

Athan's sitting in front of the TV, smiling, and eating an omelet.

The longer version: He woke this morning a bit cranky, but nothing else very unusual. Then, about 2 minutes later, his whole body twitched. That was my only cue, but I ran and grabbed the meter to test his sugar. 40. Then 35. Ryan had jumped up to mix and give his emergency IM shot of Solucortef, then call 911.

I tried to stay as calm as possible and get Morgan dressed. We took her next door to watch movies with Jeremy and Jessica. Such a blessing to have trusted neighbors who will jump out of bed on a moments notice and babysit.

We got Athan to drink some juice and eat most of a banana. He was still twitching at times, which scared him and made him cry a lot. Once the ambulance arrived, they monitored his sugar while Ryan talked with our endocrinologist on the phone and I packed a bag. As Athan's sugars rose and stabilized, Dr. Irene decided that it was best for us not to transport, since a trip to the ER would not be best as far as evaluating the reasons why he might have crashed so suddenly. Instead, Dr. Irene asked that we monitor him closely (checking sugars regularly, making sure he is eating and drinking sufficient amounts, etc.) and give Athan his "stress dose" of hydrocortisone today and tomorrow. She wants to see him 1st thing Monday morning. It could be something as simple as having outgrown his daily dose, but it's hard to say at this point.

Thank you for your prayers. We will try our best to get Athan some rest today and keep you posted on the progress.

911 again

When I got Athan up this morning, he was twitching. Blood sugar 40, then 35, then 31. We gave his emergency shot and called the ambulance. Ryan and Athan are waiting now. We need prayer.

Ryan "resting"

Most of you know - there's something in the water in Wilmore. People move here and have babies. It just happens. So as most of our friends have joined this club, Ryan has collaborated with several of them to build a bassinet. Ryan helps build the frames, and then our friend Hannah does the sewing for the basket part.

Ok, pictures of the latest effort here. That'll be more clear. :)

crawling example

He's still a bit trunk-heavy, but we're so excited about his progress! :)

revisting Day 1

p.s. we just passed 500 posts on this blog. kudos to all who are still with us! :)

couldn't resist

Look what Morgan taught Athan to do while I was in here posting that last entry:

ahhhh...

Our crazy summer is finally over. Whew. Ryan turned in his paper this morning, and we have a week of Vacation in Wilmore. :) It's nice to feel like the place you want to spend your free time is home.

Morgan loves school. Oh my. She's like a fish in water. Already the stories! I have video to post soon, too, of the post-Day-1 report.

I spoke too soon about Athan - he spent the morning asking every 10 minutes or so with a quivering chin and pouty lip: "Where Mogan?" 'Bout broke my heart!

Videos of school stuff and Athan skills soon!

how did we get from here to preschool so fast?!

Thanks, Nana, for the pics from Memory Lane...

day 1

Mom and Dad are a little sad. Morgan is ALOT excited. Athan is so far indifferent.

OT and PT and PT to the rescue! :)

Occupation therapy this morning with Ms. Emily. They actually sat outside and did therapy in the shade so I could get some work done out there. He did pretty well for her this morning. Emily has been so good for him. It frees Laurie up to focus more on mobility while Emily does more upper-body strength and fine motor work with him. Can't say how glad we are that she's around. :) It is so encouraging to hear her feedback. She's just dang good at her job, and fun to be with.

And then our sweet Laurie came this afternoon. Athan was back to being Captian Crank, and Morgan was wound up all over again. I think today she was MY therapist and not Athan's. :) She let me blabber all during Athan's workout about my rough day. Then she, being off the clock and back to 'friend' status :), took both kids with her to her house while I got a (MUCH needed) shower. Then I went over there, too, and they fed us dinner (bourbon sauce on chicken over rice with yummy veggies and a Brazilian desert I can't spell - Yum). It restored some of my sanity to be with them tonight. Jordan (age 12) is now officially named "buddy" by Athan. She and her sweet friends played with my 2 while I talked with adults. Whew...

I think both of mine are finally asleep. I'm going to crash myself. Night all.

cranky and crazy

Those are the nicknames I gave the kids today. Or at least I wanted to. :)

Morgan is crazy. She's so excited about preschool she's literally bouncing off the walls. We got to meet with her teacher and classroom helpers here at our house today. She was chattering up a storm, with her usual Morgan charm. And the rest of the day has been an on-going effort to spend some of the energy that comes with this kind of anticipation. Whew.

Athan is cranky. Everything today has been loud "No" and screams, followed by whiny clinging. Again - whew.

Uh-oh. Gotta run. More screaming coming from the kitchen...

8 years and preschool?!

Ryan and I just celebrated our 8 year anniversary on Monday. [HUGE thank you again to Kyle and Charlie for keeping the kiddos so we could go out for celebratory cup of coffee. :)] What a ride it has been! Ryan is a patient man, I tell you...

AND Morgan and I went up to meet her teacher for preschool. Yep, kiddo starts next week. She'll go half days (morning) 4 days a week. Being up at the meet-the-teacher open house seemed to confirm most of my suspicions: Morgan in school will be like a fish in water. She is so excited! She showed almost no anxiety about the new place and people. In fact, she announced to one of her teachers "I can just learn to do ALL the things you can teach me!" Goodness.

Athan is doing well. We've had some ups and downs getting back into our routine (especially as far as sleeping goes), but he's still working hard, building muscle, and gaining skill and confidence every day.

resuming

We're back home and starting all our beloved routines. :)

Athan had PT on Monday, which was a good get-started-again session. We saw Dr. Napier today, and his eyes still look good. He's been wearing his glasses more, and we're going to work in some more patching of his right eye just to make sure the improvement continues. Tomorrow morning we see Ms. Emily for OT, then Laurie again for PT in the afternoon.

Morgan is reacquainting herself with her favorite toys, and got to play all morning with her friends Eve and Claire while Athan and I were in Lex. In a couple weeks, our big girl will start pre-school. Crazy. 4 days a week from 8 to 11:15. We're both excited, nervous, and a little sad. Gulp.

I'm doing what I do, glad to be back in Wilmore. It's good to be back in my kitchen, eating veggies from our garden, sleeping in my own bed! It'll be better still when Ryan gets home on Saturday.

Ryan finished up one of his summer classes, and his helping his brother finish a couple things on the house before he heads home Friday morning. He'll have a few days to settle in and get LOADS of reading done, then one more summer class. We're ready to have him home.

Already we miss our friends and fam in NM and TX. Love you guys!

aaahhhh

We're home. The kids are elated. I'm relieved. Grammy's wonderfully helpful. We're all sleepy.

That's about it for now.