Morgan moment

Me: Morgan, when did you get so grown up?

Morgan: Um, on Thursday.

ophtho report

We saw Dr. Napier today. Whew - what an ordeal. She must be the only pediatric ophthalmologist in a tri-state area. I arrived to check us in at 2:30, our appointment was supposed to be at 3. I finally saw the doc at 4:15, and left after 5.

The news: Athan's left eye is officially turning in. We will begin patching his right eye 2 hours a day, and hope that is enough to correct the problem. If not, we may have another little surgery ahead. We will patch his eye from now until mid-September, then evaluate his progress.

Also, he is near-sighted. It is not severe, but he is a little near-sighted. We have a prescription for glasses, but Dr. Napier was really soft about this point. She says we should fill the scrip, and then see if he seems to like the improvement in his vision. If he gets excited about being able to see more, we'll keep them on. If they just bug him more than they help, we can wait until he's older to do glasses. We'll probably get them and try after we move and get settled.

another good PT session

Laurie was here today, and Athan did so well! He stood (with a little support and balance help, of course) for a LONG time. Longer, at least, than he has ever done before. It was so good to see. It's almost startling to see how tall he is when he stands.

We go see ophthalmology tomorrow, so I'll try to post an update tomorrow evening when I get home about what Dr. Napier says.

back in full swing

Ryan's back and Strebeckville is in motion again. Ryan is taking a class this week. We've got doctor appointments for Athan. And we're packing. Yep - we have been blessed with a 3-bedroom house to live in for the next couple of years, and we'll be moving next week! :) I am really excited. Ryan and I have exchanged several e-mails about what we're most excited about. Things that top my list:

1. no more stairs!
2. fenced back yard for Morgan
3. extra bedroom - no more waking Athan up when I need some socks.

missing Dad

Ryan is in New Mexico for NWTX Annual Conference. I think the trip is going well. We miss him and we'll sure be ready to see him tomorrow! :) Morgan announced last night that she was going to New Mexico to get Dad...

Athan (surprise, surprise) is not sleeping well. Ryan has the magic touch for getting him to sleep, which doesn't work from Albuquerque. So we've been awake in the middle of the night more often than usual. But Charis came and kept the kiddos while I got a break yesterday, and she'll be here again today. To any single moms out there, my respect for you deepens by the moment. I'm not tough enough to do this without help...

the still shots

Dad tried to help,

Mom tried to help,
even Morgan tried to help,
but he made it clear he needed NO help at all with his cupcake! :)
We got some cool gifts (including a singing card from Aunt Berniece and an unassembled bouncy toy from Uncle Josh and Uncle Jer, not pictured):
and even though it is the least original observation I could make (worse that I'll post it on a blog), I'll go ahead and say that his favorite toys so far are the envelope, tissue paper, and gift bags.Birthday boy is asleep, so I should crash myself. Night all.

birthday video

One year ago today...

The party is Saturday, but the day is today! Athan Ryan Strebeck is ONE!

Part of me wants to dance in the streets. But most of the celebration I'm feeling is more quiet. Even trying to write about it this minute feels too "public."

I guess the best I can say would be to emphatically and joyfully whisper that Athan Ryan Strebeck turns one today.

a fun visit

Uncle Layne is here! It was nice to let someone ELSE read "If You Take a Mouse to School." :-)

almost

We started planning a party today for Athan's first birthday. Wow. :)

Our boy is turning ONE in a few days!!

almost forgot

Dr. K said that his heart looked so good, we can totally stop the Lasix. Yeah! One less med to give! Now we're down to just his endocrine meds - Cortef (3x/day), Synthroid (1x/day), and Genotropin (1x/day), all of which will probably be life-long.

no swelling

The ECHO this morning showed that there is not any swelling around Athan's heart, and his lungs look clear of any fluid build up. I was so relieved! He still has a yucky cough - probably a virus. We just have to wait it out. No big deal.

my favorites from this week

wary sister:sibling smiles:
a glimpse of our future?:

PT report and more appointments

PT went well Monday. Athan worked really hard for the full hour, and only complained a little when she insisted on making him use his arms. :) We still have hours and hours of hard work ahead, but I'm encouraged about his progress.

We went back in to see Dr. Coburn yesterday because the last round of meds (antibiotic, etc) didn't seem to help this cough at all. He snapped a chest x-ray, and recommended that we see cardiology. He may need a higher dose of Lasix if there is fluid build-up left from surgery or something. We'll go in to Lexington this morning for and ECHO and appointment with Dr. Kakavand.

busy

Last week was nuts around here. I think Morgan was the only one who remained 100% all week. Athan has a cough. Ryan hurt his back. I hurt my foot trying to take care of Ryan's back. It was crazy. Ryan and I were both so far out of commission (him unable to stand up and me hopping around one one leg) one evening that we had to ask a friend to come over and rock Athan to sleep (thank you again, Jason). Then when we had recovered a little, the kids and I left for Nashville to pick up Grammy and bring her home. Whew.

But we're better and more settled now. Ryan's back is better (thank you, Lance!). My foot is fine. Grammy's here. We're all just relaxing a bit. All except for Athan, who is still trying to kick this silly cough. Yuk. He had a bad reaction to one of the meds, so things have been better since we stopped giving that.

Laurie will be here again tomorrow for physical therapy. Athan has regressed a bit (as we expected) since surgery, but we are beginning to be able to work with him to catch up again. I think he is beginning to be frustrated by his lack of mobility, which will be good motivation for him to work hard and learn how to overcome that.

Stay tuned for info about celebrating Athan's First Birthday at the end of this month! :)

back in a couple days

The kids and I are heading to Nashville to pick up Grammy Tammy. Be back here Friday. Will post more then. :0)

the post- post-op blog post

An illustrated summary.

It was difficult to really believe that my son needed heart surgery when he looked like this:
Still, we knew he needed the surgery. The procedure itself was difficult time to endure, but the toughest moments were these:
With much prayer from family and friends, plus lots of help from some super-skilled nurses, there were more and more times like this:
We knew Athan was in good hands:
And when our boy went from feeling like this:
to feeling like this:
we knew it was time to go home:to play in the floor (with Papa!):
and outside with Morgan.
and to resume the life we are so grateful to share with him every day. I am swirling in gratitude for my son right now. There are no more words...

back

We have internet again! :) Whew...

I still haven't loaded the pictures, though. Sorry. Will do soon

We saw Athan's surgeon this morning. Dr. Plunkett said that from a post-op stance, all is well. The chest x-ray looks good. He took the steri-strips off the incision, and it is healing perfectly. We can bathe Athan now (maybe we'll finally get all the adhesive junk off!). Unless we have reason to seek them out, we don't have to see Dr. Plunkett again. Yeah!

We did not repeat the ECHO today. That will probably come when we see his regular cardiologist again in a few weeks. That will tell us how the valve is doing, and whether the leak is still there or if it has changed in any way. That appointment is the end of this month.

Again, I just wish you could see him. Our Athan is back in full swing. I think I can already tell a difference in his energy. He is moving his arms more and just seems to feel better most of the time.

Ryan and I are starting the feel the full force of relief of being in the land of After-Heart-Surgery. We have long spoken of life in this land, but it seemed only a dream. :) Ryan has a busy few weeks ahead to finish up the semester, but still we are glad to have such a big hurdle behind us.

quickly

Our internet at the house should be back up tomorrow or Tues. I'm visiting a friend and stealing signal for a sec. I'll update more soon. For now - Athan is doing great. I wish you could hear the giggles I can hear at this very moment. We have our follow-up with surgery tomorrow morning, and I'll post and update as soon as I have signal again. :)

(Morgan's home. Thank's Nana and Papa and Uncle Brent. I'll post some fun pics soon, too)

an evening with friends

Athan had lots of company tonight. Our sweet friends Lance, Laurie, and Jordan brought us dinner. We ate together and had a fun time of celebrating Athan's recovery together. And as many of you already know, I just love food that other people cook! :) Athan and Jordan had a good time hanging out after dinner.

Then we went next door for some more food and fellowship with the Herons. Athan spent lots of time studying Margot's toy animals and trying to turn the page of a picture album. He was in a pretty good mood all night long.

He's finally asleep, so I better get a few things done while there's no baby in my arms. :)