Update from UK

Athan and I made it to the UK emergency room around 6.45 or so, and Amberly was right behind us. The big guy's blood sugar was still alarmingly low, but he was fighting and showing signs of being alert. They were able to get him an IV solution after a few minutes. Shortly after that his sugars had climbed back to within the acceptable range. He's very tired and still a bit lethargic. We're checking sugars every half hour and have started an IV drip. He's resting well now, and the challenge now will be trying to get him to eat/drink enough. We're not sure yet how long we'll be here.

Morgan is still at home asleep. (She turns 4 years old today, by the way) Rob and Kat are there waiting to feed her breakfast and take her to play with Eve and Claire for the morning, then bring her back home for a nap this afternoon.

We very much appreciate your prayers for our kiddos - for Athan's body to be better and for Morgan to be O.K. waking up and spending a morning suddenly without Mom and Dad.

Athan's sugar is back up

Amber just called and they got his sugar back up, but they are going to go ahead and admit him. All of his doctors will be able to check on him. They also want to find out why he is throwing up. Ambie will post more details as soon as she can. Happy 4th Birthday Morgan! GT

911

Hey this is Amberly's mom. Amber is dictating as she drives to the hospital in Lexington. Ryan and Athan are in an ambulance ahead of her headed to the ER at UK. Athan's blood sugar crashed this morning. Amber will post an update as soon as possible. Please PRAY!! Thanks again and again for traveling this journey with us, many times on your knees. Grammy Tammy

in case you're up

Athan is throwing up again. Lots. So far his blood sugar is fine, so would you just pray with us that he can eat enough for it to stay that way?

prayer request

My Aunt Gwen (my mom's sister) had a stroke yesterday and remains in ICU today. Would you pray for her recovery, and for her husband, kids, and grandkids?

plodding along

Athan still isn't feeling well, poor guy. He is finally resting at the moment, so I hope this helps! We had to cancel PT again today.

Morgan and Mama had a fun morning: Claire came to play with Morgan, and Claire's Mama (Eve) came to play with me! Seriously, when I'm home all the time with the kids, other adults who are willing to brave the kid chaos and come hang out - golden. Thanks for helping restore some sanity, Eve! :)

more about poo

Sorry. I know I said I'd take a break...

We've gone from not enough to too much. I think it's the antibiotic. He had 5 or 6 dirty diapers today, and it is burning his bottom, poor guy. I think the rest of him feels much better, but he's been fussy all day because his bottom hurts.

On the upside - he ate really well today, and is asleep at a semi-normal time. Yeah! :)

feeling better, but...

Athan is feeling better, I think. No fever, and he's at least energetic enough to be grumpy. :) He's still not sleeping or eating well, but I think we're on the right track, at least.

Morgan, poor kiddo, is bored and tired of Mom being so occupied with brother. I think it'll be a great break for her to get to play with the boys tomorrow morning (thanks, Erin!).

better

We saw Dr. Coburn this morning, and Athan has an ear infection. He started an antibiotic this evening, so we hope that'll clear up in the next couple of days.

Also, we think his tummy is having a hard time with PediaSure. We started that to get him more calories to help with his weight gain. Actually, we tried a knock-off brand. So we'll try name brand, and Dr. Coburn also suggested that we check with Dr. Bay and Dr. K and see if we can try Carnation Instant Breakfast (also loaded with calories).

It was a tough night/day for us. It is no fun when Morgan gets sick, but when Athan does, it is scary. We have to monitor sugars, repeat meds if he throws up, double dosages, and make sure we're watching for any signs of a crash that would necessitate a trip to the hospital. And doing all of that in the middle of the third sleepless night in a row... well, you know how clear your thinking is (or more, is NOT) at that moment! :)

So, once again, thank you all who stay with us in this. I know you read, and I feel it when you pray. Thanks for the comments, calls, e-mails. For babysitting Morgan so we can do the doctor thing, and for babysitting the Mama when she's falling apart. We remain deeply grateful.

sick and tired

Athan is not well today. Tossed his dinner last night. Fever and thickly snotty this a.m. A bit lethargic and blood sugar was low (not dangerously low, but lower than it's been in a while). Not much sleep last night again.

Athan and I need your prayers today. Thanks, loved ones!

the s*&@ hit the floor

Not the fan. The floor. Athan has had a marathon of pooping yesterday and today, that included a blow-out that ran down his leg, out of his high chair, and onto the kitchen floor I had just mopped. Ryan was studying at the library, so I actually called Kat (gracious neighbor) to come be the extra set of hands that I needed to get everything and everyone clean.

But he's not constipated! Yippie! :)

We did address this with Dr. Coburn and Dr. Bay. Basically, we just keep trying to find the right rate to give him the meds and foods he needs. It'll take some time to figure out what works for our boy.

But while I'm at it - thank you to all who have left comments or sent e-mails with suggestions. We've tried most of them, and will keep trying. Some of them work sometimes, which is worth the trial-n-error ups-n-downs we go through to help kiddo feel better. In case you've got a young one with this problem, here's what we've got: Miralax (or knock-off), Little Tummy's laxative, dark Karo, baby food prunes or prune juice, dried fruit (cooked into oatmeal works well), all with a diet that includes lots of fiber, and avoids too much cheese and white bread. Oh - and pumpkin, oddly (we mix some in with oatmeal).

In case you're grossed out, I'll try to refrain from more posts about poo for a while so you can recover.

Dr. Coburn and Dr. Bay

Athan had a couple appointments this week. First, we had the 18-month check-up with his pediatrician, Dr. Coburn. He is doing well. We got some butt medicine for stubborn diaper rash, and caught up on Athan's over-all development and status with his various other specialists. Aside from his gross motor skills (like not crawling or walking), Athan seems to be doing well in all other areas of development. They're also going to refer us to a new optho person, so we'll probably have an eye update soon.

Ryan took him in to UK this morning to see the geneticist, Dr. Bay. It went fine. She had some advice about how to keep his caloric intake high and combat the constipation at the same time. They also had the lab draw some blood to do some further testing that has become available since we saw them last. It may not be any more conclusive than the others have been, but it might give us some helpful information about keeping Athan healthy. It was difficult to hear a geneticist refer to our Athan as one of "our kids," but also encouraging to hear her be pleasantly surprised at how smart he seems to be.

Mama and Morgan time

Due to some odd sleeping (and not sleeping) schedules of late, Morgan had some extra energy in the evening yesterday. So we left the boys here to play and had a little mother-daughter night out on the town. We had a healthy, satisfying meal at McDonalds... Ok, that's a stretch. But at least the company was good (thanks Chad and Mer for meeting us). We intended to go to Story Hour at the library, but dinner was so fun we missed the event. We still went to the library to do all the puzzles in the kid room, read a couple of books, and see Charis for a few minutes. The we grabbed a few groceries, gave Charis a ride, and headed home. Fun girls' night out! :) I'm hoping Morgan will sleep 'till noon...

just liked this one

the look

We didn't quite capture it, but this is close to the look Morgan can shoot at her brother when she's annoyed:

1..... 2..... 3.....

Apparently, Morgan taught Athan to count. Yep. When we were in Oklahoma this weekend, I was holding Athan counting something. I knew he could count to 3, but I was shocked when he followed my "5" with a very clear "6." So we kept going.

"7" - Mama
"8" (more like "at," but we'll take it) - Athan
"9" - Mama
"10!" ("tehhhh"), followed by giggles and clapping - Athan

I had no idea he knew all those numbers. I'm guessing this must be sister's doing. Yeah Morgan for being a good teacher! Yeah Athan for counting to ten!

back home and sleeping lots!

We made it back home late last night after a great time with Ryan's fam (maybe not-so-great time as a Raider fan, but oh well...). The kids did great - especially on the plane rides. In the few hours since our arrival home, we've all slept as much as possible! I suspect Nana will send me some pics from the weekend, so I'll post when those arrive (I never take my own camera when Nana or Aunt Brittany will be there - what would be the point? :-)

We couldn't be Strebecks

If we didn't change our plans last minute. Again. :)

So the kids and I are joining Ryan, and we'll make the trip to OK together. Sort of - Ryan and Athan will take a different flight there than Morgan and I, but we get to fly home together.

We get to see all of Ryan's immediate family, which will be great fun. Kentucky fam - we'll miss you and see you all next week.

couple recent favorites

after a rocky start

We had a really good day. I feel MUCH better. There's a tiny bit of soreness left, but nothing that keeps me from functioning normally and enjoying it.

Morgan got to play with friends this morning, which always makes for a good day for her. My little extrovert just needs people-time.

Athan had a great therapy session this morning, showing off all his cool tricks for Amanda. He is over all of his sick-ish-ness, and is in the best mood lately! He is increasingly "talkative." It takes a trained ear to understand what he's saying, but I'm confident his speech is developing well.

Ryan, poor guy, is still drowning in books. In addition to his backpack, he is carrying a suitcase full of research back and forth to campus right now. A small suitcase, but still - a suitcase! After he survives the next couple of days, he gets to go to Oklahoma to see his family and watch the Red Raiders win! It will be a well-deserved mini-vacation.