So much to be thankful for

Even though it's been a tough year, I have a lot to be thankful for.

We started the year out in eager anticipation for a healthy new baby, and though we we were so overwhelmed with the news that Madeline would be born paralysed and many other complications, she has been such a blessing to us already. She's had relatively good health and few scares, and I'm grateful for that.

Daddy leaving us was the absolute hardest thing that I've faced this year, but even that provides us much to be thankful, especially that we know where he is and that he no longer has to deal with the stress and problems of everyday life.

We are so grateful for all of our friends and family and church family that have stood beside us through the thick and thin of this year. Glen and I are ready to move on from being the needy ones to helping others, but thank you so much for your patience with all of our drama. Hopefully this next year will only include one surgery (on Maddy's feet), and that everything else will be smooth sailing!

Thank you, Glen, for allowing this year to draw us closer together rather than apart, and for being a man close to God's heart and his family.

And could a mother ask for any sweeter little girls?? They're the love of my life.

What part of Thanksgiving are you?

Thanks, Lori, for the fun little quiz....

I'm not sure if this is good or bad.

You Are Pumpkin Pie

Even when people are full - they make room for you. Good or bad, your smell is most likely to arouse a man.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

The little patient.

Now how cute is this? I love her little hospital gown.....

One picture shows the incision site, the other the IV in her scalp (ouch!).

Tear-Jerker

I know some of you may not like pictures like this one, and I am usually one that doesn't, but I love this picture of the oldest grandchildren at the funeral home. They started out all holding hands in a somber line right in front of the casket. Jordan overheard Carli telling the littler ones that Granddad had a new body now and this was just the old body.




Here is a snippet of another conversation I heard during our stay and Mom's:

Carli: I wish Granddad was here. It will be forever, but we'll see him sometime. First he got sick, and then he died, and then he went straight to heaven.

Brianna: First he had a heart attack.

Carli: Ok. First he had a heart attack, then he died, and then he went straight to heaven. We just have to be really strong for Granddad.

Almost every time she prays, Carli says, "Help Granddad to be safe in Heaven, and help Granny not to be sad that he's in Heaven with Jesus."

All settled in

We are settled in our room now for the night, and Dr. Young thinks we should be out of here by tomorrow morning, hopefully bright and early! The surgery revealed a clogged catheter causing the problem. They were able to go into the same incision as the first shunt placement surgery, and as a mommy who wants as few scars as possible on her baby, that made me really happy. Of course, it looks just like it did in the beginning...bummer, since the scar was virtually invisible already.

So we're heading for some FOOD, since Maddy is sleeping soundly. What is it about sitting in a hospital that makes me ravenous???

We may go to Kentucky afterall tomorrow or Friday. But first, Mom is being such a hero to us by fixing us a Thanksgiving meal so that we don't miss out on the food aspect of the holiday. :) But we have much to be thankful for: the surgery went well, no unexpected problems, Mom being here, and just as importantly, we have definite signs of what to look for if this ever happens again (the most obvious ones being very firm fontanelle, very prominant scalp veins, and "sunset" eyes). She looks so much more normal and I'm so excited.

Thanks for your prayers.
Pam

Surgery tomorrow

Hi to all of you faithful Madeline fans!

Well, here we go! Obviously Maddy didn't realize that it's Thanksgiving Week or she may have chosen better timing to cop a shunt malfunction, but oh well. Maybe the hospital cafeteria will serve turkey! :D

Over the last few weeks, Maddy began to exhibit some signs of shunt malfunction, but over the last week, she began changing very quickly, especially with the very full fontanelle, fever, gap in the suture line, very prominant scalp veins and the onset of "Sunset eyes" (downward deviation), indicating a shunt malfunction. I took her to Dr. Tuchscherer today, and he took me very seriously (Thanks!) and sent her right away for a CT scan. Yup, hydrocephalus again (and aqueductal stenosis, possibly). So they have her scheduled for emergency surgery tomorrow to relieve the pressure, etc. We're praying for the typical one night stay for this type of surgery.

So I have the "joy" of sending my baby off to anesthesia again, much before I was ready to (I was hoping for the next time to be for her orthopedic surgery to correct her *adorable* clubbed feet).

I'm so thankful that Mom is here to help with Olivia and Carli, and I know that she's glad that she wasn't stuck in PA when this all went down. She's not going to have much of a Thanksgiving though.

Please keep us in your prayers. Obviously, the most important thing is that she get help immediately, but it sure is a downer to have to change our plans to get away to Kirk and Heather's for Thanksgiving weekend.

Ok, when I typed that I felt bad instantly, because I'm thinking of all the other little babies that have been in the hospital for months. Giana Grace was born the week after Maddy and is still in the hospital, with three little brothers waiting at home. We've been blessed to have no problems up to this point. So I'm thankful.....

Check out Kayla's blog

My sister-in-law Kayla has updated her blog with a wonderful post about Daddy and lots of pics too. She said it better than I ever could. Hopefully someday I'll be able to start sharing my memories.

Anyway, please go visit Kayla at www.southdakotansatterfields.blogspot.com.