Goodbye to 2007

2007 is almost gone and we are on to 2008. Last night my husband and I set our 2008 goals and it is funny how some of the same things have been on our lists each year--even if we have reached them before. I have five for myself this year including donating blood four times and keeping a grateful journal.

Ian has only one goal for 2008--become potty trained! We are so ready for that to happen. He is only 2.5 years old so we still have some time. Just tired of buying the over priced items that get filled with well crap and then tossed into a landfill.

Ian is doing well on all accounts. We are going to a transplant clinic visit in about a week so we'll have more current info on his status then. He is going through a bad "two's" phase and wants to do everything and anything his way or throws a fit! He is still into books, music, diggers, and school buses and has already started to ask when he can ride one. Today he recited our phone number to me--such a smart boy!

My naturalization interview is slotted for the end of January. Brett and I are taking a trip to cheer the Hokies on in the Orange Bowl in Miami--without Ian accompanying us. We are very excited. Hopefully we won't come back with a sunburn.

Hard to believe that this is the last post for 2007. On to 2008 with more on the next post!

eLaiNe :)

Ian's PELD is a 4

Well Ian's PELD is a 4....yep a 4. The doctors calculated it three times just to be sure it was right and it is. It is truly amazing. This is the best he has ever been--even when he was first diagnosed and after his surgery. We are thrilled and yet also in a bit of shock that our wait will continue. He is truly a miracle. He continues to be on several medications which are obviously helping him. Because he is doing so well, we are not pursuing a living donor search at present. The doctors are pleased with his growth (50% for weight and height which is amazing for kids with BA). He is eating well...yogurt is the favorite by far although chocolate milk is climbing the ladder pretty quickly. I check food lables for protein content like nobody's business! It is cute because when I ask him what animals eat it is always yogurt no matter what the animal--cows, fish, birds--all eat yogurt.

It is hard to believe that Christmas is around the corner. I did the usual black Friday shopping. What a great site it is to see all these people rushing to get to the same item on sale. I'm pretty much done shopping now and will begin to wrap things slowly. Ian is very aware of Santa and I'm interested to see if he will sit on Santa's lap this year.

Ian is back on the nebulizer for breathing treatments again. He struggles this time of year. We don't have to do them around the clock this time which is good for everyone. Brett also has a cold--given to him by none other than Ian. I'm managing so far.

All things considered, we have so much to be grateful for and try to count our blessings each day. I'll write more on the next post.

The Wait Continues

Ian is now an 11 for his PELD score which means he is further down the waiting list. When we started this whole process two years ago, he was listed at a 12 so we gained a net of -1 in two years. The doctors all call Ian a miracle and have no medical explaination as to what is going on. We believe that God's hand is in Ian's life and ours.

Preschool is great for Ian. I never knew how quickly 2 hours would go by when I didn't have a little shadow following me :) I am the teacher for tomorrow and we are learning about the letter C and orange.

I've been trying to do a lot of reading lately and finished Cold Mountain--so not like the movie and am on the third Twilight series book, Eclipse. The books are wonderful although I thought there were only 3 and there is a 4th due out next year--not sure how I will handle the wait for that.

I'm into Survivor this year on TV, Criminal Minds, and Without a Trace. I am pulling for Todd to win it all. I catch bits of Dancing with the Stars too. Love to see the outfits--some are quite outrageous.

As always.....more on the next post.

eLaiNe :)

More of the wait

So I've slacked recently in posting. Little has changed for Ian in his wait for liver transplant. He is doing very well and continues to defy the odds. We have a clinic visit in October and will be speaking with the child life specialist to know how to talk to Ian about his transplant, etc. as we want to be prepared to talk to him.
Summer seems to have gone by so quickly. The leaves are starting to change color a little bit. It has rained a few days even.
Ian is in the copy cat phase of repeating things I say. Very funny. He also likes to have the same book read to him a million times. I have actually stashed a few for now because I don't think I could read them one more time. I can recite several childrens books by heart now and wonder what knowledge was replaced by the words to "Panda Cake" or "Cars and Trucks".
I have been an offical stay at home mom since the end of August resigning from my position at Tele-Works. It was rough but it has been good for everyone in our family thus far.
I am knee deep in genelogy stuff and getting things together for an at home preschool I am doing with two other moms. Ian has also been sick with respitory problems again so I had to bust out the nebulizer and humidifer for him again. He is a champ at holding the mask over his face at this point for the breathing treatments.
As always, I will write more on the next post.

Recent Happenings

We are just back from a clinic visit to CHOA for Ian's transplant. We have to go about every two months for the doctors there to see him. He is doing so well and they call him a miracle given his liver disease. He is still in the middle of the pack for a liver so we continue to wait. It seems so endless now but we know it will end one of these days with an excited phone call that a donor is available.
Brett was able to go and see the Giants play against the Atlanta Braves 3 nights while we were there and saw Barry Bonds get a home run. He actually made it on to ESPN for the 3rd game because of a 3 run home run hit that landed almost right where he was sitting. Cool stuff!!!!
As usual, more on the next blog....EJH

August 1st Already

So it is amazing to me that it is already August. The summer seems to be slipping awasy so quickly.

Ian and I went to see Open Season today with his Grandma Meldrum at the Children's showing at the theatre. He did pretty well. It was the third time we've gone to the free movie.

Still no real change or news on his liver transplant. We'll have labs done again in about two weeks so hopefully that will help him to climb. It is amazing how well he does with labs, and everything else. What a trooper. He knows all about meds and is almost to the point where I think he could do the meds himself.

We are taking a small day trip to see some of Brett's family this weekend in Winston-Salem, NC. I am personally excited to get my hair cut :) Ian is also looking pretty shaggy. Brett's brother comes home on leave from his tour in Kosovo this weekend and Brett is really looking forward to seeing him. He will come and stay with us for a few days.

It has finally rained for a few days so the grass is starting to green up again to the point where I think it could use cutting. I'll try to get that done today or tomorrow if I can; however, the mower needs an oil change and I have no idea how to do that at all. Eeek!

As always.....more on the next post.

More of the Same

Ian had labs this last week and he dropped from top of the list to middle of the pack which is where he actually spends most of his time in the wait. His PELD is a 16 and could have been a 19 but there was some confusion at the transplant center when he had labs done last in June.

So the wait continues. Everyone comments that it is a double edged sword which is true it is. I'm just tired of the wait and hearing it. My sister with twins told me at the beginning that she got tons of questions and comments about twins and I'm starting to have a glipse of that. I get questions from medical and non-medical personnel alike. Questions or comments like "Why is he so yellow?" "Wow how does your son tan so well?" "Is he wearing makeup?" "He looks like an alien" I'm ready to stop being nice to people who ask or say such things........

I'm resigning from my position at Tele-Works, Inc. as the proposal administrator. I've been with the company for 5 years now, part of the time as their Business Manager but when I was about 7 months pregnant stepped down from that role to become part time to be with Ian. It is just time for me to be home with him more now. Things will be tight financially for our family but we can do it and we know the benefits will outweigh the sacrifice.

Some of my friends and I went out for ice cream last night and then on a whim at 10pm we decided to go swimming (one of my friends has an in ground pool). It was such a great thing to just go and have some girl time. I'm turning 30 soon and still feel young at heart and doing something like that helps me to convince myself :)

Brett updated his blog so check out his spot (the maskcz link I have listed). As always, more on the next blog.....

Ian update.....

Ian was bumped from the top of the list and is now #2. We're kind of bummed about that and still hope that he can get the transplant this summer. Keep your fingers crossed for us. Any prayers are also appreciated.



I also tried to donate blood yesterday and clotted off right at the end so all that I had donated had to be trashed. It was pretty sad. I wanted so badly to give the gift of life to someone because Ian will need that at some point and couldn't. Every time I have tried to donate, something goes wrong.



Celebrating the 4th of July in style today--we've already been to a pancake breakfast at our church and will be having a cookout tonight with family and of course fireworks. We'll see how Ian does with the noise of the fireworks. He doesn't like loud noises so I'm interested to see how it turns out.



More on the next blog........

Opening Entry

So this is my first blog entry in what I hope to be many. My son, Ian, is awaiting a life saving liver transplant and I wanted to get this started before the event occured to keep people who are interested in hearing about Ian's status, etc.

As background, Ian has biliary atresia. He has been listed for liver transplant since he was 2 months old and he just turned two this past week. He is currently in the top of the waiting list at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. He is still doing great and is a vibrant little boy who loves balls, books, and bubbles.

This first blog will be short and I plan to update it frequently.