Amazing!

I just had to post this video for all of you to watch! It is outstanding and it speaks volumes about how I feel...I think you will all like it!

Home Sweet Home!!!!

Hey everyone! We have finally made it home! We came home this afternoon and I have never been so happy to see a comfortable place to plop down! Lauren is doing really good! I wish I could say the same thing about myself...I have come home aching all over with a fever. I am curled up in my chair with a blanket and complaining about what I caught while we were at the hospital...hahaha! Since it is going to be a cold, rainy week-end, my plans are to stay in my pjs and get lots of rest! Thank you all for your prayers...we are so grateful we didn't have to stay long (how pathetic is it that I am happy when we only have to stay a week????) The Lord blessed us though so I won't complain! Now if only I can get to feeling better....

Coming Home Soon!!

OK...the Lord is looking out for us! Today the doctors told us that Lauren's blood culture grew out strep viridan which could possibly have even been caused by a contaminate...at any rate...she is doing a lot better, no more fever and so once we get her to eat good then we will be able to come home because they can give her oral antibiotics to finish out the treatment for the next 3 weeks! We were so happy to hear that!!!! We are thinking that it will probably be Thursday before we will be able to get her completely back to her normal eating so we are looking at Thursday afternoon sometime being able to come home! I will be looking forward to sleeping in my own bed...woohoo! We are so glad that this turned out not to be very serious and that the Lord answered our prayers! We are very grateful for His blessings! Finally...good news at the hospital...hahaha!

Doing Much Better!

Today things are looking up! Lauren didn't feel well last night but they are giving her medicine to bring down her fever and for pain so once she gets it then she feels much better! She got up this morning and took a shower, we changed the sheets on her bed, she frenchbraided her hair and has been feeling a lot better! She has been doing some artwork with the paper and markers Emily brought up to her and then they brought her some pens and sketchpad from here so she is staying busy. She actually feels like eating today...yea!!!! We are still waiting for the sensitivities to come back on the bacteria they found but if it is a really normal bacteria then it is possible that in a couple of days they can switch her to oral antibiotics which means we will be able to go home!!! That made us happy to hear! So, we are both feeling good today and it looks like this might not be a long stay afterall! I love it when we get good news...I am counting my blessings today!!! (And Kim, her blanket is actually PINK, her favorite color but for some reason in the picture it looks lavender...:) )

Update!

Well, it looks like from the initial test results that we have an answer for why Lauren has been running fever and feeling bad all over. Her blood culture came back positive for bacteria. That means that Lauren's port a cath is infected. They have her on IV antibiotics for broad coverage and they have drawn another blood culture this morning to re-check it. If it comes back for sure, then she will have to be on IV antibiotics for 14 days after they figure out which antibiotic the bacteria is sensitive to. We are praying that they will be able to clear the infection out of the line so that we won't have to pull it out and replace it. We will have to see how it goes though. As of now, we are preparing for being up here for a few weeks. I think, if she doesn't have to go on vancomycin (she is HIGHLY allergic to it) that we should be able to stay here at Wake Med the whole time. We are in constant contact with her doctors over at Chapel Hill so we know she is being well taken care of. As of right now though she is feeling VERY lousy and hurts all over which her doctor at Chapel Hill said is from the infection! Along with that, her asthma is acting up because she doesn't feel well and she has already had a migraine which has been triggered by her blood sugar bouncing around! She is a trooper though and we will get thru this! We are thankful for the prayers that are being lifted up in her behalf! She is one courageous little girl who faces things in her life with determination and a strong will! We will keep you posted!

New year....time to visit Wake Med again!!!!

Well...we set a goal to not have to go the hospital this year, which Dr. Muenzer informed me today that that was unrealistic and unfortunately, he is right! We are here at Wakemed with Lauren! She has been having stomach pain again and a general overall bad feeling. Yesterday she threw up and her blood sugars began to be unstable! We were able to stabilize them and we have been talking back and forth with our doctors at Chapel Hill. Dr. Muenzer wanted us to bring her in yesterday but we have tried to wait it out. This morning Lauren began to run fever and Dr. Muenzer became VERY insistent that we admit her to the hospital. After some praying, pondering, and Jeff giving Lauren a blessing, we felt impressed this afternoon that we indeed needed to bring her in. We are so thankful we did. Her fever has spiked this evening and they are putting her on some IV antibiotics and are running all sorts of tests to rule out what things could be. She is feeling pretty bad tonight but we all are more relaxed knowing we are in a safe setting and that she now has IV fluids running to maintain her blood sugar. Her doctors are relieved that we brought her in and are directing what is going on with her. We love the nurses here at Wakemed and because we are well known over here (I guess that is a silver lining) we didn't have to be down in the ER long at all! We will keep you posted as we learn more results...hopefully this won't be a long stay...at least that is what we are praying for! For the time being I will TRY not complain about this hard chair bed that I will be sleeping on for the new few nights...I did say I would try not to complain...hahahahaha!

All about Jeff!!!

OK, Lynn, I know you love posts like this but you'll have to endure this one..hahaha! I have been thinking lately about how blessed I am to be married to Jeff. These last 17 years have been the best in my life. We are opposite in so many ways but it's those differences that make us so close! We have seen a lot challenges thru the years and Jeff is so stalwart. I have watched him walk thru the refiners fire and there I have learned that he is made of pure gold! Over the years he has walked the floor to calm a sick and frightened child, slept sitting straight up in hospitals and emergency rooms, given blessings to me and our children during times of sickness and stress, driven back and forth to numerous doctor visits, been a dedicated and strong advocae for our children, stayed up all night praying for direction, and spent hours on bended knees in supplication for our family's welfare. During the last two years I have been amazed at his strength of character and his depth of faith! He has held me up when I could no longer stand and has given me strength that I didn't think I possessed. He puts all his trust in the Lord and is unwavering in his faith. He looks forward never doubting in the Lord's plan and consistently tries to lift the burdens of others. His prayers are always filled with thanksgiving for our blessings and pleas to the Lord on others behalf. His love of the Lord is evident in everything he does. I am so thankful to be married to a man of unwavering faith, pure Christlike love for others, and complete devotion to our family. He strengthens and uplifts me everyday and gives me the courage to walk forward in faith. Our children are blessed to have been born to such a goodly father. He is an unmovable rock of faith and stands as a beacon of light to me in the storms of life. I love him so much and just wanted to share what he would never say. I really am blessed!