2009 Day of Service!

Our day of service was doing a 5k family fun run to gather food for the NC Food Bank and clothes for several different charities in our area! To register for the fun run you had to donate 10 cans of food per person. We also were donating clothing at each of our church buildings! We got started at 8:30 am on Saturday at the Wake Forest Building! If any on you know anything about Wake Forest, NC then you know that it is extremely hilly! We started and ended our 5k run at the church after going up and thru the neighborhood behind the church! It was full of hills! There were over 1000 people registered for the event and we all lined up according to speed! It was super hot so everyone carried water bottles and we all took off! What a great time we had! I was among the slowest walkers but I finished with a sprint and then fell over in the grass..hahahaha! Emily did great and breezed past me from the beginning! Momma and Nathan came in very last but you would have thought they had won if you had listened to the cheering crowd! Everyone was so excited for them to cross the finish line and everyone was cheering with music playing...it was great fun and a great way to do service! We were all hot, tired and sore by the end of the day but it felt great to join with the other 98 stakes participating in the day of service and give to our community! We had a ball and are looking forward already to next year! It gives me a goal to shoot for...I will be jogging in next years race! What a load of fun!!!!

Momma and Nathan before the race

Emily and Bishop Tiek before the race

Emily running across the finish line
Jean running across the finish line!
Jean smiling because she had FINISHED!!

And then there were two....crossing to the sound of the cheering crowd!

Good to be home!

We finally made it home yesterday and it felt so good to walk in the door and know that we didn't have to go back to the hospital this time! Michael was so excited to be home again and play with his new Wii game that he got for Easter. He wasn't able to play with it until we got home so that was the first thing that he did! He has been outside a lot today making up for lost time and good weather last week and is thoroughly enjoying being back to normal! It is so good to see him playing, laughing, and back to his happy go lucky self! His mom is extremely tired so I am taking the day off to rest and get my mojo back! Anyway...here is Mikey back in his normal element...

Tagged!!! (I have nothing else to do!)

THE RULES:
Step 1: respond and rework—answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.
Step 2: tag—other people.

Make a list of things you can see without getting up:
the TV, the bathroom door, the clock on the wall, the tray that goes on Mikey's bed, and the table beside where I am sitting.

Favorite football team:
I have two...Clemson and NC State

What are you wearing now?
A pair of denim capris and a butterfly shirt

What’s the last thing you read/are currently reading?
Scriptures

Do you nap a lot?
I would if I had a choice..hahahaha

Who was the last person you hugged?
Michael

What’s your current obsession/addiction?
Food

What was the last thing you said aloud?
Go ahead (Michael asked if he could read me something and I told him to go ahead)

What Web sites do you always visit when you go online?
My yahoo home page, Facebook, and family blogs

What was the last thing you bought?
groceries

What are you listening to right now?
Nothing...it is Sunday afternoon and we are sitting up here quietly reading or on the computer

What is something you wish you could do more?
See my family

What gives you hope?
The gospel and living righteously so I will be with Noah again one day

What is your favorite weather, and why?
Most of the time I like it warm and sunny but some days I do enjoy the rain

What time do you usually get up?
7 to 8 am

What is your most challenging goal right now?
Losing weight (which is not going well at all...maybe that is why it is a challenge)!

If you could have a house–totally paid for, fully furnished–anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be?
Zebulon, North Carolina (I would stay where I am at...)

Favorite Movie?It's A Wonderful Life~

What is your favorite children’s book?
The Velveteen Rabbit

Name one thing you just can’t resist no matter how bad it is for you:
Chocolate

Have you ever met anyone famous?
Not really

If you could have any job in the world , what would it be?
I loved being a secretary...

Who is the last person you went on a date with?
My sweetheart...which I am looking forward to going on another one soon!!!!

What was the last thing you ate?
A bag of M&M's (hmmm..maybe that is why the weight loss thing isn't going well!!!)

If you had $500 in your hand right now.... what would you do with it?
I would pay off some debt!

If you didn't have a job or go to school what would you do with your time?
If you don't count motherhood as a job then I would do what I am doing now...clean, take care of kids, cook, all the same stuff!

And my new question....If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why???

I tag.....Libbi, Kim, and Jewel!

A Wonderful Surprise!!!

We were so thrilled when our friends, the Reynolds, called and said they were coming thru Raleigh on their way to spend Easter with their family and wanted to stop by and visit with Michael and us in the hospital! They moved to Virginia a little over 4 years ago and we haven't seen them since! Damon used to be our hometeacher and Morgen would always come with him and our kids LOVED them so we were all sad when they moved! Their family has grown since they left us as they have added two little girls to their clan! I got to hold cute baby Emma today and Isaac and Lucy are adorable!!! The time went so fast when we were visiting with them and we were so glad they stopped to say hello! It brought back lots of fond memories with their family and lots of smiles! Once again our kids commented on how much they LOVE the Reynolds and wished they lived here! Thanks Morgen and Damon...you made our day! We love you! It made being in the hospital much brighter and we are thankful for good friends who are always in our hearts!!! It has been a good day!! Michael is doing wonderful and we are counting our blessings because we have so many to count!!!

Michael!

We found out last night the the 2nd blood culture they drew on Michael was positive as well. That was a little disconcerting to me but not suprising. After speaking with Dr. Muenzer and his doctor over here this morning, they have drawn another culture and will continue Mikey on the vancomycin as he is feeling better so that appears to be working. They said that they will want to see 3 more cultures come back negative before they will feel really good that they have gotten rid of the infection because sometimes bacteria is hard to get rid of around the port site. We are praying that we can clear it and that we will not have to replace the port. Needless to say, Michael will be up here for a couple of weeks. I would like to ask everyone to send him a card though as I think he will like that...the address up here is:

Michael Coombs
c/o Wake Med Room 4C16
3000 New Bern Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27610

Since he will have to be here over Easter, I think he would really like to get cards from everyone. We can put them up around his room! Thanks everyone for your prayers and please continue as we really want to clear this infection up completely and be able to save his port a cath! Below I have posted his picture because he looks so sweet sleeping!

Mikey Update!

Thought I would give another update and send along a pictures of Michael with it! He is continuing to improve! The doctors came in this morning and told us that it looks like the bacteria is some kind of a staph and sometimes that can be a contaminate because it is on the skin but since the source of his infection came from the skin then they consider it the real thing. They had first put him on clendamycin when he came in and on Sunday he continued to get worse...they told me today that this particular bacteria was resistant to clendamycin which is why he was getting worse. They have him now on Vancomycin and he is improving everyday! We discussed with the doctors here of doing part of the IV therapy at home but when Dr. Muenzer and Dr. Covington got wind of that, they shot it down. They want Michael in the hospital for the entire length of treatment. I was hoping to be able to go home in a few days but it seems like we may be here for the whole time. I won't complain though because I prayed and told Heavenly Father that no matter how long we had to stay here it would be ok with me as longs as Michael got better. So, no matter what, whether we stay here the whole time or get to go home for part of the treatment, I am happy that he is getting better. As you can see from the picture..they have brought a video game console in here and he is happily playing his video games. He still doesn't feel like eating very much and he sleeps a lot but when he is up, he is looking much better and he feels like playing or reading..so that is a huge blessing! Things are getting so much better and I am thankful for the Lord's hand on Michael. It is truly miraculous!

Update on Michael!

Today has been and up and down day for me! I have been thrown some curve balls that resulted in many shed tears and then have been uplifted by my great family, good friends, a wonderful husband and an extremely supportive bishop. I so enjoyed watching conference today and was edified completely. This afternoon the doctors up here came in and told me that Michael's blood culture had come back positive and they wanted to do another one as they felt like it might be a contaminate. I didn't think too much about it but Michael slept most of the day and when he finally woke up late this afternoon, he was very pasty looking with absolutely NO color. He went to the bathroom and sat up but his lips were very chapped and he kept drinking water. I then called Dr. Muenzer and told him what the doctors had told me about Mikey's blood culture. He told me how serious infections can be of the skin and once they get into the blood stream, they can be extremely difficult to get rid of as they are very resistant. He also did not believe that the positive blood culture was a contaminate. He told me that since it had grown out so fast that it was probably a real infection. He told me that the doctors here had him on several different antibiotics and they would cover it all. When I informed him that they only had him on clendamycin (sp?), he told me to go find the attending doctor here and have him call him. I began to cry on the phone with him and he assured me that he would make sure everything was being done for Michael. I shared with him all of my concerns. Within about 30 minutes the doctors from here came in our room and told me that they had spoken at length with Dr. Muenzer and they were going to switch him to vancomycin (a very powerful antibiotic) and ceftriaxoine (sp.?) so that he was covered for most everything. They also drew another blood culture from his arm and said they would watch him very closely. I got Michael settled and then went out to get some water. I called Jeff on my cell phone and started to cry uncontrollably. Jeff left immediately to come up here as he could see the fear and anxiety I was under. I also called our Bishop who came immediately as well! When Jeff got here, Michael had some color in his face but he also had fever once again! I left Mikey with Jeff and walked down the hall to get some air. About that time, Bishop Tiek came down the hall and I began to cry as soon as I saw him. I told him about my fears and he gave me great comfort! We went back to Mikey's room and Jeff and Bishop Tiek administered to Michael. The blessing that Bishop Tiek gave Michael was beautiful and brought tears to my eyes. I could feel the spirit so strong in the room. After they had administered to Michael, they gave me a blessing as well. It brought me great peace and shortly afterwards, Michael began to perk up. He has felt better this evening and we feel much calmer. I am so grateful for the power of prayer and how it has uplifted us today. We are still waiting for results but we feel confident in the doctors and nurses and know they are looking out for him. We will be here for however long it takes to completely clear this infection from his body. It has been a frightening day as results have come back but we know that Michael is strong and the the Lord is watching over him. Please continue to pray for our precious little boy as he fights this infection. We are surely grateful for our blessings and are counting them tonight as I see improvement in Michael already! I will keep you posted!

A Surprise Visit!

Well...I know everyone is wondering what is going on so I will try to give a quick explanation...a couple of days ago Michael started not feeling well and he was congested so we figured he had a cold. Yesterday he went and took a nap (which is very unusual for Mikey) but we figured it was because he was congested. Then he started complaining about his neck hurting so we thought it was his throat. This afternoon I noticed that he had this rash on his arms, face and stomach. He slept thru both sessions of conference and after the second session I went over and sat down next to him. I put my hand on his head and he was very hot. I took his temp. and it was 101.5. Jeff was getting ready to go to priesthood session and I told him that I was calling our pediatrician. I called and they didn't seem overly concerned (go figure that one) so I called Dr. Muenzer. I told him what was going on and he told me to take him to the ER and have them check him for strept throat and do some blood work. I hemmed and hawwed because I didn't want to come in! We thought we were just going to come in, have them do a throat swab, draw some blood, give us some antibiotic and out the door we would go. Well...it didn't work out that way. His strep test came back negative but because of the rash on him, the doctor was concerned and began to look over his body...they found a huge infection in his groin area (which we were not aware of) and it looked like it had gotten worse....Michael has impaired neutrophil function which causes any type of small infection to get out of control quickly so after the ER doctor called and talked with Dr. Muenzer at length, they decided that Michael had to be admitted! I was so not prepared for them to do that and Michael began to cry immediately saying he was afraid he was going to die. Jeff quickly walked over to him, reminded him that he had had a blessing and that it was all going to be okay while I spoke quietly with the doctor to get details about what was going on. They decided to put him on IV antibiotics because the rash had spread to all over his body and he was running fever, has a comprimised immune system anyway and they wanted to give him some fluids. Jeff was calming Michael down and I ran home to get a few things from home. I had to take a breath once I got home and get my bearings back about me. This hit me out of nowhere! I am thankful for the blessing that Michael got, for all the conference talks that strengthened me and grateful for the doctors and nurses who are caring for him. I know all will be well. Jeff had him completely calm by the time I got back to the hospital and we are now trying to settle in at 2 in the morning. Hopefully both of us will be able to get some sleep and we can get conference up here on the computer tomorrow! We are very grateful for the Lord's guiding hand in our lives. It never ceases to amaze me!