So, since I've been AWOL on here for almost a month, I decided it's about time I got caught up . . . or at least as caught up as I can be. The end of summer and the beginning of school really ran together for us, what with Kev in the hospital and all, so here' s a small taste of what we did the last month or so.
First, we had a lake day with some church friends. Karl and Jolene got a new boat this summer and brought it out for all of us to ride in -- Thanks for sharing, guys!
Gennie loved puttering around in it with the kids. She wanted to do it the whole time we were out. We got the life jacket onto Josiah -- and got him into the boat -- but before we could pull away from the shore he was screaming that he was going to throw up so rather than soiling Karl's new toy, we took him back out and let him play in the water by the beach. He was thrilled.
And much to the dismay of Kev's sister Denise (who is a nurse), this was what Kev was doing the weekend before he went in for gall bladder surgery:
He's gonna kill me when he sees this on here, but for Denise's sake I have to remind him -- and all posterity -- what NOT to do when you have an organ completely infected and ready to blow. Consider yourselves warned.
Next was his surgery -- well, the first attempt. He was admitted to the Med/Surg outpatient ward and while they were prepping him for the gall bladder removal he had a set-back. The nurse put in the IV and even though we were talking to him and trying to distract him, he passed out and had a seizure. The nurse hollered for backup and I grabbed his head to keep it upright -- yes, I lived thru my first seizure and did just fine (until later when all the excitement was over and I realized the gravity of what happened) -- and he started to come back around, confused but stable. The whole episode was only about 30 seconds long but it felt like forever. The surgeon refused to operate that day with the explanation that if he seized again under anesthesia there would be no way to tell because his body wouldn't show any signs of it and there could be massive brain damage occurring before they even knew to help him. Yeah, not scary at all. Right.
All that to say that with an interim trip to the Neurologist to get cleared for surgery (the diagnosis was that the seizure was just a stress reaction because of the IV -- yes, he hates needles THAT MUCH!) he was scheduled to have the removal on Sept 13. But the Thursday before Labor Day his body decided it had had enough of that nasty "little" thing and back to the ER we went. They admitted him and took out the gall bladder on Saturday; it was really infected and what was supposed to be a 45min procedure took a little over 3 hours -- it was the size of a 6-inch sub sandwich. Thankfully I had my dad with me in the waiting room so I wasn't alone with my thoughts . . . that would have been bad. Kev stayed in the hospital until the next Tuesday and then got to come home.
I wasn't allowed to take photos of him during his hospital stay . . . so all I have is this one of his meager meals (the only thing that would stay down) and this one of the kids hanging out in his room:
Yes, Josiah is wearing a barf bucket on his head like a tiny top hat. All he needed was a cane and some snappy music.
Meanwhile, the new school year started. Gennie is in first grade and at a new school -- we switched her to one of the schools where my mom works so Mom can pick her up and bring her home now and again among other reasons. Several of our friends are teachers there, including the principal, and lots of the kids' church friends will be going there soon so we were happy she was able to transfer. I got the traditional First-Day-Of-School photos:
After dropping Gennie off at school, Josiah and I made a bee-line for McD's for our traditional "just-dropped-Gennie-off-on-the-first-day-of-school" hashbrowns and iced coffee:
Gennie loves her new school and is doing very well in the first month. She was tested in reading so they could place her in the correct reading group for her level and she tested between 2nd and 3rd grade reading level. She's discovered "chapter books" and we can't get her to put them down, even for supper! I guess that makes it easy to plan Christmas and birthday gifts!
Kev's back at school this week after taking 2 weeks off to recover. He had a fantastic sub while he was gone and all her organization made coming back really easy for him. He's still tired at the end of the day but his kids have been relatively easy on him so it's been nice. He had a slight set-back in his recovery at the beginning -- the nursing staff left in the IV for the full 5 days he was in the hospital and never changed it out (we think it was for fear of sending him into another seizure) and the irritation caused some temporary nerve damage in his hand and arm. They say it should heal itself eventually, sometime within the next 6 weeks or so. It's still very painful for him but he's doing the PT exercises they told him to do and the movement is coming back.
So, there's a run-down of our last few weeks. Oh, and as for me, I've been finishing up editing those weddings I shot as well as a few family sessions and a birthday party. I love my job!! And I worked on thank-you cards and gifts for all the people who helped us out while Kev was out of commission so that's kept me busy. I've also got a few new things posted over on my crafty blog so feel free to check over there.
www.spicytuesdaycrafts.blogspot.com
It looks like life has truly returned to normal and I'll be able to keep up on here. Here's hoping!
Of course he had to check his work:
He was sooo proud! That camera hasn't had active batteries in it for some time so I don't think he knew it actually took pictures . . . he was THRILLED to see his little photos pop up on the screen:
Then, of course, he turned the camera on me and took about a zillion photos of my pantlegs . . . and then the TV screen (Handy Manny was on and apparently he wanted a picture of his friends the tools.) Finally he used up the entire internal memory (more than 100 shots) so I had to go thru them and delete some to make more room. He kept running around the house snapping away at whatever caught his eye. Happiest kid ever!
So, this little man will be turning two soon -- and in anticipation, I got to play with him in the park! I'm not completely done editing all the shots but I promised his parents I'd put a few teasers on here while they wait:
That's all for now as far as teasers go .... I have to save some surprises for their CD. But, as promised, here is one of my favorite family shots. If it were me, I would enlarge this one huge and hang it prominently in my house. I just love it -- and it's totally THEM:
Thanks so much guys! I had a blast! Your CD's coming soon!
And I LOVE this one of Josiah . . . even though it's farther away, it just really looks like him right now.
This one was just a little too "posed" looking . . . and I'm not sure what she's looking at.
