June 2010 – Page 3 – xangelle.com

Angelica – Start of Day 2

Well, we had an uneventful night last night.

Around 7:30pm, Angelica went into surgery and got a VAD placed into her chest. She went through the approx 60 minute surgery like a champ and was quite groggy when she got back to her room. After a few sips of juice – the first food she’d been allowed all day – she just relaxed in her bed.

Angelica fell asleep around 10pm and slept most un-interrupted until about 1:30am. We had a short Jaunt to the toilet at that point and then got back to bed. She was in a bit of pain from the VAD and so got some meds to help with that.

She slept again until 5am when we needed to make a second trip across the hall. Once finished her business over there, she came back to bed and was out again until 7am this morning.

We brushed our teeth, had a few bites of cereal, ate 2 pieces of soggy bacon (maybe not the best choice – she feels a bit gross now) and have had our vitals checked. She’s doing well, but tired. Her counts are a bit low which would be a factor there.

So far, we’ve heard that she will probably be having an echo cardiogram today sometime around 12:30pm….this could mean around 4pm hospital time.

She’s resting in her bed and watching Road to Terabithia.

Last night her brothers and sister managed a visit, but it’s hard when you’re not feeling that great. Mostly the kids just needed to see Geli and know that she was doing okay. They explored the hospital a bit and watched some of a movie with Geli and then Nana Karen took them home.

Around 7:30pm – Brianna, Rebecca, Zacharius, Aunty Chelle, and Uncle Kenny came by for a quick visit. Angelica had been sleeping, but they met her in the hall on the way to her surgery and were able to give a quick hug and say a quick hello before Geli was taken in to be put to sleep. They brought presents and although Gel wasn’t able to open them last night. So far we’ve opened one present already this morning. It was a nice morning treat. Thanks Guys!

Jon and I went to Labor and Delivery last night to try and figure out what the plan is as far as me having our sweet boy and I’ll write about the chaos of that in another post.

We thank you so much for your encouragement and prayers and support and love.

This time seems so surreal and to feel my phone buzzing all day long with encouraging messages and love and prayers being sent our way means SO MUCH! It helps us to feel connected to this amazing network of love. Thank you.

We are supposed to be having a family meeting with the Dr’s and Staff here at Children’s around noon today and should know the outcome of the bone marrow biopsy and spinal fluid tap (these were done yesterday afternoon) and have more ideas about what the plan is moving forward.

The staff here is amazing and we are so thankful.

I slept in the room with Geli last night and Jon slept in the playroom on the teeniest little couch. Originally they set us up with a room in the Easter Seals house, but due to certain circumstances we both stayed close. More on that soon.

Hospital Adventure – Day 1 AM

The good folks at Vancouver Children’s Hospital have a guest WIFI internet hotspot, but I can only see web pages and cant get e-mail (for the techy people all extra ports are blocked so I can’t even see webmail – I can however get e-mail on my blackberry). So now that we know what my connection environment is like, i’ll proceed with an update.

We made it into the hospital last night after some bad results from a blood test in the morning. We got here around 8:00PM and found an almost empty emergency room. We were seen right away, but it was a bit of hurry-up-and-wait. We had a few check-ins with triage types and then were sent to a small treatment room to await an actual doctor.

The first doctor was a resident and gave us a bit of a roller-coaster emotional ride. He told us that the blood work test came back positive for mono-nucleosis and going through the list of symptoms, said that all of them could be explained by mono, but were a-typical. I really felt strongly to stay even keel and that we weren’t done yet, so I opted out of the roller coaster.

They took a bunch more blood to redo the tests and do a few more. After a fair bit more waiting, the hematology / oncology doctor came in and discussed the results of the tests and the results were the opposite. He was quite sure that they were leukemia blast cells and that the mono was probably a false positive. In the end further tests confirmed this.

A few numbers:

A normal person has a white-cell count between 5000 – 10000. Angelica is 18500. Adult leukemia (different than in children) presents upwards of 50000.
Angelica had a low red-cell count yesterday morning (don’t know how low) and it came up to 85 last night. It was down at 55 this morning, but the doctors are not worried about that at all.
The biggest concern is platelets. A normal person has a platelet count around 125. Angelica was at 9 last night. She has received a platelet transfusion overnight that has brought that number up to 40, but they need it to be above 50 to do a marrow biopsy. (Platelets are responsible for starting the clotting process and not having them means that when you bleed, it wont stop.)

Angelica is doing really well. We had a good talk on the way in to the hospital about what to expect and what it means to have faith and what leukemia is and the fact that doctors speak about the facts and statistics and that we can focus on those or we can focus on what God says the outcome will be. She does tend to process internally and so I am keeping an eye on that, but I honestly believe that she has no fear. She’s an amazing girl.

Also of note, Patti is about to give birth to #5. This is significant in that there are some treatments for some types of leukemia that involve stem-cells from a new-born umbilical cord and placenta. We had been planning on having the baby in langley, but Women’s hospital is next door and the maternity ward connects the two hospitals, so patti is talking to our midwife about that right now.

Angelica Update 6-17-10

Jon and Geli got into Children’s Hospital last night and finally got moved into a room around 2am.

We signed off to get some sleep around 2:30am and I’ve not heard from them this morning.

There was some initial confusion regarding the blood work and it looked like it might not be leukemia, but rather an atypical form of mono.

After some more tests, and a meeting with the Hematology/Oncology Doctor, his initial feeling is that it is a type or form of Leukemia that we are fighting against.

Her platelets were low enough last night that they gave her a transfusion over night. She also had her blood work re-done and had an x-ray.

The plan for today, as of last night (or early this morning), was to do a bone marrow biopsy and to test some of her spinal fluid. Both of these tests should bring more answers.

There has been some discussion with the Dr. at Children’s about the possibility of using Cord Blood from the baby to help Angelica and we should know more on that today.

It’s not something that we had thought about or looked into or planned for and so we need grace and wisdom and the timing of everything to work out perfectly.

I have an appointment with my midwife this morning at 10am and obviously will have a ton to discuss.

We will continue to update and let you know where we are at and we so covet your prayers at this time.

Things to pray for:

Angelica seems way too calm according to the staff at the hospital. She has a tendency to process her feelings and emotions very slowly and so we are just praying for her that she will be able to process all that she is going through and not stuff her feelings and emotions. Please pray for health and strength both physically and emotionally as she walks this road before her.

I’m feeling extremely emotional and try though I might I can’t seem to stop crying. Physically, the baby was moving a ton last night and so he seems quite happy. I am needing to be at peace and to be able to be confident that none of this is a surprise to God. Pray for perfect timing for the delivery of this little one and that all the details would be sorted out smoothly and in His perfect time.

Xandra and Jeremy are both upset and processing what all of this means to them and to their sister and to their family and they are doing so on an 9 and 12 year old level. Please keep them in your prayers as well.

Siah seems blissfully unaware at this point.

We could use prayer for all our family/friends as this is their Grand daughter, niece, cousin, friend and the uncertainty can be stressful.

Health and Peace, Faith and Wisdom! Those are the biggest things that we need right now…….thank you.

11:30am update:

Home from my midwife appt. Things look okay with me and baby. Wheels set in motion to be ready and able to collect cord blood. Geli had to receive another platelet transfusion as her counts needed to be above 50 to do the bone marrow biopsy and they were up to a 40 from the initial count of 9. So she’s received the 2nd transfusion and they are waiting on the numbers to proceed with the biopsy.

Please Pray!

We’ve just received a phone call from our Family Dr.

We took Angelica into the Drs today as she was not getting better within the 24-48 hour window that the antibiotics should have helped with.

He sent her for blood tests and called us about 20 minutes ago saying that we needed to take her into Children’s Hospital right away, TONIGHT, as it looks like she has Leukemia.

Please Pray!

We are upset and don’t really have any answers and in reality don’t really know what questions to even ask.

We’re hoping we’ll find out more tonight.

Hanging Around with Nothing New

Well, I got nothing in regards to a pregnancy or baby update. Nothing’s happening and while the ladies at our church threw us a Baby Shower last night….I’ve not gotten to those photo’s yet and so I’ll delay on sharing about that just yet.

We did go for a walk on Sunday afternoon. Geli stayed home and the boys and Xandra and Jon and I walked around Walnut Grove. It’s such a great little community.

I got some great shots of Jeremy….

He was in a great mood and posed for a bazillion shots……

A lot of times, he takes BRUTAL photos and so I’m always THRILLED to get some decent ones of him….

But today…..today we had some winners and I’m so pleased.

Which is your favorite?

My boys paused for a quick hug and I was able to snap up this shot…..

Siah was just mellow and chillin’ this particular afternoon……

My boys……I sure love ’em!

Anticipation

I woke up on Saturday morning having some contractions.

In fact, even though they were not regular and increasing in intensity and length, I actually wondered if this might be the start of things. Especially when there were some “signs” that things might be progressing…….

Now, obviously all of the prep work that my body is doing is helping to get things ready for the “actual moment” but basically, I had irregular contractions ALL DAY on Saturday and by dinner time I figured that nothing was really happening and that I’d go to bed and either wake up in the middle of the night in full blown labour or I’d sleep till morning and carry on.

Yah, it was the second. And although I’d love to be holding my baby right now….I got a really god night of sleep – you know, until Siah came into my room on Sunday morning at 5:11am crying about the fact that the cookies were all gone.

Apparently, he woke up. Went downstairs. Looked for the Chocolate Chip cookies that I’d made on Friday. When he couldn’t find any, he was devastated and came upstairs crying about it.

I assured him that I’d just put them away and that there were lots left for him.

I honestly figured that he was AWAKE awake and that my day had started. But nope, after almost an hour of thrashing in the bed beside me he finally konked out until 7:20am. So, we got a tiny bit more sleep, which was nice.

But, to wake up on Sunday morning with……NOTHING! Nothing at all happening especially after wondering for the whole day on Saturday… Well, it feels a bit like a nasty tease. I know that it’ll happen soon enough and all these different signs are obviously leading up to the big day and I must just be patient.

I HATE being patient. I hate waiting for surprises. I hate delayed gratification.

At this point though, I have no choice, do I?

Lovely! Oh well, here goes another day hoping………..

Getting the Most Out Of It

My baby, my teenager went away to camp this past week.

It was a Grade 7 Year End Graduation Trip Thingy and she’d been looking forward to it for a long time.

They went up to Camp Jubilee. Which was kind of fun not just because it’s a great camp with a great facility but also because Jon and I did a couple of Youth Camps there 13-14 years ago.

Angelica actually was probably conceived at that camp…..yah, yah I gotcha with the TMI……. and then she was there the next year as a 3-4 month old.

Interesting tidbits, eh? Yah, not really.

Anyway, she’s been looking forward to going with her class and the other Grade 7’s in her school and this past week FINALLY came along. She packed and repacked and finally Wednesday morning rolled around and Jon took her to school at 7:30am and dropped her off. We would be getting her back on the Friday after school.

On Friday, Jon showed up to pick her and her luggage and the other two kids up and Xandra and Jeremy were there an so was Geli’s luggage, but the bus hadn’t quite made it back it. The kids finally showed up and Jon brought a very sick little girl home with him.

Apparently she did fine until Friday morning when she started coughing and her throat felt a bit sore. By lunchtime, just before they left the camp, the glands on the left side of her face on her neck and under her chin had started to swell. By the time she made it home she had quite the fever and so, rather than muck around, Jon took her to a walk in clinic where she was 99.9% diagnosed with strep, but in the event that it doesn’t respond to these antibiotics, it might then be mono, so keep a watch on her and come back on Sunday if she’s not starting to feel better.

AWESOME!

Baby should be showing up anytime now and we have strep throat floating around our house.

She came home, took her meds and went straight to bed. She still felt pretty miserable when she woke up and we dosed her up again and sent her back to bed. She stayed in bed ALL DAY yesterday which indicates to me just how sick she is/was because my kids…..it takes some serious illness to knock them down. She even slept in the afternoon. So weird!

I used my Google medical degree to determine that once on the antibiotics, she should start to feel better in about 24 hours.

So we’ve been watching her like a hawk and she was out of bed last night and actually wanted to eat….which I figure is a good sign.

This morning, she is still swollen, but she actually got up and took a shower and had breakfast.

Jon took the other kids to church with him and she is still up and about. I figured that I’d let her be up a bit this morning, but then I’d kick her back to bed once everyone got home.

I’d say that the good Dr at the medical clinic was right and that the antibiotics are doing their job. It’s not even been 48 hours, but she is definitely on the mend.

I haven’t asked her too much about the camp, but she did show up the pictures on her camera and she looked like she had a great time.

I really wanted her to get the most out of her time away, but picking up a case of Strep Throat wasn’t really what I had in mind.

38 Weeks

Well, I’ve made it to 38 weeks pregnant.

I’m still feeling pretty good, but I’m definitely ready for this little one to come out and join our family.

I had my midwife appointment yesterday and were at the “any time now” stage.

Baby was doing well. His heart rate was at 160 beats per minute which is a little faster than it’s been, but still okay. He’s still head down and in a good position.

I’m currently measuring at 36 cm for fundal height. I was measuring at 38 cm last week which is supposed to indicate that baby has dropped some. This was confirmed by an exam where we learned that our little man is at -1 station (so almost completely engaged where he was previously very high and not at all engaged) and that I am 50% effaced and 2cm dilated.

My blood pressure was low 90/60 and i hadn’t gained any weight.

I’ve nothing terribly exciting to report. I’m just hanging around and trying to finish up the few things that I could do, but at this point there is nothing really left that I HAVE to do. It’s done. Today, I managed to bake a double batch of chocolate cookies that is boxed up to go in the freezer and a lemon poppy seed loaf. I also managed to clean out about half of my fridge…..still gotta get to the lower half. It just needs to be wiped out. I bet you’re just so excited that I shared that tiny tidbit of info with you.

I seem to be alternating between nights were I get an amazing night of sleep and then a night where I feel like I’m awake all stinking night long. Oh well, I’m just trying to enjoy the good nights as much as possible knowing that it’s all about to change in the very near future.

Anytime Now Would Be Alright With Me

On Sunday, as we were headed into church, I realized that the crotch of my maternity jeans had worn out.

Yes, I had to go through the morning in jeans with a massive hole in the crotch and well, if that wasn’t just a slight bit uncomfortable. I kept stressing that someone might be able to see. Thankfully, I had nice (ish) underwear on.

Yup, more than 6 months of serious wear and those babies have finally bit the bullet. I bought them before I was 12 weeks because I was headed to a Ladies Retreat and my regular jeans were too tight. They were great jeans too. Low rise, sat under the gut, (I HATE stuff over my stomach ESPECIALLY when I’m pregnant) boot cut, no gathers or weird bunchy pockets…..they were just great jeans and I wish that I had them to wear after the baby comes. I might see if my mom can do something to make a comfortable yet not terribly noticeable patch of some sorts.

BUT……I DO figure that this means that it’s time for the baby to come now. I mean if I’ve worn out my jeans, then come on…….right? It would be stupid to buy another pair when this baby could come any time now….like even tonight! Hint! Hint! Little One!

Today was a fairly low key day.

I did have a midwife appt earlier this morning and I’ll update on all of that with my 38 week post tomorrow.

Other than that, I had coffee with my sister and looked a bit more for those paint with water books (no luck though) and then……wait for it…….wait for it……..

I cleaned house!

Jon steam cleaned our stairs and the hallways, up and down, and I washed our bedding and did all the remainder of the laundry and then washed the laundry room floor and cleaned out the boys bathroom upstairs in the hallway.

I need to make some laundry detergent (We use Pink Solution!) and to clean the TV Room. The main floor needs to be swept and the kitchen tidied from today’s dishes and then pretty much I’m ready!

I could clean out the fridge – doesn’t that sound fun, or wipe out the cupboards….again with the thrilling excitement…..I know!

Jon has a meeting tonight and I really wish he didn’t, but I’ll survive! I might even take a bath and do my toe nails once the monkey’s go to bed. Ooooo the Excitement around here is amazing, AMAZING, I tell you!

Well, the close of today brings me one day closer to meeting my sweet boy and I’m so excited!

Shifting Gears

Today was a down day and yet it was a great day, in it’s own way.

I got up this morning and get myself put together. In other words, I got dressed, did my hair and make up and had something to eat.

I find that when I do this (even if it feels stupid because I’m home by myself) “getting ready” helps me mentally set myself up for a better day. This is not to say that I don’t have days when I don’t “get ready” but more often than not I do “get ready” for the day.

I debated on driving Jon into work, but decided against it.

I’ve actually had quite a bit of Braxton Hicks over the past few days and while I hope they are getting my body ready to “do its thing” I’m actually quite tired. It’s a massive head trip, noticing that you’re having contractions, and not knowing if it’s the beginning of something or just a big tease.

In this case, serious tease and I’m tired of it.

So, I thought that I’d take a day to relax and spend some time on the couch; attempt to just chill out and get some rest.

Because I had no plans and because I’ve been working like a crazy woman to get my house tidy……I took some time this morning to just snuggle on the couch with Siah. It was nice to just enjoy some time with him as my baby, knowing that I don’t have this time for very much longer.

Then, he tired of the snuggles and we were off. He watched a movie on the computer in the kitchen while I made some playdoh.

He’s been given some little tubs of Playdoh when we’ve gone to Ricky’s Restaurant but hasn’t had a chance to sit down and play with a decent sized clump of it and to just muck around. It ate up a bunch of time and he seemed to really enjoy himself. One thing that I noticed is that he wants or needs to be “shown” what to do. I’m hoping that with time and given the opportunity that he’ll start to want to “play” and “create” on his own.

We had lunch after that and then we sat back down on the couch. I figured that I could sit and cut some paper people and that it might entertain him.

It was interesting for about the first 2 minutes and then…..well, then he ripped a head off one of the people and stressed out about it until I tapped it back on……

So, it took up some time, but not nearly as much as I’d have liked.

I’ve been trying to find some of the paint with water books that we used as kids and that I used with my older kids, but I haven’t seen any recently. I’m still looking though.

We did a bunch of painting….It’s funny how so many little kids paint in brown….all the colors mixed together. I hadn’t remembered that from when my other kids were little, but it’s funny how much of that comes back and so quickly.

We painted until Siah had had enough and then moved on to making some cards. I got Siah to cut the straight lines with my paper cutter and to glue everything onto the cards.

It’s been a busy day and yet a fairly quiet one.

I’m starting to shift gears. I remember when my days were filled with one craft or activity after another. It will be interesting to see how things “normalize” after the new baby comes.

I find that “this” being an at home mom is a little bit like riding a bike. I used to do this all the time and then life changed and I had to define a new normal. Now I have the chance or opportunity to do this again, but with more confidence and knowledge about where I’m headed and how long I’ll be there for. It’s makes it a little bit easier. I’ll have to keep this post handy to remind me of this when I’m back in the thick of it all and stressing.

But for now, things are okay. I’m okay. We’re slowly finding our groove….

And then it’s all going to change again, eh?