Journal History
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Tuesday, November 1, 2005 9:45 PM CST
Here is a long overdue update. I am actually starting to get grief from people about not updating.
Summer was wonderful. Both boys really had a great summer and stayed healthy.
Our family purchased an almost 4 acre lot of land just northeast of Northfield, Minnesota. We are hoping to build a wheelchair accessible home in the future sometime.
Alex enjoyed playing summer baseball. Oliver was a wild man playing wheelchair soccer. We enjoyed a lot of fishing in our boat even if we didn't catch too many fish. Alex, Oliver and I enjoyed a trip to the Minnesota North Shore with Grandpa Lee and Grandma Sheila in their coach. We had nice weather and a fun time spending time with them.
Alex is in the 5th grade this year and continues to do well academically. He is still actively involved in Cub Scouts and will become a "Boy Scout" in February. Fall soccer just recently finished. His team didn't win any games but it was nice to see how the boys improved as a team through the season.
Oliver is in the 2nd grade and is making great strides in his school work. He really enjoys the socialization of school. He is also involved in Cub Scouts and is excited about earning the merits and badges. We are hoping wheelchair soccer will be starting soon.
The boys really enjoyed Halloween this year. Alex was our "Black Lab" and Oliver a "Helicopter".
Both boys continue to do well healthwise. Oliver's scoliosis continues to progress but he was given at least another six months in August before we start the journey toward spinal fusion. We are hoping to postpone any surgery until at least next summer. We see the orthopedic surgeon again in February to discuss possible options. Oliver saw the orthodontist today and we learned that he is going to need to have some baby teeth extracted prematurely in hopes that his teeth will start to move in the right direction. Currently he has teeth coming in directly behind his front teeth in his hard palate. It appears he is going to have a long road of orthodontia ahead of him but we have a very good orthodontist.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful fall!
Thanks for checking in on us!
Lisa and crew!
Thursday, June 16, 2005 9:34 PM CDT
Hello and Thank You for checking in on us!
Summer is officially here and school is out. Both boys did wonderfully this year in school. Believe it or not both of them have said they miss school. Okay, Alex said he just "kind of" missed school. We are so happy with Westview and how the entire went.
Oliver celebrated his 7th birthday in April with a friend bowling party. He had 9 friends share his special day. He had made so many friends at school and in scouts. He even has a "best friend" Jacob. I am so pleased that Oliver has had the chance to develop a friendship with such a sweet, thoughtful boy. Oliver has recently started playing wheelchair soccer with Courage Center and is loving it. He really enjoying the challenge and competition of a sport. With the new power chair he recently got, he will be tearing up the field. I will try to get a photo of Oliver's new chair up soon.
Alex continues to keep busy with Cub Scouts and baseball. He will begin playing an instrument this summer. The band director decided that Alex was best suited for playing the trombone. I will try to get a photo of Alex when he finally receives his instrument.
Our latest family purchase is a 17 foot fish/ski boat. Lance spent a lot of time getting the boat ready. We have had the opportunity to get out on the water several times. It has been a great investment for our family. All of us are really enjoying the boat and fishing !!
Well, I suppose, I should sign off so I can get some sleep.
Thanks again for checking in on our family!!!
Lisa (and crew)!
Monday, March 7, 2005 7:56 PM CST
HOORAY!! We are HOME!
Oliver has made a remarkable turn around and is home feeling better. Hoping to get him back to school by Thursday.
Alex is doing extremely well with his pump. He and Dad did a great job learning how to manage the pump.
Thank you to all who pray for us. We see God at work in our lives.
Love,
Lisa : )
Friday, March 4, 2005 7:29 AM CST
Lisa asked me to let you all know that Oliver is going in to the hospital this morning. I will update as I hear more from her.
Colleen
Wednesday, March 2, 2005 8:04 PM CST
HOOORAY!!!! Oliver has taken a turn for the better. Last night, the pediatrician wanted us to have Oliver admitted to the hospital. I convinced her to let him stay home and see how things went. At midnight, I was sure I had made a big mistake by not having him admitted. Thankfully within a few hours, his pulse rate came down to a near normal range and his saturations returned to normal. His fever broke over night and he has been feeling much, much better. He still has a deep, wet cough but seems to be improving.
Alex will be starting the insulin pump on Friday. Please pray for an easy transition with few problems.
Thanks for checking in on our family.
Lisa : )
Tuesday, March 1, 2005 8:32 AM CST
Winter has been very good to our family . . , until just recently. Oliver has developed a nasty cold. Please say an extra prayer for him for a rapid recovery.
He has had a fever since last Friday and developed cold symptoms over the weekend. His temperature was as high as 104.1. Thankfully he seems to be responding well to the antibiotics. So far, praising God, Oliver's lungs are clear. He will stay home and get respiratory treatments and medication every 4 hours.
Thanks for your prayers.
Lisa
Sunday, January 16, 2005 4:40 PM CST
HAPPY 2005!
Our family had a wonderful 2004!
We wrapped up the year celebrating another year without any major medical issues. Our prayer is that 2005 finds us as healthy and happy as 2004.
Alex and Oliver are both doing well in school. Oliver had the opportunity to play adaptive floor hockey in late fall/early winter. Alex will be wrestling again starting in February. Both boys are active in scouts and will be progressing to new ranks in February.
Due to my busy schedule with working a nearly full time job, I did not get the opportunity to get Christmas cards out. Perhaps I will find time around Easter. My job is going well and I am enjoying the work very much.
Hope 2005 find you healthy and happy!
Lisa and crew!
Sunday, October 31, 2004 7:11 PM CST
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Things have been going very well for us!
Some wonderful news was received last Tuesday when Oliver had his orthodontic appointment. His expander will be removed on November 23rd because his progress has been so rapid. Oliver cried tears of joy when he found out that he only had to wear his expander for another month!
Both boys are enjoying school and doing well. They are both active in Scouting and making progress towards their next rank.
Thankfully we have all stayed healthy so far this fall. We continue to pray for protection from the cold and flu germs.
I left Applebees in early October for a purchasing position at a medical supply distributor in Burnsville. The hours are when the boys are in schoo. The work has been a refreshing break from the physically demanding server position at Applebee's.
Sorry this is so short but I must be off to feed my family,
God Bless and Have a Wonderful Fall.
Lisa and crew!!
Monday, September 13, 2004 2:11 PM CDT
Good Bye Summer! Hello School Days!
School started on September 7th. Alex is in the 4th grade and Oliver in the 1st. The transition from homeschool to public school has been fairly smooth. We had several meetings with school staff to ensure that both boys would feel comfortable with school and their new routines.
Alex, about whom I was most worried, has really taken to school and seems to enjoy it for the most part. He came home from school the first day and told me that "He LOVED school". He was a bit less enthusiastic by Friday but still said he liked school. He is already expanding his circle of friends. Alex continues to be involved in Cub Scouts, now as a Webelo, and in fall community soccer. Each day he seems to grow a bit more in knowledge, or wisdom, or in body, making me both thrilled and melancholy at the same time.
Oliver, who seems to handle most situations well, is also loving school. He was a bit less enthusiastic after the first day of school than Alex but still seemed to enjoy school. He has a wonderful aide who works with him on his academic studies, as well as three of his personal nurses, to help him during the day. He has joined Tiger Scouts and is loving it. I am hoping he will make some close friends through school and scouting.
I, surprisingly, am not missing the boys at home as much as I expected. The house is so still and quiet while they are gone at school. It is amazing how much I can actually accomplish in the few short hours they are at school. Right now, I am enjoying the peace, quiet and freedom.
It is my hope and prayer that all is well with you and your families. Thank you for checking in on us.
In Love,
Lisa and crew!
Monday, August 9, 2004 11:24 AM CDT
Great News!! Today Oliver had an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Koop. The great news is that there has been no progression in Oliver's scoliosis since August of last year. His curve still remains at a 24 degree curve. We will not even start talking about surgery until Oliver's curve has progressed to 40 - 45 degrees.
School starts in only 29 days!! The boys are more excited since we picked up their school supplies. This is a definite answer to prayers. Hopefully we will get all the details ironed on in the next week.
Thanks for checking in on us.
Lisa and crew!
Wednesday, July 28, 2004 8:40 PM CDT
July has been BUSY!! In early July, we visited Branson Missouri with my whole extended family (Auntie Colleen & family, Auntie Denise and family and Grandma Sheila and Grandpa Lee). As you can see in the photo, Oliver loved driving the pontoon boat! We had an the opportunity to all be together and catch up. We stayed on beautiful Table Rock Lake just west of Branson.
When we returned from Branson, we had a full week of Vacation Bible School at Oxboro. That same week on Friday evening and Saturday, Alex's baseball team had playoffs. Their team finished third in their division. Alex had a fun year playing ball and is planning to play soccer and wrestle this fall.
The same Saturday as playoffs, we attend the KFAN SuperStar gala party to benefit Families of SMA. This is always a highlight event for Oliver as he gets a chance to spend time with other children with SMA.
On Sunday, the boys were in our VBS program which ended with a picnic and carnival in the church parking lot. This is an event both boys look forward to all year. Thankfully the weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful day.
The following Tuesday was the KFAN SuperStar Golf Classic and RadioThon. Colleen and I worked the RadioThon. Grandma and Grandpa volunteered to be in charge of the Ice Cream Social just prior to the butterfly release. Dad, Alex, Oliver, Michael and Nurse Mary Ann came out to share in the ice cream social and butterfly release. This was very fun but very hot and humid day. Thankfully, the event was very successful and raised a lot of money to help fund research for finding a cure for SMA.
Finally in the last week things have slowed down enough for us to have some summer fun. We visited Auntie Colleen at work for a picnic, fish feeding on the dock in Wayzata and a trolley ride. Today we were finally able to get to Grandma and Grandpa's for a swim!!
It's hard to believe that July is almost over! We are planning on making the most of it . . . we have company picnics, fishing trips and lots of fun events planned for August. Alex will be attending diabetes camp in just a few short weeks!!
On a very sad note, please keep the family of Taleah English in your prayers as Taleah lost her battle with SMA last week.
Thanks for checking in on our family.
Lisa and crew!
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 2:23 PM CDT
Well . . . Oliver's small pneumonia progressed to atelectasis (lung collapse). He has been using almost round the clock bi-pap for two weeks. We are really hoping that he will finally get that lung re-expanded in the next week or so. He is really missing not being able to get out and enjoy our summer.
Things are going well with the boys transistion into school next year. Oliver's team of school staff are busily working to prepare everything for next year.
Alex will be turning 9 next week! He is planning a bowling party with some of his friends. He will also be attending diabetes camp in August with his friend Scott.
Through in a couple of vacation bible school sessions, several doctor appointments, our family vacation, baseball, cub scouts and trips to the parks and pools and you have a very busy summer. Which means it will probably be over in the blink of an eye!
Wishing everyone a wonderful summer . . . take some time to have a picnic or go to the beach . . . before the snow flies again!!
Thanks for checking in on us.
Lisa & crew!
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June 22, 2004 UPDATE: Oliver saw his pediatrician yesterday and received good news. His lung is finally expanded enough that he can be off of his bi-pap during the day. There is still a small area of collapse but the doctor felt that it would resolve with nocturnal bi-pap use. HOORAY! We can finally get out and enjoy summer!
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Monday, May 31, 2004 7:59 PM CDT
Sorry this hasn't been updated in such a long time! Things have been going well with all of us. As usual we are busy, busy, busy.
We are looking forward to summer and all it brings with it. We will be doing a bit of school work over the summer but not as much as during the school year. Both boys will be attending Westview Elementary in the fall.
Oliver has handled his headgear and orthodontics very well. He wears the headgear overnight with his bi-pap. Thankfully he can wear both or he would need to wear the headgear during the day.
Last Thursday Oliver became sick with a cold. Unfortunately, it has progressed to a small pneumonia. Thankfully, he is doing well despite being sick. Hopefully it will be just a few more days before he is back to feeling like his old self.
Hope things are going well with all our family and friends. Thanks for checking in on us.
Lisa : )
Friday, March 26, 2004 7:13 AM CST
Hooray!! Spring has finally arrived here in Minnesota! Thankfully, we had a very "uneventful" winter!!
Oliver has been going through some episodes of gagging and retching with feedings that we are trying to resolve. He saw a pediatric GI doctor yesterday who is helping us try to figure out what is going on. We are planning to try a few diet and medicine changes before we do anything more "invasive". Please pray for wisdom for the doctors and us as we try to figure out how to resolve these episodes.
Next Tuesday, Oliver will be fitted with his orthodontic appliances. Please pray that he will tolerate the devices and will not experience a lot of discomfort with the expansion process.
Alex is doing well with his diabetes, He will be attending overnight diabetes camp at Camp Needlepoint this August for a week. He is pretty excited about that. He is involved in wrestling again this year and showing improvement each week. Next year he hopes to wrestle on the traveling team for Apple Valley. We have also made the decision to send both boys to Westview Elementary next year. Hopefully, the transition will go smoothly. I am confident both boys are going to find school enjoyable and will make many new friends. Please keep them in prayer this summer as they prepare for this big change in their lives.
We have a busy summer planned with Familes of SMA events, community education classes, sports, camp and family vacations. Here are the planned events: "KFAN Shoot for a Cure" trap shooting event on April 16th, "KFAN Ride for a Cure" motorcycle ride on June 5th, "Superstar Party and Gala" on July 17th and "Superstar Golf Classic and KFAN RadioThon" on July 20th. These are all fun events to participate in or volunteer for. Please let us know if you would like to attend or volunteer at any of these events.
Thanks for checking in on us.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and the "Dogs!"
Tuesday, February 3, 2004 3:51 PM CST
Another HEALTHY month under our belts . . . and in the midst of one of the worst flu seasons in recent years! HOORAY! Thankfully, we have continued to stay free of colds and flu thus far this winter.
On a less enthusiastic note, Oliver was to the orthodontist today to discuss his crowded teeth and cross/under bite issues. The problem is that his upper jaw is under developed in relation to his lower jaw. The doctor recommended the use of two types of orthodontic equipment. The first is an expander which will be permanently adhered to his teeth for about a year while it works to push the teeth outward from side to side. The second device, is a reverse pull face mask, which would be used to pull his upper jaw out. Most patients can wear this device at night. However, at this point, because of wearing his bi-pap mask at night, it seems he will have to wear the device for 12 hours during the day. Perhaps, we will be clever enough to figure out a way for him to wear both mask. Hopefully, the correction would be complete in about a year. As inconvienent as this seems, it is preferrable to jaw surgery.
Thank you for checking in on us. God bless and stay warm!
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver
Thursday, January 1, 2004 9:18 PM CST
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thank you for checking in on us! We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Thankfully, we are all staying healthy. We are praying for continued protection from the colds and flu.
Have a blessed and prosperous 2004!
Love,
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver, Rudder and Lindy!!
Thursday, December 4, 2003 4:46 PM CST
Season's Greetings!
It is that time of year again! A time to ponder on all the past year has brought. A time to reflect on those things that have shaped our lives and changed us.
Our year was somewhat more calm and quiet than in the past few years, for that we are very thankful. Other than Oliver's surgery and one bout of pneumonia that required hospitalization, our family has stayed rather healthy. Our prayers are that we will again be blessed by another year of health for our family.
This year we added a new member to our family . . . our sweet little Lindy. She has been such a fun and sweet puppy, a perfect addition to our loveable Rudder. We are thankful to have Rudder doing as well as he has been and are hopeful he will continue to perplex the doctors with his good health.
Lance and I had the opportunity to get away for a few days this summer to celebrate our 10th anniversary. Thanks to Auntie Colleen who took care of the boys. We were able to really relax knowing that the boys were happy and well cared for.
This fall I took a job as a server at Applebee's in Lakeville. It has been a wonderful opportunity for me to get out of the house and make some extra money to help make ends meet. I am really enjoying the position and look forward to going to work.
Lance has had the opportunity to get out and do some hunting with the dogs. He had a couple of fairly successful hunts and a few fun but less "productive" trips. He has really loved hunting with Rudder and Lindy . . . and they really love to hunt too!
Our prayers are for our family and friends. May God Bless you and keep you close this Christmas Season.
Remembering Jesus is the Reason for the Season,
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver, Rudder and Lindy
UPDATE 12/11/03 - Big News! Oliver has lost his first tooth (by natural means . . . first one doesn't count as he lost it due to trauma). On a some what less enthusiastic note, he was referred to an orthodontist when he saw the dentist last week. The dentist is concerned about his cross bite and crowded baby teeth. He won't be seeing the orthodontist until February!
Sunday, November 30, 2003 6:32 PM CST
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a quiet and healthy one. Oliver seems to be over the worse of his cold. He still has a few sniffles but nothing serious.
We are looking forward to celebrating Jesus birth with our friends and families over the next few weeks. We are praying God's blessing and presence during this blessed advent season.
Love,
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and the pups!
Sunday, November 23, 2003 2:25 PM CST
Just a quick post to ask for prayer for Oliver. He contracted the nasty cold I have. So far he has handled it like a champ. Our prayer is that he will continue to stay that way. We have stepped up his treatments and this seems to be helping. We are hoping that his cold will not be as severe or last as long as mine has.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Our prayer for you is that you will know and count the wonderful blessings bestowed upon you by our loving heavenly Father.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and the pups!
Sunday, November 9, 2003 6:06 PM CST
I almost hate to say this . . . . but things are going very well for us. Hopefully, I didn't just jinx us!!
Alex and Oliver are both doing well. Some how we have managed to escape the colds that were going around this fall. Hopefully, the colds will continue to leave us alone.
Both boys are doing well in school. Although both have been known to protest when school time comes. Alex continues to excel in Math, Reading and Science. Oliver is starting to do some very simple reading and has fun with his other subjects.
I have taken a server position at the Lakeville Applebee's. Things are going well for me. I am enjoying the work (and the extra income!) Hopefully, we will all stay well enough that I can continue to work.
Lance has had lots of weekend hunting opportunities. Last weekend he and his buddies bagged 7 pheasants and 3 ducks. A pretty good hunt! Unfortunately, the deer season has not been quite as bountiful . . . maybe next weekend!
Lindy and Rudder are still our pampered pooches! Rudder continues to amaze us with good health despite his heart condition. Perhaps, he will live a long and happy dog life! Lindy is getting big and has turned out to be a super family dog (as Rudder is too). Lance is very happy with both dogs in the field.
Hope all is well with all our friends and family who so faithfully check in on us.
God Bless you as we approach this blessed holiday season. My prayer is that God will be everpresent to you.
Lisa (and crew)
Thursday, October 16, 2003 11:31 AM CDT
Hello All! It HAS been a long time since our last update.
Thankfully, things have been going extremely well. Both boys are heatlhy and enjoying homeschooling.
Alex played soccer this fall. His team won second place in the division (3rd/4th grade) play offs. He is also involved in Cub Scouts and it enjoying it a lot.
Oliver will be getting a mobile standing device in the next couple of days. He is very excited about it. We are hoping it will encourage him to spend more time standing as well as giving him a little more independence.
I recently took a position as a server with Applebee's in Lakeville. Hopefully, everyone will stay healthy this winter.
I will update pictures soon.
Thanks for checking in on us.
Lisa and gang!
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 1:35 PM CDT
Well it has been a long summer so far. We have had a delightful and busy and most importantly a healthy summer !!
In June, Oliver had the opportunity to take a community education art class and really enjoyed it a lot. It was great for him to get to spend sometime with his peers. Alex has been busy with his buddy Scott. Lance and I were able to get away for a weekend alone for our 10th anniversary thanks to Auntie Colleen taking care of the boys. Rudder spent 6 weeks at bird training.
July brought all kinds of fun stuff too. Alex spent a day at Scout Camp. We were involved in the Families of SMA/KFAN Dinner, Golf Tournament and RadioThon which brought in an amazing amount of money to dedicate to research. We have had a few days to spend (not enough however) at Grandma and Grandpa's pool. This week Alex is attending a Day Invention Camp at a local area middle school and enjoying it a lot.
It's hard to believe that summer is more than half over. Thankfully, we are thinking things will finally be slowing down a bit for at least a while.
Hope things are going well for our friends and family who regularly check in on us. Praying God's blessings to you.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver, Rudder & Lindy Lou!
Tuesday, June 3, 2003 11:21 AM CDT
It has been a long time since I have updated!!
Both boys continue to do well. Oliver just had another follow up for his surgery and the surgeon is happy with how well Oliver is doing. Alex is still working hard in school. We will continue to homeschool some through out the summer but won't be taking life too seriously. Both boys are signed up for some fun activities this summer and our calendar is already getting very full.
On the puppy front . . . Lindy is getting bigger and bigger and we are loving her more and more! She is . . . let's say . . . somewhat more spirited than Rudder. I swear that she is spring loaded. Hopefully, we will be able to channel all that energy. I'm guessing this dog will LOVE to hunt! She just started puppy kindergarten and seems to be learning the commands quickly. Lindy really only has two modes: full bore and spring loaded or tired and snuggly. We're certainly getting a kick out of her and Rudder!
Rudder just had his neuter surgery and came through with flying colors. Because of his heart, they use an epidural block instead of a general. This worked out really well for him. He is recovering nicely. He certainly hasn't slowed down any. We laughed when the surgeon told us we had to keep him quiet for 7 to 10 days. I told Lance we'd be lucky to keep him quiet 7 to 10 minutes!
Anyhow, that's our life and how things are going. Thanks for stopping by to visit our site. Have a wonderful summer!
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver, Rudder and Lindy!!
Thursday, May 1, 2003 4:39 PM CDT
SHE'S HERE! SHE'S HERE!! SHE'S HERE!!! However, SHE, still doesn't have a name . . . . who is SHE? SHE is our beautiful new Vizsla puppy. We all absolutely adore her . . . just like we adore our Rudder Budder!! She has been a very good puppy. We are loving her spirit, spunk, cuddliness and playful puppy antics. Rudder was not quite sure what to think at first but he is definitely warming up to her. They are both extremely jealous if the other is getting any attention. Needless to say, if you have one of them in your lap . . . you have both! It has been so much fun watching them play and snuggle.
Everyone continues to stay healthy!! HOORAY! Hopefully we are headed for a fun filled and healthy summer of frolicking in the sun!
Thanks for stopping by to check on our family and for your faithful prayers, thoughts and acts of kindness.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver, Rudder and Little Red Girl (possibly to be named Lindy!)
Friday, April 25, 2003 1:54 PM CDT
What a difference a week can make! Oliver is back to feeling like his happy, healthy self.
Oliver truly had a wonderful birthday. He was fighting either some seasonal allergies or a viral infection but had lots of fun despite being under the weather. He is so proud to be five years old. He received more presents than any child needs!! One especially neat gift he received was a plaque from the Flight Training School at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma. There is a photo of it in his pictures. The aide on his bus has a son who is a flight instructor there. When she told her son about Oliver and how much he loves airplanes, the squadron put the plaque together.
His 6 day stay in the hospital was a bit of a let down over the Easter weekend but thankfully he wasn't terribly ill while he was there. When he went in on Thursday he was feeling pretty crummy but by Saturday he was in very good spirits. He really is quite funny . . . he sure is sweet on those nurses in the hospital!!! His surgeon came by to check on him and brought him a "Fart Machine" with a remote control. He also went to all the trouble of making a device to make sure that Oliver could push the buttons. They got one of the nurses right away while the doctor was still there. I'm not sure who had a bigger smile on his face . . . Oliver or the doctor! The "Fart Machine" made Oliver's hospital stay a lot more fun (at least for him . . . . maybe not mom or the nurses!!!).
Anyhow, that was our last week or so . . .
AND NOW FOR THE WONDERFUL NEWS!!!!!
Kirsten will be coming home from the hospital today! Praise God!
AND
We will be picking up our new girl puppy tomorrow morning. The boys (all three of them) are very excited. We're wondering how Rudder will adust to this new addition. It should be a lot of fun (and a lot of work) over the next week to see how everything works out between the dogs! We will get some photos up on the web page as soon as we get some.
Thanks for checking in on us.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver, Rudder and Little Red Girl!!
Tuesday, April 22, 2003 7:32 AM CDT
Well today has been the first day I have had access to a computer. I will completely update when I get home . . .
To make a long story short . . .
Oliver had a great birthday!
On Thursday he was admitted to St. Paul Children's for an area of atlectasis (lung collapse) in his left lung behind his heart. We will be going home today.
Lisa : )
Monday, April 14, 2003 7:01 PM CDT
We had an eventful weekend. Saturday we spent the day visiting with Grandma and Grandpa who just returned from traveling the south in their bus. We were sooooooo happy to see them after six very longs months.
Sunday we went to visit our new puppy. We decided that we will be getting "Red Girl" and will be bringing her home the weekend after Easter. We are all very excited about bringing her home. We still don't have a name though. On Sunday evening, Oliver had a lot of difficulty handling some mucus. Thankfully, we were at home with his suction equipment. His oxygen saturations (how much oxygen is in the blood) dropped very rapidly to 63 (normal is 95 or higher). Thankfully we were able to get him back to normal in a just a few minutes.
Today, after a conversation with Oliver's pediatrician we believe he has seasonal allergies. Oliver will be starting several new medications to hopefully help control his secretions so that he won't have any more "episodes". So far today he has had some coughing but nothing as bad as yesterday. Hopefully we will get this under control in short order.
Please say an extra prayer for Kirsten, as she is having yet another shunt revision tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.
Tomorrow Oliver will be celebrating his 5TH BIRTHDAY! He is so very excited to turn 5! So are we!
Thanks for checking in us.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver, Rudder and Little Red Girl!
Friday, April 11, 2003 5:09 PM CDT
Everything seems to finally returning to normal. Oliver is starting to get back into his old routine. He still has some pain but things continue to get better each day. He is slowly adjusting to his feedings. Lance is home from his business trip. Rudder will be returning home this evening. Oliver and Alex are handling their colds without any complications. We are looking forward to seeing the puppies this weekend. It won't be long and we will be bringing him or her (more than likely her) home . . . possibly the weekend of Easter . . . at the very latest the following weekend.
Thanks to all who prayed. God has graciously answered our prayers in the way we had hoped he would.
Lisa : )
Wednesday, April 9, 2003 4:08 PM CDT
Oliver continues to heal and recover each day. He is still having some trouble with his feedings and with some abdominal pain but each day gets better and better.
He is so looking forward to his 5th birthday next week. It's hard to believe our "baby" will be turning five soon.
I've uploaded a few new photos (one is of Oliver right out of surgery still intubated . . . it may be disturbing to some but I wanted to share it with those who may be interested).
Please continue to keep Kirsten in your prayers. Things seem to be improving on the infection side but there is still a long road ahead.
Thanks for checking in on our family.
Lisa : )
Sunday, April 6, 2003 4:43 PM CDT
We are HOME! Oliver is doing extremely well. He is tolerating feeds and has been off narcotics since Friday evening. All in all things went very well considering how things started.
Please pray for our niece, Kirsten, as she has a staff infection of her peritineum (abdominal sac) and spinal fluid. They expect her to be in the hospital for at least 3 weeks at the very minimum but more likely she will not be home for 4 to 6 weeks.
Thank you to all who have left messages. They has truely brighten our days.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, and Oliver
Tuesday, April 1, 2003 9:23 PM CST
Well, it has been an eventful day. Oliver was in very good spirits this morning, even into the operating room.
They had a difficult time intubating him due to restricted/contracted muscles in his face. They attempted two intubations using the device they normally use. After both attempts failed, they used a flexible device to put in the breathing tube. Unfortunately, the first two attempts did traumatize the throat and area. Due to this, they decided to keep the breathing tube in at least until tomorrow morning.
It took a long time for the nurses and doctors to get him comfortable. He is quite frustrated with having the tube in. However, he is finally resting a bit more comfortably. Our hopes are to take the breathing tube out tomorrow and get him on bi-pap. Not sure what the plans will be after that but we'll take everything one day at a time.
You can reach me by pager at 651-339-5718 or you can call the hospital's main number (listed below) and ask for bed 7 in the PICU.
Hope to have a good update in the morning.
Thank you to all who are praying for Oliver. He has been quite the little trooper through all of this.
Lisa
Wednesday - 7 am update: Oliver had a good night. At midnight, they gave him some chlorohydrate (sedative) to help him rest. He is definitely ready to get the tube out. Doctors round here starting at 9 am so hopefully it won't be too much later than that.
Wednesday - 12 pm update: The tube is out!! Oliver is on bi-pap and doing extremely well. He is in much better spirits. His first words after extubation were "Can I have a video game?" He has one now. The surgeon thought things looked very good. Plans are to keep in ICU one more night then move to the floor. Feedings should start sometime Friday. Thanks to all who have prayed for Oliver.
Thursday 1:30 pm - Oliver had a good night. Thankfully he didn't drive the nurses too crazy. He mostly just needed to be repositioned. Today is he is in a bit more pain as they are cutting back on morphine to help get his digestive system working (Morphine slows the gut). He is more "junky" sounding respiratory wise but is still in good shape. The surgeon has ordered for food to be started tomorrow. Hopefully if everything goes well, we will be going home on Sunday.
Friday - 1 pm update: Oliver is doing well. He is still have some pain with his incision but seems to be doing better today than yesterday. We finally convinced him he should take his bi-pap off. Some kids have comfort blankets . . . Oliver has a comfort bi-pap. We will be starting feeds today. The surgeon thought we could come home tomorrow if feeds went well. However, I would like to be sure we have pain well under control when we head home. He is still getting some morphine but less and less as each day passes. Provided there are no set backs, I can see no reason why wouldn't be home on Sunday. P.S. Also keep Kirsten (click here for her web page. She is STILL in the hospital and is facing more medical issues that need to be resolved. Please pray for Jaret and Melissa and the whole family as this is getting to be very difficult for their family.
Thanks for checking in on us. Lisa : )
Tuesday, April 1, 2003 1:40 PM CST
Oliver is out of surgery. He is on his way to PICU and he will be "out of it" most of the day. Lisa said that he did not have much blood loss and did great. Keep Oliver in your prayers and pray for a speedy recovery.
Pager number 651-339-5718
Colleen Ü
Tuesday, April 1, 2003 12:21 AM CST
Lisa called and said that they had a hard time intubating Oliver, so he is still in surgery. They will keep the breathing tube in until tomorrow morning. I will update as I hear.
Pager number 651-339-5718
Colleen Ü
Tuesday, April 1, 2003 10:57 AM CST
Lisa just called and said that Lance and Oliver went in at 10:25am. Lance has kept Oliver occupied so that he only teared up once. I will keep you updated as I hear from Lisa.
Pager number is 651-339-5718
Colleen Ü
Tuesday, April 1, 2003 10:40 AM CST
Lisa just called and said that Lance and Oliver just went in. Lance has kept Oliver occupied so that he only teared up once. I will keep you updated as I hear from Lisa.
Colleen Ü
Tuesday, April 1, 2003 10:37 AM CST
Lisa just called and said that Lance and Oliver just went in. Lance has managed to keep Oliver occupied so that he only teared up once. Lisa will call and I will update as soon as I hear anything.
Monday, March 31, 2003 7:37 AM CST
Have you heard the expression "Much Ado About Nothing"? . . . . Thankfully, yesterday was exactly that. Oliver is feeling much, much better today. He has been without fever since yesterday afternoon and has no other cold symptoms. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Oliver will have his pre-op physical this morning. Provided nothing changes, he will have his surgery at 10:15 tomorrow morning. We will try to post as soon as we can, however, computer access at the hospital is a long way from the patient rooms.
Alex will be staying with his Nana and Papa for most of the week. Please pray for him (it's hard to be away from home) and his health (that no problems arise with his diabetes).
Thank you to all who have so faithfully prayed for Oliver and our family. We appreciate you more than words can express.
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver
11:00 am update: Oliver's pediatrician has given the approval for surgery.
Click here for directions to St. Paul Children's Hospital.
Sunday, March 30, 2003 9:27 AM CST
It seems that there has been a change of plans!! Apparently, for whatever reason, God's plans are not the same as the ones we have made . . . Oliver has developed a cold. This will prevent him from having surgery on Tuesday. Unless something changes drastically, we will be rescheduling his surgery. As disappointing as this is, we realize that God's plans are superior to ours.
Each day since learning of his surgery, Oliver has awakened with the question, "Is today my surgery day?" Thankfully, he has handled his upcoming surgery extremely well.
Our niece, Kirsten, is still recovering from her shunt surgery on Friday. Click here to read more about Kirsten.
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers on our behalf. We appreciate them more than words can express,
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver
Friday, March 28, 2003 9:03 AM CST
Praise the Lord! Yesterday we shared with Oliver the news of his upcoming surgery. He responded far better than any of us imagined he would. Surprisingly, he seemed more interested in coloring his "Surgery Coloring Book" than he did talking about the surgery. Praise God for His answer to our prayers. Thank you to all who have prayed on Oliver's behalf for peace with this surgery. We attended a pre-surgery tour at the hospital last night. Oliver and Alex both thought it was grand fun. Oliver came away with an idea of what will be happening the day of his surgery. Now the count down begins.
Please keep our niece, Kirsten, in prayer also. She is having her fifth shunt revision this morning. To read more about Kirsten click here.
Click here for a link to the Children's Hospital St. Paul website with directions to the hospital.
Monday, March 24, 2003 7:46 PM CST
Please say an extra prayer for our niece, Kirsten, as she is hospitalized with an infection of some kind. The doctors are still running tests to determine where the infection is and what the causive agent is. Click here to read more about Kirsten.
All is still well in our home. Please continue to pray for Oliver and his upcoming surgery. We struggle with how to best prepare him for it, as he is extremely anxious about medical procedures.
We just passed the one year anniversary of Alex's diabetes diagnosis. It is hard to believe it has been that long. Despite the fact that it feels like such a short time ago, the diabetes has become just another part of our family's daily routine.
Hope everyone is enjoying God's wonderful world this spring. May God bless you richly.
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver
P.S. Lance was up to visit "the puppies" and reported that they are extremely adorable. We are looking forward to bringing our little girl?? or boy?? home sometime after Easter.
Thursday, March 20, 2003 1:58 PM CST
All is well in our household. We are planning for Oliver's upcoming surgery but have lots of fun stuff to look forward to before then: A Tastefully Simple Party, Cousin Bryce's Birthday Party, Visits with cousins, a baby shower, and more!
We plan on telling Oliver about his surgery next Thursday. The pediatrician and child life specialist felt this was an appropriate length of time for him to prepare. We will be attending a pre-surgery tour to hopefully alleviate some of the stress for Oliver. Please continue to pray for wisdom in preparing Oliver.
Last weekend we went to my cousin Kirsten's baby dedication. You can learn more about Kirsten by visiting her caringbridge web page.
Thanks for checking in our family.
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver
Wednesday, March 19, 2003 10:27 AM CST
Alex is back on his feet and feeling much, much better! Thankfully, he only was really sick for about 12 hours. We managed his diabetes without problems. He is feeling well enough to attend his homeschool swim and gym class this afternoon.
Tuesday, March 18, 2003 8:28 AM CST
Here is a photo of Alex sleeping in the tub . . .
Monday, March 10, 2003 5:05 PM CST
It's official and we have a date!. . . Oliver will be having another anti-reflux surgery on April 1st at 10:15am. The surgeon, Dr. Daniel Saltzman, is an extremely pleasant and cordial doctor, so unlike some surgeons we have dealt with in the past.
We decided that three things would be done during the procedure:
1. Repair Nissen fundiplication (learn more)
2. Re-site gastrostomy tube (learn more)
3. Perform a pyloroplasty (learn more)
We expect about a two hour surgery with a 4 to 6 day hospital stay.
The hardest part now is going to be getting Oliver ready psychologically for the surgery. Please pray especially in this regard.
Thanks for checking in on our family.
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver
Wednesday, March 5, 2003 10:06 AM CST
Wonderful news on our puppy . . . Ginny (the mother dog) had 7 puppies last Friday . . . 4 girls and 3 boys. We were able to go see them on Sunday. We had a wonderful visit with our friends Mike and Beth and all 10 dogs. Now we just have to wait to find out which puppy we can bring home to love and spoil! Were hoping to bring him or her home sometime around or shortly after Easter.
Oliver had an upper GI (a test to see if he is reguritating food) this morning. Unfortunately the test confirmed what we already knew . . . Oliver's nissen (a way doctors wrap the stomach and esophagus so that you can't vomit) is failing. The radiologist said he wouldn't be concerned if just a little was refluxing but Oliver had significant reflux. Now we need to consult with his pediatrician and a GI doctor to determine where we will go from here. We have a few options . . . ranging from surgery to changing his feeding tube to one that goes into his intestine. Please pray for us as we need to make some decisions regarding this situation.
Also, please keep our niece, Kirsten, in your prayers as she is facing yet another shunt surgery. You can visit her caringbridge site at: www.caringbridge.org/mn/kirstenfaith
Thanks for checking in on our family.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and Rudder
8:00 pm update: We will be meeting with the surgeon on Monday, March 10 to discuss options.
Friday, February 28, 2003 10:11 PM CST
Oliver returned to his wonderful pediatrician, Dr. Staub, today for a follow up chest x-ray after his atelectasis last week. The x-ray confirmed that Oliver has completely recovered.
Our niece, Kirsten, had surgery today. The doctors are unsure what is causing the complications with her shunt. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors, patience for her family, and healing for Kirsten.
Great news . . . we heard from the puppy breeder that the litter started its arrival earlier this evening. All we know so far, is one girl. We are anxiously awaiting the final tally on the litter. We are hoping to visit our friends, Mike and Beth, and all the puppies (big and small) on Sunday.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and Rudder
Monday, February 24, 2003 4:34 PM CST
All is well here in the Huston home!
Oliver seems to be back to 100%. We are thrilled . . . what more can we say? He will be heading back to class tomorrow.
Please say an extra prayer for our niece, Kirsten, as there are still some concerns regarding her health that have not be resolved. Check out her caring bridge web site and say hi: www.caringbridge.com/mn/kirstenfaith
Thanks for checking in on us.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and Rudder
P.S. It shouldn't be too long and our new puppy will be born! Hooray . . . we are looking forward to our next family addition!
Thursday, February 20, 2003 7:13 PM CST
Good News!
Oliver is feeling much better after a good solid 24 hours on bi-pap. If his productive cough is gone tomorrow, we will probably let him have a few couple hour breaks off his bi-pap. However, if he continues to have a productive cough, we will keep him on 24 hours. He is in very good spirits, despite being a prisoner in his room. I did promise that we would move his bi-pap into the family room tomorrow.
Our other good news is the cardiologist found that Rudder no longer has a heart murmur. He does still have the persistent atrial standstill but his pulse rate is good and he has no fluid in his lungs. The doctor isn't really too sure what to think. We are just happy that he is doing as well as he is.
Thanks for checking in on us.
God Bless,
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and Rudder!
Wednesday, February 19, 2003 8:47 PM CST
Extra prayer for Oliver would be greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, Oliver seems to have developed a nasty case of atelectasis (collapsed lung) with his cold. We were into the doctor this evening for a chest x-ray and a prescription. Hopefully, with some aggressive treatments and bi-pap, along with the medicine, he will recover quickly. He was in pretty good spirits until the latter afternoon. Perhaps, a good nights sleep on his bi-pap will lift his spirits.
Thanks for checking in on us.
God Bless.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and Rudder
Tuesday, February 18, 2003 2:33 PM CST
We traveled to Mountain Lake yesterday to visit cousins. Thankfully, all went well. Last night, Alex and I went to Bailey's birthday party while Oliver stayed home with his nurse Mona. Oliver had a rough night but seems to have rebounded rather quickly. Over the course of the last week he has had four episodes of fever with respiratory complications. Thankfully, all of them have resolved without more serious complications. He is doing well today but still has that troublesome cough. Hopefully, he will be completely rid of his cough very soon.
Please say a prayer for our neice, Kirsten, as she is back in the hospital for possible shunt failure. This is her third hospitalization in the last three weeks.
Thanks for checking in on us.
Lisa : )
Sunday, February 16, 2003 1:25 PM CST
Praise the Lord! Oliver is doing extremely well today. A little coughing this morning but nothing since then. It looks like we will be going to Mountain Lake to visit the Adrians. Then we will be celebrating Bailey's 3rd birthday . . . at his home and not in the hospital. Thank you to all who prayed for Oliver.
Lisa : )
Friday, February 14, 2003 7:00 PM CST
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
I spoke too soon again! We were all set to go to our homeschool valentines party, when Oliver started having some respiratory trouble. He ended up staying home with his nurse while Alex and I attended the party. When we returned home, Oliver's condition had become slightly worse. His saturations were lower than normal, his heart rate higher and he had a temp of 102. He also seems to be having some gastrointestinal stuff going on. He has been sleeping since mid afternoon. Now we will just have to wait and see if things are going to get better or worse. At this point, he is not at risk of needing hospitalization. We would appreciate any prayers on his behalf. Thanks.
Lisa : )
Thursday, February 13, 2003 9:03 AM CST
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!
Oliver seems to be slowly getting over this cold. He still has lots of coughing but it continues to be the more benign upper airway stuff. He is still getting treatments every 3 hours while awake. These treatments seem to be helping prevent any complications. He is begging to go to school today as it is their valentines party. He worked very hard on stamping his valentines and wants to give them to his friends at school. I am waiting for a call from the school nurse before I make any final decisions.
At this point, I would venture to say that Oliver should get through this cold without any major complications. Perhaps, this will be the year that Oliver IS NOT hospitalized on February 17th (his cousin Bailey's birthday). If he is well enough, we will be traveling to Mountain Lake to pick up his cousin Scott's old standing frame. We are praying for a full and complete recovery by the 17th!!
Thank you to all who have been lifting Oliver in prayer to our Gracious Loving Father.
Lisa : )
12:45 PM Update - Oliver is doing well enough to go to school. He is very excited about his party this afternoon!
Wednesday, February 12, 2003 10:11 AM CST
Perhaps I spoke (or wrote) too soon! Oliver spiked a fever last night. Thankfully the fever is gone but he continues to have lots of secretions and coughing. It doesn't sound like anything has settled into his chest. His respiratory therapist will be out this morning to give him a treatment and hopefully confirm that Oliver is still dealing with just upper airway secretions. Oliver will probably be wearing his bi-pap most of the day, hopefully to stave off any further advancement of the secretions. Please continue to lift Oliver in prayer to our Heavenly Father. Thank you for checking in on us.
God Bless.
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver
Tueday, February 11, 2003 5:27 PM CST
Thank you to all who have prayed. Your prayers are working. Oliver seems to be almost completely over whatever he had. He does still have some coughing but nothing that is too troubling. We are praying that God will continue to bring him through this cold without any complications. Hopefully, he will be well enough to go to school on Thursday for his Valentines Party. Then Friday, both boys, Mary Ann (Oliver's nurse) and I will be going to a Valentines party with a homeschool group.
Lisa : )
Monday, February 10, 2003 12:54 AM CST
Hi All! Thanks for checking in on us.
Oliver could use some extra prayers. He has developed a cold. Thankfully, so far he seems to be holding his own. He definitely has a cough but it appears to be a post nasal cough rather than a bronchial cough. His respiratory therapist will be here this afternoon, so hopefully he can confirn that nothing has settled in his chest. His heart rate is slightly elevated but his oxygen saturations have been very good. We are praying for another cold that Oliver handles without any complications. Thank you for your prayers. They are making a difference.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and Rudder
Wednesday, February 5, 2003 9:20 AM CST
Praise God! Everyone is staying healthy!
Oliver continues to enjoy going to school two days a week. Despite all the "stuff" going around, he has thankfully not caught any bugs. It has been almost one full year since he has been in the hospital or had any major complications with colds. We are so very, very thankful for that.
Alex is doing great in school. He is also involved in Boy Scouts and will soon be starting wrestling. Last weekend he finished 4th in the Scouts Pinewood Derby. He will be going to district races in early April. He is already starting to plan his car for next year!!
Our neice, Kirsten, is having some trouble with her shunt functioning properly. She will be having surgery tomorrow. Also, our friend, Mary Kate (18 months old with SMA) is in the hospital very sick with RSV. Please keep these two precious children in your prayers.
Thank you for checking in on our family. We appreciate each and every note and prayer.
God Bless.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver & Rudder
Thursday, January 09, 2003 at 08:46 AM (CST)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
May you have a healthy and prosperous 2003!
Praise God! Oliver and Alex continued to stay healthy through out the holidays. The boys had a wonderful Christmas . . . plenty of fun with their cousins and lots of new things to fill their next year with entertainment.
Rudder has done extremely well too. He's even been a few all day hunting trips without any problems. Hopefully he will continue to stay well. We are hoping to add another addition to our family in April some time. We will be getting another Vizsla from Mike and Beth (Piper's breeders), provided everything goes well with the breeding!
Thanks for checking in on Alex and Oliver. God Bless.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and Rudder
Tuesday, December 24, 2002 at 11:23 AM (CST)
MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!
We are overjoyed that we are all healthy and will be celebrating the birth of Jesus together as a family!!
Oliver continues to stay healthy despite being in pre-school two days a week. He is loving going to school and playing with all the other children.
Alex is still homeschooling and doing extremely well with his studies. His favorite past time is playing with his buddy Scott. He is also involved with Boy Scouts and is enjoying that too.
Lance and I are just thankful that everyone is staying healthy and are looking forward to a New Year, hopefully filled with happy and healthy times!!
Rudder is doing extremely well despite his heart condition. He has even been hunting with Lance on a few occasions and has done well. We are hoping, if all goes well, to be bringing home a new puppy sometime in April!
Wishing everyone a Joyous Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and Rudder.
Wednesday, November 27, 2002 at 04:39 PM (CST)
Praise the Lord! We have so, so much for which to be thankful! We are all together and healthy. For what more can we ask?
HAPPY THANKSGIVING & MAY GOD BLESS YOU ABUNDANTLY WITH HIS GRACIOUS GIFTS OF LOVE.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver & Rudder
P.S. Oliver's school picture uploaded.
Wednesday, November 20, 2002 at 07:40 AM (CST)
Praise God, everyone seems to be healthy right now! Oliver is completely over his cold and Alex's never developed very much. Lance is still in some pain but hopefully will be starting to see some relief from the pain. He saw the doctor yesterday and was told that he has a pulled muscle which is spasming. She gave him some pain killers and muscle relaxers to get him through the worst of if. Our biggest concern is that there is no permanent damage.
The best news of all is that our little niece, Kirsten Faith, was born on Sunday November 17th. She is doing very well and so are mom and dad. If you want to read more about her, you can visit her caringbridge webpage (see link below).
Thanks for checking in on us and may God Bless you.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver & Rudder-the-puppy!
Saturday, November 16, 2002 at 09:17 PM (CST)
Lance is still feeling the effects of the accident. Hopefully he will be feeling back to normal very soon.
Oliver seems be getting another cold or the one he had never really went away. He is coughing quite a bit more today and has some diminished breath sounds in his lower lungs. We have him on bi-pap to hopefully help head off a more serious complication. Alex has the cold too but doesn't seem too affected by it, which is very nice. Many times illness can really throw off blood sugars. At least we are not dealing with that right now. Hopefully we will all be healthy and back to our normal selves very soon.
Thanks for checking in on us.
Lisa : )
P.S. There are new pictures of Halloween and of Lance's truck.
Tuesday, November 12, 2002 at 07:24 PM (CST)
Oliver seems to be recovering very well from his upper respiratory infection. It seems that he is out of the woods once again . . . his third cold this year without any major complications. Hopefully this will continue and he will continue to stay relatively healthy throughout the winter months.
Lance had a single car roll over accident in his truck this morning. Thankfully, he is just a bit sore and cut up but has no serious injury and no one else was hurt either. It stinks to be without an extra vehicle but we are so, so very thankful that Lance is okay.
Thanks for checking on us. May God bless you richly in this upcoming season of thanks. Happy Thanksgiving!
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and Rudder!
Monday, November 11, 2002 at 10:34 AM (CST)
Oliver had a rough night with lots of coughing, lower than normal saturations and fever. Thankfully this morning he seems to be feeling much better. He still has a low grade fever and few sniffles and coughs but his lungs sound clear. Hopefully, this will be the peak of the symptoms and he will be on the road to recovery. Thanks for checking in on us.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Ollie & Rudder-the-puppy
Sunday, November 10, 2002 at 11:19 AM (CST)
Thankfully, I am feeling a lot better today . . . not 100% but much much better than yesterday. As for Oliver, it appears to be a cold rather than aspiration pneumonia which is good news. He has been coughing quite a bit and has a runny nose. The last two times he had colds, he didn't develop any major complications. We are praying for the same with this cold. So far, Alex and Lance seem to be clear of all infection but I won't feel completely out of the woods for at least a few days. Thanks for checking in on us. God Bless.
Lisa (Lance, Alex, Oliver and Rudder too!)
Saturday, November 09, 2002 at 07:18 PM (CST)
Oliver seemed to be doing much better earlier today. I on the other hand caught the bug he had. Alex spent the day at Scott’s so hopefully he won’t get this. Marcia came over to give me a hand with Oliver while I rested. Later this afternoon, Oliver spiked a 103 temp with a slight cough. I figure he either picked up a cold bug or aspirated when he vomited this morning. Hopefully, Oliver just has a mild cold and will breeze through it like he has the last two. Unfortunately, with me being so miserable and Oliver not feeling too well, Lance had to come home early from deer hunting. Please pray for protection for Alex and a full a rapid recovery for Oliver (and me too!)
Lisa
Friday, November 08, 2002 at 09:10 AM (CST)
Praise God, Oliver is feeling much better today. When we asked him if his tummy felt better he responded, “I’m not sick anymore. I’m healthy!” His fever broke early this morning and he tolerated his Pedialyte throughout the night. We have switched him over to a half strength formula and hopefully he will tolerate that well. He still has some pretty nasty diarrhea but he his staying hydrated. Now our big prayer is that Alex doesn’t get this!!
All our love,
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and Rudder-the-puppy
Thursday, November 07, 2002 at 05:39 PM (CST)
All good things must come to end . . . or so the saying goes! Oliver has contracted a stomach virus that has been giving him trouble. He started with a gaggy tummy this morning. By noon, he had a 102 fever and was feeling all over miserable. We are keeping him hydrated with Pedialyte, which he seems to be tolerating fairly well. Hopefully, he will get through this stomach bug without too much trouble. Our biggest concern will be keeping him hydrated. Please pray for a full and rapid recovery.
Thanks,
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and Rudder-the-puppy!
Friday, November 01, 2002 at 07:39 AM (CST)
FALL HAS BEEN WONDERFUL! I'm almost afraid to say how good it has been for fear of jinxing ourselves. Both boys have had very healthy and happy falls. Oliver is still loving preschool. Yesterday there was a Fall Festival party at his preschool. Alex and I were able to see his classroom and get an idea of what his day is like. I think Alex had as much fun as Oliver did. It is wonderful to see how the other kids interact with Oliver.
Halloween was a ton of fun for all of us despite the cold, cold weather. Alex, Oliver and Rudder all dressed up as knights in shining armor. I will get some photos uploaded as soon as I get the film back. Lance took all the boys (including Alex's best friend, Scott) and the dog trick or treating while I stayed home to pass out candy. When one of our neighbors came to the door with his children, he said that Oliver had a big old happy grin on his face. He was loving it. Funny part of the whole trick or treating thing is that neither boy can really eat too much candy. The main thing is they had a great time going. Rumor has it that Oliver was saying: "Trick or treat, smell my feet, gimme something good to eat . . . " (Thanks Alex for teaching him that!). Thankfully, with his sweet soft voice, no one probably actually heard it!
Hope everyone is having a fabulous fall! Our thanks to you for your thoughts and prayers.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and Rudder-the-puppy!
Monday, October 14, 2002 at 04:19 PM (CDT)
We have test results back on all of Rudder's titers . . . all negative. We are waiting on a culture for Bartonella (a tick borne disease linked in some cases to heart damage in dogs). It is unlikely that the culture will come back positive as the titer for it came back negative. In any case, it seems we are back to square one . . . assuming that Rudder has acquired progressive heart disease. Funny thing is that one would never know he was sick by his looks and puppy behavior. Our hope is that the disease is slowly progressive and we can enjoy him longer. Lance plans on hunting him and letting him do all his puppy things. We figure he isn't going to be happy if he can't be a puppy. We love him dearly but want most of all to give him a good life, however long or short that time may be.
The rest of us are doing well. Hopefully the cold and flu season will stay at bay. I had a scare with a lump in my breast last week that turned out to be a benign cyst (Praise God). Other than that we are trying to stay out of trouble.
Thanks to all who check in on us and pray for us. We appreciate you very much.
Lisa and the boys! : )
Thursday, October 03, 2002 at 04:37 PM (CDT)
Praise the Lord! Oliver seems to have beaten his cold without any major problems!! Perhaps this is a good sign that he is getting stronger and will handle colds better. We certainly hope so!
We have a bit more info about Rudder. His Lyme Disease test came back elevated, which may indicate that the damage to his heart has been caused by Lyme Disease (or some other tick borne disease). They drew more blood to hopefully determine if this is the cause of his heart problems. The vet did start him on antibiotics, so if it is Lyme or something else tick borne, we should start seeing some improvement. If in fact it is Lyme (or something else), we are not sure of the extent of permanent damage but at least have the hope that the condition will not progress. Hopefully, we will have some test results by next week sometime.
Hope everyone is having a fabulous fall and enjoying the beautiful change of colors. God Bless.
Lance, Lisa, Alex,Oliver and Rudder!
Saturday, September 28, 2002 at 08:44 PM (CDT)
Thankfully, Oliver is doing well. We think in retrospect that Oliver probably didn't have aspiration pneumonia but the start of a cold. So far he has handled the cold very well. Hopefully, with Oliver's standard sick protocol (vest treatments, in-exsuffalator and nebs every 4 hours) we will hold this cold at bay. We're hoping he is well enough to go back to school on Tuesday. He loves going and hates having to miss any school.
Lisa : )
Thursday, September 26, 2002 at 08:29 PM (CDT)
It's been a very busy day! We spent the morning at the U of M Small Animal Hospital with Rudder's cardiologist. We learned that his condition is likely progressive and there is little we can do in the way of surgery. The only slightly promising news was that Rudder's heart rate appears to be more normal (100 vs. 50). There is still fluid on his lungs and the upper (sinus) node of the heart isn't working, so the doctor didn't seem overly optimistic. We will continue with his medication and see what happens over the course of time.
This afternoon we received a call from the school to come get Oliver as he had a fever. He had vomited this morning due to being constipated and must have aspirated some of it. We spent the evening at the doctor's office getting x-rays and medicine to hopefully keep things in check. He seems to be a bit peppier than he was earlier in the day but that may be due in part to the medicine we gave him to reduce his fever. We will have to wait and see what happens over the next few days. Please pray that the antibiotics will kick in and keep him from getting worse.
Thanks again for checking in on our family, we are truly blessed to have you as part of our lives. God Bless.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Ollie and Rudder : )
Saturday, September 21, 2002 at 08:38 PM (CDT)
Our family is facing yet another challenge . . . Rudder collapsed yesterday morning. Lance took him to the U of M Vet Hospital where he was diagnosed with a serious heart condition (persistent atrial standstill). We are devastated and in a state shock. There are difficult decisions we need to make. Basically, Rudder's pacemaker portion of his heart doesn't work at all. If the condition is not progressive, an artificial pace maker could give him a "more normal" life. However, the Cardiologist has never seen this condition in a puppy and doesn't know what the typical outcome is. If the condition is degenerative, an artificial pace maker will only extend his life for a few years. If we only provide medication, his life expectancy is probably less than a year. We want to make decisions that are the best for our family and Rudder. At this point, we have not made any decision and are awaiting more information from the doctors. This has been especially hard on our family after just loosing Piper in January. We would appreciate any and all prayers on our behalf.
Wednesday, September 18, 2002 at 05:15 PM (CDT)
Praise God! Things are going very well for our family. Oliver is LOVING school and riding on the school bus. I will post pictures as soon as we get them. He is quite the social butterfly. His best buddy so far is a little girl named Brittany. His teachers say that he is very outgoing and is making lots of friends. We continue to pray for protection from colds, as fall can be a very bad time of the year for illness. We are very glad he is having this opportunity. He is also enjoying his hippotherapy. We go every Friday for an hour until it gets too cold. On a semi-positive note, our insurance will approve a manual standing dani but not a powered one. We are hoping the appeal the decision. Even if he only gets a manual standing dani, the benefits will be good. However, it would be even more beneficial if he had powered mobility.
Alex is doing very well with his homeschooling. He is a hard worker and is making good progress. His favorite day of the week is Wednesday when he participates in a homeschool physical education program at the local YMCA. It is 55 minutes of gym time and 55 minutes of pool time. He is also playing fall rec league soccer and enjoying it. On Thursday night we are going to learn more about Cub Scouts. It is pretty likely that he will be joining but we need to learn all the details.
We thank you, our friends and family, for the wonderful support you've given us. Thanks for checking in on the boys. God Bless.
Lisa : )
Friday, August 30, 2002 at 04:36 PM (CDT)
It's official . . . summer is over! We are looking toward the school year. Alex will begin homeschooling in the second grade. The big news is that Oliver will be attending preschool on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. This was all a big change of plans for us. We had no intentions of sending him to pre-school. Then all of a sudden one day in August, Oliver tells me he really wants to ride the bus and go to preschool. So, after much thought, we decided to send him to school for September, October and November, then pull him out for the viral season (Dec, Jan, Feb and March). If things go well he will be going back for April and May. He is sooooo excited about school. He will be in an integrated class of 16 students (4 of whom receive some sort of special education). The bus will come out the house and drop him off after school. On Tuesdays, his nurse Mary Ann will go with him and on Thursdays, his new PCA, Jackie, will go.
Hopefully, Oliver will also be starting hippotherapy (nope . . . it's not riding hippo's . . . it's horse riding therapy). We are still in the process of ironing out some final issues but it looks like he will be starting next Friday. He is very excited about this new therapy. On a sad note, his "favorite" PCA, Andrea, has gone away to school. He is missing her but I think he will be so busy with his new schedule it will help the transition to a new aide.
Alex's endoscopy went well. He recovered extremely well and had no problems with the procedure or the anesthesia. We got the wonderful news today that his test results came back NORMAL! We are so very happy. He still continues to have some trouble with stomach pain. It isn't unusual for some kids with diabetes to have trouble with stomach pain for no discernable reason. The good news is that, as far as we can tell, he has no additional health issues.
Alex is playing fall soccer and really enjoying it. In addition to his homeschooling, he will be taking some outside art classes and a YMCA physical education class. He has also expressed some interest in joining Cub Scouts. I have a feeling we are going to be a very very busy family!
We are looking forward to a fun and productive school year and pray God's blessing on you. Thanks for stopping to check in on the boys.
Lisa : )
Monday, August 12, 2002 at 03:51 PM (CDT)
So much for having a relaxed and slower paced summer . . . we have been going at whirl wind speed since early June . . . and school is starting in just a few short weeks.
Things continue to go very well for Oliver. He visited the orthopedic surgeon this morning who confirmed that his spine and hips continue to remain stable. Thankfully, Oliver only has a very slight curve 18 degrees in his lower spine and 10 degrees in his upper spine. His hips, while partially dislocated, remain pain free. Overall it was a very good visit. He will be participating in a double blind drug test for SMA starting next week. The drug isn't extremely promising but the researchers hope to gain insight on other drugs and their effects during this study. Prayers for Oliver would be continued improvement in his physical strength and protection from respiratory viruses.
Alex is handling his diabetes extremely well. He is still in his honeymoon stage and is requiring little insulin. He continues to have abdominal pain and will be undergoing an EGD - esophagogastroduodenoscopy - on August 26th to determine the cause. They will be using a general anesthesia so the procedure will be performed at Children's Hospital OR. He is quite anxious about the procedure and could use prayer. He is happily away at diabetes camp today . . . I'm hoping to hear a wonderful report when he gets home this evening. We will begin homeschooling (2nd grade) starting on September 3rd. He is excited about some subjects but less so some others. I am excited about the curriculum we will be using this year and hope he will be too.
Our newest addition, Rudder, has been a super easy puppy. He house-trained quite easily and is fitting nicely into our family. He is a very friendly dog and listens well. The boys are especially happy to have a puppy back in the house.
Hope everyone is having a great summer . . . thanks for checking in on us.
Lisa : )
Sunday, July 21, 2002 at 04:58 PM (CDT)
Hi All!
Our newest addition to our family came home with us on July 6th! Rudder is what we decided to name our new little Vizsla puppy. He has been a wonderful and easy going dog and is fitting in extremely well with our family. It has been great having a happy little puppy in our house again after a very long 6 months without one.
Both boys are staying healthy and enjoying the summer and all it's activities. Mom on the other hand is just getting plain ol' wore out. We have been quite busy with school, the SMA fundraiser events, playing with the new puppy and next week we will be going to vacation Bible school.
On a less happy note, our brother and sister-in-law, Jaret and Melissa, recently found out that the baby girl (Kirsten Faith) they are expecting in December has spina bifida. They would appreciate any and all prayers on their behalf.
Thanks for checking in on our family and God Bless.
Lisa : )
Tuesday, July 02, 2002 at 07:01 PM (CDT)
All is well in the Huston household. We recently returned from a trip to Chicago (Schaumburg) for the Families of SMA annual conference. We all had a wonderful time. The boys had a ball playing with the kids in childcare while we attended some informative (and some not so informative) sessions. Oliver loved being around so many other kids in wheelchairs. He was especially fond of a little girl named Annie who had a wheelchair similiar to his as well as a "tubey" (aka feeding tube).
One very useful thing from the conference was Oliver getting the opportunity to try out a "Standing Dani" a wheelchair power drive type standing frame (see photos). Now we are working on getting one! We'll see what the insurance company says. It would be a wonderful way to get Oliver to do more standing.
Alex spent every last moment in child care playing or watching Sega or Ninetendo or whatever it was. That is really his thing! Thankfully we don't have one in our home or I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to get him to eat!!
We had the opportunity to meet many new friends as well as catch up with some old ones. It is always a rewarding time of learning, laughing, crying and sharing. We certainly enjoyed our trip to Schaumburg.
Right now we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our newest family member (little blue puppy!). He will officially be part of our family this Friday. Hopefully he will do well in the car ride home. I am sure we will have some stories to tell in the very near future. We are so looking forward to having the joy of a puppy in our house after loosing our beloved Piper in what seems like so long ago.
Thanks for checking in on our family.
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver
Friday, June 07, 2002 at 04:18 PM (CDT)
Oliver's Make-A-Wish trip was WONDERFUL! The Make-A-Wish Team did a super job of making lasting memories for Oliver and our family.
Tuesday: At 7:45 am a wheelchair accessible van picked us up to go to the airport. When we arrived, Timmy from MAW was there to help us with our bags. The staff at Northwest Airlines were extremely helpful in getting us great seating (bulk head) and helping us get on the plane. They took extra special care of Oliver's wheelchair. The pilot let the boys watch him do his check list and answered all their questions. The boys loved flying (I loved landing!). When we arrived in Columbus the pilot let the boys sit in the pilot and co-pilot seats for pictures wearing a captains hat. Two more wonderful ladies from MAW, Sophia and Betsy, met us at the baggage claim with a basket of gifts, tickets for meals, movies, and a museum. They helped us with our baggage and got us to our wheelchair accessible rental van. We headed off to our Suite at the Sheraton Suites. After getting all checked in we went for a dip in the pool. After swimming when headed out to dinner at Red Robbin for dinner. Then we went to the theater to see Star Wars (again!). Finally we arrived back at the hotel very late and very tired!
Wednesday! The day Oliver gets to meet Jack Hanna. We meet Jean from MAW in the hotel lobby. We follow her to the Columbus Zoo Corporate Office. We arrive early and wait in the lobby. We were awfully surprised when Jack Hanna came into the lobby. Oliver's expression was priceless. He was so excited to meet Jack. He definitely had perma-grin. Jack gave the boys autographed photos and books and a movie. Then he let us snap several pictures of him, Oliver and our family. His promotion department took several photos and promised to send us some. Jack was wonderfully personable and made Oliver and our family feel extra special. After photos, we all (Jack included) headed over to their promotions building, where we met Julie Hanna (Jack's daughter) who was to be our tour guide for the day. Jack visited a bit longer and then Julie took over. She brought our several animals (Sibet, Clouded Leopard baby, armadillo, baby snake, wallaby and a few more) for Oliver (and the rest of us) to hold and pet. It was wonderfully fun for all of us. After the promotion building, we walked to the lunch area at the zoo where lunch was waiting for us. Jack and Julie had lunch with us, making sure all of us had plenty to eat. Lots of people came up to meet Jack. He was cordial and friendly to all of them. After lunch Jack said his good byes (kissing Oliver on the forehead). Then Julie gave us personal behind the scene tours of several animal cages: the new baby gorilla, a koala, giraffes, black rhinos and manatees. We all went back to the hotel tired but definitely very happy with our experience. It was definitely a day we will all remember and cherish forever.
Thursday: After getting everything packed up for our trip home, we headed off to COSI, an interactive science museum. We spent the afternoon playing with many of the hands on activies. We raced virtual bobsleds, tinkered with physics, played in a "submarine" . . . Mom even rode a unicycle on a high wire 17 feet in the air!! We loved COSI and could have spent several afternoons there. After the museum we headed back to the airport. Once again the staff at NWA were wonderful helping us get everything situated. We finally arrived home about 9:30pm Thursday night!
We have so many people to thank for the fabulous gift they've given to Oliver and our family. We are so thankful!!
Tuesday, May 28, 2002 at 08:34 AM (CDT)
We had a wonderful Memorial Weekend. Saturday we drove to Deepwater, Missouri to see the litter of puppies from which our newest family member will come. The boys did great on the 8 hour drive down and were quite excited to see 8 wiggling squrming puppies. We will be bringing home our new puppy 4th of July weekend.
The boys continue to stay healthy. Pray for protection for them from the viral infection that I have . . . We have so much planned in the next month or so: Oliver getting to meet Jack Hanna, the SMA Conference, Alex's 7th birthday and preparing for the new puppy. Summer surely will go by too fast! We are looking forward to warm days in the sun.
Lisa : )
Thursday, May 23, 2002 at 04:27 PM (CDT)
Thankfully no pneumonia developed with Oliver's last aspiration. Right now both he and Alex are healthy. We are praying they stay that way as we are hoping to make Oliver's wish to meet Jack Hanna come true. We are somewhat concerned because Lance has a nasty head cold . . . please pray for protection from this cold so that we don't need to reschedule Oliver's wish again.
God Bless.
Lisa : )
Thursday, May 16, 2002 at 02:10 PM (CDT)
Oliver seems to be doing much better today. No fever which is a huge answer to prayer. Our pediatrician said if he gets through tonight without fever he is probably out of the woods concerning developing pneumonia. Thanks to all for your prayers.
God Bless.
Lisa : )
Wednesday, May 15, 2002 at 08:39 AM (CDT)
Please say an extra prayer for Oliver today. This morning when I went into check on him his heartrate was 160 (normal when sleeping is about 80 to 100). I assumed he'd contracted strep from Auntie Colleen but when I went to feel his head (to check for fever) I realized he'd vomitted. With the high heart rate it is likely that he did aspirate some of it. He seems to be doing better now. We will be going to the doctor for an x-ray to see if he did in fact aspirate any of it. If he did, we will begin him on a course of antibiotics. Last time this happened he ended up in ER with 105 fever and a 6 day hospital stay.
Thanks for your prayers.
3:30 pm
We are home from the doctors. Oliver's xray showed a small area of collapse along the spine. The doctor started him on steriods (prednisilone), bd's 4 times daily and bi-pap. We also have a script for an antibiotic should he develop a bacterial pneumonia (like he did last time) with this aspiration. He is sleeping quietly now with his bi-pap and seems to be doing quite well. Lets pray he continues to stay that way. Thanks again for your prayers.
Lisa : )
Tuesday, May 07, 2002 at 01:17 PM (CDT)
We did it! Lance and I actually got away for a little more than a day!
MANY, MANY, MANY THANKS TO AUNTIE COLLEEN . . . who took good care of both Alex and Oliver while we were away.
Our weekend was a very nice break from our daily schedule. We had the opportunity to eat three meals without having to get up at least a half dozen times . . . the opportunity to get a good nights sleep . . . the opportunity to spend some time just relaxing . . . the opportunity to meet some other parents whose kids live with special needs.
Anyhow, our family is doing well. All of us are healthy and hope to stay that way as we have a very busy summer planned.
Thanks for checking in on us.
Love,
Lisa : )
Thursday, April 25, 2002 at 06:38 AM (CDT)
Well Spring is upon us . . . hopefully the weather will turn warm once again so we can get back outside! Thankfully, both Alex and Oliver are doing well right now.
Alex has truly handled his diabetes with maturity and courage. For a short while, his insulin injections were becoming quite upsetting for him. He told me several times he didn't want to eat because then he wouldn't need to take his insulin. Thankfully, we purchased an "Inject Ease" insulin injector. It is a device that holds the insulin need in place and injects the needle with the push of a button. We still need to push the plunger on the needle to inject the insulin. Alex tells me this device doesn't hurt as much. He even does the injection himself. I still need to "pinch an inch of skin" for him. I imagine it won't be long and he'll be doing the injections all by himself. Anyhow, he is doing well.
Oliver continues to stay healthy. He does have some problems with his feet becoming more deformed. We were to the orthotist (the brace maker) yesterday to have his AFO's (braces he uses to stand in his frame) adjusted. He was very concerned about the change in Oliver's feet. (The good news is the orthotist thought Oliver knee contractures were much better). He believes that if we don't do some aggressive stretching Oliver's feet will continue to progress to the point where standing in his standing frame will become painful. We will be talking to the school PT (physical therapist) and the pediatrician about getting some more PT to hopefully correct this problem. The orthotist thought that it may be possible to reverse the condition enough to maintain standing if we get on top of right away. I guess this is why we go to see the doctors and specialist every 6 months. I hadn't noticed the change in his feet but had noticed a lot more complaining when Oliver was in his standing frame. Other than his feet, Oliver continues to stay very healthy. Please pray for continued protection from colds and flu.
We recently heard from Make-A-Wish regarding Oliver's wish to meet Jack Hanna. It sounds like the trip to Columbus, Ohio may be happening sometime in the next two months. We asked Oliver earlier this spring if he would rather meet Jack Hanna or do something else like go to Disney World and he still continues to wish to meet Jack. So we have that to look forward to.
We are expecting our new puppy to be born in the next few weeks. Hopefully if everything goes well we should have a new Vizsla puppy by the end of June. The boys are very very excited about getting the new puppy.
Well thats our life in a nut shell. Thank you to all who have so faithfully called, sent notes and prayed for our family. We truly appreciate each of you.
God Bless.
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver : )
Monday, April 15, 2002 at 02:32 PM (CDT)
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HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OLIVER! I'M SO PROUD OF MY SPECIAL BIG 4 YEAR OLD!
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Saturday, April 06, 2002 at 04:15 PM (CST)
Happy Spring! Our family is so looking forward to the warmer days of spring!! So we can get out of the house!! We are all doing well. Alex and Oliver both have colds but neither have had any complications with it.
We are adjusting to Alex's diabetes regimen. We are eating on a much more regular basis and probably healthier. Now I just need to work on the exercise portion of getting healthy. Alex seems to be handling everything very well. He decided one day last week that he was going to do his finger poke and check his blood sugars. I was so proud that he took this on of his own initiative. Hope everyone is doing well. Have a wonderful Spring! God Bless.
Lisa : )
Thursday, March 28, 2002 at 07:07 PM (CST)
We are approaching the one week mark since Alex was diagnosed with diabetes. Thankfully, we have already learned a lot of what we need to help Alex be healthy and successful. Alex's blood sugars jump around quite a bit, as is to be expected with type 1. I am amazed how well Alex is handling all the finger sticks and injections. He has been somewhat moody lately . . . but that is to be expected. This is a very big change for a kid who really never had many limitations on his eating habits. I was never one to force him to eat if he wasn't hungry or not let him eat if he was. Anyhow, I guess we'll all be eating a little healthier now.
We are looking forward to this Easter weekend and focusing on the wonderful sacrifice Christ gave so that we could look beyond our earthly situations and toward our true heavenly home. Our prayer is for a blessed Easter for you.
Lisa : )
Monday, March 25, 2002 at 09:18 AM (CST)
Hooray! We are home from the hospital. We arrived home yesterday afternoon. After dinner, Lance and Alex went skiing. Alex's doctor thought it would be great to get back to life as usual as soon as possible. Our life will certainly be more structured than it has been in the past. I recall telling Alex's friend's mom that I would be a bad mother to a child with diabetes because we never eat at the same time. Well, in the scheme of things . . . adusting our meal times isn't that big of a deal. Alex seems to be adjusting to things well . . . thanks likely in large part to his friend Scott. Thanks to all who visited, called, emailed or prayed. We truly appreciate each and everyone one of you.
Lisa : )
Friday, March 22, 2002 at 08:33 PM (CST)
Oliver is doing great! However . . . (and lately it seems there is always a however) . . . Alex was diagnosed with type 1 (Juvenille) diabetes last night. He will be in the hospital until Sunday while we learn yet another medical issue.
Some of you may know that Alex's very best friend, Scott, has diabetes. Thankfully, due to the knowledge we have of this condition, we caught Alex's diabetes before he was really sick. He had many of the classic signs of high blood sugar: frequent urination, excessive thirst and hunger, weight loss, and just recently vague stomach pain. Thankfully, this is a condition, that while is there is no cure, it is treatable.
Please pray for patience as we struggle to handle the ups and downs of diabetes.
Thank you and God Bless,
Lisa : )
Thursday, March 21, 2002 at 10:40 AM (CST)
Praise the Lord . . . Oliver seems to be completely recovered from his cold. We are so thankful that it never moved to his chest. He actually handled the cold better than me.
Things are going well with his feeding issues. His tube site looks great. We are about halfway through switching over from intestinal feedings to gastric feedings. Once he is completely switched over we can change his tube back to a smaller and easier to use Mic-key button. All of us involved in caring for him can hardly wait for this to happen. Also, there is less likelyhood of problems with the tube site, so he'll definitely be better off.
Thank you again for your prayers and for checking in on our family.
God Bless.
Lisa : )
P.S. A young boy whose sister has SMA is raising money to help find a cure for SMA by having people sponsor paper cranes. He is selling them for $5 a piece. He hopes to hang 1000 of them at the FSMA conference in June. If anyone would be interested in "sponsoring" a paper crane in Oliver's honor, please email me and I can email you a form. Thanks!
Tuesday, March 19, 2002 at 07:14 AM (CST)
Oliver has caught my cold but seems to just have some head congestion. My cold which started as a head cold has progressed from my head to my chest. Please pray that Oliver's cold will not move to his chest. Thank you and God Bless.
Lisa : )
Friday, March 15, 2002 at 09:31 AM (CST)
Praise the Lord! Oliver's tube site looks so much better and he's not having pain anymore.
Please pray for protection for Oliver from the cold that I have. Lance will be out of town on business next week. Our van will be in the shop (I crunched it in a parking lot a week ago) for the week. So I'm praying that Oliver will not get this cold. It would be really hard to have him sick without any transportation. If things got bad, I could use my mother-in-law's car. So please pray for protection for him.
Thank you and God Bless.
Lisa : )
Wednesday, March 13, 2002 at 09:13 AM (CST)
Oliver went to Gillette clinic yesterday to have his tube site evaluated. Thankfully, they didn't think he would be needing antibiotics unless there was no improvement in the next few days. They taped his tube in such a way that it prevented it from causing irritation yet allowed it air to heal. This morning it looks so much better . . . less red and a lot less drainage. Hopefully he is well on the road to healing. Today will be the first day since Saturday off of the codeine. Now we just need to get him switched over from intestinal feedings to stomach feedings so we can change his tube back to a Mickey button. Thank you to all who have been praying. God Bless.
Lisa : )
Monday, March 11, 2002 at 07:21 AM (CST)
Thankfully Oliver is feeling much better since starting on the tylenol with codeine. I was expecting him to be pretty out of it when he took it but it doesn't seem to make him drowsy. He just feels a lot better. His tube site seems to be healing very slowly. He may be started on antibiotics today to keep it from becoming seriously infected. At least he is not is pain all the time. Thank you to all who have been praying for healing and comfort.
God Bless,
Lisa : )
Saturday, March 09, 2002 at 12:52 PM (CST)
Oliver had a very rough night with his feeding tube. He was up crying in pain a good portion of the night. This morning the tube site was weeping and gunky but after getting it cleaned up it didn't look too bad. I called the doctor because Oliver was in so much pain. Thankfully, she prescribed tylenol with codeine to hopefully ease the pain somewhat. I did cauterize the site again and will have to do it tonight and probably tomorrow. Hopefully we will start seeing some improvement in the next few days. Thank you again to all who check in on Oliver and pray so faithfully for him and our family. God Bless.
Lisa : )
Friday, March 08, 2002 at 06:44 PM (CST)
The past day or so Oliver's tube site has been very painful. Every time we move him or the tube even slightly he screams out in pain. We took Oliver to the doctor today to have his tube site cauterized with silver nitrate. Oliver cried and cried the entire time we were "dealing" with his tube. I may have to cauterize the tube site tomorrow at home myself if it looks like it has been bleeding at all. I am really hoping I can avoid that. Hopefully we can get his tube site healing and back to "normal' soon. Please pray for rapid healing and no pain. Thank you for checking in on Oliver.
Lisa : )
Thursday, March 07, 2002 at 01:46 PM (CST)
Thankfully, so far nothing "serious" has come of Oliver's apparent sniffles. Hopefully this will pass quickly and without complication.
He is still dealing with problems with his feeding tube. The skin around the hole grew attached to the tube. I had to "disconnect" the skin or the problem would continue to get worse and worse. It has been very painful for him since I did this. We have an appointment tomorrow to have the doctor cauterize the area with silver nitrate. Hopefully after that it will be less painful. Now if we even slightly move his feeding tube he cries out in pain. Unfortunately, we do have to "move" his tube three times a day to prevent further regrowth to the tube. We do use a numbing gel but it only helps a little bit. Hopefully we can get this resolved soon.
God Bless to All!
Lisa : )
Wednesday, March 06, 2002 at 08:07 AM (CST)
Oliver seems to be over his last respiratory "episode", however over the last couple of days he has had a runny nose. No coughing but now this morning he doesn't want to take off his bi-pap. I'm hoping it's just because he doesn't want to get out of bed.
Also we have been having trouble with his feeding tube growing attached to the stoma (hole) in his abdomen so he has had a lot of pain with that. Last night I had to use lydocaine (numbing) jelly and then twist and pull the tube to get it detached from his skin. We never had any trouble with his other feeding tube so we are really looking forward to getting back the old tube type. It is a slow going procedure. We have to make sure that he is tolerating his feeds through his stomach before we prematurely pull out his tube into his intestine. It will probably be at least another month or more before we can get back to "normal".
On a positive note, we are probably be going to get more nursing hours. Our nurse manager at the nursing agency contacted our County case manager to discuss getting more nursing. So far it sounds like there should be no problem. So hopefully we will be getting more nursing (but less PCA hours) soon!
Hope everyone is doing well. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers.
Lisa : )
Friday, March 01, 2002 at 01:47 PM (CST)
Hooray! Oliver's chest x-ray showed improvement. It is not "perfect" but is much better. Enough so that he doesn't need to stay on bi-pap through the day or have vest & neb treatments through the night. He only has one more day of prednisilone and a week of vest/neb treatments every four hours.
We are starting to work on getting his feedings back to his gastric (stomach) port instead of his jejunal (intestine) port. This may take several weeks but hopefully he can get back to his little mickey button (about the size of a nickel) instead of his j tube which is about 8 inches long and has 3 big ports on it. Also then he won't need to be on continual feeds like he is now. It will give him a lot more freedom from his feeding pump.
Hopefully he can make it through the rest of the respiratory season without any more colds. Thank you again to all who prayed for us. God Bless.
Lisa : )
Monday, February 25, 2002 at 01:13 PM (CST)
Oliver continues to improve every day. He had a very good weekend. We were sure when he visited the doctor today for an x-ray he would get a good report. However, despite how well he appears to be doing he still has an area of collaspe in his lower left lobe. He will continue using bi-pap most of the day and getting vest and neb treatments every 4 hours around the clock. The doctor is also continuing his prednisilone. This will be the longest Oliver has been on prednisilone since he was hospitalized with RSV. There are some risks involved with longer use of prednisilone so we were hoping to get him off it soon. Please continue to keep Oliver lifted in prayer. Thank you to all who have called, visited, brought meals or prayed. We appreciate you.
Lisa
Friday February 22, 2002 9:13 AM CST
We made it HOME yesterday afternoon!! We were hoping to be discharged in the morning but the x-ray machine wasn't working properly so we had a delay in getting his chest x-ray done. The chest x-ray showed no improvement but he seems to be doing well clinically. Thankfully they did discharge him because we have some home nursing set up. We will continue to do bi-pap most of the day with some breaks and vest and neb treatments every 4 hours round the clock. If I schedule his treatments at 10 pm, 2 am and 6 am I only have to get up once during the night. He has not be desaturating at night and has been sleeping well so I haven't been getting up multiple times at night. So that is a very good thing. We go in Monday to see his pediatrican for a follow up chest x-ray. Hopefully we will start seeing some improvement by then.
Thank you to all who called, emailed, visited or prayed for Oliver and our family. We appreciate each and every one of you and your support.
God Bless.
Lisa :)
Wednesday February 20, 2002 6:37 PM CST
The plan is for Oliver to be discharged tomorrow barring him having any setbacks. Which I don't anticipate happening. The only thing I would be concerned about is him picking up something here at the hospital but we have been pretty good with keeping him away from other kids.
Oliver will still need nursing cares at home but hopefully only for a few days to a week. It will be a lot of work but less stressful on our family than him being hospitalized. Thankfully we should have help on Thursday and Friday. The discharge planner is working on getting help over the weekend but I am not holding my breath.
Hopefully my next update will be from home. Thank you again to all who have been praying for Oliver. God Bless.
Lisa : )
Wednesday February 20, 2002 6:19 AM CST
Oliver is doing well. We may or may not be going home today. It all depends on what his chest x-ray looks like. Our pediatrician would like to see at least some improvement in his atlectasis before he is discharged. He is maintaining saturations over 94 but he is definitely not back to his normal levels. He doesn't really want to have his bi-pap off which probably indicates that there is still a good area of collapse. I figure they must be expecting us to stay because they moved us from a semi-private room to a private room because they expected to fill the other half of the room we were in.
One thing is for certain . . . Oliver is in good spirits. He has the staff in stitches most of the time. A lot of the staff come in through out the day just to say hi to him.
Thanks to all for your prayers. God Bless.
Lisa
Monday February 18, 2002 9:36 PM CST
I finally got my computer down to the hospital! Anyhow, here is more detailed info on Oliver. Last Wednesday Oliver vomitted due to air in his tummy from his bi-pap (machine that helps him breath at night). We went to the doctor on Wednesday. He was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia and started on an antibiotic and 24 hour bi-pap. Thursday he became ill with cough and about 102 fever. Friday continued much like Thursday except fevers were around 103. Saturday morning he awoke with a 105 fever. After a quick call to the doctor we headed off to Children's ER for admission. He was started on IV antibiotics for the infection. His chest x-ray showed pneumonia and atlectasis. Within 24 hours of starting IV antibiotics, his fever was reduced to a low grade fever. Within 48 hours he was without fever. It appears that his pneumonia has cleared up but the atlectasis remains. The doctor would like Oliver to stay in until Wednesday to get some aggressive respiratory treatments to hopefully get over the atelectasis. Provided he doesn't have any set backs we should be home Wednesday. Our doc ordered 8 hours nursing each day for a week after discharge. The problem now is getting nurses to actually work. Hopefully, our nursing agency can work something out. Thank you to all for your continued prayers.
Lisa : )
Friday February 15, 2002 6:08 AM CST
Lisa called today to have me update you all on Oliver. He had a chest xray today and he has atelectasis of the lower left lobe. His fever is gone! He was able to be off bi-pap for a few hours today, but was put back on after the chest xray. Hopefully they will discharge him on Wednesday. Keep The Huston's in your prayers.
God Bless!
Colleen Ü
Wednesday February 13, 2002 11:44 PM CST
Unfortunately the thing we feared worst has happened. Oliver did in fact aspirate some of his vomit this morning. We went to the doctor to discuss his vomiting this afternoon. The doctor noticed that he had some diminished breath sounds and ordered an x-ray. The x-ray confirmed that he did in fact have a small area of pneumonia in his upper right lobe. Next we went to Children's Hospital in St. Paul to have his g-tube replaced with a g-j tube (which is basically a tube that goes through the hole in his abdomen into his stomach and then into his jejuneum which is part of his intestine). The reason for this type of feeding tube is that he can't vomit food once it is in the intestine. The bad thing about this feeding tube is that he needs have very slow feedings lasting about 20 hours a day. So he won't have the freedom from his feeding pump. However, it is important that we keep him from aspirating again. We aren't sure how long this will last but hope eventually to make the move back to a "normal" g-tube. The good news in this all is when they did a barium study it appeared that his Nissen was functioning fairly well. So it is unlikely at this point that he would need to have surgery to repair that. However we are still dealing with lots of air in his tummy and his pneumonia. He seems to be doing pretty well with his pneumonia. He is holding his oxygen saturations about 96 which is good. His temperature and heart rate are pretty high but that is not that big of an issue right now. We appreciate all the prayers that have been said on Oliver's behalf and ask for your continued support. God Bless.
Lisa
Wednesday February 13, 2002 7:59 AM CST
At the peak of cold and flu season, Oliver has continued to stay healthy. That is definitely an answer to prayer!! He has had some issues with vomiting at night the past few weeks. The Nissen surgery he had two years ago to prevent him from vomiting seems to be failing. It is pretty common for this to happen over time. Hopefully the vomiting will resolve itself and we won't need to consider re-doing the surgery. Our biggest fear is that he would aspirate (inhale) vomit which can cause a real nasty case of pneumonia. Thankfully so far he seems to be protecting his airway pretty well. Last night he had a very bad vomiting spell and had difficulty recovering from it. I was fearful that he had aspirated because his heart rate was much higher than normal and his oxygen saturations were lower. However, after a few hours he seems to be back to his base line.
Thank you again for your continued prayers for Oliver. Each and everyone of you are a blessing to our family. Thank you.
Tuesday February 5, 2002 4:38 PM CST
Another praise! Oliver saw Dr. Koop, his orthopedic surgeon today and everything looked good. We know that eventually Oliver will need to have spinal surgery but right now he just has a minor curve. Thankfully, there was minimal curvature over the last 6 months. We are so very thankful for every little bit of good news. So many parents of SMA children never get the opportunity to see their child reach even a first birthday. Sadly, in the last two weeks, two beautiful babies both 6 months old with SMA have gone home to the Lord. We are thankful that Oliver is approaching his 4TH birthday so soon and is doing so well. Thank you for your prayers . . . they are working . . . Oliver continues to stay healthy and cold free.
Tuesday February 5, 2002 4:38 PM CST
Another praise! Oliver saw Dr. Koop, his orthopedic surgeon today and everything looked good. We know that eventually Oliver will need to have spinal surgery but right now he just has a minor curve. Thankfully, there was minimal curvature over the last 6 months. We are so very thankful for every little bit of good news. So many parents of SMA children never get the opportunity to see their child reach even a first birthday. Sadly, in the last two weeks, two beautiful children with SMA have gone home to the Lord. We are thankful that Oliver is approaching his 4TH birthday so soon and is doing so well. Thank you for your prayers . . . they are working . . . Oliver continues to stay healthy and cold free.
Wednesday January 23, 2002 9:02 AM CST
Praise the Lord . . . Oliver has stayed healthy for over a month! We were a bit concerned when he was sick at least every 4 weeks starting in September. We also began questioning the wisdom of keeping the boys out of so many worthwhile things like Sunday School and Adventure Clubs. It seemed the boys were getting sick as much as the other kids. But now hopefully we are seeing the rewards of keeping them from large groups of children. Please continue to pray for protection from cold and flu bugs . . . hopefully we can have a quiet rest of the winter.
God Bless.
Lisa
Wednesday January 16, 2002 9:57 PM CST
Well it has been over a week without Piper. Our house has certainly been quiet. In this tragedy we are reminded just how precious and fragile life is. We hug our kids a little more, tend not to let the little things become worrisome, tell our family we love them more often, become just a little more patient . . . yes, as difficult as life can be . . . it is precious and worth living and loving.
Oliver continues to stay healthy and we praise the Lord for that. Our time with him and Alex (for all our loved ones) is so very precious to us. God Bless!
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver
Saturday, January 12, 2002 at 03:33 PM (CST)
Oliver continues to stay healthy . . . praise the Lord. We are finally seeming to come to terms with the tragic loss of Piper. We're hoping to get a new Vizsla puppy as soon as possible but it may be a while as they are not easy to come by. In the mean time we'll be trying to get on with our lives. Thank you to all who emailed or called with their care and concern. Our wonderful friends and family are a source of strength and joy for us. God Bless.
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver
Wednesday, January 09, 2002 at 06:17 AM (CST)
Oliver is doing well but we lost our beloved Piper. She fell through the ice while Lance was out walking her last night. We miss her terribly . . . our family seems so incomplete. Please pray for Lance, the boys and me as we adjust to our family without her.
Lisa
Tuesday, January 08, 2002 at 03:30 PM (CST)
Oliver continues to remain healthy and happy. Thank you again for your prayer.
We were able to take a visit to the Mall of America and the zoo this past weekend. He had a great time seeing the dolphins at the zoo and taking a few rides at Camp Snoopy.
I've uploaded some new photos.
Happy New Year and God Bless!
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver
Wednesday, January 02, 2002 at 04:34 PM (CST)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We were so fortunate to have Oliver (and all of our friends and family) healthy for all 3 of our Christmas celebrations. We are so very thankful for the opportunity to spend time without having to worry about Oliver getting sick.
Have a wonderful and prosperous New Year . . . we continue to pray for an end to SMA . . . perhaps 2002 will bring this wonderful news! God Bless.
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver
Wednesday, December 26, 2001 at 07:59 AM (CST)
PRAISE GOD! Oliver had a wonderful HEALTHY Christmas! Despite having a slight fever last week and a runny nose . . . nothing else has developed. I guess if you have to get a cold . . . this one isn't so bad. Alex and Oliver enjoyed all the Christmas festivities and . . . of course . . . all the gifts!
We are so thankful to all our family and friends who have prayed so faithfully for our family and Oliver's health. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Have a WONDERFUL NEW YEAR and GOD BLESS!
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver : )
Thursday, December 20, 2001 at 11:52 AM (CST)
Praise the Lord!
Oliver seems to finally be completely recovered from his cold. Today will be his first day off bi-pap. Hopefully, we will all stay healthy through the holidays (and into the new year). Thank you to all who have prayed . . . God Bless you and have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver
Tuesday, December 18, 2001 at 08:32 AM (CST)
Thank you to all who have prayed for Oliver . . . he had a very good day AND night! The doctor wants us to continue with 24 hour bi-pap with short (1/2 to 1 hour) breaks only and respiratory treatments every 4 hours (but not at night - yeah!) until all cold symptoms are gone. Hopefully, he will be completely off bi-pap and all the extra treatments by Christmas.
Have a blessed Christmas!
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver : )
Monday, December 17, 2001 at 09:25 AM (CST)
Thanks to all who have been praying for Oliver. Yesterday (Sunday) we went into urgent care for a chest x-ray which showed some infiltrates but no large areas of atlectasis or pneumonia. He had a good day with sats 96+ all day. Through the night he had a decrease in saturations which has continued through into the morning. His saturations are now sitting around 92 to 95. He seems to be dealing with a lot of mucus and secretions with lots of coughing. He keeps complaining of being tired (after sleeping 14 hours last night). Oliver's respiratory therapist will be here around noon to check him out. Hopefully this will be a minor set back and he'll bounce back quickly. At this point I'm not too concerned about hospitalization but fear if he continues to deteriorate it is a very real posibillity. I will keep updating as best as possible (both of Oliver's PCA are not working today . . . one is sick and one has finals . . . so that means I have Oliver, Alex and the dog all day by myself . . . and I haven't had more than 2 hours of solid sleep since Friday). Thanks!
Lisa :)
Sunday, December 16, 2001 at 06:53 AM (CST)
It appears that Oliver has picked up a different bug that is causing him to be sick. His saturations are lower than normal (92-95) and his heart rate is higher than normal (150-190) but his temp is normal. Again his lower left lung sounds like it is collapsing. He did have a bout of vomiting this morning even with his nissen. Hopefully he didn't aspirate anything. We're still trying to figure what is going on. Since this appears to be a "new" illness, we probably have at least another 4 to 5 days of continuous bi-pap and respiratory treatments every 4 hours around the clock. Please continue to pray for Oliver's quick recovery . . . we're really hoping he is completely healthy by Christmas.
Thanks!
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Oliver
Saturday, December 15, 2001 at 05:11 PM (CST)
Perhaps we counted our chickens before they hatched . . . Oliver has had a slight set back. After being off bi-pap most of Friday and early Saturday, his lower lung seems to be collapsing again. He still has a lot of coughing. Hopefully with aggressive respiratory treatments and bi-pap, he will continue to do well enough to avoid the hospital. Please continue praying. Thanks!
Lance, Lisa, Alex and Ollie : )
Friday, December 14, 2001 at 04:25 PM (CST)
Praise God Oliver is doing great. He has been off bi-pap all day without problem. This has been very atypical for Oliver when he is sick. We are so thankful for his rapid recovery from this cold. Thanks to all for praying.
Lisa : )
Thursday, December 13, 2001 at 09:57 AM (CST)
Oliver continues to do well. He is slightly more congested today. He still has a small area of diminished breath sounds in his lower left lobe of his lung. It is likely that he has a small patch of atlectasis (lung collapse). His saturations have been very good. He continues to be on 24 hour bi-pap and respiratory treatments every 4 hours round the clock. If things continue on this course he should be back to full health before Christmas.
Lisa : )
Wednesday, December 12, 2001 at 11:18 AM (CST)
Thankfully Oliver continues to do well. He still seems to have some cold symptoms but right now that is all it is . . . just a cold. He continues to use 24 hour Bi-Pap and respiratory treatments every 4 hours around the clock. Thank you to all who have been praying for Oliver and for all the encouraging guest book messages.
Lisa : )
Tuesday, December 11, 2001 at 02:41 PM (CST)
Praise God! Oliver has made a remarkable turn for the better. He always seems to do better during the day but typically it is not as markedly improved as it has been today. We are praying for a quick and full recovery with no set backs. Thank you to all who have been praying for Oliver.
Lisa : )
Tuesday, December 11, 2001 at 07:26 AM (CST)
Oliver took a turn for the worse last night. His fever returned, his breathing became very labored and his oxygen saturations were low enough that I started him on some oxygen. Guessing the doc will want us to bring him in for a look today. Please keep Oliver in your prayers.
Lisa
Saturday, December 08, 2001 at 01:20 PM (CST)
Oliver awoke this morning with a little cough. Unfortunately, this turned into a cough with fever. We have started Oliver on his normal "sick" protocol. He will be on 24 hour bi-pap until he is feeling well. Hopefully with a good jump on this cold we can prevent a hospital stay. Please keep him in your prayers.
Lance, Lisa, Alex, Oliver and last but not least Piper!
Saturday, December 08, 2001 at 12:56 PM (CST)
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