Hi everyone!
I know it's been forever since the last blog post. Seems like I say that on every post. Time flies these days, and before I know it it's been months. Unfortunately for you, I have been horrible about taking pictures. :( But we'll throw what I do have out there and fill in the blanks in between. It's been a pretty busy few months with fishing, crabbing, and school starting.
8.28.12
Anthony kicking things off with a chinook and silver salmon. He has become quite the fisherman, and almost always comes home with something, and it's usually either the most fish or the most impressive fish. Some people think he's lucky. I think having a dad that takes him river fishing every year since boyhood has greatly helped. He has been the guy in charge of the fishing station the last few years at scout camp. It may not be river fishing, but he sure impresses everyone with his knowledge and mad fishing skills. He is a sophomore this year at Warrenton High School and is a Warrenton Warrior on the wrestling team. It may be kicking his butt, but as a girl who had brothers on the wrestling team, I think thats what its supposed to do. He seems to really enjoy it.
9.4.12
Here we have the always adorable Christopher. There we were just looking around Dollar tree, when a 'doughboy' walked right in front of us. I said, 'Hey, you are a WWII Doughboy!' He looked at me in surprise and replied, 'Well yes I am. How did you know that?' I told him I had a brother who was a big fan of WWII. To that he asked if either of the little kids wanted to get their picture on his motorcycle. Tyler was too shy, but Chris didn't mind. That's the kind of place we live in. :)
9.5.12
Here we have the very excited Tyler on his first day of Kindergarten! He was so excited to start school this year, and is really enjoying learning his sounds and has already read several words to me on various signs and whatnot, by sounding them out. He loves borrowing books from class and from the library. He is in Mrs. Bonneau's class, whom he likes very much. A kid named Anthony is his best friend, but Mikey and Brady are kind of mean to him. He would like to play with Carli sometime because she is 'smart, and nice', but he doesn't want people to make fun of him for playing with a girl. I told him to play with whoever he wants, and let people say what they want. He is a sensitive lad, and it's so sad for society to already begin the peer pressure and stereotyping. I'm in big trouble for the next few years, I think.
9.7.12
No pictures of this guy yet, but I became an Aunt again on September 7th! Wow! Congrats to Luke and Liz and I can't wait to meet my strapping nephew Dietrich! Miss my buddy Finn too. Also, Anthony turned 15 on the 7th! Wow, I'm so old that family is starting to double up birthdays. Just kidding, but how cool is it that my step-son and nephew now share this day!?
9.25.12
I don't have any pictures of this guy either, and I didn't think I should steal them, Round 2 for 2012 Auntie-ness on September 25th. Congrats to Paul and Sabrina, and welcome to my handsome new nephew C. G. Mitchell! Can't wait to meet you buddy!
9.30.12
Here we have a freshly pulled pot of Dungeness crab. For those of you who don't know, in his spare time, my husband is a fisherman/crabber with mad skills.
9.30.12
Freshly cooked crab, waiting to be frozen and will be devoured at our annual Crab Feed, which is in it's 8th year! Wow! Didn't get many pictures from the actual feed. I'm always busy visiting and playing. Plus Joey and his girlfriend Chanel came this year and we all took the kids and snuck off to the beach! :) It was a beautiful day. It couldn't have been nicer. We had a ton of fun, with only minimal drama. That's pretty good, considering that about as many people come to this annually as came to our wedding!
10.6.12
Speaking of weddings, Rob's cousin Jordan married his girlfriend in October. It was the most fun wedding ever! They both looked great, and I loved the colors, plus Marisa had sunflowers which I LOVE. They asked Christopher to be the ring bearer. He did okay, but I have to say the flower girl was the cutest and stole the show, that's hard to do going up against Chris. I had to keep an eye on her though, as she was crushing on Tyler the whole day. :) The wedding was perfect, no rain and lot's of laughs and tears. Me, being the emotional bag of tears I am, was mopping up mascara before the groom even came down the isle. They had a Pastor marry them who has known them both since birth. How special is that?? They also exchanged their vows, which were so so sweet, especially after I have spent numerous years getting to know them and seeing their ups and downs. The food, music, and decorations were great, but the Best man's speech was the highlight of the reception. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the first dance together. I love these two kid's and congratulate them on their marriage and wish them all the best.
Tyler's Kindergarten photo School year '12-'13 age 5. I let him pic his own shirt, and we practiced smiling. Compared to my kindergarten photo in which I am frowning, I thought this was pretty cute. Boy was I glad I liked it especially since a few days later he and 'Brayden' cut a patch of their hair down to the scalp direct front and center. No retakes for him.
So, that wraps up the pictures, and the recap of the last few months.
Now we'll move on to Christopher's cardiology check-up. He had his 6 month check up this month. It was an okay checkup. He was a peach the whole time which was good. We popped in Curious George and he was glued. He is 'sensing' 99% of the time, which just means he isn't using his pacemaker. =) We were told that the report will never be 100% sensing. Though he'll have to have it's battery replaced when he's 8 or 9.
His heart function is good. Same leakage as always on the tricuspid valve. BP good, and oxygen levels good. Happy with his growth.
However, there is an area on his aorta that has increased velocity. It is my understanding that this means there is a coarctation or a possible obstruction. Based on the slowly increasing velocity of blood through the 'new' aorta, Dr. Chang feels that it is likely that the scar tissue has built up in that area. In his words, HLHS hearts need no obstructions, or free flowing blood. (We all do, but it's more critical in Chris's situation.) Increased velocity means that the heart is working harder to pump blood through this area, that in turn can increase blood pressure or cause more leakage on his valve.
An echo is a fairly unreliable way to view the heart. It gives the cardiologist a rough idea of how his heart is functioning. The echo based with his O2 sats, and overall color and growth are really what the cardiologist uses to make any changed to medications, and see how far out he wants the next visit to be.
To get actual pictures of the inside of the heart, Christopher will undergo a cardiac catheterization. If the area that is narrowed needs to be widened he will have an angioplasty. Dr. Chang said the need for a stent is unlikely but they need an internal picture of the new aorta to know for sure.
They will also look for collaterals during the catheterization. Remember, collaterals are blood vessels that have formed since surgery, that take away from normal blood flow. Collaterals cannot be seen on ultrasound unless they are very large. If any are seen during catheterization, Dr. Keizer (Cardiologist who will be doing the catheterization) will place a 'coil' on the vessel which will stop blood flow to that vessel.
We are told that most children with a serious CHD have had several catheterizations since diagnosis. We are lucky that Chris hasn't had to have one yet. Still, it is always alarming when you again, have to hand your child over. Looking at him, it is hard for me to accept that he needs this procedure. I trust the cardiologists at Emmanuel and know that they need to have the best possible pictures of Chris's heart to give him the best treatment.
I worry some days that he is starting to tire out more quickly. Or am I imagining it, or is it just that anyone would be tired after doing what he does in a day!!? Of course we always worry about when the next surgery will be and how it will go.
His cardiac catheterization is scheduled for December 7th. We appreciate all the prayers and thoughts our family has received on behalf of little Chris. Please keep him and us in your prayers as we anxiously await this test. It's results will likely tell us when his next heart surgery will be.
We love you all and we hope that you are enjoying the fall colors wherever you may be!
