about CaringBridge  |  home page  |  view guestbook  |  view photos  |  journal history  |  make a tribute donation

Click here to go back to the main page.

Sunday, March 16, 2008 10:17 PM CDT

HE SKATED!!! Our Bear roller skated today!! Who would have ever thought?! And he loved it.

God is good!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008 9:43 PM CST

Today Brian and I took Matt to see a new Developmental pediatrician, Dr. Moore. Our former specialist had moved on to another clinic that is out of our insurance network. Janet has been Matt's autism specialist for 4 years, and we will really miss her. She has a quiet and gentle personality, and Matt loved her. I wish her the best in her new job!

I think we're going to like Dr. Moore, too. He had some fresh ideas to try with Matt to improve his conversational speech. Matt's receptive and expressive language has become so much better in the last year, but he still struggles to stay on one subject.

Dr. Moore told us we were doing a great job with Matt which was really good to hear, because we do have those days where we wonder if we're doing everything possible, and doing everything right. Matt weighed 60 lbs and he's 4 feet tall today ~ our kid is a brute! LOL

He encouraged us to look into horseback riding therapy. Matt is extremely active and jumps up and down a lot - it's been bitterly cold out lately so he hasn't been able to play outside and work some of that energy off. We have one of those little jogging trampolines in the house, but he can't bounce high enough. Horseback riding would give Matt the continuous bouncing motion that he seeks out all the time. There's a riding stable just north of us that I'm going to check into tomorrow. Brian and I go horseback riding up on the North Shore, so this might be something fun for our family to do!

That's about all for today! It's late and we're all going to bed. Thank you for your continued prayers! We see and feel the work of God around Matthew.

Saturday, March 1, 2008 8:17 AM CST

Hello everybody!

Thank you to those who have been coming to see Matthew's site! It makes me feel so good that so many people care about him. I love reading the guestbook entries, too, and I look forward to the day when Matt can read them on his own. And I know that day will come.

Monday, August 21, 2006 12:33 AM CDT

Hello!

It's been a long time, hasn't it? I'm sorry about that, I've kind of gotten out of journaling for awhile. I decided to do an update while we're at Gillette waiting for Matt's appointment ~ we've been waiting for 45 minutes, and you know how ot goes ~ as soon as you get busy doing something, they'll call your name! I've been on for 5 minutes and it hasn't happened yet.

I wonder if they forgot about us out here? Waiting is my biggest pet peeve!

Well, a lot has happened since the last time I updated.

There..see? They called Matt's name. Brian's bringing him back, I better follow!

More later!

Sunday, February 5, 2006 5:48 PM CST

Aw, shoot
I went down to feed Matt's little goldfish this morning, and found him belly up.

I gave the goldfish to Matt for Valentine's Day when he was 3, right around the time we were pretty sure he had autism and were just waiting for our appointment for the school system to do the testing. He watched the fish for a few minutes, and then didn't want anything to do with it. Guess that pretty much confirmed my suspicions of the diagnosis, didn't it? LOL

About a year after that, after he had seen Finding Nemo(which he loved), we got an 80 gallon salt water aquarium with many of the fish you see in Nemo, even that shrimp, Jacque. We even named our shrimp Jacque! Matt loves that fish tank! He just never liked the goldfish, so I ended up keeping Goldie in my office.

I have no idea what happened, because he was fine last night, he's not extremely old for a goldfish, and the cat doesn't look guilty.

Well, I'm logging off, Matt wants to have a whistling match and I have to make dinner. Chili tonight.

Tuesday, January 31, 2006 6:23 PM CST

Not much going on today, and I'll take a boring day! Matt finally had his first day of Sunday school last Sunday and he loved it! I'll post some photos as soon as I get them downloaded. He got his own little box of offering envelopes. We'll give him $1 every Sunday to put in his envelope. Then he'll get a receipt from the church for taxes.

Just kidding, I'm sure it'll go on our receipt.

Everybody is well here now and recovered from the flu. Daddy and Matt built a snowman after school today, I'll have to get a picture of it tomorrow. The last snowman melted already! You never know in Minnesota, it can be 40 one day and 20 and snowing the next, so you build snowmen while you get the chance!

The neighbor kids on the next block had a snow/ice sculpture in their yard this year ~ I can't even mention what it was on here. I'll just say it was giant and looked "phallic". And, no, I'm very sure it wasn't meant to be a snowman. At first we thought it was funny until we had to drive by it every day to get to the freeway.

Music therapy tonight, so I better run! Thanks for all your prayers and we really love the guest book messages! Keep 'em coming!!

Ann

Saturday, January 28, 2006 12:31 AM CST

How do you like the new border? Ugh. It pretty much represents how everyone has been feeling around here for the last week and a half. Matt got the stomach bug first, probably from another kid in school, and he missed his first day of Sunday school and a couple days at PIE. Then I got it and missed some work and my second sewing class. Now Brian has it. We were wondering when something would sneak up on us since we were all healthy last fall. I lost 6 pounds through it all (wheee!!), but I'll probably gain it back next week.

So, I have to get this house back in order, because I can't think straight in this mess! And it WILL take the entire weekend, and I'm also scheduled to work for Buffalo for 8 hours. Thank God I work from home, what a blessing that is. I want so badly to cut down my hours!! I can't now, though, because we're changing to a new medical record system at Mercy that involves a lot of training, and we're going to need all the help we can get to keep caught up with coding. Even vacations are being put on hold until late summer. Besides, we need a new roof and something is wrong with our water softener. And our fridge still sounds like a spaceship ready to take off. Somethins is always breaking in this house, and it all takes money, doesn't it?? We have friends with brand new homes with problems, too ~ it doesn't matter how old or new your home is, there's always something to fix!

We took Matt to the dentist on Thursday. He decided to just do the x-rays, cleaning, etc under general anesthesia since it would be less traumatic for him. We agreed, although, anesthesia still makes me nervous. So all he did on Thursday was count Matt's teeth and give him a new toothbrush and toothpaste! And told us we were doing a great job taking care of his teeth! Matt really liked this guy, so we're off to a good start. His appointment is for April 20, and he needs a physical that same week. It works out great, because Matt needs his 6 year check up right around then anyway. My baby will be 6!! Where does the time go??

Well, I have to get moving. Should I wake Brian up or let him sleep?

Matt's at grandma and grandpa's today, so I'm going to make good use of my time while I have it!!

Ann

Sunday, January 22, 2006 0:02 AM CST

Well, it's been crazy busy here!! Kind of a good and not-so-good mixture of busy! I'll soon be writing a long update to catch you up on how Halloween and the Holidays went, and everything in between.

As for the the past week, Matt has been doing really well down at PIE. We've been driving him back and forth quite a bit lately because of the transportation company having staffing shortages, but I always enjoy driving Matt down. I'll grab a bunch of CD's and off we go! He loves any kind of music, so he listens to anything I put in the player. Sometimes I'll sing to him part of the way down. He always tells me "Sing Mommy!". The best thing about it is it gives me another hour with him each day!

Matt has been sick since Friday though, he started throwing up (sorry!) on Thursday night, so I was up all night with him, and kept him home on Friday. He just ran a low grade temp of 100.4, but he couldn't keep his medication down, including tylenol, so I kept a close eye on him all day. No seizures though!!! I put in a call to Dr. Burstein (neuro), and the nurse didn't seem too concerned
about the missed doses. By last night he was able to take his night dose, and he's now caught up and bouncing off the walls! I wish I bounced back that fast after being sick. I always feel like I need rehab at a nursing home after having the flu.

He starts Sunday School tomorrow! Another big milestone! We've already met his teachers and saw his classroom, and they're really excited to have him in the class. So the only person left to please is Matt!! lol He'll be fine. The first few times might be tough, but Brian and I will up in church, so we can always take turns checking on him.

We saw Dr. Burstein last Tuesday, and that went very well. He's really happy with Matt's progress, and Matt didn't fuss at all with the exam. We're keeping Matt on his current dose of Trileptal (6cc's 3x/d) and Keppra (4cc's 2x/d). Then we'll see Dr. B in another 3 months ~ if Matt is seizure
free, then we'll decrease the Trileptal. Which makes me nervous. We've done this before with another med, and he had a seizure a few days later.

I didn't tell you why we started the Keppra. About 2 months ago, Matt had an appointment with Dr. Burstein, and true to form, had a seizure a few days afterwards. It was an awful seizure, one of the worst he's ever had. It scared the hell out of me. It was about 6:30am, Brian was already at work, so we were alone. I woke up, and Matt was laying beside me, and he was curled up in a fetal position, and I couldn't bend him AT ALL. I was trying to get him to lay on his side, but he wouldn't "unfold", so he would only lay on his back. I had no idea how long it had been going on, because it had obviously started before I had woken up. What I know is that 10 minutes had passed from the time I glanced at the clock and the time he started coming out of it. Typically his seizures last about 3 to 5 minutes. I had the Valium ready, the phone in my hand....his skin was pasty white and he was blue around the lips, this also scared me. He usually maintains his color well. Within an hour he was fine, up and watching Spongebob.

So, the usual protocol, I called the Peds neuro office and talked to Tracy, she talked to Dr. Burstein, and he recommended Keppra to use in addition to Trileptal. Which I'm not fond of because it can cause liver problems, but he gets blood draws to check his LFT's. So far, so good! I worry so much because he had liver failure as a newborn, but Dr. B assured us that was over and done with. Let's hope so. Matt's already gone through enough.

Well, it's late and we have early church tomorrow. I'll take lots of pics of first day at Sunday School!!

Sweet Dreams,

Ann

Sunday, January 15, 2006 2:34 PM CST

Hi everybody! Please hang tight, I'm working on updating Matt's site with new pictures, graphics, etc! Keep checking back!

Ann

Tuesday, October 18, 2005 7:16 PM CDT

I have to get back into regular journaling, I've been slipping up lately! Matt is doing new things every day and I have to write about it so I don't forget!!

Matt and Daddy are at music therapy tonight, well Matt is ~ hopefully Daddy is grocery shopping. I just got in from putting the recycling down at the end of the driveway. We cut up a ton of boxes last weekend that have been sitting in our garage, is that ever a lot of work!! We've been doing a lot of yard work and getting the house and cars ready for winter. This is stuff we love to do together, and Matt has a great time running around outside while we work! It was beautiful out today, around 75 degrees, very warm for a Minnesota October! We could use a few more days like this! We raked the entire front yard, too ~ and wouldn't you know, just like every year, I strained the muscle between my neck and right shoulder. I do this every single year, I will never learn. I get going on raking, and we have so many leaves ~ I don't feel the pain until the next morning.

Matt had his 6 month check up today with Dr. Burstein, his neurologist. We always look forward to seeing him, because he's the kind of Dr. who just makes you feel like everything is going to be okay when you're at a point when you're about to tear your hair out. Matt has been having seizures again. The last one was last Friday, on the way to school. Linda was driving him, and he was napping in his car seat. His seizures always occur during sleep, and about 5 or 6 in the morning. The only difference in this one is that it happened at about 8:45 am.

So Lily, the lady who owns the transportation company who drives Matt to PIE, called me, and told me that Linda was stopped at the side of the road about 2 miles from PIE. I told her to just have Linda drive him the rest of the way to PIE once the seizure was over. I felt AWFUL for Linda having to go through that ~ I have to remind myself to type up instructions for the drivers to follow in case he has a seizure. I never even thought he would have a seizure in their van, because they typically occur very early in the morning.

Anyway, Linda handled it very well, she took him the rest of the way to PIE, and I went down and got him. He slept the rest of the day and was fine by late afternoon. Dr. Burstein decided to change his Trileptal dosage from 8 mg twice a day to 6 mg 3 times a day, so he will be getting a more consistent dose throughout the day. Today he said if this dosage doesn't knock these seizures out, we'll up the dosage one more time. After that, we can switch to Keppra, which may cause Matt to have a behavior change. This would not be good ~ he is so sweet and good natured!! If not Keppra, then Depakote. Both are good drugs. Oh, yeah, Keppra can cause liver failure. Great ~ he has already had liver failure from loss of blood flow at birth, so right away I asked Dr. Burstein about that, and he said not to worry ~ whatever Matt's liver went through then is over and done with, there would be no risk with the Keppra now. Still, I'd be nervous.

I asked him about seizures and flying, because I'm planning on taking a trip to Norway next year, and taking Matt with me. He says that of course there's a risk of him having a seizure on route, but just take the Diazepam with. Once we get to Leif and Elsa's, there's a hospital nearby. It's just the 9 hour flight that I'm worried about. Anybody out there have any experience with flying with a child with Epilepsy? Feel free to email me! :)

Everything is going well!! Did I tell you we finally dumped that lemon of a truck?? LOL!! Yes, we traded in the old box for a white 2004 Grand Am, and we LOVE it!!! The only thing I miss is the built in thermometer and the extra hauling space. Other than that, the $1500 car repair bills we had been getting every 6 months for the last 2 years, the $5000 engine in 2002, the knocking in the engine ~ let the dealership figure it out!! We're happy with monthly car payments and a SAFE car!! :)

Well, back to the garage!

Prayers are needed for Jacob again, he had to go into the hospital and needed surgery ~ www.caringbridge.org/fl/jacob

Please pray that he gets yet ANOTHER miracle!!

Love,

Ann

Sunday, October 2, 2005 11:47 AM CDT

Hello everyone!

It's been a long time, I know. I'm so behind on my journaling, and I have lots to tell!! Matt is doing great! He is still going to Partners in Excellence (aka PIE) and is now being prepared to transition into kindergarten next year. So he'll be spending 1/2 day in kindergarten and 1/2 at PIE. He's loving the group stuff - circle time, singing, learning about the weather, days of the week, etc. They are teaching the kids how to take turns raising hands, lining up, everything you need to know as a kindergartner. He's doing super!!! He's also lost his first 2 teeth on the middle bottom - we have no idea where they went to, he probably swallowed them in his sleep. :(

He's still in music therapy, and he's doing so well that Vicki video taped him to use in her presentation! He has learned the names of many instruments - most of which I've never even heard of! He loves going to music therapy and does real well. When he's a little older we'll start him on piano lessons.

My mom just got back from a 2 week vacation in Norway, she loved it! We have relatives in Norway, they come here to visit us too. I've been there once, in 1995, and I really want to go back next year. I would definitely take Matt with! So I think I'll get going on our passports since it takes a while to get them back.

Has anyone been keeping up with our little friend Jacob? I mentioned him in my last journal entry. He is a little miracle man!! Go see!! www.caringbridge.org/fl/jacob

Well, gotta get going! I promised Matt we would put up Halloween decorations today! He's pretty excited!!

Love,

Ann

Thursday, August 25, 2005 11:29 PM CDT

I know it's been 2 months since my last update, but things are much better here, Matt is doing fine. In fact, he just lost his first baby tooth last night.

But right now, I ask you all to please go visit our little friend, Jacob's, website, and lift this precious little guy and his family up high in prayer. Like a little warrior, Jacob has fought cancer since he was 3 years old (he's now 5). Two days ago, after a rough 3 weeks of trying a last resort treatment to save Jacob's life, they received the most devastating news that they only have a few days left with their precious son and brother.

http://www2.caringbridge.org/fl/jacob/

Love and prayers,

Ann

Sunday, June 19, 2005 11:07 AM CDT

Well, it's been a very trying last few weeks. I'm writing this in tears.

I often wonder if Matt will ever get better. I don't know what to do anymore. He spits constantly, we don't know why. He throws toys around the house, to the point where he's put holes in the walls. Yesterday he deliberately threw a soccer ball into my mom's face. And he's very strong, so we have a hard time restraining him. My sister mentioned putting him into a home. How can I do that??? He's 5!!

And I'm still feeling responsible for this whole mess, and not being more aggressive with my OB when I was trying to tell him about not feeling Matt move as much during the last 2 weeks during my pregnancy. I know now that there was more I could have done.

Well, I'll write more later. Matt won't let me have a minute to myself and Brian is sleeping (of course).

Thanks for the ear...

Ann

Monday, May 23, 2005 6:55 PM CDT

Matt's watching Fantasia and Brian is napping, so I'm getting on here for a quick update.

Matt is much better, whatever bug he had was gone by Friday evening, and he went to my mom and dad's from Saturday to Sunday. But now I have the bug and took the day off of work today, hopefully I'll be able to work tomorrow, I have zero vacation time left, LOL!!

He had his follow up ENT appointment today and Dr. Sidman said he looks great and has healed beautifully! He said something really weird though, he said "I'm sure I'll see you guys again." I have no idea what he meant by that, and I didn't want to put him on the spot by asking him. Maybe he meant ear tubes later? Matt does get ear infections very often though.

Dad brought Matt to the Epiphany church carnival on Saturday and he won 2 little plastic snakes in a duck game. One of those games where you take the duck out of the water and whatever color is on the bottom of the duck determines what prize you get. He's been carrying those snakes around since Saturday, LOL!! Cute!!

Well, gotta go, Matt wants fruit snacks, LOL!!

More in a few days!!

Please pray for my dear friend Suzi, it sounds like she may be having problems with her TMJ pain again.

Please pray for me too, with my weight loss. I have gained so much weight and I'm so uncomfortable. I've joined Weight Watchers and I HAVE to take this weight off, my health is depending on it. I hurt all over.

THANK YOU all for the guest book entries, they mean so much to me!!

Love,

Ann

Friday, May 20, 2005 7:54 PM CDT

Matt was sick this morning with a stomach bug (throwing up), and had a very mild seizure. I was sleeping next to him, it was about 7:30, and I heard some gurgling, and looked over at him, and sure enough!! He seemed conscious through it, though, and it didn't even last a full minute.

I called Dr. Burstein's office and he bumped up Matt's Trileptal from 6 to 6.5 mg twice a day. This is the first seizure in quite a while, so I hope this will work. like I said, it was a very mild seizure, with just the facial twitching rather than entire left sided twitching, eye deviation, so this medicine IS working better than the last one he was on.

He's fine now!! He just ate some chicken from Wendy's and so far is keeping it down. Sometimes he gets a bug and is only sick for the day and by night time, he's ok. Weird.

It's been very cold here, but today it warmed up a bit. It's supposed to be 85 tomorrow, a little too hot for me!

Well, I'm going to try to get some work done here, so I'll update more later!!

Love,

Ann

Saturday, May 14, 2005 10:52 PM CDT

WOW ~ I guess it's time for an update!

Not much going on! Matt has healed really well from his tonsillectomy. The Sunday after we came home, we had to take him back into the ER because he wasn't wetting his diapers, so they gave him a bag of IV, and that did the trick! Daddy took his IV out the folllowing Tuesday and he was back to school on Thursday.

Matt's voice is a lot clearer now, you can really tell a difference. And he's not snoring at all! That's what we love - instant results, LOL!!

He has started seeing a music therapist for an hour a week, and he LOVES it!! His teacher is so nice an has a ton of patience! We are blessed to have found her!

Matt is doing well in school, he's learning to dress himself. He still gets a little frustrated, but it's getting a little less each time.

Right now, we're dealing with some tantrum issues. He has been having terrible tantrums about twice a week where he kicks and screams. I always have to leave the room to laugh, because it's so FUNNY!!! Those legs are so long, and when he kicks, they circle in the air like a ferris wheel gone crazy. It only lasts a minute or two, though. We haven't even figured out what triggers them, but we think it might be because of being in the hospital, and not feeling in control of his situation. The tantrums didn't start until after he came home from the hospital. Makes sense!!

Anyway, he is saying sentences, and is very, very polite!! If he bumps into someone, he says "excuse me", or "I'm sorry, are you OK?" He says please and thank you all the time without fail. Such a sweet little boy we are blessed with here!

Well, I promise to update sooner next time, won't leave everybody hanging like I did before, LOL!!!

Sweet Dreams!!

Love,

Ann, Brian, and especially Matt

Saturday, April 30, 2005 11:37 AM CDT

First of all, I want to thank everybody for your support and well wishes! All of the guestbook entries, phone calls and emails mean so much to us! Thank you so very much from the bottoms of our hearts!!!

Well, we are HOME!!! We came home at 2pm yesterday. The doctors gave us a choice to stay or go, so we went! A little nervous and a little relieved! We could tell that Matthew was VERY happy to be home. Auntie Shawna and cousins Leah, Sarah, and Anna came to see him with a huge bouquet of balloons, and he was so thrilled!!

He started drinking just a little bit last night, and today he's drinking A LOT ~ so he'll be fine! Brian will pull his IV tomorrow. The pain is under good control, but his doctor warned us that in about 7-10 days out from surgery, he might be sore again from the scabs coming off. We'll be ready, though!

Today is me and Brian's 6th anniversary!! We had been up only a couple hours before we even realized it, haha!!! Not that it's not important to us at all, just a lot of other things going on here the past week. My mom and dad are coming tonight to watch Matt so we can go out for awhile. It'll be good to get out together, just the two of us, this is a rare treat!!

Well, I'm off to straighten the house for my mom and dad tonight!!

Thanks again for all your prayers!!

Love,

Brian, Ann and Matt

Friday, April 29, 2005 12:04 AM CDT

The docs have left it up to Brian and I whether we wanted to go home or not, so we are going home! Matt is still not eating/drinking very well, but I think we'll have more success at home. If not, then we'll bring him back. They are leaving his saline lock in, so in case we come back, they won't have to restart another IV. If we stay at home, Brian will just take it out on Monday. Matt is doing well, still sleepy with his pain meds, but he is up and about, and excited to go home!!

Our roomate has kidney problems, and has been here since April 6th. I just couldn't imagine.....

More later tonight...

Love,

Ann

Thursday, April 28, 2005 11:33 AM CDT

Hello all!

Matt is doing very well, he's up and about, still on an IV but he's still refusing to drink anything. So, we are now inpatient, and will stay over another night. We're still in the Short Stay unit, but we will be moving up to 6th floor today.

Last night went well, Matt woke up at 3am, and had some pain meds. He does take his medication fine, but just refuses to take fluids. So we really need to work on that today so we can go home. He had a dry diaper all day yesterday, and this morning, he woke up in a FLOOD. His sheets were wet, he was wet. So we know his kdneys are working! I was getting a little nervous yesterday with the dry diapers, haha!

I'll update more tonight. Better get back to Matt!!

Ann

*************************

*** I just added new pics in the photo section. ***

Daddy is up at the hospital with Matt tonight. I came home to straighten up the house and take a shower, check my emails, and then I'm going back down there for the night. We moved up to 6th floor today. Hopefully we'll be able to go home tomorrow!

Ann

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 10:52 AM CDT

Matt's in surgery now, I'll update when he gets out. Thank you for all your prayers and guestbook entries!

Ann

****************************
UPDATE

We're staying overnight here, it just hurts too much for Matt to swallow, so he's not drinking. And he's having a hard time waking up, too. Surgery went
really well, though!!

More tomorrow...

Ann

Sunday, April 24, 2005 11:32 PM CDT

~*~WOW~*~ It's been quite a long time since my last update!!! Not much has happened here, Matt has been doing fantastic in school, and comes home with glowing reports!

Brian and I have been busy with yard work, and fixing things in the house. We're going to be doing some landscaping outside with some new rock, and we're hoping that will prevent water getting in our basement! I'm going t0 plant 2 flower gardens (imagine that!), one for me, one for Matt. He just loves to water plants, and Grandpa makes him a flower garden every year at his house, they really love doing that together.

Matt is also scheduled to get his tonsils out this Wednesday, and we're hoping he can stay well this time!! Tomorrow he gets a haircut, and Tuesday he goes to see Dr. Mackey for his pre-op physical. Then Wednesday is his surgery! Please say a prayer that he comes through OK. Anesthesia has always made me nervous, especially with his seizures.

He also started music therapy with a super sweet lady named Vicki. He went for an hour last Tuesday and really loved it! He got to play some instruments, and this lady has the singing voice of an angel!! I was just in awe!! This will be a great thing for Matt because he loves music SO much.

Well, it's getting late, and I'm off to bed!!! I'll update more on Wednesday from the hospital!!

Sweet dreams!

Ann

Saturday, April 2, 2005 3:57 PM CST

WOW. What a 2 weeks it's been! Here it is in a nutshell.

Matt had a fantastic birthday party! He got a lot of nice gifts, and had a huge Hotwheels cake. All of his little friends came, and he loved it!!!

We gave him the Grow To Pro basketball hoop, and he is so thrilled! He plays a lot of basketball at school, and from his reports, he is pretty good at it too! We're going to set it up outside today, it's really nice out now!

He was scheduled to have his tonsils out last Monday, but lo and behold, he came down with a high fever Sunday evening. So we rescheduled for April 27th. Hopefully he'll be healthy for then. His fever just finally broke yesterday. I took him to see Dr. Mackey and she is pretty sure it's his tonsils harboring infection again. They are so huge they are actually touching each other in the midline (called "kissing tonsils"). He had absolutely NO seizure activity during this illness! NONE!!!! Praise God!! I think we've finally gotten it under control.

The garage sale is next week, so we are still hauling stuff out of the house for that. I still have to price everything, too.

Way too much going on here, but we like to keep busy, so we are thriving (at least I am. Brian would probably be happy to rest more.).

We just found out that Matt's neurologist, Dr. Burstein, is leaving his practice to teach at the U of M. Even though we are sad to see him leave, we are so happy for him and know that he'll be an awesome teacher! We've certainly learned so much from him over the last 4 years, and we are so grateful to this kind man.

So we need to find another neurologist, and we think we'll go back to Dr. Brenningstall. He saw and evaluated Matthew when he was a newborn, and we really were pleased with him. Like Dr. Burstein, he has a kind, gentle manner, and you can tell that he just loves Matthew.

Ok, so I'm off to the gargage. Talk soon!

Love,

Ann

Saturday, March 19, 2005 11:02 PM CST

Ok, time for an update!

Matt is doing super! His sinus infection has cleared, diaper rash is clear (thank you to those who have emailed me with some great tips)!! His 5th Birthday party is tomorrow! I can't believe my baby is 5 already, where has time gone? It seems like he was just born yesterday, but when we think about everything he has been though, it seems like a lifetime. He really is a miracle baby, and we are SO proud of him!

I have to share with you what he did today. Mom and Dad took care of him all day today while Brian and I ran around getting ready for the party. Matt had asked for a glass of water, so Grandpa gave him a cup of water. Matt took a couple of sips, and spilled the rest on the floor. So what does he do? He walks over to where my mom was standing, points to my dad and says, "He spilled the water!". What a stinker!!! He sure comes up with some funny, cute things to say.

He's doing really well in school, moving right along! He's in OT now, and learning how to put his shoes and socks on. He's also working on self-dressing, and he struggles with that, but he'll get it, just like everything else he's learned. Yesterday he was playing ball with another little boy, and somehow one of the bulletin boards fell down off of the wall and onto Matt's head. He had a big goose egg on the back of his head, but he just kept playing! Jody called me all worried, and I told her to just watch him, he's probably OK.

We count our blessings every day! Matt is progressing so well, he has a great sense of humor, and a sweet little personality! God is shining down on us for sure!!

I'll let you know how the party goes and post a few pictures!

Sweet Dreams!

Brian, Ann, and Matt

Wednesday, March 2, 2005 1:06 AM CST

Quick update before I collapse into bed!

Matt did super in school today! He's doing really well in all of his programs! He gets a glowing report almost daily, and we are so blessed! Thank you, Lord for helping our sweet little boy! Thank you for your guidance for Brian and I so we can give him the best life possible!

Healthwise, though, his diaper rash is SO nasty. I went out tonight and did something I was determined I would never do ~ I bought cloth diapers. It's the last thing I can try. Matt is so sore and tender, and the nurse and I felt that his Pampers could be another irritant to his bottom. He looks so cute, though in a cloth diaper and plastic pants ~ just like the "old days"!

I also made an appointment for him to be seen at the clinic tomorrow. He really does need to be seen, his sinuses are still draining really thick yuck, and he can't breath through his nose. This is even after 2 weeks on Omnicef. So, we will be seeing Dr. Anderson as Dr. Mackey is doing hospital rounds this week. Please pray that we can get his troubles cleared up!

I'm making some changes to the website, kind of playing around. I added a song that Matt loves - MMM Bop by Hansen! Turn up the music and enjoy!!

Sweet dreams!

Ann

Monday, February 28, 2005 11:15 PM CST

Well, time for an update!

Thank you so, so much for all your prayers!! Good news on Matt's EEG ~ NO seizures! We are so thrilled! Dr. Burstein says those staring spells are most likely daydreaming. Which is probably true, Matt is thinking all the time. I'll post photos of the EEG getup as soon as I download the pics from my digital camera!

His sinus infection is back, though, and he's been on antibiotics for 2 weeks. Which is causing diarrhea ~ which causes a severe, raw diaper rash. Matt cries and cries when we change him, because it's so painful. We've tried every butt balm on the market, including this stuff that Dr. Mackey prescribed called Poop Goop. That's the name of it! But it's like candle wax, and it hurts so to put it on, so we're not using it. Needless to say, potty training has gone right out the window because of the diarrhea, so we'll have to start over when he's cleared up.

We have an appointment on 3/22 with an ENT doctor for his sinuses and snoring. His adenoids are enlarged, and he's had a few bouts with tonsillitis now. I bet that's why he's sick all the time ~ I remember when I was 10 or 11, I missed so much school from being sick with tonsillitis, and when they were taken out, I was healthy again.

Prayers for tonight:

Please pray for my new friend Suzi and her family as they start down a new path without their little son, Bracken. Brian and I went to the visitation last Thursday, and felt so welcome, and I was so glad to meet Suzi and Kyle. I gave them each a big hug, and I could just feel their pain. I am in awe of their strength and attitude through the entire thing, but Brack is in a better place where he is happy, healthy, and best of all, with his little sister. Please pray for more strength for this dear family.

Please pray for Melody and her family as she is getting ready to earn her wings.

Please pray for Ben's parents and big brother Eli, and they prepare to say goodbye to him.

Sweet dreams!

Ann