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Thursday, December 22, 2005 7:32 PM CST
Well, we are as far as Lovington, NM on our way to Ruidoso. We are exchanging gifts with Jeremy's family and then we will be on our way!
Caden has been sick the past 3-4 days. He had a little fever earlier in the week and was throwing up. We took him to the doctor and all thought it was the stomach bug. He went back to daycare yesterday and made it all day without throwing up. Then last night he threw up his bedtime bottle......but he is acting FINE. He's still laughing and talking and being himself. He's gone all day on only Pedialite and some chicken & dumplings and hasn't thrown up today. We just gave him 4 oz. of formula and he's sleeping, so we are hoping that it stays down. We are leaning towards constipation.......the last time he was really constipated, we ended up in the hospital with him dehydrated because it made him throw up so much. We used a suppository and it worked earlier today, so maybe that helped. We will see.
I guess we need to be hitting the road. Thank you all for checking in on Caden. We won't be able to update again until next week when we get home. I hope you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Friday, December 16, 2005 2:20 PM CST
For an update on Caden and his appointment, you will have to keep reading. Some things are more important right now.......Please keep reading!
All of you know from past journal entries about our dear friends Ann & Chad Kurtz, who lost their dear son Elijah (Eli) three weeks ago. Ann founded the charity Eli's Angels, which Caden is a member. As if Ann Chad weren't dealing with enough at this time in their lives, someone broke into their house and stole some of their personal belongings along with SOME OF ELI'S THINGS!! For more details, you can click on Eli's name above and it should take you to his site. I am completely appauled by this. I can't believe there is someone out there that could do something like this. Please keep Ann & Chad in your prayers, and pray that the person that did this is eaither caught, or has the heart to send back Eli's things.
Also keep Eli's Angels in mind if you are thinking about contributing to a charity this season. It is a small charity that touches it's members lives first hand. Anything they get helps! Caden received his Christmas box from Eli's Angels yesterday, and it was filled with goodies for him! It is so awesome to have a charity that does this for him! Please keep them in mind!!
Now onto some better news........Caden's cardiologist appointment went really well this morning. They did an EKG and an ECG and both were perfectly normal!!! We don't have to see him again for a year!
Caden's Christmas party was fun yesterday afternoon. Those poor little kiddos...........they weren't used to being in front of so many people when they had to perform. Most of them spent all their limelight crying their little eyes out! But not Caden......he was staying strong! He sat in Miss Magan's lap and rang his little jingle bells! Here are some pictures!
We just got an email from our superintendant telling us that the state FINALLY approved a pay raise for teachers in Texas!!! We are some of the lowest paid teachers in the US. It isn't a lot, but anything helps, right?? The best part is that it's retroactive back to September, so we will get a supplemental check in January to make up for the past few months!!! YEAAAA!!!
Here is a poem that another mom had on her daughter's site. It is so perfect for all of us! Please remember to be thankful for all the little things this holiday season!
SPECIAL MOMS
When a toddler gets into the plant pot dirt, a special mom appreciates how well their fingers work.
When a child yells "NO!" A special mom enjoys the sound of their spoken word.
When a child must wear a helmet when riding a bike, a special mom is grateful that the helmet is not being worn to prevent injury from a seizure.
When a child plays the `chasing game' with mom in the grocery store, a special mom is thankful that her child can run at all.
When a child makes a mess while eating their lunch, a special mom is glad she does not have to put their lunch through a feeding tube.
When someone's child is having a `tantrum' in the shopping mall, a special mom never jumps to conclusions.
When a child gives themselves their first haircut, resulting in an embarrassing head shave, a special mom is blessed that they are not bald because they're going through chemotherapy.
When a child listens to annoying rap-music, a special mom enjoys that her child can hear any music.
When a child is at the hospital for an ear infection, a special mom feels blessed her child isn't in congestive heart failure...again.
When a child complains about taking an awful tasting cold medicine, a special mom is relieved that it is not heart medication, seizure medication, anti-rejection drugs or something worse.
When a child in a wheel chair is out for a stroll with mom, a special mom understands that it may not be a good day to ask questions.
When a child needs extra tutoring to get through math, a special mom is relieved that her child doesn't need a team of seven people and five pieces of specialized equipment, just to get him through the school day.
When a child needs the light on at bedtime, because they're scared of the dark, a special mom is thankful that her child does not live in constant darkness.
A special mom looks at her special child with pride, while strangers often look at the special mom with pity.
A special mom appreciates all the things typical children do, whether naughty or nice.
A special mom rarely complains about the 45-minute wait at the doctor's office for a check-up, when she's spent months at a children's hospital with her dying child.
A special mom would never feel disappointed that her healthy newborn was not the gender she had hoped for.
A special mom views the world through special eyes, ears and hands.
By Luanna Buburuz
The Lady Hawks play Eldorado tonight.
~*~Good Luck Lady Hawks!!~*~
My mom and dad are coming this afternoon for the game and they are taking Caden home with them until Sunday. Jeremy and I are going to a matinee movie and out to dinner tomorrow night for our anniversary. I accused him of forgetting this morning, but then in a little bit I got 5 red roses delivered to my classroom......5 roses for 5 years!
I hope you all have a great weekend! If you are like me, you are still shopping and getting some last minute things done.
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Mr. Jingle Bells
Thursday, December 15, 2005 8:52 AM CST
Good morning everyone! Things are running pretty smoothly around here! Caden is doing well. He had a not so good day at daycare on Tuesday, but seemed okay by that afternoon. He had a really good day at therapy yesterday. Our therapists had him on his tummy, up on his elbows, and he was really holding his head up well for about 5-7 seconds at a time! They were excited! He even reached out for a ball with one of his arms while on his tummy! We have PT today, then will have it next Wednesday, then we are all on Christmas break!
Last night, we had our Coaches Wives Huddle Fellowship. We had a cookie exchange and made story bracelets. It was a lot of fun and I brought home lots of different kinds of cookies! We brought them to school for the workroom so we wouldn't be tempted to eat them all at home!!
The final weigh-in for our weight loss challenge is on the 20th. I gave up awhile ago...........I know, I know! Jeremy has kept at it though, and maybe he'll win the $650! That would really help for this ski trip! They will announce the winner at our school Christmas Party Tuesday night.
Ruidoso has about a 14 inch base of man-made snow, then they have gotten about 3-4 inches of real snow, but we need A LOT more than that! They do have a chance all this week, so we're praying it comes!
I think my mom and dad are going to keep Caden for us this weekend so we can have dinner and catch a movie for our anniversary. I have received 2 different emails from ladies I know telling me that their anniversaries are the same day as mine and Jeremy's (16th), but they both have been married much longer than us! It's such a small world!
The broadway production of The Lion King is coming to The Majestic Theatre in San Antonio in April, and I REALLY want to go. We looked at the tickets yesterday and I said it could be my anniversary gift, but I don't know if we can do it. We are still talking! It could actually be my birthday present since it's in March! I saw the actors perform part of it on Oprah almost 2 years ago, and I almost cried it was SOOOOO AWESOME! I told Jeremy that day that I would LOVE to go see it. I guess we will have to wait and see!
The Lady Hawks won their first district basketball game Tuesday night! They won by 12 points, and we still missed several lay-ups, so it could have been more!!! It was a really good game for 3 quarters, then we pulled away. The girls were really fired up to play the game and even more fired up with the win! The girls play their 2nd district game tomorrow night here against Eldorado.
~*~WAY TO GO Lady Hawks!!! Good Luck.......Beat Eldorado!!~*~
Caden has a Christmas party at daycare this afternoon. We will run to physical therapy, then rush back for the party. Some of the older classes will be entertaining us with Christmas songs. I am excited to hear them sing!
Caden is also moving up to the 18-23 months classroom at daycare. Miss Magan will be going with him, and they have been visiting the new room all this week. He really seems to like the enteraction with the kids a lot. Most of the kids that were in the 12-18 months class with him have already moved up, so he'll be back with all his old buddies!
I better get to work on this final exam! Most of the schools around here get out for Christmas tomorrow, but we go until next Wednesday! But, we do get to stay gone 2 days longer than them, so I guess it equals out! I hope you all have your Christmas shopping done! I don't! Have a great Friday!
Sweet Caden
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Tuesday, December 13, 2005 2:56 PM CST
Well, it's been a busy weekend! We were at the basketball tournament all weekend and spent most of the time running back and forth from Abernathy to the hotel in Lubbock. We did get to shop a little thursday evening! The girls played AWESOME Thursday and beat Nazareth by about 15 points. Then Friday, we didn't play our best and Littlefield beat us by 3 points. So, Saturday, they played for 3rd place and beat Abernathy by about 15 points!
Jerry & Sharon came to Lubbock Saturday morning and got Caden and took him shopping with them. They all had a fun time! Here are 2 pictures they took while they had him............
Jerry and Boxer Caden
Too Sweet Caden
The basketball girls have their first district game tonight at Mason! It's a BIG game! The first district game is always BIG!! None of the other games matter except district, so the slate is wiped clean for tonight! I know the girls will play awesome and win BIG!
~*~Good luck Lady Hawks! Beat the Cowgirls!!~*~
Friday is my and Jeremy's 5th Anniversary!! Man it feels A LOT longer than 5 years! I don't mean that is a bad way either. I mean it feels like we have been together for a lifetime, and I consider that a good thing! We have a home basketball game that night, and I am trying to talk my parents into coming to the game and taking Caden home with them for the weekend so Jeremy and I can go to the movies or something. As you well know, it diesn't take much taking to get Mom & Dad to keep him, as long as they don't have plans! Plus, I hope to get some house cleaning done and some gifts made!
Caden sees the cardiologist Friday morning, and besides that, we are counting the days until we get out for Christmas and go skiing. ARGHHH..........still no snow in Ruidoso unless they got some the last 2 days! It figures! We are still expecting to have a good time! Finals are next week, so we have been busy reviewing and getting ready. I can't believe it's only 12 days until Christmas! It's amazing!
I hope you are all having a wonderful week! Continued prayers for Ann & Chad as they go through the holiday season without Eli.
Hugs & Love,
Vicki, Jeremy, and the Boxer
Wednesday, December 7, 2005
Wednesday~~
I new I forgot something!!! Monday night was the ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) Christmas Party! It was so much fun! Caden got a cute picture taken with Santa and we had some good food to eat. Here are some pictures of Caden dressed all handsome from the party! Hope you enjoy them!
Caden laughing............
Caden and Kaiser, one of our Schnauzers!
Kaiser kissing Caden!
Tuesday~~
I am so sorry it's taken me so long to get an update on here. There are many reasons why I haven't written anything in the past week and a half. First of all, I wanted to leave up the information on Eli for others that visit Caden's site. Second, it's been hard finding all the words to write after Eli's death. Third, I have been really busy and have a lot to write and not enough time to write it all!
Finding out about Eli's death was one of the hardest things I've encountered in this journey. Ann, Eli's mommy, was one of the first mothers I ever talked to about mito. She and I became fast friends, and I fell in love with Eli. If you look in Eli's photo album, at the pictures of him when he was younger with the angels wings, he reminds me a lot of Caden. I remember when I first went to Eli's site, how much I thought he and Caden looked alike from that picture. Ann has always been a pilar of strength, not only for her family, but for many other families dealing with mito. When she started Eli's Angels, we didn't have the confirmed mito diagnosis for Caden, and she let Caden in anyways, and said we'd cross that bridge when we got to it if it turned out to be something else. Ann always wrote her true feelings on Eli's site, no matter what they were. I have always admired her for that. Even during a time like she is facing right now, she took the time to write an update for us. I truly admire her for sharing her family's and Eli's life with all of us. Eli beat the odds and made it past the 2 year mark that doctors gave him. He was an amazing and courageous child. He did make a difference in this world, no matter how short his life was. Eli touched many lives and made many people better people. We will always remember and love Elijah.
It's hard to imagine that you can feel so close to people that you have never actually met in person, but I felt like our families had been friends for a very long time. Eli's death left a hole in my heart.
I guess another reason it was so hard is that it makes this disease a reality. Not that I'm in denial or anything, but you really see what mito can do, and it scares you to death. Don't get me wrong, Caden is doing very well, and he continues to progress and thrive. Eli had a mito disease that is much more serious than Caden's. It just brought out those thoughts that I have tucked WAAAYYY back in the back of my head. Those feelings you try to forget and ignore, but they are always there.
I don't mean for this update to be so sad or such a downer. I promise I will update the good andhappy things now!
Wow, I don't guess I have been on here since Thanksgiving! We had a very nice trip to New Mexico. We got some rest and relaxation, and we ate some great food!! We really enjoyed seeing all of Jeremy's family. The weather was nice while we were there, and we got up WAY too early Friday morning and stood in some rediculous lines at the early morning sales!!!
Not a lot has happened between Thanksgiving and now. Caden did see Dr. Easley, his gastroenterologist, on Dec. 1. We hadn't seen him in about 3-4 months. Caden had gained 1.5 lbs. and had grown 1/4 of an inch. He's still proportionate, so Dr. Easley's not worried about his weight yet. He wants us to try to switch from formula to Promise Land or Boost milk. We have tried about 2 oz. of the Promise Land at a time, and he seems okay with it. You should smell that when it comes back up......plus it's curdled!!! Nice picture, huh??? So we were taking that switch slowly! Dr. E also suggested trying to wean Caden off the Prevacid, a decision I'm not too sold on yet! He is basing this on the fact that Caden went 1 day last week without it, and didn't start throwing up everywhere like he used to do. He suggested, in the near future, backing off to 1/2 a tablet (15 mg.) of the Prevacid for about 2 weeks, and if it goes okay, then try none. I haven't started that switch yet! I am workingup my courage! I definitely don't want to try switching to milk and taking him off Prevacid at the same time...........I can't IMAGINE that smell on everything!
Caden sees the cardiologist for the first time on Dec. 16. He will have a base line echocardiogram done to check out his heart. This is just precautionary. The heart and eyes are the 2 organs that need to be watched the closest with mito. I have a feeling everything will be fine and it will be a yearly thing we have to do.
I do need to ask for prayers for several people. First of all, my dad. He had a biopsy come back as precancerous in part of his colon. THANK GOD they found it so early. He will go in next week to talk about treatment and removal. Prayers for healing and comfort for my dad, Don. Second, Caden's Godfather and Jeremy's best friend, Houston Guy's dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the day Houston's new son Garrett was born.....the Monday before Thanksgiving. They thought they could go in and remove most of the cancer, but I think they found it had spread. Houston has been in Ft. Worth with his family until today. Prayers for a healing miracle for John Guy. And of course, continued prayers of peace and comfort for Ann & Chad Kurtz as they deal with the coming days, weeks, and months without Eli. And last, but not least, I ask for prayers of peace and comfort for Pat Grey, a teacher here at Wall, who lost her husband unexpectedly Friday after Thanksgiving.
We have had LOTS of basketball games since November began. The girls have been playing well, but we have been playing some tough teams! Our record isn't as good as it has been in the past few years, but don't take anything away from how hard they girls are working and playing. They beat 3 5A teams to get to the Championship game in the Concho Valley Classic Tournament this last weekend. We then had to meet up with the towering giants from Weatherford, another 5A. They were a really well rounded team and they beat us, but it was a great tournament for the girls!!! We will all be leaving Thursday mornign to head to Lubbock for the Abernathy tournament. Yep, all of us! Caden and I are going too! We open with a game against Nazareth, a 1A power-house! It should be a fun weekend! And COLD!!!!!!
It it supposed to be a HIGH of 32 here tomorrow, and in the teens the next 2 nights!! It's the coldest weather we have had so far. I am ready........I love the cold!!! We even have a 20hance for snow tomorrow!!
Speaking of snow.........OF COURSE the year we all decide to take a ski trip to Ruidoso, they don't have any snow yet! Figures!! We are praying for snow between now and Dec. 22. I would hate for my family to get up there and have no snow!
I guess that is about all for now. I am sure I am forgetting something! We love you all, and thank you for checking on Caden and our family. Your support and your caring messages mean the world to us!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, and Caden
Saturday, November 26, 2005 4:11 PM CST
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST: I need to ask for prayers of peace, comfort, and understanding for Chad and Ann Kurtz. They lost their son ELI to Leigh's Disease, a mitochondrial disease. Ann is the founder of Eli's Angels, which there is a link to above. You can click on Eli's name to read more about him or leave them an encouraging message. Ann and I became fast friends when we began to think Caden had mito. She and Chad have been amazing people and parents for Eli. Please keep them in your prayers as they go through this very difficult time in their lives.
Thank you,
Vicki
Monday, November 21, 2005 3:55 PM CST
Caden and his girlfriend Addison!! Addison's mom has decided to be a stay-at-home mom, so Friday was Addison's last day at Mosaic. We are really going to miss seeing her everyday.........and I know Caden will miss her big kisses!!
It was a pretty tiring weekend for everyone around our house. Jeremy's basketball team was in a tournament in Snyder, so we made several trips there and back between Thursday and Saturday. Then after the game Saturday, we headed from Snyder to Abilene for the Hawks football game against Early. MAN, it was a great game until Early stopped our running back a couple yards short of the first down in the 2nd OVERTIME, and the game was over. It was a very sad ending to a wonderful football season!
~*~Way to go Hawks!! We are all proud of you all!!~*~
I took my freshman class to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire today. It was fun for everyone. This movie is darker and scarier than the others. We then went to Mr. Gatti's for pizza and games. They all came home with lots of silly little prizes!!
We get out tomorrow at 2:30 for Thanksgiving. I can't believe where the time has gone this year! It's only a matter of weeks until Christmas! Jeremy, Caden, and I will head for New Mexico Wednesday. It will be a nice trip.
I hope you all had a great weekend! Have a very Happy Thanksgiving! We all have so much to be thankful for, I hope you all realize that! Be thankful, not for a day, but for every day!!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Monday, November 14, 2005 12:55 AM CST
Tuesday~~
I HAD to put these 2 pictures on here for you all to see!! These are from daycare. Obviously Caden is much the womanizer!!! He's got the girls crawling all over him!!! I hope she's his girlfriend.......she is the CUTEST little girl ever!!!
Here are the pictures from this last weekend.......and a few others.
Caden in his chair with his t-shirt on
Laughing at us when we were celebrating
The girls at dinner the night before the race.....
The girls & Jeremy on the awards stand....look at those flip flops they made!
The girl's & boy's teams
The girls on the awards stand at Regionals......see Jeremy's PINK hat?
This is Caden & Daddy watching film to get ready for a basketball game!
Monday~~
What an AWESOME weekend to be a Wall Hawk!!! First off, Thursday, the football boys beat Kermit 48-10! The guys scored 2 touchdowns in the first 59 seconds of the game!! This week, they play Early at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene at 7:30 Sat. night.
~*~GO Hawks!! Beat EARLY!!~*~
THEN........the Cross-country meet Saturday was AWESOME!!! The girls couldn't have competed any harder if they had tried! The ran so GREAT!!! They placed 2nd, by ONLY 10 points, to Holliday, who beat us by 12 points at Regionals. It was the most exciting thing I have been a part of as a coach's wife so far!!!
~*~WAY TO GO LADY HAWKS CC!!! What a GREAT season! We love you girls and we are SOOOO proud of you all!!!~*~
The boys CC team also placed 2nd place behind Boys Ranch, who also beat them at Regionals. I guess that says something great about our Region, huh??? Our top boy runner, Blaine, won the whole race!!! It was an awesome day!! The coolest thing was both the boy's and girl's teams placed 4th last year, and they both placed 2nd this year!!
~*~Way to go Hawks CC!! What a GREAT season!!~*~
Caden was SOOOO cute at the meet on Saturday!! He was in his chair, and when Jeremy found out the girls got 2nd place, he came running up to me (I already knew!) and we started yelling and jumping around.......and Caden went NUTS!! He was yelling and laughing and celebrating with us. It was the coolest thing ever!! I have pictures, but I will have to get them on here tomorrow! The CC girls made Caden a t-shirt that was black and in flourescent letters they wrote "#1 Lady Hawks CC Fan" on the front of it, and they all signed their names on the back of it. It was SO cute!
The funniest thing about this CC season was the girls "thing" for Regionals and State was everything had to be pink. Pink was their "thing" this year! Even the shoe laces on the District Champion t-shirts were pink. All the girls wore pink socks and shoelaces for the Regional CC meet, and they made Jermey wear a pink hat. I even had pink shoelaces. Then they made Jeremy wear pink shoelaces for the State meet!! It was so funny!
Caden is doing well. We were excited because Miss Magan was well, and back at Mosaic this morning. We thank Miss Julie for taking such good care of Caden while Magan was gone! I know Caden has missed Magan though! He's still got a little cough, but not too bad. He and I went to the deer lease with Jeremy yesterday to check the feeders. We had fun until we found 2 were out of corn, then had to go back to the store to get corn, and BACK tot he lease to fill up the feeders! The coolest thing happened though....Jeremy was filling up a feeder, and I was holding the ladder for him, when a nice 9-point buck came right up to the feeder and just started circling the pen. I bet he wasn't 10 feet from us. Then Jeremy gave him a little grunt call and he started heading straight for us, like he was going to charge us! Jeremy had to start yelling at him so he wouldn't jump in the pen with us!! It was a little scary now that I think about it, but that is the CLOSEST I have ever been to a deer before!
Today we have a work day at school because our elementary and junior high are hosting the district UIL contests, so it's a MAD HOUSE around here! There are little kids EVERYWHERE! I need to wrap up this update and get some actual work done!!
I am taking my entire freshman class, with the exception of 2 kids, to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire next Monday! The kids are so excited, but I think I am more fired up than they are!! It's going to be a lot of fun for them. We will, OF COURSE, have a writing assignment to do after we see the movie, so they aren't very excited about that!!!
Jeremy's basketball team will be in full force now that CC is over. They play 6 games in the next 7 days! Busy, busy, busy!!!
Jeremy and I always go to see his family in New Mexico for Thanksgiving, and then to my family's for Christmas. So, we are gearing up for the trip to NM next week. I know everyone will be glad to see Caden (and us)!! Isn't it funny how no one really gets that fired up about seeing us anymore!!! WE understand!
I hope you all had a very good weekend! Many thoughts and prayers go out to all the families that I know through Caringbridge or other groups! I have been terrible about leaving messages in guestbooks, but I do think about and pray for you all daily! Miss Emma still needs prayers, as she still isn't back to her old self yet. Thank you all for checking on Mr. Caden and for leaving messages for him in the guestbook. Your support really means the world to us!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Monday, November 7, 2005 2:04 PM CST
I hope everyone had a good weekend! The cross-country and football teams had a VERY successful weekend!!! The football team is 10-0!! They won their last district game Friday night, and now the play-offs start! They play Kermit in the Bi-District game Thursday night in Midland.
~*~GO HAWKS!! BEAT KERMIT!!~*~
The Lady Hawks and Hawks CC teams BOTH placed 2nd in the Regional Meet Saturday, so both teams get to advance to the State Meet in Round Rock next Saturday!!!
~*~Way to go Cross-Country!! WIN STATE!!~*~
Caden had a good time with his MaMaw & PaPaw! He slept really good 1 out of 2 nights for my mom. He ate really well too!
Eating is our newest concern. Not that it hasn't been a concern all along, but it's getting more serious now. The nutritionist has weighed Caden at 22 lbs. 8 oz. for the past 2-3 months, and now she is getting concerned. He still isn't tolerating a full bottle of Pediasure at one time, but will drink some out of a cup. So, we are adding a scoop of powder formula to his liquid formula bottles. We see Dr. Easley, our GI, on Dec. 1 and I'd like to fatten Caden up before we see him!
Besides that, Caden is doing well! I had to come to school EARLY this morning, so I haven't gotten to see him all day. I can't wait to go get him at school!!!
I wanted you all to compare Caden's Pumpkin Patch and Halloween pictures from last year to this year's! So, here are last year's pictures. Look how FAT he was!!!
And last year, he was a pumpkin!
Now, this year's pictures!!!
This year's Mr. Frog...........
I need to ask for prayers for Caden's friend EMMA because she's not feeling well, and isn't herself. Thanks!
Have a great week!!!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Mr. "I Eat Like A Bird"
Wednesday, November 2, 2005 2:30 PM CST
Wednesday~~
I was sent a link to the story that Mosaic's magazine did on Caden and our family. You have to scroll down a little ways, but you will see a picture of Mr. Man finger painting!! Here it is......I hope it works!!
A Gift To Families
The basketball scrimmage was good yesterday. The girls played really well, but you could tell that it was our first scrimmage!!
Caden slept all night again last night, so shhhhhhh, don't tell him I was talking about him again!! I went in to get him and he was on his tummy! Kinda scary, but I guess that's part of what kept him asleep! Whatever works!
Happy Hump Day!!!
Tuesday~~
Okay you guys, you will just have to look at Halloween graphics for a few more days because I don't see myself having any time to change the website for the rest of the week. This is the last week of the 2nd Six-Weeks, and it's crazy around my desk!!! I have papers piled up to my eyeballs that need to be graded or put into the grade book!!!
Last night, Caden's 2nd Halloween, was a good one! We went to Southland Baptist Church where they have what they call "Trunk-OR-Treat". They all take their cars up to the parking lot and make a BIG circle with them. Then they open up their trunks or the backs of their SUVs and decorate their cars, and that is where they hand out candy. So, you walk in a big circle in a big parking lot to trick-or-treat. It's the neatest idea!!! Totally safe for all kiddos! Caden has what is called a "Big Mac" switch that you can record your voice (or anything) into, so we recorded "TRICK-OR-TREAT!!" into it, and as we took him to each car, he would hit the big button and the Big Mac would say trick-or-treat for him!!! He did it almost everytime, ON CUE!!! He's really great at it! They use it with him all the time at daycare. They take him around and he introduces himself to everyone!!!
After the "Trunk-or-Treat", we went to what was left of the Pumpkin Patch at Sierra Vista. Out of over 2,000 pumpkins, you can see that there weren't many left! We did get a few pics though. You can see how much Caden's grown from this time last year to this year.
Caden stuck his tongue out just as I snapped the pic!!
Caden SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT last night!!! Of course since I just said something about it, he won't do it again for weeks, I'm sure!!! Talk about ginxing myself! Shhhh! Don't tell him I said anything! He actually stayed on his side all night until I woke him up this morning. I think that played a key role in it all! I had to get a few snaps of him this morning before I woke him because he looked SO darn cute sleeping like that!!!
Well, not much of an update because I am on my way out the door! We are heading to Coleman for the 1st basketball scrimmage! Let the fun, yelling, and traveling begin!!!
~*~Go Lady Hawks Basketball.........play AWESOME!!~*~
This weekend I will be traveling to Lubbock for the Regional CC Meet!! Caden will stay with my mom and dad.
~*~Good Luck Lady Hawks & Hawks CC!!! Win Regionals!!~*~
Gotta go!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Friday, October 28, 2005 1:48 PM CDT
Caden in his KidKart
Caden & Daddy
Caden on the way to the festival
Caden & Ronald McDonald
Caden & Mommy
Caden & Caden T
Caden the Easter Bunny
Caden & Caden T with the Easter Bunny
Caden after the festival....he was tired!!
I hope you all have a GREAT weekend and Happy Halloween!!!
Hugs & Love,
Vicki, Jeremy, and Mr. FROG
Thursday, October 27, 2005 1:12 PM CDT
Thursday~~
Just in case you were all wondering.........NO YODA COSTUME!!! Man, I was SOOOOO looking forward to seeing him in that costume, and I know Jeremy was too! I didn't figure it had arrived yesterday, so I went into the email confirmation they had sent me when I ordered the 2nd one, and went to their website to check my "order status." Well, the status was CANCELLED!!! I was SO MAD! The poor girl that I got on the phone there had to take the brunt of my wrath. They didn't even send me an email saying it was cancelled! So, yesterday the search for another costume began, and in San Angelo, that wasn't easy. I did know they had a pretty cute FROG costume at Old Navy, so they just happened to have 1 left in his size. Then I looked at one other place and they had a Darth Vader costume, so I got it, but it's size 6-12 months and I don't know if it will fit yet. We'll see this afternoon! So, he'll either be Darth Vader or a frog!
I am really looking forward to taking him to the festival tonight. Jeremy may not get to go if he can't get out of announcing the football game. Grrrr!
Caden woke up about 3 times last night, but I was able to get him back to sleep in his bed each time. I'm still waiting to talk to a doctor! We'll see!
It's almost FRIDAY!!!!
Wednesday~~
Happy Hump Day to everyone!! I hope you are all having a better week than we are at our house!
I can't believe Jeremy and I are so dumb!!! All this time, what a month or longer, we've been trying to figure out why Caden's sleeping so badly and waking up so much. DUHHHH!! We have finally decided it's his choreoathetosis. That is the movement disorder he has that he takes Tegretol, an anti-seizure medicine, for. It helps control his movements. Every time we have ever talked to a neurologist about the choreoathetosis, they are always surprised that Caden has always slept as well as he did. They are always shocked that the movements don't wake him or keep him awake. Well, they do now! All the time we thought he was startling, he's jerking, and that wakes him up and he starts screaming. I thought about this the other day, and last night, Jeremy watched him and he'd move, wake up, cry.......repeat! This would explain that if we take him to bed with us when he wakes up, and hold him close to one of us where he can't move, he goes right back to sleep, or like I said in the past where I can go in and hold his arms and legs still, and he'll go back to sleep. So, now I have to call and see if we need to up his dose of Tegretol, or switch to a different med. More on that later!
Jeremy has been really good and gotten up with him the last 2 nights. I guess that makes the next 2 nights my turn!! I actually laid my head on my desk yesterday morning during my conference period, I had a sinus headache on top of not a lot of sleep, and fell asleep for a few minutes! Yikes!
Obviously we all know what lack of sleep does to everyone. We are ALL pretty irritable! It makes Jeremy and I VERY short-tempered with each other! Caden is even a little grumpy in the evenings too!
Besides that, he's his normal handsome self!! I gave him a haircut last week, so he looks really cute! He has a check-up with his GI doctor on Dec. 1, and an appointment with the cardiologist from San Antonio (that comes here) on Dec. 16. This is just precautionary! With mito, the kids need regular check-ups from the cardio. to watch their heart functions and the ophthalmologist for their eyes.
Speaking of eyes, did I tell you all that I had to get reading glasses??? I guess I have had to grade too many papers with bad handwriting! Man, and I've only been teaching for 7 of my 30 something years!
The Hawks football team stomped Sonora Friday night. The score was 24-6 and that makes the guys 8-0 with 2 dirstrict games to go before the play-offs start!
~*~Way to go Hawks!! Keep it up!!~*~
Here is a picture that the yearbook sponser took before the game Friday night. It's good of the Little Man in his green & white, but not of me!! Look at all those chins!
AND my UT Longhorns really STOMPED Jeremy's Red Raiders Saturday!!! I put Caden's Longhorns shirt on him to help rub it in!!!
GO TEXAS!!!
The Lady Hawks and Hawks cross-country teams all won the district meet. The girl's varsity team scored 18 points, a perfect score is 15 points!! You can't get much better than that!! The girl's JV team did score a perfect 15 and actually placed 1-10!!!! The JV and Varsity boys both won also. It was a clean sweep for the Wall Hawks CC in the high school races!!! Now it's on to Regionals in Lubbock on November 5!
~*~Way to go Hawks & Lady Hawks Cross-country!!! Win Regionals!!~*~
Speaking of all my chins..........we are having a weight loss challenge here at school. If you wanted in, it costs you $25, and the person who looses the biggest percentage of weight wins the whole pot! It's up to $600 right now! Jeremy and I are both in it, and we are all having a lot of fun with it all!!!
Oh yes, our Yoda costume (the 2nd one I've ordered) hasn't come yet. It is supposed to be here tomorrow, but if it's not, then I will have to go find something else for Caden to wear tomorrow night to the KLST Fall Festival for Special Kids. I can't wait!! It's gong to be lots of fun!!!
This week is Red Ribbon week at school, so we all have red bracelets for being drug free. They have different dress up days all week. Monday was college day, so I got to wear UT stuff to school! Today is Hero day, and it's so cool to see a bunch of my students dressed up as their mom or dad! I know their parents must feel so proud!
I can't really think of anything there is to update about today. I hope you all have a great "rest of the week"!!!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Thursday, October 20, 2005 2:44 PM CDT
I decided it was time for a new Halloween look around here!! Sorry I have kept you all waiting for over a week for a new update. It has been a, let's say challenging, week for me!
Not a lot has been going on really. We didn't have school Monday, and Caden went to daycare, so I got a few things done around the house. I have been working on some baby gifts for an upcoming shower and a new blanket for Caden.
Last night was my bible study, and it was an emotional one! The message Beth Moore gave us in the video for this week was very powerful. Add that to the fact that everyone had had a challenging week, so there were lots of emotions in the air! It was really great to be in a room with other ladies that share your same feelings. It was AWESOME to hear the message of the video. We all needed to hear what she told us last night!
Yesterday, daycare called us at school to tell us that Caden wasn't having a very good day. He had been spitting up a lot more than usual, and he was really fussy. They didn't need us to come get him, but just wanted us to know. He seemed okay last night, just real "clingy". He's been that a lot lately. We can't put him on his mat in the floor to play, AT ALL, without his screaming! So, hopefully, he's had a better day today.
Here's a cool story............the other evening, Jeremy was reading Caden a book, and when he put the book down, Caden went CRAZY, screaming and fussing. So, Jeremy started another book, and Caden was instantly fine! Then, he'd put that book down, and Caden would go NUTS again, so he's read another book! It was the greatest thing! I bet Jeremy went through 15 books!
A sad story...........Part of the reason for my bad week is that we are losing our speech therapist at the end of October. We were getting her services through ECI, and she also has a contract with the school district in town, but another lady was supposed to be helping her with the school kids so she could keep her ECI kids. Well, the other lady helping her fell through, so in order to give services to all the school kids, she has to let her ECI kids go. I am SO SAD about this! She is the BEST in town and if it weren't for her, Caden wouldn't be doing as well as he is with his eating. She has helped us SO much! I don't know who we will get to use now, but please PRAY that our new one can be half as good as Therese was.
October 27, KLST, our local news station, has a Fall Festival for Special Kids. All the workers and news people dress up, and they have games that special kids can play. We have never been, since last year Caden was only 1, so we are planning on going this year! I am so excited! It should be lots of fun! Now, if only Caden's Yoda costume gets here in time!
Speaking of the Yoda costume........I think I got "taken to the bank" on the one I ordered! I don't know if I told you all or not, but when I got online to order one (September 28!) almost every website I found was SOLD OUT! So, I finally found 1 website and ordered it from them.......in CANADA!!!!!!!!!! Then the next day, I got an email confirming my order. So, we've just been waiting! It still isn't here! So, I responded to the email, which it said I could if I had any questions, and it says the response is "undeliverable." HUMMMMMM! So, I call the 800 number from the website, and I get this recording that tells me "they are experiencing a high volume of calls and if I have any quesions to email the website." HUMMMMM??? So I emailed them again, and apparently it went through this time, but NO response from them. That was 2 days ago. Therefore, I think I got taken for my $34! I did find one website that had gotten some more in stock, so I ordered another one today. It is supposed to be here on the 26th, hopefully! I guess I may end up with 2 Yoda costumes, but that's better than none!
Tomorrow night is the biggest game in Wall Hawks Football! Wall vs. Sonora!!! It is THE GAME of the week around here. We are the BIGGEST rivals! If you are planning on coming, get here early to get a seat!
~*~Good Luck Hawks........beat the Broncos!!!!~*~
This weekend is the game of our household!!! Jeremy is a die hard Texas Tech Red Raider fan and I am a die hard University of Texas fan, and they playeach other this weekend........so we are a house divided Saturday!!! I got Caden a new UT shirt to wear, just to rub it in!!!
GO TEXAS!!!
Monday is the district cross-country meet! If the girls win, it will be like the 11th or 12th straight District Championship for them!!! They have to play in the top 3 as a team to advance to Regionals, and they should!
~*~Good Luck Hawks & Lady Hawks CC!!! Win District!!~*~
Here's a new poem for all you moms out there. I sent this to a lot of my MOM friends, but I would like to share it with everyone!
"Mom"
A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth
tomorrow, but how am I am going to live there being so small and helpless?"
God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of
you."
The child furthers inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't
have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."
God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you.
And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."
Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand
when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"
God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet
words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your
angel will teach you how to speak."
"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"
God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach
you how to pray."
"Who will protect me?"
God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its
life."
"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."
God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will
teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be
next to you."
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth
could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave
now, please tell me my angel's name."
You will simply call her, "Mom."
I hope you all have a great weekend! We are supposed to actually get some cooler weather around here the next few days. It's been almost 90 degrees all week.......IN OCTOBER! Welcome to Texas! I am ready for cooler weather! I would keep it inthe 60's -70's if it was us to me!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, and the clingy 2 year old Yoda
Thursday, October 20, 2005 2:44 PM CDT
I decided it was time for a new Halloween look around here!! Sorry I have kept you all waiting for over a week for a new update. It has been a, let's say challenging, week for me!
Not a lot has been going on really. We didn't have school Monday, and Caden went to daycare, so I got a few things done around the house. I have been working on some baby gifts for an upcoming shower and a new blanket for Caden.
Last night was my bible study, and it was an emotional one! The message Beth Moore gave us in the video for this week was very powerful. Add that to the fact that everyone had had a challenging week, so there were lots of emotions in the air! It was really great to be in a room with other ladies that share your same feelings. It was AWESOME to hear the message of the video. We all needed to hear what she told us last night!
Yesterday, daycare called us at school to tell us that Caden wasn't having a very good day. He had been spitting up a lot more than usual, and he was really fussy. They didn't need us to come get him, but just wanted us to know. He seemed okay last night, just real "clingy". He's been that a lot lately. We can't put him on his mat in the floor to play, AT ALL, without his screaming! So, hopefully, he's had a better day today.
Here's a cool story............the other evening, Jeremy was reading Caden a book, and when he put the book down, Caden went CRAZY, screaming and fussing. So, Jeremy started another book, and Caden was instantly fine! Then, he'd put that book down, and Caden would go NUTS again, so he's read another book! It was the greatest thing! I bet Jeremy went through 15 books!
A sad story...........Part of the reason for my bad week is that we are losing our speech therapist at the end of October. We were getting her services through ECI, and she also has a contract with the school district in town, but another lady was supposed to be helping her with the school kids so she could keep her ECI kids. Well, the other lady helping her fell through, so in order to give services to all the school kids, she has to let her ECI kids go. I am SO SAD about this! She is the BEST in town and if it weren't for her, Caden wouldn't be doing as well as he is with his eating. She has helped us SO much! I don't know who we will get to use now, but please PRAY that our new one can be half as good as Therese was.
October 27, KLST, our local news station, has a Fall Festival for Special Kids. All the workers and news people dress up, and they have games that special kids can play. We have never been, since last year Caden was only 1, so we are planning on going this year! I am so excited! It should be lots of fun! Now, if only Caden's Yoda costume gets here in time!
Speaking of the Yoda costume........I think I got "taken to the bank" on the one I ordered! I don't know if I told you all or not, but when I got online to order one (September 28!) almost every website I found was SOLD OUT! So, I finally found 1 website and ordered it from them.......in CANADA!!!!!!!!!! Then the next day, I got an email confirming my order. So, we've just been waiting! It still isn't here! So, I responded to the email, which it said I could if I had any questions, and it says the response is "undeliverable." HUMMMMMM! So, I call the 800 number from the website, and I get this recording that tells me "they are experiencing a high volume of calls and if I have any quesions to email the website." HUMMMMM??? So I emailed them again, and apparently it went through this time, but NO response from them. That was 2 days ago. Therefore, I think I got taken for my $34! I did find one website that had gotten some more in stock, so I ordered another one today. It is supposed to be here on the 26th, hopefully! I guess I may end up with 2 Yoda costumes, but that's better than none!
Tomorrow night is the biggest game in Wall Hawks Football! Wall vs. Sonora!!! It is THE GAME of the week around here. We are the BIGGEST rivals! If you are planning on coming, get here early to get a seat!
~*~Good Luck Hawks........beat the Broncos!!!!~*~
This weekend is the game of our household!!! Jeremy is a die hard Texas Tech Red Raider fan and I am a die hard University of Texas fan, and they playeach other this weekend........so we are a house divided Saturday!!! I got Caden a new UT shirt to wear, just to rub it in!!!
GO TEXAS!!!
Monday is the district cross-country meet! If the girls win, it will be like the 11th or 12th straight District Championship for them!!! They have to play in the top 3 as a team to advance to Regionals, and they should!
~*~Good Luck Hawks & Lady Hawks CC!!! Win District!!~*~
Here's a new poem for all you moms out there. I sent this to a lot of my MOM friends, but I would like to share it with everyone!
"Mom"
A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth
tomorrow, but how am I am going to live there being so small and helpless?"
God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of
you."
The child furthers inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't
have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."
God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you.
And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."
Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand
when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"
God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet
words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your
angel will teach you how to speak."
"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"
God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach
you how to pray."
"Who will protect me?"
God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its
life."
"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."
God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will
teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be
next to you."
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth
could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave
now, please tell me my angel's name."
You will simply call her, "Mom."
I hope you all have a great weekend! We are supposed to actually get some cooler weather around here the next few days. It's been almost 90 degrees all week.......IN OCTOBER! Welcome to Texas! I am ready for cooler weather! I would keep it inthe 60's -70's if it was us to me!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, and the clingy 2 year old Yoda
Wednesday, October 12, 2005 10:00 AM CDT
HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY CADEN!!!!!
I know you have all been waiting for these pictures, so here they are!!! I still have some on the regular camera to develop, so I will have more. Funny thing is....I don't think we have 1 picture of Jeremy, Caden, and me!!!
This one is from the afternoon cake at Mosaic on Friday. Another little girl was celebrating her birthday on Friday, so her mom brought Caden a cake too! There are more, but my silly computer won't save them!!!
~*~Thanks Julie!!~*~
These are from the party at our house!!
Caden swinging on the back porch before the party
The Cake.......that Sharon made! Didn't she do an awesome job???
The decorated kitchen
Caden HATING his cake
Opening presents
Caden's buddy Cole Henry
This is Caden's new trick on his ball.......he's standing on his own propped against the ball!!!
Jeremy and I had a really nice time at the wedding. We got to see all of our friends and hang out. The wedding was really nice. It was at the Inn of Salado, which is a bed and breakfast that has a quaint little chapel. Then there was a dinner and dance. We stayed up WAY too late both nights and got a late start to head home on Sunday!
Caden had a lot of fun with Jerry and Sharon while we were gone!
Caden is pretty croupy today. I took him to his 2 year check-up on Monday and he got his Hep A vaccine and a flu shot. Then he had to have blood drawn to check his Tegretol levels. They had to stick both arms....POOR BABY! When Dr. Acton asked me Monday if Caden had been coughing, I said he hadn't been. Then, wouldn't you know it, the cough started yesterday!! So, I will put a call in to him to see if we can get some medicine or if we have to come back in.
I hope you are all having a splendid week!!
Love & hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, and the 2 year old!
Sunday, October 9, 2005 4:19 PM CDT
HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY CADEN!!!!!
It's PARTY time!!!
Wednesday, October 5, 2005 12:01 AM CDT
Wednesday~~
ONLY 3 DAYS UNTIL CADEN'S 2ND BIRTHDAY!!
Caden was up about 4:30 this morning, so I got him and we all went back to sleep in our bed!!!
This morning, we had some filming at West TX Rehab for the telethon in January. It was great. They got some footage of Judy working with Caden, and then they filmed Jeremy and I answering questions and RAVING about West TX Rehab! I guess we did well, because the 2 guys doing it were really excited about the things we said! The official date for the telethon is JANUARY 21, so mark you calendars so you can tune in to see us and the Little Man on there.
Our plans are still the same for this weekend. Jeremy doesn't want his buddy to have to worry about him or his tux not fitting or anything like that on his wedding weekend, so we are leaving Friday morning early enough as to be in Austin by noon to get the tux, then it's onto Salado from there. Friday night will be the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Saturday, they guys are playing golf, and I'm SHOPPING!!! Then the wedding is Saturday evening and we will come home Sunday morning. Then Caden's PARTY is that afternoon!!!
Here are some more pics from daycare. Don't worry.....it's not blood, it's only red finger paint!!!
This is how they used to take Caden for rides before we got his chair. They'd put him in his tumbleform chair and put that chair in the wagon..........
Have a GREAT HUMP DAY!!!
Tuesday~~
ONLY 4 DAYS UNTIL CADEN'S 2ND BIRTHDAY!!
Caden slept through the night last night!!! And he gobbled up some mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner! But he's pretty snotty today.....but I've had bad sinus the last 2 days also, so I think it's the cold front that's coming tomorrow!! It's still in the 90's here, IN OCTOBER!!! Finally, we are going to get some relief from the heat!
I've been in contact with a man that works for Mosaic corporation, and we are going to be part of a story in the magazine that Mosaic puts out. It's a story on how Mosaic helps families, and MAN, have they helped us!!
As you all know, the Little Man was asked to be on the West TX Rehab Telethon in January. Well, we already got his pictures made working with Judy, and now, we have to go through a filmed interview. That is tomorrow morning.
Tonight we have Open House at school. That's where all the parents come and we visit with them. It's from 7:30-9:00. We had to get a BABYSITTER!!! It's only the second time anyone has kept Caden, besides our family. But the lady that's keeping him the lady that kept him that ONLY other time.
~*~Thanks Diane!!~*~
Our plans for this weekend are up in the air at this point. We had been prepared to be gone Fri, Sat, and come back Sun. for the wedding that Jeremy is in, but this weekend is also our cross-country meet at Wall. So, Jeremy is feeling really bad that he isn't going to be here to help or if something went wrong. So we were thinking about missing the rehearsal, going to the meet Sat. morning, then going on so Jeremy could still be in the wedding, but his buddy (whose wedding it is) is upset about that idea, so WHO KNOWS!!!! I guess we'll decide before Friday!!!
Here are some pictures of Caden playing ball at daycare. He's sitting in his chair, the KidKart Xpress. The other one is of Caden and Miss Magan that stays with him all day and helps him do COOL things, and takes AWESOME car of him! I hope she doesn't mind her picture being on here....but isn't it SOOOOO sweet!!!
Catching the ball with his hand.....
Catching the ball with his feet......
Apparently HATING the ball.......
Caden checking out Miss Magan.......Isn't she precious???
Tuesday, September 27, 2005 9:00 AM CDT
Tuesday~~
ONLY 4 DAYS UNTIL CADEN'S 2ND BIRTHDAY!!
Caden slept through the night last night!!! And he gobbled up some mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner! But he's pretty snotty today.....but I've had bad sinus the last 2 days also, so I think it's the cold front that's coming tomorrow!! It's still in the 90's here, IN OCTOBER!!! Finally, we are going to get some relief from the heat!
I've been in contact with a man that works for Mosaic corporation, and we are going to be part of a story in the magazine that Mosaic puts out. It's a story on how Mosaic helps families, and MAN, have they helped us!!
As you all know, the Little Man was asked to be on the West TX Rehab Telethon in January. Well, we already got his pictures made working with Judy, and now, we have to go through a filmed interview. That is tomorrow morning.
Tonight we have Open House at school. That's where all the parents come and we visit with them. It's from 7:30-9:00. We had to get a BABYSITTER!!! It's only the second time anyone has kept Caden, besides our family. But the lady that's keeping him the lady that kept him that ONLY other time.
~*~Thanks Diane!!~*~
Our plans for this weekend are up in the air at this point. We had been prepared to be gone Fri, Sat, and come back Sun. for the wedding that Jeremy is in, but this weekend is also our cross-country meet at Wall. So, Jeremy is feeling really bad that he isn't going to be here to help or if something went wrong. So we were thinking about missing the rehearsal, going to the meet Sat. morning, then going on so Jeremy could still be in the wedding, but his buddy (whose wedding it is) is upset about that idea, so WHO KNOWS!!!! I guess we'll decide before Friday!!!
Here are some pictures of Caden playing ball at daycare. He's sitting in his chair, the KidKart Xpress. The other one is of Caden and Miss Magan that stays with him all day and helps him do COOL things, and takes AWESOME car of him! I hope she doesn't mind her picture being on here....but isn't it SOOOOO sweet!!!
Catching the ball with his hand.....
Catching the ball with his feet......
Apparently HATING the ball.......
Caden checking out Miss Magan.......Isn't she precious???
Monday~~
ONLY 5 DAYS UNTIL CADEN'S 2nd BIRTHDAY!!
Caden's sleeping still hasn't gotten much better. My mom and dad kept him Friday night for us while we took the CC team to Round Rock and he was up at 2:45 am. My mom tried everything she could think of to get him back to sleep, and she finally gave him a bottle, and he knocked out until 9 am the next morning. Maybe he's going through a growing spurt and needs something to eat in the night. He hasn't done that since he was 2 months old! Then Sat. and Sun. night, he woke up at 12:45 exactly.....both nights, but I was able to get him back to sleep without taking him out of his bed. He slept until 9 am Sunday morning too!
~*~Thanks Mom & Dad for keeping Caden!!~*~
Caden ate pancakes Sunday morning!!! I cooked a few for us before church, and when Caden woke up, I scraped out the insides of one, put some bluberry syrup on it and gave him little bites. He loved it!!! We're getting there!!!
The CC girls ran AWESOME Saturday!! They placed 4th out of 39 A, AA, & AAA teams!! It is the best the CC team has ever done at this meet!! There were over 300 runners in their race, and our 1st runner.....Kendra (MIGHTY MOUSE)....was 12th!!!
I hope everyone had a great weekend!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & The Pancake Eating, Night Owl, Almost Birthday Boy
Friday~~
NOPE.....HE WAS UP AT 4 AM, but he did go back to sleep after a little while!
Have a great weekend!
Thursday~~
CADEN SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!
Thanks to anyone who said prayers for the Night Owl to sleep better....they worked! I put him to bed on his side, but he was back on his back when I checked on him this morning, so I don't know how much that had to do with it. Whatever it was, it worked! Now, let's see if he can do it 2 nights in a row!
MORE BIG NEWS.........
Caden ate about 1/2 of a real biscuit, NOT pureed, yesterday for breakfast!!! Miss Magan gave his little pieces and she said he was chewing them and NOT gagging!!! Isn't that awesome???
Have a GREAT day!
Wednesday~~
We could use a few prayers to figure out why Caden isn't sleeping very well. This is the same child that has slept through the night (9 pm-7 am) since he was 8 WEEKS OLD!!! Jeremy and I are going to try some different sleeping positions (like on his side) the next couple of nights and see how that helps. After that, I guess we will see if the doctor has any answers. There is something going on. Maybe it's just a phase, but it's not good on any of us to not be sleeping.
I thought you all would like to see what the Little Man is up to lately. I took these pictures the last 2 days!
Fake Smile
Real smiles
One of my favorites
Caden in his stander with his beads
Caden's "What the heck are you doing?" Look........you can see all his medicine junk in the background.
And his surprised look.....
Tuesday~~
NEW PHOTOS IN PHOTO ALBUM!!!!!!!!!
GOOD MORNING!! Hopefully, this morning at school will be better than yesterday. Well, I can't complain about yesterday's events because they caused me to not have a class until after lunch......who can gripe about that??? Yesterday, they drug dogs came to search the school, parking lot, and surrounding buildings. When they bring the dogs in, it is called "lockdown" because you can't let any of your kids leave the room until they have all been searched. This is something they do periodically because you never know what a kid might have in their locker or vehicle. Yes, we get the OCCASIONAL contraband, even in Wall! Emphasis on OCCASIONAL!! Well, yesterday, we were in "lockdown" from 8:25 am until 11:45 am!!! Yes, over 3 hours! It was definitely a record. As many of you know, it's the middle of dove season here in Texas, and we have LOTS of hunters around here, and one thing the dogs sniff out is guns and shells. So, you can imagine how many young guys had to be called out to their trucks to justify shot gun hulls or shells that were in their trucks. There were no guns to go with them, just the left over shells! So, it was an interesting morning! I was one of the lucky few that were left with no class until it was over. Well, by the time it was over, it was lunch time!!
Caden is doing really well. He's actually been eating his pureed food pretty well in the evenings. He's had Spaghetti O's, chicken with broccoli & cheese, more chicken & dressing, and some bean burrito from Taco Bell :) !!! He's handling a little more texture which is awesome! BUT, he hasn't been sleeping very well the past 2 nights. He wakes up about 2-3 hours after we put him to bed, and he seems wide awake, and he kinda jerks his arms and pulls his legs up to his tummy, and seems to be startling. I think that is what wakes him up, then he cries, and I have to go try to get him back to sleep. If I lean over the side of the crib and hold his legs and arms down, he'll go back to sleep. Then he's woken up AGAIN at 4:00 - 5:00 am doing the same jerking/startling thing. The second time he wakes up, I can't get him back to sleep unless I take him back to bed with us. Now, this morning the second time he woke up was about 4:15 am, and he wouldn't go back to sleep in his crib, so I took him to bed with me, and we went back to sleep until the alarm went off at 5:00 am. He stayed asleep and I was able to take him back to his crib and he slept until I woke him up to get him dressed. But, yesterday morning, the 2nd time he woke up was about 5:00 am and he never went back to sleep until he napped at daycare. We arent' giving him his vitamins (riboflavin/carnitine) after 3:00 pm because we know that makes him wake up, so I don't think that is it. Plus we only give his CoQ10 in the mornings, so I don't think that is what it is either. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them!!! I was up until 1:00 am Sunday night getting my grades put into the computer for six-week grade reports this week, then Caden woke me up around 2:00 am, then he was up for good at 5:00 am...........so, I am dragging this week!!!
Caden and I had most of Saturday to ourselves while Jeremy had the cross-country team in Lubbock. The girls ran AWESOME at the meet and placed 2nd out of 55 teams in the 1A & 2A division!!! Jeremy was very excited!!!
~*~Way to go Ladies!!! Keep running strong!!~*~
This weekend, the CC team will travel to Round Rock for a meet that is held on the same course that the State CC meet is run on. I get to go this weekend!!! My mom and dad are coming down Friday and are going to keep Caden for us so I can go. We will leave at half time of the football game Friday night, so the girls in the band can perform, then we will spend the night, and the meet will be Sat. morning. I am glad I don't have to miss another meet!!
~*~Good Luck Lady Hawks!!!~*~
~*~Thanks Mom & Dad for helping us out and keeping Caden!!~*~
We are getting really close to Caden's 2nd birthday!!! Once again, I can't believe he's going to be 2!! Firetrucks is the theme for his party this year. I thought the red, black, & white would be good for him to be able to see. Plus, I have the cutest firetruck that Caden's friend EMMA gave him that will make the perfect centerpiece!!
Our family has planned a Christmas ski trip to Ruidoso, NM. Jeremy and I are SO excited because we LOVE to ski, and haven't been since our honeymoon!! That's 5 years ago! My side of the family always goes WAY overboard at Christmas, and we always have, so we had the idea last year to take all the money we spend on each other and put in towards a ski trip. Well, we never got it planned last year. Well, this year WE DID!! My mom, dad, and sisters have never been skiing, so it should be exciting for everyone! We have rented a house close to the mountain where you ski (Ski Apache) from a couple that lives in Coleman, and they cut us a deal on it!! Then you divide that by 7 people, and the lodging is going to be really cheap! I think we will go ahead and draw names so each person will have 1 gift to open while we are there.....you know, in the Christmas spirit!!! WE will be there from December 22 until December 25. We have to come back a day early because the Lady Hawks have a basketball game!!
I joined a "huddle" of coaches' wives that meet for a fellowship once a month, and have a bible study every Wednesday night. Last night was my first time to go to the fellowship, and it was really great! The ladies are all wonderful and a lady from FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) comes to lead the study, and she's wonderful also!! I am really excited to be apart of this group!!
I guess that is all we have going on right now. Thanks to everyone who comes to check on Caden. We love to read the messages in the guestbook! Thank you all for all your love and support!!!
Hugs & Love,
Vicki, Jeremy, & The Night Owl
Thursday, September 22, 2005 7:55 AM CDT
One more day until Friday!!! Do any of the rest of you live for the weekends??? We certainly do. This weekend will be a tiring one for Jeremy though. The cross-country team always goes to a meet in Lubbock to run against the teams from the Panhandle and to get experience running on the course that holds the Regional Meet. So this is the Lubbock weekend. He has several runners that play int he band on Friday nights, so they wait and go to Lubbock Sat. morning......so that means they have to leave at like 4:30 am! Last year, my mom came and kept Caden and I went with them. Well, last year, we got down there, it was pouring rain, we sat around and waited to see if it was going to stop, they ended up canceling the meet, we ate lunch, and drove home!!! HOPEFULLY, they will at least get to run this year after driving all that way!! I have opted out of the trip this year.......I think I'd rather sleep that extra 4 hours!
~*~Good Luck Lady Hawks & Hawks CC teams!!! ~*~
It's also our football team's first district game, and it's going to be a good one!! It's in Ozona, so we won't be making it since Jeremy has to leave so early Sat. morning, BUT thanks to our new radio broadcast of the games, we will get to listen to the game!
~*~Good Luck Hawks......BEAT Ozona!~*~
Oh, you all want to know about Caden???? Okay, Okay, I'm getting to him!!! He's doing really good! I think he is loving it in the new room at daycare. Yesterday, he FINGER PAINTED a picture!!! They said at first he really didn't like it, but the second time they tried to get him to do it, he went to town!!! He had red paint everywhere! They took some pictures, and Kate is going to send me some copies, so hopefully I can get them on here! Just the other day, I told Jermey I wanted to get Caden a slide for his birthday. I just knew he'd love one, and one of us could slide him down while the other one caught him at the bottom. So, we got online and looked at some and got ideas of what we wanted. Then day before yesterday, like 2 days after we talked about a slide, they let him slide at daycare! They said the first time his eyes just got really big, then the second time, he just laughed all the way down!! So.......definitely getting a slide!
Our speech therapist talked to me about getting Caden off of baby food because it doesn't have as much calories as what we eat, so that is what we are working on now. We still have to puree everything because he's still hating textures, but whatever we eat, we just puree him some. So, my mom and dad were here night before last and my mom had brought some chicken and dressing that she made. So we pureed some chicken, dressing, gravy, and masked potatoes together and Caden ate on it for an hour!!! He had it again last night, and did GREAT again!!! We are excited about how he's eaten the last 2 nights. Now, he'll probably go for 2 days and hate eating again, but that's just him!!! Actually, I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we've been feeding him in his high chair more. We usually just hold him, and I think he knows when he's in that high chair that it means it's time to eat. So, we'll see how it continues.
The latest trial on Pediasure didn't go too well. I started out mixing 2 oz. Pediasure with 6 oz formula, and he still wouldn't drink it. Then what I managed to get in him, he spit up more, so I consider it another failed trial. I think it has to do with how sweet the Pediasure tastes. I can't even get him to drink the chocolate! Now, what kid doesn't like something chocolate??? I know, he's a crazy kid!!!
We are excited because his trunk is starting to feel more "solid," like his tone is getting better there. His neck is still pretty floppy, but I think it's all improving.
Last Wednesday, they came and took pictures of him and Judy doing PT. The pictures will be par tof the rehab telethon in January. Well, they have taken one of them and blown it way up, like twice the size of a poster, and they are going to put it on mat board and frame it. It will be used at a dinner they have, and then at the telethon. It is so cute!!! Caden and I are in the ball pit, and I am holding him up, while he's looking over at Judy while she's leaning over the side working with him. It's so cute!!!
Tuesday morning, Jeremy woke us both up at 7:15 am!! I get up every morning at 5:00 am to make it to school on time and we leave the house at 7:15 am, so you can imagine our panick!!! At least I don't have a first period class, so I had a little time to spare, but Jermey did have a first period class, so he was really in a rush. Then, you know what that makes the rest of your day like.......it was not good! I kept looking at he alarm that had been switched to "on" instead of "alarm" and yelling at it, "WHY didn't you go off??" Well, it didn't go off because I switched it to "on," instead of "alarm"!! I guess Someone knew we needed a couple extra hours of sleep! But it just made me feel more tired!! It was a frantic morning and day!
Friday is the last day of the first six-weeks at school. I can't believe how it's flown by so quickly!!! I am really enjoying my job here at the high school. I miss all my friends from Fairview, but I am glad to be here. Jeremy and I get to ride together a lot of days, and eat lunch together most days. It's nice!
Well, we are sending out LOTS of prayers to everyone on the Texas coast with Rita heading their way. Hopefully after what Katrina did, the people will all get out of there. At least the evacuations are going more smoothly. Many prayers to the people from Lousiana that had evacuated to Houston, and are now having to evacuate from there. What TERRIBLE luck! I hope anyone's family and friends that live on the coast are safely up our way, where it's going to be drier!
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!! I have got to get some new pictures of the Little Man to put on here. We'll work on that this weekend!!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, and Caden the artist
Thursday, September 15, 2005 7:20 PM CDT
Friday~ PRAYER REQUEST:
Please say a prayer for Heather's family. Another beautiful child lost their battle with mito.
Thursday~
Well, our "Little Man" is growing up! Yesterday was the first day that I didn't drop him off in the nursery at daycare. He is moving up to the next room, permanently. It is going to be really good for him to be around kids that are a little closer to his age so he can hear the sounds they make and do the things they do. Yesterday, he colored his first picture for us!!! I know he had lots of help, but just to know he's getting exposed to those things is a wonderful feeling. I know he will miss Ms. Michelle, Ms. Shavonne, and Ms. Nicole, from the nursery, soooooo much, but I think Michelle has a deal worked out so she still gets to see him throughout the day!!!! Mosaic hired a wonderful girl, Ms. Magan, to be with Caden one-on-one all day long!! She will be with him from 8 am to 4 pm. She seems to have really taken over care for Caden and she's very sweet and is doing a great job! Everyone rest assured that she has lots of experience in caring for someone handicapped.
~*~Thanks Magan, for making sure Caden does and gets everything he needs daily.......including lots of love!!~*~
~*~Thanks to Michelle, Shavonne, Nicole, & Veronica for taking such wonderful care of Caden while he was in the nursery.~*~
Yesterday, at PT, they came in to take pictures of Judy working with Caden for the West TX Rehab Telethon in January. I mentioned it awhile ago that Caden will be a TV star for the telethon. I know they got lots of great pictures, and I am hoping they will share some with me!!! After PT, Rehab Home Medical brought over Caden's Kid Kart Express. That is his stroller type wheelchair that we ordered A LONG time ago, and for some reason the company had to wait on some parts or something, and it has taken since the end of last school year until now to get it. Well, it fit him ALL WRONG yesterday, so they took it back and made some adjustments to it and brought it back to us at PT today. Now it's PERFECT!!! I will have to get some pictures of Caden in it and put them on here. It will be so good for him. It sits up higher than a regular stroller, and it holds his chest and head in place. He really seems to LOVE it!! Pictures of it to come.....I promise!!!
Good Luck to the Lady Hawks and Hawks this weekend at the ASU cross-country meet!!!
I have some sad news to share with all of you. Some of you may remember a young mom named Jenn Swanson that I posted a link to her website on Caden's site last year. She had leukemia and had undergone a stem cell transplant. Jenn's kidneys and liver couldn't handle all she had going on, and she lost her courageous battle with a terrible disease. Please take a minute to say a prayer for her husband, young son, best friend, and the rest of her family. If you have time, you might visit her guestbook and offer them a word of support in this time of sorrow. Jenn Swanson
Thank you all for visiting and checking on our little "Big Man!"
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & little "Big Man"
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 12:59 AM CDT
I guess since it's almost time for 6-week report cards, that I should find a new theme for Caden's page!!! Man, it's week 5 of school, and I am just finding time to breath!!! I finally got all my papers graded and am collecting more! Time if flying by so quickly now that we are in school and I am so busy during the day. Jeremy and I carpool on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays....so it saves us some on gas. Can you all believe how much it is now?? Jeremy keeps saying it will never be less than $2 a gallon again. I sure hope he's wrong! Anyways, I just stay up here and work in my room or go hang out with him while they have cross-country practice after school when we ride together. We can't carpool the other days because Caden has therapy in town right after school, and Jeremy has to stay out here for practice.
Speaking of cross-country......the Lady Hawks won AGAIN!! Our top varsity runner won the whole race, then we had the other 4 of our top 5 varsity runners finish in the top 10 overall!! It was a great race! The JV girls won their race also, and the 7th grade girls were 1st, the 8th grade girls were 2nd, and the Hawks won the varsity boys CC race. I am not sure about the JH boys, but it was a good day for Wall CC!!! This week, we get to stay close to home again because the girls run here in town at ASU.
The Hawks football team won the Homecoming game Friday night also. They blew Coahoma away, 33-6! congratulations to Ms. Emily Porter.......the new Wall HS Homecoming Queen!!!
Caden is feeling better, but his little cough is still hanging around. We took him over to see his friend Cole Henry yesterday afternoon. Cole is a total crack-up....we were laughing the whole time!!! It's amazing what 2 year olds can do!
Two year olds........I can't believe we have a two year old!!! (almost!!) Man, I say it all the time, but I can't BELIEVE how fast the time has gone by. Caden will officially be 2 in a little over 3 weeks. It's really sneaking up on me! This year we are just doing a small family birthday for him. We will have a few people that are like family to us there, but besides that, we are sticking to family this year. We will have his party Sunday afternoon, October 9. Jeremy and I actually have to go to Salado that weekend because Jeremy is in a wedding! His last college friend is finally getting married! All the rest of them have tied the knot, and Layne is the last!! So, Jeremy's dad and step-mom are coming down to keep Caden at our house and when we get back, we will have his party. It will be a nice weekend!!
I guess that is about all that's going on in our lives. I hope you are all having a wonderful September....it's almost 1/2 way over!!! You better start planning for Halloween! Caden is going to be Yoda, in honor of my BIG Jedi......Jeremy!! He's the biggest Star Wars fan ever! If you have watched Big Brother lately and saw how Howie acted when he got his light sabers......that's Jeremy to a tee!!!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & "Yoda"
Thursday, September 1, 2005 12:54 AM CDT
Tuesday~~
Just an update on our weekend. Well, late Thursday, I started feeling pretty bad, then Friday, and by Saturday, I felt terrible. Caden ended up having fever Sat. morning, but not again until about 3:30 am Sunday morning. So, we made an appointment with the pedi on-call Sunday at 10 am. Dr. Rider, who's not our regular pedi, said it was just a cold, but for precautionary measures, she ordered a chest x-ray. Of course the radiologist was not there, but she could see a small amount of infiltration in the upper lobe of his right lung. So, we have started antibiotics, and hopefully that will "kick it in the butt!" Besides that, he seems to be feeling okay. You can tell his rough little cough hurts him when it comes around, but otherwise......he's still Mr. Attitude!
Jeremy and I are better also. We still have lots of congestion, but are getting around a lot better!!!
Jeremy's varsity girls won the ACU CC meet Saturday, and so did the varsity boys! The JV teams had to run with the varsity because they didn't have their own division this week. All the girls and guys did AWESOME!!
The Hawks football team won in OVERTIME Friday night! It was an exciting game!
Prayers to all the Hurricane victims and everyone helping and rescuing the people and animals!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Thursday~~
It's almost FRIDAY!!!! Well, I think Jeremy's sickness was allergies, so he wouldn't have been contagious, but now we ALL have it!!! Lots of runny or stopped up noses, congestion, and drainage in our house. I am feeling pretty cruddy today, and Caden has snot around his nose this morning. Hopefully it's something blowing through and it will keep on moving.
Besides his snotty nose, Caden's great! He has been doing really well in therapy. He's really getting his head under control for up to 5 seconds at a time! Yesterday wasn't very good, but that was because I had to wake him from his nap to go, so he was Mr. Grumpy!! He really showed off that new attitude he's found!!! He's like a little jumping bean with his new energy! He's rolling towards Jeremy or I if we lay beside him, and he's rolling and moving himself (while on his back) to ge tto his toys he wants!! Prayers are being answered!!!
I can't believe the devastation in Lousiana and everywhere down toward the coast. Then add to that the rescue boats can't help rescue people because the looters are shooting at them!!! Can you believe those people? We have so many good clothes left over from the garage sale that we were keeping for next time or taking to Good Will........but I wish there was some way we could get them to Houston to the people in the Astrodome, or to New Orleans. Any ideas??? I keep seeing these pictures of people with children and babies stranded, and I feel so bad for them. Jeremy and I were talking about if we were stranded there with Caden, and what we would do. It would be awful! Where would you get formula? He can't eat food. Are there people there in that situation? How are they feeding their kids? It just breaks my heart.
"FILL THE BOOT" started yesterday here in San Angelo. This is where the fire fighters stand at the intersections in town and people can donate money or spare change to "fill" the firefighter's boot. It is for Muscular Distrophy and Jerry's Kids! If you don't know, Caden's mitochondrial disorder is considered to be a muscular distrophy........so if you donate, you are helping research and finding a cure for HIM!!! So, FILL THE BOOTS!!! The MDA telethon is Monday, and we are anxious to see if there are some mito kids on there. I am sure there will be!
Here are the pictures of Caden's swing that His Mimi Sharon and Pops Jerry (Jeremy's dad & step-mom) built for him. It was really great and Caden LOVED it. I think I have talked about it in a past journal. The last one is his name that they put in the cement that helps hold the posts in the ground. Caden could have stayed in this swing the whole time we were in NM last time.......if we would have let him!!!
I guess that is about all for today. I am still grading papers!!! Many prayers go out to all the victims of the hurricane, and to all our friends and family in need of something. Thank you all for supporting us on our journey!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & "The Jumping Bean"
Thursday, August 25, 2005 8:40 AM CDT
Tuesday~~
Just wanted to update you all on the last few days. We are all doing well! I don't feel like I've had time to breath yet, since school has started, but it's a good feeling!
The Hawks won a very exciting game Friday night! It was so great! They beat Crane by 9 points ( I believe) and Crane was picked to beat us by 3!! Guess the guys showed them! Both teams were very good, so it made for an awesome game!
The Lady Hawks varsity CC team won the varsity race Saturday, and the JV got 4th. Jeremy was excited, and the girls had EXCELLENT times for the first race of the year!
Caden is doing really well. Have I told you all about his new attitude??? Well, has he got one! I love to see him express himself, and it makes me laugh......but when he starts squealing in the middle of restaurants, it gets a little embarassing! He has always been such a mild tempered, well-behaved guy. But that's all changing! Then, when I try to scold him, HE LAUGHS AT ME!!! What am I supposed to do about that? It's really pretty funny. He gets so mad when he can't get his way, or when he wants something and can't get it or wants to do something and can't do it. He's definitely a LITTLE STINKER!
Well, I guess I should go. We have PT in 30 minutes. Jeremy has been a little sickly.....sore throat and chest, so he's not getting to hold Caden, and he can't hardly stand it! I hope he's better by this afternoon. Prayers out to everyone hit by the hurricane. It's terrible destruction. Prayers and Hugs to all of you that check on us and our Little Man! We love you all and couldn't make it without your support. Thank you!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Mr. Attitude
Last Friday~~
I forgot to tell you all....since I changed schools, I have a new email address. It is now: vicki.williams@wallisd.net
I will still get emails at my other account for a little while, but please change it in your address books!
Happy Friday!!!
Thursday~~
My sincere apologies to everyone for making you wait sooooo long for an update. Between finishing the kitchen, getting ready for a garage sale (and having it!), changing from one school & classroom to another, LIFE has been VERY hectic & busy the past 3 weeks. I don’t hardly feel like I have had time to breath, much less sit down at the computer! So, here goes…..it’s bound to be a long one!
The kitchen did FINALLY get completely finished! We were very glad to have it all done, and it looks so pretty now.
The new job is going well. It’s a lot more time consuming than teaching at Fairview, but it’s good. It keeps me busy and my mind occupied! I truly miss my friends at the other school, but I am also here with lots of our other friends now too, so it helps. The kids here at the high school have been GREAT, and I hear that some of my students from Fairview actually miss me, so that makes me feel good.
Our garage sale was a success. They always are because we have like 5 families that bring stuff to sale, and this time we had lots of furniture, and it always sales well. We all made some money to help out with all kinds of things.
To many of you all’s surprise, Jeremy and I just got back from Atlanta! I didn’t even have time to get on here and tell you all that we were going. I am sure I mentioned it at some point in another update, but if you’re like me, you forget those things unless you read about them just before they happen. This was our follow-up with Dr. Shoffner. It’s the soonest we could get in to talk to him about Caden’s muscle biopsy test results. Caden stayed with my mom and dad since we were just going to discuss things, Dr. S had told us in March that Caden wouldn’t have to be there this time. It was MUCH easier traveling with just Jeremy and me and 1 carry-on bag!!! The appointment went well, and we heard some things we wanted and needed to hear and some things that we didn’t want to hear. Dr. S’s exact words were…..”This is NOT a catastrophic diagnosis.” When he said that I even asked him, “So with this diagnosis, Caden’s not dying?” And he said, “NO!” He did call it “chronic” meaning it’s something we will deal with for the rest of Caden’s life, but he said Caden would be here for many years! I think all mito diagnoses are progressive or degenerative at some point, but for Caden, it doesn’t look like it’s any time soon! So, that was the best thing he could have told us! He also said that he felt like Caden will progress and start to do lots of things. What things, we don’t know and he didn’t say, but it was still good to hear. He said with these types of diseases, the first 2 years seem to be the hardest, so he said he’s interested in seeing what all Caden starts to do! Good to hear, huh??? This made both of us cry! I was already crying! We also discussed treatment for Caden, and nothing will really change. We will keep up the therapies, the supplements, and the meds we are on right now. We do have to be careful about illnesses. These kids get dehydrated very easily, so we have to get fevers down quickly, and watch any throwing up. We will have to take him into the doctor or hospital more quickly than the average kid when he gets sick. So I will be known as the mother that over reacts!!!
Of course we had planned to fly down there Monday, meet with him Tuesday, and fly back that afternoon, so we could be at school yesterday and only have to miss one day of work. Well, nothing EVER happens like you plan!! First of all, we left school a little late on Monday, so we were driving like bats out of you-know-where to get to Dallas. We dropped Caden off with my mom and dad on the side of the road, and were off again! We got to DFW about an hour before our flight was scheduled to leave. My sister met us there and kept our car for us so we wouldn’t have to park it. Then our flight out of Dallas was supposed to leave at like 9:15 pm, but there were storms in Atlanta, so we finally got to fly out just before 10:00. So we got to Atlanta, and the car rental place in the airport was closed, so thankfully, the guy was still there, and he took us to the office that was just a little ways away from the airport. We finally got to our hotel (30 min from airport) and got in bed about 2 am Eastern time. It was SO humid in Atlanta that our bed felt like it was soaking wet! Bad hair day!!! We slept so hard that neither of us woke up until 11 am the next morning, and we were supposed to be at Dr. S’s office by 12:30, so we had to get moving, FAST! We got there and he spent about 1 hr. 15 min. with us, and then it was off again. We went to a big Babies R Us there by the hotel, and then headed back towards downtown Atlanta, had a GOOD lunch at a nice restaurant together, and had to hurry off to the airport. We were cutting it VERY close at that point! Our flight out of Atlanta was supposed to leave at 6:06 pm, and it was about 4:30 when we left the restaurant!! So, we dropped off the car, took the shuttle to the airport, and got checked in about 5:15. So as we waited for our flight, all of a sudden, it got delayed, and we didn’t know why. So, I got up to go to the restroom and you couldn’t even see the tarmac because it was raining so hard! So, we were stuck again because of Atlanta weather! The flight that was supposed to be picking us up was coming to Atlanta from Dallas, and it got diverted to Birmingham because of the weather. Then it kep storming, and thundering, and our flight kept getting delayed longer, and longer! Okay, our flight was supposed to leave at 6:06, we got to the airport about 5:00, and we FINALLY took off at 9:45 pm!! We were at the airport for almost 5 hours!!!! Thank goodness we didn’t have Caden! We arrived in Dallas at 10:50 pm Central time. Needless to say, we didn’t make it back to school yesterday! My sister picked us up, we dropped her off at her vehicle, and we hit the road. We were going to try to make it back to my mom & dad’s house, but we only made it back as far as Weatherford, and had to spend the night. So, it was quite a trip!!! But we are home now and back at school!
Caden’s been great! He’s so funny nowadays! He’s very interactive and silly. He had a good summer and was very healthy……only 1 ear infection the whole time! He’s getting stronger every day and is doing new things all the time. He will roll towards one of us to touch us. He will roll over to get a toy, or he even rolls over to be on his tummy now. While on his stomach, he’s able to get his arms out from under him, and is starting to push up on them!!!
The Lady Hawks’ Cross-Country team’s first meet is this Saturday at Eula, and the Hawks first football game is Friday against Crane.
I hope you all have had a wonderful few weeks, and to all my Caringbridge friends………..please forgive me for not stopping by in a few weeks. I hope you are all healthy and happy, and I have been thinking about you all! I will talk to you all soon!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Friday, August 5, 2005 3:17 PM CDT
Friday Afternoon~
I GOT THE JOB!!! I WILL NOW BE THE FRESHMAN ENGLISH TEACHER AT WALL HIGH SCHOOL!!!
Thank you Mr. Mahler & the other English teachers at the high school for giving me this opportunity to work with you all!!!
Friday morning~
We are home AGAIN!! And this time, it’s going to be for a long time! I am unpacking all the bags and not packing them again for months!
Caden caught a little cold and started to get congested last weekend while we were at my mom and dad’s house and Jeremy was camping. Then we came home on Sunday, and left for Lovington on Monday. While we were there, his left ear started to drain yucky stuff, so I called Dr. Acton and he called in some ear drops to Walgreen’s in Hobbs. His congestion sounds better, but his ear is still draining a little. Luckily, his ear tubes appear to be doing their job because he hasn’t seemed to miss a beat! He’s been his happy-go-lucky self the whole time.
We all had a nice time while we were in Lovington. Caden got to meet his cousin Jaiden for the first time. Jaiden is 4 and is SO cute and spunky! His mom, Amanda, is Jeremy’s step-mom’s daughter, and I haven’t seen her since Jeremy and I were dating, I guess. It was GREAT to finally meet Jaiden and see Amanda again. You can tell that Amanda is a wonderful mother because she was great with Caden! She fed him and even got him to sleep for a nap one day and for bed one night.
All the grandparents in NM enjoyed seeing Caden. We spent Monday evening at Lynda’s house and we sat outside on her new patio and Caden got to meet Marsha, one of Lynda’s friends. Jerry & Sharon had spent lots of time building Caden a special swing in their backyard. I will put pictures on here as soon as we get some developed of it. They made it out of a beach chair and some big poles, but they put lots of time and effort into it to make it PERFECT for Caden. Caden LOVED it!!!!!
We managed to get to the photo studio on Tuesday. Caden had a long nap that morning, and he was laughing and talking on the way to Hobbs, so we thought he’d do great for the pictures. Well, he didn’t do BAD, but we couldn’t get him to give us a good smile. Maybe we were overloading him with all our antics to get him to smile…….who knows!! We did get a little smile and we got a GREAT family picture! The 2 best ones are up above. Joanie Morrill does the best job of working with us and Caden to get the best shots possible. We also signed a release form for her to enter the Santa picture in a contest!! I miss seeing those Santa pictures on here, but it was time for a change!! I hope you like the new ones too!
I had a job interview this morning! A 9th grade English job opened at the high school last week, so I applied, and HOPEFULLY I will get it. I should know by this evening. I love my job at Fairview, but being at the high school would be awesome! Everyone say a little prayer and keep your fingers crossed!
Jeremy is working on the yard…….it needed lots of TLC since we’ve been gone so much this summer. My whole family and some friends of ours are having a HUGE yard sale next weekend! We have so much stuff that it might not all fit in the yard! If you live near-by and need furniture, appliances, baby things, clothes, shoes, ANYTHING…..come see us next weekend!!!
BACK TO SCHOOL is our new theme around here! We start back August 15, and the students start on the 17th. I can’t believe that summer is gone! I don’t know why I can’t believe it....it always happens like this! It is here and gone before we know it every year! We got to see our friends here in San Angelo a lot more while we were in school because this summer has been SO busy! I will actually be glad to get back into a routine when school starts. I forget things to easily when we aren't on a schedule!
Here are some pictures of Caden in Baby Boot Camp! We were giving him some tummy time and he was lifting his head really well!! There is also a really sweet one of Jaiden kissing Caden just before he left to go back to Phoenix. I hope you enjoy them!!!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Caden standing up against the couch!
Hating it!
Lifting his head and looking around!
Looking around some more!
And more!
Jaiden kissing Caden good-bye!
Tuesday, July 26, 2005 2:53 PM CDT
Tuesday~
My inservice yesterday was about Microsoft Moviemaker. It is SO cool! I also met the nicest lady yesterday that was there too. Actually we were both in the one Friday also, but we sat by each other yesterday. She teaches at a near-by school and her little she has a webpage for her little boy and her other babies....her puppies she raises. She know a lot more about computers than me, so I was asking her if she knew how I could get the movie I made on Caden's webpage. We really didn't know, so she offered to put it on her webpage and give me a link to it! Isn't that AWESOME?? She was so nice and helpful! So, here it is.....You should just be able to click on the link and it will take you to a page that says "Caden's Movie." From there, click on Caden's Movie and it should bring up Microsoft Media Player. If you are going to be watching it more than once, please right click on the title and select "Save Target As" then save it to your computer. It's about 2 min. long, so for those of you with dial-up, it may take a long time to get it. When the movie comes up, there is a tiny arrow at the bottom right hand corner of the screen that will make it bigger. If it's a tiny screen, just double click on the screen and it will go to full screen. I hope you all can see it....it's pretty cute!! I hope you enjoy it!!
~*~Thank you SO much Jeanann for helping me out and providing me the link!~*~
Jeremy took Caden to daycare this morning, so when he gets back, we will start tiling! He doesn't think we will get finished today, but I think we will get most of it done.
Caden was great yesterday and he and Jeremy had a blast staying at home! He went to bed a little early last night, therefore he was up a little early. He hasn't been wanting his baby food mush the past few days, so hopefully that will pass and he'll start being a little piggy again.
I can't believe I forgot to tell you all this..........it's the grossest story EVER!!! On a scale of 1-10 Gross Factor, I'd give it an 11!!! I know some of you moms deal with this a lot with your kiddos, but this is the FIRST time in 21 months that I have seen anything like this!!! Okay, my mom took my sister and I to eat at Red Lobster Friday night. Now, I told you all that Caden's constipation had come back, but it's trying to work itself out, so Friday, he had had 2 dirty diapers, but just little bitty ones. (if that makes sense) So Friday night, we are in the restaurant and we are all eating, and Caden's sitting in his carrier seat, and I leaned over to talk to him and smelled a dirty diaper. Okay, no big deal! I was almost finished, so I thought "I'll finish my food, and give him time to make sure he's finished pooping." So, in a minute, the smell got WAY stronger, so I said, "Nope, can't wait any longer, I gotta go change him." So I got a diaper and the wipes ou tof the diaper bag and picked Caden up. Well, as I started to walk off to the bathroom, I realized I had poop on my hand and that it was coming from Caden's shorts leg! So I get to the bathroom, and I can't do anything! I can't lay him down on the changing table because I have poop on my free hand!!! So finally I get him on it and he bumped his head because I couldn't support him as well as I needed to with my poopy hand. Then I didn't know how to get his shorts off because the leg was FULL of poop! So I just pulled them off and they got poop all over his leg. So by this time I notice that I only have about half a package of wipes and as you can tell, that was not going to be NEAR ENOUGH!!! So, about that time, my sister walks in the bathroom, THANK GOD!!! So we got all the wet paper towels and soapy paper towels we could get and started cleaning up the Little Man! His shorts were SO bad that I just threw them in the trash! It was AWFUL! Then all I had was a t-shirt type onsie to put on him, no shorts, so that's how we left the restaurant! It was quite an ordeal for Caden and me!!! Needless to say, he got a GOOD bath when we got to the house!!!
If those of you that know me well can picture that story in your mind, you probably got a huge laugh reading it!!! I hope it gave you a cheery Tuesday!!
Happy Monday!!!
Well, I am sitting in another inservice today and we are almost finished. Our plans had to change for this week because I have to get these inservice hours before school starts and there aren't any left if I wait any longer!! So, our trip to New Mexico has been moved to next week! We will go down there Monday, try to get pictures made on Tuesday (just like the plans from this week), and come home Wednesday or Thursday. The BEST thing about that is not only will Caden get to meet his cousin Jayden, but he will also get to meet Jayden's mom, Amanda!!!!! Plus we will get to see Amanda again, becasue we haven't seen her since they moved to Phoenix!!
Caden's doing well! He woke up early this morning, and Jeremy was going to take him to daycare so he could work ont he tile while I was gone today, but at 8:30 am, they were both still in our bed watching TV!!!! Jeremy said, "WE are staying here today!"
My mom and sister came to stay with Caden and I while Jeremy was gone to Oklahoma. We did some cleaning and LOTS of shopping!!! Mom and Kim did a lot of 'lovin on the Little Man!!!
~*~Thank Mom and Kim for coming and helping me, and taking us shopping!!~*~
HOPEFULLY, we will get just about done with the tile tomorrow. Caden will be at daycare, so we will have time to try to finish it. If not, maybe by Thursday! Any way about it, it's getting finished THIS WEEK!!!!!!
Have a GREAT WEEK!!
Thursday, July 21, 2005 9:36 PM CDT
Friday~
I am sitting here in my inservice and was just going to waste a little time. We have made plans to get Caden's pictures made in New Mexico Tuesday. Jeremy and I are even going to get 1 or 2 made with him....it was even Jeremy's idea!!! I am so excited!! Hopefully we can get the ones we buy on a CD like last time and I will get them on here ASAP!! I hope they turn out as well as his Christmas pics did. I am sure she will do whatever she can to make sure they do!
I have a splitting headache today. I think it's sinus with these clouds that Huricane Emily has brought our way. I wanted to take a nap on my lunch break, but I was afraid I wouldn't wake up until tomorrow!!
Caden seemed better this morning. I hope it was just a sleep issue!!
I think my mom and sister are coming to stay tonight with me so Caden and I aren't alone. Not that we can't stay alone, but Jeremy called my mom and asked her to come. He just did't want us to be lonely!! Plus if Kim and Mom are here, I can get some more tile put up while they have Caden!!!
Have a great weekend!!
Thursday~
Look at me go........2 updates in 1 week!!! Yesterday and today were filled with more work on the kitchen! Oh how I wish we had before and after pictures! You all would be AMAZED!! All the yellow is officially GONE! My mom and dad came down yesterday, and Jeremy and my dad got the Formica down on the 2 last surfaces that used to be yellow. Then today, Jeremy put up backerboard so I could start tiling the backsplashes........so start tiling I did! I only got a small section done before it was time to go get Mr. Caden from daycare and go to PT, but it looks really good! I will put after pictures when it's totally done, and I will try to explain what all we did.
Thank you Dad for helping Jeremy, and thank you Mom for helping me and buying Caden some new shirts!!
Caden just has not been himself this afternoon and evening. Maybe it has something to do with him not taking a nap all day until 5:00 when we left PT. It's NO good for any of us when he doesn't get a nap all day. When he's here, he takes 2 naps, but I guess he's got too much playing to do at daycare and he forgets about it!!! Anyway, I hope that is it. He is getting a new tooth on the bottom, but his teeth have never really bothered him when they come in, and it's been coming in for several days, so I don't see how it would just bother him today. I did have to put Miralax in his bottle this morning because he hadn't pooped in 2 days, so maybe it upset his tummy. I have heard other moms say it's done that to their kids. Who knows!!! He has just been really fussy since he woke up from his LATE nap. Maybe he didn't get his nap out!
It was good to get him back to therapy this week. They taped (Kinesiotape) his back, neck, and tummy this week, and I really do think it helps. After we went 2 weeks without it and saw how FLOPPY he was, to this week with the tape......I can notice a difference. I didn't think I did when he was getting taped all the time, but to go without it, and now with it, he's better with it.
I do think the mito cocktail gives him more energy. I may be repeating myself, but I think that if he was up walking and playing that we would notice more of a difference, but it does make him want to move around more. Which is a Catch 22 because with the movement disorder that we are trying to control, it's hard to know what is what!
Jeremy leaves tomorrow to go to Oklahoma to watch Lauren (from the last picture in the last journal) play in the Texas-Oklahoma All-Star game Saturday. He is going with another coach from a near-by town that also has a girl playing in it. They will either come home late Saturday, after the game, or Sunday.
Good Luck Lauren.....play hard!!!
Then Sunday or Monday, we will be going the opposite direction to New Mexico to see Jeremy's family. We don't have any plans finalized yet, but I may see about getting the wonderful lady at Morrill Photography (that did his Christmas pics) to do some pictures of Caden. We will spend time with Jeremy's dad and Sharon, and also his mom and grandmother. Also, Caden will get to meet his cousin Jadyn, who is Sharon's daughter, Amanda's, son. We have never gotten to actually meet Jadyn, only seen pictures and heard stories, because he lives with Amanda and Israel, his mom and dad, in Phoenix. Man, the other night on the weather channel, it was still like 107 in Phoenix at 10:00 at night. I bet Jadyn will like getting down to NM where it's a little cooler.......anywhere has to be cooler than Phoenix!!!
I guess I will close for tonight. Jeremy's trying to get Caden to sleep, and he can always wear him down, but it usually takes me rocking him in the last 5-10 minutes to send him off to sleep. I hope you all have a great weekend!
Hug & Love,
Vicki, Jeremy, and Mr. Caden
Sunday, July 17, 2005 3:10 PM CDT
WOW!!! We are finally home for a little while!! In the past 2 weeks, we were only here for 72 hours…….and that time was spent unpacking, washing clothes, and repacking! It’s been a very hectic 2 weeks!
Thank you all for your sweet messages concerning my Granny's passing. Her funeral was as nice as you can consider a funeral to be. As I said before, because of the holiday, we only had a graveside service at 2:00 pm on Sunday, July 3. The evening before, we had all the family and lots of family-friends together at the funeral home. It was nice to see everyone that we haven’t seen in a long time, and it was nice to talk and remember good things and times that we all had with Granny. She looked better than any of us had seen her look in years. I know she is in a much better place now, and she and her husband Papa Lee, and my MaMaw and Papa Madison are all looking down on us and helping look out for Caden and all his doctors and specialists.
The Sunday of the funeral was a crazy day for Jeremy and I. For a few days before that, I had been having a little pain in my abdomen. It was nothing that worried me……in fact, I thought I’d done something to myself when we were working on the kitchen. Well, the morning of the funeral, we were already at my mom and dad’s house, and I woke up and went to the restroom about 8 am and began to feel excruciating pain after I tried to go back to bed. I kept thinking it would stop, but it didn’t! So, I woke Jeremy up, and by that time, I couldn’t even stand up straight. Okay girls……..I’m talking pain as bad as or worse than contractions!!!! So, we decided that I needed to go to see someone and our only option was the ER in Abilene. So, about 8:45 am, we set off to Abilene. Jeremy drove very fast, and by the time we got to Abilene (40 min) I was feeling a lot better. In fact, I felt that I really didn’t need to be there at all. But, I got in to see the doctor and apparently I probably have kidney stones! He said either that, or the start of some kind of infection, but after Sunday morning, I haven’t hurt again….and I think I would have still hurt for a few days if it had been an infection. Anyways….the REAT thing about kidney stones is that they can rear their UGLY head again at any time. It could be days, or months, and if I didn’t pass it, it could come back again and I’ll feel the same thing. Anyways, kidney stones or infection, either way, they treat it the same way….with antibiotics and pain pills, so I got my prescriptions and we rushed off to get them filled before we left town. I had been at the ER for a good 2 hrs, so by this time, we were pushing it on time to get home and get to the funeral. My mom and dad, and sister had kept Caden, so they took him with them to the funeral because we were barely going to make it in time. So, Jeremy and I sped back to the house. I only had 40 min. to get ready before we had to leave to make it to May, TX by 2:00. Those of you that know me, know that is not NEAR enough time for me to get ready! So, I jumped in the shower, dried my hair, put like 5 curls in it, put on my dress, and off we went! I had to fix my hair and make-up in the car on the way. But, we made it right at 2:00. Of course, when my mom and dad showed up with Caden, everyone had a million questions about Jeremy & I, so they ALL knew where we had been by the time we got there! So, then I had to answer a million questions! But as I said, I haven’t hurt again…..so keep your fingers crossed!
Everyone loved Caden!! Some of my family had never gotten to see him in person, so they all fell in love with him! We had cool refreshments after the service at a near-by church……and he stole everyone’s hearts!
From there, we went on to Breckenridge to my oldest sister’s house for July 4th. We stayed there from Sunday night until Thursday morning when we had to go to Dallas for our neurologist check-up. We all had a blast at Kim’s house and we all got to swim a lot since she has a pool. Caden had a lot of fun in the pool! Jeremy and Kim’s husband, Bryan got to play golf on Wednesday. Thursday we were to leave Kim’s house at 5:30 am to head for Dallas. Caden had been doing great the whole time we were at Kim’s house, and he had been sleeping great……until Wednesday night! We stayed up a little late playing poker and Caden had been asleep for a while. Then for some reason, Jeremy couldn’t sleep either……so about 2:30 am, Caden woke up and wasn’t about to go back to sleep, so Jeremy got up with him and I got a little sleep. Caden was still WIDE awake at 4:00 am, and by this time……Jeremy hadn’t gotten 1 ounce of sleep! So, about 4:30 am, my sister got up with him so I could get ready and Jeremy could try to get a little sleep. Anyways, we got off by 5:30 am, and since I was the only one who had any sleep, I got to drive the whole way to the dr. appointment! That little stinker, Caden, only slept about 30 minutes the whole way to Dallas!
Our appointment went fine……it was just a follow-up, so nothing exciting. The neurologist does want to do one more test……one that NO ONE has mentioned before!! Not 2 weeks before we left home, I was researching and reading some stuff and came across an EMG (electromyography), which is a test that tests the electrical activity in muscles. I know several kids with hypotonia and for most of them, this is the first test their doctors run. Well, I told Jeremy, “out of all this and all Caden’s had done, NO ONE has mentioned and EMG.” Well, the neurologist did this time. She wants to have the EMG done, so we are just waiting for the place that does it to call us to set it up. It’s a fairly simple test, and maybe it will tell us something about his muscles!
After we left the neurologist’s office, we went to my middle sister’s house in Lewisville. At that point, we all crashed for a nap!! After that, we went to eat lunch with her and headed back this direction. We made it as far as my mom and dad’s house and decided we were too tired to come on to San Angelo. So, we finally made it back here on Friday. Then on Saturday, I had to go to a bridal shower for my little cousin, who’s getting married the first weekend in August.
Monday afternoon, Caden and I went back to my mom and dad’s house, because we were all leaving Tuesday morning to go to coaching school. Well, my sister, her husband, and I were leaving from mom and dad’s house, and Jeremy was leaving from here with his coaches and Lauren, who was playing in the All-Star game that Jeremy was going to coach. Caden was going to stay with my mom and dad. So we were in Austin from Tuesday until Friday. Mom and Dad and Caden had a blast with each other, and we all had fun in Austin! Jeremy didn’t get to do much since he had practices and meetings most of the time…..until Thursday! The All-Star basketball game was Thursday night. Jeremy was so nervous about the whole week, but it went GREAT!!! You see…….in the All-Star game, there is a 1A, 2A, and 3A team from the North and one from the South. The TGCA committee picks the best girls from the North and South from nominations from coaches. The North usually ends up with the strongest team because they get all the girls from the Panhandle….teams like Canyon, Seagraves, Muleshoe, and all. So, for the last few years, they have beaten the South team pretty badly. Well, we are considered from the South, and the South was the team that Jeremy was coaching. Those girls from the South came out ON FIRE……..and played their hearts out, and kept it a 2-3 point game the entire time! I think the North was shocked! The South played so well, and ended up losing by only 5 points! That is awesome considering it’s usually 20 points!!! Jeremy had so much fun! He was so excited after the game! He also got a beautiful gold and silver watch for coaching! Below I posted some pictures of Caden and then some of Jeremy, his team, and him and Lauren. Lauren played AWESOME, and so did a girl named Jamie from Ballinger……along with the other girls!
We finally got home yesterday and plan on being here for the whole week! One bad thing about all this traveling…..Caden’s constipation has come back, and you all know that it’s going to come out one end or the other, so with the constipation comes lots of spitting up! So, that is what we are dealing with now. The vitamin supplements haven’t produced anything exciting yet. He did start his sweating again, but I don’t think it’s as bad as it used to be. Besides the constipation and spitting up, Caden’s doing great. We are excited to get him back in therapy this week and he’ll go back to daycare this Tuesday-Thursday. I know he’ll be so excited to see all the ladies and all his friends at Mosaic….and I think they will be excited to see him too!!
Jeremy has a golf tournament tomorrow with some of the coaches and administrators from Wall. Then, hopefully, my dad can come down Wednesday to help us get the last 2 surfaces in the kitchen covered with Formica.
It’s not very long until school starts back up again. I can’t believe where the time has gone. We were out of town when Caden turned 21 months old on the 8th. I can’t believe he’s 3 months away from being 2 years old. What a 2 years it has been!
I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July and are enjoying your summer. I hope ours slows down for the next few weeks!
To all our Caringbridge friends…….we love you all and think and pray for you all the time. I am so sorry I haven’t signed guest books in a long time. I have been checking in when I can though! Take care and God Bless!
Hugs & Love,
Vicki, Jeremy, and Caden
Doesn't he look JUST like Jeremy??
Jeremy and his assistant coach.....Coach Albers from Moulton
The South All-Star Team
The South All-Star Team and coaches
Jeremy and Lauren
Saturday, July 2, 2005 0:09 AM CDT
Once again, I am burning the midnight oil to get Caden’s webpage all fixed up and looking good….plus to update everyone! It’s been a very hectic week and has only gotten worse the past few hours.
Sorry to be so sorrowful, but the last 3-4 days, my grandmother (my dad’s mom) has not been doing well. She has been in the nursing home for several years now. The past few days, she had stopped eating and drinking, and was hardly responding to anyone. My dad and his brother were having to think about decisions they never thought they would have to make. As of today, she was basically in a coma. I got the call from my mom a few hours ago that she had passed away. She was 97 years old and had led a very full life. She has hardly known any of us in a year or so. I am thankful that she had a wonderful life and didn’t have to be in the state she was in any longer than a few days. She was a wonderful lady who was full of life when she was younger. In fact, she was out on her porch shooting skunks only a few years ago! She will be dearly missed.
Of course, it’s a holiday weekend, so the funeral home does not have anyone working to hold a service there. So, we will be having a viewing tomorrow afternoon or evening at the funeral home in Rising Star, and then we will just have a grave side service at the May Cemetery at 5:00 pm Sunday afternoon.
The kitchen isn’t completely finished, but we are to a stopping point for a little while…..and I finally have running water in there again!!! It is starting to look really nice! All we have left is to cover the bar and another small countertop with the sheet of Formica and tiling the backsplashes. We will be on the go a lot in the next month, so who knows when that will get done……hopefully before school starts again. It is cleaned and cleared of all clutter!!
Caden is doing well! We have not noticed any more effects of the mito cocktail, yet. We only give it to him 2 times a day though because when we give it 3 times, no one gets any sleep!! I have talked to a few other mothers, and apparently it’s the Carnitine that disrupts their sleep. He LOVES to play ball!! We have a Gertie ball (REALLY soft) that looks just like a soccer ball (black & white), so he can see it really well, and he LOVES for one of us to hold him and put his arms up and help him catch the ball when the other throws it. He just squeals out and laughs! He even likes for the ball to hit him.....remember, it’s REALLY soft!! That’s his newest game. He’s still eating his pureed food pretty well. Today, I fixed him chicken pot pie and he seemed to like it a lot.
We will be going to my mom and dad’s tomorrow. Then we have the funeral on Sunday. From there, we will be going to my sister’s house in Breckenridge for the 4th of July all the way until Thursday, when we have to go to Dallas for a check-up with one of Caden’s neurologists. Caden will love it because my sister has a pool just like Mom & Dad’s!! Then we will head back home until next Tuesday, when we leave for Austin to go to the Texas Girls Coaches Association coaching clinic. This is the one where Jeremy got chosen to coach the All-Stars game. What an honor!! He will actually have Lauren, from this last year’s team playing for him. He is excited and nervous!
Like I said, July is BUSY!!
Oh by the way………Pat Green was AWESOME!!!! If you aren’t from Texas, you probably don’t know who he is, but he’s as awesome singer and performer. You see, here in TX, we have what they call Texas music and its country music in which the singers are from TX. They are the guys that start out singing at dance halls and make it big. Pat Green is actually playing this weekend at the horse races in Ruidoso. Anyways, the concert was the best I have ever seen Pat Green…..and we’ve seen him about 5 times!! We even got pictures with him and autographs after the show!
Jeremy has me hooked on Texas Hold ‘Em Poker. He bought a set of poker chips on eBay for like $4, and I had never player before…..only watched it on TV. It turns out that I am a pretty good poker player! We played at Jeremy’s brother’s house until the wee hours of the night Saturday night. So, now I’m hooked!!
I guess I better turn in for the night. I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July weekend and shoot LOTS of fire works!! Please say a prayer for my dad and his brother as they face being without their mom, and please say a prayer for the rest of our family as we mourn this loss. Be safe this holiday!
Hugs & Love,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Friday, June 24, 2005 1:20 AM CDT
Hey everyone!!! I know I am in BIG trouble for keeping you all waiting soooo long for an update. I know, it’s just not like me! We are all still alive and kicking!! Can you believe that I have LESS time now that school is out and it’s summertime??? Well, it’s true. It seems like I can never get a long enough period of time to sit down, type an update, and check on all our CaringBridge friends. To all of you guys………I am sooooo sorry I haven’t signed guestbooks in a LONG time! Please forgive me and know that I still come by and get quick updates.
It really has been a VERY busy week to week-and-a-half. Jeremy and I started remodeling our kitchen 3 summers ago. The first summer, when I was prego with Caden, we put tile down on the floor. Then last summer, the cabinets, walls, and trim all got painted and curtains made. Now the only thing left to remind us of the pale yellow color the kitchen used to be was the tiled counter tops. So, this summer was the summer of counter tops….and it looks like these stinking counter tops will be taking up most, if not ALL of our summer!! We ordered one piece from Lowes and we are just covering the rest with Formica sheets. So, we watch home improvement shows all the time, and I’ve even seen counter tops replaced……and it looks sooooo easy! Well, it’s NOT! Okay, it should have been. It would help if Lowes hadn’t ordered the piece 2 inches too long on each end, EVEN after we specifically told them not to, which we have no way to fix. So we had to get some cabinet people to come get them and cut them. And of course, Lowes blames the people that measured the tops, and those people blame Lowes! Then, we bought a nice new cast iron sink (that weighs a TON) and we went to start cutting the hole for the sink, and we decided the sink was too big for our cabinets. So, back to Lowes to return it. Then we went back to find a smaller sink, and that’s the standard size! So, then we had to talk to some men to help us figure out the delimma. So now we are thinking that our cabinets are smaller than most cabinets and we are going to have to special order another sink, which won’t be in for 15 days. Okay, I have already been without a sink, dishwasher, water, and ice for a WEEK! Then the sink guy goes over to the counter top guy to look at the drawing and measurements from out order and decides that they are standard size cabinets and the original sink will work. So, we go and buy back the sink we just returned. We get home and Jeremy is going to measure the cabinets. Now, mind you, we need the cabinets to be AT LEAST 23 ½ from the wall to the front of the cabinet to be able to SQUEEZE the 22 inch sink in. AND…..they are exactly 23 ½!!!!!! So SQUEEZE we did! Finally, by this afternoon, the sink hole was cut, the sink was placed in, but still isn’t hooked up or plumbed! We are almost there!
Caden is doing great! We started the mito cocktail last Wednesday and saw a couple of immediate effects. First of all, it made Caden not sweat as much as usual. This is a good thing! Caden used to be sitting in your lap, under the ceiling fan, and his head would be soaking wet with sweat. I guess it has to do with temperature control and inability to tolerate any type of exercise. ???? Well, the same day we started the cocktail, the sweating stopped. Even the next night when we went to watch the girls play basketball and were sitting in the hot gym all night! Second, the bad effect, it made him not sleep in the middle of the night! We are supposed to give it 3 times a day with food, so we were giving it the last time with his bedtime bottle. He was falling asleep fine, but about 3 hours later, he was wide awake. So, I am guessing the vitamins were doing it, but who knows. So we started giving him his last dose no later than 7:00 pm and it seemed to help. In fact last night I didn’t give the last dose and it was the first night he’s slept all night this week! Besides those 2 things, we haven’t noticed much of a difference in anything else. I really don’t know what exactly to look for though.
He’s still drinking from his little open top cup, and the other night I actually got him to take about 3 sucks from a real sippy cup!! He’s eating very well lately!! At daycare, they puree what ever is on the lunch menu for him. So far, he LOVES pizza, hotdogs, beef & bean burritos, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Healthy kid, huh!!! He also really loves the pears and vegetables they fix him.
We got a call the other afternoon from a lady at West Texas Rehab and they want Caden to be on next year’s Rehab Telethon!!! It all started about 2 weeks ago when we were at therapy and we got to meet the President of the Rehab Association, Woody. Apparently, after that day, he asked for Caden and us by name!!! They will come to therapy with us and video Judy and Caden in action, then prepare a story about Caden. Then we will have to go to Abilene the day of the telethon and be on TV!! Judy hates to be on TV, but toooo bad!! So, everyone make plans to watch the Rehab Telethon next January!!! If TV adds 10 pounds to people, I better start working out!!
Caden and I got in my mom and dad’s pool this past weekend. He LOVED it! He wasn’t too crazy about the pool last summer, but apparently this summer, he’s going to want to swim a lot more! I have included some pictures! I have a little video clip also, but I can’t figure out how to get it on here so you all can watch it. But, I will work on it! I hope you enjoy the pictures!
Jeremy and I are going to Austin this weekend to see his brother and go to a Pat Green concert in New Braunsfels. We are really excited!! Caden is going to stay with my mom and dad and sister and her husband. They will all LOVE that!!!
We have an appointment with the neurologist on July 7 in Dallas. It’s pretty much a routine check-up at this point. Not much else going on doctor wise. Just therapies!!
Jeremy is coaching the All-Star game on July 14 in Austin. He is excited and nervous!! He has to get out in front of all the coaches at the TX Girl’s Coaches Association coaching school and give a demonstration. He always get so nervous before he has to speak to a crowd, but he is sooooo awesome at it!! He’ll do GREAT!
I am sorry for not keeping you all up to date any better than I have so far. I will definitely make a better effort to get in here and give a quick update, if nothing else. To all my friends that I haven’t emailed in a while, I am sorry for that too. As soon as this kitchen is done, maybe I can get back on track! I hope you are all having a GREAT summer! We really are, but it would be much better if the kitchen were finished!!
Hugs & Love,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Getting ready to go out in the SUN! He HATED the shades!
Monday, June 13, 2005 2:36 PM CDT
EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT......!!!!!
Caden drank from a CUP!!!! Not a sippy cup, but an open top cup that could bend to the shape of his mouth. He actually did this Thursday for the speech therapist at daycare, but this is the first time I've been home long enough to tell you all about it. I even have pictures!! The ladies at daycare were so excited about it, they took pictures, and were running around showing them to everyone! Aren't they the greatest!!
The first few pictures are of our SLP working with Caden and the cup. She spent 2 hours with him that day! Isn't she wonderful!!
The last 2 pictures are of one of the girls that keeps him in the afternoons at Mosaic, Nicole. All the girls are really great!
Our trip to Lubbock was fast and furious! We got there just in time for the girls' first game Friday morning, and the next 2 days were FULL of basketball! Jeremy's dad and step-mom came over Friday afternoon and got Caden and took him back to Lovington with them, so we had 1 1/2 days all to ourselves! So, we missed one game and went and played Putt-Putt golf and I made Jeremy go to the mall with me!!! We had a nice dinner at a place called Tokyo also. It was nice! Caden's Mimi (Sharon) pureed chocolate chip cookies and milk for Caden and he LOVED them!! They brought Caden back to us Sunday afternoon after they had made their rounds in Lovington to show the Little Man off to everyone and visited with Jeremy's mom and grandmother. We were glad to get him back!!
We had Caden's IFSP (yearly) meeting with ECI this morning to talk about what all we want to do next year. We are going full steam ahead with his eating and we are going to start transitioning him to the next room up with the kids that are 12-18 months old. We all agree that it is important to Caden to get the interaction with the bigger kiddos. Like they said, if you stay with the babies, you'll be a baby......so we're moving on! Two of the ladies that have had him for a long time in the nursery are going to start taking him into the bigger room for a few hours in then mornings, and we will work up to all day! It will be great for him! We aren't changing much from this year, just srarting to work on new things with Caden. We will all start to give him choices of toys and foods so he can have some control over things. There are other things we will all be working on too!
There was a mix-up with the Mito cocktail at the pharmacy. Dr. Acton read Shoffner's report wrong on the doseage for the Riboflavin, so the pharmacy mixed 10X as much as he needed into the Carnitine, so the pharmacist got to thinking and called him back and he checked into it and YES it was way too much, so the Carnitine was ruined and they had to order more of it today, so it will be tomorrow before we get to start it. Phew.....I'm just glad they caught it! They had to call Medicaid and wait on the phone FOREVER to see if they would cover it again, and thankfully, they will! So, we'll get it started tomorrow!
I guess that is about all for now. The Barnum & Bailey Circus is coming to town in 2 weeks, so we want to take Caden. That will be fun!! We have a wedding to go to this weekend and some upcoming doctor visits. I have inservice tomorrow, but it's a Video Scrapbooking inservice, so it will actually be fun!! Our ECI is also starting a support group for parents of special needs children, so we are going to that meeting tomorrow night. I think it will be really good! I never think we are busy until I start listing everything we have to do!!! I hope you are all having a great week and I will keep you all posted!
Love & Hugs,
Vicki, Jeremy, & the Little Man....Caden
Thursday, June 9, 2005 3:42 PM CDT
Wow, I can’t believe he’s only 4 months away from being 2 years old! It’s amazing how fast the time goes by!
I am sorry I have kept you all waiting so long for an update! I’ve sat down a few times to write, but this computer has been giving me fits, so I would just give up decide to try again later.
We are all doing well. We are enjoying our time off for the summer and we’re enjoying some extra time with the Little Man!! We have still been taking him to daycare Tues, Wed, & Thurs, but we are keeping him all to ourselves on the other days. We think it’s good for him to have the interaction with other people, kids, and environments, plus, some of his therapists still come to daycare to see him each week.
We have been pretty busy the past week. Jeremy has had basketball camp, which was over today. I have been starting some scrapbooking and cleaning house. Jeremy’s brother was here for a few days to visit also. He had his boat with him and we got to go out to the lake! Well, since I typed it out, I don’t know what has been keeping us so busy!! It doesn’t sound like much. We are still going to therapy 3 times a week, plus the others that go to daycare to see Caden. That keeps us pretty busy in itself.
We are working on getting the mito cocktail……the riboflavin, CoQ10, and Carnitor. Dr. Acton, our pediatrician is working with Dr. Shoffner and us to get it all done. We only have one pharmacy here that can compound the ingredients, so Meyers Drug is in one the equation also! We should have it all ordered and ready by Monday to get it started. Of course, everyone has to remind me how experimental it all is....like I don’t already know!
Caden’s stander is great and he LOVES it!! In fact, when we have him in it, he gets mad and screams when we take him out of it!! I have included some much awaited pictures of him in it....so I hope you enjoy them! You'd be amazed to see how tall he'd be if he coudl stand up!
We will be leaving for Lubbock in the morning to watch the basketball girls play in the Tech Team Camp. We will be home either Sat. or Sun. Jeremy’s family will probably come over to Lubbock from Lovington to see Caden. The girls will play LOTS of basketball in a few short days! This is the 3rd year they have gone to this camp, and I think they have a good time!
We have decided not to go to the Mito Conference in St. Louis this year. We just really want to have more information before we go, and we don’t have much yet. We’d like to talk to Dr. Shoffner again before we went, and you all know we can’t do that until August! Next summer, the conference will be in Atlanta, so maybe we can kill 2 birds with 1 stone and see Shoffner while we are there. I know it will help us to go to this conference, but I think we will know more of what we are dealing with next year. Plus, the soonest we could get back in to see our neurologist in Ft. Worth is the 17th, so we’d have to miss that appointment, and I think talking to our doctors right now is the most important thing for us to do.
I can’t think of a whole lot more to catch you all up on. I hope you have all had a wonderful week and have an even better weekend!!
Hugs & Love,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Wednesday, June 1, 2005 10:39 PM CDT
It's been exactly a week since my last update, so I figured I better let everyone know we are still alive and kicking!!! School is out and we are all excited!!! Caden is doing great! We got his new stander today....yeah!! The people that order all the equipment and all brought it over to WTRC to fit it to him with Judy (PT) there. We drew quite a crowd!! Everyone had to come see the Little Man in his new contraption. It's soooo nice. It took lots of adjusting, but I think it's just right now. They worked with him and it for about an hour, so he was really tired. He zonked out a little early tonight after such a busy day.
On Friday, we had our first meeting with the dietician. She was great and she took the report from Shoffner and is going to work on a diet for Caden that goes along with Shoffner's guidelines for long and middle-chain fatty acids. We will start seeing her 1 X a month. As far as height and weight goes, Caden is in about the 5th percentile seperately. So, if you had 100 babies Caden's age together, he'd be one of the skinniest and the shortest. BUT, when you put his height and weight together for his age, he's right at 50 ...which is PERFECT! So, for his height, he's just the right weight. Then she figured up how many calories he needed to maintain that 50 and it came to 941. Then she figured out how many calories he was getting, and it came to 950!! So, we are doing something right!!
The last few days of school were really hectic for me....actually for several of us at school. With all the interviews for the position we have open, we all got a little behind on getting all our grades and stuff done. So, we all had to work until about 4:00 on Sat. when we were supposed to leave at noon! Then some of us were back at it Tuesday too. But, it's all finally done and over with for 3 months!!
Caden has gone to daycare Tuesday, today, and tomorrow. Jeremy has been taking him, and he said he enjoys taking him in the mornings. Mosaic is making a quilt out of squares that they gave all the parents to decorate with our kids' names on them and all. I wish I'd taken a picture of Caden's square before I sent it off, but it turned out really cute. I found 2 different beaded frogs that iron on to material. So I ironed one on the top left, and the other on the bottom right. Then diagonally between them, I wrote in these cool letters.....Caden Williams. I used fabric markers, so I striped the letters in green, blue, red, & yellow. Then in the top right corner, I wrote in block letters.....FROG PRINCE.....and I drew a crown on the top of the F and I colored those letters solid red, blue, green, & yellow. Under that I wrote his birthdate. Jermey said the ladies threw a fit over it. It turned out really cute!
Memorial day was good.......kinda boring!! Caden and I went to my mom and dad's to see my sister and her husband. We all just hung out at their house Sun. and most of Monday, then we came back home. Sounds pretty boring now that I think about it!!
I guess I will go to bed for now. I will get some pictures of Caden in his stander tomorrow, I hope, and get them on here. It was so funny, we had them take 1 whole piece out of the stander just from looking at it because it looked way to tall for him. Then we put him in it and we had to put it back in!! Just to look at it, you wouldn't believe he's that tall........and he's only in the 5th percentile for height!!! Have a great week!!
Love & Hugs,
Jeremy, Vicki, & Caden
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
NEW PICTURES IN PHOTOALBUM TOO!!!
Happy Hump Day!!
I almost forgot to tell you all about our meeting Monday afternoon. We had Caden's ECI Annual Evaluation. Our service coordinator, vision teachers, speech therapist, and another ECI lady were all there. We went through and talked about what all Caden can and is doing now that he wasn't doing a year ago........and it really was amazing. None of it was anything that a parent of a "normal" kiddo would have noticed, but he's really made lots of progress in the last year. The meeting lasted for about 2 hours and we all had lemonade, cookies, chips & dip!! We have his IFSP meeting to discuss services for next year on June 13.
Caden has Kinesiotape on his NECK and left leg this week!!
Also, our insurance approved Caden's stander, so it is supposed to be in at the end of this week!!! Yeah!! I can't wait to get it!! They had to seperate it from the other equipment when they sent it in because it was so expensive. Now they will resubmit the rest of the equipment and see what we hear from it.
***Only 2 more days of school!!***
Happy Tuesday Everyone! I found a new frog!!! Today is our last FULL day of school for this year!!!!! I am SO EXCITED!!! We get out early Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
I am just ready to be home for a while with nothing to do. This summer, we have to pay for our daycare anyways, to keep our spot, so we will continue to take Caden about 3-4 days a week. It will be good to keep him on his schedule, keep him interacting with the other kids, and I don’t think the ladies could go all summer without seeing Caden!!
I guess it’s been exactly a week since I wrote the first journal about Caden’s diagnosis (dx). It’s been a week since we got the report. We are doing better and it’s easier to talk and write about it all. The shock is wearing off and I guess it’s beginning to sink in a little more and acceptance is taking over. I know I’ve said this before, but I really thought I was prepared to find out that it was mito since we actually heard those words about 14 months ago at Caden’s first neurologist appt. Man, how we hated that guy!! He spent about 30 min with us and threw out words like Mitochondrial disorder and encephalopathy. That was the worst day of our lives. But, I guess he knew what he was talking about, huh?? We still didn’t care for his bedside manner and the way he and his office didn’t return our calls with results like they said they would, so we will continue to not see him anymore. But, then we are left with the other neurologists that all said they didn’t think Caden had mito. In fact, after watching Caden, Dr. Iannaccone emphatically stated, “This is NOT neuromuscular.” Well, mito IS neuromuscular; in fact, it’s part of MDA. Then there’s Dr. Malik, who didn’t actually say he didn’t think it was mito, but you could tell he didn’t think it was. So, who are we left with?? One of them!! Dr. Iannaccone was at TX Scottish Rites Hospital, but has since moved to TX Children’s Medical Center. Before we got the results back, she was going to wait for the results and then see us one more time before she turned us over to a different neurologist that was still at TSRH, since we all thought we didn’t need a neuromuscular specialist! HA! I guess we will keep her now! We have an appt. to see her on July 7. Yes, that is the soonest we could get in. Crazy, huh?? Then I tried Dr. Malik’s office and the soonest we can see him is June 17, so I scheduled it, then realized last night that we will HOPEFULLY be in St. Louis at the mito conference that weekend, so I have to go try to change that in a little bit. AND the craziest part of it all…………we can’t get back in to see Dr. Shoffner until AUGUST 23!!!!!! Can you believe that a doctor can give you news like we got, and not see you to explain it for almost 3 months??? But, that’s normal for these doctors! It’s not just Shoffner, it’s all of them! We also have a tentative appt. set up at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, but we are having to send them all of Caden’s neurological records and test results, then they will review them, and then let us know if a trip there is even necessary. They may can tell from the records that either Yes, it’s mito, or Maybe you better get a second opinion. This would be with a Dr. Whiteman, at the Mayo clinic. I have talked to some other parents that have been there and they have RAVED about the care they get while there. They have been there for up to 3 weeks though so they can fit in all the different doctor visits while there. You can get done in 2-3 weeks there what it takes MONTHS to get done here. So, maybe they will indeed see us!!!
On a lighter note, we all had a good weekend! Jeremy is a Senior class sponser, so on Friday he and some other teachers had to take the Seniors to Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. Now, he’s not really a theme park person like me, so he was kinda dreading it. But, he rode every ride there and really ended up having a good time. They had to leave at like 5:30 am and got home about 10:00 pm. When he got home, Caden and I were Relay for Lifeing! We were walking in memory of Cheyenne Fiveash, a young girl from here who lost her battle with cancer in October. I met her family through our Caringbridge sites. I was a great honor for Caden and I to get to walk for Cheyenne. I also got to spend some really nice time with Roy and Donna, her parents. I had never been to a Relay for Life, and it was an AMAZING event. We won’t miss another one, if it can be helped. There were LOTS of people there that we knew and some that knew us and knew who Caden was, so they came and introduced themselves to us. I met some really nice people. We didn’t get home until 11:30 pm after we watched them light the luminaries and then we got to talking to all our friends from Wall that were there. St. Ambrose, the Catholic church where we had Caden’s benefit, had 3 (I believe) different teams representing their youth group!! Amazing, huh? So, Caden drank his bottle and went straight to sleep. He’s so funny! Everyone was amazed that he was still awake and going at 11:00 at night, but as long as you are busy and doing something, he’ll stay awake, but as soon as we sit down in the recliner to rock, he’s OUT!! Saturday was a lazy day for Caden and me. Jeremy went to help his friend, Houston, with his new goats!! Or he went to help Houston FIND his new goats!!! Funny story behind that!! Anyways, Caden slept from 11:30 am until about 2:00 pm. Jeremy and I also snuck in a little nap then too. After we all got up, I had a terrible sinus headache. Then Jeremy left, and I was feeding Caden his bottle about 4:00 pm and he started acting sleepy again! I thought, NO WAY he’s going to sleep again, but the next thing I knew, we both woke up when Jeremy came home about 6:00 pm!!! I guess we were both worn out!! Sunday was Church and lunch with Houston, Kate, and Falyn; then Jeremy and I drove around a little bit and looked at houses. We’d love a bigger house, so we look all the time, but I think it’s still about 1-2 years away for us. We NEED more room!!!
A little note about the ladies at Mosaic that keep Caden…..They are WONDERFUL!!!!!!! They all love Caden as if he were their own! Isn’t that exactly what you would want from caregivers for your child?? Mosaic is a WONDERFUL place and it was such a blessing for it to be built and open just in time for Caden!! Thank you Laura, Linda, Veronica, Michelle, Shavonne, Nicole, and all the other ladies that help in the nursery, for taking such wonderful care of our Little Man!! We couldn’t ask for better people to take care of Caden!
I want to thank you all for so many things. First of all, thank you for all the love and support you have shown us throughout this entire journey, not just since we’ve gotten the dx. You have all been there for us, no matter what. You have offered the most loving, caring, supportive words and messages for us. You have offered your time and your money for Caden’s benefit. Thank you for loving and being there for our family. Thank you for making us feel like we are part of your family. Thank you for all you do to help and encourage us. Thank you all so much!
Second of all, thank you for loving Caden so much. Thank you for not being afraid to grab him up and hold him and love on him. Thank you for ignoring that he’s different from most babies, and loving him anyways. Thank you for seeing him for what he is, instead of what he isn’t. Thank you for believing in what he will be and do, instead of what he might not be or do. Thank you for reminding me of all those things when I am down in the dumps and I can’t seem to see the light.
(I know his immense CUTENESS helps with this one a lot!!!)
Third of all, I want to thank Jeremy. He’s been my rock through all this and has been making phone calls to Mayo and other doctors to help us get in to see them. He’s the only person in the whole world I would want to travel this road with by my side. He loves Caden SO much and does the goofiest things to get that boy to smile and laugh. He does the goofiest things to get ME to smile and laugh! I love him more than words cold ever possibly express. I could never make it in this with out him. Thank you, Jeremy, for all that you are and all that you give to our family!!! I love you!!
I guess I should close for today. If you have a chance, go check out Eli’s Angels. It’s a wonderful organization, that’s the only one of its kind for children with mito or metabolic diseases. Thank you again for your supportive messages in the guestbook. They help us more than you can imagine!
Hugs & Love,
Vicki
PS.....to read more about Caden’s diagnosis and Mitochondrial diseases, go to the journal history.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Thursday: Post diagnosis : Day 3
It’s still hard to read or type those words. For those of you wondering, I have been working on the best explanation I can find for Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy.
Mitochondrial – obviously involves the mitochondria of the cells
Encephalo – disease of the brain
Myopathy – disease of the muscles
This is the explaination from the UMDF homepage.
"Imagine a major city with half its power plants shut down. At best, such conditions would produce a "brown out" with large sections of the city working far below optimum efficiency.
Now imagine your body with one-half of its energy producing facilities shut down. The brain would be impaired, vision would be dim, muscles would twitch spastically or would be too weak to allow your body to walk or write, your heart would be weakened, and you would not be able to eat and digest your food.
For large numbers of people, especially children, this is precisely the situation in which they find themselves due to defects in the mitochondria, organelles found in every cell of the body which are responsible for the body's energy production. Mitochondrial diseases compromise their lives and can be fatal."
That helps a little, doesn’t it??
According to the UMDF, this is the basis of mitochondrial disease:
"Basis of the Disease:
Mitochondrial diseases result from failures of the mitochondria, specialized compartments present in every cell of the body except red blood cells. Mitochondria are responsible for creating more than 90f the energy needed by the body to sustain life and support growth. When they fail, less and less energy is generated within the cell. Cell injury and even cell death follow. If this process is repeated throughout the body, whole systems begin to fail, and the life of the person in whom this is happening is severely compromised. The disease primarily affects children, but adult onset is becoming more and more common.
Diseases of the mitochondria appear to cause the most damage to cells of the brain, heart, liver, skeletal muscles, kidney and the endocrine and respiratory systems.
Depending on which cells are affected, symptoms may include loss of motor control, muscle weakness and pain, gastro-intestinal disorders and swallowing difficulties, poor growth, cardiac disease, liver disease, diabetes, respiratory complications, seizures, visual/hearing problems, lactic acidosis, developmental delays and susceptibility to infection.”
Of course, Caden does not have a lot of these problems, and hopefully never will, but we will have to be prepared for any of them to show up at any time.
Some goals of treatment (the supplements) are to alleviate symptoms and slow down the progression of the disease. The effectiveness of treatment can vary significantly from patient to patient depending on their exact disorder and the severity of it. Usually the milder disorders respond better than the more severe disorders. (We don’t know the severity of Caden’s, yet) Sometimes, the treatment is specifically designed for the patient and it is effective, sometimes, the treatment is called "empiric" ("it makes sense") but the benefit of that treatment is not obvious or proven. Hopefully, we can tailor Caden’s treatment and it will help him. Treatment will not reverse any damage already done. The effects of the treatment could take months to notice or it could be immediate, if there are any. Let’s pray for immediate!
It will be important for Caden to stay healthy, and avoid stress factors. Those factors can be anything from alcohol (duh!), smoke, MSG, heat, cold, fasting, lack of sleep, and/or viral or bacterial infections.
I hope this helps some of you better usderstand mito and what we may be facing in the future. There is lots of information on Complex I & IV deficiencies, but since it’s pretty bad and Caden doesn’t show any of it....I will spare you all the details.
We are still in shock, as I am sure you can all understand. We are waiting for a call back from Atlanta so we can make an appointment with Shoffner ASAP. We are also looking in to going to Rochester, MN to the Mayo clinic to Dr. Whiteman, another of the 3 mito specialists, to get a second opinion. Not that we don’t believe Shoffner, or trust him, it’s just that with something this serious, we owe it to Caden to get as much information as we can.
The UMDF has a conference every year about mito. This year it is in St. Louis, MO, and it’s June 15-18. The dates are very close, but we are going to try to make it to the conference. It’s expensive, so THANK GOD for the success of the benefit! I can see His hands working for us! If you go to the UMDF site and click on "Mitochondrial Medicine 2005 (new information)" you can read all about it. All the different sessions and meeting are listed on the right under "Family Sessions." I think it would be VERY beneficial to us! Plus, we would get to meet other mito families. I remember a couple of weeks ago, there was a family at rehab that had a name for their daughter's syndrome and they were about to leave for a conference about it.....I was a little jealous, if you can understand that. Now, we have a name, and a conference to go to!
I have gotten the sweetest, most supportive, caring messages in response to the diagnosis. Thank you all for being there for our family. We appreciate it more than we could ever show you all. If any of you have any specific questions about anything, please don’t be shy about asking us. I hope I can answer them!! Don’t be afraid to talk to us about any of this! We love you all!
Caden’s great....no different at all! He’s just as sweet as ever and he’s feeling good. He’s got Kinesiotape on BOTH legs this week!!
Love & Hugs,
Jeremy, Vicki, & “The Little Man”
Tuesday~~
Well, the test results are in...Dr. Shoffner's diagnosis for Caden is:
Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy: Complex I & Complex IV defects
This goes against EVERYTHING he told us when we saw him in March. We are VERY confused, to say the least. We want to get back to Atlanta for Dr. S to explain some of this to us ASAP! I don't know a whole lot about all this, but I have read some info on these complexes and the defects in them and it sounds NOTHING like Caden. I understand that any of the things it says could show up at any time, but he doesn't show any of the symptoms they list right now.
Of course there are no cures for mitochondrial diseases, (mito for short)at this time. There are only vitamin supplements that can help treat the symptoms. Dr. Shoffner wants us to start Caden on 3 components of the "mito cocktail." Those would be CoQ10, riboflavin, and Carnitine. He noted that we might not see any significant changes from these, but we would keep him on the for 10-12 months and see how he's doing. Some kids see great improvements from these supplements, so maybe Caden will be one of those lucky ones.
You can read all about mito at The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation If you look under "information center" at the top left, there is all kinds of information. Under definitions, you can read about all the different mito disorders. Just keep in mind that Caden doesn't sound anything like what you might read under Complex I or Complex IV!!
I know most of you are probably as shocked as we are right now. We had pretty much put mito out of our minds, especially after we met with Dr. Shoffner. Plus, we had had some other doctors tell us they didn't think it was mito. In fact, the neurologist at Scottish Rites emphatically stated that what Caden had was NOT NEUROMUSCULAR........well, mito is neuromuscular. It is actually classified as a muscular dystrophy. We will try to find out all we can and pass it on to all of you.
We are really more confused than anything right now, and pretty shocked. This isn't something that is easy to hear or read on paper. I guess we need to let it sink in for a few days. If anyoen noticed our somber mood last night at the sports banquet, that is why. We actually read the results on the way to the banquet.
One thing it did say in the paperwork was that bacterial and viral infections can really affect the neurological system in these kiddos. So, we have to try to keep Caden as healthy as possible. But, we aren't going to stay cooped up in our house all the time. We will still live our lives and make sure Caden is the HAPPIEST little man around!!
I want to thank everyone for you support, especially right now. Thank you for all you do for our family!! I want to thank Jeremy most of all for being my rock throughout all of this. He made me cry at the sports banquet last night because he was so sweet!! I love you too!!
On a lighter note........remember how close I said Kirsten's hurdle race was??? Well, if you go to this link, then click on "results", then click on 100 m. hurdles 2A on the left of the screen, then look at the top of the page where it says Photo Finish, click on H1......you can actually see the picture and see how close the finish was!!! It is so neat! Thanks, Donna, for sending me the link!
UIL State Track Meet Results
The sports banquet was really nice last night. I wish I'd been in better spirits. No telling what everyone though when I disappeared into the bathroom for about 10 minutes!!! All the kids looked really nice and all the awards were very deserving! Plus we had some great food!
~*~Thanks to my mom & dad for keeping Caden again AND thanks to my mom for working on the laundry!!~*~
Only 9 more days of school left!!! Our kids are acting crazy around here.....it's time for school to be OUT!!
Love & Hugs,
Jeremy, Vicki, & Caden
Monday, May 16, 2005 12:08 AM CDT
Oh man, what a Monday!!! It is CRAZY around here today! I think the kids are getting as tired of each other as they are of school. We have already had 1 fight this morning, and had to stop some mouthing during lunch before another one broke out! We have 4 teachers out today also, so that just adds to the craziness. But, the day is half way done, so that is good.
I just realized this weekend that I TOTALLY for got to wish Caden a HAPPY 19 MONTHS on May 8. Talk about feeling like a terrible mother! I completely missed it. So, 8 days late, this is his official
HAPPY 19 MONTHS CADEN!!!
I can't believe he’s that old! It is amazing how fast the time goes by when they are this age. I keep telling a young mother in one of my classes that she need to spend more time with her son because she’s going to look back and regret working so much. I commend her for working and making money so her parents don’t have to foot the bill, but she just works too much and she’s missing so much of his life.
We all had a tiring, EXCITING weekend!! We met my mom and dad Friday morning and dropped Caden off with them, then we were off to Austin with the track team. We got to Austin about 2:00, and we ate lunch at Olive Garden....YUMMY!!! Then we went and checked into our hotel, which was WAY NICE!! The girls didn’t run until Saturday afternoon, so we just went and watched the 3A & 4A session Friday night. Saturday was the BIG day!! We had girls in 4 events and they got medals in 3 of those events!!! Kirsten got 2nd place in the 100 m. Hurdles to start off the day. Her race was so close for 2nd – 4th place that it took a photo finish to tell who got what. She got 2nd with a 15.39 and 3rd place also had a 15.39!!! Then 4th place was a 15.40!! That’s how close the race was! Sarah then got 5th or 6th (I can’t remember) in the 100 m. dash, and then turned around 30 minutes later and got 3rd in the 400 m. dash! She ran a 57. 4, and set a new school record by almost exactly a full second!! Then Brian got 2nd place in the 30 m. hurdles! Blaine finished 5th, I believe, in the 3200 m. Friday morning. We weren’t there in time to see him run. Then, last but definitely not least, the MILE RELAY….got 2nd place and ran a 4:00 flat!!!!! They SHATTERED the school record!! Their best time until Saturday was a 4:03! It was the most exciting race!! It was a great finish to a great day!!!
WAY TO GO....Kirsten, Sarah, Haley, Kate, Cadye, Brian, & Blaine!!!!!!!! We are so proud of you all!!!
After the meet on Saturday, we ate lunch and then called Carter, Jeremy’s brother, and he and his wife, Talley, were out on the lake in his new boat, so we met up with them and rode around the lake for a couple of hours. Jeremy and I stayed Saturday night with them, ate lunch Sunday, did a little shopping, then we were on the road home to get the Little Man!! He was so cute when we got there too! He just started kicking and smiling!! He had a great time with his MawMaw & PaPa and got spoiled rotten!!! Then we ate dinner with them and left their house and didn’t get to our house until 10:30 last night! It’s been a long weekend with little rest!!
~*~Thanks Mom & Dad for keeping the Little Man!!~*~
Tonight is the Sports Banquet, so Mom and Dad are now coming down here to watch him tonight while we are gone. Aren’t they the greatest baby sitters???
I guess that is about all for today………….ONLY 9.5 days of school left!!! I am so EXCITED!!! I hope you all had a great weekend!
Love & Hugs,
Jeremy, Vicki, & Caden
PS………..No word from Atlanta yet!
Thursday, May 12, 2005
I started this update yesterday and never got it finished, so I am trying hard to finish it today! Today is actually Friday for us because we don’t have school tomorrow....HALLELUJHA!!!
Caden is doing great! He’s just as cute as ever and is feeling well. He’s stil got some congestion, but I think he’s just used to it being there and goes about his business! The kinesiotaping that our PT is using seems to be working a little. Lots of people in the family have noticed that he moves his left leg more than he used to move it. It’s still not as much as the right leg, but we’ll take it!!
Caden will be going to stay with my mom and dad this weekend. Wall has several girls and guys running in the State Track Meet in Austin, so Jeremy and I will be going with the team down there tomorrow. It’s just too hot and humid in Austin for Caden. Add to it that the 2A competes at 12:00 noon on Saturday, RIGHT in the heat of the day and there are storms and rain forecasted for this weekend, so we don’t want him to be out in that! We will meet my parents in the morning to drop him off with them. They’ll spoil him!!
I want to wish the Hawks and Lady Hawks GOOD LUCK this weekend at the meet. We have 6 girls going and 2 guys! They are each one of the TOP 8 athletes in their event in the whole STATE of TEXAS!!! Isn’t that AWESOME!!
~*~Good Luck to...........
Sarah in the 100 m., 400 m., & mile relay!
Kirsten in the 100 m. hurdles!
Kate in the mile relay!
Haley in the mile relay!
Cadye in the mile relay!
Kelsey in the mile relay!
Brian in the 300 m. hurdles!
Blaine in the 2400 m.!
Oh yeah.....Mother’s Day! I had a great one and I hope you all did too! We didn’t do much at all. We went to church and Jeremy cooked steaks for lunch when we got home. We didn’t want to fight the crowds at all the restaurants. Did you know Mother’s Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants?? Yep, it is……I guess no one wants to make Mom cook lunch that day. As I mentioned before, Jeremy got me my camera phone for my present. I have the cutest pictures of Caden on it. Now, I just have to call Cellular One to get them to activate my features so I can download them or send them to other phones. YES, I did figure out how to use it!
~*~Thanks, Hun, for a great gift and a special Mother’s Day! I love you!~*~
Since Jeremy was gone on Friday and Saturday, Caden and I went to my oldest sister’s house where my mom, dad, and middle sister were for a craft show. Dad and my brother-in-law make all kinds of wood crafts and they go to shows when they can. This one was right there in the town Kim & Bryan live in. Caden and I got there about 8:30 Friday evening, spent the night, and got home about 8:30 Saturday evening! By that time, Jeremy had already been home for most of the day.
I still haven’t heard from any test results from Atlanta yet. Wednesday was 8 weeks to the day since the muscle biopsy. They said 8-10 weeks. I will try again today or tomorrow. They will probably screen their calls and not answer mine!!! I promise I’ll update as soon as I get anything!! I did find out that the audiologist that did Caden’s ABR hearing test didn’t send the report to our ENT like she was supposed to do!! ARGGGHHHH!! Now I have to call her and get the records and test results sent myself. Why can’t these doctors and specialists EVER do what they say they will do????????
Only 11 more days of school left....counting today!!! I have never been as anxious for school to be out as I am this year. I think I am WAY worse than any of my students. Jeremy is a class sponsor, so he has to go to the prom tonight!!! He has to be there from 6:00 to midnight!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!! Stay dry…..we have rain forecasted through Saturday!
Love & Hugs,
Jeremy, Vicki, & Caden
Friday, May 6, 2005 3:50 PM CDT
I am tired of trying to reach Shoffner's office. I have called and left messages for 3 days now, and no return call. I will try again next week. It will be the 8th week since the biopsy......
That was like 5 minutes ago, and they just called me back. The results are still pending, but she said Dr. Shoffner was getting close. She couldn't tell me a time frame, but maybe next week. She told me just to call and set up an appointment with his assistant if I wanted to or wait until we got the results.
I have a story to post that another mom of a little girl with Spinal Muscular Atrophy and many special needs. It's so touching and true! It's a tear jerker!! Thank you, my friend, Ashley for sending it to me!!
Thoughts of a Mom
Many of you I have never even met face to face, but I've searched you out every day. I've looked for you on the Internet, on playgrounds and in grocery stores. I've become an expert at identifying you. You are well-worn. You are stronger than you ever wanted to be. Your words ring experience, experience you culled with your very heart and soul. You are compassionate beyond the expectations of this world.
You are my "sisters." Yes, you and I, my friend, are sisters in a sorority. A very elite sorority. We are special. Just like any other sorority, we were chosen to be members. Some of us were invited to join immediately, some not for months or even years. Some of us even tried to refuse membership, but to no avail. We were initiated in neurologist's offices and NICU units, in obstetrician's offices, in emergency rooms, and during ultrasounds. We were initiated with somber telephone calls, consultations, evaluations, blood tests, x-rays, MRI films, and heart surgeries.
All of us have one thing in common. One day things were fine. We were pregnant, or we had just given birth, or we were nursing our newborn, or we were playing with our toddler. Yes, one minute everything was fine. Then, whether it happened in an instant, as it often does, or over the course of a few weeks or months, our entire lives changed. Something wasn't quite right. Then we found ourselves mothers of children with special needs.
We are united, we sisters, regardless of the diversity of our children's special needs. Some of our children undergo chemotherapy. Some need respirators and ventilators. Some are unable to talk, some are unable to walk. Some eat through feeding tubes. Some live in a different world. We do not discriminate against those mothers whose children's needs are not as "special" as our child's. We have mutual respect and empathy for all the women who walk in our shoes.
We are knowledgeable. We have educated ourselves with whatever materials we could find. We know "the" specialists in the field. We know "the" neurologists, "the" hospitals, "the" wonder drugs, "the" treatments. We know "the" tests that need to be done, we know "the" degenerative and progressive diseases and we hold our breath while our children are tested for them. Without formal education, we could become board certified in neurology, endocrinology, and psychiatry.
We have taken on our insurance companies and school boards to get what our children need to survive, and to flourish. We have prevailed upon the State to include augmentative communication devices in special education classes and mainstream schools for our children with cerebral palsy. We have labored to prove to insurance companies the medical necessity of gait trainers and other adaptive equipment for our children with spinal cord defects. We have sued municipalities to have our children properly classified so they could receive education and evaluation commensurate with heir diagnosis.
We have learned to deal with the rest of the world, even if that means walking away from it. We have tolerated scorn in supermarkets during "tantrums" and gritted our teeth while discipline was advocated by the person behind us on line. We have tolerated inane suggestions and home remedies from well-meaning strangers.
We have tolerated mothers of children without special needs complaining about chicken pox and ear infections. We have learned that many of our closest friends can't understand what it's like to be in our sorority, and don't even want to try.
We have our own personal copies of Emily Perl Kingsley's "A Trip To Holland" and Erma Bombeck's "The Special Mother." We keep them by our bedside and read and reread them during our toughest hours.
We have coped with holidays. We have found ways to get our physically handicapped children to the neighbors' front doors on Halloween, and we have found ways to help our deaf children form the words, "trick or treat." We have accepted that our children with sensory dysfunction will never wear velvet or lace on Christmas. We have painted a canvas of lights and a blazing Yule log with our words for our blind children. We have pureed turkey on Thanksgiving. We have bought white chocolate bunnies for Easter. And all the while, we have tried to create a festive atmosphere for the rest of our family.
We've gotten up every morning since our journey began wondering how we'd make it through another day, and gone to bed every evening not sure how we did it.
We've mourned the fact that we never got to relax and sip red wine in Italy. We've mourned the fact that our trip to Holland has required much more baggage than we ever imagined when we first visited the travel agent. And we've mourned because we left for the airport without most of the things we needed for the trip.
But we, sisters, we keep the faith always. We never stop believing. Our love for our special children and our belief in all that they will achieve in life knows no bounds. We dream of them scoring touchdowns and extra points and home runs. We visualize them running sprints and marathons. We dream of them planting vegetable seeds, riding horses, and chopping down trees. We hear their angelic voices singing Christmas carols. We see their palettes smeared with watercolors, and their fingers flying over ivory keys in a concert hall. We are amazed at the grace of their pirouettes. We never, never stop believing in all they will accomplish as they pass through this world.
But in the meantime, my sisters, the most important thing we do, is hold tight to their little hands as together, we special mothers and our special children, reach for the stars.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL YOU MOTHERS OUT THERE OF ALL KIDS, NO MATTER WHAT THEIR NEEDS!!!
Caden is good! He slept really well last night. We both did, although I was a lot later than I wanted getting to bed. Jeremy is having fun in San Antonio and I stayed up reading You Will Dream New Dreams!
Dr. Easley, our GI, was great yesterday. He even changed Caden's diaper for me and held him and loved on him while Caden spit up on his shoulder!! He said Caden's weight is okay because he's proportional right now, but if he gets any taller, we'll have to worry. He wants us to try Pediasure again for more calories, so I did last night. I gave Caden a bottle of banana cream and he sucked it down! So, he was either really hungry, or he likes it! Liking it wasn't the problem last time though. He liked it fine, but it didn't stay down at all. Well, actually it did as long as we did every other bottle Pediasure, then the other ones formula, but once we went all Pediasure, up it came!! I told the ladies all about it and promised we'd go straight Pediasure on a weekend when he was at home with us!!! They were glad!
I am so grateful for Caden to have such wonderful "other mothers" to care for him during the day at Mosaic. I don't know what we'd do without that daycare and all the girls there! Thank you Ladies, we love you all!!!
I hope you all have a great weekend and a Happy Mother's Day!
Love & Hugs,
Jeremy, Vicki, & Caden
Wednesday, May 4, 2005 10:27 AM CDT
I have a call in to Dr. Shoffner's office to check on the results from the muscle biopsy. It's really not time for them to be in because he said 8-10 weeks and it's only been 7 to the day, but I thought it was worth a try. I actually called to see about making our follow-up appointment with Dr. S and ended up asking them to see if the results were in. I asked the lady I talked to what we needed to do about setting up the next appointment because Dr. S said for us to come back and talk to him about the results. She said, "I just don't think Dr. S would tell parents something like that." I said, "Well he did tell us that because we even talked to him about leaving Caden at home and how he didn't have to be there for us to talk about the results with Dr. S." She then transferred me to another lady who was out of the office already, but I left a message and she should call me back within 24 hours. The results are actually supposed to come to our reffering physician and they are supposed to talk about them with us. Well, that would be Dr. Acton, our pediatrician, and as much as we like him, he isn't a neurologist and doesn't know all the stuff we need to know. Except if the results are all normal again, then I don't guess we need to waste a trip to Atlanta for that!!! We will see and I will keep you all posted.
It's funny......I haven't really thought about or worried about the test results for 6 weeks now, but the last week or so, they have really been on my mind. I guess the closer it gets, the more I think about it.
Mr. Caden was up crying at 3 am this morning! Nope, have NO clue why! I went and got him and tried to rock him back to sleep, but he appeared to be wide awake, so I took him back to bed with me and put him on his own pillow between Jeremy and I, and the next thing I know, the alarm is going off for me to get up. Caden was sound asleep! I carefully took him and put him back in his own bed and he stayed asleep until 7:00 when we always get him up. Maybe he was having reflux or something because before I picked him up, he was squirming around and his tummy was making weird noises. Maybe it was his congestion and he oculdn't breath very well because he was fine when I put him up on my shoulder....or maybe that helped the reflux??? WHO KNOWS!!! Otherwise, he's good. We had our home check-up from his nurse from KinderHearts yesterday after PT. All was good!!!
Speaking of PT........Judy was gone yesterday, so Jean Anne and Kim worked with Caden. Have any of you ever heard of kinesiotaping??? Well, just about a week ago, it was a HOT topic on my hypotonia group because lots of the kids' therapists were starting to use it on them. Well, our therapists just learned about it too. Last week, when we had Caden up over the treadmill, he would use his right leg really well, but he seems to stabilize himself with his left leg, so he won't use it......he just puts all his weight on it so he can use the right one. So, they came up with this great idea to "tape" his left leg to try to "wake it up." So they tried it yesterday and it seemed to work a little. There are still a few kinks to work out and different points to try to tape, but he did pick up his left leg and step with it ONCE yesterday!! On Thursday, they are going to try to tape it a little different and see if it works better. Here is a link to Kinesiotaping if you'd like to read more about it. I don't know what it does or how it works, but they have started useing it on kids at rehab and they see immediate results. Cool, huh!!!
Kinesiotaping
I have been reading the best book I could have found to put things into perspective, or help me deal with the day to day things with which we have to deal. It's called You Will Dream New Dreams. It's inspiring personal stories from parents of children with disabilities. It's amazing. I wanted to quote some excerpts from the book that really "hit home" with me.
"Life is Good" by Susan Sivola
"Deep, abiding sadness is my constant companion, as is unending joy. Sadness for what will not be, and joy for what is--life and all the good things that can be shared, like love, happiness, friendship, and peace. There are days when sorrow weighs heavily and, thankfully, days when life seems quite typical. Typical. I no longer use the word 'normal.' What is normal? Normal has nothing to do with my life. I am the parent of a child with special needs."
This is the BEST thing I have ever read that sums up our lives now. It's like this woman took my feelings and put them on paper for me!
"Be a Parent First" by Jo Anne Spencer (kinda long)
"Parenting a child with special needs is, at best, overwhelming. Overwhelming because on top of all the other normal parenting issues, the ones everyone expects, there are the special needs issues that no one ever expects or is prepared for--medical complications, educational setbacks, financial hardships.
We ask, 'Where will we get the money to take care of this child? Will other people see the light and the promise of this child? Will he be labeled and overlooked? Will she make it through today? How many tomorrows do we have? What does the future hold?'
Come to think of it, on some level, these concerns may not be all that different from those of other parents. But I believe that having a child with special needs changes the way each of us views life. Our priorities change; what used to seem so important no longer seems like a big deal. Small victories--like the first independent movement of a limb--become monumental. Those little things other parents take for granted are so important to us.
Our role changes, too. We become doctor, therapist, nutritionist, and teacher to our children. And then, if we are not too exhausted, by the end of the day, perhaps we get to be moms or dads.
But maybe not. Most moms and dads get to enjoy their children, but you may not allow yourself the luxury of just enjoying your child. You might feel you have to be constantly 'doing' for your child, doing what it takes to help your child reach his or her fullest potential.
If that's you, I have one word for you. Stop!
It's okay to be just mom or dad. Sometimes it's even preferable--for you and, yes, especially for your child. Your child needs to feel your love and respect--that's right, respect--for who and what he or she is, regardless of what he or she can or can't do or can or can't be. Your child also needs down time, just as you do. Too much therapy can be as bad as not enough.
Sometimes just holding and hugging, speaking about how the day went, or just communicating through touch makes all the difference in the world. Sometimes a child's outlook, health, and motivation can change when that child knows he or she is loved. As a parent, you will also benefit from found memories of closeness and relaxation instead of constantly overdoing and trying to utilize each waking moment in being a supermom or superdad. By all means, be an advocate, but be a mom or dad first!"
This really sums up how I feel a lot of the time at home. I was glad to read this and to know that we don't have to be working on sitting up every moment when we are at home. I was glad to be told not to feel guilty because we didn't use the stander yesterday or work on something. there are MANY more stories from this book that I cold share, but I won't take up that much of your time. If you made it this far through this update, you have done well!!
Jeremy will be leaving for San Antonio sometime Thursday. He's excited. I wish I was going with him! We do have 1 free night at a hotel on the River Walk that we need to use. We will save that for this summer! Next weekend, Mom and Dad are going to keep Caden when we go to the State Track Meet in Austin. It's just really WAY too hot for Caden to be out in the sun all day in Austin at the meet.
Jeremy already got me my Mother's Day gift! He got me a new cell phone that takes pictures. It is sooooo cool! I can't wait to figure out how to use it now! THANKS Babe!!! I love you!
Bad news......the Lady Hawks softball team, who got 1st place in District, lost their play-off game to Hawley. It was in Abilene yesterday. They had a great season though.
~*~Way to go Lady Hawks! Great season!~*~
The weather was awful here yesterday. Yes, I know we needed the rain, but it was cold and rained ALL day! Sometimes it was a really hard rain, and sometimes it was just like a cold drizzle. It was only 60 degrees too! Miserable! You couldn't even go outside for anything! Today is still looking rainy, but it's supposed to clear off later. It is supposed to warm up a little today and then get back in to the 80's by Thursday, but then the chances of rain start back on Friday. So, with the weather getting hot again and chances for rain.......we could have some real t-storms brewing!
That's about all I have to update on for today. I will post anything I find out about the test results. If they don't have them yet, it shouldn't be too long.
Love & Hugs,
Jeremy, Vicki, & Caden
Monday, May 2, 2005 2:52 PM CDT
PHEWWW!! That was close.......I almost let it go a week without an update, AGAIN!! But, I made it~
We had a great weekend!! Caden and I took off Thursday evening for MawMaw & Papa's house. (My mom and dad) I took Friday off from school so that I could go to the Regional Track Meet to watch all the girls and guys compete. So, Caden stayed with my mom and dad. They actually brought him over to part of the meet on Friday and Saturday. The weather wasn't very good at all on Friday. We were expecting it to be bad on Saturday, but the cold front came in a day early and it hit Friday! Saturday actually turned out to be pretty nice.......much nicer than Friady. All the kids did GREAT at the meet!! From the Regional Meet, you have to get 1st or 2nd place in your event to make it on to the State Meet. On the girls' side, we have several that are going onto STATE, and a couple on the boys' side too!!! Sarah Hooker got 2nd in teh 100 m. dash and 1st in the 400 m. dash!! She ran a 58 sec. open 400!! That's really good if you don't know much about track!!! Kirsten Niehues got 2nd int he 100 m. hurdles! AND the girls' 4 X 400 (mile) relay got 1st with a 4:03.....a new school record!!! Blaine Thompson won 1st in the 2 mile and Brian Holik won 1st in the 300 m. hurdles. So total, we have 8 Wall Hawks and Lady Hawks going on to Austin in 2 weeks where they will be one of the top 8 athletes in their event in the whole state of TEXAS!!!
~*~Way to go Lady Hawks & Hawks!!~*~
~*~Good luck in Austin!!~*~
Caden is a little croupy sounding and has a barky little cough, but it's not too bad. I started giving him his cough/decongestant this morning, so hopefully we can get it cleared up. Otherwise, he's doing great!! I found him this great new toy in Abilene this weekend and he loves it! It's a lot like the Skwish toy that he loves (and is made by the same company) but it's all bright colors and is made out of rubbery tubing, so he doesn't konk himself in the head with it as much as the Skwish!! He actually had his new toy in one hand, reached over with the other hand, and switched hands with it!!! I didn't see it because Jeremy had him while I went to Wal-Mart, but Jeremy was really excited about it!!
I think I got caught up on most of my Caringbridge guestbooks today. If I missed anyone, I am sooooo sorry!! I have been trying to get caught up on everything lately, but it's not working so well!!!
There was a scrapbooking class that I REALLY wanted to go to yesterday at Scrapbook University, but I totally forgot about it until it was over half way finished. I haven't ever scrapbooked, and I know I can figure it out, but I wanted a little guidance before I just jumped into it! I know.....one more thing to get behind on!!!
Jeremy will be leaving Thursday for TABC basketball clinic in San Antonio. I can't take off anymore unnecessary school days, so Caden and I are staying at home. Jeremy's excited because he gets to hear the National Champion girl's and boy's coaches speak at this clinic. He won't be back unti sometime Saturday. I haven't decided what Caden and I are going to do yet. We may just stay at home and veg out!!! It's supposed to be raining here all week and weekend except Thursday. Now, if that happens is yet to see, but that's what the forecast said! The weather is so crazy around here lately. Friday it was cold and windy, then a little warmer Saturday, but still cold. Yesterday it was in the 70's and beautiful. Now today, the high is 70 and it's dreary.......no sunshine at all. Tomorrow the high is 65 and possible rain! AND I got an email with pictures from TODAY in Amarillo and it was snowing!!! I am just ready for summer!!!!!
We only have 19, no make that 18 days of school left!!!! I dont' know who's more ready, me or the kids!!! This time of year is just hard all together, but trying to get these kids to stay on task and get some work done is next to impossible!
I guess that is all I know for now. I hope you all have a GREAT week!! God Bless you all!
Love & Hugs,
Jeremy, Vicki, & Caden
Eli’s Angels is a non-profit organization for children affected with mitochondrial or metabolic illnesses.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 9:18 PM CDT
Caden is allll better!! I don't think it was really as serious as the Rotovirus because he only threw up, no diarrhea, and Jeremy and I didn't get it. Maybe it was a mild case......who knows!!! After we saw Dr. Acton and started feeding him smaller amounts, more often, he didn't throw up again after Friday morning. Well, not until Sunday night! We had been feeding him 5-6 ounces at a time, and Sunday night was the first time I tried to give him 8 ounces again, and he threw up about 2 ounces of it! I guess it was just too much for his little tummy! He's still not back up to 8 ounces at a time, but we will get there, hopefully! He had lost weight when we were at the doctor. From his 18 month check-up on the 11th, until we were there on the 22nd.....he'd lost about a pound. I don't think that was all due to the throwing up since he'd only done it 3 times before we went to the doctor. Again, who knows......maybe it was. It worries me a little. He still hasn't broken the 22 pound barrier. He was 21 something at his 18 mo. check-up, but is back down to 20 lbs. 12 oz. We have an appointment with our GI on May 6, so we will be asking about it then. Maybe it's not as big a deal as I am making it.
Caden is getting a little temper! It's soooooo cute! He doesn't really cry when he gets mad, he just yells out and throws his body around in protest. It's pretty funny! He does it a lot when we are trying to put him in his carseat and doesn't want to give up his arm to put in the straps. He also does it when he wants attention now too!
Judy hung him up over the treadmill again today. Jeremy got some video of it. Sometimes I think she's really getting ahead of where we are, but as Jeremy told me......."You don't get good at basketball by just working on shooting all the time." Awww, the basketball coach that he is!! He's right! I think she's trying to get him to realize how much he like to be upright and she's trying to put him in lots of new positions. He tolerates it so well. He even started to talk a little while standing up today. He did pick those feet up a few times to try a step!!!
My mom came today because she had a dentist appointment. She got to see most of PT today too. She was here long enough to feed Caden his bottle, let him take a little nap, and then she had to be on her way. We just went to Mom and Dad's house on Sunday. They hadn't seen Caden in about 10 days.....a record for them.....so they were going to come here, but I wanted to get out of the house and town after being stuck at home all day Friday and Saturday. So we made it a little day trip. We got some really good food out of the deal and I got to take a nap at their house!!
We were out of school on Monday. We took Caden to daycare so we could do some spring cleaning. We got all the furniture in the living room moved and mopped the hardwood floors really well. They really needed it. There were a few spit-up spots that had been missed in all the throwing up episodes!! Now they are spotless! Besides that, I got a lot of laundry done, got a shower, and it was time to go get the Little Man.
I guess that's all we have to tell this evening. It's bath time for Mr. Caden, so I better close for the night. Everyone check out Eli's Angels at the link below. It's a really great organization.
To all our Caringbridge friends: I am sorry I haven't been signing guestbooks lately. I've just been swamped! I promise I have been checking in on you all and praying for you! I hope to make my rounds in the next day or two. Take care and God Bless!!!
Hugs & Love,
Jeremy, Vicki, and Caden
~*~Caden is officially a member of Eli's Angels. Some of you may know Eli, or Elijah Kurtz. Some of you may even check on him. His mom leaves messages in Caden's guestbook with his link a lot of times. Anyways, Eli's Angels is a non-profit organization dedicated to kids with mitochondrial or metabolic disorders. We don't know that Caden has either of those, but they have both been mentioned by his doctors numerous times, so Ann, Eli's mom, accepted Caden as a member. Their mission is to send children with Leigh’s disease, mitochondrial or metabolic disorders a gift, for them to enjoy, create memories, know they are special and provide support to the families who care for them. Caden has already received 2 books from Eli's Angels that he loves!! You can go to the website to read more about the organization. From the homepage, you can go down to Eli's Members and there is pictures and links to Caden's site, along with several other children that are members.
Eli's Angels
Friday, April 22, 2005
Friday~~
According to Dr. Acton, Caden probably has the Rotovirus. He said it's been going around lately. Caden threw up all of his bottle this morning, so I got an appointment this afternoon. Caden is sleeping now (5:43 pm) and has been since 3:00!!! Man I better wake him up or he'll never go back to sleep!!! I had to stay home from school and it was the last day of our TAKS test! Luckily there were only 3 groups testing today, so they should have had plenty of other teachers that could give my kids their test, but it's still not good to miss school during TAKS! Sorry Mr. J!!
Hopefully this virus will be gone before the weekend is up. We don't have school Monday, so it's a long weekend for us!!! Yeah!! I hope you all have a great weekend!
Thursday~~
Okay you guys.......I swore to myself that I would NEVER let Caden's website go a week without an update, and look what I have done!!!!!!! I am sooooo sorry if you have all been worrying about him or us. We are all GGRRREEAATTT!!!!
You talk about hectic though! School has been really hectic lately. Our 5th Six-Weeks has come to an end in the middle of the TAKS test. It's all a long story, but it's all jumped up and surprised me! I have sooo many papers to finish grading and new grade reports to get finished. It's all keeping me really busy here at school and that's when I do most of the updating and checking on all our Caringbridge friends. I've been terrible a that lately too. So if you're here checking on Caden, THANKS for coming back, even when I have given you nothing to read in a week. I PROMISE I'll do better from now on!
There's not a whole lot to report on. Caden's been feeling good. He's still rolling all over the place. In fact, I could have gotten the Rotten Mother of the Year award yesterday afternoon! I put him on his mat on the floor, thinking that was the safest place for him, then went to the restroom. I promise I put him smack dab in the middle of the mat! I was in the restroom and I heard a loud "bump" and thought to myself, "Man those new tennis shoes sure sound loud when he kicks the floor!" Then another loud "bump!" Then I thought....."I SURE HOPE THAT'S NOT HIS HEAD!" So out of the restroom I ran, and sure enough! He'd rolled himself over onto his tummy where just the top part of his head was on the wood floor and he was trying to lift his head up, so it was his head I heard hitting the floor! When I got to him he was laying real still as if to say, "Man that smarted! I think I'll just be still now!" He had a little red spot on hsi forehead for a little bit, but not long. I know, I know, it's probably not the last time he'll have knots on his head, but I'm still not ready for that!!
PT and OT are going well. Tuesday at PT, Judy strung him up over the treadmill to see if he would take some steps. Now remember, he still has to have total support for his trunk and neck. He was in one of those harness things like some of you may have seen Christopher Reeves in on the news. It goes around him and then hangs above the treadmill. He did stand on his legs for a long time and showed excellent head control. Then when we turned the treadmill on, he mostly just let his legs drag behind him, but Judy and I would pick them up and put them down for him like steps and after we did this for a little while, he actually picked his right one up and put it out for a step!!! Now the left one still left lots to be desired, but his left side is weaker for everything. I still had to move it for him. It was quite a sight!!! He really liked being upright and tolerated it VERY well. We couldn't do it again yesterday because on Wednesdays, we do PT and OT at the same time. But in OT yesterday, Charis put a bumpy ball in his lap and he was purposefully knocking it off to the floor!! It was too cute! So, we have PT only again today, so we are going to string him up again! Jeremy can be there today and will get to see it all. He's bringing the video recorder to tape it, so if I can ever find out how to put a video clip on here, I will!
I had the coolest thing ever happen the other afternoon. It was Tuesday and Caden and I were going to Target. There is a new shopping center that they put in right next to Target and it has a new shoe store in it. Well, it just opened, so we HAD to go check it out!! I found the cutest pair of Nikes for Caden, so I was checking out and the man running the register had to see my driver's license because our numbers are not on Caden's checks. He commented on the fact that I have a CDL license (so I can drive school buses) because he has one too. Then he laughed at my last name (Williams) because it's his too! Then I took our sack and we were leaving. Caden was in his stroller by the way! So we are outside, half way across the parking lot when the cashier comes runnign out of the store yelling, "Maam, Maam!" I turned around thinking I had forgotten something. He asked me if Caden was my son. I said Yes! He said, "God is great, that's all I want to say, God is great!" Then he ran back in the store! I almost broke down in tears right there in the parking lot! Now, how cool is that??? I guess he saw Caden's name on the check, but how did he know that his statement would mean anything to me??? Who knows, maybe he saw Caden's poster for the benefit, or maybe he saw us on the news. Somehow he knew who Caden was and that he's one of God's special ones! I took that as my message from God this week!
As of about 5 seconds ago, daycare called and told me Caden was throwing up! The lady said it happened after the ladies fed him his lunch. He was FINE this morning, so I am thinking either he actually does have a bug, OR he gagged when they were feeding him until he threw up. He does that with me about once a week. The director said it was projectile. Well, yes, that's what he does when he gags and throws up his food. I just really think that is what happened because he was sooo great this morning. Anyways, since I'm so busy here at school, Jeremy is going to go get him. He's going to find out just what happened. We'll see how the afternoon goes. I sure hope he's okay so we can still go to PT.
Caden is officially a member of Eli's Angels. Some of you may know Eli, or Elijah Kurtz. Some of you may even check on him. His mom leaves messages in Caden's guestbook with his link a lot of times. Anyways, Eli's Angels is a non-profit organization dedicated to kids with mitochondrial or metabolic disorders. We don't know that Caden has either of those, but they have both been mentioned by his doctors numerous times, so Ann, Eli's mom, accepted Caden as a member. Their mission is to send children with Leigh’s disease, mitochondrial or metabolic disorders a gift, for them to enjoy, create memories, know they are special and provide support to the families who care for them. Caden has already received 2 books from Eli's Angels that he loves!! You can go to the website to read more about the organization. From the homepage, you can go down to Eli's Members and there is pictures and links to Caden's site, along with several other children that are members.
Eli's Angels
Okay, Jeremy just called and he had just picked Caden up from daycare. He said Caden gave Michelle (one of his ladies)a good shower of puke. Jeremy said it just looks like a bad reflux spell though. Caden still has those every now and then, so maybe that's what it is. Jeremy said Caden started smiling and talking to him and was acting like he didn't have a care in the world. I could hear him babbling throught the phone! So, let's all hope it's nothing!
The only real thing that we have changed with Caden is his Prevacid. We have started giving him all 30 mg. in the morning instead of just 15 mg. He was starting to spit up more in the afternoon and evenings, so we thought Dr. Easley would tell us to give him the other half of the solutab in the afternoon, but he told me it's better to give him all of it first thing in the morning. It seems to have really helped.......until TODAY!!! No, really, it's helping a lot and he's not hardly spitting at all.
I guess that's about all I know for today. Tomorrow is the LAST day of this stinking TAKS test. It's been a hard week. Everyone's schedules are off and things have just been hard here at school. It's also getting to be that time of the year when it's hard for everyone to get along! Teachers, students.....everyone seems to be at each other's throats. It's just time for summer!! Speaking of summer, we only have 25 more days of school left!!!!! We all have summeritis!!!
I promise I won't make you all wait a week before you hear from me again. I hope you all have had a great week and have a great weekend! It was in the 90's here yesterday and looks to be about the same today! It's been beautiful! Everyone enjoy!
Hugs & love,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Thursday, April 14
Thursday~
I finally got to talk to Dr. Acton and get the results of Caden's blood work Monday. His tegretol levels are 6. Treatment (normal) level is 4-12, so we are right in the middle. That's good, but some of it's effectiveness seems to have worn off, so I will be talking to the neurologist to see if we need to leave it alone, or try to go up a little bit. Everything else looked great.....no anemia or anything!
Well, it's been one month to the day since Caden's muscle biopsy. Hopefully, we are half way there! Hopefully, it will only take 8 weeks and not 10. It's not been too bad.....the waiting. We try not to thik about it too much.
Caden and I are off to the track meet. I should be able to make catch the finals of the running, so I gotta get going! Have a great day and weekend!!
PS....I left the stories on here for anyone who hasn't read them!
Tuesday~
I hope everyone is having a great week. We are! Caden is great. He did have his 18 month check-up yesterday and it was no fun for Caden or Mommy. He only had to get 1 shot and he was such a BIG boy, he didn't even cry! But then he had to have blood drawn to check his Tegretol levels. I warned the lab that he was HARD stick, but it didn't do much good. Well, I can't complain too much because they did get it on the 2nd try. Actually that's not too bad considering some of our past experiences. It was not fun for either of us! Then you add on top of that the questionaire I had to fill out that asked me what all Caden can do.......okay, it was a little depressing. But I'm over it!
My knee is better. I spent most of the weekend taking Aleve and icing it. It still smarts when I move it a certain way or bend it too far, but I'll survive!
The Lady Hawks have their district track meet Thursday. We will see how many girls get to go Regionals this year!! The girls had an exciting night Friday at the Ozona meet. Their 4 X 400 relay ran a 4:08 and broke the meet record that was set in the 80's!!
~*~Good Luck Lady Hawks & Hawks!! Run Fast, Jump Far & High, and Throw Far!!
I found this story and it really hit home with our lives. It's perfect actually! I hope you enjoy it! Have a great, blessed week!
c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.
Celebrating Holland
By Cathy Anthony
(my follow-up to the original \Welcome to Holland\ by Emily Perl Kingsley)
I have been in Holland for over a decade now. It has become home. I have had time to catch my breath, to settle and adjust, to accept something different than I'd planned.I reflect back on those years of past when I had first landed in Holland. I remember clearly my shock, my fear, my anger, the pain and uncertainty. Inthose first few years, I tried to get back to Italy as planned, but Holland was where I was to stay. Today, I can say how far I have come on this unexpected journey. I have learned so much more. But, this too has been a journey of time.
I worked hard. I bought new guidebooks. I learned a new language and I slowly found my way around this new land. I have met others whose plans had changed like mine, and who could share my experience. We supported one another and some have become very special friends.
Some of these fellow travelers had been in Holland longer than I and were seasoned guides, assisting me along the way. Many have encouraged me. Many have taught me to open my eyes to the wonder and gifts to behold in this new land. I have discovered a community of caring. Holland wasn't so bad.
I think that Holland is used to wayward travelers like me and grew to become a land of hospitality, reaching out to welcome, to assist and to support newcomers like me in this new land. Over the years, I've wondered what life would have been like if I'd landed in Italy as planned. Would life have been easier? Would it have been as rewarding? Would I have learned some of the important lessons I hold today?
Sure, this journey has been more challenging and at times I would (and still do) stomp my feet and cry out in frustration and protest. And, yes, Holland is slower paced than Italy and less flashy than Italy, but this too has been an unexpected gift. I have learned to slow down in ways too and look closer at things, with a new appreciation for the remarkable beauty of Holland with its tulips, windmills and Rembrandts.
I have come to love Holland and call it Home.
I have become a world traveler and discovered that it doesn't matter where you land. What's more important is what you make of your journey and how you see and enjoy the very special, the very lovely, things that Holland, or any land, has to offer.
Yes, over a decade ago I landed in a place I hadn't planned. Yet I am thankful, for this destination has been richer than I could have imagined!
Friday~
HAPPY 18 MONTHS TO CADEN!!!!
Well, I know you have all been waiting and maybe worrying about us, but I have been working on this update for several days now. It is hard to know exactly what to say to honor such a special occasion as last Sunday. Then since it’s been almost a week since my last update…..there’s a lot of other things to tell you all about also, so this one is bound to be pretty long!! If you make it to the end without giving up, it’ll be a miracle! I also have new benefit pictures, but not the best ones (those are still to come!!), and “every day life” pictures. I hope you enjoy!
I will start with the benefit………what an AMAZING day! The Parish Hall at St. Ambrose Catholic church was filled with so many people that you could hardly walk around! Some people have asked how the event came to be at the Catholic Church because we aren’t Catholic. Well, almost everyone else in Wall, TX is Catholic, and St. Ambrose seems to host almost all the big functions that take place there. From the sports banquet at the end of the school year, to festivals, and Caden’s benefit…….they all end up at St. Ambrose because they have the space and equipment/supplies to handle these LARGE events.
The men that cooked the lunch started at 2 am Saturday morning! And MAN, was it worth it!!! Well, I think it was worth it……..I only got about 5 bites of my food all day! I was just too busy talking and showing Caden off to sit down and eat. That doesn’t take away from the fact that the BBQ, potatoes, salad, cobbler, and everything else was DELICIOUS!!
The silent auction started first and lasted from 11 am to 1 pm. There were over 100 items in the silent auction ranging from cakes and pies to gift certificates for hair cuts, from handmade jewelry to cookies, from hair products to fleece blankets, from pottery to painted pictures, and from “Date Night” baskets to spa services. There were some really neat things! I wanted to bid on a lot of them! But I didn’t….I got my sister to bid on a few things for me, but we didn’t win any of them! People were so funny! They would outbid someone by $.50, and people were just walking around guarding the things they really wanted! At 1:00 pm, there were a few hearts broken!
At that point, the live auction started. Now, you talk about some really NEAT things……..there were some of the most awesome items for the live auction. There were western mirrors and keepsake boxes, bales of hay, plants and trees, belt buckles, handmade boots, lawn furniture, quilts, paintings, a TT basketball signed by Marsha Sharp (cool story about this one!), signed jerseys and pictures from famous players….including our very own Clayton Weishuhn, stereos, antique ceiling tiles (from here at Fairview), statues of Mary, rounds of golf, toy tractors, TX Ranger tickets, spa service packages, free nights on the River Walk in San Antonio, window tinting, baby blankets, golf clubs, coolers filled with drinks, tools, a rifle, gift certificates, deer hunts, stained glass crosses, a rocking horse, hand painted college stepping stones, clothes, gallons of paint, fertilizer, other farming chemicals, gallons of honey, crafts, “Date Night” packages, purses, dinners at restaurants, candles, garden statues, and many other things I probably missed!!
These are some of the coolest stories about the day! First of all, we got to be on TV!! A KLST news reporter came out and did a story on the event and interviewed Jeremy and me. He would ask Jeremy a question, and then ask me a question, and I thought I sounded so stupid when he was talking to me. Jeremy kept telling me that I did well, but the reporter must have thought the same way I did, because only Jeremy and his answers made the news story!! They did get some good coverage of the people there, and us talking to some of our friends. Then one set of TX Ranger tickets sold for $1050, then the gentleman that bought them donated them back and they sold AGAIN for another $650! The Texas Tech basketball that was signed by Marsha Sharp was purchased by Coach Jerry Chitsey. He was the head basketball coach for the first 6 years Jeremy worked at Wall. Jeremy was one of his assistants until he retired and Jeremy got the basketball job. Coach Chitsey and our family were actually in a bidding war over this basketball because our family wanted to buy it and give it to Jeremy and I, but they lost! Then after Coach Chitsey won the bid, he brought it over and presented it to Jeremy!!!!!!! Isn’t that AWESOME!! Jeremy was soooo proud of it! There are many, many other cool things that went on, but those are the ones that come to mind right now.
I have a huge list of Thank Yous to give. I am so afraid I’ll miss someone!! If I do, please don’t get offended!!!
Donations for Auction:
Kirk & Rhonda Richardson Don & Pat Lee
Kim & Bryan Dieterich Jerry & Sharon Williams
Sherry Dunlap Jeanne Gransbury
Brie Whitehead Truck Outfitters - Sammy Farmer Martinez Tire Service
Joy & Dennis Block TX Ranger’s Baseball Club
John & Karen Baggett – Total Image
Ronny Hooker – College Hills Animal Hospital
Coach Tri Danley
Trendsetters Salon Charlie & Sheila Halfmann
Arlin Woehl Pierce Holt
1st Community Federal Credit Union
Betty Lehr Mason & Jake Rollwitz
Leon Braden Frank & Delores Gully
David & Eunice Hohensee Gully Insurance Agency
Zentner’s Daughter Restaurant Wall Co-Op Gin
Keith & Lisa Mahler & family Betty Sue Garmon
Quicksand Golf Course Calvert Collision Center
Gene & Wanda Gully & family Fairview School
Porter Henderson Implement Co. Mark & Odelia Hirt
Class of 2009 Lady Hawk Basketball Team
Daryl & Jeanie Schniers Old Friends Taxidermy
Sally Walling Brooks ASU Rambelles
Marjorie Dimsha Pete & Joyce Wilde
Josh & Jason Holik Shirley Powell
Coca ~ Cola – Patrick Sherman Kambri Dunham
Ashley Mikulik San Angelo Colts Baseball
Cheddars Restaurant Brandi Braden
Hawthorne Suites of San Angelo Tonya Rainey
Ruben, Rhonda, & Haley Holik Monica Noland
Diane & Clayton Weishuhn Wall Elem. Staff
Allan & Jo Ann Weishuhn George Halfmann
James & Flo Kellermeier Bert Johnson
The Wharf – Terry & Janell Nolan
Brian & Kathy Braden & family Bill & Martha Gerber
San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk Tippetts Salon
Westin Riverwalk San Antonio Brest Boots – Robert Brest
Angelo Bolt & Industrial Supply Inc.
Beverly Murrell Lloyd & Carol Whitehead
Nolan & Virginia Neihues LaVerne Schniers
Adeline Fuchs Doris & Geraldine Halfmann
Rhonda Halfmann Mary Jane Mikulik
Mary Ann Pelzel Flo Kellermier
Betty Joyce & Bernice Schwartz Merline Weishuhn
Shirlene Strube Bessie Wilde
Jamie Barker Ben & Betsy Wilde & family
Dorothy Kvapil Westside Gin
Tommy & Brenda Chapman Chris & Kim Mathis
Kerri Taylor Cliff Sonnenburg
George & Brenda Lehr Jason & Amy Lambert
Crosscutters – Sue & Ray Meacham
Sherwin Williams Paint – Kevin Porche
Reflections Day Spa Will & Vonda Wilde
Holy Family Mission, Mereta David & Pam West
Steve & Mary Lee Hoelscher family
Kevin & Donna Neihues family Hastings
Logan’s Roadhouse Restaurant Olen Weishuhn
Debbie & Ronnie Hartman Alisa Hartman
Maegan & Amanda Brest All – Tex Irrigation
Beard Family Walling Family
Matschek Family Country Charm
Rodney & Nancy Dunlap Schneider Distributing
Chris, Jackie, & Patrick Bubenik
Jerry, Kathy, & Laura Sefcik Michele Kelso
Judy Schmickle Michael & Melanie Block
Schertz Studio Chad Nelson
Jeff & Kim Rollwitz & family Danielle Furr
Todd & Ronda Whittley & family Cherry Anderson
Diane Branch Diane Kadlacek
Belinda DeLaughter Woehl Family
Bobby & Laura Draper Ken Aneola
Sugar Bakers Wall HS MASH
Wall HS FCCLA The Waterford Day Spa
Ward & Co. – Ron Herbert Tom Ridgeway Florist
Tammy Russell Roger & Becky Halfmann
Randall & Tammy Schwartz family The Carriage
Donald & Theresa Weishuhn Halsell Family Chiropractic
Tinseltown Movies Baskin Robbins Ice Cream
The Waterford – Thana Cox Gandy Ink
Buffalo Wild Wings Jason Vaquera Family
Wall High School PALS Marvin Ensor Family
Mr. Gatti’s Bobby & Laura Draper
Angela Taylor Luke & Kylee Dacy
Kirby & Nancy Rankin Clark Kilpatrick
Trendsetters – Kala Pfingsten Nancy & Larry Book
Erika Moore Sassy Fox
Suntrax Tanning – Donna Robles The Rage – Traci Allen
Reflections – Tonya Jenschke Olive’s Nursery
Virginia Neihues Ward & Co. – Donna Hall
Doyle & Vicki Lovell The Cake Lady
Armentas Café Fr. Tom Barley
Miss Hattie’s Restaurant Hedden Family
Wade Family Reflections – Carla Cole
Reflections – Susan Benoit Wendi Porsche
Pat Gray Gina Muehlstein & girls
Lauren, Lindsay, Ashlee, & Alissa
Ruth Dusek Kevin Denis
Brady, Stephanie, & Gage Weishuhn
The Rage – Justin Blair Reflections – Betty Clark
Evridge, Brady, TX Reflections – Vicki Cantu
Freeland Florist John & Betty Jo Wilde
Trendsetters – Tracey Massey Touch of Europe – Janie
Dan & Phyllis Shannahan & family
Joan Schwartz Trendsetters – Amy
Karl, Charlotte, & Paige Weishuhn
Alfrieda Braden
Glen & Brenda Moeller Shabby Sheik
Mark & Dorothy Denis Blue Moon Mercantile
John & Mary Castenuela Wilbert & June Jost
Trendsetters – Belinda The Rage – Carmen Lisa
Trendsetters – Laurie Carney Reflections – Micha Tyler
The Waterford – Rebecca Rainey Ward & Co. – Hannah Nixon
Gil’s Mexican & American Food Reflections – Gail Trevino
Ruby Braden Jennifer Hoelscher
Reflections – Beck West Elite Physique
Peitchinsky Family Porsche Family
Leta Verfurth - The Violet Rose Ward & Co. – Krystal ErbyWard & Co. - Beckie Napolis
Sadie & Derek Brest Trendsetters – Daniela
Ward & Co. – Heather Helmers Ward & Co. – Kali Clements
Trendsetters – Sonya Ortiz Trendsetters – Alma Reyes
Reflections – Jennifer Butts Trendsetters – April Ward
Reflections – Erren Graham Reflections – Terry Garces
The Waterford – Ashley Vanicek Griselda Arteaga
The Outback Steakhouse – Matt & Michelle Turner
Total Image – Karen Baggett Juanita Smith
Jessica Denis Cindy Sharp
Abby & Haley Smith China Garden
Rudy’s – Rudy Genevieve Schwartz
Fairview Shop Class & Clayton Foster
Chilango’s Café & Cantina Palladian Day Spa
Vosburg Day Spa – Marye Richardson
Trendsetters – Amy Trendsetters – Desi Conradt
Trendsetters – Vicki C Trendsetters – Stacey West
Trendsetters – Cathy Brown Trendsetters – Traci House
Ward & Co. – Beck West John & Betty Jo Wilde
Small Schools Coop Relay for Life Team Betty Fisher
M L Leddy – Sammy Farmer Mollie & Friends
Brian & Kathy Braden & family Laurie Carvey
Vicki Clemens Tami Russell
RVOS & SPJTST – Leonard Jansa Patti Grote
Glen & Brenda Moeller Lou Ann Hedden
Pam, Jackie, & Kambri Wade Gentle Touch Auto Wash
Holland’s Jewelers Shelly Sanford
Llano & Deborah Heathcott Harvey & Mary Jane Mikulik
Anyone else I missed!!
Purchasers of auction Items: (lots of names repeat!!)
M & H Spraying Melanie Block
Daryl Schniers Deborah Weatherford
Doyle Schniers Curt Braden
Chris Bubenik Nelda Dusek
Kim & Bryan Dieterich Rhonda Richardson
Teresa McClintock Ken Michalik
Kevin Neihues Erwin Schwartz, Jr.
Gary Stokes Clayton Weishuhn
Russell & Missey Dacy Brenda Lee
Jeff McCormick Jerry & Sharon Williams
Olen Weishuhn Brian May
Wilbert Jost Jeffrey Schwartz
John & Shelly Nelson Fred Mueller
Bobby Zesch Bill Gerber
Lloyd & Carol Whitehead Monroe Dierschke
Arlin Woehl Brent Niehues
Tommy Kubenka Tommy Chapman
Lynda Kreybig Roxie Carter
Kenny Michalik John Wilde
Mary Wilson Michael Block
Brad Mund Rick Weise
Gene Gully Jerry Chitsey
Wall Co-Op Kelli Hanna
Pat McDonald H&M Farms
Cindy Wilde Kevin Jones
Brian & Rhonda Halfmann Harvey Williams
Hillary Sanders Bill Fuchs
Johnny Schwartz Shirley Powell
Rod Born Houston & Kate Guy
Gary Speck Brent Halfmann
Ruby Braden Lange Welding of San Angelo
Dorothy Denis Nolan Neihues
Dean McIntyre Gary Cox
Westside Gin Mike Sanders
Loretta Fohn Kevin Mikulik
Karl & Charlotte Weishuhn Dale Wilde
Jeff Rollwitz Steve & Ginger Byrns
Schniers Brothers Charlotte Dusek
Jamie & Terri Walling Sharon Coates
Kathy Braden Betty Hoelscher
Brad Hajovsky Jeanie Schniers
Michael Hoelscher Alice Shiller
Nancy Davis A. J. Woehl
Roger Strube Steve Calvert
Gloria Schwartz Cordula Wilde
Howard & Dorthy Kvapil Cyril G
Cara Jansa Sandra Jansa
Ruth Dodds Brooke Palacios
Deanna Palacios Gayla Holik
Dale Droll Fr. Tom Barley
Anne Hettick Patti May
Vicki Loso Brianne Killam
Shyanne Halfmann Chad Kellermeier
Glen Kellermeier Tori Schniers
Genevieve Schwartz Jennifer Hoelscher
Lauren Weishuhn Stuart Gully
Sarah Gully Dorothy Denis
Amber Palacios Sara Halfmann
Donna Hammerton Kim Rollwitz
Amy McCormick Jill Kellermeier
Fred Moeller Sharon Morris
Josh Sefcik Jordan Sefcik
Rachel Sefcik Sherry Sefcik
Roy & Donna Fiveash Kelsey Walling
Ryan Walling Kimberly Hammerton
Loy Vaquera Darlene Speck
Mariah Gonzales Julia Green
Elizabeth Gully Donna Gully
Daryl Weishuhn DJ Ranch
Jan Bea Angela & Abbey Taylor
Martha & Maddie Chitsey Alissa Hartman
Jodie Braden Joyce Wilde
Kazey York Andrew Hettick
Allen Gully Whitney Gully
Katie Woehl Mary Lee & Regan Hoelscher
Loretta Fohn Taylor & Layne Braden
Becky Halfmann Steven Jansa
Ruby Matschek Caroline Stout
Mary Kate Stout Odelia Hirt
Donna Niehues Dean Beard
Melissa Gordon Monica Noland
Norma & Henry Curtis Alfrieda Braden
Jeanette & Carey Lacaster Judy Cate
Austin Matschek Joan Schwartz
Amy Fuchs Haley Holik
Andrew Wilde Jaxine Boling
Lin Boling Janis Dierschke
Donna Multer Cindy Martin
Linda Cox Julie Efferson
Marcus Gerngross Chelsea Priddy
Monya Waldrop Marilyn Holik
Paige Kubenka Joan Schwartz
Reid McIntyre Wanda Dieterich
Sharla & Bailey Adam Jami Russell
Alicia Ayers
And anyone else I missed!!
Thank you to PAK meats and other cooks for donating the meat to be cooked.
Thank you to Abbott’s Grocery for donating food and meat.
Thank you to Brothertons for donating salad dressing.
Thank you to HEB for donating desserts.
Thank you to Mayfield Paper for donating paper goods.
Thank you to Concho Business Solutions for printing signs, posters, and thank you cards for free!
Thank you to Jeanie Schniers, Terri Walling, Mary Lee Hoelscher, Carol Whitehead, and Diane Weishuhn for organizing and collecting items for the auctions.
Thank you to all the men that helped cook.
Thank you to all the men, women, girls, and guys that helped serve food and drinks.
Thank you to all the people that worked the auction.
Thank you to Richard & Larry Oxley, the auctioneers, who donated their services.
Thank you to all our family and friends that came from near and far!
Thank you to people we don’t even know who gave their support to our Little Man!
Besides the live & silent auction, I believe the total number of people served for lunch was around 1200. I am not sure I feel comfortable posting the final total on here, but it’s more than enough to take care of what bills we have accumulated so far and more to come. It will cover trips anywhere we ever need to take Caden to get him help. So needless to say, Caden will not want or need for anything anytime soon!! I got to meet with all our therapists to see what all equipment he needs and we are trying to decide what all to get for him. I think we are going to use part of the money to close in our garage to make him a play/therapy room. Our little house is already run over with bolsters, wedges, chairs, pillows, balls, toys, mats, standers, and lots of other little equipment and that doesn’t include the bigger equipment he needs that we are going to get. We’d also like to make part of the room into a Snoozle Room, like they have at daycare. It has fiber optics and a bubble tube that turns colors and Caden LOVES to look at all the colors and bubbles.
The Little Man is officially 18 months old! I can’t believe it! He’s been doing really well. He had a little fever this afternoon, but I think it might be his molars that are coming in. At least I hope it is! It has broken and he’s in bed asleep, early for a change! He’s working harder than ever at sitting up and tries so hard all the time.
I have done something to my “good” knee. I say “good” because it’s the one that hasn’t had surgery. I have 3 surgeries on my right knee, and now the left one is swollen and inflamed. I have talked to the athelitic trainer and am supposed to be icing it and taking Aleve over the weekend and I will talk to him again on Monday. It’s really annoying most of all!
We are all good! I am so glad it’s the weekend! I hope you all enjoy yourselves and have a great one! I promise, there are more benefit pictures to come next week! Here are a few that I had at home!
Monday, April 4, 2005 11:03 AM CDT
I know that everyone is so anxiously awaiting an update about the benefit, but I am still so awestruck that I can't even put my words together to describe it all. It was AMAZING!!! There were sooooo many people there! People from near and far, people that are very close to us and people we don't even know.....all came out to help our little man! I am trying to write something very appropriate to post on here about it. Bear with me! Caden had a wonderful day and was a perfect little guy all day long!! We don't have any totals yet, but they served, I believe, 1200 plates! Then there was the silent auction (100 items), the live auction (115 items), and other donations. Plus, the news station was there, so we made the news!! We are, simply put,
I don't know any other word for it. It seems like nothing I can write will do yesterday's event justice. But, I am working on it! I will have much longer, more detailed lists on here in the next few days, but I just wanted to say again...........
Check back in the next few days for more details and pictures!!!
Caden is great! His ear is starting to slow down on its drainage and he seems to feel soooo much better. He still is trying to cough all that stuff out, but he's pretty much bak to his old self! He didn't even hardly eat all day yesterday because there was so much excitement going on!
Friday, April 1, 2005
HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!!!
Caden seems to be getting better. He still sounds congested, but has alept all night the last 2 nights. Thanks Goodness!! He is still coughing trying to get that gunk out! Now, on Wednesday, at the doctor, he said Caden's ears looked good. Then Friday morning the right one was draining green stuff. Now, either the doc didn't get a good look at his ears, or that tells you how fast things can change! Now the drainage is kinda a redish orange color, so I have a cll into the doctor to see if I need to just keep putting drops in it, or get an antibiotic. I hate giving him so many meds, but the last antibiotic cleared him up so much faster. We'll see what he has to say! He's slowly getting back to his old self. He ate his dinner last night for the first time this week, and he's getting happier.
I have been forgetting to tell you all Jeremy's exciting story from Monday night, so here it is, FINALLY!! Jeremy went to get he and I some KFC for dinner, and if you're familiar with San Angelo, you know that Old Time Pit BBQ is right next to KFC. SO close, that if you are in the drive-thru of KFC, you can see the people in Old Time. Well, as Jeremy paid for our chicken, he looked over and thought, "NO WAY that's who I think it is!" So he drove over an dwent inside to get a closer look, and low and behold..........COACH BOBBY KNIGHT was in our very own Old Time Pit BBQ!!! Jeremy is the biggest Bobby Knight fan that I know. He's read every one of his coaching books and goes to hear him speak whenever he can. Jeremy marched over and introduced himself!!! Can you believe that! Needless to say, Jeremy's not very shy! Coach Knight was with a friend on their way to Del Rio to go fishing. He and Jeremy had a great conversation, Coach knight was VERY nice, and told Jeremy he was glad Jeremy came and introduced himself. You can't imagine how totally EXCITED Jeremy was when he got to the house. I think he's told everyone he knows the story, so you may all already know about it!!!!
It may be a long time before I can take the other update off here!! We may not have so much excitin gnews to tell you all for awhile. Caden did so many new things all at once! I guess I will just keep adding to the updates until I run out of room!!!
We are soooooo excited about Sunday. We have over 200 auction items for the 2 auctions combined. Can you believe that??? I know I've said it a million times already, but we are TOTALLY amazed!! Now, my mom emails me about some surprise for Sunday. She didn't give me any more clues or details, but I can't hardly stand not knowing. Then I told Jeremy, so he's about to die too!! Please come out if you can! Those men at Wall can cook BBQ better than anyone around, so it will be a great meal and shopping too!!!!
Happy Friday!! Have a great weekend and I will talk to you all before Sunday, then afterwards. Plus, I will have pictures!!! Make sure you check back next week!!
Thursday~~
Okay, this is my 2nd attempt at this update today!! Imagine that, I lost the other one. I accidentally hit some button as I was typing, and POOF, it took me to another page and the update was GONE!!! Arghhhhhh!!~
Anyways...............
Prayers have been answered in our lives the past 2 days!!! First of all, Jeremy's dad got a much better report than we all thought he would get. No procedures are needed!!! He just has to keep taking his medicine, eat right, and exercise. Thing is......he already does all these things, and he and Sharon do them WAY better than Jeremy and I! So, we have got to do better because Jeremy is at risk too. His grandfather had a heart attack before he was 30!! So, you can see the pattern that exists here!
Now, for Mr. Caden!!! Most parents with "normal" kids would consider these very insignificant things, so in my Hypotonia group, we call them "inchstones", but they are milestones to our little man!!!
Yesterday, our SLP called me as soon as she left from working with Caden to tell me the good news. She was holding Caden in her lap and another lady at daycare was helping her. They were looking at and reading him a book about animals. They were making all the animal sounds. Then, Caden started mimicking them and making the sounds!! Now, he didn't make the consonant sounds, but he mimicked the vowel sounds of SIX DIFFERENT ANIMALS!!! For example, cat = meow, well, Caden said "eowww" and cow = mooo, Caden said "oooo"!!! And he puckered his lips for fish!!! Cat, cow, fish, bird, bear, monkey.....all our new favorite animals!!! Wait, there's more .......he also opened up his hand as they placed it on the page, closed it to grab the page, and turned the page!!!
Hold on......there's EVEN more!!! Since he can't sit up yet, we put him on a mat/pallette every night to play. He has a new Skwish toy (www.manhattantoys.com) that is red, black, and white, and he LOVES it. (It has lots of places he can get ahold of it easily.) Last night, he rolled over in both directions to get to this toy!!! Then, it rolled out of his reach and he scootched and squirmed until he was at the edge of the mat and could reach the toy!!!
Needless to say, we had a BIG night. "Inchstones" to some, but these were, capital M, MILESTONES to Caden and us. He's never been able to reach out for a toy, much less move himself to get to it!! We were very excited!!
Now, here are some pictures of his new Bumbo seat we just got. He doesn’t have the head control for me to leave him because I have to keep him from throwing his head backwards or forwards, but I was able to let go and he sat up in it for a few seconds. Then he flopped over!! This seat is AWESOME!! It won’t be long before he’s doing it on his own!!
Okay, not sooo bad........
Maybe I got the hang of this.........
(I only have 2 fingers on the back of his head in this one!
Here is Caden dying laughing at his Skwish toy!!!
AND those killer eyes.......
Here is Caden trying to sit up in his Papa's lap on Easter.......
I took Caden to the doctor yesterday and he has an upper respiratory infection. His lungs sounded good though. We have to worry about aspiration and pneumonia since he still spits up so much, but he sounded good. So, I keep giving him his cough/decongestant and see if he gets better. If anything takes a turn for the worse, then I have to take him back in to Dr. Acton. Dr. Acton is so caring! He asked all about the muscle biopsy and we talked about it. Then he asked about the fundraiser for Caden. Someone had told him about it after they saw the poster up at The Wharf restaurant. I told him when it was and he said he'd try to make it for a little while. He and his wife have a 2 week old, so they have lots of family in town right now! As long as Caden gets better, we will go back to him on April 11 to get our 18 month shots, check to make sure he's not anemic (since he still drinks so much formula and milk) and check his Tegretol levels.
Last of all, I got home yesterday and there was a message from our ENT's (Dr. Williamson) nurse to see how Caden was doing. How about that?? A doctor calling out of the blue to see how your child is doing!! She is AWESOME!! I am sure she remembered the muscle biopsy and all, so she wanted to make sure he was fine. I thought maybe she'd gotten teh audiologist report about the ABR test from Atlanta, but she hasn't yet. I told the nurse about the possible Auditory Neuropathy and she was going to tell Dr. Williamson about it. We'll see what she says!
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!! As I mentioned, they are being answered every day!! Thank you for checking in on Caden and our family and thank you for your messages in the guestbook. They are so nice to read and they offer so much support! We have some great items for the auction on Sunday. I am still so amazed at what all these people are doing for us and Caden. We love you all!!
Hugs,
Jeremy, Vicki, & Caden
Wednesday, March 30, 2005 11:05 AM CST
BACK TO THE FROGS!!!Well, Caden has had us all up the last 2 nights with this cough. Night before last, Jeremy got up with him for most of the time, then last night it was my turn, and so on.... He seems to cough because of some congestion because it's kinda choking him and making him gag in the night. It came out of nowhere and seems to get worse instead of better, so we have a doctor's appointment with the pediatrician this afternoon. I will update afterwards, or tomorrow on what we find out. He threw up all over both of us again last night, but it was after I'd given him some medicine and I think that caused it. Besides all that, he's pretty good! He hasn't been as happy lately, but I am hoping it's because he doesn't feel well.
We are all pretty tired! It's amazing what a couple of lost hours of sleep can do to effect you and your day. It makes Caden cranky too. His schedule is really messed up lately. He is only taking one nap at daycare now.....kinda in the middle of the day. So, he wants to take another one when we get home from therapy and all, and that's about 5:30-6:00. So if I let him sleep then he doesn't go back to sleep for the night until 11:00-11:30. So, I don't know how to fix it. If we have lots to do after therapy and all where we have to be out and about, then he will stay awake until we get home. But if we go home and I feed him his bottle, he's OUT! If anyone has any pointers, pleaaaase let me know!
I have ask you all to say a prayer for Jeremy's dad today. His side of Jeremy's family has a really bad history of heart problems and he didn't get good results from some tests and has to go back to the doctor today. Hopefully they won't do any procedures today....we are hoping they can wait until Monday unless the doctor insists on it. We are all pretty concerned. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
Happy Hump Day!! Our kids just came back to school today from Easter break. We got out early last Thursday and they didn't have to be back until today. We (teachers) had to be here yesterday for a work day. Our math teacher and principal grilled fajitas for us for lunch yesterday and they were wonderful!!
*~*Thanks Mr. K, Mr. J, and everyone else that helped for the awesome lunch!!*~*
It's been really nice weather here since Monday, but it's still windy. It's supposed to be in the 80's on Sunday for the benefit. I am so glad it's going to be nice weather. Hope to see everyone there!! Thanks for all your support, messages in the guestbook, thoughts, and prayers! Have a great rest of the week!
Sunday, March 27, 2005 9:24 PM CST
Good evening! Happy Easter!! It's been several days since I have left an update, and I apologize. We got pretty busy around the house since we weren't at school. I just haven't taken the time to sit down and update.
Caden's been doing really well. There's really only one thing to talk about, and that's his eating. He's been doing sooooo much better with all his baby foods lately, until last night. I fed him his food and he wasn't liking it at all, then a little bit after he ate it, he threw it all up all over himself and me. Then this morning, he ate his cereal really well, and it was pretty chunky, so I was excited. Then again this evening, he didn't want his dinner, and I didn't force the issue like I did last night because I didn't want it all over us again. So, I don't know what's going on with him. Just about 3 days ago, I thought we'd turned the corner with all this food stuff, but now it seems we have taken a few steps backwards. I wouldn't have thought anything about it if it had just been last night....but tonight too?? We'll see how tomorrow goes.
I guess if you read in the journal, you found out that Thursday was my birthday. I seem to be in trouble with some of our Caring Bridge friends because I didn't say anything about it on here, so, I am sorry!! I am trying to hide these darn things! I turned 29, and this is the LAST birthday I am having!! I celebrated it by working at the track meet all day!!! HaHaHa!! Jeremy's birthday was yesterday, and he turned 32!!! Yep he's getting on up there!! Since we had the track meet on Thursday, and Jeremy's b-day was Saturday, we went and did a little shopping for each other on Friday. Everything around us was open even though it was Good Friday, and the stores were full! Jeremy got me some new shoes, and I got him some new shades. Caden had fun riding all over the place in his stroller. He loves to be out and about. Later that day, Jeremy watched basketball with another friend/coach and Caden and I went back to the mall to find him and me an Easter outfit and then we checked out Toys R Us.
Saturday, it was NASTY weather here. It stormed and hailed early Saturday morning, and it was rainy and REALLY cold the rest of the day. So, we stayed in and watched lots of movies!! Actually I got a lot of stuff done. Jeremy had Caden most of the day because I was cleaning out my closet, of which I haven't seem the floor in months!!! Now, it looks great!
This morning, my mom, dad, oldest sister (Kim), and her husband (Bryan) came doen to go to church with us. The Easter service was packed. It was really nice too. There were white Easter lilies all over the sanctuary. They were beautiful. After church, we went to eat lunch. It was really a March birthday celebration since my mom, Jeremy, and me all have birthdays in March. We just get together once and celebrate! It was a mice day and we were glad to have everyone here to go to church with us.
*~*Thanks Mom, Dad, Kim, & Bryan for coming down and going with us to church and lunch!!*~*
This afternoon, after everyone had left, we went and walked aroung Lowe's and Home Depot to look at all the flowers and spring things they have in now. They're starting to get some really pretty flowers and stuff.
You may have also read in the guestbook that Jeremy was chosen as the All West Texas Coach of the Year. He and a good friend of his, that coaches at Ballinger, were actually co-coaches of the year. What an honor for him! I am so very proud of him and all he does! Plus, Wall got 3 players on the All West Texas Team! THREE!!! That's more than any other school around! Way to go Pauren, Kirsten, and Paige!! What an honor for the girls too! We are very proud of them also. Lauren was also chosen as a member of the Super Team! Wow!!
I guess that's about all for this evening. It's about time for Mr. Caden to go to bed.......so I will sign off for the night. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. We have heard from so many of our family and friends from out of town and all that are coming to the benefit next weekend. Plus the ones that live right here!! It's going to be so exciting!! If you can possibily make it, please come!! We would love to see you all!! Our thoughts and prayers are with all our family, friends, and Caring Bridge friends.
Love & Hugs,
Jeremy, Vicki, & Caden
Wednesday, March 23, 2005 10:03 AM CST
Wednesday Evening~~
Finally the pictures!! Beware.....they're pretty cute!!!
Caden in his hospital gown just before they took him back.....he'd even already had his "loopy" meds!
Jeremy & Caden........Look, they are doing the same thing!!!
Yeah...I love my Daddy!!
He's veerrryyy interesting looking!
I also LOVE my new frog from Aunt Rhonda!!
Okay....the Coach Sharp mystery has been solved! Apparently, one of Jeremy's player's dad emailed Coach Sharp hoping she could make an appearance at the benefit, but she can't since she will be either coaching in or watching the Final Four that weekend! What kind of excuse is that??? Just joking! How AWESOME would it have been if she could have been here??? Well, since she couldn't, she sent the donation. She is a remarkable woman and she and her team deserve lots of good luck and fortune!!
How awesome are all our family and friends and community members??? I always say family meaning our real family, and our extended family in San Angelo and Wall. We really do live and work with remarkable people and they have remarkable kids that we have the honor to teach and coach. We are so very lucky!!
Wednesday~~
NEW PICS IN PHOTO ALBUM!!!
I have all the pictures downloaded and even sent them here to school to put them on the webpage, but our computer security program won't let me for some reason. ??? It won't let me put them in to Photobucket. ??? I've never had this problem before, so I guess you will all have to wait until this evening, or tomorrow to see them. I will try to get them on here at home this afternoon.
Judy is back!!! Yeah!! She is feeling much better and really missed the Little Man.....and we missed her too! We are going to discuss some equipment Caden needs this afternoon with Jeanie from ECI, and Charis from OT. Caden's PT went well yesterday. He didn't even cry once!!
Jeremy called Coach Sharp yesterday afternoon to thank her for her donation, but he only got her voice mail because they were watching film. They are in the Sweet Sixteen!! Only downfall to that......they have to play Tennessee next, and they are a #1 cede in the tournament. The Lady Raiders will just have to beat them!! Come to find out, lots of other people knew about the donation EXCEPT us!! I was thinking maybe she mailed it to one of the ladies that are in charge of the benefit and then they put it in Caden's account. Maybe that's how they knew and we didn't. No matter, it was very AWESOME!!
I went to the audiology department at WTRC yesterday to ask the audiologist that we have seen a few times about Auditory Neuropathy. Well, she didn't know much about it. She found me a couple of articles and talked to another audiologist. They do have 3 kids in San Angelo with AN. Two of them are sisters, which is very interesting to me. One of the sisters does well in school with a device with headphones that I can't remember the name of right now!! The other sister has been recommended for cochlear implants. Now the downside of the implants....they destroy the cochlea. So if Caden were to have them done and they didn't help, or he didn't have AN, then they wold have destroyed a (probably) perfectly good cochlea. It's a catch 22!! Now, we don't know that Caden has AN yet. We will wait for our ENT to get the report and see what she says. I have already talked to another mom (via Internet...thank God for technology!!) who suspected her son had AN and she's given me the name of a great doctor in New Orleans that specializes in AN. She simply emailed him and he called her back!! So, that is the next thing I will try. Too bad we missed Mardi Gras!! Just kidding!!
That's about all for today. I will work on the pictures later today. Have a wonderful HUMP day!!
Tuesday~~
It's tried to be beautiful weather around here for the past few days, but the high winds just won't quite let it get there! They are blowing like crazy and they keep it a little cool, but it's supposed to be near 80 degrees by Thursday, so that will be extra nice!
Caden's great! The ladies at daycare didn't write anything that he did down on his paper yesterday, and I think it was because they must have held and hugged him all day!! It really made Jeremy and I feel great that they missed him so much and were so happy to see him yesterday.
We go back to PT this afternoon for the first time in over almost 2 weeks. I am not sure how Judy is doing, but I hope she's back and well. I haven't heard anything about her since we left for Atlanta, so I hope she's all better.
We had received a generous donation to Caden's account just before the Atlanta trip, which actually made the trip possible in all actuality. We had no idea who it was from, and actually thought it was from part of our family who didn't tell us who they were. Well, today, Jeremy got the deposit slip in the mail with the name of the contributor on it. Are you ready for this??? Drum roll please..........It was from Coach Marsha Sharp!!!!!!!!!!!!! For those of you who don't follow college basketball, she is the coach for the Texas Tech Lady Raiders. They are actually building a freeway in Lubbock that is named after her!! Can you believe that????????? Now, we have NO idea how she found out about Caden, his site, or his fund, but how AWESOME is that??? She does know Jeremy and me from summer camps at TT that the Lady Hawks have attended, and Caden was with us down there last summer, but I don't think she has ever met Caden. We are very familiar with some of her assistant coaches because they have actually asked Jeremy to work some TT summer camps in the past. WOW!! We were floored! Jeremy got the mail when he went home at lunch and he called me immediately to tell me! Okay, Caden is definitely a Red Raider now!! (but he'll still wear his UT stuff too!) We are sooooo grateful for the people in our lives. People we know and those who know us, and people we were unaware that they knew about little Caden!!! Amazing!!
We get a long weekend for Easter. We don't have school Friday or Monday!! Yeah!! I already have summeritis.......if that's a word! Our kids actually get Tuesday off also, but we have a teacher work day.
That's about all for today. Thanks for checking in on the Little Man!! Hope everyone's having a great week and HAPPY EASTER!!
Hugs & Love,
Jeremy, Vicki, & Caden
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Tuesday~~
It's tried to be beautiful weather around here for the past few days, but the high winds just won't quite let it get there! They are blowing like crazy and they keep it a little cool, but it's supposed to be near 80 degrees by Thursday, so that will be extra nice!
Caden's great! The ladies at daycare didn't write anything that he did down on his paper yesterday, and I think it was because they must have held and hugged him all day!! It really made Jeremy and I feel great that they missed him so much and were so happy to see him yesterday.
We go back to PT this afternoon for the first time in over almost 2 weeks. I am not sure how Judy is doing, but I hope she's back and well. I haven't heard anything about her since we left for Atlanta, so I hope she's all better.
We had received a generous donation to Caden's account just before the Atlanta trip, which actually made the trip possible in all actuality. We had no idea who it was from, and actually thought it was from part of our family who didn't tell us who they were. Well, today, Jeremy got the deposit slip in the mail with the name of the contributor on it. Are you ready for this??? Drum roll please..........It was from Coach Marsha Sharp!!!!!!!!!!!!! For those of you who don't follow college basketball, she is the coach for the Texas Tech Lady Raiders. They are actually building a freeway in Lubbock that is named after her!! Can you believe that????????? Now, we have NO idea how she found out about Caden, his site, or his fund, but how AWESOME is that??? She does know Jeremy and me from summer camps at TT that the Lady Hawks have attended, and Caden was with us down there last summer, but I don't think she has ever met Caden. We are very familiar with some of her assistant coaches because they have actually asked Jeremy to work some TT summer camps in the past. WOW!! We were floored! Jeremy got the mail when he went home at lunch and he called me immediately to tell me! Okay, Caden is definitely a Red Raider now!! (but he'll still wear his UT stuff too!) We are sooooo grateful for the people in our lives. People we know and those who know us, and people we were unaware that they knew about little Caden!!! Amazing!!
We get a long weekend for Easter. We don't have school Friday or Monday!! Yeah!! I already have summeritis.......if that's a word! Our kids actually get Tuesday off also, but we have a teacher work day.
That's about all for today. Thanks for checking in on the Little Man!! Hope everyone's having a great week and HAPPY EASTER!!
Hugs & Love,
Jeremy, Vicki, & Caden
Monday--
We are all good, but tired from the trip. We need a break from our break!!! All the ladies at Mosaic, Caden's daycare, were sooooooo happy to see him this morning. They just hugged him and he just smiled at them all. They said the whole place missed him last week.
Caden is good. His incision has sterile strips on it that they said to let fall off on their own as it heals. They are looking pretty ragged, and are peeling up around the edges, so I guess his leg is healing well. He acts like nothing ever happened. He's really been eating well for me lately too. He's gaggind much less and is taking his food thicker than he used to eat it. All good steps int he right direction!
I never really commented on his ABR hearing test, because I wanted to make sure I knew a little about what the audiologist told us before I wrote about it. Well, I still am not sure I understand what she told us, but here goes! The ABR is actually not a "hearing" test. It measures the sound waves through the ear into the brain stem. Well, Caden failed the ABR. We have had abnormal ABR's before, but it was always because he didn't sleep long enough for the test to be finished or something. This time, she did everything she or the machine could do to get him to pass, and he didn't. She asked us if anyone had ever mentioned Auditory Neuropathy to us. No, they haven't. Well, this would mean that Caden has something wrong at the brain stem that keeps him from hearing properly. Patients with AN usually have normal OAEs, another hearing test that tests the middle ear. Caden has had one set of normal OAEs, and on set where he failed at high frequency. We aer not sure that Caden has this Auditory Neuropathy, but if he does, sometimes hearing aids help the patients, most times, they don't help. We will wait for Dr. Williamson, oru ENT, to get the report and see what she says about it. In the mean time, I will research AN and tell you what I find. I also plan on asking the audiologist at WTRC about it tomorrow.
I left the last 2 updates on here for anyone who hasn't read about the trip. I have a few pictures from Atlanta and some of Caden I took last night that I will try my hardest to get on here tomorrow!
The benefit is almost here!! People's kindness and generosity continue to amaze Jeremy and me. People we don't even know are donating auction items or money to Caden's fund. It is simply amazing. We will never be able to express our complete gratitude to everyone for planning this benefit or taking part in it, or donating to it. We really do live in an awesome world. 
Friday--
We are back in Dallas!!! Yeah!! Atlanta was nice, but we are glad to be back close to home. Our flight back into Dallas was a little bumpier than the one into Atlanta because it was really windy here today. Besides that, the trip went really well. Caden even slept half the flight home........which meant I got a nap too!
Caden didn't sleep very well last night. He woke up into the night crying like he was scared about something. So, I got up with him once and I thought he went back to sleep, but then he was up again. Jeremy got him and put him to sleep next to him, so the next few times he woke up, I didn't even know!! He is napping right now to make up for lost sleep! Other than that, he's been his usual happy, cooing self!!
His leg seems good. He acts like there's nothing wrong with it. His neck looks like a little vampire bite him where they IV was! He has several bruises on his arms and feet where they obviously tried to get the IV started, and failed. I would be fine with them putting it in his neck everytime if they won't just stick him all over to try to get it somewhere else.
Sorry the last journal was short. I really wrote a longer, more detailed one, but when I went back to correct it, the page had expired and it was gone. By that point, I needed to get back to Jeremy and Caden.
Our appointment with Dr. Shoffner went REALLY well. He was great. He actually KNOWS what he's talking about when he looks at Caden and his records. He had studied Caden's records and had a long list of things to talk to us about, and as we talked (for 1.5 hours) he added to the list and told us he would be studying Caden's records more that afternoon before the biopsy the next day. He named a few of the long list of things that he thinks it could be, and MITO didn't seem to be on that list!! As I said, he seems to think it's metabolic. He talked about electron-transport chain disorders and X-linked disorders, which I know NOTHING about!! I guess it's time to start researching again. As I wrote below.....the best thing we got out of the appointment was that he doesn't think it's degenerative!! That's the most wonderful thing we have heard since our first neurologist appointment. Therefore, anything we do can only help Caden.
Dr. Shoffner told us that we wouldn't see him again until we come back to get the results from the biopsy, but he came over and was there while the neurosurgeon did the biopsy and he came back in and talked to us after the biopsy was over! We were very impressed. Jeremy and I will be going back in 8 weeks to meet with him again to discuss the results, but he said Caden didn't have to be there for it. If you could imagine it would be a much easier trip if Caden can stay with his grandparents!! We will probably just fly down and meet with him and turn around and fly back either the same day or the next.
The reason the results take so long is because they do some VERY extensive testing, plus they actually grow muscle and skin tissue. (They took a skin biopsy from the incision site also) They test for all kinds of rare things. The most renowned doctor who tests for the electron-transport chain disorders used to be at Baylor Medicine, but now he works with Dr. S at his lab!! They are both the BEST of the BEST. They also freeze part of the muscle and skin tissue for anything we might need it for in the future.
We talked about Caden taking the Tegretol for his movements, and \dr. S looked at Caden as he was moving all over the place and asked, "Do you think it's helping??" It was actually comical. Dr. S talked about how these meds can seem to help and then plateau. He said we could up the dose a little, but he wouldn't go up very much because then you get into worse side effects from the meds. He said there are other "agents" (meds) to try, but he'd like to see what he finds first. He did say it was choreoathetosis, and it's very difficult to treat because it involves so many systems. So, we will just have a wiggly kid for now!!!
Thank you all again for the thoughts, prayers, and messages. It was so nice to know so many people were thinking about us and praying for us while we were traveling and while Caden was having everything done.
Thank you all who recommended Dr. S to us. He truly was exactly what you all said. He's so knowledgeable about what we are dealing with and seems to be the one doctor we need right now.
We will be leaving Dallas soon to head home. I will have to spend the rest of the weekend checking up on all our Caring Bridge friends and doing laundry!! See you all soon!!
Wednesday--
Caden just got back to us in the recovery room about an hour ago.............
Well, I lost the first LONG journal entry, so this one is going to be short. Caden is good!! They ended up having to put his IV in the vein in the side of his neck, but besides that, he handled everything really well. The IV is out now though. Mawmaw, you couldn't have stood to look at it! He has a little incision in his left thigh, but it's covered with little bandages, so it looks good. We had to stay 4 hours after he got into the recovery room for special precautions they take for kids that could have metabolic or mitochondrial disorders. They could react to the anesthesia and get what's called Malignant Hypothermia, which is rare, but the keep you anyways! We get to leave at 2:45, and it's 2:15 now.
Our appointment with Dr. Shoffner yesterday went REALLY well!! I will post more details later, but here are the MAIN things.
1. He does think this IS something genetic.
2. He DOES NOT think it is anything that's DEGENERATIVE!!!
He looked nothing like what we thought he would look, much younger and "hipper"!!! He is the BEST of the BEST and we actually left him thinking he is going to find out what's going on with Caden. He listed a few things, but I don't think Mito is on his list. He seems to think it's metabolic.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Friday--
We are back in Dallas!!! Yeah!! Atlanta was nice, but we are glad to be back close to home. Our flight back into Dallas was a little bumpier than the one into Atlanta because it was really windy here today. Besides that, the trip went really well. Caden even slept half the flight home........which meant I got a nap too!
Caden didn't sleep very well last night. He woke up into the night crying like he was scared about something. So, I got up with him once and I thought he went back to sleep, but then he was up again. Jeremy got him and put him to sleep next to him, so the next few times he woke up, I didn't even know!! He is napping right now to make up for lost sleep! Other than that, he's been his usual happy, cooing self!!
His leg seems good. He acts like there's nothing wrong with it. His neck looks like a little vampire bite him where they IV was! He has several bruises on his arms and feet where they obviously tried to get the IV started, and failed. I would be fine with them putting it in his neck everytime if they won't just stick him all over to try to get it somewhere else.
Sorry the last journal was short. I really wrote a longer, more detailed one, but when I went back to correct it, the page had expired and it was gone. By that point, I needed to get back to Jeremy and Caden.
Our appointment with Dr. Shoffner went REALLY well. He was great. He actually KNOWS what he's talking about when he looks at Caden and his records. He had studied Caden's records and had a long list of things to talk to us about, and as we talked (for 1.5 hours) he added to the list and told us he would be studying Caden's records more that afternoon before the biopsy the next day. He named a few of the long list of things that he thinks it could be, and MITO didn't seem to be on that list!! As I said, he seems to think it's metabolic. He talked about electron-transport chain disorders and X-linked disorders, which I know NOTHING about!! I guess it's time to start researching again. As I wrote below.....the best thing we got out of the appointment was that he doesn't think it's degenerative!! That's the most wonderful thing we have heard since our first neurologist appointment. Therefore, anything we do can only help Caden.
Dr. Shoffner told us that we wouldn't see him again until we come back to get the results from the biopsy, but he came over and was there while the neurosurgeon did the biopsy and he came back in and talked to us after the biopsy was over! We were very impressed. Jeremy and I will be going back in 8 weeks to meet with him again to discuss the results, but he said Caden didn't have to be there for it. If you could imagine it would be a much easier trip if Caden can stay with his grandparents!! We will probably just fly down and meet with him and turn around and fly back either the same day or the next.
The reason the results take so long is because they do some VERY extensive testing, plus they actually grow muscle and skin tissue. (They took a skin biopsy from the incision site also) They test for all kinds of rare things. The most renowned doctor who tests for the electron-transport chain disorders used to be at Baylor Medicine, but now he works with Dr. S at his lab!! They are both the BEST of the BEST. They also freeze part of the muscle and skin tissue for anything we might need it for in the future.
We talked about Caden taking the Tegretol for his movements, and \dr. S looked at Caden as he was moving all over the place and asked, "Do you think it's helping??" It was actually comical. Dr. S talked about how these meds can seem to help and then plateau. He said we could up the dose a little, but he wouldn't go up very much because then you get into worse side effects from the meds. He said there are other "agents" (meds) to try, but he'd like to see what he finds first. He did say it was choreoathetosis, and it's very difficult to treat because it involves so many systems. So, we will just have a wiggly kid for now!!!
Thank you all again for the thoughts, prayers, and messages. It was so nice to know so many people were thinking about us and praying for us while we were traveling and while Caden was having everything done.
Thank you all who recommended Dr. S to us. He truly was exactly what you all said. He's so knowledgeable about what we are dealing with and seems to be the one doctor we need right now.
We will be leaving Dallas soon to head home. I will have to spend the rest of the weekend checking up on all our Caring Bridge friends and doing laundry!! See you all soon!!
Wednesday--
Well, I lost the first LONG journal entry, so this one is going to be short. Caden is good!! They ended up having to put his IV in the vein in the side of his neck, but besides that, he handled everything really well. The IV is out now though. Mawmaw, you couldn't have stood to look at it! He has a little incision in his left thigh, but it's covered with little bandages, so it looks good. We had to stay 4 hours after he got into the recovery room for special precautions they take for kids that could have metabolic or mitochondrial disorders. They could react to the anesthesia and get what's called Malignant Hypothermia, which is rare, but the keep you anyways! We get to leave at 2:45, and it's 2:15 now.
Our appointment with Dr. Shoffner yesterday went REALLY well!! I will post more details later, but here are the MAIN things.
1. He does think this IS something genetic.
2. He DOES NOT think it is anything that's DEGENERATIVE!!!
He looked nothing like what we thought he would look, much younger and "hipper"!!! He is the BEST of the BEST and we actually left him thinking he is going to find out what's going on with Caden. He listed a few things, but I don't think Mito is on his list. He seems to think it's metabolic.
I will post more later. I better go relieve Jeremy!! We are all good. Thanks for all the thoughts, prayer, and messages. We miss and love you all!!
Love & Hugs,
Jeremy, Vicki, & CADEN
Sunday, March 13, 2005 2:39 PM CST
Well, we are getting ready to take off for Dallas. Then we will fly out tomorrow afternoon. As I mentioned before, I will get my mom to post in the guestbook when we get there and all and then I will update from the computers at the hospital wither Tuesday or Wednesday. Thanks for all the well wishes, thoughts, and prayers being said, or posted in the guestbook. We love you all!!
I finally had to clean out the digital camera before we leave, and I found the pictures of the famous FROG quilt that I have never posted. Now this is the quilt that Jeremy's step-mom, Sharon, made for the benefit auction, but it got snatched up before it even left Lovington!! Sharon usually does not sew with such bright colors, but it turned out absolutely beautiful!!! Isn't it awesome!! 
This is Jeremy's dad holding Caden next to the quilt!
This is just the quilt. If you can't tell, the border around the outside is a frog print too!
Everyone have a great week! If you're on Spring Break, have a GREAT ONE!! Happy St. Patrick's Day!! Pinch someone!
Love & Hugs,
Jeremy, Vicki, & CADEN
Friday, March 11, 2005 12:57 AM CST
Caden is great again today! He had a good speech therapy session , then a good PT session yesterday. He was pretty worn out! We have speech again today at our house. He’s been really sweet and funny lately. I promise I will get some good pictures soon…….maybe in Atlanta…….and put them on here. He’s getting so big!
As I mentioned yesterday, the trip is pretty much set. Atlanta, here we come! (I’m really not that excited about it) We actually don’t have a rental car yet, but we’ll get that this weekend. Unless you want to drive a Flintstones car, they really want a pretty penny for a rental!! I am still trying to figure out how we are going to get there with all our luggage, Caden’s stroller, and his car seat!!! Oh well, we’ll figure it out!
I forgot to mention the ABR hearing test that we are trying to set up while Caden is sedated for his other procedures. Well, it has proven to be a pain in my booty!! Our ENT here gave me the name of the audiologist in Atlanta, then after I let messages and tried to get them to call me back for 3 days, they called back to tell me they were at the other campus in Atlanta, not the one we are going to be at. So, they gave me another audiologist’s name and number and I called her only to find out she was out of her office until Tuesday…….1 day before we need to have the hearing test done! So I had to call the other audiologist back and get another name. So then I placed a call to this one and had to wait for her to return my phone call. Then she had a million questions that I didn’t have any answers for, so I had to call Dr. Shoffner’s office and find out for her. So by the end of it, I found out that another key person in all the scheduling and coordinating is out until Monday, so……..the ABR is kinda set, but not really!
A GREAT BIG THANKS to everyone who has signed the guestbook or sent me emails with such uplifting, caring, and encouraging words! Those messages really help at a time like this! You all will never know how much it all means to us. It’s just so nice to know there are soooooooo many wonderful people in our world. A lot of you don’t even know us, or should I say you’ve never met us, and you check on Caden and our family everyday, you leave kind words, and you pray for all of us. It’s totally inspiring and amazing!!
I will update again before we leave. And I have found out there should be computers in the hospital that I can use while we are there, so look for updates from Atlanta. Until I get to those computers, I may get my mom to update in the journal.
The weather is so beautiful here in TX!! It’s in the 70’s every afternoon, and tomorrow it’s supposed to be in the 80’s!!! Wall had their JH track meet today, and the varsity has a meet tomorrow in Big Lake. Caden and I may go over and watch the girls run tomorrow afternoon. 80 degrees…….who could stay inside?
We took my mom out to dinner last night for her birthday. We went to Johnny Carino’s. It was GREAT!! She got this AWESOME chocolate cake since it was her birthday, and she didn’t even have to dance on the table or anything to get it!
We have a little girl that has been our friend for awhile and she just got a brand new website. You can read All About Emma !! She’s from Texas too! She’s the cutest little girl and her mom has been a great source of support, knowledge, and encouragement for me! Check her out and leave her a message!!
Caden’s Smile Quilt link is added at the bottom of the page in the Links section. If you haven’t seen it, check it out! It’s soooooo cute and fits him perfectly!!
Everyone have a great WEEKEND!!! And if it applies to you, HAVE A GREAT SPRING BREAK!!! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Love & hugs,
The Williams
Jeremy, Vicki, and CADEN
Thursday, March 10, 2005 3:39 PM CST
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM, CADEN'S MAWMAW!!!
Today is my mom's birthday and what did she do??? She came to my house to help me clean and do laundry to get ready for the trip to Atlanta. What an awesome lady!! We are taking her out to eat tonight, so she'll get something out of the deal!! We actually have 3 birthdays this month....Mom's is today, mine is the 24th, and Jeremy's is the 26th!!
*~*Thank you MOM for everything you do to help us! (Dad too)
Caden is awesome!! He didn't take anafternoon nap yesterday, so he went to bed early (about 9) and we still had to wake him up this morning! It was nice! He had a pretty good PT/OT session yesterday. Our regular PT, Judy, is still out with pneumonia. We are all quite worried about her. Please say a little prayer for her. If she's not better by tomorrow, they are going to biopsy her lungs! I hope she doesn't mind me putting this on here, I am just so worried about her.
The trip is all set. Flights, hotel, everything....thanks to some last minute donations to Caden's fund!! We are going to my sister's house in Dallas on Sunday, then she is takingus to the airport to fly out Monday, we will meet with Dr. Shoffner and have labs done on Tuesday, the muscle biopsy and spinal tap will be at 8 am Wednesday morning, then we will fly back to Dallas on Friday. Maybe we can do something fun Monday afternoon when we get there because I don't know how Caden will feel Thursday and we leave pretty early Friday morning. I will try to find a computer at the hospital to update the site while we are there and let you all know how he's doing. If not, I will get someone to do it for me here or in the guestbook, so check for updates there too. We can use all the prayers you can send for the trip and the procedures!!
I am getting pretty nervous about it all....from the flight to the surgery. I'm trying to hold it together!! Thanks to everyone for checking on Caden and our family. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers for us all!
Tuesday, March 8, 2005
Tuesday~
HAPPY 17 MONTHS TO CADEN!!!!
We are all great today! Caden didn't go to sleep until after 11:00 last night, so I am pretty tired!! Little Stinker! I am anxious to get him back to PT today since Judy was sick last week and we were gone part of the time. I hope he has a good day!
The benefit is still going strong. We continue to get more donations and auction items every day. A BIG huge THANKS to everyone who is helping or has contributed. Go ahead and purchase your meal tickets!! They are selling them ahead of time so they will have a better idea of how much food they need. If you want to, you can email me and I can get you tickets! I would LOVE for everyone who can possibly make it come. We would love to see all our friends and family!!
Our friend, Jenn Swanson , has left FL to go to Seattle in order to have her transplant. She will have several weeks of tests and chemo before the actual transplant. She checks her website, so please visit her and offer some words of support.
Caden has a new Smile Quilt !!! It is sooooo cute and fits him perfectly!!
Thank you Angel Sandra for the poem and Angel Gemma for doing such an AWESOME job capturing our Little Man's spirit!!
Monday~
Sorry it has been so long since I updated. It seems like we haven't been at our house for any time at all lately. Caden had a great time with his Mawmaw and Papa this weekend. He was with them from Wednesday evening until we got back to their house late Saturday night. Last time he stayed with them, he was pretty sick and none of them had a very good time. This time he felt good, so everyone had a lot more fun!! He only has about 2 days of his Augmentin (antibiotic) left, and he still sounds pretty congested. He still has a croupy little cough ever now and then, but his ears seem to have cleared up!! As I type, he's in the living room with his Daddy just laughing and talking up a storm!!!
Jeremy and I had a nice little vacation. We got to see lots of good basketball, go out with friends, and I got to shop a little!! It was good to get away for a little while, but we sure did miss our Little Man!!!
My mom let Caden take a late nap so he's still be awake when we got back Saturday night, so I got to finish feeding him and rocking him to sleep! I really missed that!
I will update more tomorrow.....I gotta go play with Caden!! I hope everyone had a great weekend and a wonderful Monday!!!
Wednesday, March 2, 2005 11:58 AM CST
Just wanted to update everyone before we take off for a few days. Caden is still VERY croupy and congested. In the mornings is when it's the worst. He wakes up and just coughs and coughs. Hopefully the coughing is moving all that gunk out. He's doing a lot better with his antibiotic, so hopefully it will clear all this up. His ear infection was in his right ear, but yesterday the left one was draining too! YUCK, but THANK GOD for the tubes and the fact that they are working!! Through all this, he is still so happy and fun! I am amazed at his little spirit. I would be laying around moaning and complaining!!
He had a pretty good PT session yesterday. He got pretty fussy towards the end. We got to work with Jean Ann, who isn't our regular PT. Our regular PT, Judy, is out the rest of the week with pneumonia! I hope and pray she feels better soon!! He won't make it to any more therapy this week since we will be gone. It's good for Jean Ann to get to work with him every once in a while because she can really tell a difference in him. She commented on how much better his trunk strength has gotten!!
Jeremy and I will be leaving for Austin this afternoon. We will meet Mom and Dad along the way to leave Caden. Man, I am gonna miss that little dude!! Mom and Dad will spoil him though!! The basketball games start at 8:30 in the morning and continue through Saturday evening. We will come back Sat. afternoon though.
I have been really busy getting all the arrangements made forour trip to Atlanta. We have been looking for flights for several days. We had applied for Delta SkyWish, which flies patients to hospitals for free, but when Delta sent the papers to Dr. Acton to finalize, there was a place to check if this is life-threatening or not. Well, we don't know if it is or not. I thought if we said it was then they might not let him fly, so I told them that it hadn't really threatened his life that we know of so far. Well, then that afternoon I had a message telling me that Caden didn't qualify because his condition wasn't life-threatening!!!!! URGGGHHHH!! So, we have been looking for other flights. I found some good rates 2 days ago, but then we had some circumstances get in the way (computer virus for 1) and so I had to wait until yesterday. Well, yesterday, flights went up $100 each because of Spring Break. Then today, I found some that had went back down. So they are officially booked!!
Another one of the circumstances is some more Devine Intervention!! A travel agent had told my mother that if we knew or were related to any Shriners or Masons, that they sometimes put funds aside to help families with stuff like travel and such. Well, we didn't know any and weren't related to any. Then all of a sudden I got an email from a friend telling me that her good friend's brother was on the Board at Texas Scottish Rites Hospital in Dallas. (Jeremy actually helped coach this man's niece at Wall!) So I called him to see if he knew of any way to get some help. So he started working on it for me day before yesterday and I was waiting to hear from him. I did get back in touch with him today and he gave me another man's name and number at TSRH to call. So, now that man is calling some of the "chapters" or "lodges" to see if any of them can help. Isn't the world a small place in the grand scheme of it all!! What great connections to find and have!!! A great BIG THANKS to these 2 men that are going out of their way to help us!
I better wrap this up for the day. I will try to update on Saturday when we get back to my parent's house, but if you remember they have Dinosaur Dial-up, so don't hold your breath!!!
I have to apologize to all our Caring Bridge friends. I have been so busy lately with all that's going on that I haven't had a lot of time to sign many guestbooks. Please know that we are thinking about you all and I do check on all the kiddos, almost daily, just can't find time to leave everyone a message. You are all in our thoughts and prayers and I hope you are all feeling well!!!
The benefit is looking like it's going to be WONDERFUL!! There are some ladies at Wall that are working soooo hard on this for us. We will never be able to express out gratitude!! If at al possible, please come!!! We would love to see as many friends and family as possible!!! A great BIG THANKS to everyone that has already donated items for the auction.
Wednesday, March 2, 2005 11:58 AM CST
Just wanted to update everyone before we take off for a few days. Caden is still VERY croupy and congested. In the mornings is when it's the worst. He wakes up and just coughs and coughs. Hopefully the coughing is moving all that gunk out. He's doing a lot better with his antibiotic, so hopefully it will clear all this up. His ear infection was in his right ear, but yesterday the left one was draining too! YUCK, but THANK GOD for the tubes and the fact that they are working!! Through all this, he is still so happy and fun! I am amazed at his little spirit. I would be laying around moaning and complaining!!
He had a pretty good PT session yesterday. He got pretty fussy towards the end. We got to work with Jean Ann, who isn't our regular PT. Our regular PT, Judy, is out the rest of the week with pneumonia! I hope and pray she feels better soon!! He won't make it to any more therapy this week since we will be gone. It's good for Jean Ann to get to work with him every once in a while because she can really tell a difference in him. She commented on how much better his trunk strength has gotten!!
Jeremy and I will be leaving for Austin this afternoon. We will meet Mom and Dad along the way to leave Caden. Man, I am gonna miss that little dude!! Mom and Dad will spoil him though!! The basketball games start at 8:30 in the morning and continue through Saturday evening. We will come back Sat. afternoon though.
I have been really busy getting all the arrangements made forour trip to Atlanta. We have been looking for flights for several days. We had applied for Delta SkyWish, which flies patients to hospitals for free, but when Delta sent the papers to Dr. Acton to finalize, there was a place to check if this is life-threatening or not. Well, we don't know if it is or not. I thought if we said it was then they might not let him fly, so I told them that it hadn't really threatened his life that we know of so far. Well, then that afternoon I had a message telling me that Caden didn't qualify because his condition wasn't life-threatening!!!!! URGGGHHHH!! So, we have been looking for other flights. I found some good rates 2 days ago, but then we had some circumstances get in the way (computer virus for 1) and so I had to wait until yesterday. Well, yesterday, flights went up $100 each because of Spring Break. Then today, I found some that had went back down. So they are officially booked!!
Another one of the circumstances is some more Devine Intervention!! A travel agent had told my mother that if we knew or were related to any Shriners or Masons, that they sometimes put funds aside to help families with stuff like travel and such. Well, we didn't know any and weren't related to any. Then all of a sudden I got an email from a friend telling me that her good friend's brother was on the Board at Texas Scottish Rites Hospital in Dallas. (Jeremy actually helped coach this man's niece at Wall!) So I called him to see if he knew of any way to get some help. So he started working on it for me day before yesterday and I was waiting to hear from him. I did get back in touch with him today and he gave me another man's name and number at TSRH to call. So, now that man is calling some of the "chapters" or "lodges" to see if any of them can help. Isn't the world a small place in the grand scheme of it all!! What great connections to find and have!!! A great BIG THANKS to these 2 men that are going out of their way to help us!
I better wrap this up for the day. I will try to update on Saturday when we get back to my parent's house, but if you remember they have Dinosaur Dial-up, so don't hold your breath!!!
I have to apologize to all our Caring Bridge friends. I have been so busy lately with all that's going on that I haven't had a lot of time to sign many guestbooks. Please know that we are thinking about you all and I do check on all the kiddos, almost daily, just can't find time to leave everyone a message. You are all in our thoughts and prayers and I hope you are all feeling well!!!
The benefit is looking like it's going to be WONDERFUL!! There are some ladies at Wall that are working soooo hard on this for us. We will never be able to express out gratitude!! If at al possible, please come!!! We would love to see as many friends and family as possible!!! A great BIG THANKS to everyone that has already donated items for the auction.
Monday, February 28, 2005
Monday~
Caden seems so much better today. He has been soooo happy all afternoon and evening. His right ear did drain a little. He kept his antibiotic down this morning and seems to have kept it down tonight. (He threw it all up on me last night!!) Hopefully he's on the road to recovery!!
Jeremy and I will be taking a small vacation this weekend. We always go to the State basketball tournament in Austin, so we will be leaving Wednesday afternoon. I missed it last year because Caden was only 4 months old and was still pretty sick and in the middle of the reflux nightmare! My mom and dad are going to keep Caden for us, so it will be a TRUE vacation!! We will come back on Saturday. So, if it's a few days from Wednesday on until I update, don't worry. I will update as soon as we get back.
Sunday~
Caden slept all the way until 4:00 am and Jeremy got up with him. He fed Caden a bottle and cuoldn't get him back to sleep, so he brought him to me about 5:30 am. He wasn't ready to go back to sleep, so I just let him lay there and kick and play. Then in a little bit, I pulled him close to me, gave him his pacifier, and he was OUT like a light! But then, he didn't start out very good this morning, but seemed better this afternoon. He actually seemed to feel okay this morning, but threw up his morning bottle all over Jeremy. After that, he seemed to get better and better as the day went on. At Community, there is always a pediatrician there on the weekends, so we got an appointment and took Caden in to see him. He wasn't our pediatrician, but he was still good. He said Caden's lungs sound pretty good, but his chest is really congested and he still has an ear infection. So, more antibiotics! We will start them and see how it goes.
Back to work tomorrow! Everyone have a great week.
Saturday~
The Lady Hawks’ dream season has come to an end. We lost the Regional Semi-Final game Friday night to Tulia. The girls just didn’t have a very good night on the court. All season long, they have averaged 46hooting, and Friday night, they shot 18 That should tell you how the game went. They started out with a BANG and were ahead 12-3 after the first quarter, but then they just couldn’t seem to catch a break. Shots went half way in the basket and came back out! It was like it was jinxed! Plus, we didn’t get a very fair shake from the referees. They were just really inconsistent with their calls. It was a tough night and a tough loss for the girls, the coaches, and the fans! With all that said, the Lady Hawks had an AWESOME, AMAZING season!! They were 1 of the top 16 teams in 2A in the WHOLE state of Texas!!! We are so amazingly PROUD of these girls and their hard work and everything they have given of themselves this year!! WE LOVE YOU LADY HAWKS!!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU ALL!!!
There are 3 seniors on this team that everyone will greatly miss! Lauren, Ashlee, and Lindsay………what can I say about these 3 AWESOME young ladies. You have given all of yourselves to this program for the past 4 years. You have made lots of little Lady Hawks proud as they look up to you and strive to be what you have been. You have made many, many fans proud to watch you and cheer for you. You have made lots of other Lady Hawks proud to play with you and call you their teammate. Thank you for everything you have done for the Lady Hawk program. YOU WILL BE GREATLY MISSED!!!!!!!!
To my husband, THE COACH…….I love you and I am so proud of you, all your assistant coaches, and all the girls. Basketball season is a long and tiring season and you ALL worked so hard to make it this far. I know losing is never easy and it never feels good, but know that you ALL had a GREAT season and everyone is proud of YOU and the other coaches and all the girls. Caden and I love you very much!
The Hawks lost their Area game Thursday night also. They played an awesome game and were ahead at half time!! Jim Ned pulled ahead in the 3rd quarter and the guys just couldn’t seem to catch back up. We are really proud of these guys too!! WAY TO GO HAWKS!! YOU HAD A GREAT SEASON TOO!! WE ARE SOOOO PROUD OF YOU ALL!!
Now, on to the Little Man………well, he’s not doing too well. He just finished 10 days of antibiotics, and on the 10th day, yesterday, he started running a fever. From what??? Who knows??? How does a child get sick when they are taking antibiotics??? If anyone has the answer, please let me know!!! He had a fever last night during the basketball game, and then during the night, and this morning. The fever broke every time with a good dose of Tylenol. Then he had it again this afternoon. After we got home, he fell asleep about 5:30 and then he would kinda wake up, but not totally awake, and just cry as if he was hurting somehow, then he’d fall back asleep, then in a little bit, he’d do it all over again. He did this 3 times and we said if he does it again, we’re taking him in…..but he didn’t do it again! Of course!! So, about 8:00, he was still asleep and Jeremy said “Let’s put him in bed and see if he’ll sleep through the night.” So, that’s what we did. He’s still sleeping, but who knows when he’ll wake up! It could be a long night! If he still seems to feel bad tomorrow, we will take him in to the doctor. I will update if anything changes or when I have any more information.
Wow, I don’t know what to do now that basketball season is over. That was my outlet. It gave me something else to keep my mind on for a bit. That was what Caden and I did…..we followed the Lady Hawks around and cheered for them. It helped me keep my mind off of what was going on with our Little Man. It gave us something else to do besides think about tests, or doctors, or therapies, or what was wrong. I guess we will have to find something else to concentrate on now…..
I hope everyone has had a great weekend. Only one more day of it left, then it’s back to the grind! Thank you all for caring about our family and our Little Man. Thank you so much for checking in on him and leaving such caring supportive messages for us.
Don't forget our new friend Jenn Swanson as she prepares for her transplant. She could use prayers for a successful procedure!!
Sunday, April 3, 2005 St. Ambrose Catholic Church Wall, TX
B-B-Q lunch with trimmings 11:00 am – 2:00 pm $6 a plate
Silent Auction 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Bidding Auction 1:00 - ?????
To purchase meal tickets or to donate Auction Items,
contact Terri Walling @ 651-7521 or 224-4582 or
Jeanie Schniers @ 651-7551 or 651-4450.
Deadline for donating Auction Items is Thursday, March 31st.
Make checks payable to :
Caden Williams Fund
First State Bank of Paint Rock
402 Smith Blvd., San Angelo, TX 76905
Wednesday, February 23, 2005 12:13 AM CST
YES………THE GIRLS WON AGAIN!!! THEY ARE IN THE REGIONAL TOURNAMENT!! The Lady Hawks played another awesome game and beat Anson 57-30!! 27 points!!! And we didn’t play our best game, so these girls still have more in them! This weekend’s games will be tough ones though, so we have to bring our A game! The girls play Tulia, Friday night at 6:00 pm, at the Chaps Center in Midland. This is the Regional tournament!! If they win their game Friday night, they will play either Canadian or Ballinger, whoever wins that game, Saturday at 1:00 at the Chaps Center for the Regional Finals! If we win that game, THEY GO TO STATE!!! The Hawks also won their game last night against Alpine! They play Jim Ned Thursday night, but I’m not sure when or where yet.
~*~Way to go Lady Hawks!! We are so proud of you!! Beat Tulia!!
~*~Way to go Hawks!! We are proud of you guys!! Beat Jim Ned!!
The Little Man is good today….or at least he was when I left him at daycare this morning!! He was really tired though! He stayed awake from 10 am yesterday morning until after Mom and Dad got him home last night! Then he got his bath, drank about 2 oz. of his bottle and he was OUT!! When I went in to wake him up at 7 am this morning, he had a really hard time waking up! He was so cute stretching and all, trying to wake up. I actually took him out of bed and was holding him and he went back to sleep. He was in a really great mood after he finally woke up!! He kept getting scared and crying at the game last night. He is used to loud noise at the games, but this gym was extra small for the crowd that we had there, and it was extra loud, (at least I was!!) and he kept crying. I think he had a good time though!!
We don’t have school Friday!!! YEAH!!! I would like to say it’s because of the basketball game, but it’s actually for the rodeo in San Angelo. Oh well, it’s still a day off!! We will be traveling to Midland for the tournament. I hope everyone has a great HUMP DAY today!!!
Don't forget our new friend Jenn Swanson as she prepares for her transplant. She could use prayers for a successful procedure!!
Sunday, April 3, 2005 St. Ambrose Catholic Church Wall, TX
B-B-Q lunch with trimmings 11:00 am – 2:00 pm $6 a plate
Silent Auction 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Bidding Auction 1:00 - ?????
To purchase meal tickets or to donate Auction Items,
contact Terri Walling @ 651-7521 or 224-4582 or
Jeanie Schniers @ 651-7551 or 651-4450.
Deadline for donating Auction Items is Thursday, March 31st.
Make checks payable to :
Caden Williams Fund
First State Bank of Paint Rock
402 Smith Blvd., San Angelo, TX 76905
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Tuesday~
Just a short update this afternoon.....I was the one who couldn't sleep last night! I was so excited/nervous about tonight's game that it was after 1 am when I remember last looking at the clock! It's usually Jeremy that can't sleep, but after I FINALLY got him to move from the couch to the bed, he was sawing logs!! I know these girls can beat the TAR out of this team, but I am still nervous. I just don't want them to be looking past this game to this weekend's Regional Tournament and over look Anson. They won't.....I know! I have to have FAITH!!! Still, I am nervous. I will update everyone as to how the game goes either LATE tonight, or tomorrow morning.
My mom and dad are coming to our house right now to go with me to the game. See, the girls play at 5:30 in Stanton, and the boys play 30 miles away in Odessa, at 8:00. So, we will be taking the bus and the girls from our game to the boys game and it would be REALLY late when we got home tonight, so Mom and Dad are going to the girls game with us and then they are bringing Caden home after that so he won't be out so late. Isn't that so very sweet of them???
~*~Thank you Mom and Dad for helping us out and coming all this way to go to the game with us and taking care of Caden afterwards!! You are both TOTALLY AWESOME!!!~*~
Remember me talking about the Standard-Times doing a story about Mosaic?? Well, yesterday when I picked up Caden, I had a message to call the reporter that was doing the story. I had to give her all kinds of information about Caden and his history and the benefit. I forgot to ask when the story would be published, so watch the paper for our New Little STAR!! 
Our TAKS tests are over for the day!! Whew!! It's rediculous to have a test that has 3rd degree felonies attached to it!! Yep, that's right! If we, as teachers, do something we aren't supposed to do.....it's a 3rd degree felony!!! CRAZY!!!
I hope everyone's week is going well. I will let you know how the game goes!!!
~*~GO LADY HAWKS!!! BEAT ANSON!!!~*~
~*~GO HAWKS!!! BEAT ALPINE!!!~*~
Sunday~
It's Sunday night and we have to go back to work tomorrow!! YUCK! Oh well, the sooner we get back, the sooner we get to summer! Can you believe I am already talking about summer??? Okay, I better hold off on that one, but we do only have 12 weeks of school left!!
Jeremy, Caden, and I went to Abilene after church today. You see, Jeremy got several gift cards to Dillard's for Christmas especially to buy himself a suit to wear to the big important basketball games. Well, those games are almost here (knock on wood!!) and we decided we better get on the ball to get the suit and get it altered JUST in case he needed it to wear this weekend. This weekend will be the Regional Basketball tournament. Let's all hope the Lady Hawks will be playing in it!! The Dillard's here in San Angelo only carries a very small choice of suits, and they never put theirs on sale, so that's why we went to Abilene. They have a much larger choice and had several on sale. So, Jeremy found a VERY nice dark grey suit! He actually enjoyed shopping!
Saturday, Caden and I mostly just hung out around the house because Jeremy was gone most of the day. He had basketball practice and went to the gym early to watch film on ANSON because that is who we play Tuesday. Yep, Anson beat Mason Friday night, so that is who we get to tangle with next. They are a good team, but we should win as long as the girls play like we all know they can!! Our game with Anson will be at 5:30 pm in Stanton, TX. We are playing there because we needed a neutral site and Stanton is pretty close to Odessa, where the Hawks play their Bi-District game against Alpine at 8:00, I believe. (I am not sure about the time of the boys game) If the girls win this game, they are in the Regional tournament and will play again Friday night in Midland!!
~*~Good Luck Lady Hawks!! We are so proud of you!! Beat Anson!!~*~
~*~Good Luck Hawks!! We are proud of you guys too!! Beat Alpine!!~*~
We just talked to Jeremy's dad and step-mom, Sharon. Sharon was making a FROG quilt for the auction at Caden's benefit. She and I found the cutest designs on the Internet when they were here the last time and she ordered them when she got home to New Mexico. She was making it out of very bright, bold colors, which is very not-like-her!!! She had gotten the top finished and was about to get it quilted when another lady, who is expecting the arrival of a grandbaby soon, saw it and wanted to buy it. This lady, who I will leave anonymous, paid a very significant amount of money for the quilt and said the money was for Caden and his benefit. We are so touched! This is such an awesome thing for someone to do for our little man! Of course, now Sharon has to start on another quilt, but she doesn't mind!!!
~*~Thank you so very much _________ for buying the quilt ahead of time!! We are so touched by your generosity!! (you know who you are!!)
I hope everyone has a great week!! Ours will be full of basketball..........hopefully completely FULL of BASKETBALL!!! Oh yes, the Lady Hawks had another nice article in the Standard-Times sports today! It's about Wall and Ballinger, who is a very close town with another good basketball team. We would meet in the Regional Finals, if both teams make it that far!! It would be a great game!! Both teams are VERY talented!! Sending lots of hugs and love to everyone!
XOXOXOXOXOXO,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Don't forget our new friend Jenn Swanson as she prepares for her transplant. She could use prayers for a successful procedure!!
Don't forget to look at Caden's Quilt of Love .
Sunday, April 3, 2005 St. Ambrose Catholic Church Wall, TX
B-B-Q lunch with trimmings 11:00 am – 2:00 pm $6 a plate
Silent Auction 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Bidding Auction 1:00 - ?????
To purchase meal tickets or to donate Auction Items,
contact Terri Walling @ 651-7521 or 224-4582 or
Jeanie Schniers @ 651-7551 or 651-4450.
Deadline for donating Auction Items is Thursday, March 31st.
Make checks payable to :
Caden Williams Fund
First State Bank of Paint Rock
402 Smith Blvd., San Angelo, TX 76905
Friday, February 18, 2005
Well you guys, we finally got our little man back last night!! Mom and Dad brought him back to us at the basketball game last night. I think he grew while he was gone!!! I didn’t realize how much I missed those cute sounds he makes until I heard them again last night! He was really good while he was with them, but hadn’t had a good poop since last Sunday. Mom put his Miralax in his bottles every morning, but no results. So, this morning I had to give the dreaded suppository, but it got him cleaned out before we even left the house for school!! Thing is, when he gets really constipated, it makes him spit up really bad. I have always said…..what ever goes in is going to come out somewhere, whether it’s spit-up or it comes out down below!! Hopefully he will go again today to finish cleaning him out!!! Sorry about being so graphic!! It’s amazing how important POOP is in our lives!
The basketball game?????? WE WON!!! The Lady Hawks are the Area Champions! They played really well. We still missed a lot of easy lay-ups and block shots, but our defense was smothering! Jim Ned only scored 1 point in the first quarter and only had 7 points at halftime! It was actually 17-1 at one point! These Lady Hawks continue to impress me every week! We are so proud of these girls. Now, we will play the winner of the Anson vs. Mason game tonight. Of course we get to go watch and scout that game! We will play one of these teams either Monday or Tuesday night for the Regional Quarter Finals. I will post more game information when I get it. Of course, Mason is the 3rd place team out of our district, so if we play them, it will be the third time we have played them too! It’s hard to beat a team 3 times, but I know the Lady Hawks can do it as long as they play their game!! If we win the next game, we will be in the Regional Tournament!!! (knock on wood!!) The Hawks came in second in district, so they will have a Bi-district game Tuesday night against Alpine at Odessa College.
~*~Way to go Lady Hawks!! We are so proud of you!! Keep up the hard work!!~*~
~*~Good luck Hawks!! Beat Alpine!!~*~
Jeremy and I enjoyed our little “break” while Mom and Dad had Caden, but I started feeling guilty yesterday morning because I didn’t feel like I missed him. Then I saw that boy last night and got to hold him again and I realized how much I truly did miss him. We did discover how important those little breaks are to us. It let Jeremy and I spend a little time together by ourselves, and it refreshed us to keep trucking on!! We will definitely have to let them keep him again! Just not too soon!!
Laura, the director at Mosaic, said they had a newspaper reporter come out this week to do a story on Mosaic. She told them about Caden and his benefit, so hopefully it will make the print!! I wish he’d been there so the lady could have met him, but oh well. So, everyone watch the Standard Times for the article!
There was a great article in the sports page today about the Lady Hawks! Read it if you get the chance!
It’s Friday again! I am so glad the weekend is here. I hope everyone has a great weekend. It’s a little cold and dreary here today. Hopefully it will clear up and the sun will come back out soon! The benefit is looking like it’s going to be WONDERFUL!! Of course if you are reading this you are welcome to come, not to mention everyone else that doesn’t read this! I so wish that I could fly all of our Caringbridge friends from all over the place down here so we could all meet in person, but we all know that’s not possible! I wish you ALL could be here for it!! Sending much love and lots of hugs & prayers to everyone! Have a great weekend!
Love,
Jeremy, Vicki, & Caden
Don't forget our new friend Jenn Swanson as she prepares for her transplant. She could use prayers for a successful procedure!!
Don't forget to look at Caden's Quilt of Love .
Sunday, April 3, 2005 St. Ambrose Catholic Church Wall, TX
B-B-Q lunch with trimmings 11:00 am – 2:00 pm $6 a plate
Silent Auction 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Bidding Auction 1:00 - ?????
To purchase meal tickets or to donate Auction Items,
contact Terri Walling @ 651-7521 or 224-4582 or
Jeanie Schniers @ 651-7551 or 651-4450.
Deadline for donating Auction Items is Thursday, March 31st.
Make checks payable to :
Caden Williams Fund
First State Bank of Paint Rock
402 Smith Blvd., San Angelo, TX 76905
Wednesday, February 16, 2005 8:58 AM CST
Last night Jeremy brought it to my attention that I didn’t put WHERE the benefit was going to take place. Most people probably knew, but the benefit will be held at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, in Wall, TX. I also added this to the announcement at the top of the page.
Well, the doctor told me it was the flu. I don’t know if I caught it in time, or if I just wasn’t going to have it as bad as some people have had it, but I am much better today. Thank goodness my mom is retired!! She was here by the time I got into the clinic to see the doctor, got my medicine, and got to the house! She and Jeremy took total care of Caden Monday night, and she took care of Caden yesterday, and then she took him back to her house with her until Thursday. So, I slept and rested A LOT!!
~*~Thank you MOM and JEREMY for taking care of Caden!!~*~
~*~Thank you MOM and DAD for taking Caden home and keeping him for us!~*~
Now Jeremy isn’t feeling very good either, but if you think I will get him to a doctor, you’re CRAZY!! I think a lot of his is stress from the play-offs, lots of work to prepare for the games, and some much needed rest!! I want him to feel better, but let’s hope that he still has to work and prepare for those games for a few more weeks!!!
My mom and I took Caden to see the doctor yesterday too. He’s been so congested for about 2 months now, and it seems to have gotten worse, so we took him in. We actually couldn’t get in to see his pediatrician, and had to see the physician’s assistant, but it was fine. Caden has lots of congestion and an ear infection. So they finally gave him some antibiotics and a decongestant. It’s actually the same decongestant they prescribed for me, but in the children’s form! He is fine though, and even with an ear infection, he is still his happy-go-lucky self!! All laughs and smiles and babbling!!
Don’t forget the basketball game tomorrow night! We play Jim Ned in Snyder at 6:00 pm. This will be the 5th time we have gotten on the floor with Jim Ned this year if you count our scrimmage. We have come out on top in each meeting, so let’s all hope for one more win against them!!! As long as the girls play like we all know they can, they will take care of business, NO PROBLEM!! These Lady Hawks are awesome!
~*~Good Luck Lady Hawks!! Beat Jim Ned!!~*~
Don't forget our new friend Jenn Swanson as she prepares for her transplant. She could use prayers for a successful procedure!!
Don't forget to look at Caden's Quilt of Love .
Sunday, April 3, 2005 St. Ambrose Catholic Church Wall, TX
B-B-Q lunch with trimmings 11:00 am – 2:00 pm $6 a plate
Silent Auction 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Bidding Auction 1:00 - ?????
To purchase meal tickets or to donate Auction Items,
contact Terri Walling @ 651-7521 or 224-4582 or
Jeanie Schniers @ 651-7551 or 651-4450.
Deadline for donating Auction Items is Thursday, March 31st.
Make checks payable to :
Caden Williams Fund
First State Bank of Paint Rock
402 Smith Blvd., San Angelo, TX 76905
Monday, February 14, 2005 12:37 AM CST
Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
I am not doing too well today. I woke up this morning and was fine, but as I got ready for school, I started feeling “different.” Not really bad, but not “right.” Then by the time I had to gather Caden up to head off to daycare, I could hardly pick him up and carry him because I felt so weak. By the time I got to school, I was aching all over…..I mean even my ankles hurt…….and I have been FREEZING! Yep, I know, it doesn’t sound good. I have taken some medicine that our math teacher gave me, so maybe it will kick in here pretty soon. Why don’t I go home, you ask?? Well, this is a VERY important week for me at school. If you are from Texas, you are familiar with the TAKS test. It’s the assessment test that our student have to take in certain grade levels. They have to pass this test to move on to the next year, or to graduate. The TAKS test is what all our schools revolve around! Well, since our school is a little different, we had to change the ENTIRE school schedule so that I can have certain grade level kids in my room at the same time so we can “cram” for the TAKS test. Well, this week is the week for our “cram” sessions because the test is next week!! NOT GOOD! I did go to the office just a bit ago to see if they had a thermometer and my principal felt of my head and said he thought I had fever and “if I had fever, I was going home!!” We will see how I feel in a little bit.
Caden has his Valentine’s party this afternoon at 2:30, so I guess I won’t be able to make it. I would hate to expose those babies to whatever this is!!
The Little Man is doing well, although he needs to go to the doctor himself. He DID have the flu shot this year, but he still has that nasty congestion that’s been hanging around for almost 2 months now. I really want them to give him something for it this time. Last time he had a decongestant though, it made him WILD. Now our Wee Bear has a hard time being still as it is, but this stuff made him move ALL over the place! So, we stopped giving it to him. Maybe there is something else that can help him.
He continues to kick and roll over! He is still doing his sit-ups every chance he gets. His PT is making him some arches for his shoes tomorrow because we are standing him up more and he’s putting more pressure on them. They are still very small and fat since he doesn’t use them much. (he still wears a size 3 shoe!)
Were you wondering about the basketball game Saturday???? Well, it was AWESOME!!!!!!!! Canyon only beat us by 10 points! Yep, you read correctly! 10 points! Our girls played really well, and even had chances to beat them…….we were within 6 points with less than 3 minutes left in the game!! Everyone was very happy, even though we didn’t win! I guess I will probably miss out on Jeremy and my basketball scouting date tonight, unless I start feeling better. We were going to scout Jim Ned, who we will probably play on Thursday, tonight here at the Junell Center at ASU. Jeremy will have to go still, so if I’m not better, my mom is going to come help me with Caden.
The benefit is officially planned!!!!! I posted the information above, but here it is again:
Sunday, April 3, 2005
B-B-Q lunch with trimmings 11:00 am – 2:00 pm $6 a plate
Silent Auction 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Bidding Auction 1:00 - ?????
To purchase meal tickets or to donate Auction Items,
contact Terri Walling @ 651-7521 or 224-4582 or
Jeanie Schniers @ 651-7551 or 651-4450.
Deadline for donating Auction Items is Thursday, March 31st.
Make checks payable to :
Caden Williams Fund
First State Bank of Paint Rock
402 Smith Blvd., San Angelo, TX 76905
Once again, we will never be able to express our gratitude to our family and community for putting this together for Caden. I have said it before and I will say it again, the people we live and work with are the BEST in the entire world!!! We thank you for your hard work and we love each of you as if you were our family members!! You are amazing!!
~*~A special thank you to all the people that met Sunday and helped plan the benefit.~*~
~*~Another special thank you to everyone who is helping plan this, helping with the benefit, or donating items to the auction!!~*~
Don't forget our new friend Jenn Swanson .
don't forget to look at Caden's Quilt of Love .
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Thursday~
Just a short update this afternoon: Caden's great and I think his ear has stopped draining. He woke up early this morning, but laid in his bed and played while Jeremy and I continued to get ready for school. He was such a good boy!
Some more exciting news about our Little Man......we had him on a pallette on the floor last night and he rolled from his back to his tummy and back to his back again!!!!!!!! Now, Caden has done this before, but with assistance, or when we weren't looking. The best thing about last night was I had Caden's new Leap Frog Learning Drum on his side and he actually appeared to turn over to get to it!!!!!!!!! It was great!!!
We have found a new Caringbridge friend that I would like to introduce to everyone. Jenn is the mother of a handsome little boy and she found out she has CML, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. She has tried many treatment drugs, but they have all affected her liver, so now, a stem cell transplant is her only answer. She is currently searching for her "perfect match." Please go visit Jenn, sign her guestbook, and add her to your prayers.
Jenn Swanson
Wednesday~
HUMP DAY…..once again!!!! I hope everyone is having a great week so far. It’s really dreary and cold outside today. This yucky weather really makes my sinuses get the best of me. I have had a sinus headache off and on for at least 3 days. Other than that, we are all doing pretty well.
I think we discovered the root of Caden’s fevers last week. Last night at the basketball game, he fell asleep in my mom’s lap. When the game was over and we went over to talk to Jeremy, Caden woke up and he had the most awful, green, yucky stuff coming out of his left ear. ( sorry to be so graphic!!) Now, when we saw Dr. Acton on Thursday, his ears looked okay, but if that gunk was in his middle ear, he wouldn’t have seen it. So, we started his ear drops again last night. Thank goodness for those tubes in his ears!!! They have really worked well to drain the fluid and prevent infections this time.
Speaking of the basketball game………the Lady Hawks won AGAIN!!! That makes the girls 14-0 in district and 30-2 overall for the season!! Isn’t that AWESOME!! Last night was the girls’ last game at home, so it was Senior/Parents night. All the younger girls use this night to honor all the Senior players or managers. They usually write a poem for them about basketball and the season, and Jeremy usually says something about/to the Seniors and their parents. I am really glad that I was trying to feed Caden and wasn’t listening to all of the poem or speech!! It was an emotional time!!
Now, district is over and we get to start the really fun stuff…….the PLAY-OFFS!! Since we won district, we will get a bye the first round. So, we will play a practice game this Saturday. Against who, you ask??? Well, I have told Jeremy that he has to take Caden’s next MRI or CT scan because we are playing Canyon for our practice game!!! If you aren’t familiar with high school basketball in Texas, they are the BEST of the BEST!! They are #1 in 3A, and have won State for I don’t know how many years. Now, Jeremy didn’t actually go looking for them…..Coach Laumbard, from Canyon, actually called Jeremy wanting to play us!! Talk about a compliment to our girls and their basketball program here at Wall. Anyways, it will be a really tough game, but it will really help our girls get ready for the play-offs. So, we will play Canyon this Saturday at 1:00 in Post, Tx. Hope everyone can make it……it will be fun!!!
~*~Way to go Lady Hawks!! We are so proud of you all!! Keep up the hard work! Beat Canyon!!~*~
The Hawks also won last night and it was a HUGE win for them!! Now, if they win their last 2 games, I believe they will be tied for 1st in district!!
~*~Way to go Hawks! Keep it up!! Beat Eldorado!!~*~
As for the actual play-off game, it will be against Jim Ned, assuming they win their first play-off game. It will be next Thursday, February 17, at 6:00 pm in Snyder, Tx. I know everyone will be there!! Wear you green!!!!
At the bottom of the page, I added a link to Caden’s new Quilt of Love. It is so awesome!! There is also a sweet poem that one of the quilting angels wrote on the same page. Please go look at it, the quilter that made it must have put a lot of time into it and it fits Caden so well. Here is the link again.
Caden's Quilt of Love
A fellow Caringbridge mom emailed me the link to Caden's Quilt of Love so It could be a link. Eli's mom, Ann, is also the one who taught me how to do all the great stuff that I do to Caden's webpage. Check out Eli and Eli's Angels , Ann's non-profit organization for children afflicted by mitochondrial/metabolic disorders.
~*~Thank you Ann for the link....no telling what I was doing wrong!!~*~
~*~Thank you Angel Jane for all your hard work on this quilt!!!~*~
I think that is about all we have to report today!! I hope everyone is having a great week and it continues on into the weekend! Take care and make sure you sign the guestbook. We love to read all the messages and see who all stops by!! Thanks again for caring enough to check on us and Caden!! Lots of hugs and love to you all! Oh yeah……..it’s almost Valentine’s Day!!! I hope everyone has gotten their sweetie something special! As for us, we will probably be scouting a basketball game!! Romantic, huh??? 
Wednesday, February 9, 2005 12:15 AM CST
HUMP DAY…..once again!!!! I hope everyone is having a great week so far. It’s really dreary and cold outside today. This yucky weather really makes my sinuses get the best of me. I have had a sinus headache off and on for at least 3 days. Other than that, we are all doing pretty well.
I think we discovered the root of Caden’s fevers last week. Last night at the basketball game, he fell asleep in my mom’s lap. When the game was over and we went over to talk to Jeremy, Caden woke up and he had the most awful, green, yucky stuff coming out of his left ear. ( sorry to be so graphic!!) Now, when we saw Dr. Acton on Thursday, his ears looked okay, but if that gunk was in his middle ear, he wouldn’t have seen it. So, we started his ear drops again last night. Thank goodness for those tubes in his ears!!! They have really worked well to drain the fluid and prevent infections this time.
Speaking of the basketball game………the Lady Hawks won AGAIN!!! That makes the girls 14-0 in district and 30-2 overall for the season!! Isn’t that AWESOME!! Last night was the girls’ last game at home, so it was Senior/Parents night. All the younger girls use this night to honor all the Senior players or managers. They usually write a poem for them about basketball and the season, and Jeremy usually says something about/to the Seniors and their parents. I am really glad that I was trying to feed Caden and wasn’t listening to all of the poem or speech!! It was an emotional time!!
Now, district is over and we get to start the really fun stuff…….the PLAY-OFFS!! Since we won district, we will get a bye the first round. So, we will play a practice game this Saturday. Against who, you ask??? Well, I have told Jeremy that he has to take Caden’s next MRI or CT scan because we are playing Canyon for our practice game!!! If you aren’t familiar with high school basketball in Texas, they are the BEST of the BEST!! They are #1 in 3A, and have won State for I don’t know how many years. Now, Jeremy didn’t actually go looking for them…..Coach Laumbard, from Canyon, actually called Jeremy wanting to play us!! Talk about a compliment to our girls and their basketball program here at Wall. Anyways, it will be a really tough game, but it will really help our girls get ready for the play-offs. So, we will play Canyon this Saturday at 1:00 in Post, Tx. Hope everyone can make it……it will be fun!!!
~*~Way to go Lady Hawks!! We are so proud of you all!! Keep up the hard work! Beat Canyon!!~*~
The Hawks also won last night and it was a HUGE win for them!! Now, if they win their last 2 games, I believe they will be tied for 1st in district!!
~*~Way to go Hawks! Keep it up!! Beat Eldorado!!~*~
As for the actual play-off game, it will be against Jim Ned, assuming they win their first play-off game. It will be next Thursday, February 17, at 6:00 pm in Snyder, Tx. I know everyone will be there!! Wear you green!!!!
At the bottom of the page, I added a link to Caden’s new Quilt of Love. It is so awesome!! There is also a sweet poem that one of the quilting angels wrote on the same page. Please go look at it, the quilter that made it must have put a lot of time into it and it fits Caden so well. Here is the link again.
Caden’s Quilt of Love
~*~Thank you Angel Jane for all your hard work on this quilt!!!~*~
I think that is about all we have to report today!! I hope everyone is having a great week and it continues on into the weekend! Take care and make sure you sign the guestbook. We love to read all the messages and see who all stops by!! Thanks again for caring enough to check on us and Caden!! Lots of hugs and love to you all! Oh yeah……..it’s almost Valentine’s Day!!! I hope everyone has gotten their sweetie something special! As for us, we will probably be scouting a basketball game!! Romantic, huh???
Tuesday, February 8, 2005
Tuesday~
HAPPY 16 MONTHS CADEN!!!!!
~*~Good luck Lady Hawks & Hawks!!! Beat Reagan Co!!!~*~
Monday~
NEW PICTURES IN THE PHOTO ALBUM!!
I am soooooooo sorry it has been so long since I have written an update. This is the longest that I have EVER gone. I promise I will do better from now on! I have just been so busy lately. I have even actually been trying to do my job! I hope Mr. Johnson doesn’t read this!!! Just kidding, but I have had lots of kids trying to get finished with several different courses, so I’ve had lots of papers to grade and all kinds of stuff.
Last week is kinda a blur to me actually! The Lady Hawks traveled to Junction on Tuesday night……the night we were supposed to get snow. Well, it didn’t snow here, but it did up towards Junction and Brady. The roads were terrible up that way. The JV game got cancelled so they could play the varsity games earlier. So, the Kisskos, that I usually ride to all the out of town games with, had to leave earlier than we had planned. Well, I had a meeting at school that I couldn’t get out of, so I didn’t get to ride with them. When I got out my meeting, I wanted to go ahead and go to the game, but I called Jeremy and he wouldn’t let me drive because the roads were so bad where they were. So, I missed the basketball game. I felt so out-of-place sitting at home!
Thursday, they called me from daycare about 1:00 and Caden had a fever of 101.4. I was so surprised because he’d been fine……VERY happy and all! So, I went to get him, gave him Tylenol, and took him home. I called Dr. Acton’s office and waited for a call back. They said they like to see the child if their fever is that high, so off we went to the doctor’s office. Now, Caden still seemed perfectly fine......babbling, laughing, smiling. Dr. Acton looked him over and all seemed fine…..ears, throat, lungs, everything. He told me only time would tell us if something else showed up. The greatest thing about the pedis at Community is that they are there on the weekends! So, if Caden had gotten worse over the weekend, we could have taken him into see Dr. Acton on Sat. or Sun!!! You don’t have to talk to some doctor on-call that doesn’t even know your child! Caden still had fever when he woke up Friday morning, so I stayed home from school with him. It broke pretty early in the morning and stayed away until later Friday evening. Caden was still great, other than the fever???? So we went to the basketball game Friday night and towards the end of the game is when he started feeling warm again.
The Lady Hawks won big AGAIN!!! Way to go ladies!!
After the girl’s game, Caden and I hit the road to my parent’s house. (1 ½ hours away) My 2 older sister’s birthdays are both in January, so we were getting together to celebrate with them. My middle sister lives around Dallas, so we were going down there on Sat. and meeting her and my oldest sister and going to Canton, TX for the First Monday Trade Days. We got to my parent’s house about 10:00 and Caden didn’t have anymore fever. My mom smelled something foul coming from Caden’s diaper, so she went to change him, and Yep, he was dirty. I told her that I’d like to go ahead and give him his bath instead of just changing his diaper, so she had him laying on the bed while I got his bath ready and he peed ALL over the bed!!! So, he got a bath and Mom had to change the entire sheet and everything on my bed!
Saturday morning, we were supposed to leave Mom & Dad’s about 6 am…….well, Caden had different plans!! He had woken up during the night, so I had brought him to bed with me to get him back to sleep, and so I could go back to sleep. So, when Mom came in about 5 am to wake me up, I had to try to get him back into his bed so I could go shower. Well, that didn’t work too well! He woke up! I still laid him in his bed while I took my shower, but he started crying and Mom came to get him. So, after my shower, I tried to rock him back to sleep before I could get ready. Well, he wanted to go back to sleep, but never really did. So, I had to wait for Dad to get ready so he could hold and feed Caden while I got ready! It was a hectic morning!!! Needless to say, we left about 1 ½ hours later than we were supposed to!!!
Our trip to Canton was long, but good. Caden was the BEST boy all day long while we shopped. He rode in his stroller, rode in the wagon that my sister rented, and napped while we ate lunch. Then on our way back to Dallas, we stopped at Terrell at the outlet mall to look at the Gap outlet and OshKosh B Gosh. They had some good sales, but the best part is we found several different Kelly green things for Caden. Kelly green is Wall’s school color, so we are ALWAYS on the lookout for green clothes to wear to games and all!
We left the outlet mall and had plans of eating dinner for Kim and Rhonda’s birthdays somewhere that wouldn’t be too much out of the way for any of us. So, we took I-30 back through Dallas/Ft. Worth because it was closer than taking I-20 around the outside to the cities. Well, that was a BIG mistake!! Mind you, this was about 8:00 PM. All of a sudden, traffic came to a stand still. Nope, we weren’t moving at all!! So, as we did start to slowly move, we made our way across 2 other lanes so we could exit and hopefully make our way around whatever it was that was holding traffic up. Well, when we exited, there was road construction, so we had to take a detour! Then when we got back to I-30 someone had switched the West signs to East signs, so we go really mixed up! FINALLY, about 9:30 pm, we found a restaurant that everyone could agree on and got to eat! We didn’t leave there until about 11:00 pm to head home. We had planned to go all the way back to my mom and dad’s house that night, but it didn’t happen. We got as far as Breckenridge, where my oldest sister lives, and that was as far as we made it! We got to her house about 2:00 AM and stayed there for the night! It was a LONG day!!!
Mom, Dad, Caden, and I got back to mom and dad’s house yesterday and we took a nap! Then Caden and I made our way back to San Angelo around 7:30 last night. We were glad to be home!!!
Jeremy, Caden, and I watched most of the Super Bowl, but we were mostly switching back and forth between channels. There weren’t even any really good commercials last night! That’s all I watch the game for unless the Cowboys are playing in it!!
Caden hasn’t had anymore fever since Friday night, so who knows what it was. He is cutting a tooth, but I didn’t think that would make his fever go as high as 101. But who am I to say??? This kid just keeps us guessing all the time!! He is REALLY congested, but he has been for over a month and it hasn’t caused him to have a fever. It has gotten worse over the past couple of days, but no doctor seems to think it warrants any antibiotics or anything, so we will treat it with over-the-counter meds, I guess.
The Lady Hawks have their last district game tomorrow night against Reagan County. Then we get to start the really fun part…….the play-offs!!! The girls are playing so well right now! We should also get Haley back from her foot injury in the next week or so, so that will be good too! If everything works out like it looks like it will, our first play-off game will be next Thursday against Jim Ned in Snyder. This is not set in stone, because everyone still has one more game, but, I will keep everyone posted. It looks like we will play a practice game this Saturday, but I will have more information on that after tomorrow night’s game.
~*~Good Luck Lady Hawks and Hawks!! Beat Reagan County!!~*~
The benefit dinner/auction will be Sunday, April 3. We still don’t know a time for sure, but I will post it when we know. I am starting the search for flights and arrangements for Atlanta in March.
I am sorry I kept everyone wondering what was going on for a week, but I will do better from now on!! I hope everyone had a great weekend and you all have a great week!! Thanks for checking in on our Little Man! Lots of Love to EVERYONE!! Man, Caden will be 16 months old tomorrow! I have got to get this page looking like Valentine’s Day!! Lots of work to do!
Hugs & Love xoxoxoxoxoxoxo,
Vicki, Jeremy, & Caden
Monday, January 31, 2005
Monday~
We all had a great weekend. It has been wet and cold, so we just stayed inside and played! Jeremy's dad and step-mom took us out to our FAVORITE restuarant.....The Wharf....Saturday night. It was soooooo delicious!! Jeremy worked at the Wharf in college, so we are really good friends with the owners. They haven't seen Caden since September, I think. He's grown a lot and is doing a lot more things since we saw them last. They were excited to see him! They introduced us to a good friend of theirs' that is a neonatologist from San Antonio. He comes to Community Hospital to see the babies in the NICU. He was very nice and very good things to say about Dr. Acton. (our new pedi that we recently switched to) It's always good to have "connections"!!!
We actually have a chance for snow tomorrow!!! How exciting! I don't think it will actually come, nor will we get a day off for it.....but the thought is nice!
The Lady Hawks have cinched first place in district. Their first play-off game will be against Jim Ned on Feb. 18. Hopefully it will be at the Junell Center at ASU. I will post more when we find out. It will be the 5th time we've gotten on the basketball floor with them this year!! We have won each time, but it gets harder and harder to beat a team that many times!!
The benefit has been moved to April 3. I believe there was some conflicts with the church on Feb. 27, plus that was awfully soon to get everything ready. Not sure on the time yet. I will post when I know more.
Hope everyone else had a great weekend!! Stay warm!
~*~Good Luck Lady Hawks and Hawks!! Beat Junction!!~*~
Saturday~
Okay, here they are!!! I got some pictures of Caden trying to sit up last night at the basketball game!!
AND THE BEST ONE ................
The Lady Hawks won by 50 points last night!! They played AWESOME!! The Hawks won too! Way to go everyone!
Monday, January 31, 2005
Saturday~
Okay, here they are!!! I got some pictures of Caden trying to sit up last night at the basketball game!!
AND THE BEST ONE ................
The Lady Hawks won by 50 points last night!! They played AWESOME!! The Hawks won too! Way to go everyone!
Friday~
We are all pretty sleepy here this morning!! Jeremy's dad and step-mom got in from New Mexico about 10:30 last night and Caden was still awake because he'd taken a late nap. So, when they got here, we had to show off all Caden's new tricks and they all played for a long time, so no one got in bed until very late!!! Caden is staying at home today with Mimi and Pops. They will have so much fun!!
As far as Atlanta goes, we are waiting on all the information Dr. Shoffner's office has mailed to us about Atlanta, flights, places to stay, and all. When we get that, we will work out all the details. We do have a wonderful couple at church that has offered us their frequent flyer miles for getting up there.
~*~Thank you Tom and Carla Thompson!!~*~
The weather is a little better here today, but it's still cloudy and cold. Hopefully it will clear off in a day or so. I want to thank everyone, again, for checking in on Caden and signing the guestbook with such caring and uplifting messages. I promise, this weekend I am going to get some new pictures of Caden performing his tricks and I will get them on here next week. Everyone have a great weekend!!
~*~Good Luck Lady Hawks & Hawks!! Beat Sonora!!~*~
Thursday~
It's really YUCKY weather here today....rainy and cold. That always seems to depress me and put me in a bad/weepy mood. It's just one of those days! At least my kids were pretty sensitive to it and behaved for me all day!!
The muscle biopsy in Atlanta is officially scheduled. It will take place at the Scottish Rites Hospital there. We will have a consultation with Dr. Shoffner on Tuesday, March 15 and the biopsy will be done the next day, March 16. Dr. Shoffner's assistant was a little surprised that we wanted to wait that long when I told her the dates. It's not that we WANT to wait that long, we nust NEED to. That will be during Spring Break, so neither of us will have to miss school or work. Basketball will be over for Jeremy, and track will barely be started. There may be sometime sooner we could go, but I don't think so. It seems a little scary now that it's all finalized. I used to just have the idea of this surgery/procedure, and now it's real. I have talked to lots of moms that their kids have had it done though and they assure me it's not near as bad as it sounds. So, start the prayers for a successful surgery, and that they don't find anything "bad." Thanks everyone!
Wednesday~
Another HUMP DAY is upon us! I got just what I wanted…….this week is FLYING by! Just had to write and tell everyone about the exciting things that Caden did yesterday.
First of all, at therapy, the PT put him on his knees, in a kneeling position, propped up on his arms on the little bench…….just like last week. BUT, this time, Caden actually pushed up with his legs, so that the back of his thighs were not resting on the back of his calves any more. Does that make any sense? He went from kneeling with his bottom resting on his calves/feet, to kneeling with his lower body straight up!!!!!!! It was only for a brief second, but it was AWESOME!!
Second, Caden and I have worked on his “sit-ups” since he first started PT. We usually do them like this: I sit with my legs (thighs) together and lay him on his back on my legs. (Which he’s almost to long to do because he kicks me in the face as it is!!) Then I will have him hold onto my first fingers, and that allows me to actually hold his hands and forearms in my hands. Then I will gently start to pull him forward, like a sit-up, and he will take over and pull himself the rest of the way up to a sitting position. Then I let him down, gently pull on his arms, and he does his sit-up again. All well and fine! Well, last night at the basketball game, I had him laying on my lap like I described except I wasn’t planning on him doing sit-ups, so I just had my hands behind his head so he would flop off the side of my lap. Then all of a sudden, he started to pull his head up off my hands, so I helped him a little (I mean TINY) bit and he contracted those stomach muscles and up he went!!! Then he would come back down to my hands, and I’d help a tiny bit, then up he’d pull himself AGAIN!!! He did this for about 7-8 minutes………straight sit-ups!! Baby Boot Camp at its finest!!! (we call PT and exercises Baby Boot Camp!) It was the most exciting thing he’s done in a long time!!!!! I was getting everyone at the game to watch! People from the other town probably thought we was NUTS! Everyone was soooooo proud of our little man.
The Lady Hawks won big again last night! Way to go, Ladies!!! The Hawks won too!!
I have a little more information on the benefit dinner and auction. I am pretty sure that it will be the last Sunday in February….the 27th. We are recruiting helpers, so if you’d like to help or have something to donate to the auction, let me know or talk to Jeanie Schniers. Your help will be MUCH appreciated!!!! We can’t thank everyone enough for getting this together for us. Again, we feel so blessed to live and work where we do. We are surrounded by so many people that care about not just Caden, but our whole family. I am more amazed every day by the goodness in peoples’ hearts.
***I decided to go back to our FROG theme today. You know, I only recently discovered what FROG stands for.....Fully Rely On God. Wow! I picked frogs for the theme for Caden's nursery LONG before he was ever born. Who knew!!?? There was that devine intervention, even that long ago. What a perfect theme for Caden's nursery and webpage!!
Monday, January 24, 2005 1:29 PM CST
We had a good weekend and I hope everyone else did too! Not a whole lot to update on, which is always good! Caden is still doing well. He still has congestion, but it's getting better. He had a really great day at PT on Thursday. What is it about Thursdays? Judy put him on his knees in a kneeling position and had him proped up on at little bench. He had to push up through his arms and elbows to lift his head. He held it up for much longer periods of time than he EVER has. It was GREAT!!! Jeremy got tied up at school, so he didn't get to see it. Now, we have to get Papa to build him one of those little stools!
Jeremy, Caden, and I went to my parents Saturday afternoon to help them tile their kitchen. They are getting new carpet in the living room today, so we needed to get it done before the carpet guys got there. Jeremy worked on it for about 5 hours Saturday night. Then he and I worked it for almost 12 hours straight yesterday. Man, that's a tiring job!! I don't know how professional tilers do it all the time. It's not that tiring, it just makes you sore in your knees and hands/wrists. But, we got most of it done, and were MORE THAN HAPPY TO HELP MY MOM AND DAD to help repay them for everything they do for us.
Besides the junior high youth group choosing Caden as their charity for which they are going to collect money, a couple of the families are starting the planning process for a benefit dinner/auction for Caden. It will probably take place in March, but I will post more details when I have them. Isn't that wonderful????? The money that is raised will go towards the trip to Atlanta, and lots of equipment that Caden needs. I am telling you again, we live and work with the MOST AMAZING people in the whole world. I can't tell yo uhow blessed we feel to be involved with kiddos and families like these. Besides they have the BEST kids to teach and coach, but they are all GOOD people who stick by each other and help out when someone is in need.
The Lady Hawks won another district game by lots of points. They are doing so AWESOME!!!! Keep up the hard work Ladies! We also got to see the junior high Lady Hawks play Thursday and Saturday. Man, they are all good! The 8th grade won their side of the tournament, and the 7th grade won their side against several 8th grade teams!!! Lots of talent coming in the future!!!
~*~Go Lady Hawks!! Beat Grape Creek!!~*~
I hope everyone has a great week. I am looking forward to this one going by faster than last week. It seemed to drag on forever!! Jeremy's dad and step-mom (Pops and Mimi) are coming down from New Mexico Thursday night, so they will get to keep Wee Bear at home with them on Friday. They will love it! They will be here for the whole weekend. They haven't got to see Caden since before Christmas, so they are in for a surprise at all the things Caden is doing or trying to do!
***I decided to go back to our FROG theme today. You know, I only recently discovered what FROG stands for.....Fully Rely On God. Wow! I picked frogs for the theme for Caden's nursery LONG before he was ever born. Who knew!!?? There was that devine intervention, even that long ago. What a perfect theme for Caden's nursery and webpage!!
Thursday, January 20, 2005 2:32 PM CST
Man, I am sorry it has taken me so long to update. That could mean lots of things......today it means I've been really busy and haven't gotten the chance to sit down and type all this out! We do have a few things to tell everyone though~
Caden had an appointment on Monday with his ENT, that I almost forgot about!! This was actually a follow-up appointment from before Christmas when Caden's ears were draining pretty badly. Dr. Williamson came in and asked how he was doing, then she asked how I was doing. Have I mentioned how great she is?? We talked about how his ear will start to drain, and I will start using drops, then they will stop for a couple of days, then start to drain again, and so on. So, she looked at both ears, and one did have some "gunk" in it. It was nothing to warrany antibiotics though, just more drops. I had meant to ask her about Caden's hearing tests, but she beat me to it. We talked about his ABR tests, then we talked about his OAE tests. The ABR is the hearing test that takes 2 hours and he has to sleep through it, which he NEVER has! The OAE test only takes a couple of minutes on each ear, but doesn't tell them as much as the ABR can. Last time we tried to do an ABR at WTRC, and Caden woke up too soon, so the lady did OAEs right quick. She told me he passed! That was great news because it was the first hearing test Caden had passed on both ears. Back to Dr. Williamson.....she asked about OAEs and I told her I thought he had passed them at WTRC. Well, Caden had fallen asleep before she ever got into the room and slept through her checking his ears. So, we decided to try the OAEs since he was asleep. The lady did them several times on both ears and told me "he passsed 2 and failed 2 on each ear." (the lady at WTRC hadn't gottn that specific, just said he passed) Caden failed on both ears at high frequency. He can hear, and probably can hear enough, just not high frequency, or not very well. So, we still have to get an ABR done somehow, and we decided the best timeis when he's sedated for his muscle biopsy. Dr. Williamson knows a pediatric ear specialist in Atlanta who, we think, is at the same hospital as Dr. Shoffner, who will do the biopsy. So, I will call her about a month before we go, and she will get it set up.
Caden didn't have a very good day at therapy yesterday. He cried and screamed the whole time, and I still don't know why. He was fed and had just woken up from a nap right before I got him from daycare. ???????? Jeremy gets to come to therapy today, and Caden did REALLY well last time Jeremy was there, so let's hope today is the same!!
Caden is doing well otherwise. I think he's feeling good, just still has that pesky congestion. I thought I was coming down with the flu or something last night! I was sooooo tired, and Jeremy got home and took Caden, and told me to go sleep. I went back to our room to take a nap, and then I was COLD, and it wasn't a normal cold. It was like my insides were cold, or my bones were cold, and NO amount of blankets would make me warm. I did sleep for about 20 minutes, then got up and ate a sandwich, then gave Caden his bath and got him ready for bed. Then I was feeling better. Later, Jeremy started feeling bad....that's just what we need......both of us to get the flu!!! Then what would we do???? But, we are both feeling pretty okay today! I still have som eyucky sinus that has had me down for a couple of days, but nothing too bad!
The Lady Hawks palyed great Tuesday night and won big against Mason. They are 8-0 in district, and 24-2 (I think) on the season........AWESOME!!! At the basketball game, I got to see my friend that was in the ATV wreck and lost her daughter. She is doing really well. She is already back teaching half a day, and hopes to teach all day tomorrow! She's an IRON WOMAN!! I am amazed by her strength and love for the kids she teaches.
~*~Way to go Lady Hawks!! BEAT ELDORADO!!!~*~
The following is an email we received today. This is so awesome!!
"Coach Williams,
This year during Lent, St. Ambrose has a theme of "Where Charity and Love are found, God is There". All groups within the church are asked to select a charity and take collections.
Just wanted to let you know that our St. Ambrose Jr. High Youth Group has unanimously selected Caden as the charity that we will collect for during the Lent Season. I spoke to Vicki to see if this was ok with you guys and she gave me the green light.
The Youth Group will speak about Caden in church on the weekend of Feb 26-27 and we'll finalize collections on the weekend of Mar 6th."
Isn't that awesome news???? The community that we live and teach in is the most awesome community I can ever imagine. They are the most caring, supportive, and helpful people there are anywhere!!! We are so honored and blessed to have family and friends like this around us.
~*~Thank you so much for thinking of Caden and choosing him!! We feel so honored and blessed!!!!~*~
I hope everyone has a great Friday! Thanks for checking in on Caden and signing his guestbook. We love to read messages of love and support, and we feel so secure knowing there are so many people praying for Our Little Man!!
***I decided to go back to our FROG theme today. You know, I only recently discovered what FROG stands for.....Fully Rely On God. Wow! I picked frogs for the theme for Caden's nursery LONG before he was ever born. Who knew!!?? There was that devine intervention, even that long ago. What a perfect theme for Caden's nursery and webpage!!
Sunday, January 16, 2005 6:45 PM CST
WOW, we just flew right past 20,000 visitors!! I can't believe there are so many people that check on our little man so often! It's awesome and amazing!!
Yes, all the Christmas decorations are gone. It's a little dull without them up, but I know it was time for them to go. We got them all put up and away until next year. I also got my floors in the living room cleaned and Caden's room is spotless! Now, I need one more full day to finish the other rooms!!
My mom and dad are on their way here as I type so they can keep Caden tomorrow. Mosaic daycare is closed tomorrow for MLK day, but we have school because we were out Friday. So, Mom and Dad are our back-ups! They are all to happy to get to keep the little man for a day!
**Thanks Mom and Dad for coming down, buying us dinner, and taking good care of our Wee Bear!
The Lady Hawks played an AWESOME game Friday night! If you read my last update, we were playing Big Lake, and we were both undefeated in District. Well, I knew all a long that we would beat them bad, but Jeremy was still nervous. The Lady Hawks held BLake scoreless in the first quarter, and BLake only made 2 free-throws in the 2nd quarter!!! Yep, it was 22-2 at halftime! Then the Lady Hawks cam out a little cold in the 3rd quarter, but still played great defense. They ended up winning 33-19. So, we are halfway finished with district play and are undefeated!!! One of the player's grandmothers and another fan held Caden the WHOLE game so I could enjoy the game......Well, I don't know how much I enjoyed it, all I did was yell at the refs because they were TERRIBLE!!!!!!! I did very much enjoy the break and I enjoyed seeing Caden so happy with other people!
**Thanks Merlene and Mrs. Kvapil!!!!!**
**Way to go Lady Hawks!! Beat Mason!!**
There's not a lot more to update on, which is a good thing. Caden is doing well. He is just as great as he can be! Thanks to everyone for checking in on him, and us. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!
***I decided to go back to our FROG theme today. You know, I only recently discovered what FROG stands for.....Fully Rely On God. Wow! I picked frogs for the theme for Caden's nursery LONG before he was ever born. Who knew!!?? There was that devine intervention, even that long ago. What a perfect theme for Caden's nursery and webpage!!
Friday, January 14, 2005 9:25 AM CST
Jeremy just left to take Caden to daycare. As most of you know, we don't have school today. This is the first time Caden has gone to daycare when we have been at home. Does that make us bad parents???? Just kidding. We really need to get lots of stuff done around our house and maybe it's important to keep Caden in his routine.
The basketball girls have a big game tonight!! We and Big Lake are both undefeated in district play. It should be an exciting night in the gym!!!
~*~Good luck Lady Hawks and Hawks!! Beat Big Lake!~*~
I heard in my Hypotonia Hope group that Matt LeBlanc's (Joey from Friends) 11 month old boy is falling down a bunch. They are going through the testing process for lots of things. I hate that something like this would happen to any more families, but I have often wondered if there were any "stars" out there that have experienced what we are. Let's hope all is AOK!
Have a great weekend! Well........I'm off to undecorate the Christmas tree!
***I decided to go back to our FROG theme today. You know, I only recently discovered what FROG stands for.....Fully Rely On God. Wow! I picked frogs for the theme for Caden's nursery LONG before he was ever born. Who knew!!?? There was that devine intervention, even that long ago. What a perfect theme for Caden's nursery and webpage!!
Wednesday, January 12, 2005 2:47 PM CST
YEAH......it's hump day! The week is half way over! I am sooooooo amazed that we have had almost 20,000 visitors in only 4 months!! Thank you ALL for stopping by to check on our little man! Let us know if you are lucky number 20,000 and maybe we can arrange for a prize!!
Caden has been doing well. PT was pretty good yesterday, but Caden seemed to be tired....or at least he was ACTING like he was tired. Maybe he was doing it to get out of working!! Judy, our PT, was gone and we worked with another PT. She had him on the ball like last week, but he didn't do as well as last week. He's been really happy lately and it's becoming a lot easier to make him laugh and smile. He's been sleeping really well lately too. He is still taking little steps when I hold him up.
**I almost forgot.......Caden is getting another new tooth! He has his 2 top and bottom front ones, is getting a new eye tooth on the top left, and bottom right.......NOW, the eye tooth on the right side is breaking through!! He will have a total of 7 teeth when this one comes in! And he's been so happy lately???? Let's hope it continues!!!
I have joined a new Yahoo group called Hypotonia HOPE. If you don't know, hypotonia means low muscle tone. This is the main problem that keeps Caden from holding his head up very well, sitting up, crawling, or walking. This is the most hopeful group I belong to so far. (I also belong to one for mitochondrial disorders) The moms and children in HH all face the same issues with their children not meeting milestones when they "should" that we face with Caden. They all go to PT and OT and most of them go to ST too. We can exchange so much information through this group. Many of their children still can't sit or crawl or walk, but are making progress like Caden. Many of their kids are older and didn't do many of these things until they were as old as 2! This group and some of the ladies that I have talked to have reaffirmed all my hope that Caden will one day do all these things.....it just might take him A LOT longer than others!!
We don't have school on Friday because of the local stock show. Yeah!!! Jeremy wants to go see some of his students show their animals, so since it's going to be really cold and Caden probably doesn't need to be out in it, we will probably take Caden to daycare for part of the day. Maybe THEN I will get all the Christmas decorations down and put away!!!
I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week and weekend! Thanks for checking in on Caden and thanks for all your support, thoughts, and prayers!
I decided to go back to our FROG theme today. You know, I only recently discovered what FROG stands for.....Fully Rely On God. Wow! I picked frogs for the theme for Caden's nursery LONG before he was ever born. Who knew!!?? There was that devine intervention, even that long ago. What a perfect theme for Caden's nursery and webpage!!
Wednesday, January 12, 2005 8:43 AM CST
YEAH......it's hump day! The week is half way over! I am sooooooo amazed that we have had almost 20,000 visitors in only 4 months!! Thank you ALL for stopping by to check on our little man! Let us know if you are lucky number 20,000 and maybe we can arrange for a prize!!
Caden has been doing well. PT was pretty good yesterday, but Caden seemed to be tired....or at least he was ACTING like he was tired. Maybe he was doing it to get out of working!! Judy, our PT, was gone and we worked with another PT. She had him on the ball like last week, but he didn't do as well as last week. He's been really happy lately and it's becoming a lot easier to make him laugh and smile. He's been sleeping really well lately too. He is still taking little steps when I hold him up.
I have joined a new Yahoo group called Hypotonia HOPE. If you don't know, hypotonia means low muscle tone. This is the main problem that keeps Caden from holding his head up very well, sitting up, crawling, or walking. This is the most hopeful group I belong to so far. (I also belong to one for mitochondrial disorders) The moms and children in HH all face the same issues with their children not meeting milestones when they "should" that we face with Caden. They all go to PT and OT and most of them go to ST too. We can exchange so much information through this group. Many of their children still can't sit or crawl or walk, but are making progress like Caden. Many of their kids are older and didn't do many of these things until they were as old as 2! This group and some of the ladies that I have talked to have reaffirmed all my hope that Caden will one day do all these things.....it just might take him A LOT longer than others!!
We don't have school on Friday because of the local stock show. Yeah!!! Jeremy wants to go see some of his students show their animals, so since it's going to be really cold and Caden probably doesn't need to be out in it, we will probably take Caden to daycare for part of the day. Maybe THEN I will get all the Christmas decorations down and put away!!!
I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week and weekend! Thanks for checking in on Caden and thanks for all your support, thoughts, and prayers!
I decided to go back to our FROG theme today. You know, I only recently discovered what FROG stands for.....Fully Rely On God. Wow! I picked frogs for the theme for Caden's nursery LONG before he was ever born. Who knew!!?? There was that devine intervention, even that long ago. What a perfect theme for Caden's nursery and webpage!!
Monday, January 10, 2005 11:55 AM CST
Hope this finds everyone having a good Monday and hope you all had a great weekend. Ours was very uneventful!! Jeremy was gone most of the day on Saturday to the JH basketball tournament. My mom came down to bring some goodies for Caden and to help me out.....and of course to see the little man! We mostly cleaned the house a little and did laundry. I still haven't gotten my Christmas decorations taken down!!! I just haven't had the time and I just hate to see them go! I really have to try to get some of them down this evening though.
***Thanks so much MOM for coming and helping me out!
Caden is feeling good but still has a little congestion hanging around. Besides that, he's great. We discovered he likes chocolate pudding last night. It's a little thick for him still, but after the initial shock of it sticking to his mouth wore off, he really liked it! Man, you talk about a mess!!! Everything was brown!
I decided to go back to our FROG theme today. You know, I only recently discovered what FROG stands for.....Fully Rely On God. Wow! I picked frogs for the theme for Caden's nursery LONG before he was ever born. Who knew!!?? There was that devine intervention, even that long ago. What a perfect theme for Caden's nursery and webpage!!
~*~Good luck Lady Hawks and Hawks!! Beat Junction!!~*~
Saturay, January 8, 2005
Saturday Update:
Happy 15 months Caden!!!!!!!!
Friday Update:
No real news………..just wanted to tell everyone about Caden’s physical therapy session yesterday. He really had a good session! Our PT had him on one of those big exercise/therapy balls on his stomach and he was lifting his head up and looking around from side to side. Then she put him on one side and propped him up on his elbow. She was holding his shoulders, but he was picking his head up and looking side to side. She kept saying, “This is all him, I’m not doing that…….that’s all him!” She was as excited as we were. Then she sat him up on it and supported him from behind his hips and he was poking around at us and his toys. He did start to get tired and started to slump over, but he did so well until that! Jeremy got to go with us yesterday (he usually has BB practice after school) and he was really impressed at what all Caden was doing. it’s good for Daddy to get to go after he’s had to miss for awhile because he sees lots of things that Caden can do that he wasn’t doing the last time, where I can’t always see those things because I see it every time. Does that make any sense? Caden’s physical therapy is a strange thing. We will go for weeks without really seeing any improvements, then he will have a day like yesterday where he’s doing all this great stuff! Those are the days that keep you coming back for more!
He had a good session on Wednesday too. On Wed, we do PT and OT at the same time. After we were finished, his OT was working with him on waving bye-bye. Of course he can’t wave, but she was waving at him and I had his arm and was waving back at her. Now, usually Caden’s little hands are in fists if he doesn’t want to do something, but as I waved his arm, he opened up his hand really wide, and then closed it again…….like a wave! Maybe it was a coincidence, who knows, but we will take everything we can get!!!
Daycare is going well. The new ladies aren’t who we’re used to, but they all seem really sweet and they are taking good care of Caden. We know that his daycare is the best place for him to be and that they CAN offer him the best care because they are there for special needs kids, as long as they WILL provide that care…….and we think they are so far. He had a good day yesterday!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! I guess we will spend most of ours in the gym. (as if we ever leave! haha) The school is having their JH basketball tournament this weekend. Jeremy and I love to watch those future Lady Hawks play!
~*~Lady Hawks & Hawks: BEAT OZONA!!~*~
Thursday Update~
Many thanks go out to everyone who has signed the guestbook and left such kind, supportive messages, but maybe I need to clarify a little of what I wrote about Caden "taking steps." Not to make light of the accomplishment of him knowing what motions it takes to walk, but he is very far from actually trying to take steps on his own. I am just writing this to make sure no one gets the wrong idea and thinks Caden was miraculously healed over the holidays!!! I don't want anyone to be offended or feel bad for thinking he was trying to take steps or walk and maybe you all really do know his situation. If so, I apologize! I really don't want to make anyone mad or upset......I just didn't want any new visitors to get the wrong idea. It was a very special moment to see that when, not if, he gets to the point of actually trying to walk one day.....he knows what he's supposed to do!!!
~*~ Good Luck Lady Hawks and Hawks!! Beat Ozona!! ~*~
Everyone have a blessed and happy day!
Wednesday Update:
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! This is the 3rd time, yes 3, that I have tried to get this update on here today! I lost the first one in cyberspace, ran out of time and didn't get to finish the 2nd one, so here goes for the 3rd try!
Some exciting news..........
After the basketball game last night, Jeremy and I were still at the gym with some other coaches. I had been holding Caden for a while, so I decided to put him down and let him try to stand up. I have to hold him under his arms to keep him up, but he will stand for a little bit before his legs cradle. So, he stood up for a little bit. I used to hold him up like this and then I would make it look like he was "walking." I would lean him towards one side and sort of swing the opposite leg out in front to similate a step. Well, Caden used to just keep his legs straight and they would just swing forwards. Then, last night I tried it again. I was holding him up and I put his pressure on his left leg and HE PICKED HIS RIGHT FOOT UP AND PLACED IT OUT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER ONE!!! YES---IF HE COULD SUPPORT HIMSELF, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A REAL STEP!! So, I leaned him to the other side and he picked up the other foot and put it out in front!!! It was the cutest thing you have ever seen. Jeremy and I were practically screaming. He knows what he's supposed to do, we just have to get his body ready to do it! The thought of those little feet and legs taking real steps one day brings tears to my eyes. It was very cool! He also did it again today when I picked him up at daycare.
About daycare.........
The lady that has kept Caden most of the day since day one at Mosaic no longer works there. We aren't sure why. This causes some real concerns for us. So, Jeremy went with me to drop Caden off this morning and stayed there for almost 2 hours with the new lady and the director. (I HAD to go to work)Well, this lady isn't really new, she's been there all this week with Caden and the lady that's always kept him. So she's at least been exposed to Caden. Jeremy helped them feed him and give him his meds. He told her all about what Caden likes and doesn't like and what to do with him. Jeremy said he felt really good when he had to leave. Hopefully these ladies will work out and take good care of him. I would hate to try to find somewhere else for Caden to go. We have always really been pleased with our daycare until lately, but we are hoping it will all work out for the best. When I picked him up this afternoon, I was pleased to find the director working with Caden on his therapy ball. It was the cutest thing........Caden was on the ball on his tummy and one of the other little boys had pulled up next to the ball and was banging on it. He would bang, and Caden would crack up laughing, he would bang, Caden would laugh! It was so cute. All the ladies there seemed really sweet and caring, so I feel like it will all work out. It isn't in our cards for me to be able to stay at home with Caden right now, so childcare is a HUGE concern of ours.
I finally got in touch with Dr. Shoffner's office in Atlanta. I got to talk to his assistant. There is a lot of stuff we have to get sent to them, but after they get it all, they can usually get the appointment set up for that same month....depending on the insurance. So, we might could get something done as soon as February, but March is better for us. Dr. S will go over Caden's records and make a recommendation. It's usually a biopsy, but if he doesn't think it's mito and we don't have to have the biopsy done, then he will still have a consultation with us to tell us what he thinks is going on. If we have the biopsy done, we have to plan on being there for minimum of 4 days. I guess we will have todo it over Spring Break. Oh well, we never go on a vacation anyways! I will psot more info on the trip as I find out.
I hope everyone has a great evening!!
Christmas pictures:
This is the Lee family.......my dad's side of the family. We haven't been together for Christmas since my Granny has been in the nursing home. We finally got together, and it was wonderful!! Thanks for havign us Ed and Pam!
Daddy, Mommy, & Caden ~ Christmas 2004
Caden's Aunt Kim and Uncle Bryan
The 3 Stooges!! No, really....Rhonda, my middle sister; Kim, my oldest sister; and me
My mom and dad (aka MawMaw & PaPa)
Caden and Daddy playing with one of his new toys! As you can see, Daddy is having WAY more fun than Caden!
Thanks Jeanie and ECI for the great toy!
More fun with toys!
Look at that sweet face!
And those dimples!!
"Enough already MOM!!"
Look how much Caden loves his Daddy! And I do too!!
Tuesday, January 4, 2005 12:00 AM CST
Photobucket came and took my pictures again. It all has to do with bandwidth and how many times the pictures are viewed. I will set up another account and get the Christmas pics back on here, but I have to do it from home so it will be tonight or tomorrow. Sorry if you didn't get to see them yet. Check back tomorrow!!!
~*~ Good luck Lady Hawks and Hawks!! Beat Grape Creek!! ~*~
I have called Dr. Shoffner's office 3 times in the past 2 days and haven't heard back from them yet. Maybe they will call me back this afternoon.
Being back at school has been hectic. The kids haven't settled down yet. They are not getting a lot accomplished! At least we are back in a routine. It was the weirdest thing.......Mr. Caden woke up at 5:12 am yesterday morning and 5:12 am this morning. It was like clock-work. Jeremy said that if it happens a third time it will REALLY be weird!! I think it's REALLY weird already!! I don't know why either because he didn't go to bed until about 11:00 pm last night. ??? At least it's during the week when I have to be up anyways......except he has to get in bed with Jeremy, who doesn't have to be up that early, so I can get ready! We better get it fixed before the weekend rolls around!
Hope everyone's having a great week!
Sunday, January 2, 2005 11:07 PM CST
It's late, so this probably won't be very long. Just wanted to tell everyone Happy 2005!!! Wow! I remember when I was in high school (we won't mention what year!) and people were making such a big deal out of the little kiddos that were going to be the Class of 2000. Now it's 2005! What a year we had in 2004! Many, many ups and downs. Lots more ups than downs though! It was about this time last year that we were starting physical therapy and beginning to see neurologists and specialists. We've come a long way in a year. Caden can do lots more things than he could a year ago, and although they are things other 14 month olds could do LONG ago, we are so very proud of the progress he's made. We look forward to another year of many "firsts!"
Hopefully 2005 will be the year of answers for us. I will be calling tomorrow to see about the muscle biopsy. We have decided to go ahead and got to Atlanta to Dr. Shoffner to have it done. We just figure we will "kill 2 birds with 1 stone" if we go to him. He is THE mito specialist, so it he says it's mito, then it is; but if he says it isn't mito, then we will believe it isn't. If he says it isn't, then maybe he will have an idea of what we are dealing with. We will hopefully be able to have it done during Spring Break...if not sooner. I just have to see how long it take to get everything arranged. By spring, school and sports will have slowed down a little bit and it won't be so hectic to find time when we can get away.
We are back to the grind tomorrow morning. I am actually glad we will be getting back into some sort of routine. It's been crazy trying to get our little man back on some sort of a schedule the past week. He is sleeping lots better than he was the week of Christmas though. I guess he was just anxious about Santa coming!! Caden is still a little congested and I hear him coughing as I type. (he's asleep in bed) His cough isn't very bad though. I think he's gotten the most of it out of him by now. Hopefully!! He continues to laugh and smile at our crazy antics....mostly Daddy's! I have added some more pictures of that beautiful smile and killer eyes!
Here's to everyone having a happy and healthy 2005! May God bless each of you every day of this new year. Again, thank you all for being a part of our lives. Thank you for thinking about and praying for our little man and family. Thank you for being there for Jeremy and I and showing us your support in our time of need. We love all of you and are sooooo thankful for each and every one of you!
Here are some Christmas pictures too!
This is the Lee family.....my dad's side of the family. My sister Rhonda is taking the picture. We used to get together at my Granny's house every year, but since she's been in the nursing home, we haven't been together...until this year! It was so nice to have everyone back together! Hopefully it will be a every year thing again! Thanks for having us, Ed and Pam!
My Mom and Dad (aka MawMaw & PaPa)
The 3 Stooges (my middle sister, Rhonda; my oldest sister, Kim; and me)
Caden's Aunt Kim and Uncle Bryan
Mommy, Daddy, and Caden
Caden and Daddy playing with one of his new toys! As you can see, Daddy is having WAY more fun than Caden!
Thank you Jeanie and ECI for the COOL toy!
Caden and Daddy having more fun with his new toys! If you look close enough, you can see the junk that's been draining out of his ears for the past week. YUCK!
Look at that sweet face!
And those dimples!
Enough already Mom!!
Look how much Caden LOVES his Daddy!! AND so do I !!
Friday, December 31, 2004 7:22 PM CST
Wednesday, December 22, 2004 10:35 AM CST
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST: A good friend of mine, who I have met through Caden's journey, and her daughter were in a bad 4-wheeler wreck this past weekend. The mom had to have her leg amputated from her knee down, but is doing much better. She is supposed to be moved to a private room today, but her daughter is not out of the woods yet. Please say a prayer for all of them. Thanks!
Everyone here is doing great......we're FREEZING!! Most of Texas woke up to snow on the ground this morning!! It's soooo pretty. We hardly EVER get snow, and for it to come right here at Christmas time is just perfect. We are supposed to get even more the next day or so.
Caden is doing so much better. He's been smiling, talking, and laughing the past 2-3 days. Such a change from last week at this time. A VERY welcome change! We were thinking the Tegretol was making his movements worse, but now we think it may have been his decongestant. Who knows, but we stopped giving it and he's much better. So, we won't be stopping the Tegretol like we had planned. His mouth is pretty much healed up and he's doing much better.
We met with a new pediatrician yesterday and we are very happy with him. We just felt it was time for a change in that department of Caden's care. The new guy seems wonderful. HE even called us HIMSELF after our appointment to tell us something he had forgotten. Can you believe that? Not even a nurse, the doctor himself! We were impressed! They got Caden cought up on his 12 month shots, which we were behind on because Caden was sick everytime we had them scheduled. Plus they gave him his other flu shot. He had to get 5 shots total.....POOR BABY! He, of course, held his breath and passed out after that! After we got home, he drank his bottle and slept for 3 hours! Unheard of for Caden. He really needed the rest from what he lost all the way back to last week.
Jeremy's mom has been with us for the past 2 days and she seems to be doing pretty well. She will be going on to Jeremy's brother's house tomorrow. I am going to try to go on to my parent's house this afternoon before the roads get bad. Jeremy will stay here with Lynda tonight and come tomorrow. Pray that we all make it safely, as we will be praying for EVERYONE traveling the next few days. People around here aren't used to traveling on slick roads!!
We want to wish EVERYONE a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thank you all for your support and love that you give our family and our little man. We couldn't have made it this far without all of you. We love you all!
Saturday, December 18, 2004 9:57 AM CST
Sunday ~
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST: A good friend of mine, who I have met through Caden's journey, and her daughter were in a bad 4-wheeler wreck this weekend. They are both in ICU. She, her daughter, and the rest of their family could really use some prayers right now. Man, I was just sitting and talking with her a week ago at a basketball game. It's amazing how fast your life can change and to have this happen at Christmas time is just awful. Please say a prayer for them all. Thanks so much!
It has definitely been a hectic and tough few days since my last update, but a long story short......Caden is feeling MUCH better this morning. Just to hit the highlights, no one slept much Wednesday night, our pedi diagnosed Caden's case of stomatitis (mouth ulcers) on Thursday morning, we had another trip to the ER Thursday night, and Caden is still croupy, but seems pretty much back to himself this morning. He's been smiling and laughing, actually more, than I've seen him do in weeks.
Stomatitis is a fancy word for mouth ulcers and they are VERY painful and cause high fevers. This explains the 104 temp from last Sunday. It lasts about 7-10 days and we are on day 6, so hopefully it will be gone soon. They showed up in his mouth Thursday morning, so this would explain all the screaming and crying ALL night Wednesday night. The trip to the ER ended up being caused by Caden's tegretol burning the ulcers so badly when we gave it to him, it sent him into a tyraid that we thought could have been seizures. It was awful, but it's over and he's better now. We are on our 3rd (actually 4th) antibiotic in 3 weeks. But again, Caden is wonderful this morning. He still has lots of congestion and a croupy cough ever now and then, but soooooooooo much better than this time Thursday.
~*~THANKS BUNCHES MOM for holding down the fort and finishing my Christmas stuff while we went to the hospital.~*~
~*~Way to go Lady Hawks on the win last night!!~*~
I hope everyone is ready for Christmas....we're not!!! I still have some shopping to do, but will get it done SOON! Jeremy is hanging the last of the Christmas lights as I type. YEAH!! We didn't even get any up on the house last year. I hope everyone else is having a great weekend and you are all feeling well. I hope you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Wednesday, December 15, 2004 11:00 AM CST
Wednesday~
I think someone evil came in during the night and took our Caden and left us with someone else's baby! He has not been himself the past few days. On top of the fevers and BAD congestion, he's cutting his top right eye tooth and his bottom left one. I think the top one is okay, but the bottom one sems to REALLY hurt him. He did so well with his first 4 teeth and didn't really show any symptoms of normal teething, but these new ones are giving him HECK! Poor baby, I know he's so miserable. I haven't seen him smile or laugh in a few days. Last night I gave him Tylenol and Hyland's Teething Tablets before bed and he slept pretty well. Hopefully they will come all the way through soon, so we can get over this nightmare. I know, this is just normal baby stuff! It's actually nice to be dealing with normal baby stuff for a change, now that I think about it!
We aren't real sure about this Tegretol for his movements. We actually think it may be making them worse! Okay, I don't know if it's supposed to stop them, or just make him control them better, but they are still there. He WAS hitting Jeremy in the face last night, and it looked VERY intentional, over and over again! It was pretty cute!
I am ALMOST finished putting up all the Christmas decorations in the house. The tree has been up for a couple of days, but it's all the other stuff that I am having a hard time getting up. It's looking more and more like Christmas and we are waiting on Santa.
Hope you are all having a great week!
Tuesday~
We are all pretty good. NO PINK EYE! I must have just been really tired and that left eye took it the worst!
Caden is still croopy, but seems better. He slept all night until about 6 am this morning. He even kept all his meds down this morning!!!
The Lady Hawks played great last night and won their first district game by 19 points!!!
~*~ Way to go girls! Beat Eldorado Friday!! ~*~
Monday~
Wow, it's been a LONG 6 days since I updated everyone. We went on to Lubbock for Caden's appointment which was early Thursday morning. The appointment went fine, pretty uneventful actually. No new news yet......no news is good news??? Hopefully!
Jeremy's mom is doing as well as can be expected. She had so many beautiful plants and flowers. Since it was a memorial service, they were mostly at her house, and there were LOTS of them. Some were beautiful poinsettias for Christmas. I hate that this happened to her so close to Christmas. I don't want her to have to forever associate this time of year with Rudy's passing.
~*~We love you Lynda! Come see us whenever!~*~
The rest of Friday and Saturday was filled with lots of basketball! The Lady Hawks were out in full force this weekend and defeated Muleshoe (3A) by 20 points, then Littlefield (3A) by 23 points, and finally Sweetwater (3A) by 7 points for the Championship of the tournament. Man, was it an exciting game! Sweetwater is a good team, so the girls had to play really hard to win, and they did! Lauren and Kirsten were both on the All-Tournament team, and Lindsay was MVP of the tournament! We are so proud of the girls! The last time the Lady Hawks won this same tournament was the same year they went to the State tournament! Wouldn't that be exciting! No pressure girls! They start District games tonight with Mason. Really, none of the other game sthey have won matter at this point. We have to win our District games to get into the play-offs. No fear, the girls will do great and win them all!~*~Good Luck Lady Hawks! Beat Mason!!~*~
Along with all the girl's basketball games, Jeremy, the other coaches, and I took them to watch the Lady Raiders of Texas Tech play Thursday night. The girls loved it! One of Jeremy's player's (Lauren) mom, big sister, and grandmother kept Caden while we went to the game. This was the VERY first time anyone besides my parents or Jeremy's family have kept Caden. Lauren's mom and grandmother, alone, have raised more kids than I can imagine, so I knew they would be great. We were gone a couple of hours, and they reported that Caden was a perfect angel! They all loved keeping him and I know he had fun with them too. It was weird to be out without Caden, but we enjoyed the time to ourselves. (Even though we weren't really by ourselves!)
~*~Thank you SO much Shannon, Diane, Charlotte, and Merlene!~*~
When we went to Lovington to be with Jeremy's mom, Jeremy's dad and step-mom kept Caden with them. That was Friday. He spend the night with them and they brought him back over to Lubbock on Sat. Wow, I got to go to the mall and do a little Christmas shopping by myself! I even slept until 8:30 am. It was weird not having him with me though. They brought him back over and I met up with them at the mall before the girl's last game, which was at 6:00 pm. We all went to the game together.
~*~Thank you Jerry and Sharon for keeping the Wee Bear!~*~
We got home from Lubbock about 11:30 Saturday night. Caden was, of course, already asleep. I put his PJs on him and tried to get him to eat a little of his bottle so he could take his medicines. He did, and he took his meds, and went back to sleep. He woke up around 4:00 am and I got him and put him in bed with us. I know, a terrible habbit to start, but oh well, we'll deal with breaking it when we have to! He started squirming around 6:00 am and woke me up. I felt of him and he was burning up! Of course, his bag was still in the car, so Jeremy had to go get it and I took his temp and it was 104 rectally!!! We called the on-call pedi and he said to take him in to get checked. Of course the only place to go at 6 am on a Sunday morning is the ER. So off we went. When we first got there and were registering, the little nurse starting taking his vitals. She got some very weird pulse oxygen readings. First she got in the 80's, then in the 70's. You could tell that she got worried. She sent us straight back and they quickly got him hooked up to all the monitors. His readings were FINE! I don't know what happened at first, but his pulse ox was in the high 90's this time. They took chest x-rays to look for pneumonia and they were clear. The doctor gave him a new antibiotic since he just finished amoxicillian on Friday. This one should be stronger. They said it is an upper respiratory infection. Poor baby! He did so good his first year, then after we hit 12 months, it seems like he's been sick the whole two months since. Hopefully this antibiotic will knock it out and he'll be well for the holidays. He slep most of the day yesterday, so guess what?? He DIDN"T sleep last night. We probably got maybe 3 hours of sleep last night. That makes for a LONG day!
Now my left eye is red. One of my students said, "Mrs. Williams, I think you are getting pink eye in the other eye." I said, "No, I'm just tired from not sleeping." He said, "The other eye isn't pink!" So, I went and looked at it, and it in indeed pink. Now, whether it's pink eye, or just lack of sleep, I don't know but I went ahead and started putting drops in it. Man, it's been almost 2 weeks since I had it in my right eye and I haven't been around anyone else that's had it. I heard it's going around schools pretty bad right now. Just GREAT, something else! Is it Friday yet??????
We are so ready for the Christmas break. We have regular schedules for today and tomorrow, but we get out early Wed, Thurs, and Friday. Hip Hip Hooray!!! It is a much needed break!
Have you all finished your shopping? Only 11 more sleeps until Santa! I haven't either, so don't feel pressured! I guess I will try to get some done this next weekend. The shops were so busy this past weekend. It was CRAZY!! Happy Holidays to everyone!
I better wrap up this journal. It's so long, no on ewill read it all. We, once, again want to thank all our friends and family for being so loving and supportive of us. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and I hope we get to see lots of you!
I have a few prayer requests today.
Hayley ~ still holding on!
Kirkland ~ back in the hospital fighting a virus worse than RSV!
Corey ~ having lots of pain
Heather ~ back in the hospital
Thank you everyone for praying for us and all the other sick kiddos!
Wednesday, December 8, 2004 9:44 AM CST
HAPPY 14 MONTHS CADEN!!!! MAN, I had an entire journal written and lost it somehow. That makes me sooooo mad!! Okay, so here goes again!
We are all pretty good, just tired. We will be going to New Mexico this evening to be with Jeremy's mom. The memorial service will be either Friday or Saturday morning. If Jeremy knows the time and date, he's forgotten to tell me. No surprise with everything he has going on right now. In the midst of everything in NM, Jeremy has a basketball tournament in Lubbock Thursday-Saturday. I have a lot on my plate right now, but you add all it takes to coach a basketball team, and Jeremy has A LOT on his plate. Not that he'd give up coaching for anything! He loves it and his girls are really great and fun to work with.
I have another prayer request for everyone. A young man that I teach just found out that his and his girlfriend's baby probably isn't going to make it. She is 7 months pregnant and the baby only weighs 2 lbs, has many heart defects, and has Trisomy 18. He said the doctors said it didn't look good at this point. I am 28 and I have a hard time dealing with all this, I can't imagine trying to handle it as a teenager. Please pray for their strength and understanding and patience and guidance. He's so sad right now. He has been sharing his story with me the past couple of weeks during class when he's the only one in here. I pray he's able to handle all this and school.
Also, little Hayley and her family still need lots of prayers. Her blood is now 97 ancer and she has been getting platelets everyday to help keep her comfortable. Her breathing is beginning to change and hospice has told her parents that is only a matter of days. Elijah and his parents could use some prayers now too. He seems to be in lots of pain lately and he had a bad allergic reaction to morphine which could have turned out a lot worse than it did. There are so many more, just too many to list.
I want to thank everyone for continuing to check on Caden and pray for our family. I don't know what we would do without everyone's love and support. I hope you all have a good end of the week and weekend.
Monday, December 6, 2004 7:58 PM CST
We are all back home from Dallas tonight. The trip was fast and furious. We got to Dallas last night about 9:30, found a hotel close to the hospital, and practically went to bed. Our appointment was at 7:45 am this morning. They took us right in when we got there. First we visited with Dr. Iannaccone's nurse and she asked lots of questions. Then we visited with an associate and 2 residents and they asked LOTS of questions. Then finally Dr. Iannaccone came in and evaluated Caden and asked more questions. She said she could tell us for sure that it wasn't a neuromuscular disorder. Okay, but I think we knew that already. She then went and called some of Caden's other neurologists. She came back in and told us that she is thinking that it is metabolic. When we asked her if she thought it was mitochondrial, she said no, she doesn't think it is. HALLELUJAH!! Is mito completely ruled out??? No, not yet. We talked about doing a muscle biopsy and she wants to do one. We talked to her about going to Atlanta to Dr. Shoffner to have it done, and that is when mito came up. If mito was highly suspected, she said Shoffner would want to do his own biopsy, and that is when we asked her if she thought it was mito and she said no. So, we will probably go ahead and let her do it there at Scottish Rites. They will also do a neurotransmitter study of some sorts while he is there. Hopefully this will mean we can get the biopsy done sooner. Plus, the muscle biopsy will give them LOTS of answers about metabolic disorders and hopefully it will be the last step we need to take to get Caden's diagnosis. So, what if it's metabolic??? I don't know for sure. I have spent all my time researching mitochondrial disorders, so now I have more reasearch to do!
As some people have mentioned in the guestbook, we found out on our way home that Jeremy's step-dad, Rudi Kreybig, had passed away last night. Jeremy's mom, Lynda, and Rudi had been at a hospital in Lubbock because Rudi had been having some difficulty breathing lately. They went in on Monday and he had a lot of tests performed. He passed away last night while still in the hospital. This was pretty unexpected. No one was ready for this, especially Lynda. We are all 4 hours away from her and can't be with her until this weekend. Please say a prayer for Lynda for faith, peace, and comfort in a time like this.
Lynda, we are so very sorry for your loss and we love you very much. We will see you soon.
Thank you all for checking on Caden (and us) and thanks for the compliments on his pictures. We really love hearing from everyone and it makes us feel so good to know there are so many people thinking about and praying for all of us, especially our Little Man.
Sunday, December 5, 2004 1:09 PM CST
Caden and I are at my mom and dad's house waiting for Daddy to get here. My mom and dad live about 45 minutes from Abilene, where we were all at for the basketball tournament, and we just came here to stay because it's about an hour and a half closer to Dallas than San Angelo. But, Jeremy had to take the bus back to Wall last night plus he had to get some stuff ready for his substitute tomorrow and check on the dogs, so he had to go home last night and is on his way here as we speak. We will leave from here later this afternoon to head for Dallas. Our appointment with Dr. Iannaccone is at 7:45 in the morning at Scottish Rites. Yep, 7:45 AM!!! We should be finished by about 11:00, then we will hit the road to head back home. Hopefully Jeremy will be back in time for basketball practice at 3:00. Fast and Furious!! I think we will meet with Dr. I's associate first, then we will meet with her, then a team of doctors will meet with us last of all. Hopefully, we might some answers.....but I don't get my hopes up too much.
Caden is doing great. His arms and hands still have lots of bruises from all the IV tries on Wednesday, but he's pretty cheerful and his same 'ole self. He is still really stuffed up though. He is still playing with his rattles and getting mad when he drops them. Over Thanksgiving, we had the stander with us in NM and we put Caden in it to show off to Pops and MiMi. He was in it for about 10 min. and was having fun. Then we went to take him out and he threw a FIT!! Cried and screamed! I think it was because he didn't want to get out of it!
The Lady Hawks came back after their loss to Connalley and beat Jim Ned, Brownwood, and Olney to win Consolation in the basketball tournament. Poor girls....they were so tired from all these games! They didn't play their best games against Jim Ned and Brownwood, but came back and beat Olney by 20 points! They really ended the tournament on a GREAT note last night! Now, they have a really tough game Tuesday night against Abilene Wylie. Good Luck Ladies!
~*~Way to go Lady Hawks! Beat Wylie Tuesday!~*~
Please continue to pray for little Hayley. Her and her parents are back home from the hospital, but things don't look good. If you'd like to check on her, there is a link to her site in the last journal entry in the journal history.
Wednesday, December 1, 2004 2:10 PM CST
Friday~
Please take a moment to say a prayer for a little girl from Georgia. Her name is Hayley and she has AML leukemia. You can visit her site and leave her parents some words of support. Thanks.
I am finally back to work after my 1st experience with PINK EYE! Okay, they won't call it pink eye, it's conjunctivitis. When we were at the hospital waiting for Caden to get out of surgery, my eye started bothering me, like it had something in it. Well, I didn't think anything about it, because I haven't been around anyone with pink eye. It just kept feeling like there was something in it, then about the time all the clinics were closed for the evening, I thought about it being pink eye. So, I had to wait until yesterday morning to get into see a doctor and get some eye drops. It was already better by yesterday, but is much better today. Man, I tell you.....if I could have removed my entire eyeball Wed. night, I would have. I have never had this before and I NEVER want it again!! I don't know how little kids deal with this! So far, Caden nor Jeremy have gotten it. Keep your fingers crossed, and say a little prayer that they don't!
Caden is still doing good. He is already full of snot again, after she cleaned him out. But he's on antibiotics, so maybe they will help clear it up. Must be all the mold in the air from all the rain. He probably got all my allergies. Mine are acting up right now too.
The Lady Hawks are playing in the Polk Key City Basketball Tournament in Abilene this weekend. They beat Belton, a 5A school, yesterday morning, but then lost to 4A Plugerville Connalley by 11 points. Connalley was at the State tournament last year and they have a 6'4" post that's already signed with the University of Texas. She was really good, but the girls did a great job and held her to only 14 points. The Lady Hawks played really well, but PC was just better than we were. I guess that is going to happen sometimes!
~*~Way to go Lady Hawks! Beat Jim Ned today!~*~
Wednesday~
I FINALLY GOT CADEN'S PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS ON HERE!! AREN'T THEY AWESOME!!
Caden's surgery went well. They had a REALLY hard time getting his IV in, so it took a bit longer. I bet he has 12 holes in his arms, hands, and feet where they tried to stick him! Poor baby........thank GOD he was already asleep when they tried to put it in! He has just been stuck so many times lately. He had been gone from us for about an hour when the nurse came in and said she was transferring a call into our room from Dr. Williamson, so we got a little worried. Jeremy took the call and the first thing Dr. Williamson said was, "Your kid is FINE!" She's a crack-up! Then she explained about the trouble they were having with the IV and I think they had gotten about 5 docs to try at that point. She said if they didn't get it in, that Dr. Parker (the anesthesiologist) didn't want to do the adenoids without the IV. Well, about 30 sec. after she talked to us, they got it in! So after that, the actual surgery only took about 30 minutes. Dr. Williamson also cleaned out all the congestion he had in his nose and all. He sounds a lot better already. He was still pretty groggy when he came back to us, and would sorta cry out every once in a while, but seemed like he was feeling pretty good. As we were leaving, he did spit up a little blood, but I think that is to be expected!!
The blood tests that Dr. Malik had ordered didn't get done. They wanted 15 cc of blood for the 2 tests, and Dr. Parker couldn't find anywhere on Caden that would give him that much blood. We had already told him earlier this morning not to worry about them if it was a problem. So, we will wait a while to try to get that blood.
We are home, and Caden is sitting with his Mawmaw and Papa while I update! He seems to be doing really well. Let's hope it continues! Thanks to everyone for checking on him. Hope everyone has a great day!
Monday, November 29, 2004 8:27 AM CST
NEW PICTURES IN PHOTO ALBUM!!!
All is well here in Texas, and we are all back at school and work this morning. YUCK!! We all had a very nice Thanksgiving break, but it was too short!
Caden did great in New Mexico, except on Friday. He had gone to bed a little late on Thursday night, around 11:00 our time. Then, he woke up about 30 minutes after all us girls left to go shopping, which would have been abotu 6:00 am, our time. So, he was VERY cranky for Jeremy all morning. He held his breath and passed out 3 times on Jeremy before we got back home. Poor Daddy! He was pretty stressed out by the time we all got home.
I got some of my Christmas shopping done on Friday. It doesn't get too crowded in Hobbs, but there were lots of people out at 5:30 am! We always have a really good time. I always go with Jeremy's step-mom, Sharon, and her good friend, Vickie, and her daughter, Kim. This year, Jeremy's brother's wife, Talley, went with us too. These ladies are a HOOT to go with, and we always come home with the back of the Expedition FULL!
We had to come home Friday afternoon because Jeremy had basketball Saturday morning. We had a good trip and everything went fine.
We got the proof sheet from Caden's pictures. There are some really great ones. We ordered some of 3 different poses, so we are anxiously waiting for them to come in the mail. The lady gave me a CD with the 3 poses on it that we bought, so I could put them on here, but the files are too big, so I am going to try to fix them and get them on here in the next day or two. They are really good.
Caden will go in at 6:00 am on Wednesday morning to get his tubes put back in his ears, and get his adenoids taken out. It should be pretty simple, but he does have to have an IV this time because of the adenoids. YUCK!
We have rescheduled our appointment for Dr. Iannacone at TX Scottish Rites for Dec. 6. So we will go see her next Monday. Maybe she has some answers!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I hope you enjoyed and cherished every moment with your family and loved ones. Not too long until Christmas!!! Note to self......get Christmas decorations out of storage!
It's supposed to get really cold here this afternoon. Just like TX weather....you could have worn short sleeves to work this morning, and you will need a coat by the time you leave work! We even have a 20hance of sleet and snow tonight and in the morning!
Here are a few pictures that we took over Thanksgiving. There are more in the photo album.
Daddy, Mommy, and Caden
4 Generations ~ Jeremy; his dad, Jerry (aka Pops); Jeremy's brother, Carter; and Caden
Caden's Uncle Carter and Aunt Talley
Caden's Pops and Mimi ~ Jeremy's dad and step-mom
Wednesday, November 24, 2004 11:30 PM CST
We are all safely in New Mexico! We got off later than we had planned, but our trip was great. Caden rode fine and took a nap in the back seat with Daddy! The sweet lady that Sharon (Mimi) knows that is a photographer took lots of pictures of Caden this evening. She even made her husband dress up as Santa for some of them. They were really sweet! She already showed some of them to us, and there are some GREAT ones. We will get a proof sheet on Friday with all the pictures on it. She is making me a CD too, so I can put some of them on here!!!
Not much more to update from here. I hope everyone is having a GREAT holiday. I pray that everyone is safe in their travels to and from family. Cherish each moment with them! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! (and Happy Shopping!!) God bless each and every one of you! Thanks for checking on our little man and praying for him!
Monday, November 22, 2004 10:50 AM CST
The weekend went very smoothly at our house for a change. The last 2 weekends have been filled with allergic reactions and spinal tap headaches! Thank God for a good weekend!
Caden continues to PLAY with his rattle. It was not a fluke! You better be ready to get that toy back in his hand when he drops it, or you're gonna hear about it! It's WONDERFUL!!
He has been really happy lately. I think the Tegretol is helping to keep him from having his breath holding spells too! I gave him his first hair cut this weekend. I will take a picture and try to get it on here tonight. He looks so handsome....I never imagined how much better he could look with a trim. I did it, and it was very difficult, so I can't imagine how a real hairdresser would have ever done it. I think it's even mostly straight, which is a feat with the way that boy moves all the time!
The Lady Hawks won their championship game at the tournament against Snyder by 20-something points. They played sooooo awesome! It is the Lady Hawks' first tournament championship since Jeremy's been a head coach. They have always done so great, but have run into some tough teams at tournaments in the other years. This time, the stars were all in line and everyone played GREAT!!
~*~Way to go Lady Hawks! Keep up the great work!!~*~
They play again tonight and again tomorrow night. Whew! Lots of basketball! Good thing Caden has practically been raised in the gym so far! This is actually his 3rd season if you count when I was pregnant with him. He loves all the excitement.
Sad to say that the Hawks football team lost their play-off game against Colorado City Saturday night. The stars were not in line for them. They did have a great season though and have lots of the same boys coming back next year!
~*~Great season Hawks! Way to go!~*~
Thanksgiving is getting CLOSE!! I can't wait for good food and EARLY morning shopping! We always get up extra early and hit all the sales the day after Thanksgiving, so it look slike Jeremy will be babysitting that day! He and his dad will LOVE it! I hope you all have a safe and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! Cherish every moment and hold all your family tight! We all have so much to be thankful for this year. 
Friday, November 19, 2004 8:45 PM CST
Had to let everyone know that Caden did the GREATEST thing at dinner tonight. We were at Chili's and he was in his carrier (seat) while we were eating. He has this one rattle that has a soft lion's head on it and I had put it in his hand. Next thing we knew, he was mad and starting to cry. So I held him for a minute, then put him back down and gave him the rattle. It only took one more time for us to realize that he was crying when he dropped the rattle! It would come out of his hand, and he would get mad and start to cry. Now, this may seem minor to some, but you have to understand. Caden has NEVER had a reaction like this to a toy. He was actually PLAYING with his rattle and he actually cared when it was gone from him. It was the coolest thing! The first time he did it, Jeremy and I just looked at each other. Then I took it away from him to see if he was really doing what we thought he was doing, and sure enough! We just looked at each other again and started laughing. Jeremy said, "This is awesome!" It truly was a GREAT moment. I hope you can all understand what a HUGE deal this was. Something is working, whether it be the therapies, or his ladies at daycare working with him and his toys all the time, OR maybe it's the Tegretol. I don't know, but I am impressed!
Update: Friday, November 19 12:45 PM
Well, we have managed to make it through yet another week! Seems like they fly by me nowdays! Everyone is doing well. The weather has turned out to be really nice the last few days, but I hear there is more rain expected over the weekend. YUCK! Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for the rain, when we need it, but we've had so much lately! I wish we could save some of it for later when we really need it again. It just puts me in such a crummy mood when there is no sunshine!
Caden has officially had his Tegretol for the last 3 nights. I can't notice a difference in anything, yet. Of course we give it at bedtime, so I don't know if it's making him sleepy or not. I mean, he sleeps all night anyways, so who could tell! Daycare hasn't reported him sleeping any more than usual during the day yet either. I can't notice any changes in his movements. I think we will notice more when we start giving it to him twice a day. He hates to take it though! And it even tastes good! (Those of you who know me, know that I taste EVERYTHING that I give him, from medicine to baby food! I know, WEIRD!)
We had an appointment with our ENT this morning to get Caden's ears checked again. She said there wasn't necessarily fluid in them, but the ear drums didn't look very good. They were a little red. We also discussed his breathing and congestion. She said she normally doesn't take out adenoids at this age to help with ears, but with his low tone and all, she thinks it will help his breathing to have them removed. So, we will have his tubes replaced and adenoids taken out on December 1.
Jeremy's basketball girls won their game last night! They are playing again right now!
~*~Way to go Lady Hawks! Keep it up!~*~
We want to wish the Hawks football team GOOD LUCK Saturday night. They play Colorado City in the 2nd round of the play-offs.
~*~GOOD LUCK HAWKS!! WIN AGAIN!!~*~
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! I am so ready for a break and some good FOOD!!! Everyone be safe in your travels and enjoy your family time!
Thanks to everyone for your encouragement and support throughout our journey. At times like this, it is so wonderful to have friends and family like you all to stand by our sides. We have a wonderful support system. Thank you all for signing the guestbook with encouraging and uplifting words. We love you all very much!
URGENT: I have to ask you all to please say a prayer for Baby Jacob . He is one of our little Caringbridge friends that has SMA, spinal muscular atrophy. He took a turn for the worse, and is in the hopital on a ventilator. He, his big sister, and his mommy need lots of prayers right now.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004 11:14 AM CST
Thought I better do something for Thanksgiving!!
Caden is still doing lots better. He was a little fussier yesterday than he was on Monday, but maybe it was the weather. It has rained all day, everyday for about the past week here. It has been miserable! Weather like this makes kids CRAZY too! All our kids at school have been acting crazy the past 2 days! Maybe that is why Caden wasn't very happy yesterday, or maybe he was feeding off of me bacause I was in such a bad mood too!!
We started his Tegretol last night. If you don't know, this is an anti-seizure med, but we aren't using it to treat seizures. It is to help stop Caden's jerky movements. It is actually called something else, because they gave us the generic brand, so it was not expensive at all. We have to give it to him at bedtime for 7 days, then twice a day for 7 days, then 3 times a day. It will make him sleepy for 7-10 days, but I don' tknow if we will notice it until we start giving it to him twice a day because he will be sleeping at bedtime anyways!! Hopefully it will help with the choreosthetoid movements. We were a little nervous about this med because we don't want it to make him a "zombie," but I have heard from several parents and doctors that it should be really safe. So, here we go!!!
Jeremy's basketball girls started the season off with a BANG!!! They won their game last night by about 30 points! It was a GREAT game!
~*~WAY TO GO LADY HAWKS!~*~
Now, they play Thursday afternoon in their first tournament. If they play like they did last night, they will have no problem winning again!!
Want to also wish the Hawks football team GOOD LUCK Saturday night. They play Colorado City in the 2nd round of the play-offs.
~*~GOOD LUCK HAWKS!! WIN AGAIN!!~*~
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! I am so ready for a break and some good FOOD!!! Everyone be safe in your travels and enjoy your family time!
Thanks to everyone for your encouragement and support throughout our journey. At times like this, it is so wonderful to have friends and family like you all to stand by our sides. We have a wonderful support system. Thank you all for signing the guestbook with encouraging and uplifting words. We love you all very much!
Monday, November 15, 2004 11:50 AM PMCST
Caden is soooooooo much better today! I stayed home with him for a little while this morning, but he was moving around and talking and feeling a lot better, so around 10:00 I took him to daycare and came to work. They will be really careful with him at daycare....those girls in the nursery are great to him. Just wanted to let everyone know how he was today.
I called Dr. Malik's office to make sure he agreed that it was a spinal tap headache. He is out today, but on eof the other doctors thought that was what it was, but it's very rare in babies Caden's age. This was their explanation as to why we weren't precautioned about the possibility of it happening!
Hope everyone has a great day and week!
Caden isn't having a very good day. It all started Friday afternoon, right before I was to leave for Austin. My mom and dad were here to keep Caden and I was trying to get my bags ready to leave. I went to put Caden in his swing, which he LOVES, and when I put him down, his back bent and he started crying so hard. I thought that maybe his back was sore from the spinal tap. After a few seconds, he was fine. I got ready to leave and picked him up and he started crying again. While I was gone, mom and dad said he was really still, which is unheard of for Caden. But, when he would move, he would cry again. When I got back yesterday afternoon, he was still the same way. It appeared that his neck was hurting him when he would move. We all thought he was just sore from all the tests, so Mom went home and Jeremy and I were just really careful with him. He fell asleep with me about 7:30 last night. He usually goes to bed around 9:30, so I was going to let him sleeep for about 30 min, then give him his bath and bottle. Well, about 8:00, I tried to wake him up and he got really fussy, so I thought I'd just let him sleep and get up with him whenever he woke up. We both ended up asleep in the recliner! At 10:30, I woke up and Caden was still asleep, so I just put him in his bed and went to bed myself. He slept all the way through the night until about 7:15 this morning!! He still seemed tender this morning, but we were going to try to go to church. I gave him his bath and was dressing him and he started crying again. (This isn't a normal cry, it's a hard, heart-wrenching cry.) So, I got him dressed and went to put him in his swing, so I could get dressed and he cried again......I told Jeremy something wasn't right and I thought we needed to call the doctor or take him in. Well, we called the pedi on-call and it happened to be Dr. Schultz, our pedi. Jeremy talked to him for about 15 minutes. Jeremy described Caden's symptoms and Dr. S thinks it is what is called a spinal tap headache. They happed more often in older people and women who have epidurals, but they are pretty common. Dr. S said older adolescents describe them as feeling like someone is jabbing a knife in their head when they move in a certain position. What Dr. S describes sounds just like what Caden is doing. It should decrease as the spinal fluid is replenished.....5-7 days after the procedure. He said to let him sleep all he wants to, keep him in a comfortable position, and give him Tylenol. He is going to talk to an anesthesiologist about it for us tomorrow. Maybe they will be able to help. If it continues to be the same, we may take him into the ER later. We will see. Hopefully this headache is what is going on with him. It's pretty scary to not know what is really wrong, or how to help him. It is soooooo heatrtbreaking when he cries like that. It is hard to see him hurting.
On a happy note, Jeremy's girls ran GREAT yesterday!! They finished 4th out of all the 2A schools in the enitre State of TX!!! Out of over 200 2A schools that run cross-country, the LADY HAWKS are the 4th best team!!!!! That is soooooooo AWESOME! The boys team also finished 4th in the state too! Plus, the Hawks football team beat Kermit Friday night to advance to the next round of the play-offs! Quite an impressive weekend for Wall sports!!
We will change gears now from CC to basketball.........Jeremy and the girls have their first basketball game Tuesday night at home against Merkel! Good luck Lady Hawks!
We officially have.............MORE NORMAL TEST RESULTS! Part of me thought this would happen, but part of me thought maybe these tests would tell us something. Even a little something. I am so happy that all is still normal, but we know there is something that ISN'T normal, and we just want to know what it is so we can help Caden. It is so frustrating sometimes!
We don't have all the blood tests back yet, but most of them are back. Caden's MRI was normal, but showed his brain is a little smaller than Dr. Malik would like it to be, but he said this is normal for a slow developing baby. His EEG shows NO seizure activity!!!! (Thank God!) It was a little slow (the brain waves) but again, this is normal for a slow developing baby. Blood tests were normal...at least the ones that weren't sent off. Spinal tap only showed a slightly elevated white blood cells number, but that was from his "viral cold" as Dr. Malik called it, and his fever last Thursday and Saturday.
Caden did really well with everything. They took blood like 3 times and he didn't even cry once. Sad to say that he's so used to all this poking. He did great with the anesthesia and IV and all. They actually waited until he was sedated to put the IV in his hand, and from the looks of it, they only had to try a few times before they got it in. They took so much blood on Wed, that they had to wait until Thursday to get the rest of it because it would've been too much for him to lose in one day! There are still 2 other tests (disorders) that Dr. Malik wants to look for, but he said we could get the blood if we go in to get his tubes redone or something.
He hasn't ruled out mitochondrial.....it is still a possibility. He still wants us to go to Atlanta to have the muscle biopsy done, so I will be working on scheduling that....hopefully during the Christmas holidays. He has 2 other doctors that he's going to talk to about us and probably send us to see them. One is in Houston and the other is Dr. Cohen in New York. Dr. Cohen specializes in movement disorders.
He gave us a prescription for Tegretol, which is an anti-seizure medication, but it's to help control Caden's movements, not for seizures. He feels very safe in giving this med. They have been prescribing it for 20-30 years and he's given it to kids as young as 4 months old. There are some possible side effects, but they are like 1 in 60,000. Dr. Malik sounds very confident in this med. It will make him sleepy when he takes it for the first 10-14 days, but it will level off and he will get used to it.
Dr. Malik is okay with us going to see Dr. Iannacone at TSRH, but he wants us to wait to get all these test results back first, so they don't want to try to do any of them again. So, we will re-schedule the appointment we were supposed to go to on Monday (the 15th). Hopefully it won't take too long to get in to see her again. I think she will mostly be looking from a muscular stand point.
We are very happy with Dr. Malik. He is so very thorough with everything he does. He is trying to find out what is going on with Caden, or find someone who can tell us something.
The trip was fine.....just fast and furious. Caden and I didn't get back to our house until 9:30 last night. Caden traveled great in the car. He slept great in the hotel and hospital....minus the blood pressure guy that woke him up at 4 am to get his vitals!! UUGGGHHHHH! We were so mad at him!
Thank you, EVERYONE, for your thoughts and prayers. I know that they had a big hand in everything going so well for Caden and us on this trip. I know those prayers play a huge part in Caden's well-being everyday. We appreciate everyone's support. Without the support system we have, I don't know where we would be right now. Thank you so much to all our friends and family, near and far. We love you all so very much! Thank you for all your supportive messages in the guestbook. I know I've said it a million times, but they give us so much love and support through all this.
The LADY HAWKS are getting ready to leave to go to Austin for the State CC Meet!!! They will run at 10 am tomorrow morning. We are all soooo proud of these young ladies. They have had a great season this year and have one more meet to top it all off.
Run your hearts out!!
Monday, November 8, 2004 7:00 PM CST
Monday~
HAPPY 13 MONTHS TO CADEN!!!!!!!!!!!
His rash is much better today. He hates all this medicine I have to cram down him......poor baby!
The tests are still on for Wednesday. Thank Goodness! Caden and I will be leaving tomorrow afternoon to go to Mom and Dad's, then on to Ft. Worth. He will have to stay overnight Wednesday, so Jeremy will have to come back and Caden and I will spend the night and come back with mom and dad Thursday morning. So it may be a couple of days before I can update again. Thanks for checking on our Little Man and thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!
Sunday evening~
Caden is officially allergic to Cefzil! That is what was causing the rash. We took him into the ER this afternoon. The doc told us that is was an allergic reaction, gave him some benadryl and prednisolone (sp?)and a new prescription for amoxicillion. We were there for about an hour and a half. Caden threw up the first dose of benadryl on all of us, but when he did, up came A LOT of mucus, so it was actually a good thing. They said he shouldn't go to daycare tomorrow, so I will have to miss work again. Thank goodness they are so understanding! His rash seems a little better already. He will take the benadryl and prednisolone for 5 days and the antibiotic for 10 days. I guess I have to call tomorrow to see if we can still do all the tests on Wednesday at Cooks. Pray we can.
I think I pulled a muscle in my back! I don't have any clue how I did it, or when, but I woke up in the middle of the night last night and couldn't hardly move. It is on the back side of my ribs on my right side. Maybe it was the horrible bed we slept in at Lubbock! Or maybe I did something running around at the CC meet.....Who knows! It hurts really bad when I move a certain way or take a deep breath. I guess it will get better on its own!
WHEW! What a weekend! And the weeks to come will be no slower! Caden and I will go to Ft. Worth Tuesday afternoon with my mom and dad. Jeremy has a basketball scrimmage that night and will either drive down late that night, or EARLY the next morning. We will have all the tests done on Wednesday and hopefully, if all goes well, we will come home Wed. night.
Then Jeremy will leave for Austin Friday with the girls for the State CC Meet. If Caden is doing okay, we might try to go to the meet.
My good friend from elementary school is having a wedding shower on Sunday that I am going to try my hardest to make it to.
Then we have to be back in Dallas at 8:45 am Monday morning to see Dr. Iannacone at TSRH. I guess we will have to go down Sunday night. Maybe we can just go by the shower on our way to Dallas!
Thanks for checking in on us. Please keep the other sick kiddos in your prayers also. There are too many to mention!
Sunday morning~
Caden appeared to be doing a little better on Friday afternoon and had not had fever since Thursday. Dr. Schultz gave him Cefzil for his antibiotic and I started giving him acidophilous to replace the "good" bacteria that the antibiotics were getting rid of. But he still hasn't been himself. I guess I wouldn't be either if I were sick. So, Saturday afternoon, Mom called me in Lubbock and Caden has acquired a new rash on his face and trunk. (He had only had 2 doses of the antibiotic.) It showed up right after his bttle with the acidophilous in it. I don't think he should be allergic to that though, because it is stuff that is already in your body.??? So, I called the pedi on call, which happened to be Dr. Patyrak, and he said that he souldn't be showing an allergic reaction to the antibiotic since he'd only had it twice and had never been exposed to it before. He said it usually takes 6-7 doses for a reaction to show up. He also said the anidophilous should be fine. He said there are lots of viral infections going around right now, such as Fifth's disease which causes a rash on the arms and legs, and Roseola, which causes a rash on the 3-4th day after a high fever (102-105). He was thinking on the lines of roseola. His rash had gotten a little better by Sat. afternoon. Mom called me this morning and his fever is back....101. So, Jeremy and I are getting ready to go to church and then go meet Mom and Dad to pick up Caden and I suppose we will take him to the clinic or ER to get a doctor to look at him, just to make sure.
Jeremy's girls ran AWESOME yesterday!!! They averaged the best times of any of his teams at the Regional meet ever have! They ended up getting third place and get to advance to the STATE meet in Austin next weekend!!! This will be the Lady Hawks 5th trip to State in 6 years!!! Just down right AWESOME!!! This was their 7th straight District Championship and 7th straight trip to the Regional meet. One more week of running!! We are soooo excited! The boys CC team also got 3rd place yesterday, so they will be going to State also!
**Way to go LADY HAWKS!! We are soooo proud of you all!
**Way to go HAWKS!!
I will post more later today after we get to the doctor. Thanks fof checking on our Little Man.
Please keep the other Caringbridge families in your prayers also. Corey is pretty sick with a fever. Eli is fighting the winter croop. Patrick is fighting a fever also. Cheyenne's family, Connor's family, and Troy's family are all spending their first weekend without their children.
Eli
Corey
Patrick
Friday, November 5, 2004 1:42 PM CST
Well, Caden's fever gradually came down last night and he hasn't had it anymore today. We went to see Dr. Schultz and he said Caden has a cold and maybe a sore throat. His throat looked a little red. But, he said his ears looked good, but NO tubes! Last week, we still had one, but not anymore! He gave us some new antibiotics so he won't get any worse. Then I took him to the ENT office to check for fluid in his ears. Yep, it's still in the left one. Dr. Williamson wasn't there, but she will see the results on Monday and call me. Man, we really need to be able to do the hearing test at Cooks, but with the fluid, it wouldn't be accurate. I started giving Caden acidophilous today. I have had amny people tell me it helps with ears, reflux, and many other things. Maybe it and the antibiotics will help with the fluid.
Caden is currently with his MawMaw and PaPa on the way to their house for tonight and maybe tomorrow night. It was REALLY hard to let him go since he's sick! As if it would have been easy anyways! But I know he's in great hands and they won't even put him down for 2 days! Poor Mom, all she gets to do is give him medicine the whole time!
I am getting ready to go to Lubbock. I am nervous and excited for the girls. I sure hope they perform their very best tomorrow morning!
I am still getting to hear from lots of long lost friends and family through the guestbook. It's really nice to read messages from people that I haven't seen or heard from in so long. Thank you all for keeping up with our little man and our family. Thank you all for signing the guestbook with such caring, uplifting messages! We love to read them!
Thursday Evening~
I'll show that ole Photobucket!!!!! I just found someone else to host my pictures until they let me use theirs again in a few weeks!!
Caden is sleeping on my shoulder right now, so excuse the typos. Mosaic called me this afternoon just before I was going to go get Caden and told me he had a fever and he'd been asleep most of the afternoon. In his ear it was 101, so I knew it was really higher. When I picked him up, he was sooooo hot and his little cheeks were all red. I took his temp at home, rectally, and it was 102.6!! I gave him some Tylenol and put a cool wrag on his head and called the dr. office. This is Dr. Schultz's afternoon off, so I just left a message for Dr. Wagnon's nurse. She called me back a little later and just told me to keep trying to bring it down. She also made an appt. with Dr. Schultz for me in the morning....just in case. She said that if it wouldn't come down, I might need to take him into one of the clinics tonight. This was all about 4:30 this afternoon. By 5:30, the tylenol had started working and his temp was down a degree to 101. It is now 6:30, and Caden just woke up and seems much cooler. I will have to see what his temp is now, but I can tell it's better. Hopefully, it's nothing. I will update more later!
Thursday~
Well, it appears that I had too many pictures in my photobucket account, so they took them back!! I can't post them back for a while, so I am sorry!!
Wednesday~
There really isn't a whole lot to update about today. Everyone at our house is doing well. We are enjoying this colder weather. I love the winter. I would love to live where it snowed more often. Jeremy has been busy getting his girls ready for this weekend's cross-country meet. Man, is it a BIG one!! Lots of really good teams in our Region. In fact, about 6 of the BEST teams in the state are in our region, so half of them have to stay at home the weekend of the State meet.
**GOOD LUCK LADY HAWKS!!!! No other meet matters right now, but this one..........Run your hardest!
I just returned from Cheyenne's funeral. I hope they don't mind me talking about it here, but it was a beautiful service. I've never seen so many people....So many lives that one girl touched! Caden and I got to meet Roy and Donna, Cheyenne's parents, for the first time. They were so glad to meet him and he, them. I hated that we had to meet at Cheyenne's funeral. It was the cutest thing though.......it usually takes quite a show to make Caden smile at anyone new, but as I held him and Roy and Donna talked to him, he smiled the biggest smile at them that I have ever seen. It was almost as if he knew they were Cheyenne's parents! It was so special.
My mom and dad are going to be keeping Caden this weekedn while we go to the meet in Lubbock so he doesn't have to get out in the weather. They will love their time with him. They are coming to get him Friday. I am riding to Lubbock with one of Jeremy's runner's parents.
I think I will leave the Halloween pictures up for a few more days before I change them. I hope everyone's having a great week!
**Thanks for signing the guestbook!!
Sunday, October 31, 2004 8:44 PM CST
Well, another short weekend has come and gone right before our eyes. Two days is just not enough time off at the end of the week!! We did have a great weekend though.
Jeremy's girls played GREAT Saturday morning at the basketball scrimmage. They look really good!
**Way to go Lady Hawks! You played GREAT!!
After the scrimmage, we came home briefly and grabbed the camera and tried to beat the rain to the pumpkin patch to get some pictures taken. They turned out really well. I have posted the best ones below!
As soon as we finished taking some pictures, we went back out to Wall to the elementary Halloween Carnival. Caden couldn't play any of the games, but he did get to wear his big pumpkin costume. He was a huge hit!! Everyon eloved his costume. More pictures of the Great Pumpkin below!
After the carnival, we grabbed some dinner and finally got to the house for the evening. Our good friends, Houston and Kate cam over with their little girl, Falyn. Falyn and Caden have the same exact birthday, just a year apart!!
Today, Jeremy left early for Lubbock to attend a basketball clinic at Texas Tech. It is a great clinic. Lots of coaches speak, including Marsha Sharp and Bobby Knight, and the TT Lady Raiders run drill for everyone to see!
Since Jeremy was going to be gone all day, my mom and dad came over to keep me company. They got here just before I had to leave for church, so with all this rainy weather, I left Caden here with them. After I got home from church, we all went to eat lunch. After Dad finished watching the Cowboys WIN!!, we loaded up and went out to the colisium to look at the western craft and clothing show. It was nice, but EXPENSIVE!!! We made a puick trip to Wal-Mart on our way back to the house, and after a littel while, mom and dad had to leave to go back home.
**Thanks Mom and Dad for keeping me company today and running around with Caden and me. I know I don't have to thank you for keeping Caden, because I know how much you LOVE to spend time with him, but THANK YOU! Thanks Mom for doing the laundry and thanks DAD for fixing the vacuum. Love you guys!! Miss you!!
I hope everyone had a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! We had lots of tricker treaters.......so many that I ran out of candy and had to stop answering the door!
Thank you again to everyone who signs our guestbook. Sign in everytime you visit if you'd like to. We love to read everyone's messages. They give us strength and faith!
Please keep the Fiveash family from Christoval in your prayers. Their daughter, Cheyenne, lost her battle with a brain tumor Friday night. Cheyenne was 13 years old. They were our newly found Caringbridge friends. They features Caden and his site on their website. For information about Cheyenne, you can visit her caring bridge site. Cheyenne Fiveash 
Friday, October 29, 2004 1:20 PM CDT
Well, another week has passed by us so quickly! We are all doing great. Caden's ear has not drained yet, so we are trying to hold him and lay him on his left side, so his left ear will be down and maybe it will drain for us.
Caden got to wear Halloween clothes to daycare today. What fun! One of his buddies in the nursery had on a shirt with a big black spider on it and this spider hat that had black legs sticking up all over his head........it was sooooo cute!! They were all going to take a Halloween picture. I hope I get a copy!!
He is still spitting up the Pediasure more than he was his formula, but you are supposed to give a formula change 2 weeks before you decide it's not going to work........so we will keep cleaning up the floor for a few more days!!
I tried to puree some honey chicken and bread last night, but Caden would have NO part in it. He made some pretty awful faces!! But, the speech therapist says we can't mark it off the list until he's made those faces at it at least 10 times. So we will try it again in a couple of days.
I am adding some more pictures of Caden's baptism because I finally got all the film developed! Some of the pics turned out really well!!
Jeremy and the girls have their first basketball scrimmage tomorrow. Yep, already! Man, we won't get to slow down until spring now.......but then track starts, so maybe we can slow down at the end of May!
**Good luck Lady Hawks!! Play Hard!!
**Thanks again to everyone who signs the guestbook. I love to hear from everyone, especially long-lost friends and family!!
Wednesday, October 27, 2004 11:53 AM CDT
Yesterday, we had an appointment with our ENT for Caden's 6 mo. check-up for the tubes in his ears. Bad news.....the tube in his right ear is already gone! After only 6 months! The left one was still in, but "didn't look right" to her. They did a quick little test to check for fluid in his ears, and there is still fluid in his left ear. Bad thing: if the fluid is still there on Nov. 10 when they try to do the ABR (hearing test)the test will do us no good. So, I have to take him back to her office on Nov. 5 and they will do the fluid test again to see if it's still there. She told me,"I'm not telling you you're headed for more tubes, but I am telling you that!" If the fluid would clear up, we wouldn't have to replace the tubes, but I don't think it will. Especially since he's still spitting-up so often. I told Mr. Caden that we couldn't go through tube surgery every 6 months!!! I am waiting for a call from our pedi's nurse to see if there is anything that will help the fluid clear up. He's already finished his antibiotics, and the infection in the right ear was gone!
He was quite fussy all evening last night. He had a total of 3 baths from the time we got home from school until time for him to go to bed!! Needless to say, he spit-up quite a bit! I don't know what the cause is.....there are so many possibilities. I just guess and guess and guess. Maybe he's getting new teeth, maybe it's his ears, maybe he doesn't like the Pediasure, maybe it was the baby food, maybe he's sick.....the list goes on and on. It is times like these when I feel like I'm failing him because I can't stop it, or help him because I don't know what is causing it. Man, this mommy business is tough!!
**Thanks to everyone for signing the guestbook. I LOVE to read everyone's messages. They are so inspiring and uplifting. It does my heart good to read about so many people thinking of and praying for our little man!
**Thank you to everyone who has donated to Caden's fund. It is still hard to accept such gifts, but it will really help with his doctor bills and all the trips we will be taking for him.
Caden's baptism was absolutely WONDERFUL!!! When we arrived at the church, Jeremy saw one of his athletes getting out of her truck. He said, "Aw, how sweet Ashley came to Caden's baptism." Well, little did we know what a surprise we had in store for us! When we walked into the church, there was an entire pew full of Jeremy's cross-country and basketball girls. Some of their families were there also. It was sooooo nice! They had been planning this surprise for awhile and we knew absolutely nothing about it. It was so special!
**Thank you Lady Hawks and their families for making Caden's day even more special!! Aren't they all beautiful!!
Caden, Jeremy, and I are back there....the girls are just so tall, you can't hardly see us!!!
Most of our family was here. My mom and dad, Pat and Don were here. My 2 sisters, Kim and Rhonda, were also here. Jeremy's mom and step-dad, Lynda and Rudi; and his grandmother, Memaw, were with us. Jeremy's dad and step-mom, Jerry and Sharon were also there. We also had many other friends there for Caden's big day.
**Thank you everyone for coming all this way to be here for Caden's day!!
Front row, L to R: Jeremy's Memaw, Roxy; Me & Caden; my oldest sister, Kim; and my middle sister, Rhonda. Back row, L to R: Jeremy's dad, Jerry; Jeremy's step-mom, Sharon; Jeremy's step-dad, Rudi; Jeremy's mom, Lynda; Jeremy; my dad, Don; and my mom, Pat.
My best friend, Stacie, stood up with us as Caden's Godmother and Jeremy's very good friend, Houston stood up as Caden's Godfather. The hand bell choir played during today's service. Rev. Lumpkin made the baptism very special. We all cried during it.....well, at least the ladies did!
**Thank you Houston and Stacie!!
After church, we all went to Logan's Roadhouse for lunch. It was very nice to have everyone together. Robbi Lambert from FUMC in Christoval came by with Caden's prayer shawl. It is soooo beautiful. It is hand knitted out of a light green yarn that is the softest I have ever felt. It will be very special to us, always.
**Thank you again to FUMC in Christoval and everyone else that had a part in making this shawl and praying over it for Caden.
After lunch, everyone left us to go back to their homes. It was very nice to have everyone here. This afternoon, we went out to Wall to have dinner with Jeremy's CC girls. They have a tradition that the girls do every year before the district CC meet. They all get together and eachone of them brings something for a spaghetti dinner that we went to. Gotta load us on those carbs!! It was very good food! We all had a lot of fun!
**Thank you everyone for the wonderful presents for Caden!
**The Lady Hawks won their 7th straight District Championship in cross-country yesterday! Way to go ladies! Now onto Regionals, then hopefully STATE!!! The Hawks won district by 2 points yesterday! It was a very exciting race! From 7th grade all the way to Varsity, Wall won every district title yesterday at the district CC meet. Way to go Wall!!!
Thursday, October 21, 2004 3:58 PM CDT
We went to see Dr. Easley this morning. He is our gastroenterologist that comes from Scott & White in Temple. Everything is good. Caden was 29 in. long and weighed in at 20 lb. 15.9 oz. He has lost like an oz. since we were there last time, but Dr. E said that is the difference in a wet and dry diaper. He wants us to keep trying to get Caden switched to Pediasure, even if it's gradual. He wants us to start pureeing some "real" food in the blender and see if Caden will eat it because the more variety we can get him to eat, then the less formula and Pediasure he'll need. Then if he starts eating more foods, we can maybe switch to whole milk or Promiseland products. He was pleased to know the Prevacid was helping Caden, which it is. Caden comes home from daycare in the same clothes he went in most days now. That is a HUGE deal!! Dr. E was very glad to hear that we will be making the trip to Atlanta to Dr. Shoffner for the mitochondrial blah blah. They (Scott & White and Dr. E) send all their mito kids to Shoffner and Dr. E had very good things to say about him. He was actually about to mention Dr. Shoffner when I started telling him we were going soon. I guess since we can't get the other tests done until mid- Nov, we might not get to go to Atlanta during Thanksgiving break. It may be Christmas break now. We will have to talk to Dr. Malik (neuro @ Cooks) on the 10th to see what he says. I don't know how fast something like that can be planned. We will ask and see.
Caden hasn't woken us up anymore! His ear is much better. It hasn't drained in 2 days! Guess the antibiotics are working. He's is in a much better mood...most of the time!
We are getting ready for Sunday! We are excited. All the family will be here for the baptism. I got an email from a nice lady at the First United Methodist Church in Christoval about a prayer shawl they have made for Caden. Sunday, they will pray over it and then get it to us somehow for Caden to have. What a nice thing!
**Thank you, everyone who had a part in Caden's prayer shawl.
I have been in contact with some of my 'ole high school buddies the past week or so. They found their way to Caden's site, then I got their emails off the guestbook. It has been so nice to hear from all my girlfriends. I was so excited to see their messages in the guestbook. We all hope to stay in contact this time!
**Thank you Becky, Jeanette, Tonya, and Teri for signing the guestbook and emailing me!!
Everyone has been sooooo generous in contributing to Caden's fund. This will greatly help with his medical bills, meds, the trip to Atlanta, and anything else he needs.
**Thank you EVERYONE who has contributed!!
**Thank you to all our new Caring Bridge friends that we have "met." Thank you for sending uplifting messages, prayers, and putting links to Caden's site on your sites.
**Thank you again to everyone who signs the guestbook.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004 9:54 PM CDT
It is official now. The tests at Cooks are scheduled for November 10 and our appiontment with Dr. Iannacone at TSRH is scheduled for November 15. It will be quiet a busy time, for Jeremy has a basketball scrimmage on Nov. 9 and another one on Nov. 16. Then in between the two appointments is the State cross-country meet, which we hope the Lady Hawks will be running in!!! We will work it out somehow.
Caden was a little stinker last night! We got home from the cross-country meet about 9:00 and it was bath time. So, I gave Caden his bath and got his bottle ready. He had only had 2 bottles and a little baby food all day, so I knew he had to be hungry. He was also very sleepy. He fell asleep before he ate any of his bottle. Jeremy told me to let him go ahead and sleep and he'd get up with him if he woke up early. Jeremy and I both thought he'd just get up earlier than usual, well, were we wrong!!!
1:32 am.....he began to cry. Then he stopped and I thought to myself, he's going back to sleep, but in a minute, he began to cry again. So, Jeremy did what he said he'd do and got up with him. Jeremy fed him his bottle and Caden finally went back to sleep about 3:00 am!!!! Needless to say, Jeremy was very tired today. But, I am so thankful that he let me sleep!! Thank you hun!!!!!!!!
We have been attending church at St. Luke's for most of the summer. We haven't officially joined, but a couple of weeks ago, we met with Rev. Lumpkin and talked about joining and having Caden baptized. Well, this Sunday is the big day!! Caden will have his baptism and we will officially become members of St. Luke's Methodist Church. All our families will be here to celebrate Caden's big day. I hope to have lots of pictures to post next week!
Thank you to everyone who continues to leave such uplifting messages in the guestbook. We love to read them and they give us strength and hope.
Thank you to everyone who has donated to Caden's fund. It is so nice to have such wonderful friends and it's nice to know there are so many good people in our world.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004 7:59 AM CDT
Okay, I have talked to Cook Children's again and there was a mix-up with the first girl and what tests she was trying to schedule. The people that had to evaluate Caden for 24 hours was the Epilepsy foundation, but that would have been for a 24 hour EEG, and that is not what Dr.Malik wanted. He just wants a standard EEG, so that alone took some of the confusion and wait out of the whole deal. I finally got to talk to Dr. Malik's new nurse and she worked yesterday to find a date that would work for us and the hospital to get all the tests done in one day. It looks like it is going to be Wednesday, Nov. 10. Not the best of the choices that we gave her, but we will make it work. See, right now begins a VERY hectic time for our household. Jeremy is just about to end cross-country season, in the next 3 weeks (the most important 3 weeks of the season), but basketball season is about to begin. For 2 weeks actually, they will over lap and he will have cross-country practice and meets AND basketball practice and scrimmages. This makes it very hard to find times when he and I can go somewhere to have all this stuff done. But, I think we have found a way to work it all out!
**Thank you Coach Halfmann for helping Jeremy out so much and working out the girls when he can't be there!!
I guess I need to cut some of these doctors some slack! I did find out why our appointment with Dr. Iannacone at Scottish Rite's got cancelled. She had a death in her family and has to go out of town to be with them. Okay, now I feel bad for getting mad. It looks like we will be re-scheduled to go to TSRH to see her on Nov. 15. At first the nurse said it would be January, but then she realized we were new patients and so we got in sooner. I feel sorry for her old patients!! This appointment will take several hours because we will meet with one of her assistants for a total medical history, then she will report that info. to Dr. Iannacone, then we will meet with her, then another medical team will meet with us. Sounds like they will be very thoroughal.
Our weekend was pretty quiet. We got to go to the Wall Fall Festival on Sunday and have a great lunch. Then yesterday Caden and I went with Daddy to the cross-country meet. It was a beautiful day, but a little warm!
Good luck to the Hawks and Lady Hawks cross-country team Monday at District!!!!!!
Thank you everyone for signing the guestbook. Friends and family support is so important to us.
Thank you also to everyone who has donated to Caden's fund. Although it is hard at times to accept such gifts, we know it will be very important in getting Caden to the places he needs to be and getting him things that he needs to have.
Thursday, October 14, 2004 10:20 PM CDT
** Friday Night**
Well as of now, we have officially been put off by TX Scottish Rite's Hospital too! I had a message this afternoon that Dr. Iannacone would not be there Wed. when we were scheduled to see her. I didn't hear all the message because Jeremy was playing it and I was in the other room, but I heard JANUARY, then I heard NOV 15. I decided not to listen to it and get myself all worked up this afternoon since it was too late to get in touch with anyone in the doctors' offices. I guess I will be back on the phone Monday morning and will update when I have some new information. I am about at my wits end with all these doctors.
** Friday **
Yep, we actually have TWO ear infections! Well, only one was called an infection, but the other ear drum "didn't look right." Thank goodness for Caden's tubes in his ears or he'd probably been in a lot of pain from pressure in his ears. He has actually been pretty happy-go-lucky. I wouldn't have know he had a problem if one of the ears hadn't started draining. (I know, YUCK!!) He also got his flu shot while we were there. Now we have some antibiotics for 10 days and hopefully that will clear up his ears. I feel bad because I am afraid I willed these bad ears on him. I had ear infections ALL the time when I was little. Our pediatrician actually said it was really good that this is his first ear infection in his first year. He said that usually if they were going to have them all the time, he'd already have been having them a lot.
It's so good to read all the messages from everyone in the guestbook......ESPECIALLY my old classmates from May HS!!!! Thanks for stopping by to check on us.
I will be calling Cooks back to talk about the tests. Maybe they can do them sooner at TSRH though.
** Thursday**
It's pretty late, so this is going to be a brief summary of my conversation with the nurse at Cooks. Finally, this afternoon, I got a real person on the phone instead of voice mail. Apparently Dr. Malik's other nurse has gone to work for the main hospital and it's left his office a little "disorganized." As you know, our insurance had pre-certified the 15-17 for the tests. Last I heard Monday, the girl was trying to schedule all the tests to be done during those dates. Well, she found out that they don't do MRI's on the weekends unless they are called in for an emergency. So, instead of calling me back to tell me that we didn't need to worry about coming to Ft. Worth this weekend, she just didn't call! So, all this time she's been trying to schedule the tests for another time, and we've been packing to go to Ft. Worth! Now, the confusing part..........According to her, there are some people (that have something to do with epilepsy) that have to observe Caden for 24 hours before we sedate him for all these tests. Well, the girl started telling me how they couldn't do the tests on the 24th like she thought because these people don't work on THANKSGIVING! Okay, so we went from this weekend to Thanksgiving?? Then she went on to say something about October 24th. So, I asked her again, "Why can't we do it on the 24th?" And she told me because they don't work on Thanksgiving. So I asked her which 24th she meant because she just told me Oct. 24. Then she had to go back and read her notes to see when she meant, Oct. or Nov. So, she meant Nov. Now, since they can't do them on Thanksgiving, we are looking at sometime in DECEMBER!!!!!!! Aughhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! We can't wait that long. Caden can't wait that long. I asked her if it usually took this long to get in for tests and she said it was taking so long because they only want to have to sedate Caden once, and it's hard to arrange for all these tests to be done at the same time. Okay, that is good, but in a hospital the size of Cooks, you wouldn't think this would be so difficult. So I ended our conversation by telling her to just schedule them whenever they had the time and to call me and tell me when it would be. I then told her that we were seeing another neurologist next week at Scottish Rite's and they may want the same tests done, so we might be doing them with TSRH instead of Cooks.
Then to top off my wonderful afternoon, I got to daycare to pick up Caden and he may have an ear infection! They told me his ear had drained a little during the day and he was fussy when they tried to lay him down. Indeed it is draining. I saw it this evening. And, wouldn't you know, Thursday is Dr. Schultz's afternoon off. So, it looks like I will be staying home in the morning to make an appointment to get his ears looked at.
The last few days have been pretty stressful. Caden has scared the ladies at daycare with his "breath-holding" spells. He seems to only be doing it when he's really tired lately. He had a pretty bad one yesterday and after he held his breath and passed out for a second, he stayed asleep. This really worried the girls at Mosaic. They called me at work to see if that was normal. He had done it with me before, but only like once. He was still breathing fine and all, just appeared to be asleep.
***Thank you Melissa, Sonya, Becca, Cassie, Cindy, and all the other ladies that help out in the nursery at Mosaic. Thank you for taking such good care of Caden even when he scares you!
We are praying that these are just breath-holding spells, but several people think they sound a lot like seizures. Pray that they aren't seizures. That is the main reason we need to hurry up and get these tests done.
Well, what I thought was going to be a short update turned out to be pretty long! Thanks to everyone who visits our site and signs Caden's guestbook. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Pray for my sanity during all this test scheduling!!! (;
Tuesday, October 12, 2004 9:56 AM CDT
October 12 ~ Update
I am sooooo mad at Cooks and Scottish Rite’s, I could SCREAM!!!
First I will start with Cooks. We saw the neurologist there 3 weeks ago today. He was putting in orders that day for us to be admitted for all the tests. We understood that it would be within a few days that they wanted us back up there. Well, we were wrong. After I called them Friday, the 1st , the said they had a call into our insurance to make sure everything would be covered since we were going to be admitted for “out-patient” tests. So they said if I hadn’t heard from them, to call the next Tuesday. After I called them that Tuesday, the 5th, they called me back on Thursday, the 7th, saying they would have an answer for me by Friday, the 8th. Well, they didn’t call Friday either. I called yesterday, and again, only got a voice mail! I left a not-so-nice message and the nurse returned my call very promply! She said they got the okay from the insurance and she was in the process of scheduling all the tests. So, I asked her what would happen if she scheduled them for a time when we couldn’t get there since we live 4 hours away and Jeremy is about to have 2 seasons, basketball and cross-country, overlapping. She said, “Well, the insurance precertified the 16th and 17th, so if you can’t make it or if we can’t get the tests scheduled on those dates, then we will have to get the insurance to precertify different dates.” Okay, this is the 12th. When exactly were they going to call me and let me know, ON WEDNESDAY, that we needed to be there on FRIDAY?????
Thank you very much Jean Ann for finding out all the information for us. I guess if it weren't for you, we wouldn't know when we were supposed to be there!
Okay…….I’d almost calmed down from that yesterday when I got an email from my mom. She has a high school friend that lives in Justin, TX, near Dallas. Her friend, Jean Ann, has a friend that works for Scottish Rite’s. Jean Ann talked to him about how long it’s taken for us to hear from TSRH. He said there in NO reason it should take more than 2 weeks to get an appt. with TSRH, so he checked into it for Jean Ann. Mind you, this lady isn’t even family, just a friend, and she’s about to know more about our appointment with them than WE DO! This guy emailed Jean Ann and told her that TSRH had been waiting for our records from Cooks. Okay how long can it take to get records from Ft. Worth to Dallas??? Now, keep in mind that I , personally, have already gotten half the records from other places for TSRH. I faxed some of them to TSRH and called other doctors and got them the correct number for them to fax the other records to. So, this guy also told Jean Ann that TSRH hadn’t been able to get in touch with the mom or dad. Okay, they have our home number, our work numbers, and our cell numbers, PLUS we have an answering machine at home. NOT ONE WORD FROM THEM! No call, no message to call them, NOTHING!! He went on to say that we already had an appointment scheduled for either this Wed. or next. When I got home yesterday, I finally had a message to confirm an appt. I didn’t even know we had. So, it is confirmed and we are supposed to be there on Oct. 20th at 12:00 noon.
So, we will go to Cooks this weekend, if the tests get scheduled then. Then, we will turn around and go back to TSRH next Wednesday to see Dr. Iannacone, the neurologist. We will be quite busy in the next 2 weeks. I will update everyone as soon as I know any new information.
We may be trying to schedule our trip to Atlanta, GA to see Dr. Shoffner and have Caden’s muscle biopsy done sometime during our Thanksgiving break. If that’s even possible. Then or during Christmas break seem to be the only times we can get there due to school, cross-country, and basketball. Maybe we can fly out the day after Thanksgiving ( Friday) and return the next week (Monday?).Hopefully if we are at Cooks this weekend we can discuss this with Dr. Malik.
Thank you, everyone, for all your messages in the guestbook. They mean so much to all of us. They are hopeful and inspiring and they give us strength. It’s so nice to read how so may people care about us and Caden.
Thanks soooo much to Ann, Eli's mom, for teaching me how to do all this cool stuff with Caden's site. Ann, thanks for taking time out of your busy life to help me!
Last, but not least.....I had to post this picture! Caden will probably hate me one day if he finds out about this! Sunday night in the tub~
October 10 ~ The Party!
The party was great. Caden didn't do much with his cake, but he did taste some icing. He acted like it was poison at first, but then decided he liked it pretty well! The cake that "Mimi" (Jeremy's step-mom) made was very good, and soooo cute. I hope to get a picture of it on here. It perfectly matched the invitations and decorations. Everything turned out really well and lots of people came.
Caden got more toys, books, and clothes than we will ever know what to do with!
Special thanks go out to:
Mawmaw and Papa for helping buy the decorations and party supplies. And for all the wonderful clothes and Kick and Whirl play gym. Thanks Mawmaw for coming early to help me clean house.
Aunt Kim and Aunt Rhonda for helping decorate and get the food ready and finishing cleaning my house!!
Aunt Kim and Uncle Bryan for the clothes, shoes, and books.
Aunt Rhonda for the U T windsuit and BUGS!!!
Mimi and Pops for making the cakes and for the presents.
Everyone else that came to the party and made it extra special for Caden and thanks for all the great presents for him. He loved everything!!!
Special thanks also go out to all my coworkers here at Fairview for arranging for the fund for Caden to be set up. I truly feel blessed to be able to work with each of you. Thank you for your support, understanding, and friendship.
Friday, October 8, 2004 7:59 AM CDT
HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY CADEN!!!!
It's been raining here everyday this week. We still have a small chance today, but hopefully it's over. I know the rain is good, but enough is enough!! Caden's Pops and MiMi are here and we will have a small party with them this afternoon and then go to the football game. Tomorrow we are having another party with my family and a few friends.
Caden's daycare, Mosaic, is so nice! I took him for half a day today so they could see him on his birthday. They had his whole room decorated, just for him. There were balloons hanging everywhere, a big sign on the door, a big sign on his crib, a balloon bouquet, and a present for him. It was so nice. Thank you everyone at Mosaic for making Caden's birthday even more special and for taking awesome care of my little man!!!
Wow, it's hard to imagine this time last year we were at the hospital and were getting ready to be parents. It was so exciting! What a year we've had since then!!
We love you Mr. Caden!!
Wednesday, October 6, 2004 8:50 AM CDT
Caden's swallow study went very well yesterday. It was really a lot more simple than I expected. He had to eat 2 bites of regular consistancy food mixed with barium, then 2 bites of thick food mixed with barium, then drink from his bottle. He did really well. The speech therapist didn't make the test go too long because she didn't want to expose him to any more radiation than we had to. It was very neat to watch it on the screen! He did gag on the thick food, which is the norm for Caden. It was good though because that is what they wanted to see. The ST said there is nothing wrong with his throat or esophagus that is causing the gagging, so that is good news! His eating skills just aren't developed enough yet........just like the rest of him!! She said that his eating skills are at about a 3-5 month development right now. She feels like they will come around in time. We just have to keep working with him.
It has been very rainy here all week. It has rained almost everyday and has rained part of last night and all of this morning. I have had enough rain for now! I think we need to save some of this moisture for later on! Hopefully the weather will clear up before this weekend for Jeremy's cross-country meet and Caden's birthday. We have had very nice fall temperatures though.
Thank you again to everyone who signs the guestbook. It is so nice to know there are so many people that care about Caden, Jeremy, and me. Thank you also for all the prayers. We can see them working everyday with good test results and in the things Caden does each day.
Monday, October 4, 2004 10:08 AM CDT
Well, it was a pretty quiet weekend at our house. On Friday, I spoke with the nurse in Dr. Malik's office to see what the hold up was for us getting the information on when we needed to come back to Cooks. She told me that they had a call into our insurance to make sure they were going to be okay with us being admitted to the hospital for the tests, because they are all "out patient" tests. She told me that if I hadn't heard from her by Tuesday, to call them back. So, more waiting...........
We have our swallow study tomorrow afternoon. It's pretty simple. They will feed Caden his formula and baby food mixed with barium of different thicknesses and we will watch him swallow it. Our very own speech therapist is going to do the study, so we feel lucky that we have the very best person to do the test. As long as he will take the barium, it should go pretty smoothly. I will update with the results when I get them.
My mom, Caden's MawMaw, bought him a big ball at Wal-Mart yesterday. They use these for part of his PT, so we thought it would be good to have one at the house. The therapists sit Caden on it, hold onto him, then bounce him up and down. Well, we tried it and Caden just died laughing!!!! It was the cutest thing you have ever heard!! If we'd only had the video camera! That sound was worth the $2.50 alone. I would have paid $100 dollars for that!
Caden loves the taste of his new Pediasure, but I don't know how well he's handling it. Maybe we need to give him more time to adjust to it. Out of 5 Pediasure bottles throughout the weekend, he threw up 2 of them. One was strawberry, so EVERYTHING was pink! He seems to handle the vanilla best, but he threw it up once also. We will continue to try to work him into it.
Caden will be the big 1 on Friday!! I can't believe that the year is already gone. It went sooooo fast. Everyone told me the time would fly by, but I didn't really believe it. Well, it does!
I want to thank everyone who has signed our guestbook. Your messages are all full of support and encouragement. It's friends and family like you that help us stay strong and continue on this journey.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004 3:34 PM CDT
I added a new picture of Caden all dressed up for church this past Sunday. He looks like such a little man!!
Just a small update today~
This morning we saw our pediatric gastroenterologist, Dr. Easley, since Caden’s reflux has been acting up quite a lot lately. We hadn’t seen him since last March. We are going to start giving Caden Prevacid again to help with the acid and to help protect his little insides from the acid reflux. We thought this was important because, with his neurological issues, it doesn’t look like we are going to out grow the reflux any time soon. Also since Caden still has trouble eating solids, Dr. Easley has ordered a swallow study for Caden. I believe they will feed him barium of different thicknesses and then watch him swallow it on the x-ray machine to make sure it goes down okay. I don’t think the procedure is very invasive at all. He is also switching us from formula to Pediasure since Caden is almost a year old. He can’t go to just whole milk because he wouldn’t be getting enough nutrients from it since he doesn’t eat enough baby or solid food. Maybe it will be cheaper than formula AND it comes in CHOCOLATE!!! Hope all is well with everyone else today!
September 29, 2004 ~ Well, we are back from a long trip to and from Ft. Worth and Dallas in one day. Caden’s appt. with the neurologist was at 10 am. We left mom and dad’s at about 6:20 and got to Cook Children’s about 9:30. The appt. with Dr. Malik went really well. Okay, as well as an appt. with a neurologist can go, I guess. Dr. Malik spent about 2 hours with us and towards the end of the appt., he called in one of his colleagues to talk to us and look Caden over also. We talked about all of Caden’s history and what he can and can’t do, how he eats, how he acts towards us, everything from pregnancy to birth, our family history, etc. They were glad to hear that Caden interacts so much with us and laughs and smiles at his silly family! Dr. Malik tried for a long time to find Caden’s reflexes in his arms and legs, but couldn’t find any. This will help them in the total picture of what is wrong with Caden. We talked about metabolic and mitochondrial disorders and they said , yes, it could be one of those, but it could be something else. They also told us that we couldn’t rule out CP, which the other neurologist had already ruled out based on the fact that Caden never had any difficulties at birth and never needed oxygen. They said when all other avenues are exhausted, and we have no other answers, we might be left with hypotonic-athetoid CP. They told us, as other doctors have, that we may NEVER know for sure what is wrong with Caden, but they did see that there is something significantly wrong. They, too, are baffled that his MRI and all the other tests are normal. They did mention some medications that we can give Caden to help control his movements, therefore making it easier for him to do other things. This is something that NO ONE else has mentioned. They were very interested in the fact that Caden has never had a normal ABR hearing test. We know he hears, but this test will detect even the slightest hearing loss. Dr. Malik would like to run numerous more tests and repeat some we have already done. They will be admitting us into Cooks for 24-48 hours, sometime in the next 2 weeks, to do another MRI, EEG, and ABR and to perform a spinal tap. This is also something no one else has mentioned. The spinal tap will let them measure the lactic acid in the spinal fluid and some other things. Dr. Malik would like to look at the new MRI himself. They will do a blood test to look at Caden’s DNA that could possibly tell us if it is mitochondrial. They also want us to go ahead and plan on having a muscle biopsy done. The best place to have this done is in Atlanta, GA by a Dr. Shoffner, who is one of the 3 mitochondrial “specialists” in the US. So, now we have to plan how and when we will get there!! We will probably try to get this done during Thanksgiving break. They didn’t even try to give us a prognosis for Caden. Dr. Malik’s best advice was to take it one day at a time, which we have be trying to do all along.
On the brighter side of yesterday……….the eye test (electroretina gram or ERG) went great!! We were all very excited that they could even perform the test! The people at the Retina Foundation were even worried about not being able to do it, but Caden did wonderfully!!! They had to dilate his pupil, then put this contact lens attached to some wires in his little eye, which REALLY ticked him off, but he calmed down right away and the test was on its way. The lens came out once and the tech had to put it back in, ticking him off again, but he calmed down again, and they finished the test. His vision is GREAT!! He sees at night and during the day as well as a 5 year old. We were very thankful for this because we weren’t sure how well or how much he could see. The other great thing was…..the test was totally free! The Retina Foundation of the SW is non-profit and operates solely on donations, so when we win the lottery we will send them a portion!!! (-;
So, for now, we are waiting for Cooks to call us with the information on when they want us there for all the tests. We are still waiting to hear from the Scottish Rites Hospital and hopefully we will get to see the neurologist there also. Maybe all this will save her from having to repeat all these tests again. And we are taking it ONE DAY AT A TIME!!!
Friday, September 24, 2004 9:38 AM CDT
Well, we've had a good week. Hope everyone else has also. Caden did not get the stomach virus, thank goodness! He had 3 really good days at therapy and seems to be getting more stable. He does this to us all the time.....we won't notice any changes in him for the longest time, then one day he seems to be doing 2-3 new things all at once. I told Judy, our PT, that was how it was going to work - Caden was going to just stand up and walk across the room one day and look over at Jeremy and me and laugh and say, "Just wanted to see what you were made of these past 12 months!"
We have an appointment with a new neurologist at Cook Children's hospital next Tuesday and his eye test is the same day in Dallas. I will update everyone on what we find out.
Thank you all for signing the guestbook and leaving such caring, uplifting messages. It really helps us get through all this knowing how many wonderful friends and family we have.
Good luck to the Lady Hawks this weekend in Lubbock!
Monday, September 20, 2004 3:05 PM CDT
Well, Mommy had the stomach virus this weekend....thank goodness I was at my mom and dad's house. So, Mamaw & Papa Lee and Aunt Kim and Uncle Bryan took good care of Caden while I was sick and slept. They tried to keep him as far away from me as they could!! Now, Mamaw and Aunt Kim are sick, so we are hoping and praying that Caden doesn't get it and start throwing up again.
I took Caden to his first chiropractor appointment last Thursday. He seemed to like it and Dr. Wallace said he was the best patient he'd had all day. They would like us to come back once a week for awhile, but we will have to see about that!
Congratulations to the Lady Hawks and Coach Williams on their 3rd straight win in cross-country. Keep up the hard work!
Thursday, September 16, 2004 12:38 AM CDT
I have added a couple of new pictures. I found these poems and thought they fit our lives so well. I hope you enjoy them too.
The "Urp" Scale by Linda Hanlon
Dedicated to REFLUX
1- Little urp- other people are disgusted, but parent can catch it all in one hand
2-Medium urp- other people are moving away quickly, It takes a whole burp cloth to mop up parent and the baby.
3- Big urp- other people are pushing each other out of the way. It would take a whole roll of Bounty to clean up and the floor would still need mopping.
4- Major eruption- other people have left the building. Parent is soaked, kid is soaked, and the EPA has been called in.
*I FOUND THE FACE OF GOD
They said 'God sent me an angel with a broken wing'.
A broken wing I wondered, how could this happen to me?
I looked to my family, I looked to my friends,
They don't understand how this broken wing affects me.
Months have come and months have gone.
A broken wing I wondered, how could this happen to him?
I looked to the doctors, I looked to the specialist,
They don't understand how this broken wing affects him.
I cried though the nights, I prayed through the day.
A broken wing I wondered, how could He do this to us?
I looked inside me, I looked deep down,
I don't understand how this broken wing affects us.
The tests kept coming, the medicines kept flowing.
A broken wing I wondered, how could I mend that?
I looked at the research, I looked for any clue
No one understands how this broken wing can be no more.
I woke one morning asking what will happen today.
A broken wing I wondered, how can I accept that?
I looked into his eyes, God looked back at me!
He understands how this broken wing affects us!
Now I wake each morning excited by the day.
A broken wing, no a blessing in disguise!
With immense love I look at my angel, I look at the Lord,
Now I understand this perfect angel was sent to mend me.
*Heaven’s Very Special Child
A meeting was held quite far from Earth!
It’s time again for another birth,
Said the Angels to the Lord above.
This Special Child will need much love.
His progress may be very slow.
Accomplishments he may not show.
And he’ll require extra care
From the folks he meets down there.
He may not run or laugh or play;
His thoughts may seem quite far away.
In many ways he won’t adapt,
And he’ll be known as handicapped.
So let’s be careful where he’s sent.
We want his life to be content.
Please, Lord, find the parents who
Will do a special job for you.
They will not realize right away
The leading role they’re asked to play.
But with this child sent from above
Comes stronger faith and richer love.
And soon they’ll know the privilege given
In caring for their gift from Heaven
Their precious charge, so meek and mild,
Is Heaven’s Very Special Child.
Sunday, September 12, 2004 5:07 PM CDT
Well, we've had an eventful few days! Last Sunday, a week ago, Caden ran fever most of the day and couldn't keep much food down. Well, we thought it was just a stomach bug, we brought the fever down, and thought we'd be over it in a day or so. On Monday, Labor Day, he was very lethargic and even more floppy than usual, but only had a slight fever. We got in touch with the doctor on-call and he seemed to think we were doing all the right things because at this point, Caden could keep down Pedialyte, juice, and some fruits, but no formula. On Tuesday, I stayed home with him and gave him light fluids all day and we went to see the pediatrician. Again, with him keeping down light fluids, they thought we were still doing all the right things and that it was just the remnants of a stomach bug. Tuesday night he kept down 3 oz. of formula before bedtime. Wednesday, his Mawmaw and Papa Lee came and kept him and he kept down small amounts of formula, but didn't seem himself and was uncomfortable most of the day. PT wasn't very good because Caden wouldn't try to do much because he seemed so tired. On Thursday, he returned to daycare and had an okay day keeping down more small amounts of his formula, but still did not seem himself. Thursday's PT wasn't much better than Wednesday because he didn't seem to be able to do much. Then Thursday evening he lost everything I tried to put in him: juice, Pedialyte, baby food, and formula. Friday morning, he ate about 5:30 am and when we got to daycare he had kept down his formula for about 2 1/2 hours, but Cindy called me about 8:30 am from daycare and told me that he had lost everything he'd eaten AGAIN. So with the weekend coming, I wanted to get him looked at again by the doctor. Our pedi was out, so we saw one of his partners. He gave Caden a good once over and gave me the choice of going home and trying Pedialyte for 24 hrs. then following up the next morning with the pedi on-call, or going on over to the hospital and getting an IV into Caden to "pump him up." I told him whatever he thought Caden needed. He sent us over to the hospital! We were admitted and after a short wait they atarted trying to get an IV started. Well, Caden was obviously more dehydrated than anyone suspected. It took 12 tries to get the IV started. It was quite traumatic!! Finally the IV was in and they started "pumping him up." Caden slept for about 3 hours and he was placed on only Pedialyte. By late Friday evening, he was already feeling better. Saturday he was even better and was finally laughing, smiling, and "talking" to us again. The on-call doctor that saw us Sat. morning seemed to think the vomiting was caused by Caden's constipation. (which he is most of the time!) He did think that he must have had some sort of bug on Sunday with the fever, but then the constipation set in and got him all plugged up. They gave him an industrial strength suppository and got him "cleaned out." Then he was started on Miralax to help get him regular. We were also allowed to start giving him a little baby food again. His IV started getting a little puffy late Sat. afternoon, so the nurse took it out. The on-call doctor saw us this afternoon about 1:30 and released us. Caden hasn't thrown up at all since Friday morning. He has to take the Miralax everyday, but otherwise he is all better. He feels much better, is in a better mood, and his tone is even better. So, hopefully we are over this adventure and will go about our business next week. I want to thank everyone for their phone calls and visits while we were in the hospital! Thank you, Mosaic, for the sweet elephant and balloons!
Congratulations to the Lady Hawks and Coach Williams on winning their 2nd straight cross-country meet and being ranked #1 in 2A CC!!
Wednesday, September 8, 2004 8:22 AM CDT
Happy 11 months to Caden!!!
Small update this morning~
We have found out that the referral process for the Scottish Rites Hospital is a very long and drawn out process!! We discovered they were waiting for some records from the neurologist and WTRC, so I got those sent. Now Caden's file goes before a committee and if they accept him, then it goes to the neurologist, herself, then if she accepts him, then they will make an appointment for us. Keep your fingers crossed that they accept him!!
Otherwise, September 28 we go to Dallas for the eye test and the same day we are seeing yet another neurologist at Cook Children's Hospital. Maybe he will have the answer.
Caden is doing well. He is his usual happy-go-lucky self!
Wednesday, September 1, 2004 1:14 PM CDT
Hello Everyone! I have created this web page so that you will be able to keep up with Caden and what is going on in his life. As of now, Caden will be 11 months old on Sept. 8! We are getting ready for his first birthday. My how time flies!! Caden is still behind developmentally. He is getting more head control and now we are working on tying that control in with his trunk control. Hopefully he will be sitting up before too long! Then we will work on crawling and walking. We go to West TX Rehab for physical therapy 3 times a week and occupational therapy once a week.
As for his vision, it is coming around. He seems to be tracking and "seeing" things better. He has two vision instructors from ECI that come work with him at daycare two days a week. Our ECI specialist also goes to daycare once a week to work with him. We have an ERG or electronic retinalgram scheduled this month. This test will measure the electronic signals being sent from his retinas to his brain. Apparently some disorders effect the retinas of the eyes and this could give us some answers, hopefully.
As for daycare, we found the most wonderful place in town--Mosaic Redwine Childcare Center. This is our new childcare center that was built for special and regular needs children. It is the first of its kind here. The ladies there are WONDERFUL to Caden. They love him as if he were their own!
We have been to a few doctors this summer, but still no answers or diagnosis. The last doctor we saw was a metabolic specialist. He ran numerous tests to look for a metabolic disorder and all the test results came back normal. He has referred us to the Scottish Rites Hospital to see a neurologist in their muscular distrophy clinic and we are waiting to see if they accept Caden.
As of now, that is our update. Feel free to check out the pictures. Check back often, as I will be updating this site as we get new information or have anything new happen.
DON'T FORGET THE MDA TELETHON ON LABOR DAY!!!
DON'T FORGET TO "FILL THE BOOT" FOR MUSCULAR DISTROPHY SEPTEMBER 1-3!!!
Wednesday, September 1, 2004 11:02 AM CDT
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