Dawson's progress

After he was diagnosed with CF,
our specialist at Primary Childrens in SLC put him on
enzymes which help his body absorb his nutrients.
He's already gained 5 pounds.
This is the most he has ever weighed.
I cannot express my excitement!
He takes 3 of the enzyme horse pills with every meal
and 2 with every snack.
Also a multivitamin (another 2 horse pills) and
antibiotics (only 1 horse pill) for a staff infection.
Good news is his lungs are clear.
But for preventative measures, he has an asthma type inhaler
he does twice a day and the Nebulizer inhaler treatment once a day.
We call it his bong.
We also do airway clearance treatments twice a day.
Bad news is he is extremely allergic to cat dander.
As many of you know we have 2 & 1/2 cats.
Two Persians we've had for 4-5 years and one stray we took in
from a friend. He mostly lives outside (the cat not the friend)
but stops by every once in a while for a hot meal and some petting.
Please don't tell us "just get rid of the cats".
Any cat/pet lover knows it's not that easy.
We will have to find them new homes.
Good homes with good people where we could visit them.
Dawson is heartbroken over it and feels responsible.
He doesn't understand that his health depends on it.
Getting rid of the cats is not an option in his eyes.
I still can't shake the guilt.
I really do try not to beat myself up but I should have
listened to my "mother's intuition" when others told
me I was just worrying too much.
I'm thankful he is not as bad off as he could have been.
It still hasn't sunk in that this is FOREVER.
Or at least they find a cure.

JUNE 2009: SIXTY FIVE ROSES...

http://www.cuteptchic.com/65roses.htm

SIXTY FIVE ROSES...

Monday June 15th Dawson was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis.
AKA "Sixty Five Roses".
It's genetic. Dave and I are carriers.
You never expect it to be you. It's always someone else.
Dawson is absolutely fine.
We are very lucky that he has a mild case and it is manageable from home.
We spent a couple of days this week at Primary Children's Medical Center.
What an amazing place. With amazing people.
I'm still not sure how to feel about everything.
It's kinda overwhelming.
It's expensive.
It's life changing.
A lot of breathing apparatuses. A lot of pills.
A lot of time.
But he's worth it.
I want to thank everyone for all their love and support.
And next time you see Dawson he will be a new man.
Every time. Give him a hug.
I am amazed and thankful every day of my life for modern medicine.
I have a new perspective on life.
And how very precious it really is.

Happy 14th birthday Ariana Corrin !

June 5th, 1995. Ogden, Ut.
It was a cold and blizzardy day. No, really. It was.
After 9 months of waddling around wearing Dave's clothes, it was time.
About 1pm I started having serious contractions.
Not like the Braxton-Hicks I had been having for days.
Luckily my mommy and daddy got there just in time.
Or they would have missed all the fun.
We called Dave at work to tell him to get his butt home.
We all go to the hospital. I'm trying to breath.
My personal delivery room was wonderful. It was like a bedroom.
Decorated all homey and comforting. Even a place for Dave to sleep.
I was planning on having her natural.
I took no prenatal classes nor did I watch and instructional videos on what to do.
I didn't need to. Women do this naturally every day.
Have been since the beginning of time. I can too, right?
WRONG. What the hell was I thinking?
I took the jacuzzi bath. I walked as advised hoping to ease the pain.
3 major contractions later and I'm BEGGING for an epidural.
What a wuss.
The lady in the room right next to me was dying. A slow, excruciating, tortured death.
I was pretty sure of it. Apparently she got there too late for the epidural.
Lucky me. I got there just in time.
I remember the look on Dave's face when the Anesthesiologist pulled out the needle
to shove into my spine. He said to me "Oh boy. Be glad you can't see this needle".
Contraction. Needle. Screaming. And then everything in the world was right again.
They had to break my water.
The nurse reached for the overhead mirror and asked if I wanted to watch.
I declined. I'm pretty sure I said something smart-ass about it too.
I remember making jokes to the nurses in between them telling me when I was having contractions and when to push.
I thought I was so funny. I usually do.
I couldn't feel a thing. BEST TRIP EVER.
My mom and dad waited right outside my room. They could hear everything.
I could hear them talking. My dad said something to my mom like
"I don't remember labor being anything like this". I laughed and laughed.
I was thankful for the advancements in medicine.
Dave was great. Feeding me ice chips. Stroking my hair.
Pretty soon the doctor told me she was crowning.
Dave looked down and said "SHE'S GOT HAIR!"
I'm still not sure why that was important at the time. Or why he was suprised.
Then she got stuck. I couldn't push any more. I was exhausted.
It had been something like 10 hours from the time we got to the hospital until delivery.
I hadn't eaten. I was starving and dehydrated.
They had to suction her out.
If that didn't work they would have had to do an emergency C-section.
WHAT? CUT ME OPEN? That wasn't happening.
The doctor suctioned while I pushed my innerds out with every last ounce of my being.
Then I heard a cry. And I cried. Dave cried. We all freaking cried.
Even with her cone shaped, suctioned out head they tried to conceal under the knit cap..
She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in this world.
She still is. And always will be.
The day we brought her home it snowed. My father was in shock. Snow in June.
I love you Nana. Thanks for being so wonderful.
And happy birthday. Now stop growing up. Seriously. Stop.

SCREW IT ALL!

That's all for now.

OUT!