At the hospital

James really enjoyed his time at the hospital. He got to be an only child for the first time in his little life and was the darling of the General Peds unit. Because he wasn't sick, he cruised the floor flirting with the nurses, walking into any open room and making his presence known. Although it was not the most fun to be at the hospital for a week and a half, it was really fun for me to see his little personality blossom.

The night we got there...

In his "cage"

Making friends...

With Zack (in orange-he has cystic fibrosis and has to come into the hospital for 2-3 weeks every 3 months for "maintenance" where he is hooked up to antibiotics for most of the day) and Diego (he got burned when his brother caught some gasoline on fire and accidentally spilled it all down his right side-he was so cute with James...always giving him treats and gifts and showing him how to play his new PSP. His parents were also so sweet and kind. There are wonderful people in this world!)

A visit from sibs...

They were having a fundraiser for cancer while we were there and had all kinds of fun things to see.

Hanging out with his feeding tube...

Nothing could hold him down.

I am so glad to be home and that James is alright (as far as we know-we are still waiting on the results for the cystic fibrosis test, but I am not concerned.) Most of the other children on the floor were really sick or injured and I felt almost guilty that James was just running all over the place, happy as a clam! I am so grateful for good health and pray that it will stay with us. My heart goes out to all of those affected by serious injury or illness. It was very isolating being there at the hospital and very eye opening. I hope I will be of better service in the future to those in similar situations...I sure plan on it.
I need to make mention that I think that nurses are just about the most wonderful people on earth. We had several nurses over the time that we were there and they were genuinely concerned about us and helped us with anything that we needed. There is a special place in heaven for nurses, that is for sure. They made an otherwise difficult situation much more bearable.
Thanks to all of you who expressed concern and offered prayers on our behalf...they really helped us through.
As far as what's happening now with James...he still has a feeding tube and they are planning on keeping him on it for a little while to chub him up a bit. We have a follow up appt. on Monday and will hopefully have a better idea about things. I am a bit conflicted because I feel like he is just fine and that all of this is unnecessary. But, on the other hand, I want to make sure that I don't "pull the plug" on his nightly feedings if they really are necessary. So for now we will ride this out a little further. A little extra weight on our pip-squeek won't hurt anyone!

PS: a big thanks to my wonderful mom who dropped everything and came running the moment I called. It would have been extremely difficult with out her. And thanks to all my awesome friends that filled in the gaps when she had to go home. I owe you big!

Before the hospital

Jesse and Grace had a bbq picnic at school and as is typical fashion, these are the only pics of the event!I love the kids' school. The teachers are wonderful and the principal and staff are great as well. They have had a terrific year.

Some fun pics of making cookies with the boys...this is how they "help!"Ain't they cute?

We're home!

Hallelujah! Will update later with pics of my cute little patient!

We're going home tomorrow!!

Hurray! I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. He has put on nearly a pound and all is looking good. They will send us home with the feeding tube for a week, but I am so glad that we get to do it at home. It will be good to be home with my family and have everything back to normal...if that's what you call it!

Quick update

Hopefully the next update will be that we are home and all is well. We are just waiting on one more test to come back and that is for cystic fibrosis. I feel confident that he doesn't have it and so am not concerned.
They placed a feeding tube in him last night and fed him through the night and want to continue nightly feedings for a couple of days to see if he can pack on a little weight. Since being admitted (one week ago today!) he has put on about 2/3 of a pound. Which is good, the drs. just want to see a trend.
I am going a little (lot) stir crazy. The hospital staff has been wonderful, but I am ready to be out of here. I think James could spend the rest of his life here! He loves the attention and roaming all over the place. Me...I'm tired! I've walked miles around this place and have had very little sleep. I want my own bed and to be with my whole family. Today is Danny's birthday and there will be no cake, special dinner or anything. Poor guy!
Sorry to be on such a downer...I am just ready to go home....hopefully just a few more days!

James update

We are still at the hospital. I was insistent on leaving today, but the GI doc wants to try a feeding tube for a couple of days to see if they can get at least a little boost to his weight. So far the tests for everything (celiac's, thyroid, I don't know what else) have all come back negative. They have done a work up of his caloric intake and he is eating about half of what he should be to promote growth. They are hoping that by boosting his intake over the next few days that it will kick start his eating habits. We will see. There are still a couple of tests pending (cystic fibrosis being one of them) but they are pretty sure it is just his finicky eating that is the cause of all this. This is going to be fun...he is going to have to sleep with a NG tube where they stick it up his nose and into his tummy. It's Danny's turn at the hospital tonight, so I hope they are not too miserable. I will let you know when I know more. Thanks for all the comments and well wishes.

An unexpected trip!

So much to catch up on and too little time. Here's the gist and I will give more information when I have more time.

James had his 15 month check up on Monday and he is continuing his non-growth trend...so he has been termed "failure to thrive" That landed us in the hospital Monday night so that he can undergo testing to see what the problem is. So far he has had his kidneys tested, thyroid, growth hormone, etc. Those all came back normal. Now they are running several tests to check for celiac's disease, cystic fibrosis and other things that affect his GI tract. We are also needing to track every bit of food and drink that goes into his body to see if he is eating enough. He is still at the hospital and I was able to run home to change my clothes (I only brought 1 change thinking that we would only be there 48 hours at the most!) and get a new cell phone because James broke it at the hospital. I have been feeling terribly cut off from the world with no internet and no phone, so at least I now have something. I am hoping that we will get released tonight or tomorrow...it is no fun being cooped up in a hospital room!
I will update as soon as we are released and know the results of some of these tests. I am not terribly worried or concerned. I think he will end up being just fine, they are just trying to rule out anything that may end up stunting his growth and development.

Commotion in the ocean!

That was the title to Grace's kindergarten performance. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. The kids did such a great job and it was so fun to watch.James watched intently as well:They sang a few songs with all the classes and then each class did their own song. I have a video of Grace's class, but it will not load. I may try again later!
The teachers put a lot of work into making this a special event for the kids and we appreciate all their efforts. It was a fun night.