Here We Go Again

We are headed back to LeBonheur tomorrow for more surgery. Bryant will have the stints removed and he will have some granulation tissue burned out of his airway. We will be back Wednesday afternoon, which was a big surprise. Dr. Thompson initially told us that we would be staying a few nights. When the lady called to ask some final questions she informed us that we would be in and out the same day! Anytime we are preparing for surgery I am nervous and dread that moment they take him out of my arms. This surgery is allowing us to get so close to the removal of his trach. The ENT is going to plug his trach and see how he does and we may be able to get it out very soon. It will have to remain in for a little while after the surgery because he will have a lot of bleeding in his airway. The trach will allow him to cough out the blood easier and ensure a safe airway. Bryant is so strong and we are know that this will all be over soon.

Oh Hutch!

Just waiting at the door this morning, it was very cold!

These are a few of his favorite things and the stories below explain!




I have a couple of cute stories to share about our crazy dog Hutch who has so much character. Before the babies he was able to come inside and he got tons of attention, well now he is outside only and maybe not as much attention. He was living in the backyard but he kept finding ways to escape so we just let him hang out around the house. He was staying right in our cove but he has become brave and now takes adventures around the neighborhood. Last week I received a call from the electric company and they said Hutch was over there. I was home alone and the babies were napping so of course I call Val to come over when she gets home so I can go get the crazy dog. When I called her she was running errands so she stopped to pick him up and when she arrived the men at Coahoma Electric were feeding that dog sausage and biscuits! Val loads him up and as soon as he got out of the care he headed back over there, so I just decided to let him hang out and go get him later. The second time he was picked up the ladies were letting him walk all around the office and they just love him. Now when I can't find him I head over to the electric company and he is usually there.

He also love my neighbor Val, needless to say she does not feel the same way. She has food in her garage for her husbands workers and she told me that the crazy dog would get into it and sure enough she was right. I woke up one morning to cracker packages all over my yard! He had eaten about 8 packs of the cheezit crackers and they were everywhere. We picked up the ones he had not eaten and did not think much else of it. We noticed that he was still eating them and as we investigated the situation we discovered that he had hidden packages of crackers all over our yard and was digging them up for snacks during the day. We laughed so hard I had tears!

One last story, I was unloading groceries out of my car and the back was open. I went in with the last load and left the back of the car open. I was inside for awhile and did not even think about it being open. A little while later I went out for something else and Hutch was laying in the back of the car just hanging out! I guess he was tired of not having anywhere comfy to lay so he decided the car would be the best place.


Because of this he got a new dogbed..........
















.........and he loved it!

Half Marathon Training

I just have to share with you about the St. Jude Half Marathon that I am training for. I am training with a group here in Clarksdale and long runs are on Saturdays. This past Saturday we ran 9 miles and I was so proud, that is the furthest I have ever run! The half marathon is the the first weekend in December and we are on week 7 of training. It is a personal goal I have for myself and it feels great to have accomplished this much so far. Please pray for all those who are participating in such a wonderful event.

Will's Blog

Will Jacks is the photographer that we are using to take all the babies pictures. He is such a great person and has such a wonderful talent. Just thought I would share the post he made about the babies on the his blog.

http://www.wiljax.com/blog/

What a Mess

Everyone has told me not to try the bitter biscuits because it makes such a mess, but I just could not help myself! It was so cute and they loved them! Lucy Kate was screaming when she was done with hers because she wanted another one.

Back To LeBonheur

He Loves his Daddy!

Yes, we were back at LeBonheur Monday morning. I noticed Saturday afternoon that Bryant's stints had moved and they were rubbing the edge of his nostrils. Sunday morning Charles called Dr. Thompson and he suggested that I try to move it back into place. Okay...... Charles was gone to work, it was 8 in the morning and this was not a task that could be done alone and so I called Val. She headed over and we attempted to reposition the stints with a pair of tweezers. We were unsuccessful and Bryant was very annoyed with us. After informing Dr. Thompson that this was impossible he concluded that we needed to be at LeBonheur at 6:30 AM Monday morning. I worked things out for Lucy Kate to stay with Vernita and Ginger while Vernita was gone to class and we left at 5AM for Memphis. At 11:00 they took him back and with light anesthesia they removed the stints, cut them off, placed them back in the nose, and stitched it back in. Charles and I were in the room for all of this but I was not able to look. During the procedure Dr. Thompson was covering Bryant's trach and his O2 levels were great, we are getting so close to having the trach removed. We were home by 2:30 but Bryant is in some pain and we are doing whatever he wants to make him feel better. We are scheduled for surgery on Oct. 29th to have the stints removed, the granulation tissue removed, and he is going to take the trach out to see how he does. This does not mean the trach is staying out but we are going to try! Please continue to pray for us as the end is coming near.

Just arriving at LeBonheur

This is around the 14 hour mark of nothing to eat or drink!

Congratulations Megan

Megan is expecting very soon and she had a great baby shower today. She received some wonderful gifts and we had a great time. Everyone is excited about the arrival of Bailey Britt!

Ginger, Lesley, Julie, Kate, and Sarah

Lesley, Megan, and Jennie

Happy Fall Ya'll

Lucy Kate and Bryant love Kammy.

Kammy came over today and we went out and took some photos with some pumpkins and hay. They turned out pretty cute considering the babies were not in the mood. Thanks for the cute outfits and the halloween costumed Kammy!

Poor thing is still so swollen from surgery.

We are Home

We were able to come home on Friday afternoon. Bryant was eating and feeling better so the doctors gave us the okay to head home. He is such a strong little guy and he has been through so much in such a short time. He will have the stints in until the beginning of November and then we will head back to LeBonheur for more surgery. He has to have the granulation tissue lasered out of his airway and they will also take the stints out. Dr. Thompson is thinking that the trach will be able to come out soon after that. Thank you for all your prayers and please continue to pray for us as Bryant is still dealing with a lot of pain. Here are some pictures from our trip to the hospital.

He is always so happy! This was taken at 5 AM when we were

getting ready to head to the hospital.

Riding out of the hotel on the luggage cart.

Bryant discovered Charles' facial hair

After checking in and getting to our room,

Bernard (the green puppet) came to see us and Bryant loved it.

In his little yellow gown for surgery

You can tell this is very early in the morning

as we were waiting for surgery.

After surgery in the ICU

Bryant and Charles after surgery.

This was Bryant's tiny crib for the hospital stay.

Yes, this is where Charles and I both slept in a room the size of

a closet with no windows or tv.

Surgery Update

It has been one long day for everyone. We stayed the night in Memphis because we were scheduled to be at the hospital at 5:45 AM. They took Bryant back for surgery at 7:40 and of course I was crying when they took him out of my arms. He was finished around 10:00 and Dr. Thompson came to speak with us. The stents he placed in his nose went in well and he was able to get a larger size stent in than he initially thought, which is a good thing. Part of this required him to drill under his top lip, so he has stitches in his mouth, stitches in his nose and stents sticking out. They also had to give him a lot of fluids during surgery as they had some problems getting the bleeding to stop. His red blood cells are very low so we have to address this issue with out pediatrician and get those numbers up in the next 30 days. We are having more surgery the beginning of November to remove granulation tissue that has grown in the airway. This surgery does cause a lot of bleeding so we will leave the trach in for a little while. Sometime between mid November and the beginning of December is when Dr. Thompson plans to remove the trach. It was a very stressful day and Bryant has been in a lot of pain so please continue to pray for him. We are in the ICU step down unit and we have a side room that is tiny and we are sharing a chair to sleep in, quite a site! I will post pictures tomorrow of my little love bug!

Keep Us in Your Prayers

As we prepare for Bryant's upcoming surgery please keep our family in your prayers. Bryant will be having surgery Wednesday morning at LeBonheur and we will be staying for a few days. He is having bone drilled out in the front part of the nasal cavity and they will sew stints in to open his nasal passage wider. I have been so nervous just thinking about all of it and going back to LeBonheur. Lucy Kate will be staying with my mom and my cousin Kim in Germantown, so I would also ask that you pray for her as she is out of her "normal" environment/routine. God has carried us this far and we know that He is providing us with the strength to get through this and know that the trach will be removed soon.

Mystery Rash

After a very long day in Memphis going to doctor's appointments, we got home and when we took Lucy Kate out of the car seat she had a rash on her sides. She had not been exposed to anything new and I was thinking keep her away from Bryant. I called the pediatrician and she thought maybe a viral rash, no big deal. Rushed to the pharmacy got a few things just in case it got worse during the night and finally we were home. Of course I took some pictures of our mystery rash to put in the books. It looked better the next morning and it is completely gone now.

What we Have Been Upto!

It has been very crazy around here and this is my first chance to post, so I have a lot of pictures to share. Bryant and Lucy Kate are doing great and lots of new things are going on with them. She is rolling all over the place and Bryant just looks at her like she is crazy for wasting all that energy, they both have teeth, they love their baby food and apple juice, and they are showing so much personality. Lucy Kate babbles and yells all the time and Bryant tries so hard, soon he will be able to. They also love to go outside in the wagon, stroller, or just lay out on a blanket. The best thing is how they watch Hutch and Bailey and just laugh and try to talk to them, it is hiliarous. They also have started to explore each other by biting and grabbing each other.

Here Come The Teeth........

Bryant Before Teeth

After..He had two come in at the same time

Lucy Kate with her first tooth, no before picture!

Got these cute pictures of them after bathtime.

They are so interested in each other.

Lucy Kate did not care for the Yo Baby yougurt at first, but now she loves it!

Time Together