Posts
3/31/09
DEADLIEST CATCH
The only thing that matters today is that DEADLIEST CATCH STARTS!!!! 11 am and 2 pm, be there! http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/deadliestcatch/deadliestcatch.html
3/23/09
La - Dee- Da...
I was looking through some old pics of our family and just wanted to share them...As for an update on the health status of our family...Bella is off of oxygen all the time now, but Peyton still needs it during naps and bedtime. They are happy little spit-fire balls again!
3/19/09
Home Sweet Home
WE ARE HOME!!!!! We came home yesterday! The babies are doing good, and look fantastic! I'm always amazed at how well children turn around. WOW! What a rollercoaster ride this past 2 weeks has been! The babies still have oxygen, nebulizers, antibiotics, and are still considered infectious so PLEASE stay far from our house! It has been a nightmare of a virus! Our pediatrician says we're still not through this, but they are looking SO much better. They are eating, drinking, playing etc. They still get tired very easily and can't hold up their oxygen while sleeping, but we feel so extremely blessed to have their bright eyes back. Phoenix looks and acts like he's good as new. Carson has the same thing now, but it's evident that his illness will end up being the common cold style rather then deaths door. If I can say one thing it would be....beware of playgrounds at places where you buy happy meals and kids leave their infected snot everywhere!
It was a big deal to us when Peyton made an effort to eat and drink...although he was still exahusted! They started feeling better and Gina brought them some bunny ears!
By the end of six days, Bella was ready to GO HOME!!
3/15/09
Some relief
Swear word! It has been a week of terror! I won't go into details because if I start to cry I'm likely not to quit! I REALLY have to give my academy award speech to say thanks to my peeps., mostly because writing thank you's to everyone and hand delivering them almost defeats the purpose of why people are so willing to help (people are trying to HELP, without making more work)...First, THANK you to Chelsea and Lanee for taking our kids without a moments notice and doggy sitting Sicily. Thank you Gina and Billy for also taking our boys, giving Phoenix bubble gum when he poops and making them lots of scrambled eggs. To my Mom and Steve, thank you for always coming to the rescue when we are running out of babysitters and always making sure we have plenty to eat! To Mom and Dad J, even though you can't be here with us, we know your prayers are coming our way and that they will be what ultimately gives the babies what they need to pull through this. To Pauline and Todd, thank you SO much for volunteering your babysitting services and prayers and everything, you guys are always so willing to help. To EVERYONE else that has prayed for Peyton and Bella and the rest of our family, we can seriously not thank you enough, prayers are what have given us the family we are so grateful for.
As for the update...the babies have not showed much improvement in the oxygen need department, BUT...Peyton started drinking oral fluids today for the first time in 5 days. Ok...I thought I would get by without crying, but here I am sobbing like a baby hardly able to see the keyboard through my tears. I cannot even begin to express how much this small improvement means to me. We have been sleep deprived for a week and a half with 3 very sick children. And when we finally arrived at the hospital I expected to feel some relief that they would be able to solve the problems with our children and my worries would be gone. But every day the babies condition seemed to worsen. Our pediatrician has assured us that he is doing everything in the book. I just wanted him to reassure me that they are not different from any other RSV infected children and that it would just take time. He said that they are doing what is normal for the "johnson children". Which basically means that because they were compromised as preterm infants they cannot be compared to how the average full term singleton would do. And, yes, it will just take time. We are grateful for the nurses, doctors, and respiratory therapists that have practically lived in our crib stuffed hospital room with us.
Isabella showed a little improvement today with her fire-cracker personality. She LOVES the orange pedialyte that the nurses give her. Every time she empties another sippy cup she throws the bottle on the floor and screams for more (who taught her manners?) She doesn't eat much and still requires 2 Liters of oxygen ( which is a lot for kids their size). Peyton stayed up today (as opposed to the last couple of days when he was basically comotose). He is grumpy, as anyone would be, but at least he had a little bit of attitude to him today. SO much better then seeing him lay floppy on the bed like he's giving up. It is EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY hard to sit back and watch another nurse make the decisions for my babies. They are doing a great job, but I wish I was the RN and I was carrying out the doctors orders deciding when to turn up the O2 or when to turn it down. It's also hard that they know we are nurses and they wonder if we think they are taking good care of the babes. It's hard to be my childs advocate without looking like I'm micro-managing my babies care. It's hard to watch their oxygen fall and anxiously wait for the nurse to run in and turn up the oxygen.
Anyway, thank you again for everything...
As for the update...the babies have not showed much improvement in the oxygen need department, BUT...Peyton started drinking oral fluids today for the first time in 5 days. Ok...I thought I would get by without crying, but here I am sobbing like a baby hardly able to see the keyboard through my tears. I cannot even begin to express how much this small improvement means to me. We have been sleep deprived for a week and a half with 3 very sick children. And when we finally arrived at the hospital I expected to feel some relief that they would be able to solve the problems with our children and my worries would be gone. But every day the babies condition seemed to worsen. Our pediatrician has assured us that he is doing everything in the book. I just wanted him to reassure me that they are not different from any other RSV infected children and that it would just take time. He said that they are doing what is normal for the "johnson children". Which basically means that because they were compromised as preterm infants they cannot be compared to how the average full term singleton would do. And, yes, it will just take time. We are grateful for the nurses, doctors, and respiratory therapists that have practically lived in our crib stuffed hospital room with us.
Isabella showed a little improvement today with her fire-cracker personality. She LOVES the orange pedialyte that the nurses give her. Every time she empties another sippy cup she throws the bottle on the floor and screams for more (who taught her manners?) She doesn't eat much and still requires 2 Liters of oxygen ( which is a lot for kids their size). Peyton stayed up today (as opposed to the last couple of days when he was basically comotose). He is grumpy, as anyone would be, but at least he had a little bit of attitude to him today. SO much better then seeing him lay floppy on the bed like he's giving up. It is EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY hard to sit back and watch another nurse make the decisions for my babies. They are doing a great job, but I wish I was the RN and I was carrying out the doctors orders deciding when to turn up the O2 or when to turn it down. It's also hard that they know we are nurses and they wonder if we think they are taking good care of the babes. It's hard to be my childs advocate without looking like I'm micro-managing my babies care. It's hard to watch their oxygen fall and anxiously wait for the nurse to run in and turn up the oxygen.
Anyway, thank you again for everything...
The short version
Peyton wasn't doing well on Friday. Oxygen saturations weren't keeping up. Although oxygen was on it's way from the home care company, we decided he needed more than that. We brought him to the ER. While there, we decided we may as well check Bella. She was worse...oxygenating at only 79%. They were both admitted to the pediatric unit on Friday night. We're still here and could use your prayers. We saw a little energy from Bell as she was climbing around on our bed. Peyton stayed awake for the first part of the day...although still lethargic. We're trying to get him to giggle or make noise to keep the air flowing well in his lungs. He won't drink anything and if he did he prefers milk (which he can't have do to the flem factor). So he prefers to live off of IV fluids instead. He perked up TONS when he saw his Grandma Maryann who was delivering food for the starved parents. We'll try to keep you updated. Thanks for your prayers!
3/13/09
Wicked virus
So, the pediatrician wanted to see the babies again by yesterday if their fever wasn't gone. It wasn't so we set up an appointment for this morning. They aren't worried about pneumonia yet, but they both have ear infections now. Peyton's oxygen wasn't the best so the pediatrician wanted to send him home on oxygen too, but he decided to send him home on an oxygen saturation monitor and we're supposed to bring him back AGAIN if his percentage stays in the 80's. The nebulizers don't help much and motrin doesn't take the fever completely away. hopefully the antibiotics will help us see some improvement. I set Peyton on the couch so I could give both of them their antibiotics and he started to climb down and he fell asleep before his feet hit the floor.....POOR BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was Phoenix the other day (luckily he's feeling MUCH better). You know he's sick when he has a plate of eggs (his most favorite food) and doesn't feel like eating them!3/11/09
SIck, Sick, Sick
It has been an expensive last few days! We have been to the doctor 4 times and come away with lots of drugs, screaming kids (what's new?) and lots of medical bills! Phoenix has pneumonia and the twins have RSV. The RSV may have been the cause of Phoenix's pneumonia. Most everyone knows a little something about pneumonia, but not so much about RSV. Basically, the monthly injections the twins received as infants that cost us $800/month AFTER insurance was to help the babies survive should they contract RSV. They didn't receive the injections this year because older children generally do better than babies. Regardless, the twins still feel horrible. They are using nebulizers to help their wheezing and we're just hoping for the shortest duration possible. Here's a little info about RSV...
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of respiratory illness in young children. RSV causes infection of the lungs and breathing passages. In adults, it may only produce symptoms of a common cold, such as a stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, mild headache, cough, fever, and a general feeling of being ill. But RSV infections can lead to other more serious illnesses in premature babies and kids with diseases that affect the lungs, heart, or immune system.
RSV is highly contagious, and can be spread through droplets containing the virus when a person coughs or sneezes. The virus can also live on surfaces such as countertops or doorknobs, and on hands and clothing. RSV can be easily spread when a person touches an object or surface contaminated with the virus. The infection can spread rapidly through schools and child-care centers. Infants often get it when older kids carry the virus home from school and pass it to them. Almost all kids are infected with RSV at least once by the time they are 2 years old.
RSV infections often occur in epidemics that last from late fall through early spring. Respiratory illness caused by RSV — such as bronchiolitis or pneumonia — usually lasts about a week, but some cases may last several weeks. Doctors typically diagnose RSV by taking a medical history and doing a physical exam. Generally, in healthy kids, it's not necessary to distinguish RSV from a common cold. But in cases where a child has other health conditions, a doctor might want to make a specific diagnosis. RSV is typically identified in nasal secretions, which can be collected either with a cotton swab or by suction through a bulb syringe.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of respiratory illness in young children. RSV causes infection of the lungs and breathing passages. In adults, it may only produce symptoms of a common cold, such as a stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, mild headache, cough, fever, and a general feeling of being ill. But RSV infections can lead to other more serious illnesses in premature babies and kids with diseases that affect the lungs, heart, or immune system.
RSV is highly contagious, and can be spread through droplets containing the virus when a person coughs or sneezes. The virus can also live on surfaces such as countertops or doorknobs, and on hands and clothing. RSV can be easily spread when a person touches an object or surface contaminated with the virus. The infection can spread rapidly through schools and child-care centers. Infants often get it when older kids carry the virus home from school and pass it to them. Almost all kids are infected with RSV at least once by the time they are 2 years old.
RSV infections often occur in epidemics that last from late fall through early spring. Respiratory illness caused by RSV — such as bronchiolitis or pneumonia — usually lasts about a week, but some cases may last several weeks. Doctors typically diagnose RSV by taking a medical history and doing a physical exam. Generally, in healthy kids, it's not necessary to distinguish RSV from a common cold. But in cases where a child has other health conditions, a doctor might want to make a specific diagnosis. RSV is typically identified in nasal secretions, which can be collected either with a cotton swab or by suction through a bulb syringe.
3/4/09
In honor...
We have some good family friends who recently lost a brother who died in the war in Iraq. I wanted to share his picture (hope you don't mind Marie, I got it from your blog..) in his memory to remind us all of the sacrifice that families are continuing to make for not only our freedom, but the freedom of other nations. 
Thank you Marie, and your family on behalf of your brother as well as everyone selflessly serving our country.
Our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty.
-Samuel Adams
3/3/09
Eyeball Construction
Yep, we're in to another project...the basement! We HAVE framed before, but it has been a while. We have loved getting back into building, but have run into a few questions along the way. It's not as easy as before because we don't have every tool available to us like we did when we built our first home. SO, when Stan asks me where the level is, or chalk line to get a straight line...I simply say .."Oh, just eye-ball it!" We both laugh, and joke about starting a construction company called "Eye-ball Consruction"...and our motto is "we don't measure, we just eye-ball it!" We'll see how it turns out! Here's a few pics to get excited!
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