Dad's a Frequent Hospital Visitor Now

Dad spent the last three days in the hospital. Again.

Late Tuesday, they called and said he needed a blood transfusion, and he needed to go to the hospital immediately to have it completed.

I couldn't reach my cousin or my best friend, so I called my brother. Repeatedly, until he answered.

Dustin ended up taking him and stayed with him these last several days.

They didn't do the blood transfusion until today.

The pneumonia didn't go away from a few weeks ago. Or it came back. They weren't entirely sure.

A CT scan showed a 6 cm growth in his chest overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday.

I'm going to believe it's pneumonia until they tell us otherwise.

Since he's not presenting with signs of cancer (or infection; he has a lot of cuts to his arm that he didn't realize he had), they said they'd do another CT in a month or two.

He spent his hospital days getting antibiotics and vitamins, just like last time. And complaining non-stop that he's bored. He likes to complain that he's bored wherever he is. He's a lot like my children in that sense.

He's back home ... for now. I really do hope he gets to stay here longer than 2 weeks. And I really do hope this is not the beginning of the end. I hate to even write those words.

GOING HOME!!

Four days.
Lots of bags of liquids and antibiotics.
And his potassium is finally not "dangerously low" so we're jumping ship!

I got word today that two medications prescribed to my dad likely caused his kidneys to fail, which in turn caused him to get pneumonia and be weak, which in turn caused him to fall.

Whew!

While I'm not happy he was given these meds, I am happy that we figured out a reason for the failure and can take measures to ensure this doesn't happen again. I am also happy to know that they haven't found any new signs of stroke.

A four day hospital stay, and he is much stronger than when he came in on Tuesday. I was so scared when he called me at work and kept say "Something not right! Something not right!"

I knew something wasn't right as he doesn't call me and tell me that for no reason!!

I hate that the first hospital sent him on his way and didn't thoroughly check him out after that first fall, but what can you do? At least it isn't as severe as what the first hospital did when he first showed signs of his stroke in 2012.

This one just caused him to fall again. Not have a massive stroke that changed his life forever.

You can't look back, right? Only forward. And today we're looking forward to returning to his house where he can get a good night's rest and visit his friends, who are all anxiously awaiting his return.

Sleep Deprived

Dear Hospital Chair,
I hate you. I have not missed you. I hope I never sleep in you again.
Love, Me

ER

I'm in Iowa.

My dad was rushed to the ER today by my cousin, Sonni (to avoid an ambulance trip since he just went by one 2 days ago after a fall).

Doctors say his kidneys are failing and he has pneumonia!

This is all a shock. We knew he had fallen three times in the last three days - and that is very unusual for him - but we never thought he was this bad!!

I'm going to sit here next to him until we can figure out an action plan! I don't want to leave him all alone.

I'm going to pretend like this isn't the same hospital I lived in for 6 weeks back in 2012...

Papa Knows ME!

Right before I had to leave to take Papa home, he let the kids open his gifts.

They were so excited! 

Tyler got a giant Nerf gun for all of those fights he gets into when Luke or Alex comes over. And Ashlee got a nail painting set (which she loudly proclaimed was on her Christmas list!)

It was fun to see the smiles on everyone's faces!

GF Love with Papa

Papa came to visit for Christmas!!

The kids love having him at our house - even though he is beyond bored here (he's actually bored everywhere, but you know...)

Ashlee spends every minute possible with Papa. We were all supposed to go to Tyler's basketball games this weekend, but Icemaggedon that canceled school for no reason yesterday canceled everything, leaving us with lots of free time.

The ice still hasn't come. So....

Today, Ashlee and I baked gluten free brownies from Aldi's, and she offered to share the bowl with Papa.

We're still getting him used to this GF world!

Then we baked some donuts to put into the freezer for weekends and school parties, etc. Papa enjoyed watching her meticulously decorate every. single. one. She takes her baking very, very seriously!

Northern Cubbies

The kids had a few days off for conferences so we decided to head north to Iowa to spend some time with family.

Mom's birthday was yesterday so we stayed at her house - where she surprised us with Liam and Lily, both of whom just celebrated birthdays!

We hadn't seen either of them, sadly, in forever! It was so great to see them, and they had no problems jumping right into the chaos with Ashlee and Tyler.

Ashlee and Lily are long lost sisters, I swear!
Liam was pretty fascinated by Tyler!

Grandpa Leroy came to visit. He was excited to see his Cubs in the World Series (where they eventually won for the first time in 100-some years. I still wish they would have played the Royals last year so I could have taken him to the game! That would have been a dream come true for him).

Making gluten free pizza for dinner

Tyler sported his one and only Cubs jersey for grandpa, who wore a matching one - the one we actually got him this past Spring Break at spring training.

Tyler loves to talk Cubs with grandpa, and I know he is "tickled to death" - some of his favorite words - to talk sports with him.

Great Grandpa Roger, Tony's dad, also came to visit so it truly was a family reunion of sorts.

Tomorrow, we are going to visit my dad where we are leaving Ashlee for the day so Justin, Tyler and I can go to an Iowa State football game.

Mom surprised us by telling me Lily and Liam are going too! I sure hope dad can handle three of them by himself! Wish us luck! I don't think dad has had all three of them since his stroke.

Wordless Wednesday {In the Beginning}

There was a mom, a dad and a dog

Bumpy Road

I got a call from my neurologist's office today.

And it wasn't about my blood.
BTW, that must be fine as I haven't heard anything about it.

It was about my heart rate monitor readings.

You see the little box on my hip is sending mysterious vibes to some doctor or radiologist or nurse or something or other in some state who is in charge of watching me non-stop for 30 days.

How lucky is that person? Not!

My readings are not good, but I don't exactly know what that means, so they are referring me to a cardiologist immediately.

Immediately as in Friday. 

It's the earliest any cardiologist in town can see me; otherwise, it would have been months.

I'm going to trek myself clear to the airport (almost) to see some doctor to tell me what is going on with my heart. Hopefully he has access to these mysterious readings. I know he'll have the EKG and likely my blood work. The echo is still Tuesday.

I hope I don't get stuck in the hospital unexpectedly. But I'll do whatever it takes to ensure my heart is strong for my hubby and kids. And my dad. They all need me!

Lost in Memory

Christmas with Papa

My dad traveled all the way to KC to buy presents for my kids (at Thanksgiving).

My husband then brought the presents all the way back to Des Moines so my kids could open them in front of Papa for Christmas.

Such a sweet gesture. 

Especially since Justin had to pack the car (since we were in Chicago) and it had to go with him from KC to Cedar Falls and then with a car full of luggage and presents back to DSM.

It was worth the effort as my dad was thrilled to get to watch the kids open the things he picked out for them!

Tyler got another Nerf gun ... This is sooo the year of N-E-R-F.

We're hoping he doesn't shoot Ashlee's eye out in the car. Chances are 50/50.

Ashlee got a 5 pack of multi-colored dry erase markers and a dry erase board along with a chunky pad, aka plain white paper.

It's her favorite gift so far.

We got dad a framed picture of a naked Indian. Justin doesn't get it, but my dad is super proud of our Native American heritage (Ogalala Sioux). I also found an animal skull that was painted and had feathers attached. He seemed to enjoy both.

I forgot to give him the present I found him in Chicago - a hand cut ornament/hanger from a tree in Germany. I'll just call it his New Year's present when I visit next time.

I wish my dad would come down to KC and visit us again, but the trip is too much on his hip.

Hopefully he can come down again sooner rather than later. He's been a bit sad at his home because a few of his new friends have died. I promised him I didn't put him there to die, but I'm not so sure he believes me!?!

Knockout Champ

I spent today fighting with the Social Security Office as they had my dad's account totally messed up, so I missed most of the day {sad face}.

But I did get to catch Tyler in a free throw contest where he was taunted by Naz Long.

He secretly enjoyed the attention, even if he didn't win {one of the few times this was Ok}

He also played in a three-point competition and played knock out where he was the leader for the day. This is the same competition where he won a medal last year.

But his coach was more engaged last year. This year his coach is more engaged with this cell phone.

No Longer a Rookie

Tyler and I piled into the car and headed north yesterday.

Bound for the bright lights, er rather, white florescent lights, of Lied Rec Center at Iowa State.

It's time for basketball camp. Year #2.

No longer a rookie. But a veteran ... at 8!

Tyler and I stayed with my dad on Sunday night; the rest of the week we're staying with one of my best friend's, Glenna.

This is the first time Tyler has ever spent the night with Papa - at his place - and the first time I have stayed with him since he lost our house back in 2003, or maybe it was 2004?

We stayed on the "infamous" couch, which is way better to look at then to sleep on as it is NOT comfortable. I tossed and turned all night long. Tyler, on the other hand, was super comfy, but he's also a lot smaller than I am.

Plus, I'm spoiled with air conditioning, and I was sweating my a$& off! Not to mention the endless cycle of sirens ... as a kid, I drowned out the sirens with a loud radio. There was nothing to drown out the noise as Tyler instantly turned off the TV when he was ready to bed.

I may have pouted for about 15 minutes.

By 7 a.m., I was ready to hit the road and get onto Ames where I would spend my day on the turf, laptop in hand, working and watching my boy play ball with his idols nearby.

Last year, Fred was at the camp all week, and when we signed up again - sometime last fall - we expected the same this year. But since the Bulls named him their coach last week, we had no idea if Fred would even show up ....

2015 vs. 2014

But he did! He was standing by the front door, greeting the boys (and about 3 girls) as they walked into camp. He signed autographs and took pictures and chit chatted with eager fans who wanted to talk Bulls and ISU with him.

He will be missed. And he was missed during camp (more on that later).

Tyler wasted no time getting into his basketball groove, seeking out autographs - Niang and Fred autographs were scored immediately - and getting photos with those not taken last year, like super-star Jameel McKay.

I saw less of Tyler this year at the camp.

He was coached by one of the team's "stars" Matt Thomas, and he immediately made friends with two other boys (one was from the Quad Cities, and he never asked the other one where he was from), and they were off shooting hoops whenever there was a break.

He did eat lunch by me each day, never seeking out a Cyclones lap (thankfully).

He liked the lunches, for the most part, but was surprised to find Subway on day 1 (and repeated later in the week). Subway is his favorite (not!), so I made it up to him by taking him to dinner at Hickory Park, an Ames tradition!

Are you ready for cardinal and gold overload?!?

And we can't forget sister. She was at home enjoying one-on-one time with daddy. Here she is sporting her Cyclone colors at school when daddy dropped her off today:

5-2-15

Isn't she adorbs in a hat?

I know that is not today's date.

I was too emotional to write on that exact date. And the weeks leading up to it. And quite frankly the last week.

These emotions I've been feeling are unlike any I've ever felt before ...

For anything.

You see, while the kids and I (plus Justin and one of Tyler's friends) were having fun at the Royals game that Saturday night - after a day of baseball games - we were missing out on an event back in Des Moines.

And it wasn't by choice. 

My brother got married. 

Justin and I were not invited (but my kids were). And neither was my dad. My aunt, my cousins, etc.

Forget I wasn't invited - but the fact that my dad wasn't invited was a low blow.

All because the b&%$* he married doesn't like my dad (shall we recall Dec. 18, 2012?!? I know I didn't give you all of the details of that day, so I'll refrain now - but it was all her fault!).

I reached out to my brother, who said he didn't know I wasn't invited until I sent him a picture of the invite addressed only to my kids, and he said he didn't invite my dad because he didn't know where he lived - he lives 5 minutes from him and has visited.

He never did answer about why he didn't call and tell him?!?

The whole thing was complete BS. There was no one from my dad's side of the family in attendance and some from my mom's side missed in protest.

Nothing says love like missing family.

I hope they both are happy. Really I hope he dumps her ass and moves on with his life with his kids.

Speaking of his kids, my nephew did look pretty cute (I never saw pics of my niece)! I stole these pictures off Facebook

Enough of that drama, let's enjoy some fun pictures from the Royals, including Tyler and Ford racing a guy whom we dubbed "Fake Dyson." He was dressed just like Dyson, although we were certain it was not him, but he could have been him!

Look at all of the gluten-free options ... too bad Ashlee only had ice cream as most of these items she won't eat:

Salvy bobbleheads were handed out, and luckily we got one! Here is the man of the hour and the kids watching from our seats, near the bullpen:

Tyler's Spin Art

Let's have a chat about homework.

When did it cross over from CHILD to PARENT?

I don't remember my dad sitting around doing my homework ... well, maybe my social studies but that was because he thought it was interesting, and I thought it was totally boring.

I'm still paying for him doing that ... Is Alaska really next to Hawaii? I mean every news station shows it that way on the weather map? {Good thing my kids have a states app on their iPads!}

But these days, I feel like we're constantly doing Tyler's homework!

We don't do his math or reading because that would be all kinds of wrong. 

But his oral reports every so many weeks - Justin and I brainstorm to come up with the idea because Tyler can never think of one.

His Star Student poster. Check. All me.

Spelling tests. Let's not even add up the number of hours Justin has spent helping Tyler with those (and yes, I realize those are part of a childhood, but they used to be 10 words; now they're 25 with bonus and challenge words and 2 sentences!)

And now we have Market Day ... to be repeated in 4th grade. It should be called "Mom and Dad Create a Business Day."

If we left this project up to Tyler, he'd show up with nothing. And he likely wouldn't care.

This whole awarding stickers or 1s, 2s and 3s rather than As, Bs and Cs doesn't work for this child. He's in for a rude wake up call once that happens! But at least, maybe then he'll care?!?

Grandma actually helped us find this project. She recommended the website where I found "spin art."

Why did we pick spin art?

1. Tyler only has a $10 loan for his business (with fake money; But we had to spend real money to get back fake money in the end). This was enough to buy paint and coffee filters (it also uses a salad spinner)
2. It's easy. It provides both a good and a service so Tyler can charge more. Plus, he can do it without me - and the good part of this project is that he HAS to do it without me. They kick all of the parents out after set up. I just get stuck making the poster (he is going to help me)
3. I'm kind of sentimental about spin art. It's one of the last activities Tyler did with my dad before the stroke. I have a picture of dad watching him doing it at the Iowa State Fair. Tyler doesn't remember, of course, but it's the thought that counts.

The goal of Market Day is to sell your good and make enough money to pay back your $10 loan and still make a profit, or at least break even. The kids get $7 each (of fake money) to buy the goods. Hopefully Tyler has a good enough item to bring in the money! Wish us luck! The market is May 15.