I have to get real about my health

I'm feeling a bit of anxiety about this afternoon because I see my doctor for a check up. Despite my efforts, I'm not losing a great deal weight, and my blood pressure is high enough that it concerns me.  I've lost a total of 11lbs but not much has happened since, but I'm not gaining it back either. Little victories right?  My real concern is chronic stress. The amount of stress I endure each day is indescribable. I tend to think of it as radiation exposure. A little bit here or there won't hurt too bad. However, taking a stroll in downtown Chernobyl is not something anyone would recommend.  Maybe that's not the best analogy but the point is, long term exposure to stress can be catastrophic. Much like radiation,…

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Gavin and I were interviewed on the radio

The other day, the boys and I went to Wish-A-Thon 2017. This was a fundraiser for Wishes Can Happen, the organization that is granting Gavin's wish this year.  Gavin and I were interviewed on the radio and we learned all about the trip we will be going on. It was amazing to see all the community support for this wish granting organization, and it was an amazing experience for the boys.  I wanted to share some of the pictures I took while we were there. You can see the excitement on display, and it really felt good to see the kids so excited. ☺  [foogallery id="64644"]

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Unboxing the @VivintHome Glance

I want to give you guys a first look at the new Vivint Glance. It's the new panel from Vivint Home. This will be setup as a secondary panel, but it won't be mounted. The idea is to have a panel that can be moved if need be. The internal battery lasts about four hours. I will be having this installed soon. It's so new that the local install techs didn't have stock yet, so Vivint drop shipped it to me direct. I'll do a full review once it's installed. For now, here's an unboxing video for the Glance. ☺ https://youtu.be/0C4cMGIor5Y

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Elliott and I went for a walk

Elliott and I went walking by ourselves. Emmett didn't want to go and Gavin was laying down. Lizze stayed home with the kids, so Elliott and I could still go.  It was really nice spending time with Elliott. We walked about a mile and a half, and he talked the entire time. I just listened and jumped in when it was appropriate. lol Elliott's a talker. There's no two ways about it. He has a lot to say and it's tough to listen when there's so much going on in the house. Elliott was able to explore some creek banks and collect some rocks. He loves doing that.. ☺  I'm hoping it helped him to get all that out and not have to compete for a listening ear. I had…

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The calm before the storm

It's been a super quiet day so far and I'm loving it. ☺  The boys had a great time with their Grandparents and they came home a few hours ago. Everyone is getting along and that's always a good thing.  We have zero plans for today and that's nice as well. It's going to be a busy week, beginning with a doctor's appointment for me, occupational therapy, and ending with the first day or school and Gavin returning to the Cleveland Clinic.  Also, we are supposed to begin making the plans for our Florida trip. 

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Special Needs Parenting decisions are NOT easy

Lizze and I have found ourselves back in a place where we have to make decisions about Gavin's life that simply aren't always black and white.  Gavin has an extraordinary amount of health issues, and they require us to make very difficult decisions all the time. The most recent round of difficult decisions are in regards to his current blood disorder.  We're referring it to as a blood disorder because that's essentially what it is.  This problem involves transient levels across all his cell lines. Transient means that the levels keep going down and back up. In this case, some of Gavin's levels dropped within .03 of having to be immediately hospitalized if he were to run a fever.  While his numbers have climbed back out of the immediate danger…

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Emmett and I had a great time

Yesterday, what began as a potential family trip to the movies, ended in Emmett and I going by ourselves. I was going to take everyone to see Transformers at the dollar movies, until I realized that Gavin wouldn't be able to go. Sticking Gavin into a potentially crowed theater, is a no go. Even I still forget these limitations from time to time. Gavin was super cool about it and Elliott didn't want to go anyway. Emmett on the other hand, had his heart set on going. Lizze suggested that she stay home with Gavin and Elliott, while I take Emmett. Emmett and I ended up have a great time and bought some popcorn after the movie, and brought it home for everyone who couldn't go. While I wish we…

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Difficult decisions

The boys are spending the night at their Grandparents house. We opted to keep Gavin home with us because they were going to a large family gathering, and we're avoiding Gavin being places like that until after we see the hematologist. Lizze and I had been looking forward to going, but that was before we learned about Gavin's newest medical problems. We talked about having him hang out with my parents but they were unavailable. We both wish things were different, but this could quite literally be a life or death thing. If his numbers dropped again, and we didn't know, it's could be very serious. We are choosing to error on the side of caution. Making these types of decisions, are not something that everyone will understand. Frankly, nobody…

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