2011 a year to remember

What a difference a year makes!!

December 28, 2010. I was laying in a long-term care nursing facility, recovering from a 5^th hip replacement surgery, where an infected artificial hip joint had been removed from my femur and left out to allow the infection to be eliminated. It would not be replaced until March 8, 2011. To say the least I was “Hookey-Pookey challenged”. To add more misery to a miserable situation, I was diagnosed with very sever sleep apnea,.

I was having over 50 apneas per hour (stopping breathing), which was not much help in my healing process from surgery. I would fall asleep while exercising in the physical therapy room in the rehab center, and I actually fell asleep while talking on the phone to my office. I would be away from my job from Steelscape as Credit Manager for five months, and because of the great company I work for, I still had a job to return to.

Fast forward 12 months and I have a new hip joint,. my sleep apnea is receiving treatment so that I am slowly getting my life back.

Today I am taking water aerobics classes three times a week and walking up to two miles on my lunch hour.  I attribute this dramatic change in my health to a lot of fasting and prayer by friends and family.

Also during this past year fasting and prayer have played an important role in the lives of two of my grand nephews- Dane White and Benjamin Wooden.

First, Dane White, age 7, son of David and Jonna White. Jonna is Kris’s sister Cherrideth Campbell’s  (Steve) oldest child. In September, Dane was having severe headaches, and was found to have a brain tumor the size of a peach. He had successful surgery for its removal and I will quote from an email I received from Jonna soon after:

October 13, 2011

Uncle Steve,

We came home from the hospital on Saturday and since then he has been recuperating at home.  He still struggles a little bit with nausea, but we have some medicine for that, and overall he is doing really well.  It's kind of amazing, actually.  To look at him, you would never imagine that he had had brain surgery 10 days ago.  His neck is a little stiff, but improves every day.  It's getting to the point now where I think the boredom will be more of an issue.  This morning I had to tell him to get off of the play house that we have outside on the patio because he was perched on the roof of it.  (near heart attack for me!)  He is having a pretty good time playing lots of Wii and watching movies and eating a lot.  I don't know if it's the steroids or the going without food for several days in the hospital, but he is constantly hungry and if he doesn't eat he starts feeling sick.  So, I think he has it pretty good right now!  Poor guy had to go through a lot in the hospital, though, so we're letting him live it up now! 

Thanks for all your prayers and fasting.  I know that it has made a huge difference in this whole experience.  So many people have been praying for him and for us and we've felt it constantly.  it's pretty humbling.  And wonderful to feel so loved.  The gospel is wonderful.  Family is so amazing.  We've got a great family! 

Next, Benjamin Wooden. Benjamin is the son of Adam and Megan Wooden. Adam is my sister Kate’s (Monte) son.  Benjamin was born with a serious heart defect- I will quote from their reports on an internet site:

Our wonderful Benjamin was born on August 24th 2011. On September 12th, he was diagnosed with a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) and Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV).

This site is the central location where Adam and I will post information about Ben's condition, surgery, and recovery. We appreciate any and all positive thoughts and prayers!

-Megan, Adam, & Benjamin

(My interjection-Ben had to wait several months until he was strong enough for the life saving surgery)

Ben's new heart, day 1

 

Posted Oct 28, 2011 1:32pm

Good morning everyone!  Ben had a good night, and is showing some of that Wooden/Gordon strength.  He still has the breathing tube in, but according to his nurse he hasn't been using it and has been breathing mostly on his own.  They expect that we can try to take the tube out this afternoon and see how he does. He is also doing well on lower doses of his pain meds and is completely off some of the other meds like epinephrine.  Megan and I got to hold his hand this morning even though he is still partially sedated, which was so nice.
Ben's room has a beautiful view of the golden gate bridge and the weather is mild and fog free.  We are finding all kinds of connections in San Francisco, from old classmates to friends of our parents.  Also, we found another Pennsylvania connection as his nurse is originally from Pottstown, PA. 
We will be in the ICU for another 3-4 days and then to a step down unit from there. We still don't have a firm grasp for date of discharge, but we are encouraged by his progress so far!!  
Thanks for all the prayers and messages!  
Team Ben

10 pounds and 14.4 ounces!

Posted Nov 18, 2011 12:06am

Wow! It has been more than two weeks since we were discharged and time has really flown by.

We were all exhausted when we finally got home. It took a while to adjust to the calm and quiet of home. Ben had a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. He cried very easily and wanted to be held all day and all night. This made for some very long days but with all of grandmas and grandpas extra hands we were able to pass him around and keep him comfortable. Thankfully, about a week ago something changed and Ben began making his way back to his "usual" self. He is now sleeping a little deeper, a little longer, and a little more independently.

Ben had a weight check and his belated 2 month "well baby" visit with his pediatrician, Dr. Wilborn this week. She was thrilled with his progress. Ben weighed in at a shocking 10 pounds 14.4 ounces. This places him in the 11th percentile for weight which is a big improvement from when he was stuck in the 5th percentile range before surgery.

Ben has been off all pain medications for over a week. He hasn't vomited since his surgery and hasn't shown any signs of GERD so he no longer has to take Prilosec. He is still taking Lasix to keep the pressure off of his heart. We don't know if this will be a short term or a long term prescription. Ben has an echo and a cardiologist appointment next week so we'll find out more then.

Ben is quite the charmer! He smiles, he coos, and he loves sticking out his tongue. Although he was beginning to roll before surgery, he'll have to wait a few more weeks before we start practicing again. His vaccine schedule has been delayed two months too to give him extra time to heal. Next week he'll get his first Synagis shot which will give Ben antibodies to prevent him from getting respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). It is very common for babies to get RSV but it can be life threatening for babies who are already immuno-compromised. He'll get a Synagis shot each month until we are through the cold and flu season. Our biggest challenge will be to limit Ben's germ exposure and keep him healthy through the winter months.

As always, thank you for all of your prayers and positive thoughts! We appreciate you keeping our family in mind.

Posted Dec 23, 2011 7:58pm

On Tuesday, Ben got his second Synagis shot and weighed in at 13 pounds and 12 ounces! 

In two weeks Ben will be getting his first round of infant immunizations. That appointment is going to be a doozy because he really does not like shots (Can you blame him?). 

Two weeks from then, on January 17, we have a big important day of appointments. On that day then we'll have another echo, an appointment with his cardiologist, and his third Synagis injection. At these appointments we're going to be measuring the speed of the blood going through the repair in his heart and this will tell us whether we're in the clear or whether we need to do more work. 

In other news: Ben is now officially in size two diapers! He also rolled over for the first time by himself today! I can't believe that on Christmas Eve he'll be 4 months old. Ben enjoys rolling on the floor under the Christmas tree playing with the ribbons, bows, and shiny packages. He got a jumping activity center toy this week and is working on turning his world class kicking skills into jumping skills. He is sleeping for longer stretches at night -- 4+ hours and is taking two or three naps during the day. Ben smiles and makes eye contact with himself in the mirror and when video chatting with relatives. This week he began trying out some new and loud vocal octaves when he is playing with his toys. Ben continues to teethe but no teeth have broken through yet (it could be months away). He has much better control over his hands and can often be found chewing on them. Ben still gets lonely in his car seat and wants constant attention. However, he loves going outside. When we go on short walks down to the mailbox Ben is usually quiet and wide eyed and is trying to take it all in. 

We'll try to post some new pictures soon so that you can see him in his four month old Christmas cuteness glory!

And this last post 2 days later:

With our hearts full of thanks & happiness, we are enjoying watching our little man playing on the floor under the Christmas tree!

Thank you for all of your prayers! Merry Christmas

For all these reasons I am thankful for 2011 and all the blessings (miracles?) that happened in my life and in the lives of these two wonderful children in my family

 Steve