Late Night Visitor

We were surprised with a visit from our dear friend Madison Flake! He used to be one of Kevin's Priests at the same time as Michael and he is the greatest! They talked about the old days (not quite so long ago) and we laughed and laughed. What a great guy! He left with Valentine's cookies and a recipe so he could make cookies with a date soon. Thanks for the visit!!

Family Health

What's going on? A question I've asked recently a lot. This all started a few weeks ago when I took Zach to the dr. to look at a suspicious mole. He noticed it and thought it didn't look right. Well, the dr. scraped it off to be sent to a lab. The results were "pre-cancerous" meaning if we left it alone, it would soon turn to cancer. So, we had to go to a dermatologist to have more of the area removed and he also found a mole on his back that looked bad too so he also removed that area. Zach was left with two scars about 1 1/2 inches each. Kevin watched the surgery.....I just tried to concentrate so I wouldn't pass out. Just listening to them describe the surgery made me want to vomit.

The Sunday following Zach's surgery, I found him passed out in his bathroom. I felt prompted to check on him and when he didn't respond, I had to break into the bathroom. It scared the crap out of me. He was awake but very pale, groggy and not too responsive. We tested his blood (remembering back a year ago to a scare with my niece) but that was fine. We took him to the ER and they ran all kinds of tests on him including an EKG. All tests came back fine. He looked much better. They ordered an EEG which we had done on Tues. The tech said he had beautiful brain waves and I watched the process. It was interesting and looked a bit like a lie detector test with a lot more lines running across it. I feel it will be fine but we have to wait for the results. The results came back on the second mole and it was benign.

Well, Kevin also went in to have his mole checked - family members know which mole that is but the dr. said it looked fine. Something he's had his whole life. He did say two spots on his hands (red, itchy) were definitely turning to cancer. He froze them off and we are waiting to see if they disappear. If not, he has to go back to have them removed.

Well......Kyle went in. For awhile, he did a lot of tanning and had a couple of strange looking moles. He now has to have three removed which are pre-cancerous also. Pre-cancerous means that there are cancerous cells starting to grow so even the area around the mole must be removed.

The dr. said moles and skin cancer can be hereditary so now all three of them will have to go back for yearly visits. Kevin twice a year. It's so good to get them caught at this stage and I'm glad we didn't just overlook them and not worry about them.

I encourage any of you who might read this to check your skin....anything that looks strange, get it checked. It's so worth it!

By the way, I wanted pictures but Zach wouldn't let me...hahaha.

My Baby's Birthday Feb. 10, 2009

20 years ago on Feb 9th, we went to the hospital to have our baby boy. I'd been in labor all day and went in that night. Kevin slept in the chair next to me and snored all night and I was told to "sleep, you'll need it" which was impossible. Early in the morning, I was awoken to a room full of people, and I was being prepped for a c-section. Apparently, the cord was tied around his neck and every time I had a contraction, he was being deprived of oxygen. They soon realized there wasn't time for a c-section, so the next thing I knew they were delivering him. Sometime during all of that confusion, I DID get an epideral - probably before the c-section prep. He was tiny 6 lb. 10 oz. (for me that was small). He wasn't breathing and was blue, I didn't get to see him. The dr. immediately began breathing into him through a small tube, and all I could hear was "breathe kid, breathe kid". There were so many people in there and Kevin was shoved to a corner somewhere and I remember feeling so scared. I also remember feeling "I'm going to be so mad if I go through all of this and leave without my baby".

Michael was rushed into the NICU where he immediately began to thrive. He was covered in tubes which he preceeded to pull out on his own. My first look at my new baby was a polaroid of him in the NICU. It wasn't until later that they wheeled me in to see him. He was so dang tiny!!! I never can nurse so I had to try to feed him with these tiny little bottles. But, he always threw up so he didn't keep much down. He later became one of those babies who projectile vomits across the room, down my nightgown, everywhere!!!!!

It was fun to see his brother come to see him in the NICU. Michael looked huge compared to the other babies there. One baby celebrated his 1st birthday while we were there. Ours was a monster in comparison! He was able to go home after a few days and everything was fine! No long term damage at all. Dr. Johnson saved his life and later told me how scared I made him. He also told me to never do that to him again!!!

We didn't get pictures during the delivery obviously since everything happened so quickly. I was so grateful Michael was safe and we've been able to enjoy him for these 20 years. Each of my boys has brought so much joy and happiness into our lives. We love all of them. Happy Birthday Michael. I love you! Mom