This is how we begin our day...
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Another week...
Some Primary children just came and decorated the Burkhardt's front door and brought a plate of cookies. Andrew is still in the hospital. It is not known how much longer he will have to stay. Yes, there has been one complication after another. This time it is fistulas. It seems he takes a step forward and at least 3/4's step backward. Andrew has a pic-line and cannot receive any food or drink orally. After spending 12 nights here in American Fork, we took Aubrey and Katelyn home with us for 6 nights, and we are back at it again in American Fork. This isn't easy on any of us. Keep praying!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Presidents Day Update
Jodi and Ty withdrew the offer they put on a home. The owner/builder was unwilling to deal. With so many homes on the market, they still have a lot of good choices. They are thinking about renting as well. They have to vacate the home they are in and be in the Oklahoma City area at the end of March.
We haven't seen Jory since his surgery but Candace reports he is doing pretty well. She says he can get up and around but has some pain...but that is nothing new. Candace said the incision is quite long but looked good and in a few more days he will get his stitches out. Candace has a horrible cold.
Now, about Andrew......It was originally anticipated that he would be home by now. If everything goes well from here on out, his homecoming should take place around Sunday, Feb. 21st. Healing might be slower because of the chemo he's had. Controlling the pain has been a big challenge. When the epidural was removed and he was given other pain medications, he became very nauseous. When he vomited he ripped the stitches on the inside. His wound was already infected. Supposedly that is a very common and expected occurance for abdominal surgery. Anyway, Andrew went back to surgery where his abdomen was re-opened. It remains wide open and packed with dressings or something. There is some kind of wound vac they are going to use that will close him back up and allow things to heal. At one time Robin said something about using sponges or a mesh fabric inside of him. He has to get off the epidural and IVs again. That seems to be a sticking point. Hopefully he won't hit any more bumps in the road. We all went to see Andrew on Sunday. The girls were most interested in using Andrew's walker and pushing the buttons on the bed rail to watch the bed go up and down. The new Intermountain Health Care Surgery Center in the 5300 South neighborhood in Murray is really nice. I just wish Andrew didn't have to go through this ordeal. We have been here for 11 nights and we're nearly out of our medications, our library books are due and there is a Wednesday doctor's appointment. We aren't sure what we are going to do yet. We might take the youngest two home for a bit. When we got here, Robin told me as a stress reliever there was a big bag of M&Ms (3 pounds or so) in the pantry. Because I had not been eating chocolate for a little over a month, I figured they wouldn't tempt me. I lost control and the bag is now empty. I consumed 90% of them by myself. Shame on me!
We haven't seen Jory since his surgery but Candace reports he is doing pretty well. She says he can get up and around but has some pain...but that is nothing new. Candace said the incision is quite long but looked good and in a few more days he will get his stitches out. Candace has a horrible cold.
Now, about Andrew......It was originally anticipated that he would be home by now. If everything goes well from here on out, his homecoming should take place around Sunday, Feb. 21st. Healing might be slower because of the chemo he's had. Controlling the pain has been a big challenge. When the epidural was removed and he was given other pain medications, he became very nauseous. When he vomited he ripped the stitches on the inside. His wound was already infected. Supposedly that is a very common and expected occurance for abdominal surgery. Anyway, Andrew went back to surgery where his abdomen was re-opened. It remains wide open and packed with dressings or something. There is some kind of wound vac they are going to use that will close him back up and allow things to heal. At one time Robin said something about using sponges or a mesh fabric inside of him. He has to get off the epidural and IVs again. That seems to be a sticking point. Hopefully he won't hit any more bumps in the road. We all went to see Andrew on Sunday. The girls were most interested in using Andrew's walker and pushing the buttons on the bed rail to watch the bed go up and down. The new Intermountain Health Care Surgery Center in the 5300 South neighborhood in Murray is really nice. I just wish Andrew didn't have to go through this ordeal. We have been here for 11 nights and we're nearly out of our medications, our library books are due and there is a Wednesday doctor's appointment. We aren't sure what we are going to do yet. We might take the youngest two home for a bit. When we got here, Robin told me as a stress reliever there was a big bag of M&Ms (3 pounds or so) in the pantry. Because I had not been eating chocolate for a little over a month, I figured they wouldn't tempt me. I lost control and the bag is now empty. I consumed 90% of them by myself. Shame on me!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Updates
Jodi and Ty are having a GIRL. They have put an offer on a nice home near Oklahoma City. They won't be too far from the temple in Yukon. I talked to Owen (4) on the phone the other day. I asked him if he knew what is special about this coming Sunday (Valentine's Day). He said, "Yes, my dad gets to sit with us in church." Well, he was right...Ty was released from the bishopric last Sunday.
We have been in American Fork for a week. We don't know how much longer we will be here or when Andrew will be released from the hospital following surgery to remove his colon. I suppose he has got along as well as can be expected for what he has gone through. His main problem has been the lack of adequate pain management. He also has a wound infection. The doctors did surgical preparations for a possible reconnection of the the small intestine sometime in the future. Robin has spent all day each day (plus a couple of nights) at the hospital. Reed and I take care of the kids and house. Aubrey (8 months) is finally a 'keeper.' The changes in her are remarkable. She has had an ear infection, cold, and has been getting three more teeth. She weighs 20 pounds and wears our arms out. Katelyn is an adorable but a fiesty, sassy and opinionated 3 1/2 year old. She has an impish smile. She prefers her grandpa over her grandma. She goes to dance and preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She wants to be on the go all day long. Ashlyn (6) attends Kindergarten at a charter school. She has to educate her teacher on some of the finer points of things like the solar system, the details of Puxatawney Phil and Groundhog Day etc. I kept Ashlyn home from school one day because she had been throwing up. She had a meltdown over ruining her 100% attendance record at school. Ashlyn has names for all her hair bows. She wore 'Dorothy' today. I picked up a cold and have felt thoroughly rotten. We're getting too old for this.
We received some very sad and tragic news from home. A fifteen year old neighbor boy in our culdesac committed suicide. He had stayed home from school following a breakup with his girlfriend. His younger brother found him when he got home from school. His mother was at work, his younger sister hadn't got home from school yet, and his dad was in Germany on a business trip. His funeral is on Monday, President's Day.
Jory's ankle/leg never seemed to heal right from the accident he had last summer. He had persistent swelling and still had some pain. On Monday he went back into surgery to remove some of the hardware. The screws were probably too long and were irritating the muscle. Hopefully he will finally 'get back on his feet.' We felt a little helpless as we were already committed to helping here and couldn't be in two places at once.
We have been in American Fork for a week. We don't know how much longer we will be here or when Andrew will be released from the hospital following surgery to remove his colon. I suppose he has got along as well as can be expected for what he has gone through. His main problem has been the lack of adequate pain management. He also has a wound infection. The doctors did surgical preparations for a possible reconnection of the the small intestine sometime in the future. Robin has spent all day each day (plus a couple of nights) at the hospital. Reed and I take care of the kids and house. Aubrey (8 months) is finally a 'keeper.' The changes in her are remarkable. She has had an ear infection, cold, and has been getting three more teeth. She weighs 20 pounds and wears our arms out. Katelyn is an adorable but a fiesty, sassy and opinionated 3 1/2 year old. She has an impish smile. She prefers her grandpa over her grandma. She goes to dance and preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She wants to be on the go all day long. Ashlyn (6) attends Kindergarten at a charter school. She has to educate her teacher on some of the finer points of things like the solar system, the details of Puxatawney Phil and Groundhog Day etc. I kept Ashlyn home from school one day because she had been throwing up. She had a meltdown over ruining her 100% attendance record at school. Ashlyn has names for all her hair bows. She wore 'Dorothy' today. I picked up a cold and have felt thoroughly rotten. We're getting too old for this.
We received some very sad and tragic news from home. A fifteen year old neighbor boy in our culdesac committed suicide. He had stayed home from school following a breakup with his girlfriend. His younger brother found him when he got home from school. His mother was at work, his younger sister hadn't got home from school yet, and his dad was in Germany on a business trip. His funeral is on Monday, President's Day.
Jory's ankle/leg never seemed to heal right from the accident he had last summer. He had persistent swelling and still had some pain. On Monday he went back into surgery to remove some of the hardware. The screws were probably too long and were irritating the muscle. Hopefully he will finally 'get back on his feet.' We felt a little helpless as we were already committed to helping here and couldn't be in two places at once.
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