Goodbye poopy 2007 Hello awesome 2008

Who would have thought that 2007 would be the year will so much stress in our brand new little family. Not I. Nor did I think the twins would be in the NICU for 12 days or that Liam would be in NICU for 4 months let alone have heart condition. I've never been so stressed in one year. But now that's all in the past and 2008 is gonna be a great year for our little family. The only good thing about 07' was Liam and Zefram where born the rest wasn't so great. But God has taught me so much that I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Well before I sigh off and post THE most adorable picture of the twins. Just wanted to thank everyone who has prayed for us this past year, and all of your encouraging words. It's really great to know that so many ppl were praying for us and Liam. So thanks :0) Now for that picture you are all waiting for .....



Happy New Years
Matt, Mary, Liam and Zefram

Thank You

The boys received a lot of gifts on their first Christmas from a lot of people, as did Mary and I. I just wanted to briefly thank everyone for their generosity and thoughtfulness.

Merry Christmas, Hosers!

Not Quite Ebola

Zefram's pediatrician diagnosed him with bronchitis, with a side order of eczema to boot. I would've guessed that he just had what Liam had, but his pediatrician was confident it was bronchitis (of course, Liam's diagnosis may have been inaccurate, so who knows). Apparently it has the potential to lead to asthma, so that sucks. So Z's on antibiotics and has a puffer chamber, which is a bit tricky.

Zef still hasn't had his RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus) shots, and apparently RSV is one possible cause of bronchitis (there are many), so I really hope it's not the culprit here.

Sick Swap

Alright, I better update this thing before a riot breaks out! ;) Liam's doing great as he seems to have kicked whatever needed kicking. He really is a different kid in that he complains a lot less and is much happier (which I'm sure I've said several times, but it occurs to me often). In about 2-3 more weeks, we'll be able to lift him under his arms, although we've done that a few times unintentionally and he hasn't batted an eye.

It's Zefram's turn however, as he's had what seems to be just a cold for the last few days. Hopefully he clears up in time for Christmas. He's got a doctor's appointment tomorrow because Mary's afraid he's got Ebola, and also because he's past due for his 6 month shots.

Smilier

Liam has been a lot smilier today (yes, I realize that's not a real word). His throat doesn't seem to be as sore when he coughs, but he's still throwing up from coughing 3-4 times a day. It's nice having Liam a bit closer to being back to his usual self again; his relentless fussing and crying was starting to drive us a bit batty.

Hello, Doktor

Liam was a bit happier today due to having lots of people over for Mary's birthday. But tonight he decided to play a few rounds of "cough until I throw up", which drew our attention to his laboured breathing. Mary was really concerned about it, and I ended up calling the on-call cardiologist at Sick Kids. After 5 or 6 minutes of talking, he said that he didn't think it was anything to worry about, but Mary wanted me to take Liam to the hospital just in case.

At the hospital, the doctor's only concern was Liam's cough, and he ordered the whole nine yards; x-ray, blood work, urine. A few hours later, he said that Liam's x-ray showed what might be the beginning of pneumonia. It wasn't certain, but better safe than sorry, so Liam will be on antibiotics for the next 10 days.

On the way home, Liam threw up in the car, but he was fine. And now, it is time to sleep.

Poor Lee Lee (and Us)

Liam's first 24 hours home have been really rough, as he has a cold that continues to worsen. He's been cranky and crying all day as it still hurts his chest to cough, and it's obvious that his throat is really sore (but cough medicine isn't a safe option, so it's just acetaminophen). Tonight after I fed him, he was coughing so much that he threw up on my shoulder, and was choking on his vomit briefly (I laid him sideways on the floor which thankfully worked, but Mary was a bit freaked out).

Since putting him to bed a few hours ago, he's been waking up every half hour or so crying, so I expect tonight to be another restless night for everyone (except Zef, who tends to sleep through it all).

Liam's tolerating his diet formula (Portagen), but he isn't fond of it... fortunately, he's drinking the minimum amount so far. The last thing we need is for him to get dehydrated; we'd just as well prefer to avoid another hospital visit for a while.

Here are a few pictures from today:

Zefram fighting for his very survival (he won... barely)

Z's happy to be home

One of the very few moments where Liam was happy today

Liam not feeling so hot

Homeward Bound

YEAH GOING HOME TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My mom should be here soon to help us pack up this room then we are going to travel through T.O. and head homeward bound. I cannot wait to be back home and see my kitty again and just be back home.

I better get back to the last min packing and then just wait for my mom to get here and it's SEE YA LATER!!!!!

chow for now

Coming Home... Again

Liam will have his draining tube pulled today (ouch!), and we'll be coming home on Friday or Saturday. Woohoo!

Another 5-7 days

Liam drained 14mls today from his JP drain which is already over and 24 hours isn't up. So looks like we are going on to phase 4 which is still portagen (a minimal fat diet, which he is already on) and a shot every 8 hours to help and stop the draining. So we could be here for only 2-3 days OR 7 more days. We are just praying that it is only going to be a few more days. I don't want to spend my 25th birthday in a hospital. Not that I do anything for my birthday anyways but still not in a hospital room. But being here is getting VERY annoying and both boys have been super cranky. Zefram who is normal a happy baby isn't so much anymore. I think he wants to go home like the rest of us. But that is all for now. Keep praying

How we long to be home

Just getting back from the hospital and spending sometime with Zefram, Matt is there with Liam till about 7-7:30. Liam only drained 7mls from his JP drain which is good new since yesterday it was 20 in a 24 hour period. Mind you he still has 8 hours till they drain it again but it's still a big improvement. Liam had a gassy not so happy day. But seemed really happy in the stroller and boy are my feet sore. The 7 hours that I was there, most of those were spent on my feet just to keep Liam happy. So I am glad to be sitting while Zefram is napping.

One of the funniest things about being at the hospital is how many "girlfriends" that Liam has. So many nurses will stop by our room just to say "hi" to Liam and off they go to there patient. So funny. Lot of the nurses are really great and you just want to take them home with you.

But we do long to go home and 3 weeks of hospital life is getting to us. It's expensive and tiring and draining and boring. There is only so much you can do with your child in his little hospital room. Can't take him down to the main floor since he has the JP draining tube in so it gets boring fast. If I only remembered to pack my Christmas cards, but I didn't I expect to be here this long. Hmm maybe I should take up knitting again or cross stitching. But Liam is doing great just waiting to go home and asking God for strength to carry on day in and day out.

Well we ask that you keep praying for Liam and that his draining will continue to decrease and we can all go home before my birthday on the 9th.

Getting Closer

Liam's drainage has continued to slowly go down, and the day before yesterday was pretty close to the goal. Yesterday however, it went back up a bit, but it's not too crazy to hope it might be down so that he can go home sometime this week. Today marks 3 weeks in Toronto; it would be nice to be home before we reach an entire month.

We continue to be unhappy with a few aspects of his care, unfortunately. He's been getting lots of nurses from different units, as they're constantly understaffed (and he's a relatively easy patient). That wouldn't be a problem, except these nurses seem to receive no briefing on the cardiac ward whatsoever... asking my wife where they're supposed to enter data, lifting Liam under his arms, etc. We're going to request that he no longer be cared for by nurses from other units until they're properly briefed on at least the basics of the ward (as several other parents have, equally unhappy with the situation).