Stroke

It has been confirmed that Mason had a stroke. The MRI showed damage in the back left side of his brain but the artery leading to it now is wide open. As soon as the diagnosis came in at 6:30 tonight, things started happening. Within minutes, they were there to give him an EKG and said that his cardiologist would be there in 15 minutes to do an echo to see if there were any other clots. His EKG and echo looked the same and she could not see any other clots. Now, an echo is not as good as a heart cath. She will be calling Mason's surgeon in Michigan in the morning to find out if they want to do a cath or add another med to thin his blood. If a cath needs to be done, we will be going to Michigan. We should know more in the morning. Those are the facts. How do a feel about this? I am pretty calm and in a good place. I actually wasn't at the hospital when the doctor gave the diagnosis to Randy. I was at home recharging for another long night at the hospital. While at home I got to thinking about what the worse possible outcome could be. I knew we could handle another med for seizures but kept thinking about the worst. I really believe that this is what had prepared me to handle the true outcome because I had already thought about what could be. Although I wish Mason would not have had the stroke, I do realize that we are very fortunate. Mason has regain most, if not all, of the function in his right arm. It is hard to tell today since he is still feeling the effects of the sedation drug. We should know better tomorrow. I am focusing all my energy on how do we make sure that this doesn't happen again. How do we protect our baby from this happening again? Because next time, it may not be the good of an outcome. We know Mason is going to need a pre-op cath for his next heart surgery so I say we go ahead and do it. This will give us a better idea if there are any other looming stroke risks and we would find out if he is ready for his next surgery. Unfortunately, I am not a doctor and won't be making this decision. Thank you all for keeping Mason in your thoughts and prayers. Please keep them coming. I truly believe I have a miracle baby. 25 years ago they had no way of treating his heart condition or his lung issues. The pediatrician that heard his heart murmur when no one else did gave him a chance to live. He coded 3 days after his first heart surgery and we were told that 1 out of 500 survive that type of complication. He has now had a stroke and has recovered only days later. MIRACLE?? I think so!

Quick Update

Mason has regained the use of his right arm. What the doctors think is that he had a seizure with Todd's paralysis (not sure if I spelled that right). This means that he had short term paralysis after a seizure. We spent most of the morning trying to get the Wichita sedation team to agree to sedate him for an EEG and MRI. They have finally agreed but it is too late today to do it. So, tentatively it will start at 11 am tomorrow. Mason has come around and is in better spirits - eating a little and even laughing a couple of times. He is still very tired which can either be from the seizure or the fact that they bugged him until 3:30 in the morning. Either way, he is returning to our Mason. Please pray that the results of the EEG and MRI are promising and this was a one time event. Mason does seem to be twitching or having muscle spasms randomly. Or maybe it is just my heightened sense of awarement. I just want to get the tests done so I can have piece of mind or at least a path. Please also pray that Mason is accepting of the doctors and nurses. The poor baby says "all done" when they come to see him. Hopefully, we will have a restful night - as much that can be had in a hospital - and be able to come home tomorrow.

Please pray for Mason

Mason had what we believe was a seizure tonight that left his right side paralyzed. He is being admitted to the hospital for observation. Mason had been running a fever and we had even seen the pediatrician late this afternoon. When he woke up from his nap, his right arm was twitching and then he refused to use it. We rushed him to the ER and after a moderately successful cat scan, we do not believe it is due to a bleed in his brain. All other test are encouraging. Right now it is pointing to the fever that he had. They will observe him overnight and we will see the neurologist in the morning.

One small step for man, one giant leap for Mason-kind!

Skipping ahead here but I thought I would share something very news worthy and exciting regarding Mason. The little guy has taken a giant step forward in the eating department. There was nothing gradual about it either. Mason went from having a complete oral aversion to 'eating' about 2 weeks ago and he hasn't stopped since. As a matter of fact he wants to eat everything in sight. Now I use the term 'eat' loosely, it's more like licking or lapping it up with is tongue. Which by the way, you should see his tongue. It's huge. Quite impressive really. Or very efficient I should say. Anyway, he is still learning how to eat so he uses his tongue instead and gnaws at things. Whatever works is fine with us. The fact that he is trying foods like he is, is a major development milestone for Mason. So far the only thing he has not liked is chocolate cake (sad day for dad). In the picture above he is eating (or licking) a bowl of re-fried beans, yes re-fried beans. I'm telling ya, there is nothing the kid won't eat.

MIA'S 6TH BIRTHDAY!!!!

As promised, this post is all about Mia and her 6th birthday party or I should say parties. I had to travel back to Missouri for some family stuff between Christmas and New Years and Mia went with me. Mia always does really good in the car for the over 4 hour drive - we have trained her well! She took a nap and then we stopped to buy her a new movie half-way through the trip to replace her favorite that broke and picked up some popcorn. Mia had her own little movie and a popcorn in the backseat! Granny asked if Mia could stay through the weekend so I returned to Wichita by myself. Mia had no idea what Granny had in store for her. What Mia thought was a visit to see her Great-Grandma and Grandpa, turned out to be a surprise party for her.

Here is Mia at her surprise party. She doesn't look excited at all, does she?

Daddy met Granny halfway and brought Mia home that Sunday. Mia had to leave some of her presents at Granny's because one in particular would only fit in Granny's Expedition (an almost 5 foot dollhouse - thank you Granny!) Mia returned to school for the week and we made cupcake shaped cookies to send to school on her birthday. They turned out pretty good and tasty if I do say so myself. Mason didn't want all the attention going to his sister so he created his own drama that day as well but that is the next post.

Mia also had her big birthday party at Pump It Up. This is a place that you can rent that has blown up bouncy toys - that is the best I can do to describe it. The pictures will do better. She invited her classmates and some of our friends. I think she had a good time!

In this picture you can see a few of the bouncy toys and Mia's friends having a good time.

So, this is not the first year we have had Mia's party at Pump It Up. Last year, Randy said that it was the best birthday party ever. It is fun for all ages! It was not surprising to see that Daddy and his friend join the group as well. It didn't get as rowdy as last year since there were only two of them! I think Randy would really like to have his party there, too!


By the way, today is Randy's birthday. Happy Birthday! No party at Pump It Up for him just a calm evening at home with a chocolate cake with store-bought frosting. It use to bother me that Randy preferred Betty Crocker over my frosting - I mean I learned it from my Grandma and even took 3 cake decorating classes. Okay, I'm still a little bitter. Moving on.


Mia hula hooping! Shake it, Birthday Girl!

After all the jumping around, the kids go to the party room where they get to have pizza and cupcakes and Mia gets to open her presents. She is the queen for the day!

This is a picture of all the kids that joined Mia at her birthday celebration!

I can't believe my baby girl is six! Where does the time go? She is growing up so fast and is getting so smart. It amazes me everyday how much she learns at school. She is reading books, adding numbers, counting money and telling time! Amazing!

We are so proud of you, Mia! We love you!

Mommy, Daddy and Mason

Busy, busy, busy

December and January are always busy months at our house. I have been trying to think about how I would write my next post. I envisioned this huge post of all the things that have happened since my last post and it slowly became clear to me that my brain was not that big. So, I am going to try to write a few posts over the next few days to get you all caught up. So, this post will be about . . . . .

CHRISTMAS

I think this had to be the best Christmas at our house so far! Apparently, I had been a very good girl this last year. But I won't bore you with stories about me at Christmas because I know you all want to hear about the kids, right? Well, I believe they had a great time too. Mia was a little concerned that she hadn't been good enough until Christmas morning and she decided that she must have been worrying for no reason. We did stay in Wichita this year and although I missed my family in Missouri, it was nice not to have to travel. Randy, Mia and Mason went to Newton Christmas Eve Day (I wasn't feeling well - I think I was still recovering from all the traveling at Thanksgiving! It is not as easy as it use to be now that we have to take all Mason's feeding supplies and medications.) They had a great time! We did go to Randy's parents on Christmas day and had a great meal. Thank you, Mamma!

Christmas morning, Mason was the first to get up which surprised me because I expected Mia to wake us up in the wee hours of the morning. We woke Mia up and the festivities began. Mia was ecstatic at all the presents and Mason just seemed overwhelmed. Stockings first!

Mia is still half asleep but happy none the less. Mason is watching Mickey Mouse and has no clue what is going on!
Ahh, we are finally awake now!

What did Santa bring in those stockings? Candy and . . .

and toothbrushes! That Santa is so smart!

One of Mason's favorite presents from Santa - after he got warmed up!

Mia's favorite presents - Justin Bieber dolls!

Next Post - Mia's Sixth Birthday!

Pre-Christmas Update

Lots has been happening since my last post. I'll start with the ER visit. I bet you are thinking that it is Mason. Not this time! Friday night, Mia snuggled up next to me on the sofa and I noticed that she was a little warm. She had said a couple of times that her throat hurt but nothing major. Boy was I wrong. Her temperature was 101.5 and her throat looked horrible. So, Mia and I went to the ER to get treated for what I had correctly assumed was strep throat while Daddy and Mason hung out at home. Saturday and Sunday we attempted to keep the kids apart. Time will only tell if it worked. After two days of antibiotics, they were allowed to play again just in time for Mommy to get some pictures of the two of them for our Christmas cards. Yes, I am running a little behind! Here is one that I snap where they actually look like they are having fun. We finally took Mason in to get his lab work done that the cardiologist had requested and she called on Friday to tell us she had some changes that she wanted to make. Basically, Mason's potassium and chloride levels were a little low so she decided to change his diuretics from three times a day to twice a day. This was a good change! So, we are watching that he doesn't start to retain fluid and get puffy. Please send good thoughts and prayers that he make this transition without any bumps.

Mason is constantly a source of entertainment in our house. I think he gets this from his sister! She has definitely taught him how to be dramatic. He frequently "hurts" his hand while playing and whimpers until you kiss it. Mason has also perfected his fake cry. I think he has Grandma fooled! He is still not walking but is so very close. He has taken a few steps on his own but is not very confident yet. It is only a matter of time. For those of you who have seen us chase after Mason with his feeding pump bag can understand why we both have mixed feelings about the day he takes off running. It is hard enough to keep up with him when he is crawling. We are in for some trouble!

Lastly, I wanted to share some pictures from this weekend. Mason loves to play under the kitchen table. So, we drag the feeding pump bag and put it under there with him. Not sure what the fascination is but he seems to love to walk from chair to chair under there. At about nap time on Saturday, he crawled under the table and laid down. He continued to play with the refrigerator toy constantly pushing the button to hear the song. After a while, I realized that he would delay pushing the button until it "mooed" at him. He was going to sleep but the toy kept waking him up! So, I turned it off and Mason took a quick nap under the kitchen table!

I hope all of you have a safe and happy holiday season!