i have been reading this beautiful baby girls blog for a month or so now, and am so inspired by her parents. if you can, please check out her blog, there are some links to videos and photos, and a link at the top of the page for a donation to her parents, they are facing loosing their home, unable to pay bills all while trying to help Kayleigh heal and praying they wont need to plan a funeral for their baby girl. please send prayers, and thoughts. remember no donation is too small, $1 is more than they family had. most importantly though, keep Kayleigh in your thoughts as she fights, pray for a miracle!
thank you!!
please dont feel obligated to donate anything, i know times are tough and money is far and inbetween....just send a prayer up for her. i wasnt able to donate much, but i figured my $10 was more than they had to begin with, and hopefully i can donate more soon.
Dotty
http://kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com/
the family
Monday, April 27, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
a worried mom, prayers please
well of course things were going too well, too smoothly! just wish there didnt have to always be something to worry about. Zach is so good about keeping us on our toes i tell ya.
i got a call today from the hospital whre we went on wed from the orthopedic department where zach had a xray for his scoliosis, apparently the doc saw "something" and has ordered him a cat scan of his neck and chest area...
we will go on april 30th at 8am. talk about nervous! what on earth could it be? his neck area? his chest? his lungs looked great and sound great, im hoping its not a reherination (though i dont really see any signs of that) but what on earth could they be looking for? oh the waiting is going to drive me batty. why, why Zach, why now?
keep him in your thoughts. thank you!
i got a call today from the hospital whre we went on wed from the orthopedic department where zach had a xray for his scoliosis, apparently the doc saw "something" and has ordered him a cat scan of his neck and chest area...
we will go on april 30th at 8am. talk about nervous! what on earth could it be? his neck area? his chest? his lungs looked great and sound great, im hoping its not a reherination (though i dont really see any signs of that) but what on earth could they be looking for? oh the waiting is going to drive me batty. why, why Zach, why now?
keep him in your thoughts. thank you!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
still here
i havent forgottan about the blogging world, in fact ive been making changes to our blog and updating blogs i read and finding new resources, i just havent had it in me to update my own, sad hu?
lets start with easter i guess, i hadnt really planned much and was looking forward to some rest and a relaxing weekend....but then it happend....i get a call that my brother and sister in law and their 3 kiddos are coming up and want to do easter, so okay im like this may not be that bad. they know that due to zach being so sick and the nurses being here that there isnt room to house more, so they tell me they are looking into a hotel. my mother in law tells me they will keep the kids so my brother in law will only have to pay for a single bed in a hotel...long story short, my mother in law was full of BS as always and backed out of keeping the older 2 boys and i end up having to watch them thru 2 nights. okay so your thinking its not that bad, and your right, but its the principle of the thing. heres the kicker, right after they get here mikey begins to throw up everywhere, i think im coming down with pink eye (turned out to be only allergies) and their kiddos just got over lice....so yea im a lil stressed. in the end i ended up telling my mother in law off, she also was caught talking some crap about me and i guess i had just had enough over the years with her. so needless to say we arent speaking anymore and it feels great!
so lets skip ahead a week...we had mikeys birthday party on the 18th, a sunday. our nurse, Alex let us have it at her house, she grilled some pork chops, hot links, hot dogs, and hamburgers , the kids played in a inflatable bounce house she had and had a blast. mikey had a starwars cake and bakugan napkins and plates, lol, silly boy. he is 7 years old now, man do i feel old!
i was trying to change the layout to my blog and i accidentally deleted all the blogs i follow...i tried to get them all back, but i know im missing a few, if you see yours isnt here and you would like it to be, just leave me a message with your information:)
i tried to break down my list of blogs i follow and links by subjects, take a look on the right side of the page...feel free to check them out:)
yesterday zach had appointments in temple, he saw the pulmonologist and the ortho doc for his scoliosis. ill start with the pulmo appointment first, zach weighed in at 28lbs 5 ounces and was 32.5 inches long:) big boy. he did great for the doc and his lungs sounded great! the resident thought we may be able to come off oxygen at least for a couple hours during the night, however the doc wasnt okay with this for now, with zach pulmonary hypertension, so for now we will stay on the oxygen, but we are weaning down on his diuretics and we will go back in a month to see the progress:) now on to the other appointment, it went well too, zach had his xray and we went over the results, as of now his scoliosis isnt progressing:) he is still at a 20 degree curve, same as 6 months ago, so for now we will watch and wait, if it doesnt progress he may only need a brace, that would be wonderful. so we left the clinics in good spirits and moods.
zach sure is getting to be a big boy, hard to believe in about 3 days he will be 18 months old! he is attempting to crawl, trying to get his knees under him to go, so far no luck but he is trying! im so proud of him. we go see the genetisist on the may 6th in austin and we will see what they think, if there is an underlying issue with zach or not. so far i have been researching and pks...cant remember how to spell it right now, www.pkskids.org i think is a website on it, sounds like it may be something to look into, zach has a lot of characteristics of it, but who knows.
today is already thursday, i cant believe it, but at the same time, im sooo happy, its almost the weekend again! im ready. k time to do some chores, ill try to update more often.
lets start with easter i guess, i hadnt really planned much and was looking forward to some rest and a relaxing weekend....but then it happend....i get a call that my brother and sister in law and their 3 kiddos are coming up and want to do easter, so okay im like this may not be that bad. they know that due to zach being so sick and the nurses being here that there isnt room to house more, so they tell me they are looking into a hotel. my mother in law tells me they will keep the kids so my brother in law will only have to pay for a single bed in a hotel...long story short, my mother in law was full of BS as always and backed out of keeping the older 2 boys and i end up having to watch them thru 2 nights. okay so your thinking its not that bad, and your right, but its the principle of the thing. heres the kicker, right after they get here mikey begins to throw up everywhere, i think im coming down with pink eye (turned out to be only allergies) and their kiddos just got over lice....so yea im a lil stressed. in the end i ended up telling my mother in law off, she also was caught talking some crap about me and i guess i had just had enough over the years with her. so needless to say we arent speaking anymore and it feels great!
so lets skip ahead a week...we had mikeys birthday party on the 18th, a sunday. our nurse, Alex let us have it at her house, she grilled some pork chops, hot links, hot dogs, and hamburgers , the kids played in a inflatable bounce house she had and had a blast. mikey had a starwars cake and bakugan napkins and plates, lol, silly boy. he is 7 years old now, man do i feel old!
i was trying to change the layout to my blog and i accidentally deleted all the blogs i follow...i tried to get them all back, but i know im missing a few, if you see yours isnt here and you would like it to be, just leave me a message with your information:)
i tried to break down my list of blogs i follow and links by subjects, take a look on the right side of the page...feel free to check them out:)
yesterday zach had appointments in temple, he saw the pulmonologist and the ortho doc for his scoliosis. ill start with the pulmo appointment first, zach weighed in at 28lbs 5 ounces and was 32.5 inches long:) big boy. he did great for the doc and his lungs sounded great! the resident thought we may be able to come off oxygen at least for a couple hours during the night, however the doc wasnt okay with this for now, with zach pulmonary hypertension, so for now we will stay on the oxygen, but we are weaning down on his diuretics and we will go back in a month to see the progress:) now on to the other appointment, it went well too, zach had his xray and we went over the results, as of now his scoliosis isnt progressing:) he is still at a 20 degree curve, same as 6 months ago, so for now we will watch and wait, if it doesnt progress he may only need a brace, that would be wonderful. so we left the clinics in good spirits and moods.
zach sure is getting to be a big boy, hard to believe in about 3 days he will be 18 months old! he is attempting to crawl, trying to get his knees under him to go, so far no luck but he is trying! im so proud of him. we go see the genetisist on the may 6th in austin and we will see what they think, if there is an underlying issue with zach or not. so far i have been researching and pks...cant remember how to spell it right now, www.pkskids.org i think is a website on it, sounds like it may be something to look into, zach has a lot of characteristics of it, but who knows.
today is already thursday, i cant believe it, but at the same time, im sooo happy, its almost the weekend again! im ready. k time to do some chores, ill try to update more often.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
For Payton
this is for a very special lil guy, one of my cousin's, he was born with complications that resulted in cerebral palsy. ill post his mom's letter for his story and i ask that you just read it, if by reading his jouney you feel compelled to donate to his fund the family would greatly appreciate it. if you cant but still want to help, please pass this information on! thank you!
Payton Dale Camp Fund
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this letter in faith that it will make you interested in sponsoring my son for an upcoming clinic in Minnesota that will change the outcome of his life physically and developmentally.
Let me introduce myself a little. For as far back as I can remember there were two things I wanted most in this world. One was to become a Nurse and the second was to become a mother. The first goal wasn't that hard to accomplish but the latter was a little more complicated than I expected. I obtained my LVN nursing license in 1998 and got married in 1999. In my mind I thought I would start expanding my family in the next year or two however it wasn't in the cards that way. After many unsuccessful attempts I decided to return to school for a Bachelors in nursing. I graduated in May 2006 and finally delivered my first and only child on June 7th 2006. As you can imagine being fresh in nursing school and having wanted a baby for so many years I took every precaution imaginable to make sure things would go smoothly. Sometimes it's just not enough. It was a sharp realization that God is in control of my future, not me. There were complications at birth, Payton was born in Congestive Heart Failure, his blood sugar was really low and wouldn't stabilize, and they couldn't get him breathing correctly. He was careflighted to Methodist in Dallas where he stayed the next 3 weeks. We never really found out why or how things happened the way they did but early MRI's showed there was lack of oxygen to his brain at some point. The MRI's before leaving the hospital showed Periventricular Leukomalacia which is highly associated with Cerebral Palsy later on. With that being known the Neonatologist set us up with Early Childhood Intervention upon leaving the hospital. By the time he was 6 months old it was very clear that he was severely delayed developmentally, not reaching for toys or rolling over, and many other things, so he started Physical and Occupational therapy. He was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at age one. I now believe that everything happens for a reason, I realize God had a plan when he made me wait to have a child. I didn't have the wisdom or the patience to be able to care for a child like Payton five years ago. Payton is the most lively, precious child I have ever known. You can ask anyone that knows him and they will mention that he is always so happy and smiling. His attitude amazes me. He is a very hard worker and has such a strong spirit. Everyone that meets him just falls in love! In the beginning I remember thinking "Why did you let this happen to me God, what did I do wrong?" Now I think, "Wow God how can I ever thank you enough for letting me be in this child's life?" Payton will be 3 now in June, he still can't sit by himself or crawl on fours, but he can roll and scoot on his tummy. He has come a long way since the beginning and has worked very hard for everything he has accomplished.
As you may know, all babies are born with certain reflexes that help protect them and also serve with functional things. You never realize how complicated they are until they don't work the way they should. These reflexes are supposed to disappear by certain ages or it's not considered normal. With Cerebral Palsy their reflexes are usually hyperactive or hypoactive and/or they don't follow the correct pattern. If the reflexes don't grow to their matured state it affects later development. So the goal is all about turning the brain on in this aspect and finding what works to teach the reflex the proper pattern. This is where Svetlana Masgatova comes into the picture. She is a Russian Psychologist who has spent years studying reflexes and learning how to integrate them into everyday life so they are functional. She has a University in Poland and now has 3 camps over the United States. The camps are one week long for the child and parents and many practitioners from all over the world including Dr Masgatova herself work with the child for 6 hours a day that week. The camps are limited to only 20 children so they are able to spend adequate time with the children and parents showing them how to do the work once they get back home. They have had outstanding improvements in children that have been told they would never sit, never walk, and never talk. I have had the recent privilege of attending one of her 4-day classes in Houston, Texas called "Children with Challenges". I learned a lot of information and felt it will be very beneficial to Payton's prognosis. I was also able to have an hour of private lessons for 2 days for Payton with Dr. Masgatova. Just with those 2 days of hour lessons I can tell his arms are less spastic, his vision seems more focused, and he is using his arms more while doing the crawling/scooting motion in the floor. She also instructed me on an exercise program to be working with at home. Week after week the therapists and I notice he is doing better and better. With all of these improvements I am so excited to see the possibilities with 7 days of intense therapy by professionals that have spent so much time working and studying with this. I understand that there is nothing that will be a quick fix with Payton's condition and it will require a lot of work on my part even after we return home from this clinic, but I know this will give him the jump start he is needing.
I invite you to be a part in changing the outcomes for this precious child. He has such a happy spirit! You should see his face light up and the excitement he shows when his dad asks him "You want to ride the motorcycle?" Unfortunately his posture doesn't allow him to be safe on it so I haven't let him ride it yet. However his grandparents saw how much he loved his dad's motorcycle and they bought him a small battery operated one for Christmas. They tried to make alterations and they added a seat belt to it so it is safer but it's still too big for him. It doesn't stop him from loving it though. It takes 2 people right now for him to ride it, one to push the go button and one to hold him on and run along side it. Although it wears you out and it's a funny site it's worth it to see him having so much fun. My goal is that one day he will be able to ride it by himself. It is very difficult for me to ask for this kind of assistance but as you can imagine you will do things you never thought possible to help the ones you love. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing your response. The next scheduled camp in the United States is in July 2009 in Minnesota. The cost of the camp alone is $8,500. Any help you could provide will be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to contact me anytime by phone or mail. My cell number is 903-340-7443, Home number is 903-469-3615. Address is PO Box 575 Murchison, Tx. 75778. Email address is forevermine05@hotmail.com
Sincerely,
Kathy Feagin (mother of Payton Feagin)
the site information is PAYTONDALE
Payton Dale Camp Fund
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this letter in faith that it will make you interested in sponsoring my son for an upcoming clinic in Minnesota that will change the outcome of his life physically and developmentally.
Let me introduce myself a little. For as far back as I can remember there were two things I wanted most in this world. One was to become a Nurse and the second was to become a mother. The first goal wasn't that hard to accomplish but the latter was a little more complicated than I expected. I obtained my LVN nursing license in 1998 and got married in 1999. In my mind I thought I would start expanding my family in the next year or two however it wasn't in the cards that way. After many unsuccessful attempts I decided to return to school for a Bachelors in nursing. I graduated in May 2006 and finally delivered my first and only child on June 7th 2006. As you can imagine being fresh in nursing school and having wanted a baby for so many years I took every precaution imaginable to make sure things would go smoothly. Sometimes it's just not enough. It was a sharp realization that God is in control of my future, not me. There were complications at birth, Payton was born in Congestive Heart Failure, his blood sugar was really low and wouldn't stabilize, and they couldn't get him breathing correctly. He was careflighted to Methodist in Dallas where he stayed the next 3 weeks. We never really found out why or how things happened the way they did but early MRI's showed there was lack of oxygen to his brain at some point. The MRI's before leaving the hospital showed Periventricular Leukomalacia which is highly associated with Cerebral Palsy later on. With that being known the Neonatologist set us up with Early Childhood Intervention upon leaving the hospital. By the time he was 6 months old it was very clear that he was severely delayed developmentally, not reaching for toys or rolling over, and many other things, so he started Physical and Occupational therapy. He was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at age one. I now believe that everything happens for a reason, I realize God had a plan when he made me wait to have a child. I didn't have the wisdom or the patience to be able to care for a child like Payton five years ago. Payton is the most lively, precious child I have ever known. You can ask anyone that knows him and they will mention that he is always so happy and smiling. His attitude amazes me. He is a very hard worker and has such a strong spirit. Everyone that meets him just falls in love! In the beginning I remember thinking "Why did you let this happen to me God, what did I do wrong?" Now I think, "Wow God how can I ever thank you enough for letting me be in this child's life?" Payton will be 3 now in June, he still can't sit by himself or crawl on fours, but he can roll and scoot on his tummy. He has come a long way since the beginning and has worked very hard for everything he has accomplished.
As you may know, all babies are born with certain reflexes that help protect them and also serve with functional things. You never realize how complicated they are until they don't work the way they should. These reflexes are supposed to disappear by certain ages or it's not considered normal. With Cerebral Palsy their reflexes are usually hyperactive or hypoactive and/or they don't follow the correct pattern. If the reflexes don't grow to their matured state it affects later development. So the goal is all about turning the brain on in this aspect and finding what works to teach the reflex the proper pattern. This is where Svetlana Masgatova comes into the picture. She is a Russian Psychologist who has spent years studying reflexes and learning how to integrate them into everyday life so they are functional. She has a University in Poland and now has 3 camps over the United States. The camps are one week long for the child and parents and many practitioners from all over the world including Dr Masgatova herself work with the child for 6 hours a day that week. The camps are limited to only 20 children so they are able to spend adequate time with the children and parents showing them how to do the work once they get back home. They have had outstanding improvements in children that have been told they would never sit, never walk, and never talk. I have had the recent privilege of attending one of her 4-day classes in Houston, Texas called "Children with Challenges". I learned a lot of information and felt it will be very beneficial to Payton's prognosis. I was also able to have an hour of private lessons for 2 days for Payton with Dr. Masgatova. Just with those 2 days of hour lessons I can tell his arms are less spastic, his vision seems more focused, and he is using his arms more while doing the crawling/scooting motion in the floor. She also instructed me on an exercise program to be working with at home. Week after week the therapists and I notice he is doing better and better. With all of these improvements I am so excited to see the possibilities with 7 days of intense therapy by professionals that have spent so much time working and studying with this. I understand that there is nothing that will be a quick fix with Payton's condition and it will require a lot of work on my part even after we return home from this clinic, but I know this will give him the jump start he is needing.
I invite you to be a part in changing the outcomes for this precious child. He has such a happy spirit! You should see his face light up and the excitement he shows when his dad asks him "You want to ride the motorcycle?" Unfortunately his posture doesn't allow him to be safe on it so I haven't let him ride it yet. However his grandparents saw how much he loved his dad's motorcycle and they bought him a small battery operated one for Christmas. They tried to make alterations and they added a seat belt to it so it is safer but it's still too big for him. It doesn't stop him from loving it though. It takes 2 people right now for him to ride it, one to push the go button and one to hold him on and run along side it. Although it wears you out and it's a funny site it's worth it to see him having so much fun. My goal is that one day he will be able to ride it by himself. It is very difficult for me to ask for this kind of assistance but as you can imagine you will do things you never thought possible to help the ones you love. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing your response. The next scheduled camp in the United States is in July 2009 in Minnesota. The cost of the camp alone is $8,500. Any help you could provide will be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to contact me anytime by phone or mail. My cell number is 903-340-7443, Home number is 903-469-3615. Address is PO Box 575 Murchison, Tx. 75778. Email address is forevermine05@hotmail.com
Sincerely,
Kathy Feagin (mother of Payton Feagin)
the site information is PAYTONDALE
Monday, April 6, 2009
savings, and giveaway
i have been studying blogs for awhile, especially those that have information about being frugal and using coupons such as here and those offering tips, meal ideas and more like Lori (who is also doing a wonderful giveaway with Cheryl at Little Dots and Pretty Spots! she has some amazing talent here and the giveaway is awesome, go check Lori's blog out for more information:)
so anyway like i said ive been trying to get as many tips as i can and figure out this frugal thing a bit better. i went today to walgreens, i must say i know i didnt do as good as most i read about, but you gotta start somewhere hu? ill have pictures later but i got 3 bottles of dish soap for .99 cents each, got a big garnier (sp) shampoo, conditioner and a polishing spray for hair for $10 all together, i also picked up another large shampoo of the same, and it came with a bonus smaller shampoo for $5.99, and i ended up getting a box of hair dye, same brand, for $5, so i totalled above $20 for that and walgreens had a special RR(register rewards) for that, spend $20 get $10 back thru a gift card in the mail. i also bought a chapstick for the same reason, i had a coupon for $1 off and then that brought the total to 1.49 and the RR were 1.49 back on the gift card. i also got $1 instant walgreens coupon off some disposable razors(forget the brand right now) and i had a manufactures' coupon for same brand $2 off, so i got the razors, for 1.99 vs 4.99, and got two arm and hammer deoderants large size for only .99 cents each. i dont have the reciepts infront of me at the moment, but i think it went pretty good. best of all, ill have the RR on the gift card to use next month, so ill be starting out with "free money". i bought some coupons from the site above^ thecouponclippers.com and recieved them today, i spent about $7 for handling fees, and i totalled up for more than $70 in savings. ive also been printing coupons offline and am excited to put these to use for grocery shopping day.
yesterday i happen to go to kmart and found a huge sale on winter clothes, i managed to find the older boys a pair of fleece pants each for 1.99 and i got 2 hoody pullovers for me only 1.99 each. very exciting.
dont forget to go check out Lori's giveaway
so anyway like i said ive been trying to get as many tips as i can and figure out this frugal thing a bit better. i went today to walgreens, i must say i know i didnt do as good as most i read about, but you gotta start somewhere hu? ill have pictures later but i got 3 bottles of dish soap for .99 cents each, got a big garnier (sp) shampoo, conditioner and a polishing spray for hair for $10 all together, i also picked up another large shampoo of the same, and it came with a bonus smaller shampoo for $5.99, and i ended up getting a box of hair dye, same brand, for $5, so i totalled above $20 for that and walgreens had a special RR(register rewards) for that, spend $20 get $10 back thru a gift card in the mail. i also bought a chapstick for the same reason, i had a coupon for $1 off and then that brought the total to 1.49 and the RR were 1.49 back on the gift card. i also got $1 instant walgreens coupon off some disposable razors(forget the brand right now) and i had a manufactures' coupon for same brand $2 off, so i got the razors, for 1.99 vs 4.99, and got two arm and hammer deoderants large size for only .99 cents each. i dont have the reciepts infront of me at the moment, but i think it went pretty good. best of all, ill have the RR on the gift card to use next month, so ill be starting out with "free money". i bought some coupons from the site above^ thecouponclippers.com and recieved them today, i spent about $7 for handling fees, and i totalled up for more than $70 in savings. ive also been printing coupons offline and am excited to put these to use for grocery shopping day.
yesterday i happen to go to kmart and found a huge sale on winter clothes, i managed to find the older boys a pair of fleece pants each for 1.99 and i got 2 hoody pullovers for me only 1.99 each. very exciting.
dont forget to go check out Lori's giveaway
Saturday, April 4, 2009
babyshower
today was a very nice day, i love when we can say this, it was relaxing, it was enjoyable and it was fun. i threw a babyshower for our day nurse, a couple of her awesome friends helped out and made it a blast! we had a rubber ducky theme, the deco, the cake, the punch...all ducks. i was in love and luckily the lucky mom to be liked it as well. :)
the shower lasted a few hours and so we had nice company and good yummy (high fattening im sure) snacks all day.
my mother in law had taken the boys to a big military child appreciation thing on post, they played in bounce houses, colored, got some free small gifts, tshirt and some food. they had a good time and it was nice not to have to worry about them during the shower.
Zach has not been feeling well, i really hope he is back to himself soon, i hate seeing him sick. he has had a fever on and off for about 24 hours, he seems to have some stomach issues going on, while vented his gbutton leaked bile out...eeeww i know, but i feel so bad for him. i was thinking at first it was his teeth...he is cutting 5 right now, but i dont know. anyway i hope he is all better, very soon!
Harold called and we talked a long while last night it was really nice. he mailed the boys their blankets, sent it for the 7-10 day delivery....he wont do that again...cost $68! oh well, he wanted to make sure they were here for mikey's birthday, chance's was already late for his birthday, but he wont mind he will just be so happy to have it. i cant wait either.
the shower lasted a few hours and so we had nice company and good yummy (high fattening im sure) snacks all day.
my mother in law had taken the boys to a big military child appreciation thing on post, they played in bounce houses, colored, got some free small gifts, tshirt and some food. they had a good time and it was nice not to have to worry about them during the shower.
Zach has not been feeling well, i really hope he is back to himself soon, i hate seeing him sick. he has had a fever on and off for about 24 hours, he seems to have some stomach issues going on, while vented his gbutton leaked bile out...eeeww i know, but i feel so bad for him. i was thinking at first it was his teeth...he is cutting 5 right now, but i dont know. anyway i hope he is all better, very soon!
Harold called and we talked a long while last night it was really nice. he mailed the boys their blankets, sent it for the 7-10 day delivery....he wont do that again...cost $68! oh well, he wanted to make sure they were here for mikey's birthday, chance's was already late for his birthday, but he wont mind he will just be so happy to have it. i cant wait either.
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