Something They Haven't Done in Years

Yes, they all have bathing suits on. And yes, they're having a ball.

Quote from JD: "Sometimes it's fun to feel 5 again."

Missing You

I've been thinking non-stop lately about Molly Kate (yes, we've given our sweet girl a name even if it may change before we meet her.) I keep telling David that I miss her terribly and last night we discussed the plausibility of missing someone we've never met. So being the nerd that I am, I looked up the word 'miss'.

Miss (v) - to notice or regret the absence or loss of.

Do I notice her absence? You bet I do. Her absence is felt during every family dinner, every good night kiss, every moment of childhood laughter. We found out this week that Molly Kate has been moved to Beijing for open-heart surgery. I'm torn. On one hand I am so thankful that she is in the much larger, modern city of Beijing and I am grateful that no more damage will be done to her heart or lungs before we are able to meet her. On the other hand, my heart breaks that she may be alone and scared during a very dangerous and painful hospitalization. I have no way of knowing if her foster mother traveled with her to Beijing but my gut (and common sense) tell me that she is either alone or with a nanny that she doesn't know.

I love my little girl. I miss my little girl. And I don't care who says that's crazy.

Home

Ash's first meal in 10 days (eggs & bacon - nice & greasy)

I got chastised last night by my hubby who said, "Aren't you even going to write a one line post that we're back home?" My answer, "No, I'm going to bed. They'll understand." Sorry to those of you who have been checking on us, praying for us, and sending us nice thoughts. I was REALLY tired after 12 days in the lovely Cincinnati Children's Hospital (and yea, I know it wasn't actually me in the hospital.)

I'm sure you noticed that David took over my blogging duties during the last 2 days of Ash's hospitalization. I came down with the mother-of-all stomach bugs and spent 24 hours praying to the porcelain god. I felt awful but was so happy that Dave was there to take care of Ash when I couldn't. I'm pretty sure God was watching out for us.

When we drove up to the house last night, JD and Piper were in the front yard waiting for us. I started to tear up just seeing their sweet faces (which is rare for this rather stoic mommy.) Kai jumped in my arms as I walked through the front door and Scout (the dog) almost knocked me down. It's a huge understatement to say that we're all happy to be together again.

Drastic Measures

Always the rebel and convinced that no one was ever going to feed him, Ash decided to take the law into his own hands this evening. He comandeered a contraband set of cooking utensils (pink no less) via a rigged game of BINGO in the playroom, then proceeded to make himself a Cracker Barrel-style breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes, and hot dogs using nothing but play-dough (look out, MacGyver). I tried to call security, but it was too late...the meal had been devoured. I think they're going to kick us out of the hospital. Wait...that wouldn't be a bad thing would it?

- Dave

The Evidence

Patience, Young Padwan

Piper and Kai after the School-wide Spelling Bee

Kai Trying On Dad's Jacket

Ash in the Hospital Lobby

Hi Folks! You can probably tell from the geeky Star Wars quote in the title that this is Dave. Heather is not feeling well (at all) so she's back at the Ronald McDonald House resting and I thought I would add a few details to her last post. On Saturday, the doc told us that he thought Ash would be released on Monday - thus the "If the Planets Align" post from yesterday. This morning, when he examined Ash, he decided that the incision needs two more days to heal before Ash can eat. So, we're here until at least Wednesday. But given the circumstances of some of the patients in this hospital, we can't complain. There are a lot of folks here a lot worse off than we are.

Ash is feeling well - we hit the playroom every time it's opened and usually close the place down. We take long walks around the hospital and see everything there is to see. He's really ready to eat - he keeps saying he wants eggs, bacon, cookies, and pancakes. He's already made me promise to take him to Cracker Barrel on the way home. Since the child hasn't eaten in over a week, who am I to refuse that request?!?

Thanks to everyone for all the support! We really appreciate our friends and family!

- Dave

The Planets Didn't Align

We're here for a while longer. I want to cry, but I won't since Ash is crying enough for the both of us.

If the Planets Align

Monkey Backpack - some of loot the little man got in the hospital

Smooches to everyone who said a prayer for Ash

Ash & Dave - Having fun in the playroom

Cross your fingers and hold your breath - Ash may be discharged tomorrow! He's been doing amazingly well. No pain for several days and last night was his first night without night terrors. He's still NPO but if everything goes right, Dr. Levitt may let him begin eating in the morning. If he is able to keep food down, then we'll be discharged. The only thing in our way after that will be the weather. Snow is supposed to hit Cincinnati by tomorrow afternoon and Birmingham should be thoroughly iced in by then, so we're not exactly sure when we'll actually get home (but we'll definitely drive south until we have to stop!)

Tired

I'm tired friends (so tired that it took me 3 times to spell the word 'tired' correctly.)

I want to get out of room 452 for more than for 20 minutes.

I want to watch a tv program that is not on the Disney or Nickelodeon channel.

I want to sleep without worrying that Ash is going to pull out his PICC line.

I want to sleep anywhere that someone is not opening my bedroom door every 15 minutes.

I want to kiss my kids (with the exception of Ash who I often want to strangle.)

I want my youngest daughter home (instead of spending another cold winter in China.)

I want to shave my legs.

But most of all, I want my kids to be healthy, which they all are (including Ash) so I guess I'll stop whining. Thanks for listening. I feel better already.

Night Terrors

Ash had a pretty bad night last night. Being in the hospital has brought back his night terrors in force. Ash has always struggled with night terrors to some degree but they had gotten much better over the last year. Last night, Ash startled me awake more times than I can count screaming "The bad guys - the bad guys are coming!" Then he would begin to punch, kick and flail uncontrollably. I can't wake him up during his night terrors (it's next to impossible) so I just tried to keep him from hurting himself or pulling out his PICC line. During one of the scuffles, I threw my back out. Right now I can function with pain pills, but without them I'm pretty useless.

Although sweet Ash is having trouble sleeping, he's feeling pretty good. He hasn't had any pain meds since Wednesday morning and he's having fun going to the playroom every few hours. He's a little trouper and I'm so proud of him.

A New Distraction

My hubby left early this morning. It's a little sad. Maybe I'm selfish but I love having him here. We're good together, no doubt about it. The good news is that my mom got here late last night. She's a great distraction for Ash and that's what he needs right now. He's feeling good - a little too good. He's pulling at his tubes, standing in his bed and wanting to hop around. Our job is to keep him from hurting himself and distract him in any way we can. I know, what a wonderful problem to have. I'm certainly counting my blessings right now.

And We're Walking

Ash took his first walk down the hall today (post-op) and then later got his PICC line inserted. I love PICC lines (they don't blow like IV's do) but I hate the procedure to put them in. I don't want to jinx us, but so far this has been a really good hospital stay. Ash is completely surprising me with his courage and strength. He rarely shows this side of himself at home and I'm really enjoying seeing him rise to the occasion!

Great Night!

Ash had a great night last night. He slept well with minimal medication and woke up telling us that he had good dreams. David took the night shift at the hospital and I slept like a dead woman at the Ronald McDonald House. Ash is scheduled to get his PICC line around noon today, but other than that, we're in a pretty normal routine of healing. Once Ash has his PICC line in, he can get some nutrition (which will be wonderful since he hasn't had anything to eat or drink since Sunday morning.)

Thanks so much for all the emails, Facebook notes and blog comments. They really do encourage David and I during a pretty difficult time.

It's Good to Be Out

Out of surgery. Either acting silly (with a foam donut) or dead asleep -
don't you love Morphine?

In Surgery

They came to get Ash at 6:45 this morning - exactly 2 1/2 hours after we finally went to bed. I must say that I am looking extra lovely right now. Especially if large under-eye bags and narcolepsy turn you on. But this isn't really about me, is it? Ash had a hard night but thankfully, the nurse anesthetist gave him some versed this morning to calm him down (he suffers from a pretty bad case of separation anxiety.) The surgery is supposed to last around 3 hours and we're already 2 1/2 hours into the procedure. We've gotten 2 updates from the OR and so far, everything is going as planned.

It's 2am and I Feel Like the Living Dead

It's 2am and Ash and I are watching a Geotrax train movie. We got about 30 minutes of sleep early this evening but that was it. How can I already be exhausted and we've only been in the hospital 28 hours?

Ash is scheduled for the first surgery in the morning so I expect them to take us down to the OR around 7am. Please keep praying. Ash isn't the toughest little guy in the world and he's already beginning to dislike this hospital.

NG Tube In (Success #1)

Checked into the hospital and already have the NG tube in place. After about 15 minutes of screaming, Ash settled down and is quietly watching the DVD Cars. I really like our nurse, Tina, which is great because today is traditionally an extra tough day. Dr. Levitt came in to say hello but Ash just gave him the evil eye. Kind of funny, actually. Thanks for the kind thoughts and prayers. So far, so good!

By the way, we got into the Ronald McDonald House last night and it is amazing! We were told it's the 3rd largest RMH in the world with 78 guest rooms and a ton of game and play rooms. It's a kid's dream come true (think Disney World.) We are so grateful to be able to stay there this visit. David is already thinking we should volunteer at our local RMH when we get home.

Another New Year's in Cincinnati

So here we are again, holed up in a hotel room in Cincinnati on yet another New Year's Day. This time we are not here with sweet Kai, but rather our youngest munchkin, Asher. Asher is having the same surgery that Kai had in March of 2009. The surgery itself went amazingly well for Kai but a month afterwards he came down with a horrible antibiotic resistant infection that (literally) brought us all to our knees. Kai ended up coming home with a PICC line and a suprapubic catheter and we are fervently praying that Ash will be able to avoid all of the complications that Kai endured.

Ash is a troubled little guy and I love him more deeply than I ever thought possible. I want to protect him so badly that it hurts sometimes. We believe that Ash was severely neglected (at the very least) during his 3 1/2 years in the orphanage. He deals with a lot of hurt and frustration and often says thing like, "I'm so stupid" or "Nobody loves me" that break my heart. He is incredibly bright and loved by all and so I pray that this hospitalization will not regress the progress he's made since he's been home.

Please pray for our little man over the next 2 weeks. Tomorrow includes a NG tube (not fun) and an IV. He'll have surgery early Monday morning and then a PICC line placement on Tuesday. Yes, I think it's fair to say that the next few days will be downright awful for Ash. However, David and I are in good spirits and know we're doing what's best for Ash in long run. If you're in Birmingham and see any of our other kiddos, give them a big hug. They try to put up a strong front, but we know that these hospital stays are quite hard on them too.

I'll keep posting to my blog so check back often or sign up for email updates to hear how Ash is doing.