Rambo's Rampages...

Thurman Carlos Meadows. Lived 88 full years. Died September 27, 2011. I had the honor of meeting this man, my husbands grandfather, only once. Even still, I had heard so many stories that literally came to life when they were shared by his children and grandchildren that I felt as though he was a close friend. The first time I met him I felt I had an unfair advantage of knowing all about him while he knew probably very little of me (except that I was beautiful, and wonderful and all that) And yet, even though I likely had the advantage, I was still so nervous to make a good impression on this man who was so highly respected and loved by my husband and his entire family. And the meeting didn't disappoint - at least for my part. I'm not sure what he thought about me :) - He was the life of the party. I mean, how many people in their 80's do you see out shooting a potato gun?  He is the only person I know who, after years of being highly allergic to poison ivy, woul

T rach H eart defect E xtubations (many) O cular issues D aily multiple medications O ccupational/physical therapy R ough days E xercise in patience, trust, and contentment not to mention.... Surgeries Close calls Kind of reminds me of the big woman/alien thing from Fifth Element that the stones were in. Anybody? Infections G-Tube Antibiotics Motility problems Nissen Opposition with physicians Suctioning Higher oxygen requirement Unable to swallow I could go on, but I won't. You've heard it all before. My point? Those things are what make THEODORE. (And also scigamnoshu.) They are an important part of who he is, but they are not all that he is. With mom mom (his great grandmother) and Kitty Cat. Rolls (literally, rolls everywhere. He's fat.) His scars An absolutely sublime smile Happy Interested in his siblings Loves new people Sleeps serenely Makes me laugh Keeps us guessing Progresses each day Wonderful work of God's han

* If you did not read the title of this post in the Carmen Sandiego tv show theme song tune please do so now. Word of advice: you need to add an extra syllable somewhere- you choose. If you do not know the tune of said show off hand then you're 'an ignorant scoundrel; I disapprove of your very existence.' Doc Holliday's words, not mine. Thank you. Enjoy the show. It's morning and I'm just getting settled in the PICU. I hear a small commotion in the corner by the door. I look up to see none other than Sylvester Stallone himself. Mr. Stallone is asking for the baby child Rambo and his wonderful dedicated mother. The nurses, all staring in wonder now, direct him my way. He starts walking toward me, I look up from my book and see him coming. Fidgeting with my hair and cursing myself for not putting on makeup today, I do my best to act comfortable and nonchalant (inside I'm DYING), yet also the appropriate amount of surprised and honored. Sylvester finally make

A few things Rambo is bound and determined to do: 1)  Be his brothers best friend. 2) Sit up on his own. 3)  Have the chubbiest cheeks ever. 4) Be as cute as humanly possible. 5) Get his sisters nose. 6) Figure out what in the world Ruth is doing to his hand. A few things I am bound and determined to do: 1) Make good, edible  homemade bread. 2) Enjoy it.  As you can see we are both well on our way to accomplishing the aforementioned. I'm also determined to treat weekends as weekends as long as my house isn't disastrous - it can look like a tropical storm ran through it but hurricane is where I draw the line and give into chores once again. Theodore also still appears be determined to get back into the hospital. We thought he was happy at home as there were no hospital attempts in the past few months. This past week proved us wrong. But we're onto him. We've figured out his tricks. No hospital for you, little m

Today Rambo is 9 months old. Unbelievable. He is turning from a baby into a little boy. Every time i look at him its bittersweet. Thinking about how far he has come is weird. It actually seems like a different world or he can't be the same baby. And in a way, I guess that's true.  He is now ridiculously chubby. We took him to the doctors and as the nurse went to take his blood pressure she said she wasn't sure the machine would be able to read it through all his fat. Indeed, that was the case. Legs and arms were tried to no avail. He is trying (or at least he did once) to turn himself over to his belly. He can even sit up on his own for a few seconds at a time. SLOWLY we are making progress. And what could this be? Yup. It's the tooth the doctor said wasn't there. The second one is close behind. We narrowly avoided being admitted to the hospital yesterday, but thankfully, he turned the corner just in time. He had been running an increasing fever for

We had an appointment with the swallow specialist yesterday. I've been anticipating this for quite some time now knowing that Rambo doesn't swallow. I was interested in hearing what the doctor had to say about helping, treating, teaching, etc.  I gathered from the paperwork I received and phone conversations I had with a not-quite-competent receptionist that the doctor needed to watch him eat to see what the problem was. This makes sense. Bringing baby food (which he's never had) or rice puffs (which he's never had) did not make sense. So I brought his formula in his 'favorite bottle' at the receptionists insistance. I don't think it's necessary to remind anyone that he hasn't eaten from a bottle since he was about a week old (because he.couldn't.swallow) so I'm thinking he doesn't have a favorite bottle. Aaaannnnnnyway we find ourselves at the appointment. Mind you, I've worked his entire schedule out - thankfully it wasn't too

After many many months of having this blog I've finally found some time to explore all the options blogger has for me, ergo you as well. You may have noticed some of the changes - maybe not. Either way, changes there have been. Mostly it is in the way things are displayed however there are some neat new features. At the top of the page are two new tabs: 'The Fam' and 'Daily Cup'. These are mostly just for fun and as a way to include the whole family in this blog. 'The Fam' will be updated periodically but the 'Daily Cup' I hope to update... well, daily. Hence the name. It's a good exercise for me and a way to keep perspective. So make sure you check those out from time to time. At the bottom of the page you'll find other blogs that I follow - if you want to as well. I mean, I'm not gonna force you. And that, my friends, is that.  Enjoy your labor day! Eat drink and be merry. Make resolutions and then break them. Oh wait... wrong holiday

*beepbeepbeep beepbeep* *beepbeepbeep beepbeep* A few seconds pass then *beepbeepbeep beepbeep* *beepbeepbeep beepbeep* all over again. This is one of those background noises that soon becomes so annoying it's all you can hear. Now, Rambo's equipment makes a lot of noise. But most of it is constant. The humidifier always has a low vibration humming that you don't realize until you turn it off to refill the bottle; then suddenly you become aware of the silence you've been missing. Other things like his nebulizer and suction machine are loud but only occasional.  Then there's the beeping.  The bane of my existence. *beepbeepbeep beepbeep* *beepbeepbeep beepbeep*  Are you starting to feel my pain yet? This beeping comes from an unfortunately necessary item: the pulsox. The pulsox measures the amount of oxygen in Rambo's blood. It's a little 'probe', for lack of a better word, with a light that goes on his foot or hand. And it's there all. the