Rambo's Rampages...

We are getting the heck out of Dodge! That's right. As of tomorrow, JHH will be a mere memory in our lives. Well, ok, not exactly. We'll still be there quite often for appointments, check ups, etc. But it will no longer be our home. Of course, our home still won't be our actual home yet either - Mt. Washington will be. Yes, Rambo is moving on up! Broken heart, no biggie. Messed up lungs, whatever, he's got this. He's got tiger blood. He's gonna wrap both arms around Mt. Washington and love it violently through violent hatred. And then we'll be home in no time. There was literally weeping and gnashing of teeth in the NICU today. Nurses were sobbing, babies were wailing, everyone was in an uproar. Chaos was rampant - their hero is leaving. And there Rambo laid, asleep, completely untouched amidst the havoc he was causing. He exposed them to magic and for that they will forever be grateful. I do have pity already for the nurse that's going to get stuc...

He's just so stinking cute. Hi. My name is Amanda Taylor and I am a geriatric self-loather. It's true. It's hard to admit, but it's true. Not so much because of the number of my age but because of the lack of accomplishment I feel. Although, I can't lie, for about 5 years after the age of 17 I cried at every single birthday I had. No, I don't know why. I guess 17 was just a really good year for me. But to that I couldn't even say why - I can't think of anything that happened that year that's of too much significance. I'm just a nutcase. But I do have a point, so stick with me if you feel like going on a self therapy session. As I was saying, I tend to feel like I haven't accomplished much. Not enough to be an adult anyway. The numbers and the accomplishments aren't adding up. So this week when I did actually feel accomplished at something I was really proud. I've been doing the hospital thing by myself for the past s...

One hundred. What's so special about that number, you ask? Well, I just so happen to have an answer. For starters, it's the number of vocal sounds that a cat has. It's also how many zeros you need to make a googol, the number of surnames accountable for 85% of the Chinese population, about how many earthquakes occur in a year that cause damage, and the dollar bill that Benjamin Franklin is on. It is also how many days old Rambo is today. One hundred. I can assure you this is not how I thought I would be spending one hundred days of my life - ever. I can also tell you that they have been the best of times and the worst of times. We've encountered everything from him literally almost dying right in front of us to watching him blow huge snot monsters out of his nose. The respiratory therapists love it - seriously, they do. They use whats called a 'neosucker' to suck mucous out of the mouth and nose. I'm not gonna lie, once you've used it enough it becomes...

The past 2 days have been really good for Rambo. Yes, I've risked it again by saying this. I just can't seem to learn my lesson. But he's been so darn cute that I had to share. He's moving all around, grabbing things, kicking his legs. I laid him on his back and he rolled onto his side. Crazy man. He can't make any noise but if he could he totally would. All the nurses come over to say hi and flirt with him. He's pretty popular. And they all say the same thing. Well, the same 2 things: "Look at that hair!" and "If it's gonna happen to anybody it's gonna be him. Poor boy can't get a break." But it appears the past few days he has caught a break - finally. The only trouble he's had is the hiccups. He's been moved back to a crib and holding his temperature very well. Not too high and not too low. He's being fed and they have actually started compressing his feeds today. Which means instead of continually being fed,...

You know you've been away from home too long when your daughter forgets where the bathroom is. Also when your cats go ferrel again and start peeing on your countertops. That being said, it was a good weekend home. And Ben being home almost full time helps to keep the cats in order. He will chase them down and spank them if needs be. We have three cats. Three. We are the crazy cat people, Lord help me. It's true. Maverick was the original and he's pretty awesome. Well, he WAS awesome and then he got the special 'snip' and turned not so awesome. Who can blame him though? But since we've been gone he has decided he does indeed love us and has returned to his original awesomeness, and quite possibly beyond. Goose is number two. Goose is mine. Goose is the master of his outside world. He will hunt you down. He will win. And when he comes inside all he wants to do is sit in your lap and try to purr. In reality, his purr is more like a very large man breathing very ...

And not so favorite things. For instance, this entire past week or so. It's really weird that now Rambo is 'stable' and is not in as dire conditions as before, I'm more done now than ever. Last night, Ben and I had a chance to get out together for dinner and a concert. It was great. We went to dinner and stuffed ourselves, enjoyed the nice weather and were pulling into the parking garage of the arena when my phone rings. It's a surgeon from JHH telling me they were taking Theodore into surgery that night because his infection had caused an abscess and it needed to be removed. He called it "semi-elective". In that it wasn't emergent but it needed to be done sooner rather than later. Great, thank you. Now I can really enjoy myself. Check off another surgery. That makes 5. Plus 5 infections. That's almost a surgery or infection for every week of his life. That's just a glimpse at what's been going on. Dealing with people, being away from hom...

Today was not a great day. Rambo has yet another infection that they believe is staph of some sort. They are still waiting for the cultures to grow and specify kind then species, then blah blah blah. Anyway, he's on a gammit of antibiotics again with an IV in the OTHER side of his head - bye bye more hair. They believe the infection came from his PICC line (it's a more permanent IV). That's 2 for 2. The last time he had a PICC in he got a blood infection. Here's the real kicker - they need to put ANOTHER one in to give him fluids and medicines because a regular IV can't handle all of it. Vicious cycle?? I think so. I got to see him struggle and be in pain for the majority of the day today. Lucky me. He got moved back to the warming bed because he was actually cold. His temp went from very very high to very low (See, I told you this would happen. It's not quite anthrax, but it's the same point.) He was in a crib for a whole 3 days. The problem with the warmi...