Not Again :-(

Well, it's safe to say that this year has not started out quite like we had hoped. Chris has already had a trip to the ER, an overnight hospital stay, and a surgery, and this was all before January 12th!!! The culprit? None other than kidney stones . . . AGAIN!

Kidney stones are unfortunately not an unfamiliar struggle for Chris, although it's been about 7 1/2 years since he's had any trouble with them. You can read all about his experience with kidney stones in the summer of 2016 here. And, even before that, Chris has had several instances of kidney stones dating all the way back to when we were in college and lived in Tahlequah in 2004.

So this time . . . 

Back before Christmas, Chris was experiencing some pretty severe back pain. In fact, he purchased a back massager/heat thing to attach to his office chair to try and get some relief. He would struggle with the back pain for a few days, then it would go away, then come back again, and so on. I even asked him if the pain was possibly kidney stones, and he said no way. It didn't feel like that at all. 

The pain continued on and off after Christmas, but started to get more severe about January 6th. Chris insisted that it wasn't kidney stones, and I figured with all the past experience he has had with them then he would know. On Monday, January 9th he went to bed feeling pretty bad, and woke up about 4:00am on Tuesday, January 10th in excruciating pain. He had the telltale symptoms of kidney stones at this point, and we were pretty much sure that's what we were dealing with. I gave Russ a nice early morning wake-up call and asked if he could take Chris to the ER and stay with him until I could get the little girls off to school. He and Lisa are down to one car right now, but she offered to find a ride to school for her and Chloe so Russ could come get Chris. I was so thankful to have someone to call and who could help us out again. Chris and Russ have shared more than one ER experience together!

While Russ took Chris to the ER, I got the little girls off to school and dropped the big kids at Grampy and G-Jo's house. By the time I got the ER, Chris was comfortable and officially diagnosed with kidney stones. While waiting to be sent home, I called Chris's urologist's office (the same one who did his kidney stone surgery in 2016) and got an appointment to be seen at 9:30am. The big kids had co-op that day since it was a Tuesday, so I picked them up from Grampy and G-Jo's house and drove us all to Chris's appointment in Owasso. I'm not really sure why I decided to do that except I thought that maybe I could drop the kids at co-op after the appointment, get Chris home, then go pick them up.

Whatever it was that I was thinking is not how things ended up working out. Dr. T took one look at Chris's ultrasounds from the ER and at the shape Chris was in and immediately sent us next door to Bailey Hospital for him to be admitted. I was pretty shocked by this because this is not how things played out last time. I hadn't really considered that Dr. T would admit Chris to the hospital. 

While we were waiting for a room, Tia came and picked up Brianna and Brenson and took them to co-op and to lunch. While they were gone, I was able to get Chris settled in his room. He was on some pretty good drugs and was still comfortable at this point. 

As soon as I got Chris settled, Tia brought Brianna and Brenson back to me at the hospital. Then, the kids and I went home to coordinate all the other things that needed to be done so I could go back and stay at the hospital with Chris. I packed a bag for myself, helped Bri and Bren pack a bag, and wrote down a basic schedule of the kids' activities for the week. G-Jo agreed to pick the little girls up from school (who had no idea what was going on at this point) while Grampy took the big kids back to their house. I headed back to the hospital prepared to stay the night with Chris. 

I made it back to the hospital just in time to see Dr. T and have him go through things with us. Back in 2016, he had determined that Chris has a large mass in his right kidney. This mass is caused by a congenital malformation of the kidney, and while it is mostly stable, a piece of it had broken off and was trying to pass through Chris's system as a kidney stone. Additionally, somehow he also had a stone on his left side, as well. Dr. T was waiting on the results of some bloodwork, but had tentatively scheduled surgery for Chris for the next morning. 

Dr. T's crude drawing of Chris's kidneys

Chris's parent came by to visit for a little while in the late afternoon, then Russ and Lisa brought us dinner and visited for a bit after Chris's parents left. Chris was feeling pretty loopy on the pain meds, but he was feeling good enough that he wanted to get up and walk. Russ walked with him up and down the hallway a few times. 

After our visitors left, we tried to rest a bit but that proved to be easier said than done (for me at least). Chris was in and out of pain and consciousness.

The things we have to do for some alone time, haha!

The hospital wasn't very busy, so it was mostly very quiet during the night. However, at one point we could hear a newborn baby crying, and Chris woke up and was very upset about the "cat" disturbing his sleep. He kept saying, "Why is there a cat here? Can't you make it shut-up?" Another time, he woke up suddenly and grabbed his phone. I was sleeping very lightly and awoke anytime he woke. I asked him what he was doing, and he said he was going to send some work e-mails. Ummm, nope! I promptly took his phone away from him!

At about 5:00am on Wednesday, January 11th, a nurse came in the room and told us it was time to go to pre-op. I was surprised but also thankful that we didn't have to wait all day. Chris was in surgery by 7:00am, and we were back in the room by 9:30am. Everything went really smoothly, and Dr. T felt like he was able to remove all the things that needed to be removed. He also didn't see any other areas of concern, which was good. 

Chris slept the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon. We were pretty sure he would be discharged that day, but we had to wait for Dr. T to come by and officially release him. The nurses kept telling us he would be by within the hour, which just kept turning into another hour and another hour. Finally, at 5:30pm, Dr. T came by and said Chris could go home! Hooray!

We arrived home just as Grampy, G-Jo, and the kids were getting ready to walk out the door for Wednesday evening Bible study. Rebekah P had brought dinner - which was a huge help to G-Jo - and we are just so grateful for all the ways people have helped us and continue to help!

Chris currently has a stint in each kidney, which is uncomfortable, and an appointment for a follow-up visit with Dr. T in a few days. He thought he might be able to work the Thursday and Friday after he was in the hospital, but he mostly just rested (which is what his body needed). He did work yesterday (Monday) and is very anxious to get back to his normal routine and life. He's not exactly a great patient, so I think we're all ready for him to be feeling healthy and good again! Interestingly, he said earlier today that he didn't realize how bad he was feeling prior to all this until he started feeling better. His kidneys were working very hard to do their job, and Dr. T said that his right kidney was actually only working at about 20 percent. He didn't realize what his body was going through just to function!

While I realize that there are much, much worse things that can happen than what we've just experienced, it's still crazy to me how life can turn upside in an instant. I can't say enough how grateful we are for all the people who just dropped their own things to step in and help us manage the kids, schedules, co-op, basketball practice, etc. We are truly thankful to God for His bountiful blessings!

Little Blue for Two!

In this post, I shared all about our experience with getting Covid a week before the kids were supposed to go to bible camp. Thankfully, they both tested negative in time to go! There was lots of talk about potentially missing out on it this year, and along with that talk were some tears (from Brianna). We were all happy for them that they got to go!

We left our house at about 7:00am on Sunday, July 10th to head toward camp. It's a four hour drive from our house, so we stopped for worship services and lunch in Lamar, Missouri on the way up. I was still on the struggle bus from having Covid so recently, but I was able to help Bri get her bed all set up for the week. Chris helped Bren.

Ready for a great week in Cabin 1!

So happy to be there!

Yay for new cabins!

After getting the kids settled at camp, Chris, the twins, and I drove over to Overland Park (about 45 minutes) and checked into a hotel. We then went to Olathe for worship services that evening before turning in for the night. On Monday morning, the girls and I dropped Chris off at work for the day so he could finally meet some of his co-workers face-to-face. My plan was to have a fun day with Brooke and Brecklyn, but I just needed to sleep. I slept while they watched TV until time to check out of our room, then we went to lunch. After lunch, we went to Antioch Park upon the recommendation of Leah Thrasher. This was a park I played at as a child, so it had me all in my feels! 

Brecklyn, Brooke

Brooke, Brecklyn

This park has a path all around a pond that we took. It was so humbling for me because I kept having to stop and rest on the way around. It was beautiful, though!

There were lots of playgrounds to keep the girls entertained, and I was thankful for that. I sat on a bench while they played, and thankfully they were understanding about that!

After a few hours of play, we picked Chris up from work and headed back to Oklahoma. I slept pretty much the whole way home.

While I took it really easy all week continuing to recover from Covid, the Big kids were having a great time at camp! Russ sent me this gem of Bren, haha!

Bri was thrilled to be with some of her close friends!

Camp life!

Charlotte, Bri, and Lydia

Bri's crew!

Cabin 4 girls!

Memories to last a lifetime!

On Friday, July 15th, Chris, the twins, and I headed back up to camp to pick up Bri and Bren. Since camp last year, Bri had been asking to attend two camp sessions this year. We told her if she would save enough money to pay for one session on her own, then she could attend both. She saved the money, and that told us how serious she was about it! Bren was not interested in more than one session because, in his words, "I lose enough sleep in one week!" Haha. 

We didn't want to drive back and forth four separate times for Bri to attend two sessions, so we made a plan for her to stay with some friends on Saturday night after we all stayed at a hotel on Friday night. Even though I wasn't super at ease with this arrangement, Chloe was staying with the same friends and that helped me feel better. 

Once we picked Bri and Bren up from camp on Friday, we took all the kids to a park near our hotel. I was still weak and struggling to do much, but the kids had a blast playing!

Brianna, Brecklyn, Brooke, and Brenson

This park also has a pretty water feature.

What a tree!!!

So glad to be reunited with my babies!

After a *hot* time at the park, we grabbed some dinner at a local hibachi place. My appetite was still meagre at best, but this hit the spot.

The next morning (Saturday), we made a Wal-mart run and spent a few hours at the laundry mat to get Brianna ready for another week at camp. After lunch, we dropped her off with the Halls and headed back to Oklahoma.

I was thankful that Sarah sent me a few photos that evening. It helped put my mind at ease!

Brianna, Chloe, Leyha, Kylie, and Vaneza

Having a great time!

I wasn't concerned at all about Bri going to a second week of camp. The girl loves people and loves camp! Photos like this make me smile.

Bri and Makenzie

The following Friday, Chris and I agreed that I would make the trip to pick Brianna up and bring her home. He{understandably} didn't want to miss another day of work, and I was finally feeling well enough to venture out without him. Brooke was going to ride along with me but woke up not feeling great, so Brecklyn took one for the team and was my road-trip buddy.

Of course, Brianna was wiped out after two weeks of camp. She slept all the way from camp to Joplin!

We stopped at Chick-fil-a for some dinner. Brecklyn was pretty happy to have her sister back home!

I'm so grateful that my kiddos have the opportunity to go to bible camp, build relationships with like-minded people, and grow in their knowledge of God's word. I sure miss them when they're gone, but I also recognize what a great opportunity it is for them. 

It Finally Got Us.

 In my last post, I said I'd share all about our experience with Covid. Little did I know that I would get it too. And y'all, it was NO JOKE. I had a fairly severe case, and I'm still recovering. I can't remember the last time I have been that sick. Ugh.

Back at the end of June, Brianna went to stay with her cousins in Mississippi for a week. On the last Saturday in June (June 30th), we met JT, Mallory, and Brianna at Cracker Barrel in Conway, Arkansas to get Bri back. Bren seemed fine that morning, but by the time we were headed home after lunch, he wasn't feeling good. He kept complaining that his muscles ached, specifically his legs, and that he was super tired. We were on schedule to make it home about 4:30, then had plans to go to the Burkholders house that evening for a fireworks show. After Bren fell asleep in the car on the way home, then went straight to bed and back to sleep once we got home, I decided to take his temp. I wasn't surprised that it was 103 degrees. Everyone was super disappointed that we had to cancel our plans for the fireworks show. 

My first thought was that he probably had Covid. Both of the big kids were supposed to go to bible camp on July 10th, so I felt like we needed to know if it was Covid or not. Chris ran to the store and purchased some home Covid tests. We gave one to Bren, and it was positive. 

JT and Mallory were scheduled to start a camp the following day, so we felt super bad about exposing them. Thankfully, they both tested negative, went on to camp, and never got sick.

We immediately quarantined Bren to our bedroom closet so I could take care of him and keep him away from the girls. I would go out of the bedroom some to get things and refill water, but the girls would stay far away from me, as well. Chris slept in the living room as to minimize exposure, but Bren was so sick that there was no way I was going to sleep away from him. His temp reached almost 105 several times, he was having hallucinations, he could barely walk, had no appetite, and was just super sick in general. I felt SO bad for him. 

We did call his pediatrician just to make sure we were covering all our bases. His pulse-ox dropped pretty low a few times, and we needed to be reassured that we didn't need to take him to the hospital. The pediatrician told us that if he tested negative after five days, he could still go to camp. We were hanging on to hope for that!

We all stayed in on Sunday and missed our ice cream social after worship that evening. On Monday (July 4th), I helped Bren get dressed so we could take a few quick, festive photos. 

Grampy and G-Jo had porch dropped popsicles for us

Poor guy . . . you can see in his eyes that he was so sick.

On Tuesday, Bren finally started to feel better. However, as the day wore on, I began feeling really off. I couldn't even really describe it, but my head felt "swimmy" and my throat was sore. I tested for Covid and to my surprise the test was negative. I went to bed feeling kind of awful, and woke up feeling worse. On Wednesday morning, my fever was 103 and my entire body ached something terrible. There was no denying I had Covid, too!

I don't remember much of the next 72 hours. I slept a ton, tried to drink water, and just hurt so bad. My fever didn't break until Friday afternoon, at which time I sweat buckets. Chris was trying to work, take care of the kids, and keep up with the household duties (just meals alone is big), and finally decided to take a few days off. On Saturday, I got out of bed to try and help the big kids pack for camp, but could only be up for a few minutes at a time. Thankfully, Bren was feeling fine by this point and tested negative. I was so sad to not really be able to help them get ready for camp, though!

Our plan for Sunday was to leave the house at 7:00am, stop for worship services on the way to camp, grab lunch, get the kids to camp, drive to Overland Park (about 45 minutes from camp), check in to a hotel, go to worship services in Olathe, spend the night, and Chris go in to his physical office on Monday to meet some of his co-workers face-to-face for the first time. I absolutely didn't know if I had it in me to do all that, but Chris helped me Sunday morning and we stuck with our plan. I'll say though, I was SO tired and slept almost the entire time we were in the car before and after worship services. I also had ZERO appetite, and could barely walk to Bri's cabin to help get her settled. In fact, I hitched a ride back down the hill after helping her set up her bed because I was so weak. 

We did worship in Olathe that evening, but I went to bed immediately when we got back to the hotel room. The twins and I drove Chris to work the next morning, then returned to the hotel room and I slept while they watched TV until it was time to check out. I'm still feeling SUPER run down, and have really been taking it easy this whole week. 

While I'm so grateful that things weren't worse for us (hospitalization), this was truly the sickest I've been in a long, long time. I'm wondering how long it will take me to fully recover, because based upon the way I feel today, I think it's going to be a while.

Florida 2020: I'm Too Excited To Sleep!

After planning for a whole year, tomorrow is the day we leave for our Florida vacation! To say there is a crazy bit of excitement in our house tonight would be an understatement!

We revealed the surprise about our trip to the kiddos a few weeks ago, and it has been non-stop questions and conversations about it ever since. In fact, I had to limit the children to one question about our trip per day for a while! We have been working hard to get school squared away, get all the things we need or think we might need, and get bags packed. Tonight before bed, we ripped off the very last link on our countdown chain. Eeeeep!

I'm going to rewind just a minute and share with you all about how we thought our trip might be in serious jeopardy. Last Tuesday, Brooke woke up very congested. She sneezed and blew her nose all day, then started running a fever on Wednesday. I couldn't believe the luck! We haven't been sick at all . . . not even a sniffle . . . since February when several of us had the flu. WHY NOW?!?

At first I thought it was no big deal. I mean, it was just a runny nose, right? Then the fever hit, and I became super nervous. THEN, Brecklyn came down with the exact same symptoms . . . a runny nose and congestion on Thursday and a fever on Friday. Thankfully, the fever only lasted about 24 hours before they were completely fine. I went back and forth between thinking everything is going to be fine and writing the whole trip off. Chris and I even talked about driving the 19 hours to Florida to give the kiddos a little extra time to start feeling better. There have even been tears (from me!).

Of course, just to make this game a little more fun, both of the big kids started sneezing and had runny noses on Saturday evening, followed by low-grade fevers on Sunday. I just kept thinking WHAT IS HAPPENING?!? We have been super careful about going in public for the past two weeks, yet this happens anyway. Wahhhhhh!

However, this morning (Monday) everyone woke up feeling completely fine. No fevers. No sneezing. Minimal runny noses. So we kicked vacation prep into high gear and busted it around here!

We are all so ready to go!

We even made time for all of the girls to go get surprise pedicures. I mean, we need pretty toes for the beach, right?!? They were so happy (who am I kidding . . . I was too!), and Brianna even asked what other surprises we have up our sleeves. They still don't know that we'll be on vacation with the S family, and I can't wait to see their reactions at the airport tomorrow!

After all the emotional ups and downs of the past several days, along with sick kiddos and allllll the work preparing for our trip, I thought for sure I'd be ready to fall into bed and go straight to sleep tonight. But alas, I'm too excited to sleep! 😁😄😊😀😃