And then there was this...

Well, I spoke with my father Thursday night, and he tells me that Lucas had another tube removed. Now all he has is a feeding tube in his mouth and his IV in his head. This is very encouraging. He is on some medication. It causes his stomach to get upset, so they had initially reduced his feeding from 13CC to 5CC, but he was raised back up to 10CC by the end of the day. After telling me this, he says "Now, the bad News." I hate those words. You see, My niece and other family members have been staying at the Ronald McDonald House. This is a really neat place. The parents of the patient get to stay there for next to nothing. I thought that was wonderful. However, he told me that starting Friday they were going to close it. My heart sank. Apparently the AC unit went out on the building, and they had to have everyone leave. They said that it was cooler outside than it was inside the building. It was in the mid 90's outside. That's terrible. They weren't aloud to open any windows, because the neighborhood wasn't the greatest. I guess they thought that would put too many people at risk. My Dad mentioned staying at a hotel would cost at least $40 a day. He thought it would be better to just drive everyday or every other day, and pay about $15 a day for gas. I think I would have to go over everyday, if it were my child. Of course the House will only be closed until they get the AC fixed, and the current residents would get first priority. They would all be called back. However, they said it would be about 16 to 18 days before it was fixed. That's a lot of gas. But the most important thing is that Lucas Gabriel is doing well. Thanx again.

Well he is a quick update as to how Lucas is doing. He has gained up to 2 pounds 13 ounces. He is now taking 13CC of milk every 3 hours. That's almost a half an ounce. Doesn't sound as good when you say it like that, so we will say 13CC instead. I was told that he was removed from the oxygen. I mean he no longer has the oxygen. I imagine that also means the tubes were removed. He was under a light to help with Jaundice, but it has been removed as well. However, the kid keeps removing tubes without permission. He has already removed the tube from his throat, as well as removed an IV from his right arm. They had to tape the tube to his chin, and place the IV in his left hand. Well, that didn't work either. He recently pulled his IV out again. Now they had to put it back in his head. That is where it was when they transported him. I plan on going back to see him this weekend, but don't know, if I will be able to. I may have to work. I will keep you posted as to how much progress he makes. Thanx for all of the concerns and prayers. Talk to you soon.

Sometimes you just need a kiss. 

What can I say? We all have those bad hair days. Well, those of us who have hair, that is...lol 

Here is Lucas. I have to say he still looks a bit tied down. I mentioned earlier that they removed the feeding tube, and they did. He Did have a tube going through his belly button. Now, he has one in his mouth and down his throat. I will update as time goes by. He measured 15 inches in length, and weighed 2# 15.4 oz. at birth. He lost down to 2#, but is expected to start gaining weight soon. Please keep him in your prayers as well as the family. 

I was able to get picture of him with his eyes open. His grandmother says he looks like Mr Magoo, and in this picture I have to agree. He's still cute though. 

He didn't keep his eyes open long. 

Lucas Gabriel is now drinking 3cc of his mother's milk every 3 hours. And he's only 4 days old. He's getting stronger. Thanx for your prayers.

Let's see. The weekend started out really, on Thursday. Let me rephrase that. The excitement started out on Thursday. I had to go to the Doctor about my hamartoma in my lung. Which, by the way, has not changed in 6 months (woohoo!!!!). I have to back some time in January. Anyway, on our way to the Doctor at St. Thomas, we hear on the radio that there is an overturned 18-wheeler on I-24 at 21st Ave. Guess where we have to get off...yep...21st Ave. We decide to call my wife's aunt who knows Nashville pretty well. When we tell her our scenario, she replies..."Oh No". That really gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. However, she tells us where we should turn, and we do. It all starts looking very familiar. My wife makes the comment about this being the same way to go to Vanderbilt Hospital...Uhh Ohh...Her aunt says, "well isn't that where you are going?". AAGGGHHHHH!!!!! She took us to the wrong place. However, we couldn't have made it that far without her. We were able to get back on I-24 on the other side of the accident. It worked out in the end.

Also on Thursday, when I got to work I found out that the equipment I had hoped to get tested (18 Machines), hadn't even been started. We were going to be there for a while. I was told we would be there all weekend. I ended up staying that night until about 11:30. The only bad part was that I didn't get there until 2:00, so it really wasn't that bad. We ended up getting 9 done for the day (only half of what I wanted). Needless to say there was a bunch of problems. Friday wasn't much better. We had to get 20 machines done in 8 hours. We had 4 people working on the testing, and 2 (counting myself) working on getting them ready to ship. At 3:00 (quitting time) there was only 2 machines left. I decided to let everyone go home, and I would stay and get them done. Sounds easy enough. However, those 2 machines turned out to be dogs. I couldn't get anything to work right. I was starting to get frustrated. After several reboots, I got one of them to pass. The last one was terrible. I ended up calling one of the technicians in to try to fix it. He ended up replacing the whole computer. After that we were good to go. We got out of here at about 9:30 that night, only to have to come back at 6:30 in the morning.

Saturday, we came in, and started getting things ready to ship. I had 1 guy out on the floor doing inspections, while I did paperwork. Did I ever mention how much I hate paperwork? I didn't have to do much, because my boss did most of it, but I still hate it. It seems like it takes longer than the testing does. After I finished, I asked my coworker if he had done all of his inspection paperwork. Unfortunately, his answer was, "No". We were almost able to leave at 8:00, but had to stay to do more paperwork. By the time we got done, it was 10:30 (which is the time we would have gotten paid till no matter what). So we left.

I got home only to find out that my wife was going to go shopping at a near by mall. Well, I guess I already knew about it. Of course no one was ready, when I got there. I think they decided to sleep in. Anyhow, we were going to go shopping at the Children's Place to get socks and such for my daughter for school (she starts kindergarten this year :((...) We were at the mall about 2 to 3 hours before we even got to the Children's Place. Now I enjoy shopping (weird huh), but I can't spend that much time looking at pretty much the same stuff. We stayed in Dillard's for the longest. What's worse is that we have a Dillard's 5 minutes away from home, and we traveled an hour and a half to go to this one. Is it me, or is there something terribly wrong with this picture? I did find a pretty cool store though. It was called Steve and Barry's University Sportswear. They were having a liquidation sale. Everything in the store was $5.98 or less. They had everything from socks to jackets. A few of the shirts were a bit off color, but not all of them. This put us getting home pretty late. We had to stop at the In-Laws' house and then head home.

Sunday started out as your usual Sunday. We got up and got ready for church. Went to church as usual. After church we went to the grocery store to get a couple of things, and then returned home. We decided to go ahead and start lunch. It was about 1:30 or so. I was reluctant to start cooking. I guess I was just being lazy (please no comments from the Peanut Gallery). However, after much hesitation, she made me get off the couch. I cooked Breaded Pork Chops, Rice, Green Beans, and of course Macaroni and Cheese. What can I say, my daughter loves the stuff. We finally get it all cooked, when we get a phone call. My wife answers, and it was my dad. You see he and my brother had to take a trip to Nashville early that morning to take my nephew to the airport so he could fly home to Hawaii. So as you can imagine, it would have already been a pretty emotional day for them. Anyhow, He tells her that he had just passed our road. This is not out of the norm. She just thought they had just gotten back from Nashville. It's about 2:40 or so by now. Then it happens. She could tell something wasn't right. He says they are on their way to the Emergency Room. Being a little emotional at the time, when she asks what is wrong, all he can say is my nieces name. She says she is on her way. All the while I am setting the table, fixing the plates, and listening to what is going on [Multi-tasking :)]. She had heard noise in the background, but thought it was just the kids making noise. It was my niece screaming in pain.

We leave the food on the table, and head for the hospital. I mentioned in a previous post (What Happened) that she was expecting, and how that was causing some tension at the house. Well, she is 29 weeks pregnant at this time, still a bit early. We arrive at the hospital at about 2:45, and my wife runs in, while I get the kids. Yeah, unfortunately we had the 3 kids with us. Normally, I wouldn't take them to the hospital, but this time didn't have much choice. Being that my niece was pregnant, they sent her straight to OB. We got up to see her, and my wife went in. I stayed outside the room, and waited. My dad came out, and told me we were going to have the baby. I was shocked. It was way too early. I knew I wasn't going to be able to go in the room any time soon, so I took the kids to the waiting room. After being there for about 30 minutes, I got restless, and went to check on her. On my way out, I saw the baby's father. He told me, "we got a boy". My heart sank. I was happy she had him already, but I was a bit down that I didn't get to see her before hand. The doctors wouldn't open the blinds to let us look into the nursery. We tried and tried to look between the blinds, but couldn't see much. The nurse finally got done in my nieces room, and we were able to go in. My niece was doing well. She just looked tired. You really couldn't tell she had just had a baby. My wife and the baby's father were able to stay in the room the entire time. The father was a little unstable. They said he almost passed out. It's a little funny, now. But I bet he wasn't laughing at the time. As a matter of fact, he was crying. That is one of the worst feelings. I am talking about when someone you love is in pain and there is nothing you can do about it. He was fine after a while. I think he did well, especially for his first time. I guess it would have been a little bit easier for both mother and father, if she would have had any type of pain medication. She was too far along for any of that though. So let's see, we were notified at around 2:40. We arrived at 2:45, and she delivered before 3:30.

She named him Lucas Gabriel. I kinda like it. I wasn't too thrilled about Gabriel, but it has grown on me. I don't think it was totally her choice. I think she may have been pressured into it. Isn't it funny how that happens? At one time, she wanted to name him Diego. I like that. But apparently the pressure people won that battle. Lucas' Doctor came in and told us that he was doing fine. At birth, he weighed a mere 2 lbs, 15.4 oz. (you have to include that .4). He said Lucas was breathing on his own. He was covered in tubes. However, the Doctor wanted to med-flight him to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, for the simple fact that, he didn't want Lucas to be in this hospital, if his condition got worse. He wanted him to be in a better hospital, where they were better trained to deal with that kind of thing. I commend him for that. Lucas was flown to Erlanger, and his mother was released the next day.

Both parents are minors so things get a little tricky when it comes to visitation at Erlanger. First of all, 1 of the parents has to be present at all times, when there is a visitor. Since both are minors, an adult has to be present at all times as well. This means a lot of trips to Erlanger, and a lot of overnight stays. My wife and I are going to go this weekend and relieve a few of the people there. Of course, only 1 of the parents can leave.

That is what happened over the weekend, but things didn't stop there. On Monday, my niece was released. However, before she was released, they had to fill out more paperwork. This included the birth certificate. I was at work during this, but my wife was there. She actually had to call me to come in, because things were getting out of hand. One of the nurses even threatened to call security. That is crazy!!! I have to admit, I was a bit upset. I mean. Here they are having just brought a new life into the world, the mother of the child still on the hospital bed, I'm sure the father still a bit overwhelmed by all that has taken place, and they are arguing about little stupid stuff. Some people may say that a birth certificate is not little nor stupid, and I agree. However, the whole problem was caused when they were deciding what last name the baby was going to carry. My first thoughts were, "Who cares?" I really didn't think that was too important at the present time. I could see both sides of the fence on whether or not to put the father on the certificate. I could see good reasons for both parties. But I could also see bad reasons. My own personal opinion is that he should be on it. I mean. You have to ask only a couple of questions. First, is he the father? Second, is he presently trying to be a part of the child's life? If the answer to both of these is "yes", why wouldn't he be included on the certificate. You could go into, well what if he leaves, or what if it doesn't work out, or many different scenarios, but we shouldn't live in the "what if..." realm. Let's just stick with the facts!!! Luckily, by the time I arrived, everything had settled down a bit. When I got there, no one said anything to me about it. Let's move on to better things. As you can tell, I get a bit worked up about these things.

Monday, the Doctors at Erlanger decided that since Lucas wasn't using the Ventilator they had inserted, they should go ahead and remove it. So here you have a 1 day old, 2 pound baby that was born 11 weeks premature, and he is breathing on his own not once having to use a Ventilator to breathe. Is that stubborn or what!?! Things are starting to look up. But we're not done, yet. Tuesday, they decided that they would try to remove the feeding tube from his stomach, and feed him breast milk. That was a success (so far). They removed the tube, and are feeding him 1cc of his mothers milk every 3 hours. Now, we have a 2 day old, 2 pound baby that is not only breathing on his own, but also eating on his own. This is going to be one strong kid. However, he is still recovering. He still has to gain at least a pound and a half before they let him go home. The doctors tell us that he will be there at least until the mother's due date, which was Oct. 1. Please keep him in your prayers. Thanx for taking the time to read this. It only took me 3 days to write it. Hopefully the next won't be so long. Take care

Try these to see if they make anything easier. If not, at least I got you to read my blog...lol

1. Don't force a fit. If something is meant to be, it will
come together naturally.

2. When things aren't going so well, take a break. Every-
thing will look different when you return.

3. Be sure to look at the big picture. Getting hung up on
the little pieces only leads to frustration.

4. Perseverance pays off. Every important puzzle went
together bit by bit, piece by piece.

5. When one spot stops working, move to another. But be sure
to come back later (see #4).

6. The creator of the puzzle gave you the picture as a
guidebook.

7. Variety is the spice of life. It's the different colors
and patterns that make the puzzle interesting.

8. Working together with friends and family makes any task
fun.

9. Establish the border first. Boundaries give a sense of
security and order.

10. Don't be afraid to try different combinations. Some
matches are surprising.

11. Take time often to celebrate your successes (even
little ones).

12. Anything worth doing takes time and effort. A great
puzzle can't be rushed.

Well, let's just say that there isn't a whole lot in my head...wait a minute...I mean there are a whole lot of thoughts in my head...ummm...I mean I don't know what to write about. There. That's better. I did hear something interesting on the news this morning. Willie Nelson is releasing a new CD. He is releasing a Reggae Album. I think it is called Countryman. I think that was really the only good news on. When I say good news, I just mean not bad news. It seems like everything on the news these days is bad. I know this isn't something new to us. There was a wreck this morning, that was just getting cleared up at 6:00. Apparently someone in an SUV (I think) traveling west (or east) had to swerve to miss hitting another car. When he swerved, he lost control and flipped the vehicle. He was thrown out of the car and landed in the road in the middle of traffic going east (or west). Either way, he landed in the other lane of traffic. They said he was hit by several cars while in the road. I can only say this, because I wasn't there, but you would think that when the first car hit him they would have slammed on the brakes and stopped. There is still going to be investigations to see what caused the accident.

A few days ago, I heard that a baby (I think almost 2 years old) that was thrown from a moving car. The last I heard they didn't know if it was accidental or intentional. Either way, they were trying to find the parents and the driver of the car, just in case it wasn't one in the same. They may have already solved this case, but my only question is "What's going on here!?!?!?!?" IF it was an accident, how could the parents or the driver not notice? If it was intentional, how could someone do something like that? Okay. Okay. That was more than one question. Whichever the case may be, where was the child's seat belt at?

That's another problem I have. Seeing kids riding in a car standing up or moving around. I despise that. If only I could pull people over... It wouldn't be pretty. I know others that share my same feelings on the subject. Well, we don't share feelings...They have their own, but they match mine... I guess I have wasted enough time. I have to get back to work now. Make it a great day.

I thought these were good thoughts so I copied them from an email I received. Enjoy

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out.

It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. " A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Be careful what words you say."

Well, as with every holiday, we are scrambling about trying to figure out what we are going to do, where we are going to go on which day, whose house we are going to celebrate at, and so forth. You see. We like to celebrate with both sets of parents (mine and my wife's) for many of the holidays. Needless to say, this Fourth of July was no exception. We celebrated 3 different times. On Saturday, Both sides of the family came to our house, and we went to see the fireworks demonstration at the High School. It was great. I love doing just about anything that recognizes our troops and their dedication the their nation. Being an Army Brat myself, I have a great deal of respect for our Troops. I noticed myself almost in tears at certain parts of the night. It was even worse, when I looked up at my Dad, and saw that he was having trouble as well. There haven't been many times that I have seen my Dad cry, but I could tell he wanted to right then. He is a very modest man. He wouldn't even stand up, when they requested to have all of the Military stand. I almost stood up for him, but I didn't. Monday, my side of the family (mom, dad, my brother, and nephew) came up and we went to see more fireworks at the lake. It was great too. They shot the fireworks off continuously. They never had a break. Sadly enough, at both of these events, someone was injured. At the High School, a set of fireworks fell over and shoot fireworks towards the crowd. At the lake, I don't know what happened, but apparently one of the crew members was hurt. They shot for a while, and stopped. We thought it was over, but an ambulance went out to where they shooting. I hate that. However, Sunday is the night in question.
Sunday, I took my family over to my parents' house. There are actually 2 houses on the property. My sister and her kids live in one, while my parents and brother live in the other. It seemed like right from the start there was tension. I guess you could consider me the Black Sheep of all of the siblings, but that wasn't really the issue. The comment was made that even the people living on the property together can go weeks at a time without seeing one another. I find that hard to believe. I mean there are times I go that long, and don't go over, but I am not on the same property. Some may say that is no excuse, and I agree. It got worse today, than I have ever seen it, or should I say worse than I ever remember it getting. There was yelling and cussing and crying...Why does that have to happen? It was a shock to say the least.
One of my nieces is going through a bit of a hard time. She has a baby on the way, and is very young. This has caused a lot of the tension in the family. She is not making things better for herself either. She has become moody (can't imagine why), and takes out her frustration on everyone else, especially her sisters. They are both younger than she. She acts fine around me, so all of the talk about her being moody is hear-say. I guess she thinks I will get upset. She has gotten very brave. She talks back and cusses her mother (hear-say). Granted I disagree with her mother (my sister) A LOT (we won't get into that), but the fact remains that she IS her mother. I think there has to be a respect there. However, that respect should go both ways. The key word there is should. Maybe that is where one of the problem lies. Who knows? I just wonder What Happened? Hopefully, things will change for the better...soon.