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Monday, August 29, 2005
Honey, I'm Home...
Well, Lucas came home on Friday. I wasn't planning on going to visit on Friday, because I had a church meeting to go to. And I wanted them to get settled in. However, when my dad found out I was going to be at a near by church, he made sure to let us know they were home. That is his little way of saying, "We'll see you, when you get here." I appreciate that. Dad, isn't the kind of person to try to force you to do anything. He's a great dad, and I wouldn't change any part of him. Thanx Dad.
Needless to say, we went over as soon as we got done at the Gospel Meeting. It normally wouldn't have been as urgent to go. It wasn't at our regular church, but the preacher that was visiting, was the same preacher that both baptized me and married Camille and me. I hadn't seen him in a while. And they wanted me to lead singing for them. It was great.
Anyway, Lucas was now 17 inches long. That's a 2 inch gain in a little over a month. He looked great. Of course, I didn't have time to get my camera, so I am waiting for an email from my parents with some pictures. I will post them as soon as possible. Just wanted to keep you informed. Thanx a lot. Make it a great day.
Needless to say, we went over as soon as we got done at the Gospel Meeting. It normally wouldn't have been as urgent to go. It wasn't at our regular church, but the preacher that was visiting, was the same preacher that both baptized me and married Camille and me. I hadn't seen him in a while. And they wanted me to lead singing for them. It was great.
Anyway, Lucas was now 17 inches long. That's a 2 inch gain in a little over a month. He looked great. Of course, I didn't have time to get my camera, so I am waiting for an email from my parents with some pictures. I will post them as soon as possible. Just wanted to keep you informed. Thanx a lot. Make it a great day.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
What a Homecoming!!!
Well, it has been 5 weeks and 2 days since we were blessed with Lucas Gabriel. The doctors had not expected his early arrival. Despite his small size, he had proved to be a strong fighting little boy. Though he breathed on his own the whole time, the doctors at the local hospital thought it was in his best interest to send him to Erlanger in Chattanooga. There he continued to improve. They were able to remove all of his tubes. And were able to feed him through a bottle, eventually. He gradually gained ounce after ounce. Now he has reach the 4.5 pound mark. My father and niece have to attend an Infant CPR Class. Once this is taken care of. It is a great possibility Lucas will be coming home. We have been told that he may come home within the next few days!!! We'll just have to see. The road is not getting easier. We are just taking a detour. Still have a long road ahead of us. I plan to post pictures of him as soon as I get them. Meanwhile, here are some of my own angels. Thanx.
Just some clouds at Casey's Football practice on 08-22-05.
Here's casey looking at a few X-Rays at the Science Center
Here's Alina getting ready to eat birthday cake and ice cream. She looks tired.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, Under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Casey is on the far right. Look at him compared to the other kids. He's at least 5 foot 6 inches.
Now he sees that I am taking his picture. He's excited.
Casey's Football tryout. He's 9, but has to play with the 10-12 year olds. He is the current weight record holder at 190 pounds!!!
Monday, August 15, 2005
Stress Management
Here's an email I received. Enjoy.
A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a
glass of water and asked, "how heavy is this glass of water?" Answers
called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, "The absolute
weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it."
"If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an
hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll
have to call an ambulance. "In each case, it's the same weight, but the
longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we
carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes
increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on." "As with the glass
of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding
it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."
"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't
carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens
you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can." "Relax;
pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!
And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:
* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the
statue.
* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat
them.
* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the
middle of it.
* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their
maker.
* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was
probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a
warning to others.
* Never buy a car you can't push.
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you
won't have a leg to stand on.
* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the
world to one person.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty
and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors,
but they all have to live in the same box.
* A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour
A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a
glass of water and asked, "how heavy is this glass of water?" Answers
called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, "The absolute
weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it."
"If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an
hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll
have to call an ambulance. "In each case, it's the same weight, but the
longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we
carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes
increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on." "As with the glass
of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding
it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."
"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't
carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens
you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can." "Relax;
pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!
And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:
* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the
statue.
* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat
them.
* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the
middle of it.
* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their
maker.
* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was
probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a
warning to others.
* Never buy a car you can't push.
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you
won't have a leg to stand on.
* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the
world to one person.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty
and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors,
but they all have to live in the same box.
* A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour
Out of the Box
Well, up until a few days ago, Lucas had been kept in an incubator. He now weighs 3 pounds 11.7 ounces. I still don't have a length. They had started him on a bottle on the 13th. He only drank 1/4 of an ounce, but on the following day he drank a full ounce. All things seem to be going our way at this time. But who knows what the future holds. Thanx for everything.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Thought of the Day
As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed
to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken
probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts
too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with
your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did.
You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose
someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love
like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset
is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.
to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken
probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts
too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with
your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did.
You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose
someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love
like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset
is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Growing Boy
Well, several things have come to pass, since my last post. However, I won't make this very long. My father is going to Erlanger this morning. The Ronald McDonald House has reopened. The reason it took so long, I found out, was that they were looking for someone to donate the money for a new Air Conditioning System. They were not able to repair the old one, because it would have cost more than getting a new one. So you ask, how much could it cost to fix? Don't they have sponsors they rely on for this? Well, that is what I thought, but the cost of getting a new AC System was $70,000.00!!! Another lady who had a child (may have been a grandchild) staying at Erlanger called my sister, and told her that she saw on the news that The House had found a sponsor.
I think I already mentioned that all IV's had been taken out of little Lucas. They continue to give him oxygen, just so he will remember to breathe. He now weighs 3 pounds 5.4 ounces. They are putting something in the breast milk to make him gain weight. Don't you wish we all had that luxury...Yeah right. Like I need something to help me gain weight. I haven't been given a length update, but I will try to find that out. I don't expect much of a change there, but what do I know about it? All in all, He is doing well, and continues to improve.
Now we move on to the schooling issue. My niece is dead set on being home schooled for a year. We (my dad) looked into it, and it doesn't look good. It appears that it has to be a parent the does the teaching. And the parent has to have a bachelor's degree, which neither of her parents do. That should tell her that it is not possible to do it. However, she still insists that is what she is going to do. I think she will eventually accept the fact that it can't be done. She automatically gets 6 weeks off of school, after having Lucas. School started already, and she is entitled to 4 weeks, because of when Lucas was born. That puts her going back on the 29th of August. However, (did you ever notice how often I use that word "However") if the doctor sends a letter to her school, stating that she needs to be at Erlanger, they can set up a teacher there to do the home bound teaching. And, they might be able to extend it until October 17. This should give Lucas plenty of time (an extra couple of weeks) to recover and go home. I hope that is what happens. The doctors have said that once he gets home, he is only allowed to leave the house to go to the doctor. Any other time he is stay at home. This is only temporary; until April or so!!! Everyone that visits him at home has to scrub their arms from the elbows down, and really shouldn't hold him. Anyone who smokes has to change clothes and scrub their arms. He isn't supposed to have too many people in the room with him at any given time. I guess 3 to 4 is plenty. He can't use any type of powder or fragrant lotions, because the powder will get in his lungs, and he lotion scent might be too strong (I guess). So needless to say, he's still got a long road. Thanx for all of your concerns. I will post again.
I think I already mentioned that all IV's had been taken out of little Lucas. They continue to give him oxygen, just so he will remember to breathe. He now weighs 3 pounds 5.4 ounces. They are putting something in the breast milk to make him gain weight. Don't you wish we all had that luxury...Yeah right. Like I need something to help me gain weight. I haven't been given a length update, but I will try to find that out. I don't expect much of a change there, but what do I know about it? All in all, He is doing well, and continues to improve.
Now we move on to the schooling issue. My niece is dead set on being home schooled for a year. We (my dad) looked into it, and it doesn't look good. It appears that it has to be a parent the does the teaching. And the parent has to have a bachelor's degree, which neither of her parents do. That should tell her that it is not possible to do it. However, she still insists that is what she is going to do. I think she will eventually accept the fact that it can't be done. She automatically gets 6 weeks off of school, after having Lucas. School started already, and she is entitled to 4 weeks, because of when Lucas was born. That puts her going back on the 29th of August. However, (did you ever notice how often I use that word "However") if the doctor sends a letter to her school, stating that she needs to be at Erlanger, they can set up a teacher there to do the home bound teaching. And, they might be able to extend it until October 17. This should give Lucas plenty of time (an extra couple of weeks) to recover and go home. I hope that is what happens. The doctors have said that once he gets home, he is only allowed to leave the house to go to the doctor. Any other time he is stay at home. This is only temporary; until April or so!!! Everyone that visits him at home has to scrub their arms from the elbows down, and really shouldn't hold him. Anyone who smokes has to change clothes and scrub their arms. He isn't supposed to have too many people in the room with him at any given time. I guess 3 to 4 is plenty. He can't use any type of powder or fragrant lotions, because the powder will get in his lungs, and he lotion scent might be too strong (I guess). So needless to say, he's still got a long road. Thanx for all of your concerns. I will post again.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Continuous Improvement
Well, I know this has nothing to do with the subject, but I want to start by saying Happy Birthday to me and anyone else that shares this day with me. Now, on with the show. I'm a few days behind on my updates. I received word from my dad that Lucas' IV has now been removed. He only has the feeding tube in his mouth. When they feed him, they place a pacifier in his mouth so that not only will he learn how to suck, but he will also relate the sucking to being filled. That's pretty smart, I thought. They did, however have to lower his feeding amount from 13CC to 5CC. This was only for the day. He was taking a medication that would upset his stomach. By the end of the day, he would be back up to 10CC His weight is back up to 3 lbs, and things just keep improving.
Now we run into the housing/schooling problem. The Ronald McDonald house is still closed, but even worse my niece want to stay out of school for the year and get home schooled. I know it isn't her choice, but kids tend to rebel, when you force them to do things. We are looking into what she would have to do to be home schooled. Maybe we will able to show her that she can't without actually telling her that. And who knows. Maybe she can. The fear is that if she stays out a year that she won't go back. Any thoughts? Thanx. Talk to you soon.
Now we run into the housing/schooling problem. The Ronald McDonald house is still closed, but even worse my niece want to stay out of school for the year and get home schooled. I know it isn't her choice, but kids tend to rebel, when you force them to do things. We are looking into what she would have to do to be home schooled. Maybe we will able to show her that she can't without actually telling her that. And who knows. Maybe she can. The fear is that if she stays out a year that she won't go back. Any thoughts? Thanx. Talk to you soon.
