Sunday, December 28, 2008

Thank Heaven for....

Hospitals!

Karli has been really sick these past few weeks, here's a little break down of what has been going on.

Dec 13th: It all started on Saturday the 13th when Karli woke up feeling a little under the weather. We knew right away she had obviously caught the nasty bug that has ravished our household since Thanksgiving. I kept my fingers crossed that she wouldn't get as sick as Jake had been but by Monday night I could tell she was just as bad.

Dec 16th: Tuesday morning it was off to the Doctor's once again to see if Karli had pneumonia this time. After blood tests and x-rays it was confirmed that she definitely had Pneumonia and it looked even worse than Jake's:( 
" At least she will be better for Christmas," I said to myself. For the next five days all she did was sleep and cough... exactly like Jake, but by Sunday instead of turning a corner and getting better she seemed to be getting worse!

Monday Dec 22nd: It was back as usual to the Doctors for more test....her x-rays seemed about the same but both ears were infected just like Jakes.... boy this nasty bug is so nasty!!! They changed her meds and gave her a very painful shot in both of her thighs at the same time  ....OUCH! Then it was back home for more of the same routine...sleep cough...sleep cough.

Wednesday Dec 24th: Karli woke up covered in hives so we called the Doctor and they wanted us to bring her in to see if she was having an allergic reaction to her new medication. They checked her out and didn't think she was but told us to watch her closely for any signs of change, so it was back home to the sofa for the rest of the day. Around 4:00 I asked her if she wanted to take a shower to see if it would help her feel better, since she hadn't showered in more than ten days. She was actually looking a little more like herself and was more coherent than she had been since getting sick. The shower was a disaster though and she ended up getting chilled and started shaking uncontrollably, so once again it was back to the sofa for the rest of the night:(

Thursday Dec 25th: Karli woke up on Christmas morning looking like a movie star! Her lips looked like she had been injected with double doses of collagen! We all got a good laugh out of it... even Karli:) She was pale and pasty but perked up long enough to lay on the couch and open her gifts. (I think she was being fueled by some Christmas morning adrenaline.) She even tried to sit up and eat Christmas dinner with us but after a few bites went into a coughing fit and had to go lay down:(

Friday Dec 26th: How are you feeling this morning Karli? "I'm fine" she replied, but I knew she wasn't. It was almost noon and she didn't want to get out of bed. Her face was gray and she couldn't keep her eyes open. I called the doctor and asked "shouldn't we have seen some kind of improvement by now?" "Can you bring her down within the hour, I want to see her before I head out of town?" "We'll be right there I said!" Karli didn't want to get out of her warm bed and I didn't blame her one bit but I told her she needed to go. It was the only way she was going to get better and boy does she want to get better!
At the Doctors office they took one look at her and said "we need to check your oxygen level," then hooked her up to a monitor. The machine went crazy... beeping and blowing whistles... they quickly put her on an oxygen tank. Ahhh finally some relief...she loved it! Then it was more blood tests and x-rays which both came back worse than the last time she was in. "Im sorry, I have tried to keep Karli out of the hospital but there is nothing more we can do for her, she neeeds to be admitted right now."

Sunday Dec 28: So here we are at Alta View Hospital going on her third day and she is in more pain than when she first got here! They are pretty sure her pneumonia is viral and that she also has pleurisy...an infection in the lining of her lungs and possibly the lining around her heart, which would explain the extreme pain she is in. They are FINALLY going to do a CT Scan and more x-rays in the morning so we should know more about her condition then.

I will end this post with this..... I love Karli so much! She is so brave and has endured a lot these past 15 days. The nurses all love her and tell her she is their favorite patient! Quote from nurse Colleen..."she's not a whiner!" Quote from nurse Mallory after asking Karli how she feels.... "She always says she's good":)

ps whoever invented Lortab....Thank you very much :)

*Update since I wrote this... Karli didn't have a very good day today and it made us all cry to watch her suffer. She was in a lot of pain and crying and the nurse came in and asked her to rate her pain on a scale from 1 to 10, her answer... "a five" Karli... you are soooo sweet!
They are now being better about giving her a pain pill every four hours before it wears off. Also she has a fever and her heart rate is way too high. The doctor ordered a drug for her to lower her heart rate but the nurse doesn't want to give it to her and is trying every thing she can to bring it down. It is almost 4:00 in the morning and the nurse is still working on Karli. Ahhhhh I can't wait until morning so she can get her tests done now!! Please pray for her:)

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Cuckoo for Christmas!

On the fourth day of Christmas my true
love gave to me....

Four COUGHING birds!

My little birdies...Justin, Ashley, Karli & Jake have been (for lack of a better term) Coughing their guts out for the past three weeks! I am happy to say that most of the coughing has quieted down to just one last little birdie.... Karli. After being on her medicine for 5 days with no signs of improvement, I took her to the doctors again yesterday and not only was her pneumonia not getting any better she had an infection in both ears! Doctor Schmidt put her on some new antibiotics and had two nurses come in and give her a shot in both her thighs at the same time! When they were done one of the nurse's apologized to Karli and told her she has nightmares of getting that shot....Ouch! It is a very painful shot because the serum is so thick...I felt so bad for her that I wanted to cry!l Ok... so maybe I DID cry a little:) She was so sick that she could hardly sit up and all she wanted to do was go home and go to bed. As soon as we got back that is exactly what she did, and she has been there ever since! I have to call the Doctor in the morning and if she hasn't shown improvement he wants to put her in the Hospital! I sure hope she gets better quick.... we need a Christmas miracle:)

Between the six of us we have been to the Doctors 13 times in the past three weeks... but who's counting?! I'm guessing that is more sick visits for us than in the last twenty seven years of raising my kids!!!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Visions of healthier days danced in our heads

Dear Santa,
Do you make house calls?




You know you are really sick when....

You haven't showered in over a week
You sleep all day and all night
You can't sit up
Your diet consists of a saltine and a couple apple slices
The only time you get up is to go to the bathroom
You don't watch any TV!

Karli has been taking antibiotics since Tuesday and is still sick! Shouldn't she be feeling better by now? We missed having her at Church with us today for our awesome Christmas Program. We missed having her sit up to the table and eat Sunday dinner with us. We miss her witty comments and fun personality. I am calling the doctor in the morning to see if we can get her better in time for Christmas....the Holidays just wont be the same without her sweet smile:)







Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Deck the halls with Nyquil and coughdrops...



cough cough cough
sniff sniff sniffle
COUGH COUGH COUGH up a lung
oh me oh my
sigh sigh sigh
I think I'll die!

Everyone in my house has been sick over the past three weeks.... well everyone except me that is... I have enough problems of my own right now, so believe me when I say.... WHATEVER THEY HAVE I DONT WANT IT! Justin started it... Jake followed shortly behind... then Ashley and Pat joined their pathetic little party, but Karli and I held strong... Woo Hoo! Sadly for Karli her victory was short lived... that's right she whimped out...threw in the towel... succumbed to post nasal pressure... call it whatever you'd like but I feel so betrayed! Now it's just me... a lone wolf... trying my best not to join this sad, drippy, hacking, wheezing, coughing, aching, pitiful,
obnoxious bunch of weirdos!

On a sad note... Jake and Karli both have Pneumonia :(
On a postive note... They all have a nice set of six packs:)

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

On the first day of Christmas

My true love gave to me....

a partridge in a pear tree

I'm changing it to...

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me

a well deserved...

HYSTERECTOMY!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Happy Sixteenth!

Jacob Christopher

My early Christmas gift 12-12-92
Born 5 weeks early
5 lbs 7 ounces 18 inches long

This little Santa doll was bigger than Jake!

Blessing day (2 months old)
He sure got chubby fast!

Jake 7 months old...he was such a happy baby!

Jake could nap anywhere...dangling off the couch

in the car:)

even standing up!

Easter Egg hunt at the Farm
(too bad this kid had zero personality! ha ha ha:D

Here is a little cleaner Easter pic:)

Three years old

Jake loved cars & trrrrrucks!
Jake the Cowboy... I loved this phase :D

"Riding the wave Saint George style!"
Jake's creative eye found this "wave" while hiking:D

When Jake was a little boy he loved anything
that had a steering wheel


.......still does!


Jake with his Dad and "big" Brother

Jazz Fan Jake with his Sister's and Cousin's

I love you Jake !
Thanks for being such an awesome son!
Thanks for being a good sport... most/some of the time and putting up with all the nonsense you get from your older siblings by being the "baby" of the family. Thanks for the energy you bring and for keeping us on our toes! We love you and our family would not be the same without you!!!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

A moment of silence for....

my pretty kitty

Tabby

June 1992 - November 2008

Thanks for not biting the little kids when they would pull your tail or carry you around by your neck.

Thanks for making us laugh every Summer when we had you shaved against your will, resulting in the glamorous but humorous Lion Cut that we all loved! ....Well everyone except Jake that is! ha ha ha

Thanks for taking a back seat to the two Dogs that so rudely interrupted your solitary world of kitty bliss

Thanks for being the easiest pet to take care of and keeping our property rodent free:)

Meow for now
We will miss your sweet purrrrsonality!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Gobble Gobble

Thanksgiving 2008
Table for thirty please
Dave & Patti dishing up
Looking good Robyn!
You would never guess she just had a baby three weeks earlier:)

Justin 's first decent homecooked meal since August!
Ashley getting ready to dig into Grandma's
delicious gravy:)
Ryan ate more food than Karli & Jake combined :D
Three hungry boys!

The grown ups :)

Ashley trying to join in on mayci's fun

Winding down the evening with a lovely piano duet by
Ashley & Karli...ha ha ha:D
Late night Thanksgiving Photo
(Proof that you can fake a big smile even though you feel like the Thanksgiving Turkey you just ate:)