McRae Family

Meet the McRae family. 
Dad-Aaron
Mom-Holly
Kids-Olivia, Kate & Will

Just two and a half weeks ago their lives were changed when they found out their middle daughter, Kate, age 5, has a brain tumor. She has since had a craniotomy and bc of the location of the tumor it could not all be removed. She will start chemo, most likely next week. They (the docs) do not want her to have radiation bc of her age and other issues.
Since finding the tumor they have not left the Children’s Hospital in AZ.

They can use our prayers. I have been following their story @ their Caring Bridge site.
The road ahead of them is long, but they know the Great Physician and all he is capable of.  He provides us with miracles each day. He knows the road that lies ahead of sweet Kate as He has already walked it. She will not go through anything that He is unaware of and He will never leave her side.

As if dealing with this was not enough for them, they found out today that their son, Will age 3 (I think), has a growth on his vocal cords and will need to have surgery soon to remove it. the Dr. does not feel that it is cancerous, (Praise God) but none the less Will does need surgery which will require general anesthesia and come with a recovery period of its own.

This family covets our prayers for their children and for themselves. That they will be able to divide their time and be there for both of their children in their times of need while not leaving their oldest daughter, Olivia out.
Please prayer for the children and their individual needs, but also for strength,rest and wisdom for the parents. I can not imagine what they are going through right now.
Please also pray for all the doctors involved in both Kate & Will’s  treatments and surgeries.

THANKS.

Don’t you just love the blog world and how we can all come together to prayer for those who need our prayers that we may never meet this side of the pearly gates?

God is AWESOME!!!

You can visit their Caring Bridge site for more info and updates below.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate/journal

Tomorrow is the day

Please keep Collin covered in prayer today.
As most of you already know he is scheduled for brain surgery @ 10:10am @ our Children’s Hospital.

 

A quick recap incase you are new to my blog or have not read about Collin’s past medical condition.

August 2006-
has a partial seizure
goes through a series of tests (eeg, ct scan, MRI) where we find the right ventricle is larger than the left. The neurosurgeon does not seem to be to concerned at that time bc Collin is growing and thriving as most boys his age. We all decide to keep an eye on the ventricle by routine MRI’s.

2007 & 2008
Numerous MRI’s all show no change and things are “ok”.

April 12, 2009
while getting ready for Church Easter morning, we notice Collin is not responding and most likely having his 2nd seizure, the first one in almost 3 yrs. We take him to our local hospital where he is treated and then sent to Children’s. We are again scheduled for more tests and to see the neurologist.
April 27, 2009
Collin goes for his EEG…all is normal on it
April 28, 2009
Collin wakes up vomiting and goes into another seizure. We are taken by squad to the hospital and after being checked out we are given an anti-seizure medicine to start him on.
The following week we see the neurologist and she refers us to the neurosurgeon.
June 1, 2009
We go for Collin’s MRI and to see the neurosurgeon. The MRI now shows that the ventricle is not only larger, but that it is pushing “things” out of its way making it harder for the spinal fluid to drain properly. We are given three choices…
1. do nothing & wait
2. have a shunt put in to drain the fluid
3. have the surgeon go in with a camera to see what exactly  is going on and then proceed to realign a pathway for the spinal fluid to drain, thus relieving the pressure on Collin’s brain and therefore (most likely) stopping the seizures allowing Collin to stop taking the seizure medicine.  The neurosurgeon sends us home to do our own research, get a 2nd opinion,  PRAY and come back with a decision.
We did just that and went back with the decision to go with option 3. It seems the best one for Collin. With the best long term results.

This surgery is pretty quick, about an hour and will leave us in the hospital for 1-2 days. Once home Collin will be on restriction from outdoor play or climbing, but other than that can go back to life as he knows it.

THANK YOU for all of your thoughts and prayers. I will update when I am able to.

Please lift Stellan and the MckFamily in prayer

 

for more details & to stay updated check out  MckMama’s blog: my charming kids
or follow her on twitter

Continuing our prayers in Ohio for Stellan and all of the MckFamily!

Tuesday June 23, 2009

10:30AM…
Collin will be having surgery.

We went back to the neurosurgeon this past Monday. After discussing at length our options, the risks, the procedures, recoveries, etc. We decided it was in Collin’s best interest to go ahead and have Dr. G proceed with the surgery.

The surgery itself will be about an hour long. It will consist of him drilling a small hole into the upper part of Collin’s head and sliding in a tiny camera to take a look. Depending on what he finds, he will proceed to use an instrument to re-align the pathway between the two ventricles, thus allowing the spinal fluid to drain properly again.  If he feels this is not an option once he is in there, he can close up and go in at another spot on the lower part of Collin’s head and place a shunt to help relieve the pressure that is there and help with the draining.
The shunt is a last resort. And yes it could go in the same spot he will be going into with the camera, but it is safer to put it in from the bottom, rather than the top according to Dr. G.

I do apologize for my lack of medical knowledge/terminology.

Please keep Collin in your prayers over the next several days/week.
The incision should not have much pain as there is no muscle where they are going in at.
We will spend one-two nights @ Children’s and then he will be able to come home on some restrictions for two weeks until he goes back for a follow up with Dr. G.

Thank you all for your prayers & concern for our little boy.

There is a very good possibility that this surgery will eliminate the seizures and therefore the need for the seizure medicine.

I will keep you updated as I can.

Collins MRI results

So yesterday Collin went back to Children’s Hospital for another MRI (he has had several since 2006) and to meet with our new Neurosurgeon (our previous one moved to AZ) and get the results of the MRI.
His appt was in the afternoon, so this is what we started our day with…

Collin walked smack into the hutch in the dining room.  AND did not even whimper.

The good news here is he is fine and it looks 100% better today.
Always a plus we were seeing the neurology dept. :)

So, onto the appt & results. 
I first want to disclose that I am just a Mom, I am not a Dr. nor do I play one on my blog. I do not have the knack for medical terminology that MckMama has, unfortunately for me & you.

I can not remember if I addressed this before, so just in case I did not, I will catch you up. Back in 2006 when Collin had his first seizure, the ER here @ our local hospital ran a CT scan, where they found one of his ventricles (on his brain) was slightly larger than the other. This sent us down a long road of trying to find out why and what to do. While it was decided by us, as well as his Neurosurgeon @ the time to just monitor it since he was excelling in all other areas and it seemed he was still able to drain the spinal fluid properly, so there was no use in doing a risky “brain” surgery if it was not absolutely needed.

At today’s MRI and follow up it was shown to us that the ventricle is still enflamed (larger) than it should be and it is starting to push things out of the way and could be causing pressure to his brain, thus causing the recent seizures. Though they can not be sure. (remember he had an EEG and it came back NORMAL)
Because of the ventricle pushing “things” out of the way, it is the Neurosurgeon’s opinion that the spinal fluid is no longer draining properly, but is being absorbed elsewhere.

This needs to be fixed and leaves us with 3 options…
1. do nothing and wait (since Collin is thriving in all other areas)
2. a shunt
3. going into the brain with a camera to see with human eyes what exactly is going on. And then reconstructing a path for the spinal fluid to drain. 
 
All 3 options have risks. We, at this point are leaning towards option 3, but have not decided yet. We will meet back with the Neurosurgeon in a week to a month, after we make our decision to get things started.
We are placing this in God’s hands and trust him fully that we will make the best decision we can for Collin. I wish that I could say by doing that it makes this easier for us, but we are still struggling with this.

Please continue to lift our son in prayer that we will make the best decision for him.
THANK YOU!

another seizure

This morning I woke up to Collin vomiting. After the first episode he was responding to me with short one word answers. I cleaned him off and laid him beside his bed on the floor to get the sheets off the bed, when he threw up again. This time he would not respond to be with words, just with mmhmm's and uh-ah's. By this time I was on the phone with Preston to see if he had noticed anything this morning before leaving. I hung up with him and called 911, as Collin was not responding by now at all.
A few minutes later they arrived and off we went to the hospital. The ride in the squad found Collin still not responding verbally, but like he was trying to come out of the seizure and was falling asleep. I guess from what I was told by the medics that it is normal for a child to go to sleep after a seizure. 
Once at the hospital he got a work up of his vitals, but they mainly let him sleep. Then he had blood work and numerous Dr's, nurses, aides, PA's & students came in and out. The Dr. spoke with our pediatrician and with a neurologist who gave Collin's EEG from yesterday a quick read. She saw a couple trouble spots on it that could indicate a seizure disorder.
We were RX'd Keppra to prevent the seizures as well as diastat to stop one in progress. He will be seen next week by the neurologist to get a more in depth read of the EEG and for another work up by the specialist.

Right now he is back to acting just like himself.
PLEASE keep him in your prayers. And I will update you as we know anything.

HAPPY EASTER!!! where am I? and a prayer request for my son.

Hello fellow bloggers. I want to apologize for my lack of blogging lately. A lot has been going on around here and I have been staying busy and not on the computer too much. This may be because my laptop got ill and had to go in for repair and I do not enjoy the desktop as much. I should have the laptop back in a couple weeks. (YAY) Collin's 4th birthday is in one week. I have been busy making all the arrangements for that and getting everything together. I will have LOTS of pictures to share with you all once I get my laptop back. (I can not load my pix to the desktop) :( I would like to ask you all to add Collin to your prayers. (notice I am using his name, so that he can be prayed for by name) This morning we woke up for church, I went to get a shower and get ready. Shortly after Preston (husband) did the same. Collin remained "sleeping". (he was awake, but not up running around yet) I came downstairs to get something out for him to wear to church and he was laying on the floor looking up @ the ceiling. I went over and said "Good Morning Collin" and got no response. So I said it again and again and started talking to him begging him to answer me. By this time my husband heard me not getting a response and heard the worry in my voice, so he came running down. He picked him up, started actiing goofy trying to get him to respond and still nothing. So offer we left for the hospital. (what a ride that was) We got there and went straight back, he was hooked up to machines, etc and still nothing. The nurse started an IV line to try and aggitate him into responding. Which worked...somewhat. He started screaming "OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH" over and over again. And then "Mommy". I was standing right beside him holding his hand and his head and it was like he could not hear or see me. (talk about scary) He went in for a CT scan which revealed nothing we did not already know. After contacting the Dr. on call for his pediatrician it was decided to send us to our Children's Hospital about an hour away. Collin & I got to ride in the ambulance on the way there while Daddy followed us. They checked him out there thouroghly, but since it is Sunday and Easter, an MRI was not done. Collin started acting more and more like himself, so after 7.5 hours we got to come home. First though we went to the cafeteria bc none of us had eaten all day and anything sounded good. His DX...most likely a seizure. (a motionless one, which they refer to as a partial seize) He had one of these when he was 16 months old (he will be 4 next week) and has had numerous MRI's to monitor it. We found out when he had the first one at 16 months that his right ventricle on his brain is larger than his left one. It continues to drain properly, so they just keep an eye on it through the MRI's. Until today he has been a happy and healthy little boy. (not so much as one ear infection in his life) They are not certain this was a seizure it is just the best dx they can come up with, without this happening in the hospital while being monitored. Tomorrow I will be on the phone making calls to set up appts with a neurologist and a neurosurgeon as well as for an MRI and an EEG. We would really appreciate your prayers. I hope each of you enjoyed today with your loved ones and that your Easter was blessed.

Please Pray for Stellan

for updates or for the history of Stellan you can check out MckMama's blog @ my charming kids. THANK YOU!!!

Prayer Request

 

Jen @  Home... Hands Full, HEARTS Full, Quiver Full! has asked that we here in bloggy-land band together again in prayer for her friend's son, Isaiah.

The details follow...(I took this from her site)
                                  
"Isaiah was born with all of his "insides" on the outside.

Because of his problems...He needed a small bowel transplant. He's never really eaten or enjoyed eating food-he is mostly tube fed.
                                  
Jen and her hubby and other 2 kids took turns staying with Isaiah-sacrificing "self" for this sweet child. He has been in and out of the hospital for years.

They thought the transplant worked......It didn't.......
Jen called yesterday to tell me that they had to remove ALL his new bowel...it was destroyed. She has asked for prayer for her family. Isaiah is in unbearable pain and I'm sure Jen is too......of a different kind. The mommy kind-the kind I pray I never have to face.

If he makes it through...He will be listed for another transplant immediately.

Because of Jen and Aaron.....Isaiah KNOWS JESUS!! Praise the Lord for that.
                       

Please join with me in prayer for my dear friend and her only boy. I don't even think Jen knows what a blog is but I HAVE SEEN the bloggy community come together in situations where prayers need to be lifted up-GOD DOES MIRACULOUS THINGS through these crazy computers.

Pray I'll know what to say & that whatever I say will comfort her. Pray that Isaiah's suffering will cease."

"O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief." Psalm 143:1

Where does the time go???

I have no clue how it is almost 5:30 pm already. WoW. I need to get started on dinner, yet it seems like I just had breakfast and I skipped lunch.
C & I got up about 9:30am...which is sad to say a little early for us lately.  (did I really just admit that???)  ;)
We got ready right away and my Mom came over. We went to Tim Horton's for breakfast (love their bagels) and then to Target bc, well the week is not complete for me if I do not make AT LEAST ONE trip to Target. (with the economic slowdown and stores closing left & right, I can not let Target be one of them)  HA!  I tease P (all the time) that we may lose our house (kidding) our car (kidding) and have to sell anything else we may own (again kidding) but I can NOT let Target go under.  ;)
(they really should pay me for ALL of my support)

Anyway, now that I got off track...after going to Target we went to get C's haircut and bonus, my Mom got her cut as well. My little guy now looks like a BIG BOY again. How is it that by trimming his hair he ages so much??? Does this work for me as well? If so I think I will keep letting my hair grow...forever.  ;) 

After the haircuts we ran to the post office and back thru Tim Horton's for my Mom to get more coffee. (she is addicted) And then we came home. C played with his new puzzles he got and I started working on organizing some online pictures...take a look...

What do you think? I am going to try and keep up with ALL the pictures we take and do a page or two each week of online pages. Maybe this will motivate me to start scrap-booking IRL again. (I wish...no motivation here)

Now it is time to figure out WHAT to do for dinner. And I am not even hungry.

Have a GREAT evening.

HARPER UPDATE...

She is doing so much better. Still a long road ahead of her and her parents. They have lowered her oxygen levels to 43% (I think). Which means she is breathing (more) than half on her own. PRAISE THE LORD!!! Thanks again for ALL of your prayers. If you check out Kelly's blog, ( Kelly's Korner ) you will see that a reader of her blog gave her life to the Lord after logging in and reading about Harper and the miracle that she was, is and continues to be. AMAZING.  In regards to this lady Kelly says...

"Every second of the last week has been worth it for that fact alone. And we truly mean that".

You MUST check out Kelly's blog. She is an inspiration to us ALL!!! Please continue to keep Harper & family and ALL the NICU babies in your prayers. THANK YOU!!!

C goes to the "Motor Home" Show

This past weekend we took C to the Annual Boat & R show.  He has been asking to see "inside" the motor homes, so we thought this would be perfect for him.  He had a blast. And has asked repeatedly to go back again. He is now ready to sell our house and buy one.  (me too)  ;)

 
this one was a mini pull behind camper

he kept calling this the "driving" room.  HA

My 2 Boys  ;)

all buckled up & ready to hit the road

taking a break before leaving. it was a long haul to the car.

bye bye

  

***Harper Update...
 

I just want to Thank each of you that has lifted Harper, Kelly & Scott up in prayer. God is listening and Harper is improving a little at a time.  PLEASE continue to include them in your prayers.

Here is an update from Kelly's blog (Kelly's Korner)...

"We were able to meet with Harper's doctor today for the first time since she has been there. It was a very good meeting. He gave us a lot of details. It was very difficult for me to sit and listen to him talk about how sick my little baby is. Our families felt it was very positive but it was just scary for me. Basically it is a long and gradual process. They believe she got an infection which has caused the problems with her lungs. They think her heart and brain are both good. Very, very slowly - they are trying to get her off the oxygen that is supporting her lungs. They think ECMO is a final resort. We will most likely be here for weeks. Her numbers seem to improve little by little and we do have a lot of hope. She is critical but stable."

would you like to know more?

Lisa @ MY JOURNEY THROUGH INFERTILITY tagged me to tell you all 16 things you may or may not know about me.  I enjoy doing these, bc I always enjoy sharing more with you and even more, I enjoy learning more about all of you.
I am not sure that I can come up with 16 things that I have not already told you, but I will give it a shot.  :)
ENJOY.

1. I had no intentions of getting married before I was 30 and no intention of having kids before I was 35.  I had C @ 27 and married P @ 28.

2. While I was pregnant with C, I wanted a boy SO BADLY, that everyone was just sure that I would have a girl. (obviously they were wrong)  ;)

3. I am a very picky eater.

4. I would like to have red hair. (like Marcia Cross, from Desp. H-wives)

5. Until I had C, I did NOT cook...AT ALL!!!

6. I always wished I came from a big family.

7. I would love to have twin boys.

8. I do not like to have my picture taken, never have.

9. I have never once smoked a cigarette. (not even one puff)
    ( I am VERY proud of this, since my Mom, Dad and sister ALL smoke/d)

10.  I love the show/family Jon & Kate +8 and want to meet them some day.

11. P & I have been trying to get pregnant for seven months now, with no luck.  :(

12. I collect Boyds Bears.

13. We (as a family) made the decision to turn off our cable for 2009. We are now deciding to turn the tv completely OFF. (as it getting rid of it)

14. I was excited to 30 and did not dread it at all.

15. I am ten months older than P.

16. P and I sat next to one another in homeroom for two years, went to school together for four years and had a lot of the same friends, yet never "knew" each other until "meeting"  in 2002. (I knew who he was and vice versa, but we did not talk, hang out, etc)

So there you have it...16 things you may not have known about me.  :)
Now for the hard part...picking who to tag for this.
I am going to tag any of you ladies who have not yet done a getting to know you post. (or at least not done one recently) I enjoy getting to know each of you more. Please let me know if you choose to play along.

And please continue to pray for Harper. She is in stable, but very critical condition. She is also showing some improvements. She and her family have a long road ahead of them.
God is AMAZING and if you want to see that amazement yourself...check out Kelly's blog,Kelly's Korner and read her posts re: the outpouring of support they have been shown by fellow bloggers. 

Update on Harper

 

First Thank you for adding Harper & her family to your prayers. Keep it going, she is improving.

Last night she was sent to Tulsa, OK instead of the Children's Hospital in Little Rock, as they had no room for her. Here Father and his parents went there with her and her Mom and her parents stayed behind as Kelly was not yet released from the hospital. (that should happen today and then they will drive to Tulsa)

Harper is doing better each hour. She may not need the bypass machine after all, which is AWESOME!!! God is so good!!!  His miracles NEVER cease.

Scott & Kelly are so touched by the out pouring of prayers and support everyone is showing them.

Isn't it amazing how us blog addicts and sisters in Christ can pull together for the greater good?

We are all so blessed.

For continued updates on Harper's condition please check out Kelly's blog...Kelly's Korner

Prayers Needed for Harper

Many of you know Kelly from Kelly's Korner .
She went in to the hospital today to deliver her precious Baby Girl Harper. For details please check out her blog. It is late and I am tired and I do not want to mess any details up.

PLEASE pray for new Mom, and daughter. Harper is not doing well and has been flown to a nearby Children's Hospital to their NICU.

For those of you who do not know Kelly. She is a very spiritual gal, who gives God all the glory all the time, even in this very troubling time.  She suffered for infertility for years and turned it all over to God to bless her with a child.

She is still, through this, giving God the glory he deserves.
PLEASE pray for her daughter to pull through.

We all know first hand that PRAYER works.

Scott, Kelly & Harper you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Many many hugs and prayers to you.

I'm Baaaack!!!

Did anyone miss me?  ;)

To say that I have been busy would be an understatement. (I am sure that most of us are this time of year)
My house is back to itself. The tree is down and packed away with the rest of the decor. My floors are swept and mopped. All clothes are washed, folded and put away. Dishes are done. All toys are opened and put away. And both CJ's playroom and bedroom are re-arranged and organized with all his new things.

WHEW...We made it.

Our Christmas was AWESOME. We are truly blessed.
Everything went smoothly. With the exception of my Grandmother, she is 83, making a trip to the ER. She is fine, but she has been having some trouble with her eye itching her. She rubbed it so much that she bruised it. (OUCH) So she missed the little ones opening some of their gifts, but we made sure to go back friday for her to give them the gifts from her, so she could see them at least open those.

My MIL has been fighting cancer for about two years now. First it was ovarian cancer, then it was a couple spots in her stomach (which they are still attacking with chemo), then a couple spots on her brain (which she had radiation for) and is now back to the chemo for her stomach.
She is worn down. PLEASE pray for her. She can use them. (THANKS)

About a year ago PJ and I read a Purpose Driven Life (by Pastor Rick Warren). A couple months ago we did a Bible study by him called 40 Days of Community. For Christmas I received another book by him called The purpose of Christmas. I am so excited to start reading it.
I also received lots of other FUN stuff.

CJ though...he hit the mother load. That happens when you have a Grandma and an Aunt that SPOIL you.  He received, two game systems (the Smart Cycle and the Leapfrog Computer system for the tv) He also received a couple games each for them as well as for his Vsmile. Other things were a Little Einstein's globe and rocket chair, an aqua doodle, too many dvd's to list, three new Thomas the Train sets, a few Handy Manny things, including the cutest rolling backpack that will be PERFECT for pre-school (just the right size), a lightning McQueen couch/bed, a fire truck puzzle that he can color himself,  a HUGE fire truck (it is longer than he is tall), a dress up fire costume, a talking fire helmet, a Thomas blanket, a new train table and wooden train set, an alphabet sponge puzzle rug, a new bathtub toy, a small kid sized hall tree for his own coats and hats, a dart gun superhero thing, (it shoots balls through holes or something).
I know there is more, but my mind is going blank.
OH, he also received a check from his Grandma. (which we do not know what he will get with that). For now it is going in the bank. The boy needs NOTHING!!!
I will post some pictures later. ;)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and made lots of memories to last a lifetime.
I am still catching up on reading your blogs, but I will get there.

I am coming up on my 100th post (this week) And I think I will do a give away for it. Details will follow soon.

HUGS

decisions...decisions...

My hubby is self employed. He installs flooring. (carpet, laminate, & vinyl) While this job pays pretty decent, with any self employment there are pros and cons.
I am not going to go into the great detail of those pros & cons, but I will say that installing carpet takes a toll on your body. Most installs have to have knee surgery(ies), retire early from this "career" into another job, etc. (some even end up in wheel chairs)

Since we have been together (six years) he has wanted out of carpet/flooring. But, since the pay is so good he has stayed. His job allows me the luxury to stay home with CJ and for that I am so very thankful.

We recently found out about a possible job opportunity that may be suitable for PJ. We know the people who are hiring, etc. He is not overly qualified, but is not under-qualified either. (there is some clerical work and he has never worked in an office setting before, but knows most of the programs and can type)
This job would offer a stable schedule (most likely four days a week 9-5) Extreme flexibility, benefits IMMEDIATELY, vacation, salary, etc.
The ONE drawback for us is that it would be a HUGE pay cut. We are talking almost half of what he makes now. We are trying to decide if we can "afford" this cut.
I am not one that is into money. I always say, "money does not buy happiness" and I believe that. BUT, we have a mortgage, two car payments, (one is almost paid off), medical bills, ins., etc. I really do not know if we CAN afford to take the cut.

We are praying about this decision and know that the Lord will lead us where we need to be. (remember we are about to put our house on the market and rent while looking for land to build, this would drastically cut back our mortgage/rent pymt) Plus any day now my Dad's estate should be settled and I will receive a portion of it, which could pay off the two car loans or help us out otherwise financially. So money wise, we may be ok in the grand scheme of things. But this position they are wanting to fill ASAP. So time is of the essence.
UGH...I HATE making decisions.
Please say a prayer for us that we make the right decision and that the Lord leads us where we need to be.

THANKS Ladies!!!