We are Home!

Isaac and I are home from the hospital now. He is feeling much better. He had a very diffucult time his first day, the anesthesia made him extremely sick, enough for me to seriously think of never doing it again. He is really sore in a couple of places. hopefully, I will do a good enough job taking care of him that it will heal well. Plastic surgery wound care is completely something new to me. Isaac mentioned today how he feels embarrased about his ear cover/bandage. He feels like people are making fun of him, and I never heard anyone at the hospital say anything rude. He will be in a lot of isolation for a while so it can heal well and he won't have to face the public shock of looking at it. He really looked concerned when he saw himself in the mirror for the first time. Sorry if I didn't post much until now, I was real busy taking care of Isaac, and when I slipped out for a minute to update the computers at Primary Children's didn't work out well enough for me.

GoodBye Little Ear, We'll Miss You!

Our hearts are heavy as we say good bye to Isaac's little ear. We really will miss this cute little ear, it is one of the things that makes Isaac unique. We honestly think it is such a cute little ear, but not everyone in Isaac's future will think it is so cute, therefore the doctors insist it is best to build him a new one. I feel so guilty as a mom putting him through another surgery, especially one that seems non-essential. Hopefully the new ear will help him wear sunglasses more easily and give him the self esteem he will need later. I know this isn't as serious as heart surgery, but it does worry me about the pain I am putting him through. When they do each stage of this surgery, they will harvest cartiledge from his ribs which sounds really painful. Please say a little prayer for Isaac that his surgery and recovery will go smoothly without a glitch. His sisters and Dad will miss seeing Isaac for a few days, hopefully we can make the time pass quickly. If you have time to visit on Thursday, Friday or maybe Saturday, please stop by his room for a visit. His surgery will probably be scheduled tomorrow morning and might last about two hours.

Tomatoes!

These are our first few Beautiful tomatoes we picked from our garden yesterday. It's a great accomplisment for our family. We are finally finding some delicious tomatoes to harvest. We haven't been sucessful for several years. Maybe there is hope for us in the future. We definately were not born with green thumbs. We all agreed last night that we had to blog about our tomatoes, so here it is.

Isaac's First Day of Kindergarten

Isaac went to his first day of Kindergarten at Hunter Elementary today, he is Mrs. Henderson's Class also known as "Miss Heidi's Class". Isaac enjoys his new Kindergarten and they enjoy him as well.

In Loving Memory of Isaac's Wonderful Grandpa Southworth

Sixteen years ago today, around this time of day, My dad (Isaac's Grandpa Southworth) passed away due to complications of Lymphoma Cancer. You would think after sixteen years I would be done with the grieving process. However, I never will until I see him again. I miss him so much and the emptiness is still there, nothing will fill that void. When I see others who are still enjoying spending time with their dad I often think "Do they really know how blessed they are to have their Dad or do they take it for granted?" I feel bad that my kids had to miss out on growing up with their Grandpa, he was a terrific grandpa to all of his grandkids while he was here and I am sure he his watching over them still. I often tell my kids, stories about their Grandpa, so that they know him better (however it brings them to tears knowing that they missed spending time with him on earth). This is my favorite picture of me and my Dad, it show's some of his personality and how much fun I had with my Dad. I have a lot of wonderful memories of my Dad. My Dad is such a role model to me, I could hardly ever find anything negative about my Dad. My Mom has let me know he made mistakes, but that just makes him human. He is the kind of Character I look up to in every way, he taught me so much and I will do my best to please him. I look forward to the day when we will meet again. I know his spirit is still alive and well, I feel his presence at times as well as his influence.

All in A Day

Shortly after midnight, early Monday morning we felt an Earthquake here in Magna. It was a bit scary, but no damage. Lauren had just nodded off to sleep when she awoke to me yelling Earthquake. Then I had to lie to convince her it was just Hercules or ATK testing their rocket boosters so that she would calm down and go back to sleep.

Monday was an average Monday, uneventful throughout the day. At a few minutes before midnight Mike called me to inform me that he was in an automobile accident on the way home from work just a few blocks from our house. The truck was "totaled" completely down the driver side of the truck. Mike wasn’t injured other than his body a little sore and his ears ringing from the loud bang. The girl that hit him was 16 and driving with only a learners permit, and had the confidence enough to text message as she was driving. Anyway, noone was badly injured because everyone wore their seatbelts. Because the truck was about twelve years old we probably won’t be able to afford to replace it, due to the low value. It will be difficult for a while, trying to walk places when Mike is at work, however it will probably get us in better physical shape. Isaac is not even upset about the truck. I asked Isaac if he is sad that he can’t ride in Daddy’s truck and he answered "No, cause we can walk". Isaac loves it when Daddy takes him for an occasional walk (usually he rides on Daddy’s shoulders or in his Stroller/wheelchair).

Isaac's PCMC Visit Yesterday

Isaac had his swallow study yesterday and everything was normal. After, we saw Dr. Muntz and discussed his ear issues. Dr. Muntz is going to do a three step surgery to rebuild Isaac's outer ear. He will have to cut away cartilege from Isaacs ribs in his chest each time to use for building his ear. The first of three surgeries will start in about a month and will be every six weeks until it is done. I am nervous and already getting presurgery jitters. I know some of you might be thinking this is a small surgery compared to heart surgery, and it is. However, It is still risky to do any surgery on anyone, especially a kid with heart issues. He is expected to be in the hospital approximately four days after surgery, however I understand things can not always go as expected but I will hope and pray for the best. After his outer ear is fixed, he will be getting his inner ear fixed, due to his hearing loss. but I think I will need more than a six week recess.