Our Graci Kate is out of the ICU!!!! It is so amazing how well everything has gone--we really never imagined it would go this smoothly! Graci is now in her own room in the Children's Surgical Unit. She's been watching movies and even making little crafts. This morning they did the cutest thing. All the kids in the hospital that were able to play BINGO from their own rooms. They had passed the most darling BINGO cards around, then had everyone turn on their TVs. They broadcasted a man reading the BINGO cards from the playroom in the hospital. When you got a "BINGO", you would call him on your phone and he would announce it on the air. So cute. Then they came to the rooms and passed out prizes (stuffed animals) to everyone that played. This is such a wonderful hospital. They've also brought all kinds of crafty things around for her to do-- fun, fun.
Tonight Graci wanted to get out of bed and go on a little walk-- YAY! She did great for a little while, then needed a wheelchair. She was so happy to get out of bed, but it really exhausted her. I took her to the bathroom afterward and she was falling asleep on the toilet. (: She's now sound asleep-- I'm thinking for the night.
The one bad thing about the day is that Graci's been coughing. It REALLY hurts her to cough, and she sounds awful. This is pretty normal after a surgery like this-- it happened last time-- but there is a concern that she'll develop pneumonia. So, the nurses are constantly trying to get her to cough it out-- which she hates-- and so she's been in a bit of a foul mood because of that. We have heard that coughing after heart surgery feels like a semi-truck rolling over your chest-- fun.
We've always joked that Graci wouldn't make a good vegetarian. I asked her what she wanted me to order her for dinner tonight and she said bacon, jerky, and chicken nuggets. Hmmm.... This is after requesting bacon for breakfast and lunch. I told her she could pick two meats and then she had to pick something healthy that wasn't meat. She asked if hash browns were meat. (: We settled on the hashbrowns (though I wouldn't put them in the healthy category), bacon, jerky, and lots of yummy fruit. Luckily, she's saving the jerky for tomorrow.
I am REALLY REALLY missing my other sweet kids!!!! Jeremy has been going back and forth-- he's still somewhat under the weather and doesn't want to be here too much. But tomorrow, the plan is to bring them all up here to the hospital to visit Graci and I'm soooooooooo excited! (:(:(: It's crazy how much you can miss your kids in three days. It's also crazy how sometimes after three minutes you can wish you had some alone time again. (:
It has been really fun when Jeremy is here with me-- we get to go down to the cafteria and eat together-- just the two of us-- and also have time to visit and hang out. So as much as it is stressful here, it's also had some very peaceful times too.
Well, I'm going to try to get some sleep. The nurse will be in and out of our room throughout the night to check stats and give meds, then Graci has an x-ray at 6 a.m.
Not exactly a perfect night's sleep, but possibly better than what I'd get at home!
--Christianne
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Such Great Progress!!!
Wow! Graci has all of her tubes out! This is very significant progress, even quicker than last surgery. The only things she's attached to right now are one IV line and the oxygen into her nose. Christi and I were at breakfast when they took her tubes out, so we missed the fireworks, but I caught the tail-end of her crying when I came back. She was pretty animated. She's doing prety well right now. She's fairly drugged up, both morphine and lortab, so she's mellow and sleepy. The narcotics are also making her itchy all over. They anticipate that they'll move her out of ICU late this afternoon. Graci's excited to move upstairs because she'll have her own room!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Finally -- a drink!
I'm back at the hospital, and Graci looks SO good! She was so excited at 6:00pm when she finally got to take a drink. She's also had a little ice cream:) She's experiencing some pain, but I don't think it's too bad. They're still giving her morphine. It was cute when I came in -- she gave me the biggest smile. She continues to do well and we're hopeful she may be able to leave ICU tomorrow.
Graci's voice is really quite hilarious right now. She sounds like a little mouse or something. It's a higher-than-normal pitch and extremely weak. So her nurse just came in to check on her. Graci had been asleep, but when the nurse started checking the lines on her hand and arm, Graci woke up. Graci started saying, in her pathetic, whiny falsetto, "Owie!, owie!, owie!" The nurse said, "Are you hurting?" And Graci responded with a nonchalant, "Not really." We all cracked up. I guess she was just anticipating pain. What a cutie:)
Jeremy
Graci's voice is really quite hilarious right now. She sounds like a little mouse or something. It's a higher-than-normal pitch and extremely weak. So her nurse just came in to check on her. Graci had been asleep, but when the nurse started checking the lines on her hand and arm, Graci woke up. Graci started saying, in her pathetic, whiny falsetto, "Owie!, owie!, owie!" The nurse said, "Are you hurting?" And Graci responded with a nonchalant, "Not really." We all cracked up. I guess she was just anticipating pain. What a cutie:)
Jeremy
The vent is out!!!!
Oh, Graci looks so much better!! It is always so good to see someone get their vent out-- she is so much more herself! She was upset after they took it out because she had to sit up a little and it was hurting her, but she soon settled down and is now resting. She'll be able to drink a little in 4-6 hours and that will help her tons.
Our next door neighbor and mother of Graci's best friend is a nurse here once a week. It was her shift today and it was fun to be able to see her and have Graci see a familiar face. We just got done from eating lunch together and it was so good to have some company. Jer's still at home trying to rest up a bit. He's watching Elli so Mom and Dad could go to a doctor's appointment and come visit Graci. I thought that was a pretty crummy birthday-- not feeling well and having a daughter in ICU-- but then I read Leslie's comment about the success of the surgery being the best birthday present ever, and that made me feel better. I love you, hon! Happy Birthday!
--Christianne
Our next door neighbor and mother of Graci's best friend is a nurse here once a week. It was her shift today and it was fun to be able to see her and have Graci see a familiar face. We just got done from eating lunch together and it was so good to have some company. Jer's still at home trying to rest up a bit. He's watching Elli so Mom and Dad could go to a doctor's appointment and come visit Graci. I thought that was a pretty crummy birthday-- not feeling well and having a daughter in ICU-- but then I read Leslie's comment about the success of the surgery being the best birthday present ever, and that made me feel better. I love you, hon! Happy Birthday!
--Christianne
The day after...
I am sitting by Graci's bed in the ICU-- I finally got smart and thought of bringing the computer in here so Graci could hear the music from the website. This was a good thing!!! She has finally settled into a restful sleep. The doctors have done their rounds and are wanting to take the vent out today (hooray) but we're not sure when that will happen. ):
Jer, loved your post about Elli in the night-- you got it perfect! Thanks so much for being patient with Jesi. And Mom, thanks for all your help with Elli. I actually got a better night's rest than the both of you!! That's truly something...
I've made friends with the family of the patient next to us-- they are from Rexburg, ID and have the cutest little baby girl in here who just had heart surgery as well. It is heartbreaking to see all the kids in the ICU-- and yet such a miracle when you think of all the technology that makes it possible for them to be here. So many of them wouldn't have survived in any other time than this.
I can't say thanks enough for your thoughts and prayers. Graci is definitely benefitting from them.
Jer, loved your post about Elli in the night-- you got it perfect! Thanks so much for being patient with Jesi. And Mom, thanks for all your help with Elli. I actually got a better night's rest than the both of you!! That's truly something...
I've made friends with the family of the patient next to us-- they are from Rexburg, ID and have the cutest little baby girl in here who just had heart surgery as well. It is heartbreaking to see all the kids in the ICU-- and yet such a miracle when you think of all the technology that makes it possible for them to be here. So many of them wouldn't have survived in any other time than this.
I can't say thanks enough for your thoughts and prayers. Graci is definitely benefitting from them.
Good morning/Tough morning
I just spoke with Christi on the phone. She stayed overnight at the hospital. Fortunately, she was able to get one of the waiting rooms with a bed. She said that overall, Graci is doing well. In fact, they're pretty close to removing her breathing tube. Unfortunately, before they can do that, they have to bring her back pretty close to full consciousness. Up until now, she's been at least somewhat sedated, so she wasn't too aware of the pain, and wasn't too aware of the ventilator. Now, as she's coming out of sedation, she's in tears all of the time. She's feeling the pain in her chest and other areas. Probably most disturbing of all for her is the thirst. With the ventilator in, she can't have anything to drink (and hasn't had anything since midnight on Sunday!) so her throat is miserably dry. The only thing they can do is swab a little bit around her lips with a small, wet sponge. She also wants to be sung to all of the time, so Christi's vocal cords are getting a workout. But at least her progress is good.
I came home last night with an excruciating headache, which I had suffered through for most of the day. As I was able to get away from the stress of the hospital, eat some good food and relax just a bit, I started to feel a little better. I helped get the kids to bed, and got to bed myself by 9:30. I slept solid until 2:00 am, when I heard Jessica crying and starting to open my bedroom door. Then I heard my sweet mother-in-law, LaRita, quickly rush to Jesi's aid so I wouldn't be disturbed. I was just drifting off again when Elli started into her angry cry. Elli wakes up many nights. Some nights, she's just fussy and has a sad cry. Usually in this case, she can be calmed down fairly quickly and will fall back asleep. Not so on the nights she wakes up angry!
You have to experience the angry cry to understand it, but I'll try a little description. She puts every ounce of strength she has into this cry. (And she is a STRONG little girl!) This thing comes straight from the diaphragm and permeates walls, ceilings and other obstacles in it's way. (In other words, on a normal night, when Christi and I are both sleeping at home, if Elli starts into her SAD cry, I can reasonably be a lazy slug and pretend not to hear her while I wait for Christi to get up and help. But on such a night if Elli starts into her ANGRY cry, there's no pretending. I simply admit I'm a lazy slug and let Christi get up and help. Wait, there's not too much difference, is there? Well, I digress:) The angry cry is so piercing that you seriously feel like there is permanent damage being done to your eardrums as you approach her to hold and help her. Usually it takes a minimum of 45 minutes to calm her down. And usually, if she's woken up with her angry cry, she won't fall back asleep that night. What you hope for in this case is that she'll calm down enough that you can leave her in her room and go back to bed. After you get back into bed, you'll start to hear her again, but at this point, she progresses to her euphoric elation stage. She finds humor in something down there in her bedroom. We don't know what it is, but you've never heard laughter quite like this. She gets absolutely hysterical. Again, this strong, loud laugh is pretty permeating, but we've learned to sleep through the sound of that, while sleeping through the angry cry is virtually impossible.
Anyway, both the girls were going strong at 2am this morning. So I got up and helped Jesi while LaRita helped Elli. What really hit me at that point was how blessed I was. Usually, I'm not so great in the middle of the night. I can be a bit grumpy. But what a blessing. On a night when I really needed patience to get through Jesi's refusal to settle down, I was blessed with patience. It was also such a blessing that my headache was gone at that point. I'd had this headache (sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker) for about 48 hours. But when I woke up with Jesi in the middle of the night, it was gone. The tender mercies of the Lord can be so subtle that they're easy to miss. But they are tender mercies, nonetheless.
It took about 25 minutes to get Jesi back to sleep, and LaRita let me go back to bed while she continued to help Elli. (I fell asleep to the sweet sounds of laughter coming up from the basement.) I woke up this morning at 7am feeling much better. Whatever illness I've had seems to have settled in my chest and is localized to a pretty rough cough. But overall, I feel much better. The cough will severely limit my time in the ICU, so hopefully that will go away quickly. The kids (with Grandma and Grandpa's help-Dean went to Wendy's:) brought me breakfast in bed for my birthday. It was sweet that they would remember this little tradition in the midst of such tumultuous times. We have great kids!!!
Thanks for all of your love. It's neat to see how many of you are interested and concerned enough to check in on a regular basis for updates on Graci. We'll keep them coming!
Jeremy
I came home last night with an excruciating headache, which I had suffered through for most of the day. As I was able to get away from the stress of the hospital, eat some good food and relax just a bit, I started to feel a little better. I helped get the kids to bed, and got to bed myself by 9:30. I slept solid until 2:00 am, when I heard Jessica crying and starting to open my bedroom door. Then I heard my sweet mother-in-law, LaRita, quickly rush to Jesi's aid so I wouldn't be disturbed. I was just drifting off again when Elli started into her angry cry. Elli wakes up many nights. Some nights, she's just fussy and has a sad cry. Usually in this case, she can be calmed down fairly quickly and will fall back asleep. Not so on the nights she wakes up angry!
You have to experience the angry cry to understand it, but I'll try a little description. She puts every ounce of strength she has into this cry. (And she is a STRONG little girl!) This thing comes straight from the diaphragm and permeates walls, ceilings and other obstacles in it's way. (In other words, on a normal night, when Christi and I are both sleeping at home, if Elli starts into her SAD cry, I can reasonably be a lazy slug and pretend not to hear her while I wait for Christi to get up and help. But on such a night if Elli starts into her ANGRY cry, there's no pretending. I simply admit I'm a lazy slug and let Christi get up and help. Wait, there's not too much difference, is there? Well, I digress:) The angry cry is so piercing that you seriously feel like there is permanent damage being done to your eardrums as you approach her to hold and help her. Usually it takes a minimum of 45 minutes to calm her down. And usually, if she's woken up with her angry cry, she won't fall back asleep that night. What you hope for in this case is that she'll calm down enough that you can leave her in her room and go back to bed. After you get back into bed, you'll start to hear her again, but at this point, she progresses to her euphoric elation stage. She finds humor in something down there in her bedroom. We don't know what it is, but you've never heard laughter quite like this. She gets absolutely hysterical. Again, this strong, loud laugh is pretty permeating, but we've learned to sleep through the sound of that, while sleeping through the angry cry is virtually impossible.
Anyway, both the girls were going strong at 2am this morning. So I got up and helped Jesi while LaRita helped Elli. What really hit me at that point was how blessed I was. Usually, I'm not so great in the middle of the night. I can be a bit grumpy. But what a blessing. On a night when I really needed patience to get through Jesi's refusal to settle down, I was blessed with patience. It was also such a blessing that my headache was gone at that point. I'd had this headache (sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker) for about 48 hours. But when I woke up with Jesi in the middle of the night, it was gone. The tender mercies of the Lord can be so subtle that they're easy to miss. But they are tender mercies, nonetheless.
It took about 25 minutes to get Jesi back to sleep, and LaRita let me go back to bed while she continued to help Elli. (I fell asleep to the sweet sounds of laughter coming up from the basement.) I woke up this morning at 7am feeling much better. Whatever illness I've had seems to have settled in my chest and is localized to a pretty rough cough. But overall, I feel much better. The cough will severely limit my time in the ICU, so hopefully that will go away quickly. The kids (with Grandma and Grandpa's help-Dean went to Wendy's:) brought me breakfast in bed for my birthday. It was sweet that they would remember this little tradition in the midst of such tumultuous times. We have great kids!!!
Thanks for all of your love. It's neat to see how many of you are interested and concerned enough to check in on a regular basis for updates on Graci. We'll keep them coming!
Jeremy
Monday, September 22, 2008
We've seen our Graci!
Hi everyone!
We were finally able to go and see Graci. It took a little longer than we had thought because they had a little scare with her blood pressure dropping, but she is doing fine now. They had her covered with her cute blanket and she actually looked very good (considering). She's a little pale and puffy, but I think she looks better than last time. Right now she is still on a ventilator, and she's already communicated that she's not happy about that. She signed that she wanted a drink, and I told her we'd have to wait until the vent is out-- and I could see her fighting tears. She has several IV's in different places and four tubes coming out of her chest/abdomen. This was easier to see this time as we have gone through it before. I did ask her if she's hurting, and she shook her head, "no." She is resting well, though she is pretty aware of what's going on. She's barely opening her eyes, but she shakes my hand and tells me (by me guessing) what she wants-- which is usually to sing to her. Sadly, I forgot her CD's-- so we won't have those until morning. Jeremy was only able to be with Graci for 5 minutes before the combination of sickness, lack of sleep and stress made him feel like he was about to pass out. He headed home and hopefully he can get a good night's rest and come back refreshed and feeling better tomorrow.
It felt so good to have Graci communicating a little bit-- even if by nods and shakes of the head. It is SO NICE this time that she can understand English and have the comfort of having things explained to her.
Parents have to be out of the ICU from 7-8 for the nursing shift to change-- so that's why I'm here typing right now. It was hard to leave her because I could tell she wanted me to stay. I'll be so happy when she can move out of ICU and have her own room that has a bed for me so I don't have to leave her.
Taylor, Parker, Jesi and Elli-- I LOVE YOU!!! I told Graci that you were happy she was doing well and it seemed to make her happy. Thanks for being such good kids-- I miss you! I'm excited for Graci to get well enough that you can come and visit! (:
In closing, a scripture from Psalms:
"He healeth the broken hearted and bindeth up their wounds."
These words have been fulfilled today. (:
We were finally able to go and see Graci. It took a little longer than we had thought because they had a little scare with her blood pressure dropping, but she is doing fine now. They had her covered with her cute blanket and she actually looked very good (considering). She's a little pale and puffy, but I think she looks better than last time. Right now she is still on a ventilator, and she's already communicated that she's not happy about that. She signed that she wanted a drink, and I told her we'd have to wait until the vent is out-- and I could see her fighting tears. She has several IV's in different places and four tubes coming out of her chest/abdomen. This was easier to see this time as we have gone through it before. I did ask her if she's hurting, and she shook her head, "no." She is resting well, though she is pretty aware of what's going on. She's barely opening her eyes, but she shakes my hand and tells me (by me guessing) what she wants-- which is usually to sing to her. Sadly, I forgot her CD's-- so we won't have those until morning. Jeremy was only able to be with Graci for 5 minutes before the combination of sickness, lack of sleep and stress made him feel like he was about to pass out. He headed home and hopefully he can get a good night's rest and come back refreshed and feeling better tomorrow.
It felt so good to have Graci communicating a little bit-- even if by nods and shakes of the head. It is SO NICE this time that she can understand English and have the comfort of having things explained to her.
Parents have to be out of the ICU from 7-8 for the nursing shift to change-- so that's why I'm here typing right now. It was hard to leave her because I could tell she wanted me to stay. I'll be so happy when she can move out of ICU and have her own room that has a bed for me so I don't have to leave her.
Taylor, Parker, Jesi and Elli-- I LOVE YOU!!! I told Graci that you were happy she was doing well and it seemed to make her happy. Thanks for being such good kids-- I miss you! I'm excited for Graci to get well enough that you can come and visit! (:
In closing, a scripture from Psalms:
"He healeth the broken hearted and bindeth up their wounds."
These words have been fulfilled today. (:
We've spoken with the surgeon
Graci is nearly done-- she is still in the OR because they are fixing an IV line, but she should be getting settled into the PICU shortly and we should be able to see her in about 30 minutes. (: Everything has gone well. She is stable and they were able to accomplish everything they wanted to do. They will, of course, be monitoring her very closely because of various risks, such as infection, bleeding, complications with the blood flow to the lungs, etc.
We are VERY HAPPY and relieved that she has come this far. As we've said many times, we appreciate every prayer offered in her behalf. Jeremy is still feeling under the weather, but has been told if he scrubs well and wears a mask he can come with me to see her. (: (: (:
This may be our last post for a few hours-- we'll see how things go in the PICU. Love you all!
--Christianne
We are VERY HAPPY and relieved that she has come this far. As we've said many times, we appreciate every prayer offered in her behalf. Jeremy is still feeling under the weather, but has been told if he scrubs well and wears a mask he can come with me to see her. (: (: (:
This may be our last post for a few hours-- we'll see how things go in the PICU. Love you all!
--Christianne
4:10 update
We just spoke with the nurse and they are closing her up, putting in chest tubes, and making sure she is stable. Everything is still going well-- it is just meticulous work. Hopefully she will be done in an hour or so and we can speak with the surgeon to see his take on everything. I am almost ready to breathe a sigh of relief.
Have you ever tried to eat anything while your child has his chest cut open and ripped apart? Let me tell you, it's not an easy thing. You take a few bites, but can't escape the images in your mind of the sad state of your child. I had a very hard time choking down lunch... until I got to the most fabulous chocolate mousse pie-- yummy! I figured God must hae invented that just to bring some joy to this day. I was also able to giggle out loud from the latest entry from the most beautiful blog-- www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com. If you haven't checked this blog out, you should do it-- she is the most amazing writer and has literally thousands of hits every day-- no joke. Angie's from my favorite place-- Nashville, TN, and we've had some similar experiences that make me feel close to her. Her entry today was priceless, and I have to agree with her on the panties thing! See, now you're going to read it just to check out what I'm talking about. (: Another happy thing today--my dearest frined, Heather, just got her LOA for her little guy from China, which means they'll be travelling to get him in just a few weeks. They are the most beautiful family and I feel so blessed that Elli's adoption was part of what opened their hearts to their little Max-- such a cutie. www.heathermathenyfamily.blogspot.com
So see, there is always some sunshine in hard days... (:
Have you ever tried to eat anything while your child has his chest cut open and ripped apart? Let me tell you, it's not an easy thing. You take a few bites, but can't escape the images in your mind of the sad state of your child. I had a very hard time choking down lunch... until I got to the most fabulous chocolate mousse pie-- yummy! I figured God must hae invented that just to bring some joy to this day. I was also able to giggle out loud from the latest entry from the most beautiful blog-- www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com. If you haven't checked this blog out, you should do it-- she is the most amazing writer and has literally thousands of hits every day-- no joke. Angie's from my favorite place-- Nashville, TN, and we've had some similar experiences that make me feel close to her. Her entry today was priceless, and I have to agree with her on the panties thing! See, now you're going to read it just to check out what I'm talking about. (: Another happy thing today--my dearest frined, Heather, just got her LOA for her little guy from China, which means they'll be travelling to get him in just a few weeks. They are the most beautiful family and I feel so blessed that Elli's adoption was part of what opened their hearts to their little Max-- such a cutie. www.heathermathenyfamily.blogspot.com
So see, there is always some sunshine in hard days... (:
3:15 update
They are all done with the work on her heart. They are now doing an echocardiogram to ensure that the blood flow is all correct. If everything looks good, they will close her up. If all is good, she should be done fairly soon. Thanks for all of your prayers. She has done very well!
2:15 Update
They are almost finished with the work on her heart! They have finished the patch on the VSD. they have attached the new valve to her heart and are in the process of sewing the blood vessel to her pulmonary artery. Then they will sew her back up. the nurse estimates another 1.5 hours. Good luck Graci!
1:00 pm update
We get an update every hour from the nurse practitioner who is assisting. Currently they are working on patching the VSD (hole in her heart). When they finish with that, they'll move on to the valve replacement. Graci is doing well.
Thanks so much for all of your love and support. It's amazing to me how many people are genuinely concerned about our little princess!
Jeremy
Thanks so much for all of your love and support. It's amazing to me how many people are genuinely concerned about our little princess!
Jeremy
Still doing ok...
Another update-- Graci's still on the heart/lung machine. They are currently ballooning the pulmonary arteries, which were a little bit smaller than they had hoped but still manageable. They still haven't started the "big stuff"-- putting in the valve and closing the VSD.
You have no idea how much we appreciate your comments-- thanks!
-Christianne
You have no idea how much we appreciate your comments-- thanks!
-Christianne
She's on the heart/lung machine
We just received word that Graci is now on the heart/lung machine. Apparently, things are going a bit slower than anticipated, but she is stable. We should have another update in an hour or so.
New update
The nurse just came out with another update-- they are still working on getting her ready for the heart/lung machine. She said it's going slower this time because of her previous surgery, but it is going well and she is stable.
Graci is in surgery...
Graci went in to surgery at about 7:45 a.m.-- about two hours ago. We just had our first update from one of the cardiologists-- she is doing well, and they have made the incision and are working on opening the sternum. The surgery should last until sometime early this afternoon and we will try to post each time we hear anything new. It is really so crazy to think of the condition she is in right now-- so difficult, and yet such a miracle that they are able to do something so complicated and intricate. This would be so much harder if we didn't know she was in the Lord's hands.
We are going off just a few hours of sleep, but I'm feeling fine. Jeremy, however, is under the weather and could use your prayers. At this point he's thinking he doesn't feel well enough to go into the ICU when she get's out of surgery-- and I really want him there with me. So, we both appreciate your prayers...
Graci was in great spirits this morning. She called her foster parents (we call them "China Mom" and "China Dad") on the way to the hospital and they had a good talk. She complained afterward that it is getting hard for her to speak Chinese. ): She was a little nervous at the hospital, but smiling and sweet. The "silly juice" they gave her before the surgery really relaxed her and she left us giggling and loopy. We are so grateful to be in such a good hospital and to have such a fabulous surgeon.
Graci has been the princess for the last week-- favorite foods, no chores, late nights-- it's been fun! Jeremy took her for a Daddy Date last week and when she came home we had a little surprise party planned for her (Jeremy's idea). We decorated with lots of pink balloons and streamers, played Graci games, had ice-cream sundaes, and watched the movied of her adoption story. Her friends were VERY intersted in the movie-- and were so sweet about it. We also had each person paint one of Graci's fingernails so she could go into surgery with something from all of her friends. Graci was SO happy about the party and thanked us over and over.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers, and thanks Mom and Dad for taking care of the kiddos. We love you!
--Christianne
Sunday, September 21, 2008
It comes more quickly than you think...
Sixteen summers ago I was living in an apartment complex just south of Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. I had three roommates, one of whom was a local kid from Alpine, UT (about 45 minutes north of us). One weekend he told us we should all go on this great overnight hike near where he grew up. I called my aunt and uncle Dave and Dian Gibb and asked if I could borrow one of their hiking backpacks and one of their sons (my cousin Jonathan) to go on this hike. So four of us headed up Dry Creek trail towards Lone Peak. I'm still not sure how many miles the hike is, but I do know you ascend two or three thousand feet in about two hours. We end up about half way up Lone Peak. It's a rigorous climb, but one that can be done even by a novice (if he's in decent shape!) We all loved the trip.
Over the years, I've led four or five other groups up to the spot. It's amazingly beautiful. There's a rock outcropping that you can sit on and and look out over Utah valley. You see Alpine and Highland, Lehi and the Oquirrh mountains and part of Utah lake. You can watch the gorgeous sunset and later look up at the endless stars. The place we camp is a beautiful little clearing right next to a river, but it's in a location that you would never find unless you had been there before. You have to bushwhack through the brush. There's no trail, but once you get there, there's a perfect place to put out a tarp and sleep under the stars. The river rushing by almost makes it easier to fall asleep.
The last few times I've gone, I've taken two of my brothers and my dad. Over the last 9 years, every time I've gone up, I've thought how great it would be to take my own sons some day. Well, someday came last weekend:) Christi, Taylor, Parker and I braved the mountain. There were several things I was worried about. First, I knew the boys couldn't carry full packs, so Christi and I would have to carry their bags and sleeping pads. I didn't know how that would wear on us, and I wasn't even positive the boys could do the entire hike even with smaller packs. Second, on every other trip I'd taken, everyone was an adult, and therefore responsible for themselves. On this trip, I was basically responsible for all four of us. I was leading us into a wilderness with no facilities, no running water, other than the river, possible encounters with wild animals, and an area where we had to pack everything in! Third, this was September, the latest in the season I had ever gone. So I was worried it might get too cold. I spent quite a bit of time preparing. I bought some packets of freeze dried food for dinner (Everyone but Taylor liked the lasagna. Nobody but me liked the Blueberry cheesecake:) I bought four new mummy bags rated for 5 degrees. I bought a hatchet and a small stainless steel cooking pot. I bought a magnesium stick (a last resort for starting a fire if you're not too great with the matches. Lets just say it was a GOOD thing I brought it.) And I bought a water filter.
Long story short: my fears were unnecessary. We had a WONDERFUL time. The boys were great sports, and loved the entire trip (although I did end up carrying one of their 7-pound packs in my hand for just about the entire hike. This was in addition to the 25-pound pack on my back. And I won't even go into the 40-pound spare tire around my waist!) In fact, when we were almost at the very top, it was Christi who felt like she couldn't go on. Both boys, but especially Taylor, were so sweet with their encouragement for her. The sleeping bags were great. The food was edible. But best of all is just the experience of being there. It is possible to drive to many beautiful overlooks in the world, and I have enjoyed many throughout my life. But there is something different about viewing something that can only be seen after you work incredibly hard to get there. We enjoyed the view at the top and even had a little testimony meeting under the stars as we looked over the valley. Each of us expressed our feelings about our Savior and His Gospel. It was a really great trip. We hope to make it an annual event.
Jeremy
PS. My favorite quotes from the trip:
Taylor: "Look! A lizard. I think it's a Geico!"
(not related)
Parker: "Dad. I think I saw a bear! And heard it! Or maybe it was a squirrel or a rabbit....yeah, there it is. It's a squirrel."
Friday, September 19, 2008
Surgery Rescheduled
Primary Children's called today and Graci's surgery will be MONDAY!! So soon-- which is wonderful in many ways, but kind of took my breath away. Part of me had hoped for some more time to just enjoy her and not worry about anything. We spoke to the head surgeon on the phone and though he went over possible complications and risks, he was overall very optimistic about everything. (: I will have to take Graci in to repeat her labs on Sunday (UGH) because the bloodwork has to be done within two days of the surgery. Then we will show up for surgery bright and early at 6 a.m. The surgeon expects to be done sometime that afternoon, and she'll go straight to the PICU. We are bracing for a 2-5 week hospital stay, but are hoping that it's only one week like last time-- what a miracle that was! The main things they will be doing during the surgery is closing her VSD (the hole in her heart), replacing synthetic valve with cadaver or pig valve, and ballooning some arteries.
As I was typing this, Graci came running in with a package. She was jumping up and down and saying, "TWO PACKAGES FOR GRACI-- WOO-HOO!" Yesterday she had gotten a package from her cousins with letters and crayons, and today she got a package from Auntie Heather with a cute pillowcase for the hospital. She was SO EXCITED and exclaimed, "EVERYONE loves me, huh!" Then she gave me a huge hug and just started jumping up and down again. So cute. She is such a ray of sunshine.
Yes, everyone loves you, Graci!!! So many people are praying for you and wishing you well!!!!!!!!!!
--Christianne
As I was typing this, Graci came running in with a package. She was jumping up and down and saying, "TWO PACKAGES FOR GRACI-- WOO-HOO!" Yesterday she had gotten a package from her cousins with letters and crayons, and today she got a package from Auntie Heather with a cute pillowcase for the hospital. She was SO EXCITED and exclaimed, "EVERYONE loves me, huh!" Then she gave me a huge hug and just started jumping up and down again. So cute. She is such a ray of sunshine.
Yes, everyone loves you, Graci!!! So many people are praying for you and wishing you well!!!!!!!!!!
--Christianne
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Discussion with Jesi
Tonight our family was in the car as we drove home from Kung Fu Panda (pretty cute movie by the way). As part of the conversation I asked the three oldest kids if their school friends called them by their full first names or if they had nicknames. All three said their friends just used their names. Then I asked Jesi if she had a nickname at school. "Yes, I have a nickname!" "What is it," I asked? "My nickname is JessicaKate-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-Jessica," she said. Wow! What a mouthful. I then asked Jesi if she knew what a nickname was. Her response? "A nickname means you have love and kind in your heart." She was also sweet enough to say that all of our family have nicknames. She proceeded to tell all of us what our nicknames were. They all followed a similar pattern. Christi's is: "ChristianneGreen-4-5-6-Green" There is never a dull moment with our dear little five-year-old:)
Jeremy
Jeremy
Surgery Postponed
Just a quick note to let everyone know that we just got a call from the hospital. The doctor is very ill and Graci's surgery has been postponed indefinitely. We'll let you know when we hear more.
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