Day Two at St. Mary's- Dad' perspective

Leaving St. Mary's last night was not easy. The silence in the elevator was more empty than usual, the gloomy night seemed emphasized by the current situation and arriving home without company was just strange. Nevertheless, I knew Connor and Jenn were in good hands and cared for. So, I tried to get some rest in hopes that his recovery would be progressing through the evening. Carly was at Nonnie's house. It was actually not hard to fall asleep after a day of emotions.

I awoke early and the update was good from St. Mary's. Connor was getting better. Treatments were spreading out and he was sustaining his health and breathing between them. I was relieved. The other bed in the room had remained vacant, which was also good news for them.

In route to the hospital, I made my family update calls and stopped by Panera for bagels for the wonderful nurses and doctors at St. Mary's. As I was approaching the entrance I was greeted warmly by Pastor Rick, the Pastor of our church, who was leaving. He immediately asked me how Connor was and I was a little perplexed. How closely does he speak with God anyway? = ) Actually, he explained that e-mails had been sent and he graciously offered comfort and prayers for which I was appreciative.


It was a relief to see Connor and mommy sitting together and smiling upon my arrival. He was in good spirits and doing well. His morning treatment at 7am was done and we would wait until 11am to see the results.

As we sat in the room, Jenn set an appointment for Carly with the doctor , who had a rough night at Nonnie's house. Wow, what next? Just before Jenn left Connor and I to pick up Carly, an amazing event took place. We were introduced to a gentleman who entered the room with a gift in hand. He was smiling and we listened as he greeted us generously and handed Connor the wrapped present. We didn't know what to make of the situation, but Connor had no trouble with his responsibility. He was ready to find out what this unexpected surprise was all about. He proceeded to open this gift and it was a CAT motorized forklift to play with, which was something that he, ironically, asked Santa for this Christmas. Miracle? Well, this time maybe! The gentleman openly answered some more of our questions and told of his story. He was 8 years old and was hit by a car. He was admitted to the hospital during the holiday season for 6 months. This impacted his life significantly. He remembered the isolation and depressive times there and wanted to impact children here in a positive way during their stay. What an unbelieveable and inspiring story! In short, we could not express our gratitude enough and asked him to pose with Connor in this picture. He is an example for us all.

11am treatment is happening and we are told we may leave soon after. Jenn and Carly are seeing the doctor now elsewhere and those findings are pending. We are hopeful and excited to go home and we will hopefully all be united again very soon. Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement.

Spending the Night at St. Mary's

I am writing from St. Mary's Hospital, where I have been with Connor since 11:30 this morning. I took him to our pediatrician's office first thing this morning because he (and the rest of us) was up most of last night coughing. Cough medicine wasn't working, neither were the nebulizer treatments, or the steroid he had been on since his croup-y symptoms started on Tuesday. Needless to say, when he arrived at the doctor's office, his oxygen level was far below normal - low enough to have him admitted to the hospital. Numerous Albuterol and oxygen treatments proved ineffective in trying to raise his oxygen level. They sent us to the ER because they had done all they could do. Similar story throughout our 5 1/2 ER stay. Treatments weren't as successful as they should've been so at 5:00 they finally admitted him.
When he first got to his room he had a roommate (a little boy about 5 years old who had had a colonoscopy...eeks!) but he has since gone home and now we have the room to ourselves. Initially he was quite disappointed by the fact that he'd be staying overnight in a hospital room, but as soon as Nonnie arrived with three of his favorite movies, he's been better and more agreeable. The poor thing has not had a nap, and is utterly exhausted, but hyper from the every two hour Albuterol treatments. Tonight they will continue the two hour treatments and begin the three hour treatments at midnight. Should be an interesting night!
I thank God for my mother, who has had Carly since this all started and for Matt who came home immediately after he got my call on our way to the ER.
Right now, Connor seems fine - breathing well and in good spirits. Let's hope that continues.
Thank you to all of you who have called offering support and well wishes. Listening to your messages on my voicemail brought tears to my eyes just hearing your concern and offers of help. I also thank God for you, my dear friends.
I'll update as I have time. Good night!

PreSchool Christmas

Well, today was Connor's Christmas party at school. They completed a basic, but cute, craft, had snacks, and then they exchanged books. Each classmate brought in a wrapped book that Mrs. Hurt distributed to the another classmate. Connor received the book that Ethan brought in and Ethan got Connor's. Hmmm...interesting! Hrs. Hurt must've strategically done that as Ethan is his best little buddy in the class. Afterwards Connor and I did a little shopping together (he picked out a cute gift for Carly) and then we had a nice lunch together. When we got home I was unpacking the bag of goodies sent home and in one small lunch bag was a collection of ornaments Connor had made. UGH...absolutely adorable (see the picture below)! I can't imagine Mrs. Hurt making ornaments with 12 preschool children, especially this many. I just love North Run!

Weekend Recap

WOW...our weekend was jampacked with fun! We celebrated my mom's birthday all weekend and enjoyed many Richmond traditions. I'll highlight some...

Friday evening Matt had an evening activity so my mom and I took the kids to the Grand Illumination in downtown Richmond. It was freezing, so we all bundled up and braved the cold outside of the James Center (the office building where I work) with a million other people. We all watched as the countdown ended with all of the city's lights being illuminated. It was spectacular. Later, Santa, turned on the lights on the enormous Christmas tree and the reindeer scattered across the entire courtyard area in front of the James Center.

Saturday morning, my mom and I went to the Bizarre Bazaar as we traditionally do each year. We both found a couple of goodies. Then Saturday evening we went to the Bethlehem Walk. This is the first time we had been and we were amazed at the elaborate production. We got there at 4pm, which is when it opened and already we were group 22 (they lead groups through every 3-4 minutes). The entire "reenactment" was awesome. Connor and Carly really seemed to enjoy it. Carly was especially intrigued with Baby Jesus...going up "on stage" to see Him up close. While we were there, it started snowing - just beautiful! We ended the evening, covered in snow, at Sal Cataldo's for our favorite spaghetti and meatballs. A perfect ending to a great day!

Sunday, my mom came over for her traditional chicken in wine sauce. Afterwards we spent some time driving around to look at some "tacky" lights.

It was a great weekend...Happy Birthday Mom!!!