Whoops

My blog is seriously slacking..

Actually I am lol!

We have been busy. Shawn has been gone for training and well we almost lost a very dear member of the Cope family.

Our Belladog was stricken with the deadly disease PARVO. She is home now (after a VERY hefty vet bill) and seems to be doing fine. She became ill Monday and it just went from there. The fact that she made it is nothing short of a miracle and just goes to show that she belongs here. We have had some negative about why we continued with treatment when it was just so much easier to put her to sleep and get another dog.

Nope doesn't work that way for us. Bella is like a child to me. I sobbed on the phone to the vet begging her to save Bella. I couldn't stand the thought of loosing her. I am grateful to those who stayed there right beside us in our very long journey through this very horrific disease. It does things to a dog that I never even imagined.

Everyone here is doing great. Michelle's eyes look wonderful. But she does need to go back to the spastictity specailist for more fenol and botox. Were starting to have some scissoring and clonis so back we go. I am grateful that the medicines have lasted as long as they have. Without them then we wouldnt be as far as we are now.

The kids's birthday party was so much fun and so chaotic. It also happened to be 2 days prior to bella getting sick so no birthday post for now. Plus shawn is on leave prior to his deployment so I may lack a little more in blogging.

Nerves of steel...

That's what I call them. Because seriously if I didn't have nerves of steel I would more than likely be crazy by now.

Michelle's eye surgery is tomorrow. In all honesty I though I was nervous about it but im beginning to think it's excitment. To know that this should and more than likely will prevent her from going blind because her right eye is over compensating for her left.

I want my baby girl to see this world and all of it's beauty. I want to know that when she looks for me she see's me.

I am finishing some random spring cleaning because cleaning in this house is a 24 hour process seeing as how I can start a project but it doesn't get completed until later in the day because Abigail loves to have her mommy's attention as much as possible and right now she is fighting a cold. So she doesn't feel very well.

Today is a good day. My absolutely beautiful little girl was born. I also believe this is the day my nerves of steel were born. Without them I don't think that we would be as far as we are today. 4 years ago we were told "the next 48 hours are going to be touch and go." 4 years ago I renewed my faith and trust in God that he would help see us through and I KNEW Michelle had a purpose to be here with us.

She has taught me hope when we believed there was none. She has taught me patience even when I have none. She has taught me silence when the world is screaming around us. She has taught me persistence. She has taught me optimism when I wasn't very optomistic.

Yesterday I looked up Michelle's name again. When she was born I did this as well but something told me to look it up again. Now when we picked out Michelle's name there was no meaning to us about it because to us it was just her name. But now, things have definetly changed. To know that her name means what it does just inspires me even further to dive deep into my faith and to help lead my children a path to God.

Remember to us 4 years ago no meaning:

                                                           Michelle: Who is like god?
                                                                Grace:  By the grace of God.
I couln't believe it. I still can't. To me her name tells me even further that she is meant to be here. She has a purpose. She is here to teach me. She is here to teach all of us. What lesson I am sure I will not know until later, but for now I believe it is to live and love.

April

Has been insane to say the least! Looking back I don't ever remember the beginning of spring to not be crazy for me!

6 years ago on the 7th I gave birth to a beautiful 7 pound 11 ounce baby boy that we named James. He has continued to show us complete joy. He is so intelligent and shocks me everyday with his growing knowledge of things.

4 years ago tomorrow I gave birth to a 3 pound 1 ounce BEAUTIFUL baby girl we named Michelle Grace. Who teaches me more and more everyday.

I can't believe what all comes with this month. I have a birthday party that I really need to get on planning. Plus I need to go get invitations for this said party!!!!!!

Happy Easter

*egg hunt to follow later...

Michelle came home from the hospital on Friday. Just in time to get settled in and celebrate Easter with all of us! She is even going to church this morning!!!

We feel so blessed to have such a strong little girl!

Hanging out

Is exactly what we are doing right now. Michelle is doing as good as she can at this point. She is on and off room air blowby to stimulate. She desperately wants to go for a walk and can't leave her room until she is 24 hours post-op.

The scoop goes like this....

1inch incision down a pre-existing scar from her fundoplication. The surgeon removed the stomach wall from the scar tissuse and was able to use the same scar as last time to place her new g-tube. The surgery took an hour and when she woke up she was doing very well.

Right now we are waiting on one of the fellows to come in and talk to us b/c her surgeon went on vacation today.

Today's plan goes like this....

Removal of NG tube (tube down the nose), start pedialyte feed for 4-6 hours and when tolerated as a continuous feed move to formula as a continuous feed. Hoping to be up to full feeds by Saturday. We want to get her onto oral pain meds as soon as the NG tube gets out and to d/c her Morphine drip. We also need to get her electrolytes up. They are giving her fluids but we give her alot more at home and that seems to be the struggle of today.

Yesterdays struggle was to get her a big girl bed instead of a crib. She turns 4 in 14 days why on earth would they put her in a crib???!!! Needless to say I won and she is in a bed (currently napping in the wagon).

Please continue to pray for our little girl. She is doing wonderfully and we would love to have her home by Easter.

I apologize

About the blog or lack their of. Things have been insane around here and I wasnt feeling well for a few days so that did not help either.

Tomorrow Michelle will have her tube re-inserted so I ask that all of you please say a prayer for our sweet little girl. We have made great progress over the last year I desperately want to see that continue. If you happen to be on my Facebook I encourage you to take a look at my videos I recently posted. They truely are amazing!


****Oh yea momma bear was able to complain to her fullest benefit about our last argument with the doctor when Michelle was an inpatient las!!!******

Sitting and waiting....

We seem to be doing alot of that lately. It is extremely boring especially when we are waiting for some very important people who seem to hold all decisions as of this point. Well with my approval of course.

Tonight we sit and wait for our surgeon to come and meet with us tonight and let us know when he will be able to place Michelle's g-tube back in. Luckily we have been blessed with and amazing nurse who has been extremely patient with me and all my crazy requests!

My husband (bless his heart) is at home steam cleaning our carpets!!! Love him for it.

Our diagnosis goes like this.... Oral Aversion. She can eat but is being way too choosy about what she wants to eat and that is not ok in anyones book. Mainly mine. OT specialist was annoying today. Michelle's CP causes her to have a severe gag and whenever she has too much food in her mouth or is full she gags. Well she also has a texture issue which is normal for her. Michelle was eating oatmeal by force (she hates it) and was gagging so I offered her a napkin to spit it out and the OT said that I was enabling her to just spit out her food when she doesn't want it. Well it wasn't mainly that she didn't want it I told her she didn't like oatmeal in the first place but I wasn't willing to take a chance that she would quit breathing because she was gagging so hard.

Whatever though because they said that her g-tube has to go back in which I have been asking for for the last two weeks. So FINALLY we have something happening!!! Pray we get out of here soon because I am packing on the pounds I just lost!!!!