Pig in a blanket for Halloween!?!

Well, we announced Jakey on the ole blog by saying we'd have Shrimp at Christmas. Basically, the first time we saw him on an ultrasound picture he looked just like a shrimp. And, until we found out "it" was a "he" we referred to it as "shrimpy". =) Lovingly, of course. The funny thing is that he turned out sooo not shrimpy! He was 9lbs 7ozs and to this day is a very big boy! Anyway, I digress.
We found out the first week in February that we are expecting baby#2! We were shocked, surprised, elated, worried, scared, overwhelmed, joyful...but most of all THANKFUL. After having Jake, then thryroid surgery and then brain surgery in a matter of 12 months I wasn't sure that my body would ever get pregnant again! If you're unfamilar with the functions of the thyroid and pituitary glands, all you need to know is that those are two of your body's master controls as far as hormones. And let's just say that over half of my thyroid is gone and my brain still has a tumor of over 1cm in diameter. I wasn't sure if I could get pregnant on my own or if my body would maintain a pregnancy. The doctors weren't, either. All they (Endocrinologist, Neurosurgeon, OB/Gyn, Family Practitioner) said was, "if you want another baby, try for another baby." Oh, and the neurosurgeon added to that sentence that it must be a consideration in my mind that another pregnancy was possibly committing to another brain surgery soon after the baby. This is because Estrogen grows higher and higher during pregnancy and estrogen is also known to grow tumors. And, possibly, it is why I never had brain tumor symptoms until immediately after Jake was born, because I had the tumor all along and it grew large at the end of the pregnancy.

In case you're wondering, baby #2 has already gotten slighted by a much un-cooler nickname than Jake. You people have been telling us it would happen! ;) Baby #2 wouldn't get or have everything Jake does, right?!? The pig in a blanket reference is because we've seen him or her several times via ultrasound and the last couple of times he/she's been snuggled up in a ball all curled up. :) And, as far as Halloween goes, our due date is mid-october but Halloween was the closest holiday and I had to reference one since Jake's due date was Christmas Day.


So....... we are thankful! If you ask me, each baby is a miracle- everything has to go perfect at the perfect time to conceive. Well, this messed up, "genetically inferior" (according to my hubby) ;) girl got pregnant on her own exactly one year after brain surgery! And, when I say on my own, I firmly believe that this baby was meant to be and that my God did all of the work and care for us.
We appreciate that He knows our deepest wants and needs and that we've prayed for a baby and a brother or sister for our sweet boy. I'm ever so thankful for our boy, he was our first miracle baby and we didn't even know it at the time! Now we've been given another and we couldn't be happier! The God that made the trees, the oceans, gravity, ants, hurricanes, love, marriage, family, friends, and babies has proven to us again that He loves us and wants what is best for us. To think of someone so mighty that these things are created by Him and yet He listens to his children's petty desires is simply amazing.

We would be so grateful for prayers on our behalf. We long to hold a healthy baby! And, I would be thrilled for the brain tumor to remain the size it is so that it will not cause any future problems. We will not know until later on during the pregnancy if it is growing, I'll have an MRI probably mid-late summer.
Thank you so much for sharing in our life, our excitement, our joys, our struggles and for praying for us and checking in on us via the blog!!
Our hearts are happy and we love this sweet baby so much already!

Another Surgery?!?

Ok...so I should update the latest on my thyroid saga!! :) Well, I'm not sure how connected this is to my thyroid, but this saga now involves my brain! When I went to that new endocrinologist I loved a couple of weeks ago she found out that my cycle had not returned since before Jake was born and also that some of my hormones were measuring high. So, that's why she sent me for an MRI and abdominal ultrasound. The abdominal ultrasound came out perfectly normal. The MRI, however, did not. I got a call from the dr's office last Thursday asking me to come in on Friday (the day before Jakey's party). I thought that was a little quick, which made it a little suspicious! So, Jeremy took a sick day and came with me while my dad kept Jake. Right when she walked into the room she told me that she was glad that I brought my husband. Both of our hearts sank. We knew that was bad news! So, she proceeds to tell us that she found a 1.8cm tumor on my pituitary gland which is in your brain. She then told us that was quite big for that area of the brain and so she would refer me to a neurosurgeon and that he would probably want to take it out. She also scheduled me an ophthalmologist appointment for the next Monday and also a lab appt to go get more blood work.
By Tuesday I had received a call from the neurosurgeon's office asking me to come in the next day. Soooo.....I saw him yesterday and he was awesome! He was friendly and very understanding and spent time explaining my options to us and explaining what was going on and showing us my MRI films. My type of tumor cannot be shrunk with medicine, and is already affecting my vision. If the tumor is left in my brain, it could possibly cause total vision loss down the road. Surgery will be within the next two weeks and will require 2-3 nights in the hospital. I think the best news of all may be that they can go in through my nose which will not leave any scarring or even need an incision at all!
We are unsure if this is going to solve all of my hormone problems, or if it will cause more problems for me. So, not much to report other than...please pray! Wow...a baby, thyroid surgery and brain surgery...all within 12 months! Crazy!
I'll try to keep y'all posted!

Thyroid Update!

Ok, so I AM working on a ONE year post for a certain little baby boy right now. But, I can update about this quicker so I will do so now. :)

I'm sure most of you know/remember that a thyroid nodule was discovered when I was pregnant with Jake. It was quite large so I had surgery to have it removed last spring. Since then I have been diagnosed with postsurgical hypothyroidism, or not enough thyroid hormone. I have seen several doctors and have had several horrible experiences. This past week I met with a new endocrinoligist in The Woodlands and I love her! I had a nearly three hour appointment and she was very thorough and detailed and seems to be taking care of me with a sense of urgency. Anyway, she thinks my body is in chaos mode after a baby and surgery so close together and also that there are some things going on that are not quite right. So, I am scheduled for an abdominal ultrasound today and also an MRI on my brain, or more specifically my Pituitary Gland, which controls several thyroid-related hormones.
Please say a quick prayer that they find the reasons for my abnormal bloodwork and get me back to feeling and looking like my old self again soon! I go back toward the end of the month to go over my bloodwork results and my MRI/ultrasound results with her. I'll try to keep y'all posted.
Thanks for the thoughts/prayers! We hope everyone starts off the New Year with a great week!

Lil Trooper!

Jakey is one tough lil guy! Yesterday (Sunday) when Jeremy woke him up right before church he was coughing. Jeremy told me that it sounded like he had a chest cold or something. I agreed, and we decided to stay home from church. He really acted fine, just occasionally seeming to suddenly cry for seemingly no reason and occasionally pull at his ears. It was just so sad to listen to him breathe and cough. Well, today I called the doctor and they insisted that he come in because of his low grade fever yesterday (99.5) and breathing troubles.
So, we went in this morning and he was diagnosed with parainfluenza, croup, and an ear infection in both ears. She listened to him cough and to his breathing and heard a little "gurgling" but doesn't believe it's actually moved down into his lungs. She also gave us the warning signs to look out for in case it gets any worse. Glad we decided to take him in just 24 hours after the first sign of anything!
I can't believe he's hardly shown any behavioral/personality changes thru this. He's a little trooper! If he'd not wheezed or had a fever we'd never have even called the doctor. In fact, as I rocked him today he sat up, looked at me, and started clapping his hands over and over. I couldn't help but laugh at that. Then, the sick, sensitive side of him returned and started crying. I guess my laugh hurt his feelings! He's super sensitive to just about everything right now.

Anyway, he's now on antibiotics, probiotics, and ear drops. Hopefully they work quick!

We love our lil Jakey so much and this flu season is so scary! His doctor was out of the office with the swine flu, go figure!

Please pray that Jakey makes it thru his first Fall healthy with no more sickness!

More of that precious face...

on the way home from the hospital...Tuesday night

his first night...in his sports sleep sack from my mom (grandma name undecied :-))

first time in the bouncer...he didn't wanna be put down




I love his foot sticking out!

asleep...always has those hands by his face

asleep by Daddy in the chair

love those hands!!

We are so enjoying our little Jake. We love him so much and just looking at him sometimes brings tears to our eyes.

I still have a couple of posts I plan on doing from the hospital, but we're super busy now so they'll have to wait.

We had his first pedi appt this morning and his weight is down from 9lbs 7oz to 8lbs 3oz. I was horrified at the news, especially since I'm feeding non-stop and I am devastated that he's been hungry all this time. We'll be going to see a lactation consultant this afternoon and back to the pedi tomorrow afternoon so please keep us in your prayers. We just want to get Jake back to being 'Moose'! I miss his rolls. :)

Eviction Notice...

As you all can see Jake is still not here and we are getting further past his due date every day.

So, he has been given an official eviction notice. He's getting kicked out on this coming Saturday, January 3rd if he doesn't come before then on his own. I will be 41 weeks, 2 days. I'm still really hoping that he does come on his own, but if he doesn't it is good to know that there is a back up plan in place and that we really will meet him soon! Please keep us in your prayers this week as we will for sure be entering the world of parenting and finally meeting our sweet baby boy.

This is apparently a very difficult week to schedule an induction. The nurse tried to schedule me for Tues, then Wed, then Thurs and finally on Saturday. I was hoping for tomorrow or Wed, since he was supposed to be here by Christmas I would atleast have liked to have him by New Year's. I took his first Christmas outfit back to Janie and Jack today- it was kinda sad but I exchanged it for 2 very cute things!

Well, just wanted to update you all, and hope that you enjoyed a very Merry Christmas with your loved ones this year...just as we were able to! :)

Happy New Year's!!

These are the days...

I have had a wonderful time off of work. I have been super busy and don't know how I would've continued to work and been this productive and gotten so much rest at the same time! I used to have to choose between one or the other!

Since my last day of work (3 weeks ago) I've had two showers, gone to a birthday party, gone to the pumpkin patch, attended a ladies bible study every Tuesday morning, cleaned our house from top to bottom, had a thyroid biopsy, had a 32 wk Baby Jake ultrasound, attended my first playdate, made several exchanges on things we had multiple of, and attended more Dr appts than I care to remember! Plus tons of time sleeping in and hanging out with friends and family. I am enjoying it and soaking it up....as it will end in just a few short weeks. It's hard to believe I'll be 33 weeks this Thursday! Jake is as cute and active as ever and is a big boy- weighing over 4lbs so far (last week) and always measuring betw 1/2 week and two weeks big every time we go to the doctor.

Speaking of the thyroid ultrasound.... my doctor found a lump on my throat about a month ago when I was sick. He wanted to be cautious even though he thought it was a lymph node and had me get a thyroid ultrasound. I was not worried about it at all. But, a few days later it came back that there was a 5cm mass in my throat! That is huge at 2.5 inches. I was then referrred to an endocrinologist who decided to order a needle biopsy. I finally had the biopsy last Wed and will get results this week. I am not too worried about it but pray that it is not cancer. It would be hard to find that out 7 wks before our son gets here. The endocrinologist has already decided to take out part or all of my thyroid after Jake arrives. If it is cancer the whole thing will be removed and if it's benign the mass and the left side of my thyroid will be removed. Not looking forward to having surgery right after Jake arrives, but am thankful my doctor found it before it got any bigger (it's already making it hard to breathe!).

Well, the nursery is almost finished and I will be posting pics soon. but a 32 1/2 week belly shot will have to do for now. :)

Wake Up!

Well, we spent another weekend in San Antonio. Daddy Joe has been sick lately. They first thought it was pneumonia and gave him a week's worth of antibiotics. After that didn't work, and after a week he still had fever they found that he did actually have fluid between his lungs, but that wasn't the source of his fever. So, the whole weekend we were there he was very still and didn't move near as much as we were used to. Of course, the day before we got there he had a spinal tap and a needle from his back inserted into his lungs.
Today I found out that the fever was actually being caused by an abcess on his back and it bursted today and drained and his fever is now gone! On top of that, he even opened his eyes on his own today and followed my aunt Lissa's movement too. Very exciting news and hopefully a sign that he is feeling better now.
The nurses and doctors have said that he is fighting so hard, and that many people would've given up. But we know he has a strong will, strong faith, and a strong spirit and it breaks our hearts that he is giving it his all. We are proud of all the things he has made it through, and can't wait for him to wake up!

All those cards on the wall and a whole basket too! People sure do love him.

Mama and the kids with Daddy

Me and Jake with Daddy Joe

The board in his room :)

Daddy Joe has his own blog!

This past weekend while my mom and I were in San Antonio I sat down with Gran and we started them a blog. She is always at the hospital all day and into the night and was spending lots of time sending out emails to different lists- family, friends, old coworkers, etc. So, I told her she should start a blog and send out the link so anyone could check it at any time and she could read their comments instead of reading and responding to emails for hours. I know that many of you are praying and thinking about him and I thought you might want to check it out!

http://www.moseleymemos.blogspot.com/

Jake's Room (Phase Two)

New Pottery Barn Kids Toy Bin

First Little Blanky (Thanks, Rachel!)

' Puppy Love' sign from Canton (Thanks, Jess!)




Little initial blocks that hang from rope (Again-we love them, Jess!)


New puppy paws that we stenciled last night

(Ahhh- the blue looks SO bright...again!)

Here are the lastest additions to little Jake's nursery. He has already been given so many adorable things!

Yesterday I made a run to Hobby Lobby and found things to make a stencil with. I also bought a puppy stamp and then free-handed a larger version for my stencil. I think they look like muddy paws...which I think is really cute. They will look much better once all of the other puppy stuff is hung in the room...right now they look a little out of place.

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Daddy Joe Update:

My mom and I spent the weekend with him. He was moving a lot and turned his head when we walked into the room and told him hello. He also moved his arms and legs a lot more than when we were there last.

However, he was running a fever on Sunday, and yesterday we found out that he has Pneumonia. This is a set back and he is on antibiotics for it. We'd hoped he wouldn't get it because he was given a vaccine for it already. Please continue to keep him in your prayers as he continues to fight off all that has been thrown his way!

A little bit of sunshine!

I just found out that Daddy Joe has opened his eyes (but not kept them open), responded to the Speech Therapist by obeying her requests, and has been pulling at all of his tubes and such. All of this is so exciting! The doctors have said the whole time that him pulling at his tubes would be the best sign! It would show that he's feeling something and that he's agitated and that's good motivation to wake him up! Looks like it's working. After all of the negativity from the doctors and just the unknown it looks like all of our prayers are being answered. It is so amazing and I can't wait to see him.

Please pray for his continued recovery and for him to wake up completely soon.

June 2008 in Port Aransas

Update on our Family

Well, it is Monday. The past two Mondays Daddy Joe has had brain surgeries. We all spent the weekend with him in ICU. We were scared to leave last night because we're becoming superstitious about Mondays and he seems to do so well when we are all there. Usually we get home, and within the next day or two something really bad happens. The first time was last weekend when my mom and I were there and he was wheeling himself around, feeding himself, getting up to use the restroom, etc. Then, Monday was his "fall" which resulted in a stroke, blood clot, and brain surgery.

We ended up getting worse news mid week last week that he was "weakening" and that my grandmother (Gran) needed to "make some choices" by Monday or Tuesday about keeping him on Life Support. That really made us want to get up there to be with them. My mom and I went early Saturday morning, while Jeremy and my Dad picked up Matt from the airport at 6am Sunday morning and then they made the drive to San Antonio. So... all of us spent Sunday all day with him (Gran, Lissa, Jon, Mom, Dad, me, Jeremy, and Matt).

On Saturday when my mom and I got there, he wasn't moving at all and just looked pitiful hooked up to all those machines. They had placed a drain coming out of his head after his second surgery and he had a tracheotomy (tube inserted into his neck to assist his breaths), plus all of his vitals were being monitored and his legs were getting massaged in order to prevent blood clots and of course he had an IV and a feeding tube.
I was crushed to see him and just thought there was no hope. Later that day he started moving little by little- a foot here, a hand here, a small shift of his head, etc. We stayed until visiting hours were over and just before that they had a shift change where his night nurse came in. She walked in smiling saying, "I see he's doing better tonight. Last night when I came in his eyes were looking down when I checked them and tonight they're mid- line (looking at her) and last night his pupils reacted sluggishly and tonight they're briskly reacting. Oh, and he also resisted my push with his foot."
It sounds like small steps but when we had almost just lost hope because they said he was weakening that was just the best news. I know he's on Life Support, in ICU, and has yet to wake up from a surgery that he had a week ago. But... we left last night not feeling like we were saying goodbye for the last time and we had hope that he is just recovering at his own pace. His body has been thru so much and we know he's fighting hard in very grim circumstances to recover.

Whatever happens we know is God's plan. But Gran had prayed for a sign (to tell her he's either getting better or worse) and after days of him not moving, not breathing on his own, etc he lifted his arm onto his stomach s (in front of the nurse) and consistently breathed above the machine while we were there. It is amazing that the doctors say he can't hear us or know we're there. When we walk in the room he usually becomes more "active" (yes, that's definitely a relative term). Anytime we hold his hand, rub his arm, or talk to him his vitals improve and his breathing goes up significantly. It is so neat to KNOW that he KNEW that we were there talking to him, praying for him, sitting with him, etc.
At this point we're praying for whatever is best for him. And there is only ONE who knows what that is...and I'll give you a hint, it's not a doctor. We don't want to push him to hang on if his quality of life will be compromised, but we would love for him to pull thru this, surprise all of his doctors and to be able to heal so that his brain stimulators that were put in place during his first surgery can be used to suppress his Parkinson's symptoms and for him to have many more happy, healthy years ahead of him with his wife, kids, gran kids, family and friends. We miss him and can't WAIT for him to wake up. I want a camera in that room in case I miss it!!!

If you read this whole thing, thank you! Your prayers are appreciated and we still have hope! The phone calls and emails have meant so much to me and I know he is in more people's thoughts and prayers than he will ever know!
(PLEASE FORGIVE MY GRAMMAR MISTAKES AND RUN ON SENTENCES- WE GOT IN AFTER MIDNIGHT AND I WAS UP AT 5AM) :-/

*AND my mom just called telling me that they turned off his breathing machine and that he's breathing on his own!!!!

So much has changed...

Since my last blog. I come to you with a heavy heart. It is amazing how fast things can turn around. Saturday when I left my Daddy Joe (and Gran and Lissa) he was doing so good. He was eating well, sleeping, sitting up, and pushing himself around in his wheelchair. Those are now just precious memories.
Monday morning he fell over in his bed (while in the rehab hospital) and hit his head. Gran got the call and rushed to see what had happened. He ended up in emergency sugery a short time later because his fall had caused a blood clot and large stroke in his brain. He has yet to wake up from that surgery. We don't know why, the doctor's don't know why. Only that he's had severe brain trauma by having two surgeries in one week and he's in his early 70's with advanced Parkinson's disease. We hope and pray that he is not in pain and feels up to fighting so that we can keep him here on earth a while longer. My Gran needs him, his kids need him, his friends need him. We are not ready for him to go.
We thought our next call from San Antonio would be that he was going home, not back to the hospital for surgery. It was devastating to all who love him and can't wait to see the results of the first surgery- that is supposed to suppress all Parkinson's symptoms and help get him back to feeling good again.

All we want is for him to wake up and recover and to not be in pain.

I know that some of my prayer warrior friends live in other towns and this might be the first you're hearing of this. Please keep him in your prayers in the coming weeks. That is all that there is left for us to do. Hope and pray.

Thank you,