Just RK

(Backstory here … if needed.) We saw Dr. L on Monday.  He decided that although there IS Manifest-Latent Nystagmus present with Braska , it is not the primary concern that needs to be repaired first. He feels that the strabismus/esotropia (Left eye crossing inwardly) can be corrected first, hopefully making improvements in the head tilt that Braska consistently has.  (That’s the tilt toward her right shoulder.)  The tip up, chin up in the air looking down her nose at everything, is mostly likely still related to the MLN, and we will be looking at a second surgery to correct that, probably in September. So for now, we’re planning on surgery #1 on May 18 at StL Children’s.  We appreciate your prayers for health between now and then, a successful and uncomplicated procedure that day, and a swift recovery with as minimal a level of discomfort as is possible.

We had a very nice Easter. Good visit with family and fun for the girls.  Braska will be sharing more details about the day sometime tomorrow… if you’re into the back story. Just a couple pics that sum up the day… My girls, who will NOT look at the camera when asked. Of course. But this is a great shot of the faces I get many times a day. “Come on, Mom.  We are SO over this camera action.” And my sis, the host for our Easter festivities. Gotta love that straight-from-Mexico tan.  Darn her little jet-setting self.  For real though, we always have a blast hanging out at her house… cooking and eating and talking about all the latest stuff. Good times.

Edited to add: No, I'm not contacting the beings from out there somewhere. Just getting a little hair spruce-up. Ya know, sprucin' for summer.

We had a nice morning, church with family, then down here to my sister's house for lunch and egg hunting.  The girls have been good and seem to be enjoying their first actively-easterish Easter.  More pics soon on Braska's blog... For now, the girls are napping in their rooms, as they claim the extra rooms at Auntie's house.  It is time to just relax...

If you’re a local around StL, you’ve probably been watching the coverage all day. If you’re not around here, you might have heard a mention here or there. The St. Louis metro area was beaten pretty badly by a very persistent tornado. There are still official reports to be made, but it appears to be one tornado, bolstered by some of the craziest and roughest storms full of hail the size of softballs and inches upon inches of rain. The airport, Lambert-St. Louis International, was hit and is closed. That’s new. And strange. But more upsetting are the dozens of houses all the way through the area, in a line West to East, damaged severely. Many, people are displaced from their homes today. People in the city always seem to think that these storms don’t happen in the suburban and urban areas. It’s always in the rural areas. It’s always somewhere just outside of our area. It can’t happen IN the metro. But it did. Over and over and over. ( Link to many photos.) We’re o...

Today was the appointment with Dr. C to discuss (again) the issues Braska has had for almost two years now.  The head tilt and tip.  For lack of a better description.  I wish I had time to find pictures, but if you’ve been around long, you’ve noticed that she looks down her nose at everything, literally.  (I just peeked at her blog and saw that the picture posted earlier today of her at the Eye Center’s front desk shows the tip and tilt, both.  If you look, she’s looking into the desk area, but her head is aimed as if she’s looking up at the ceiling. Her eyelids look closed because she’s always looking out of a little space right above her cheek.  The pictures of her scraped up face and head from last week show it as well. Rarely do we get a look with open eyes straight ahead through the glasses.) She tips her head way back and almost faces the ceiling to see something straight in front of her.  She also tilts her head to the right shoulder as well....

Just because it was a long week doesn't mean it was a bad one. But with an all day training tomorrow for volunteers in the new parent program of the DSAGSL, it is going to be a short weekend. And that makes me a little sad. I would love to have a day to catch up on the house and a day to take the girls out for errands and playgrounds.  We will just fit it all in. Or not. Maybe we will just enjoy the down time we DO have and I will not dwell on what I don't get done. Easier said than done. But I will sure try. Make it a great one.

This morning we got up a little late after some much needed extra sleep. After a super quick breakfast for the girls, we jumped in the car for school. We hurried in to the school, dropped Braska and hurried back to the van. Only to find that I set my keys down in Braska's cubby. Back to the classroom and back to the car. Kinlee and I came to the Y for a workout since I don't work on Wednesday mornings due to feeding therapy at 11:15. So now KiKi is at Y school and I am on the bike pedaling while blogging about our crazy schedule lately. Loving my "new" super cool Droid for this and other reasons. Not loving the short battery life but I will adjust. Happily. When I finish here shortly, we will head back across the highway to the school for feeding therapy and then home. With a likely stop by for a QT visit with our buds. Tonight it is back to training for me. More CPR and then first aid and O2. Done at 10 pm. Then likely a collapse for just a few minutes! Life is n...

Two responders working on one child=15 compressions and 2 rescue breaths One responder working on one adult=30 compressions and 2 rescue breaths Infant choking=support the head, brace against a thigh, head below the chest, 5 back blows, flip and 5 chest thrusts Upper right and lower left for AED patches. V-tach, V-fib Infant unresponsive, two responders=initial assessment, rescue breaths, brachial pulse. “Defibrillator is analyzing, everyone stand clear!!!” Yep, my mind is swimming.  But I passed night one of CPR/AED training. It’s coming back to me, even though it’s been about 3 years since my certification expired. Tomorrow night we go through O2 and more testing.  What a long day, but at least I survived, right? Oh yeah, and I’m in a class of 9, the other 8 of which are teen lifeguards.  You can imagine how old I feel…

ok. first time posting from my new-to-me Droid. I do love those who are a few steps ahead of me in technology and share generously whats left behind. Today was long but good overall. I worked this morning and this afternoon and then fit in a trip to the hair salon for my baby sis and dinner with 2 sisters, my mom and KiKi. It was nice. And that is nice. We hit Verizon on the way home and made the phone swiitch. Got home in time to get my girls to bed and relax a sec before doing about 90 mins of online training for work. Tomorrow I work in the morning, finish a project in the p.m. and go to the first of two nights of CPR training...4.5 hrs each night. I am going to be one tired puppy. Through it all I am glad to have this job and glad M is willing to cover with the girls. Have a great week people!

We're two weeks in to being a "two-income" family. Though that little title is a bit of a misnomer compared to what it generally means. Our two incomes are just to meet what our previous one income provided. My job is designed to provide enough to pay for our increased costs for medical benefits. We were able to get an individual health insurance plan (HDHP with HSA), including M, KiKi, and Braska. Braska's at the most expensive tier they can give her, but at least they can't deny her, so that worked in our favor. I'm covered on my new work health plan. It is a very very limited plan, but it works fine for what we need right now. But the jobs themselves are going well. We are SO thankful to have both of them, especially since we're really enjoying learning the new places (mostly me, as far as "learning"...M just fit right in and hit the ground working). I'm currently doing shadowing during the days, so we've made some adjustments t...

This morning I logged on just minutes ago to see great news… YES!  I saw just that word on a post title in my reader and got all squishy inside. I clicked on the post to see that it WAS as I’d hoped!!! I just starting thanking God and praising him right on the spot, as the tears came so quickly it startled me.  I am SO thankful for this outcome!!!  The judge said YES! You see, Evan’s new mommy and daddy… (photo from the Hooks family blog .) …they were given the answer literally thousands were praying for over the last 36 hours.  Many were fasting and dedicating extra time to prayer yesterday. The judge they were facing is the same judge who just a couple of weeks ago told another family NO. Remember Kirill? (photo from the Davis family blog .) His family went to bring him home. They pleaded their case before this same judge, asking that region to allow the FIRST adoption of a child with Down syndrome.  And in the end, after hours of quest...