Vacation to the Northwest

This last Monday, we arrived home after 14.5 hours of driving. We drove straight through from Spokane to Sacramento, only stopping a dozen times for potty breaks for Kyler...

On June 4, I drove up to Portland with Caden. Kyler had already driven up with my parents and was at their house in Hayden, ID. So, it was easier for me to drive up with just one child to take care of. It was a long drive, but we made it safely and Caden did great. We had a wonderful time staying with my sister, Shelly, and niece, Charli Jo, there for a few days. Also got to visit with some good friends. My back was having some serious problems following the long drive so I had to have a massage while I was there. It helped, but I still had a significant amount of pain.

On June 8, I drove to Spokane to my sister, Cheryl's house. I spent the next two weeks there. My parents brought Kyler over to me the day I arrived. It was so good to see him as it had been about 11 days since I had seen him: the longest I've ever been away from him! I really missed him. We had a nice time at Cheryl's house. On a few of the days, I drove both kids over to my parent's house for the day as Cheryl was working anyway. I also found someone to go to for massage while I was in Hayden because my back continued to cause me a lot of pain.

Greg flew up to Spokane on the 17th and stayed through the weekend. He volunteered at the Coeur d'Alene Ironman Triathlon so he could be first in line to register for next year's event. He'll be spending the next year training for the 2010 Ironman!

On the 20th, my Aunt Evelyn flew in from Ohio so she could meet Caden and see the rest of us and catch up. It was great to see her. I wish we had been able to have more time to visit with her, but it just didn't work out.

Then, on the 22nd, Greg and I, Kyler and Caden, all drove the long way home. Caden did really well on the trip. And, Kyler did pretty well also. My back was really hurting and Kyler said, “Mommy, ask Jesus to take the pain away.” I asked him if he would do it for me. So, he said, “Dear Jesus, thank you... Thank you to take the pain away from Mommy's back. Amen.” It was so sweet, it made me cry! Within a couple hours, my pain was SIGNIFICANTLY decreased. The rest of the drive was much more tolerable. It was the sweetest thing! Out of the mouths of babes, the most wonderful faith and trust in God.

Here are some pictures of our friends and family as they met Caden and got acquainted with our precious miracle.
Caden with cousin Charli Jo

Caden with Aunt Shelly

Caden with our good friend, Shawna

Caden with Aunt Cheryl

(Clockwise starting with Caden) Caden, Kyler, nephew Rylan, and niece Melissa

Caden with my good friend, Shaina

Caden with Grandma Jane

Caden with Grandpa Charles

Caden with Uncle Kent

Caden with cousin Melissa

Caden with cousin Rylan

Caden with Great Aunt Evelyn

Shriners Appointment

Tuesday morning I took Caden to the Shriners Hospital in Sacramento for a consultation in regards to his spine and ribs. In Stanford when he was born they said he probably had scoliosis and he also had two fused ribs and some vertebrae anomalies. They told us to have him evaluated at Shriners for the orthopedic issues once we were home. Tuesday was our first appointment there.

It went well. The doctor took his medical history and did an exam on him and looked at the x-rays I brought from Stanford. After looking at those images he decided he wanted new ones in order to establish a new baseline for him. So we had x-rays taken right then and went back to see the doctor to look at them. After looking at all the x-rays, he officially diagnosed Caden with congenital scoliosis of the spine. He also said he thought there was a 50/50 chance Caden would have to have surgery at some point. But he said they almost never do surgeries before five years of age if they do them at all. At this point he just wants to follow him in another year and see how he's doing then. Also, down the road, maybe after Caden is two, he would like to have an MRI done on the spine. That would need to be done under general anesthesia and he said there was no rush. Overall a good appointment and very informative. We will pray that he won't have to have surgery in the future.

Celebrating the Miracle of Caden

On Sunday, some good friends of ours had an informal party to celebrate the miracle of Caden. Our pediatrician felt a lot of the respiratory viruses were going away and it was probably “safer” to have Caden out in public. This was a come-and-go event to celebrate his life and introduce him to friends and family. Very few people have actually met him up until this point because we have kept him so isolated. So this was the first of his “public” appearances. Of course, that being said, we still had everyone use the hand sanitizer we brought with us.

It was a beautiful party and it meant so much to us that our friends wanted to do this. Caden is such a blessing and miracle in our lives and we are so grateful to have him. We came so close to losing him and we are overjoyed he survived and is doing so well.

Here are a couple pictures of the event.




My feelings of joy and gratefulness about Caden are dampened when I see what is happening with other heart children. I've been closely following the blog of beautiful Faith and praying for a miracle of healing in her life. Sadly, she passed away yesterday at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. I never met Faith, but reading her blog and hearing how special this 5-year-old was, makes me feel like I missed out by not knowing her. My heart goes out to her family as I lift them up in prayer.

It makes me realize how fortunate we are to have both our children with us and doing well. We cannot take things for granted, especially the health of our children. It is so easy to do when things are going smoothly.