God Bless Tru’s Heart!

During past doctor visits Tru’s blood pressure (when they could get one) has been unusually high. Therefore, his orthopedic surgeon wanted him to have a visit with the cardiologist to rule out any problems before surgery next month. Tru did see the cardiologist last week and the doctor wanted to go a step further and have an echo-cardiogram performed.

The test was performed today and it was discovered that Tru has a kink in his aorta. The heart is not able to pump the proper amount of blood to the lower part of his body. This problem must be fixed prior to any other surgeries.

The cardiologist will give me a call next week to discuss our options. Usually with children under two years old this problem would require surgery. Since Tru is more than two years old now they may be able to use a catheter and install a stint into his aorta. Obviously we are hoping for option #2!

It looks like the leg surgery will have to be postponed at this point.
First thing first!!

Lin-Ley's Turn In The Emergency Room

Hopefully we are not making a monthly habit out of visiting the emergency room. Unfortunately the military hospital where the kids' pediatrician is located only has business hours Monday-Friday. For any ailments on weekends or holidays we have no choice but to go to the emergency room for care.

Yesterday around 6PM Lin-Ley started complaining of a stomach ache. She mentioned it off and on but acted normally. During the night she found her way into my bed and I could tell by the way she was twisting around in the bed that she was very uncomfortable. Needless to say she nor I got much more than about three hours of sleep.

The kids were up around 8AM this morning and Lin-Ley had no appetite. That was all I needed - if she does not eat that means she is sick. I learned that very early on about her. Sometimes there are no recognizable symptoms but if she is not eating it is time to go visit the doctors. This morning, however, she was in so much discomfort that she would just drop on the floor and hold her stomach.

Lin-Ley, Tru and I arrived at the emergency room at 11AM. We went right back to a room and the nurses began treating Lin-Ley. Soon afterward she began throwing up. Believe it or not she has never done that other than twice when she was over fed (Those that over fed her know who you are! Funny stories!) After about 3.5 hours there the doctor finally came in and examined her and felt something on the right side of her abdomen that was more rigid that he would expect. Given that it was on her right side, where the appendix is located, he wanted to get a CAT scan to rule out appendicitis.

Luckily during the long wait until this point one of the nurses found the movie "Little Mermaid II", which Lin-Ley had never seen, so she was almost in Heaven (minus the surroundings). Tru had also been a very good sport and spent a good deal of time eating snacks in her stroller and napping. Once I found out there was a CAT scan and a possible appendicitis looming I called for help. Chuck, a co-worker, and his wife Dodi were kind enough to come and get Tru from the hospital.

It was time for Lin-Ley's IV. Oh no! But it could have been worse. When the nurse was cleaning her skin preparing for the IV, Lin-Ley told her, "Can you move over. I can't see my movie." So, for the most part Lin-Ley was occupied. When it came time for the CAT scan she was as stiff as a statue. No problems there.

And the dramatic conclusion... the CAT scan showed a fairly sizable blockage in the colon which will be worked out over the next few days with medication (I have tried not to be too graphic!).

By the time we left the hospital (7.5 hours after we arrived) Lin-Ley was feeling much better. She was just hungry and exhausted. Ditto!

Who knew the kids would come home with so many presents today. Lin-Ley received a stuffed angel bear and a stuffed horse at the hospital. Tru also received a teddy bear.
Then Chuck and Dodi gave them each a gift. Lin-Ley's "feel better" gift was a really neat set of sparkley markers and Tru got a Caterpillar truck! Thanks Chuck and Dodi for all of your help!!

The classic hospital pajamas/snow boot look.

I think it's time for Tru's second hair cut. The comb-over needs some work!







So happy to be home! This shot is for Dallas.
"Look at my feet Daddy!"

Lin-Ley's Ponderings

This past weekend Lin-Ley had many thoughts and observations of which I took a mental note. I have been thinking about how mature some of her comments sounded and I continue to wonder how, at the age of five, she knows so much and has such a great sense of reasoning. I guess it is true that kids are like little sponges. (Note: Airborne is our dog, and Lil' Bill is our bunny who recently "ran away".) Following is some of her banter:

(#3) "Mom, I think I'm ready to get engaged but I don't want to get married yet."

(#2) "Mom, I think we should go back to China. I need a big sister. I want to name her Auntie Gabby Herpin." (My sister's name is Gabby.)

And...

(#1) Lin-Ley, Tru and I (Jody) were all in the same room together but doing our own thing. Lin-Ley began talking to Tru:
"Tru, my skin is more brown than yours. But we both have black eyes like Daddy. Airborne and Lil' Bill have black eyes too." Then Lin-Ley looked over at me, walked toward me, looked into my eyes and said, "Mom, you are the only one in our family with blue eyes. Everyone else has black eyes." Then she patted me on the back, made a face as if she were trying to comfort me and said, "Mom, it's ok that you are different from us. God made everybody different."

All of this time we have made a conscious effort to make sure Lin-Ley never felt "different". It was me that was different all along!! I'm fine with that!


A photo of Lil' Bill on the day he came home from the fair.
Happy trails little guy. You were a great bunny!



P.S. Lin-Ley said she was going to get another bunny when the fair comes again. She is going to try to find one with blue eyes!

Update From Kuwait

Dallas is staying busy and has been traveling a good deal in January. The safest method of travel is by air so he has had some adventurous flights including two flights on a Japanese plane. While he is traveling we are not able to communicate very much and that makes us realize just how good we have it that we are usually able to speak to each other a few times a week and instant message more than that.

During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays there were many visitors to Kuwait. Some were a part of the USO shows and others were there on official business. One visit included Robin Williams, Kid Rock, Lance Armstrong and Miss America. Here of some pictures of the others:

POTUS:
President Bush was just there within the last few days.

FLOTUS:

First Lady Laura Bush was there before Thanksgiving.

Darryl Worley (country music singer) visited during Thanksgiving. After he signed autographs Dallas and Darryl had dinner together! Darryl spent part of his youth in the Zachary/Baker, LA area. Small world!

A photo of the locals.

Go Tigers!

We heard the LSU Tigers were having a big championship game tomorrow. The kids are showing their support! Rather than the traditional face paint Tru decided that a bruise would bring the same colors of purple and gold. Just call him Knot-Head.


A future Golden Girl??












Go Tigers - Fight, Fight, Fight!










Thanks Ma-Ma Linda and Pa-Pa Cowboy for the LSU gear!

The Big Decision

Yesterday was Tru's big day - Decision Day!


















Finally after months of paper work, insurance issues and untimely illnesses Tru was seen at the Limb Deficiency Clinic. A team of 9 doctors saw him all at the same time. (As you can see from the above photo they were all happy to see him but he was not crazy about them all staring at him!)


After much discussion it has been decided that Tru will have an amputation at the knee of his right leg (technically he does not have a knee). Dallas and I knew this was a real possibility even before we "accepted" Tru in October, 2006. We thought that with the technology in prosthetics at Walter Reed (where all of the soldiers are being treated) that we could provide the care Tru would need. Oddly enough the military sent us to a civilian provider.


There were discussions about other possible treatment methods and there are some who disagree with this decision (military and civilian alike). However, Dallas and I both strongly agree that amputation will be the best option for Tru. He could be up and walking with his first prosthesis as early as April 1st. If you have seen the video from New Year's Eve you know how badly he wants to walk! We are so anxious and excited to make that happen for him!!


Surgery is scheduled for February 22, 2008. I am positive there will be a major insurance struggle but I am ready. Bring it on!!


We are so happy for Tru!! Yesterday's news was sad but oh so wonderful at the same time!!

Happy New Year Daddy!

The kids danced and played around tonight before bedtime making Daddy a video with their Happy New Year greeting:


Then Lin-Ley decided that a salute to the soldier boys and girls would be a good ending to her "show":

Who said Tru could not walk and twirl a baton (or flute)?!
He continues to amaze!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!

A Quiet Christmas

It was a quiet Christmas this year but it was still filled with lots of nice (and some naughty) things. I set my alarm clock to get up early so that I would have time to start my computer and set it up so that Dallas could see the kids opening their gifts via the webcam. I had hardly pushed the power button on my computer when I heard footsteps running across Lin-Ley’s room. I had to stop her at the top of the stairs because I needed time to get Dallas online and we had to wake up Tru for his first Christmas. Lin-Ley did not take this delay very well! Finally I had everything set up: Dallas was online, the video camera was ready and Tru was awake so I gave Lin-Ley the ok to come downstairs.

Lin-Ley ran over to her gifts, stopped, and said, “Where is my teddy bear? Santa did not bring me a teddy bear!” Just to backtrack a little bit – Lin-Ley did not decide she wanted a teddy bear from Santa until about a week before Christmas. By coincidence Dallas had already sent her a teddy bear as his Christmas gift. So I thought it would be ok that Santa did not bring a teddy bear because it would be even better that Daddy sent one. Well… several days later she could not be more thrilled with her U.S. Army teddy bear. On Christmas morning however it took a while to understand why Santa did not bring it. After opening all of her gifts (as well as Tru’s gifts) she got over the whole teddy bear “incident” and enjoyed her toys (as well as Tru’s toys).

Tru scooted right over to his Little People Garage. He was not worried about anything going on around him or any other gifts. We handed him the gifts that needed to be unwrapped and he just turned away and began playing with his garage. At least Santa got something right!

During the gift discovery and unwrapping Dallas and I were in constant computer failure. We do not know if the problem was at this end or that end but he did not see or hear much of Christmas morning. Unfortunately due to the computer problems I did not get much video and no pictures until later in the day. We finally gave up on the computer and I called Dallas’ cell phone.

It was around 4PM his time and he had been visiting with his crew making sure everyone was ok. It was a rather depressing day for everyone there and many had a very, very tough day. However as you can see from this photo of their conference room table, many friends, family and even some strangers have been very generous by sending gifts and goodies to their offices.

After playtime, breakfast, playtime, lunch and playtime... it was rest time. We have to call it rest time rather than nap time because a certain 5-year-old never wants to take a nap. So Tru napped, I tried to nap and Lin-Ley “rested” in between her visits to my room to ask if it was time to wake up yet! After rest time it was play time again. While the kids were occupied I decided to go upstairs and wash the bed sheets. First Lin-Ley’s room – now I mentioned some naughty behavior in the first sentence – remember?....
So I lifted Lin-Ley’s pillow and found many small toys underneath. That is nothing unusual. However I saw lots of shiny paper amongst the toys. I counted and there were 14 pieces of shiny paper to be exact. Well… the shiny paper turned out to be gum wrappers. (Santa had brought Lin-Ley some gum in her stocking.) I called Lin-Ley up to her room. Before she even took the first step up the stairs she asked, “Am I in trouble?” She walked in and I showed her the gum wrappers. She grinned and looked down. I asked her if she chewed all of the gum. She said yes. I asked where the gum was and she pointed to her stomach. She swallowed 14 pieces of gum!! I have no idea what she was thinking but I guess she enjoyed rest time!

Speaking of the little angel, Lin-Ley made Dallas and me a Christmas card at school. I took these photos of the card to send Dallas.











Given her age and the fact that she is only in Kindergarten I thought the spelling was pretty good! (You can click on the photo to enlarge it and then click the “back” button to get back to this page.)

Priceless! (And yes Lin-Ley, we are already planning a family vacation to the Happiest Place on Earth immediately upon Daddy’s return!)

School Parties

The kids each had a holiday party this week. I attended both parties and of course there are photos to share:

What a spread! First was Tru’s party. The kids were literally pushing each other down trying to get to the table.

Tru discovered cheese puffs at his Halloween party.

Apparently cheese puffs taste even better dipped in Jello.

At Lin-Ley’s school it is tradition for the Kindergarten classes to make gingerbread houses. They save milk cartons from the cafeteria and surround them with graham crackers using vanilla frosting as the glue. Then just add candy. Their teacher told them that it was ok to taste the frosting and candy as they went (like she could stop them!) but to try and eat only one piece of each kind of candy.

Lin-Ley must have been in a hurry or maybe just excited. She had her house constructed before most of the other kids even had their icing open.

A master piece!



Each child had the opportunity to describe their house. Most of the kids just pointed out each kind of candy used (skittles, m&m, peppermint, etc.). Then it was Lin-Ley’s turn. Here is her description:

Front view: The red licorice is actually a gas hose so that the cars will have gas. The green mints in front of the house are the cars. The long strip of candies to the left is a bench for you to sit outside and have lunch.

Rear view: The cluster of candy to the right is a flower garden. She then began to describe which candies she has used. At that point her teacher asked if any of the kids had tasted the skittles. Lin-Ley said, “My mom did!”




After the gingerbread party I stayed and had lunch with Lin-Ley. She told me that she would order my lunch for me. She stepped right up and said, "I will have chicken nuggets and so will my mom!" She was a happy girl and felt very special that her mom was the only one that stayed for lunch.

Christmas Preparations - CID Style

The guys and girls at Dallas' office have been trying to get into the holiday spirit but being away from their loved ones makes it a challenge. They have decorated as much as they can but will likely have a very quiet, somber Christmas.

We mailed Dallas' Christmas package last week and he received it in less than one week. As soon as he received it he emailed me and asked what he could unwrap now because he could not wait. The next morning he told me he "may have" opened all of the gifts.

I told Lin-Ley about this and she said she was going to give Daddy a "whooping" when he got back from his trip. Then she asked how Santa was going to find Daddy. How was he going to find Daddy's world? I told her Santa is able to visit everyone no matter where they are. I told her that I thought Santa used magic. She said, "No mom. Santa uses a sleigh!" Very clever!


Angel Piggy

P.S. When we got home today Lin-Ley went straight to the presents under the tree. She said she wanted to open them now. I reminded her that we have to wait until Christmas morning. She instantly became teary and said, "But Daddy got to open all of his presents!" Bad Daddy!

Visit With Santa

Lin-Ley was looking forward to seeing Santa. I was expecting Tru to be upset - but just the opposite. He sat very still in Santa's lap and just stared at him. After Santa and Lin-Ley had a chat (when she told him she wanted a teddy bear for Christmas - news to me!) she got down and we were preparing to leave. I put out my hands to pick up Tru and he pushed them away. Although he never smiled or seemed overly excited he did not want to leave Santa. I had to forcible remove him.

Before seeing Santa there were other activities to keep the kids busy. Lin-Ley did not bring a letter for Santa so she was able to send a Christmas wish to Santa at this mail box that blew out snow when it was opened.

Lin-Ley was anxious after pushing the big red button on the Naughty or Nice meter. After some back-and-forth the needle finally landed on Nice. She just looked back at me and grinned.

Tru pushed the big red button too. He did not really care where the needle landed. He just wanted to push the button again.

After about 1 1/2 hours at Santatastic we moved on. Today was Tru's first haircut. As expected he screamed through it. Unfortunately I could not snap any photos because I held him during the big event. He hated every moment it. But oh does he look cute! When we left he had the wet, freshly combed, little man look. So cute. Lin-Ley said his hair looked "shapely and handsome".

Lin-Ley and Tru were both very patient waiting to see Santa. Tru made it through his first hair cut while Lin-Ley waited patiently. All of this good behavior deserved a McDonald's lunch and a ride on the carousel.

Lin-Ley was very excited to host Tru's first carousel ride. She chose a sled for us all rather than individual horses.

Of course I could not get both of them to look at the camera at the same time but I took several photos trying to capture Tru's new haircut.

Look at me!

Look at this beautiful, personalized gingerbread house. Diane and Ted sent this to us. I could not bear to remove the plastic. Thanks Aunt Diane and Uncle Ted! Lin-Ley called to thank them. She asked Diane how she made it. She can not wait to eat it and has announced that we will eat it on Christmas Eve.

Lin-Ley helped decorate our little tree. The theme this year is Peace and Hope. It looks like we need to do a better job of mixing up our red, white and blue bulbs.

Lin-Ley is concerned that there is not a star at the top of the tree. However, she is more concerned that there are not more presents!

And finally:

Dallas recently sent Lin-Ley some stickers (after I sent them to him first). She loves to decorate everything with stickers. She had her eye on my Christmas stamps one day and luckily I got to them first.

So today I saw Tru scooting around in the living room and noticed something on his back. Well, today Lin-Ley decorated her brother!

One Case of RSV – No MRI’s – Plenty of TLC

What a week! Tru had two very crucial appointments scheduled this week. Today he was to be seen at Kennedy Krieger for his “third opinion” for treatment options for his leg. Tomorrow he was to have three MRI’s performed to learn more about his spine, knees, and ankles (among other things) to prepare for any and all upcoming surgeries.
Well Tru had other plans!
He has had some cold symptoms since Thanksgiving week. While it seemed to linger I kept an eye and ear open and he seemed fine. But when I picked up Tru from school on Tuesday I thought I detected a difference in his breathing. Then in the car I could hear every breath he took. With each breath there was a loud rattling and then he began wheezing. So I picked up Lin-Ley from school, fed the kids dinner, and dropped off Lin-Ley at Aunt Diane’s (Jody’s co-worker and family friend) house. Tru and I arrived at the hospital emergency room at 7:30PM. Long story short – he had four breathing treatments, three x-rays, and was diagnosed with RSV. I had heard of RSV before but was not familiar with it. The nurse simplified it as an adult sized cold in a baby’s body. Tru was sent home at 1:45AM with oral steroids and a nebulizer for at-home breathing treatments.
Back to Diane’s house (now it’s 2:00AM) to retrieve Lin-Ley who I’m sure would be long asleep. Nope – she had not been asleep yet and apparently as soon as I closed the door to Diane’s house she had declared that she was starving and asked Diane what she had to eat. For six hours she and Diane snacked, watched cartoons, talked and played with Moe-Moe (Diane’s dog). There was no rest involved!
Of course five minutes into the ride home the kids were both knocked out. I brought each one in and put them in their beds fully clothed.
My mission – get Tru well so that he can keep his appointments later in the week.

Today – two days later – Emergency Room – Take 2:
When Tru woke up this morning he was wheezing worse than ever before. I gave him three breathing treatments and it did not seem to help. I called his doctor and spoke with the triage nurse. She told me with his symptoms to get to the emergency room quickly. So we took Lin-Ley to school and headed back to the emergency room.
Tru was acting just as cheerful as ever and charming the nurses. In walks the doctor and examines him including his ears. While examining his ears I thought that the doctor was being a little rough (granted – Tru is a true wiggle worm and a very strong one!). Tru was screaming and the doctor announced that he had just scratched Tru’s eardrum during the exam and blamed it on Tru for not being still. Hello – he is 2 years old! Tru was then miserable and turned into a totally different child. He was inconsolable and finally cried himself to sleep. I brought Tru in to be healed and the doctor’s first action was to give him more pain. I know it was an accident (that could have easily been avoided by not shoving an instrument into the child’s ear) – but I was mad!!
Back to the point… They gave Tru two breathing treatments. The wheezing somewhat subsided and then the doctor told me, “Well apparently the breathing treatments do not work that well for Tru.” You think?? I was ready to leave then and luckily Tru was discharged within a few minutes of the doctor’s revelation. We will follow up with Tru’s pediatrician tomorrow.
Unfortunately all of this emergency room action meant that we had to cancel both of his appointments for this week. It took over a month to get both appointments and I spent most of last week fighting, arguing and pleaded with my insurance company to get the appointment at Kennedy Krieger approved. Hey, I’m up for some more arguing!

In other medical news:
Tru had his first surgery on Nov. 20, 2007. He had two procedures at the same time but nothing to do with his leg. It was…… boy stuff. Let’s leave it at that. The surgery went well and he is doing great. The anesthesia really threw him but around 2AM the following morning he snapped out of it and was ready to play. He is a trooper! Here is a photo before the surgery in his little hospital pajamas. After the surgery – not so happy!

And now a declaration of love:
Wednesday morning (the morning after Tru’s first E.R. visit) I was giving him his first at-home breathing treatment. Lin-Ley heard the nebulizer running in Tru’s room and she heard Tru screaming (he hates the treatments). She ran in, saw what was going on and said, “Mom! Stop hurting Tru! I love him!” I explained that I was not hurting him but helping him breathe. She thought about it for a minute, started coughing and said, “Oh. Well I’m sick too. Can I have a turn next?” Ah… love….

Celebrity Sighting #1

Dallas and Aaron Tippin (country music singer).

If you know Dallas like I know Dallas there will be many more photos with visiting celebrities and public figures....

Home Away From Home

Meet Piggy. I guess you could say Piggy is our family mascot. She has traveled with Dallas for several years now. She has been to many countries and on countless trips. This time she is keeping Dallas company while in Kuwait and Iraq.
Dallas and Piggy on the flight over.


They all traveled to Kuwait on a big military cargo plane. All of their supplies and gear were secured in the plane with them. The plane is basically a hollow shell and the guys and girls could walk around as much as they wanted but it was cold. They all brought their sleeping bags and ipods to help them make the 24 hour trip. I find it very interesting that they are all wearing their leg holsters in these photos. Do you really need your weapon strapped to your body when you are in the air for 20+ hours? Then again I guess they did not really want to misplace them before they even made it to their destination.

Then it was down to business.

These are the Pods (their rooms). Dallas’ Pod is on the bottom, second from the right. For the first two weeks they were all living in tents while their Pods were being prepared. And now for a look at the luxurious accommodations from the inside:

How lovely! The Pods are only about 7 feet wide. Piggy is hanging out on the television.

I see a coffee pot, peanut butter and Tabasco. So, with those three things I know that Dallas is doing OK!

Piggy takes a rest in Dallas’ bed.

They visited the U.S. Embassy shortly after arriving.

General Powell was recently in the area.

We speak to Dallas several times a week and try to connect by webcam at least once a week. With him being 8 hours ahead of us it is hard for him and kids to talk much. He seriously wanted me to send Lin-Ley to school with a cell phone so he could call her there. I told him I did not think that would fly with her teacher or principal. We have finally figured out a time in the mornings (before school) that they can talk. I am able to speak with him more often from my office. We can connect through Yahoo and talk for free or sometime we just instant message back and forth for a while. With technology it is a lot easier to stay in contact than it was in the first Iraqi war. Seventeen years ago it was letters and the occasional and precious phone call. Now it is email, instant messaging and webcams.

We have sent him a few packages of goodies and some Christmas decorations. It has been surprising that he receives our packages in about a week. He sends us cards and has recently mailed a package of Christmas gifts for the kids that he purchased on the local economy. They will be thrilled.

Lin-Ley always requests stickers in her cards. Dallas could not find stickers anywhere. He searched and searched but no stickers anywhere. So as a last resort he sent her some Christmas labels (To: / From:) that you would use on Christmas gifts. Well that worked – she loved them and immediately filled them out with the names of everyone in our family.

So Dallas is doing well! I just thought you might enjoy seeing a little of where he is and what he is doing. We will be updating his (and Piggy's) adventures again in the near future.