Friday, December 26, 2008

Ayden in the hospital

The reason there is such a big time spand between the Thanksgiving post and the Christmas post is because we have been dealing with Ayden being very sick. Actually, he doesn't act sick, he just is sick. He runs all over the place with a smile on his face, but he has been going to the bathroom any where from 5 to 13 times a day. Robbie has Chron's disease and we were very scared for a while that maybe Ayden was showing signs of having the same thing. He was loosing a lot of weight and using the restroom several times a day. He became dehydrated so the doctors put him in the hospital for 5 days. The put his belly on rest with nothing to eat and only IV fluids. They did a bunch of blood and stool tests along with a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. It took a while for everything to come back and the good news is he does not have Chron's disease. We have done some diet changes and we are still watching him but he is doing better. Thank you Jesus.

Merry Christmas



We hope you all had a very merry Christmas. The Dunn household was full of excitement. We staid in town for Christmas. Robbie's sister came in from Texas. We spent a lot of time with his family. My parents were in Orlando. We will celebrate Christmas with my side of the family in South Carolina over New Years. That's one way to spread out Christmas. There is nothing more magical than children at Christmas. Our tradition is that we all put on matching jammies on Christmas Eve. Open a special ornament to put on the tree the night before Christmas. Then we read the Christmas story of the baby Jesus and set out cookies for Santa and head off to bed. Then the work begins for mommy and daddy. We don't put one thing under our tree until the morning of Christmas. It's just fun to see their eyes light up when they see all of the presents. Some are wrapped and some are not. We let the kids open their stuff and while they are playing with their new toys, Robbie and I open our stuff. Then we eat donuts and milk and play the rest of the day. I had to work half of the day. But the boys went to Granny's for Christmas dinner. We have a lot of special times at our home. We hope you all do the same.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Hello Again

It has been a long time since I have written. I have been so busy. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. And now it is almost Christmas. We went up to South Carolina for Thanksgiving to spend time with my sister and brother. It was fun, but stressful for me. I don't travel well with little ones. No one sleeps well or eats well away from home. I hate to pack and unpack. and there is always an adjustment time to and from. And we will be doing it all again for new years. I don't know if any of you knew, but Ayden just got out of the hospital. He was in for 5 days with dehydration. He was in from Sunday Dec. 7th until Thursday Dec. 11th. He was a very sick little boy. We were scared he may have Chron's disease like his daddy. but so far so good. We are still waiting for some test results. Continue to pray please. We are still hustling and bustling through the season with baking and shopping. I can't wait to slow down. We have enjoyed seeing all of your family pictures. I will promise to write more soon and put more pictures in. But ta-ta for now.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Double Birthday Bash











We celebrated the boys birthday this past weekend. While they are little and don't mind, We have a double birthday party. The theme was veggie tales. Not such an easy theme to put together these days. Veggie Tales is not as popular as they use to be 5 years ago. There was around 30 people there and 13 kids. My sister and her two boys and my sister in law and her son came in from SC. We rented a Moon Walk. It was freezing outside. And now the boys both have colds. We cleaned out the garage and set up the party inside. Robbie brought up the big screen TV from the basement and played veggie tales non-stop. I was able to go to the makers of veggie tales web site and find a few decorations. I made cup-cakes decorated like Bob and Twinkies decorated like Larry. The boys Godmother free-handed a cake with all the characters on it to read happy birthday so the boys would have something to blow out. Robbie wore a Larry shirt and I wore a Bob shirt. We had a Blast!!!!!

Monday, November 3, 2008

One step closer to normal!

Avery had his stitches taken out yesterday while I was at work. He did very well. He did not cry at all. He was a very big boy. Everyone thought his eye was part of his Halloween costume until they looked really close and saw it was real. His boo-boo looks really good now. Just some scabbing now and a little black eye. We can finally wash his hair tonight, after a week of no showering. I am pulling some extra shifts at work to help out with birthday parties, holidays and a lot of extra expenses. I am tired, but we need it. Robbie made the comment this weekend, it's been like the kids have separated parents recently, they are with one of us during the day and the other one at night. It's just for a short period of time. Hope everyone had a fun Halloween.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Trick-or-Treat


We had my mom and dad over for pizza on Friday night. Then, we dressed the boys in their costumes for Halloween. Avery was a fireman and Ayden was a doctor. We took both of the boys to our neighbor's house to trick-or-treat. Then Robbie took Avery to a popular neighborhood here in Macon to get more candy while Ayden and I stayed home to pass out candy to the kids in our neighborhood. I knew Ayden would not be able to keep up in the other neighborhood. It was great for both Robbie and I to spend one-on-one time with each of our boys.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

The colors of the rainbow

Avery's eye is healing nicely. It is every color of the rainbow, however. We go tomorrow to have his stitches removed. I had my cardiology appointment on Tuesday. I have a follow up appointment to go over the results next Friday. We can't wait to trick-or-treat tomorrow. I am still feeling about the same. I am just taking it day by day. The doctor said it would take six months for every thing to work. So I will continue to wait and pray and trust the Lord that all will go well.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Carving Pumpkins!

Tonight we carved our Pumpkins. Ayden realy liked getting all the gooie stuff out from the inside of the pumpkins. This is an exciting time to whatch the boys enjoy all of the activities of the holidays.


Our first big booboo!


I was at work on Monday when I get a call from Robbie. Let me explain something about Robbie. If I ask him, "do the boys feel warm to you?". "No", will be his response and they will have a temp of 103 or so. So when I get this phone call from Robbie when I am at work, he is on the other end and he tells me that Avery has busted open his head and it is really bad. For Robbie to say it is bad, I start to panic. Where I work, we can do stitches, but we don't have much pain medication. A girl that works with me reminds me that if I send him to the E.R., I don't know who will be there to sow him up and they may not do a good job. His scare will then look ugly for life. So Robbie brought Avery to my office and we decided to do the stitches there with minimal pain medication. God must have heard my prayers as I began to pray, because the minute I hung up the phone with Robbie, the best doctor in our practice, who was not suppose to still be there because it was then after business hours, walks through the doors, I asked him if he would stay to stitch up my son's head?. He said he would be glad to. It took an hour and a half and 14 stitches with only topical lidocain to stitch up Avery's head. He cried during the irrigation and when they were giving him the lidocain sticks to numb the sight but other than that he did very well. I am so proud of him. It was very traumatic for all of us.

Monday, October 27, 2008

A Positive Spirit


After coming back from Atlanta and having all of these medications and a whole new diet to try, I was feeling, actually, really bad. One of the worst weeks I had had in a while. I decided I was going to try to change my mind set and see if I could trick my body into feeling any better. It has helped some, but not a whole lot. The sharp pain in my head is gone, but there is a lot of pressure in my head. I feel very nauseated all the time. I am very tired. I can't eat very much. I feel like I am in a fog. And I am having new symptoms. I am going to give it a little time, to see if maybe these are symptoms of the medications and detox from the diet change but if things don't get better, we may need to take another trip to Atlanta. I am going to continue the positive spirit, because I miss my family and I am beginning to hate my bed.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Pumpkin Patch

We took the boys to a pumpkin patch today. Robbie had the day off from work which was a nice surprise. I was not feeling well but I put on a smile for the sake of the boys. It was the first year that Ayden could enjoy the pumpkin patch. The boys found their favorite pumpkins. We went out to lunch after wards. The boys wore their Halloween shirts. Here are some picturs for you to enjoy.


The verdict is in!

Well we are back from Atlanta and we have some answers. A lot is what we already know. The doctor up there says I am tested out, meaning he does not want to run any more tests on me at this time. We took all of my test results with me and he was able to draw a conclusion from those. He ruled out M.S. by looking at My first and last MRIs. Because there was no significant changes in the lesions, I don't have M.S. That is good news. He says I have Basilar Hemiplegic Migrains. I have about 7 new medications I have to take and a total life style change I have to make. Basically I have been eating a lot of the wrong things my whole life. He gave us a list of foods to limit and a list of foods to avoid. There is also a book we have to read. It will take at least 6 months to turn things around completely. We will see. He also gave me pain medication I can take when I have a headache which I have never had before. The doctor agrees with my local neurologist, so that was encouraging. It will take some time for me to feel better, but we are willing to work hard and try the new medications and the new diet.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Atlanta, Here we come!


We leave today for Atlanta. My mom will be coming over to sit with the boys after she gets off from work. She will spend the night at our house. We will head up to Atlanta around 4 this afternoon and spend the night. My doctor's appointment is at 8:20 on Tuesday morning. I have to arrive 30 minutes prior. I have mixed feelings. Excited that the appointment is finally here, but nervous I won't find the answers I need. I don't think I will stay up in Atlanta. I think this is an initial doctor's visit and they will schedule me to come back at a later date for any additional testing needed. But you never know, so I packed a few extra pairs of underwear just in case. LOL We will let people know as soon as we know something.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

One test down, One test to go!!!

Well, the colonoscopy is over. Everything went well. The prep the night before was not so fun, but the procedure went just fine. The doctor, talked with Robbie afterwards and there was no significant findings. He took biopsies just in case and we won't know the results of those for a while. If I can ever recommend a Gastroenterologist, I would recommend the one that Robbie and I go to see. He is so nice and very thorough. Next on our agenda is Atlanta. We leave on Monday afternoon. Don't know what to expect. Thank you all for your prayers. They are all, very much felt.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Here we go AGAIN!!!

I had been feeling some funny beating of my heart for a little while. Kind of brushed it off. Then I realized that my family has a history of heart disease. So I talked to Robbie about my concern. As you all know, Robbie works for a cardiologist. Robbie brought home a heart event monitor. It is a monitor that you wear for 24 hours. Then, a reading is printed out for the doctor to read. I have had several EKGs done in the hospital. But those are very short tests and I don't feel this funny beating all the time, so the heart monitor is a better test for me. Robbie turned in my monitor on Monday and received the read out on Tuesday. And sure enough, it showed some abnormalities. I didn't get too worried because it could have been the way we applied the monitor, or we could have been looking at the print out wrong. Little did we know, that the tech who reads the monitors submitted a copy of the read out to Robbie's doctor. I have to get in for a doctor's visit because my heart is doing something funky. Any more problems with me???? It could explain the headaches but that is still a long shot. If my heart is not pumping like it should, then the proper amount of blood and oxygen may not be getting to my brain and could be causing the headaches. We will see? At this point I just want a cause of my headaches so we can seek a treatment and I can get better.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Please begin to Pray!


I am not too sure how many people actually read my blog, but to those who do, I want to ask you to start praying. Friday is my colonoscopy, and I am nervous any time I have to be put to sleep. And Monday we leave for Atlanta. Please pray, first of all, that my boys will feel comfortable. They will have their Nana with them through both events. They love spending time with her, but they still know something is up and tend to become very winy and clinging. Pray for my mom as she cares for them that she will have strength. It's not easy to take care of 2 energetic little boys when you are not use to doing it on a regular basis. And finally, please pray for answers and treatment when we go to Atlanta, so we can finally move on. Pray for traveling safety and financial funds as we don't really have the money for gas, food and a hotel in Atlanta. God always provides. Thank you and I will keep you all updated as I have information.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Special moments!


We have always taught our boys to pray before each meal. Not too long ago, Ayden started to catch on. Avery says the prayer that was made famous by Boz The Bear, " Thank you God as this day begins, for my family and my friends. Taking time to sit and pray. Thank you God for this great day. Bless this food to our body. AMEN". And everyone in the room has to say AMEN. Avery has been doing well with praying, closing his eyes, bowing his head, folding his hands. Ayden has just recently learned to bow his head, fold his hands and close his eyes. Every now and then, Ayden will peak. If he sees you looking around or moving, he will say "Momma" or "Daddy", to let us know that we aren't doing it correctly. Ayden tries to pray himself, but only mumbles come out.

Monday, October 13, 2008

On a positive note!

I was reading over my blog and realized that most everything I have written is depressing. I want to appologize. It's just that my illness seems to consume my life right now. It's all I can do to make it through just one day. I am sorry for being such a downer. The boys are doing great. Their birthday is coming up soon. Avery will be 4 and Ayden will be 2. Their birthday's are only 4 days apart and we are planning a BIG double birthday party. Avery can not wait. Avery keeps us laughing every day. He says some of the cutest things. He is very out going, just like his momma. It took him a while to adjust, but he now loves school. He is so smart. I feel bad, because I know the reason Avery is so bright is because I spent so much time with him when he was younger. Ayden seems to be a bit more behind, developmentally than Avery and I know it is because I couldn't spend the quality time Ayden needed when he was younger. Avery was potty trained at the age Ayden is now. Ayden can't even say pee-pee and has no interest in potty training right now. Ayden is finally starting to talk. He keeps us on our toes. I have never known a 2 year old who doesn't like toys. If you haven't seen Ayden in a while, you can bet he is probably playing in the toilet. He is more content playing with things he shouldn't be playing with than any toy. He tries to keep up with his big brother. They are doing great playing together. I hope the closeness between the two of them continues forever. Hopefully this entry will end on a better note :)

One Week and Counting!!

I have tried so hard for the last year and a half plus, to keep my spirits up, no matter how bad I feel. Over the weekend, I had a couple of break downs. There are days that I feel as if Depression is trying to set in. I only have exactly one week until my appointment at Emory. We leave next Monday evening and My appointment is at 8:30 on Tuesday morning. My only fear is that Emory won't have any answers. I told Robbie that If I walk away from Emory with no answers, that just may be my breaking point. So please pray for answers and a resolution. I have a colonoscopy scheduled for this Friday. We are trying to find answers any where we can. LOL! I am having my colonoscopy because I am having continued weight loss. I had and upper GI done during one of my many hospital stays and they found nothing. So they are going to check out the other end. I have lost 35 pounds and counting. Not that I mind the weight loss, just not this way. I think the reason I am able to stay so positive is because of my loving husband. He has always believed in me even when the doctor's found nothing. He has made me feel as if it is o.k. to be sick and we will find an answer. He has graciously taken care of the boys and allowed me to rest. No matter how tired Robbie is, He still takes over the majority of the household responsibility. and he cares for me and the boys along with working full time. Plus, he puts up with my frustration, which I take out on him because he is the closest to me. It is never frustration about him, but always frustration because of the daily pain I go through. I Love you Robbie!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

We survived the flu shots!


We took the boys yesterday to get their flu shots. I was able to take Robbie as reinforcement. Avery actually got the flu mist. He takes Flonase on a regular basis, so I figured he could sniff the mist up his nose and save him from having to get a shot. The flu mist is suppose to be more effective than the shot any ways. I guess the fear of the unknown set in when we got back into the room. I had talked to Avery about the mist ahead of time, but he still freaked out. I had to administer the medication while three other people had to hold him down. He did it though. Then it was Ayden's turn. He got the shot and did not even cry. Mommy's big boy. I am watching them over the weekend for any flu like symptoms. Last year, the shot did not affect Avery but gave Ayden a 104 temp and landed us in the emergency room. So far so good. We have a birthday party to go to tonight. I woke up around 7:00 am with a terrible headache and my left side numb and week. It took me until 11:00 to recover. Robbie was here to watch the boys. I think Robbie is finally getting tired of all of this. He has been so tolerable, loving and understanding, but recently he has been edgy and irritable. I feel so bad, because I know he is frustrated with me and my sickness. Understandable though. I wish I could fix all of this and send him on a much needed golf get-a-way so he can have some time for himself. He has definitly lived up to the "In sickness and in health" part of our vows. God gave me an angel when He gave me Robbie, 10 years ago. I thank God every day for him. He is a wonderful father and husband. One day when all of my sickness is behind us, I can only hope that I can repay him for all he has done for me/us.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Not doing so well today!

I had to work last night, and I am quite tired today. The headache continues but the severity of it keeps getting worse more often. Today I can not feel on my left side, but I can move everything. I also can not hear out of my ears and I can not see out of my left eye. All symptoms that come with my headaches. Fun stuff! Robbie brought home a heart event monitor for me to wear for 24 hours to be sure my heart doesn't have anything to do with my Headaches. There are times when I feel like my heart starts racing for no reason or does some funky beats and it takes my breath away. This monitor is attached to my chest and can give a read out of exactly what my heart is doing for 24 hours. We are trying anything to find answers to why I have headaches. We take the boys to get their flu shots today. Last year, Ayden had a reaction to the flu shot so I hope that doesn't happen again. I did it on a Friday so I can monitor them over the weekend. Avery is actually taking the flu mist instead of the shot. It is suppose to be more affective and lest painful. I pray that the pain in my head will subside enough for me to get through this day with the boys.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Helping out when times are tough!


I saw the coolest thing on Oprah. The economy has really been frustrating me. I started back to work this past summer, but it still seems like Robbie and I are stretching every dollar to make ends meet. I wanted to, not only help our family by bringing in an extra pay check, but I wanted to find ways to save our family money. There was a lady on Oprah who was called the "Coupon Lady". This may be old news to some of you, but I tried it today and it works. Yesterday I sat down and made my grocery list. I usually allot 200.00$ every paycheck for food and Walmart. After making out my list, I went on line and typed in Kroger coupons. There was over 500,000 sites. I was able to down load coupons to my Kroger Plus card and print additional coupons to clip and use. I used them at Kroger today and saved 45.11$. I was impressed. The next step is to, instead of making out a list of what we use and need, to make a list and plan our meals according to what is on sale that week at Kroger. Never pay full price. Then use coupons on top of what is on sale. I could save even more. Another trick we are trying, is to unplug everything in our house. If we aren't using it, unplug it. Including TV's, the computer, Lamps. Our electric bill is too high, and even if something may not be on, if it is plugged in, it is still drawing energy from the circuit. I will let you know how much money we save by doing this. It is a pain, but if it works, we will do it.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Christmas already!?!


Good morning to all! Today it is rainy here in Macon. Looks like we are stuck inside. I am not feeling so well today. I have a headach and a lot of pressure in my head. I took my flu shot yesturday, so I hope that doesn't affect me too much. I think I am just overly tired do to work, caring for the boys and dealing with pain every day. Robbie took the boys to the fair on Monday night and I was too sick to go. Granny went to help Robbie with the boys. Robbie wanted to take me tonight to use up some extra tickets, but I just don't think I can go because I feel so aweful. Last night at work was really slow, so I had to come up with a christmas list for our entire family to give to our extended family. I am able to do well with Robbie and Avery, but what do you get a very adventurous 2 year old. He doesn't play much with toys. He is into everything else, like the toilet and sinks. Any suggestions of a great toy idea would be helpful. I can't believe I have to think about Christmas already. I just need to get through the boys double birthday party in November. Then Thanksgiving and onto Christmas.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Kids say the funniest thing!!!!

As most of you know. I am the only female in my house. I am surrounded by boys. I guess I did not realize how early a child will recognize the difference between a boy's body and a girl's body. A lot of times, I have to keep the door open when I am in the bathroom inorder to keep an eye on my 2 and 4 year old. The other day, I was using the restroom and around the corner comes Avery. He stops, bends down to look inbetween my legs while I was going tee-tee, and he says, "Mommy, where did your pee-pee go?" I froze! And for a minute was speechless! I quickly said, "Well, mommy doesn't have a pee-pee." With a puzzled look on his face, Avery looks at me and says, "Did it fall into the potty?" Doing all I could not to laugh and hoping this conversation would quickly come to an end, I replied "Girls don't have pee-pees only boys". That seemed to satisfy his curiosity and he ran out to continue playing. Guess I can no longer pee with the door open.

Virgin Blogger


I have to admit, this it the first time I have ever blogged before. I saw my cousins blog and thought what a great way for my friends and family to keep up with me/us if they want. You can choose to read what you want when you want. I have had some health issues and can't always remember to email and update everyone. So will up date this blog and people can check as they please. As for now, I am doing o.k. I have headach issues and am under going testing and have been for one and a half years. My next adventure is on Oct 21st when I go to Atlanta to Emory hospital. hopefully I will find some answers then. Today the headach is not too bad. I have to work tonight so we will see how it is after that.