Sunday, November 28, 2010

THANKFUL

How Thankful I am that I had the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with wonderful friends n family! I had a great time and now all I can say is ~ FAT N SASSY :)
Thanks to our TURKEY ~I think we had the best turkey ANYWHERE! One smoked n one deep fried ~ does it get any better people? AMAZING!!!I am so thankful I was smart enough to start the Christmas decorating process ahead of the game this year. I even got Mr Gunner into the festivities :) The inside of the house is complete. With how bad this flare up is effecting me I wouldn't have been able to do ANY decorating if I waited. Smart cookie I am :)
I wasn't able to put my MS flare up at bay with oral meds so I had to go in for 3 days of IV treatment. Once again I prove to be a "challenge" for IV access (I know where Lil Man gets his veins from).
Unfortunately after the 2nd day the IV crashed, sigh ...... so 35 minutes later they were able get one in on the other forearm. I look awful!! The comment of me possibly looking into getting a more permanent site was brought up (possibly a port ~ IV access site placed just under the skin in my chest that is threaded into the veins already) because with my already crappy veins the meds that I take for these relapses just destroy them even more. GREAT :(
With the week of oral meds before and the 3 day of IV I still have gotten NO relief, if anything I am continually spiralling downward. My legs are weak and heavy, this headache NEEDS to go away, I am losing strength in my arms, I have a constant tremor/shake that is just irritating to say the least, my vision is fussy, my mouth is numb and I'm finding hard to swallow things, the pain has started to set in the last few days, and I'm feel very discombobulated. FRUSTRATION! I am going into see my Osteopathic Dr tomorrow for a tweaking and I'm going to be calling the Neurologist so she's up with my lack of response to the recovery meds. I'm not sure where this path is going to take me, but here we go ..........................
I've made the difficult decision to NOT go on our family get away to Florida over the Christmas break. I LOVE going down there, but it's alot of work. I just want to BE part of the holidays as much as I can so we are going to hang out at home in our jammies by the fireplace and enjoy each other. Sacrifices/Change has to be made and this trip seemed to be most logical.
Avrianna and I went to go get our hair cut ..... my hair cut for her worked but it needed to be "helped" out alil. Here's my Lil girl looking all grown up

She's loving the care for it and getting the swim cap on is MUCH easier now tooSo I decided to copy her and get my hair cut very short too :)
Guess I'm trying to look pretty with all these bruises ..... you kind of feel not so attractive with them all over. As I USUALLY have them in at least 7 areas (behind the flab in my upper arms, my upper thighs, my love handles, and my belly) due to this is where I have to give myself daily injections for the regular MS medicine. And NOW on my forearms, sigh :(. I guess it would be a good idea to have a port just for that, not as many bruises.
My latest INK .... touched up and finalized :) I'm so HAPPY with it and proud to show case it off.
My family emblem .... 4 hearts together to make one BIG "O" = orange peace heart (MS symbol for me), pink '02 heart (Avrianna's birthstone color), blue '01 heart (our wedding month color), and blue '03 handicap heart (Danny's birthstone color).
All over the Blue Rose with the statement Cry later.........Smile now
On Avrianna's side ~ I had her footprint that we took at her delivery by a Cala Lily over her flower the Marigold done up in water colors (for my lil fish)
On Danny's side ~ His footprint by a Cala Lily over his flower the Daffodil/Narcissus done up in dalmatian colors (for my lil fireman).
Some people don't get why I do tattoo's (including my husband) but it's my thing. Maybe it's because it a pain that I CAN CONTROL, I don't know that reasons why but ~ I LOVE them :) Especially this one as it has so much meaning to me!
Dan and I went out on a DATE NITE the day after Thanksgiving ~ we went to see The Judd's The Last Encore Tour. What a wonderful evening! First we went out to eat (like I needed more awesome food after the BIG turkey dinner) to Red Lobster, and then to the concert. The music and atmosphere was just what I needed. Thanks Hon! What an inspirational story these two have ~ an not to mention how Beautiful they are ~
We had GREAT seats we were 9 rows from the end of the stage on the floor ~ Plus the two seats in front of us were open so it was CLEAR viewing.
The planning for Danny's Birthday party is coming along wonderfully. We've decided to do it as a Spongebob theme.... the Cake pan came last week :) I even contacted a reporter to the local newspaper (who's done articles on us before) to see if they'd like to do a story about Danny and his friends who've all been "Touched By Danny's Life" :) We'll see how that goes and I'll keep you posted. It looks as if we are going to have close to 30 kids here (10 in chairs, 2 ambulatory, and their siblings) to hang out with us and Santa (shhhhhhh). I can't wait!! We are asking that the families bring new wrapped gifts and/or food to donated to the local domestic abuse shelter in Danny's honor for the Holidays. Danny Loves to get cards and Happy mail so if you'd like to send him Birthday Wishes send them to:
Danny Osero
2686 Towerview Dr
Neenah, WI 54956
I'm just amazed at the positive impacted that my Lil Man has on people and the people we've met along the way..... What a Journey, THANKS for the coming along on the ride! I've got some of the BEST, ClOSEST, AMAZING, LOVING, SUPPORTING friends one could ever hope for ~ but the interesting part is 95% I haven't personally met. All because they've been "Touched By Danny's Life". I wouldn't be the mother or person I need to be without YOU GUYS! I LOVE YOU ~ and I'm so blessed that our journeys have crossed paths.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Whatz Going On

Here's my Babies standing together side by side for the VERY FIRST time ever. I LOVE YOU GUYS!! I'M SO PROUD OF BOTH OF YOU!!It's been an emotionally and physically challenging time for me, lately. I just HURT inside and out. I'm really NOT a fan of being or feeling like this, but it seems to be me. I'm NOT OK with this at ALL .... I'm so sick of change and adapting I could just scream. Why do I have to become someone I don't want to be, just to get through the day? Yeap I'm in another MS flare up, relapse, call it what you will and it SUX so my frustrations have set in. I know ... all this after such an awesome "Attitude" post last time. Believe me I've done my best with trying to keep my attitude up, but not being able to do things because of pain, weakness, and fatigue is really taking a toll. I just don't have the lifestyle for MS and I'm not ready to give up myself to become part of MS. Change, change, change!!!!!!!! I've CHANGED enough but my body is telling me ~ NOT ENOUGH, grrrrrrr. I'm trying to come to a agreed compromise with myself but I guess I'm not doing to well. What a crappy time for all of this ~ well is there really a "good" time for a flare up.....Nope not really. With the holidays and Danny's birthday right around the corner it's especially NOT a good time for me. Thankfully I do have some time to prepare so it could be worse. So I've decided to start ahead of time this year. Instead of decorating the house for the holiday's the day after Thanksgiving I started I week ahead of schedule :) Yeap I'm rock 'n out to Christmas music early too ~ LOVE IT! I usually can get everything done in about a day..... not this year. I'm on day 2 and I've got about half of it done.....this is so frustrating to me. More proof I'm not the person I used to be, UGH! I do have both of our trees UP just one of them is all decorated (thanks to Avrianna ~ she did an awesome job) and the house has started to transformation. I am hoping to have a good handle on it as Monday I will be going in to start the 3 day IV treatment. I was put on an oral med to see if it would have helped to stop the flare when I noticed things were off but ~ NO GO. I'm hoping the IV access is better this time around as last time they wanted me to get a PICC line ~ sigh....we'll have to see.

Danny's birthday party planning is in the works and I'm so excited. Another year ~ WOW! This year we are having an out of state surprise guest coming to participate in the celebrations ..... I can't wait. We've even extended the invite out to MORE of our local "special" guests so with the positive replies I've been getting this party should be the best ever.

When did Life become ~ OK. I'm amazed at the way things have played out in life. One evening, I realized Danny was tugging pretty hard when he took a breath, his color seems pale, and a blue cast around around his lips. I calmly took him in his room and started the "routine" ~ Mr Jiggles, cough assist, breathing treatments and repeat. I sat back and thought to myself ~ When did this become "ok" ........ with helping my son breath on my own and in my own home? Is it ok that this is our NORMAL? You are instructed to head to the ER, call 911, do NOT pass go. To do anything, everything but.......but here I was taking Danny calmly into his own room to go one on one working with my favorite Lil Man in hopes to make him breath better. Thankfully it was only a mucus plug, that just needed some TLC to be removed.

How exciting.....the afternoon before opening day of the Big Hunt 2010 and I get 9 deer in our yard. I didn't get the 6 in the backyard but here's the three in the front.
Yeap here's my BUCK ~ LOL. He looked at me while I walked to the end of the drive about 25 yards away.... what an easy target he was that day. Who says you need to go "God's Country" to bag the big Buck ~ LOL

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Attitude

It's ALL about ATTITUDE!

Yesterday as I was waiting to get Danny's Flow Sheets from the printers in their entry was this saying.
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me is more important then facts. it is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church.... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... We are in charge of our Attitudes." ~ Charles Swindoll
How appropriate and TRUE! I just had a conversation with a good friend, one of our neighbors from our previous house, about this very thing. How appreciative she was that I do this blog and my up beat twist to all of our lives journeys as it has helped her through her life's journeys. I'm greatful that this site has been not only a tool for myself but that it's a way for others to cope with their things, educate themselves, and a means of support for YOU and I. This blog is serving a wonderful purpose and I couldn't be more happy.
This last weekend Avrianna had another swim meet, this time in Howard Suamico. She participated in both Saturday and Sunday meets. This meaning we had to be up very early so Dan and I could get her there on time (she needs to be IN the water at 7am~ we live about hour away). She did GREAT! Once again Avrianna got a medal :) How exciting! She placed with a ribbon or medal in all but one meet She had NO disqualifications and improved her time in just about every stroke. So she was able to add 8 more her wall. She keeps this up and we are going to have to think of a different idea to display them all.....we are running out of room. I'm so proud of her!!
Our newest addition Gunner started Puppy classes last week too. Yesterday was his second class and he's enjoying his training. He's very smart, but can be alil stubborn (go figure). He's managed to charm the instructors and some of his canine friends already. He's cute and he knows it, LOL.
Danny has been doing pretty good. He's still having his bouts of pain with crying, the lip and tears so I'm anxiously awaiting the results from his CT scan of his right hip and the scoliosis xray that was done yesterday, here at the local hospital. The scan will show if something can be done with his dislocated hip (the one side that has already been corrected but failed) and the scoliosis xray will show if he needs to have his VEPTR rods grown out sooner then later. UGH more surgeries potentially knocking on his back door.
Dan has been a busy bee getting all the seasonal stuff done around the house before the weather turns and before the BIG hunt. Well see if he shoots the deer this time instead of catching just a cold.
I have started another relapse with my MS, sigh. I've had a constant headache for 6 days and I've tried everything to get rid of it. Last night and this morning being the worst... nauseated, vision is blurry and my eyes hurt, shooting constant pain in head and running down my neck, my teeth even hurt, and weakness in my legs. All the meds I've been taking and NO relief. I've called the Neurologist's office twice now to start the treatment, with no replies as of yet. Very disappointing as I have all I can do is to think right now rather then exerting my energy on the phone trying to get in contact with them. If they don't call soon I will just go into the ER, frustrating as it's not in my schedule to sit around and get better.
I had the opportunity to share my story on a new Online Forum for Birth Injuries. They published part of my story in their first issue. Click HERE to go their site, please check it out and join the forum.
Thanks for checking in on us.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Scary Home Front

Things have been pretty quiet here at The Osero home front for the last few days, health wise. But we've been busy little party animals.
After Avrianna's birthday party last Sunday I had the Halloween party at her school on Wednesday to coordinate. Then on Thursday I had most o fAvrianna's Brownie troop over to the house for a sleepover. There were 15 girls staying over luckily I had back up with 3 other mom's staying over night to help. I was very surprised at how well it went. The girls were pretty much sleeping by midnight and they slept till about 6:30. No fighting, No whining, No tears.....what more could we ask for, LOL. Saturday night Avrianna had two of her friends sleep over and then it was onto the Halloween festivities :)
In between all the partying I managed to have a Spa day and I gave everyone hair cuts, so now the Dan's in the house are not so rugged looking, heehee.
I cut n colored my own hair......the new fall look for me. Now just to get rid of the bags under my eyes, LOL
Then Ms Avrianna wanted me to cut her hair shorter. Yeap, this coming from a girl who would freak if I wanted to trim her hair. So here she is before.....And after! It needs alil work yet, but it's cute. She really likes it at swim too. Not so much hair to get in the swim cap or having to wash :)Avrianna and I carved pumpkins on Saturday too. Well should I say, Avrianna started and then lost interest VERY quick, so I pretty much did them. This is the pattern that Avrianna picked for her pumpkin.
We gave Danny a couple choices for his design and he picked this one. Thanks buddy for not picking a complicated one, LOLHere are my Pumpkins all decked out for the Holiday.
Avrianna in her ALL lime green Vampire Fairy costume. She turned many heads and got tons of compliments on her costume this year. I think she did a GREAT job with her costume ~ Awesome! Bonus for me is I could see her VERY easily.
She made out very well trick r treating. Even with sorting out the candy into "I can't eat and I can eat" piles she ended up with a large bowl full. She really can only eat the chocolate stuff as all the rest will cause trouble with her hardware in her mouth so she is going to turn it into the orthodontist's office. They give coins for so many lbs of candy, they can turn in the coins then for gift cert for local stores. The office donates all the candy to kids less fortunate, how awesome is that!
Here's my sassy man. Even Avrianna liked his shirt, LOL
We still "dressed" him up in a costume. This year can you figure out who Danny was??
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Yeap, he was Dr. Kasper, LOL :) ~ Perfect choice.

Starting on Sunday health went down hill around here. Avrianna got this barky cough, but only at night. Dan came home, from hunting up North all weekend, and all he caught was a bad cold. I think he just photo shopped his pictures of the deer at his stand on his "wildlife" camera. LOL! He ended up going into seeing the Doctor yesterday morning to get antibiotics or he'd hold onto this cold FOREVER. So the two without Spleens being sick really isn't looking too well for the rest of us in the house. They can't fight off virus's n bacteria like we can having no spleen. I've banned them from being next to Danny as we all know what happens with him..... more DRAMA. LOL! We are on guard around here with disinfectants, heehee
Avrianna went in yesterday of her annual physical. She is doing great with all the "statistics". She is at 50% for her weight, 60% for her height, and is sitting at 45% for her BMI. With her age, date of her birthday, and preemie background she should only be starting 1 grade and here she is excelling at 3rd. Sorry, but yeap I'm bragging here! All the stuff you hear in the beginning about being delayed and slow well I all I have to say is.......IN YOUR FACE! Way to go Avrianna I'm so proud of you:) Timing is everything, I always say, and the timing of her physical was right on..... as in the exam Dr Kasper noticed Avrianna's throat to be very beefy and having alot of red poke a dots. He believes she was in the beginning stages of strep, UGH, as she hadn't had any symptoms yet (except for the coughing at night), and for those of you that know Avrianna a paper cut is a HUGE deal so I think I would have known if her throat was soar. This is NOT good if this should turn into strep, because this virus is one that can cause Sepsis in kiddos that don't have a spleen. UGH, UGH! So to be safe, because the rapid strep test came back negative, he put her on a BIG dog antibiotic to fight it off. Now I'm really on guard!! Danny, Avrianna, and I all got our flu shots yesterday too at least we are covered for that now.
Thanks for stopping in and checking in on us