Finding Joy in Our Journey: February 2009

Saturday, February 21, 2009

House Tour

I've had some requests to post more pictures of our home, and since we had no "house projects" planned for the weekend, I finally got around to taking some pictures.

Since we've moved in in October, I had all winter to concentrate on decorating the inside of our home, and it's almost finished. The finished basement still isn't finished, but for the most part, we can finally take a breather. (And Keith is happy about that!)

We have one room that isn't pictured - the NEW BABY's room! He or she is due to arrive in September, so that room will be my next project!

Front Entrance

Foyer

Foyer

Music Room

Dining Room

Great Room

Great Room

Back Stairs

Kitchen

Breakfast Room
Family Room

Family Room

1st Floor Guest Room

Play Room

Play Room

Master Bedroom

Master Sitting Area

Master Bath

Bella's Room

Luca's Room

Basement Bar

Bar Area

Theater Room

Weight Room

Basement Guest Room

Saturday, February 07, 2009

The Real Groundhog Day

Friday, February 06, 2009

Noah's Appointment

Noah had his follow-up appointment at Children's today. The doctor was pleased with his progress. She decided to leave him on the IV antibiotics for another 10 days, and then switch him to oral antibiotics for 2 more weeks after that. That means that Noah will still have the PICC line for 10 more days, as long as everything is okay with it (i.e. it is functioning well and doesn't get infected.)
She actually removed a stitch that remained in is chest wound, which is healing okay (not perfectly, but okay!)
On Tuesday, Noah will have a cbc done (bloodwork) to make sure that he is doing okay with the antibiotics and to check on his anemia. He will have a chest x-ray in one month!
That about does it! The report was good and we're all so glad!

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

All is Right with the World (of Football, at least!)

Noah News

I know it's been a couple of days since an update on Noah, which is actually a good thing. He had a great Super Bowl, although still pretty weak. Luca was especially happy to see his buddy and wanted to play with him - a lot. After we explained that Noah was sick, Luca let him rest and all was well. Especially the end of the Super Bowl... GO STEELERS! (We are so proud of our team!)

Noah still has is PICC line in and is receiving IV antibiotics every day. A home health nurse came on Monday to document that Jaime (a home health nurse, herself) could administer the meds and care for the PICC line. From that point on, Jaime has been giving Noah his meds, dressing the wound in his side and caring for his central line.
On Friday Noah will see the ID doctor at Children's again. She had called Jaime and told her that she will most likely keep Noah on the IV abx for 2 weeks because it took so long for him to become afebrile. Their goal is to prevent any further fluid accumulation in the lung and keeping him on the abx for an additional week may help.
Noah went back to school yesterday, and had a bit of a rough time with the transition. However, today went much better! Jaime said that he still is very pale, though, and we need to continue to pray for increased strength for Noah.
Thank again for reading this update. He's in the homestretch!

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Post Op Day 3

During church today I got a text from Jaime with great news (no, I do not normally text in church!).
Noah will have one more dose of IV antibiotics today and will be discharged later this afternoon!
He is apparently very excited to see his cousins, Bella and Luca, and they can't wait to see him.

Noah will still be on the IV antibiotics at home through his PICC line until Saturday. On Friday, however, he will go back to Children's to be examined (and have a possible CT scan) to determine if he is in fact ready to come off of them.

We are very excited that Noah will be with us for the Super Bowl, and he is looking forward to the party!
Again, thank you so much for all of your prayers. Your support for this family has been overwhelming, and they are so blessed to have you.

Please continue to pray for Noah's healing, as we don't want another repeat appearance at Children's Hospital ER! This week we need to pray for the remaining fluid to be dispersed from his lung and for the infection to clear (meaning no more fevers.)

Stay tuned for more updates!