Keeping Life Interesting...

Just a short little message to ask for some prayers...
Bobby and Brogan have been fighting a nasty bug that gave them severe ear infections and colds, and has also affected Brogan's lungs. He has been on nebulizer treatments, but that didn't do the trick so he just started steroids today. We pray that they are on the mend soon. On Saturday, the pediatrician mentioned that he is concerned about Brogan's head. He is worried that the skull sutures are fusing too early (craniosynostosis). On Monday we have an appointment with a plastic surgeon. These are the same guys we had to see for Bobby's head, although we know his problems were more to due with his traumatic delivery. I am not going to lie, the thought of head surgery for Brogan makes me sick! My first thought was why us? Don't we have enough to deal with since Bobby has had 2 open heart surgeries and a third one slated for the summer? I was angry and bitter and feeling sorry for myself and our family. After prayer and reflection, I am working on a change of heart. We are a strong family, and with God on our side we can conquer everything! We are just going to take this one day at a time, and if it comes to surgery for Brogan, ultimately he is in God's hands and we will be there comforting him and helping him fight through. So, if you could just add these prayers to your lists, we would feel honored. If we do indeed have another battle in our future, we need your support along with our Heavenly Father's to get us through. Feel free to pass this along...any and all prayer chains are blessings.
Heart Hugs!
Rachael

A Long Overdue Update

Wow! Where has the time gone? I completely apologize for my lack of updates. The last few months have been hectic to say the least. Probably the biggest change for me is being a working mother of two, trying to finish up the last couple of classes for my master's degree, all while learning the ropes of a new job. I am exhausted to say the least!

Bobby and Brogan are growing up too quickly. Brogan is already 5 months old and Bobby will be 3 in just two short months. Brogan is a happy and easy-going baby. He is so sweet and smiles for anyone and everyone. Over Christmas break he began rolling over, and my mom and I witnessed the first roll! Now he just rolls all over the floor! Unfortunately, he too seems to facing similar challenges with ear infections and has already had 2. He doesn't show any symptoms which makes it hard for me to detect!

Bobby has turned into quite the little boy. He has grown so much in his speech that sometimes we wonder where he comes up with the things he says! He absolutely loves learning and knows his colors, numbers, and letters. His godmommy got him a text and learn leapfrog for Christmas, so now he seems to be tackling lowercase letters and sounds. Believe me when I say it is all him! Bobby continues to love being on the go. Each day during Christmas break, Bobby woke up every day going through a list of places to go-Doris' (babysitter), Payton's, shopping, and church. What a character. Health wise, Bobby had a nasty cold in December, but was able to fight through it without any interventions. He just visited the GI doctor and weighs over 30lbs. The doctor was thrilled. He will have a cardiology visit in March/April in which we will begin prepping for surgery in the summer. To be honest, I am still trying to find a place of peace and complete trust in GOD about the upcoming events. Much prayer and reflection is needed!

We had a wonderful Christmas! We celebrated with Grammy before Christmas and Bobby seemed to enjoy opening presents. Once my family arrived, Bobby really seemed to catch onto the idea. He kept asking for presents and we had to hide many of them just to keep Bobby calm! We were so fortunate to be able to celebrate with my parents, grandma, brother, and sister-in-law. My dad continues to struggle with dementia and my grandma is coping with the loss of her husband a little over a year ago. Each Christmas is a blessing, all things considered.

I guess that is all from the Weeks' household for now. Again, I apologize for the lack of updates. I will work on being better about this!

Heart Hugs!
Rachael

Still waiting...

for things to slow down! Brogan caught Bobby's virus and we landed in the ER at 3:00am on October 4th since his fever was 102 degrees and he was younger than 2 months. I couldn't believe that I was watching another child of mine get stuck with needles and even a catheter to get a urine sample. No fun!

John headed back to work this week after 2 weeks off due to his injured back. Physical therapy has been helping him greatly, although he is still in pain while at work. We pray that he continues to heal with time.

Bobby came down with another fever on Thursday. He always freaks us out when his fever goes up because he shivers, turns blue, and breathes rapidly. But we have seen it before and we try to remember to stay calm and pray! John took him back to the doctor where they gave him another flu swab (his 3rd this season). I contemplated asking for some to have at home since this will be standard procedure everytime he is sick!! (just kidding, but it would be nice). Thankfully, it is only another virus. The best news of the day was that Bobby is now up to 28 3/4 lbs (with clothes and shoes). He was down to 26 at the beginning of Sept. when he had tonsilitis, and the doctor was concerned. But he has been eating well (even if it is pizza daily) and it is paying off!! Now if we could just prevent these viruses...

On a lighter note, we had a great adventure last weekend! We headed up to Richmond and visited Short Pump Mall. It reminded me of suburban Chicago, and I was in heaven. To make matters even better, they had a wonderful restaurant called Maggiano's. Talk about wonderful Italian food!! It was also fun because I was able to get some new clothes for work since my old ones don't fit me yet (7 lbs to go). Hopefully I'll be back to my old self soon!

Bobby and Brogan had a big week because they had their first day at a new babysitter on Wednesdays. Our current sitter does not watch children on Wednesdays and for the past 2 years John and Mary have been able to help out. But new scheduling conflicts no longer makes this possible. We were fortunate to find a wonderful family in our neighborhood to help us out! It sounds like the first day went well. You always worry about how your children will behave...and a 2 year old can make things interesting!!

We have a few prayer requests right now. First of all my father's health is declining quickly from diabetes and dementia. This has been very hard on my mother and she is really struggling right now. To make matters even more challenging, my grandmother is not in good health either. My grandfather passed away 1 year ago and it has really impacted her. Also, a dear friend of mine is struggling with complications from a miscarriage. Finally, we are asking that you keep baby Aiden and his family in your prayers. His website is www.babyaidensjourney.com if you want to read more about him.

Thank you for all of your love and support!

The Weeks Family

We're Ready to Get Off of the Roller Coaster...

We are going to start this update off about John. He headed back to the doctor on Friday because his back wasn't feel much better at all. After more x-rays and discussion with the doctor, they feel that it is necessary to begin physical therapy. He will be out from work at least another week. If the therapy isn't successful, we may need to begin discussing surgery. So, right now we are hoping and praying that physical therapy will help relieve John's pain!

On Saturday, Mary and Bobby traveled with Bobby, Brogan, and I to Charlottesville, Virginia. After my practicum class, we headed to an apple orchard. Although we didn't pick any apples, Bobby had a great time in the pumpkin patch and testing out the apples, gords, and sweet potatoes. He was ready to take a bit of just about anything!! The orchard was set among the mountains and the view was delightful. It was a special trip that we hope to share with John next year when he is feeling better!

Now to the hardest part of the week...Last night Brogan woke up with a 102.2 temperature. Since he is under 2 months we were sent to the ER for bloodwork and a urine sample to rule out anything very severe. It was so hard to watch yet another child get poked and prodded. If I didn't think it could get any worse after the 2 sticks to get bloodwork (Brogan's arms are bruised from the tourniquet), then they had to stick a catheter up his pee-pee to get a urine sample. It was so heart-wrenching! He did recover quite quickly though! Despite the trauma, Brogan probably just has the same virus that has worked its way through our family. Tonight he seems to be on the mend, so we pray that the forward progress continues.

I am really enjoying my new job as Math Specialist at my school. It is so fun working with a variety of kids and teachers each day in Math. It has been especially neat to see the continuation of learning from first to second grade, as I am working closely with the 2nd grade classes.

Bobby is doing well and loves being back at his babysitter's house. The current battle is with the insurance company over Synagis, a monthly vaccine against RSV. However, now we have the cardiologist involved, so hopefully Bobby will get the vaccine soon. We will keep you posted! Brogan was 8 weeks on Friday! Enjoy the picture!!

Freaky Friday!!!

Wow, life is never dull in the Weeks household lately. Unfortunately, we could use some dull right now. Last week was my first week back to work and it ended with a bang. John called me at 12:30 saying that he had fallen, hurt his back, and was on the way to the doctor. He was worried that he couldn't even get out of the car...Then at 2:15 the phone rings again. This time it was Bobby and Brogan's babysitter saying that Bobby had a temperature of 102.7. Yikes! So I picked the boys up and headed to the doctor, meanwhile John called and said that he was on his way to the orthopedist because the general practice doctor felt that he may have fractured his spine...

Bobby tested negative for the flu, but the pediatrician felt that his breathing was too fast and wanted us to go to the ER. Dr. Mom felt that the breathing rate was from the fever and fast heartrate and didn't want to expose Bobby to the ER germs if it was not necessary!! After talking to the doctor several times again, we felt comfortable watching Bobby overnight. Thank goodness for a mother's instinct! Bobby had a fever through Friday night and into Saturday morning, but has been fine since then. He and Brogan both developed a rash which I attribute to the virus. Yes, another virus, apparently the third one in three weeks?? We are a little frustrated and worried what this cold and flu season holds in store for us. I loaded up on probiotics, vitamins, OJ, etc. to help us fight through this. Prayers are helpful too!!

Ok, now back to John...Fortunately he did not fracture his spine. However, it was discovered that he L5 vertebrae at the bottom of his spine is pushed forward a few millimeters. It has been causing him pain and probably will for the rest of his life. The fall that he took has aggravated the problem and his pain is severe. He was given a lot of medication to get him through this, but it has been a slow recovery. But as long as he does not begin to feel pain in his legs, there will not be a bigger issue.

So, we are hoping for a healthier and smoother week! It is hard to believe that Brogan will be 8 weeks next Friday. He is growing and changing every day. We are so thankful that he is such an easy-going baby because he has spent quite a bit of time in the doctor's office and hospital while we have dealt with Bobby!

I guess that is all for now (if it isn't enough!!). Hopefully the next update will have fun news!!