The night before Hailey's surgery

Dear Nathan and Hannah, 

Hailey will be going away for a few days to get her heart fixed. It's finally happening! But this week has had its fair share of roller coaster moments. 10/11/2022 was the original surgery date. On 10/10 we get a phone call from the hospital to tell us that Hailey's surgery has been bumped to Friday. Daddy immediately calls Grandma and Grandpa to tell them the news. They are at the airport ticket counter and just handed off their luggage to be put on the conveyor belt. Needless to say, they were able to reschedule their flight for today and their luggage continued their journey without their owners as planned. 

Fast forward to Wednesday evening. After dinner, we get a phone call from one of the surgery nurses asking if we would be willing to come in Thursday for surgery. Dad and I immediately looked at each other and said, "Yes." At this point we just want to get it over with and not have to be delayed again. 

So I frantically start to pack and get everything ready for an early departure the next day. 

20 minutes later, we get another call and she tells us that Dr. Frasier has decided to get some rest after a strenuous surgery and feels more comfortable resting before operating on Hailey. 

So, this week, we've been hanging out at home. During the cooler mornings, we've been hanging outside and drawing on the driveway. We've been working on a Halloween mural and have filled the driveway with scary pumpkins, spooky ghosts, and menacing spiders. The last finishing touch would have to be a creepy alien who beams kids up into their space ship. 

This week we've been working on cleaning the house, getting caught up with laundry, and meal prepping for the week of surgery and beyond. We also have been getting lots of food and gifts and feel very blessed and loved by our friends and neighbors. 

Last Friday, we had a pre-op appointment.  We spent a whopping 5.5 hours there. We met with all sorts of specialists, nurses, and Hailey was so brave to get her blood drawn 2 times! They had to use an ultrasound machine to see her teeny tiny little veins to get enough blood for some lab tests. She even got a new stuffed dog, whom she named "pickles." 

Dell children's was designed with children in mind and Hailey was loving the whole experience. 

Hailey had to get an X ray to make sure her lungs were clear. 

We were given wipes to wipe her down at night. We needed to have her sleep in a set of freshly clean sheets and rub some napirocin in her nostrils 2 times a day. 

Well, she was a trooper, so we went to get ramen and tempura shrimp for lunch. And as tradition would have it, we also got some ice cream since Hailey had to deal with a needle. She picked apple pie ice cream. 

Afterwards, we went to play at a park for a little bit before heading home in rush hour traffic. 

 

Well, I will be updating everyone here tomorrow. Time to go to bed. 

 Love, 

Mommy 

Birthdays, a Trip to the Circus and the Final Huzzah Before Hailey's Surgery

Dear Kiddos, 

This post is super long overdue. I appologize because I seemed to have overbooked myself as a mom and life has become just one thing after another. It wasn't until today when flu-like symptoms forced me to slow down and rest...and to update the blog. 

This past weekend we celebrated Hailey turning 5 years old! We celebrated at gymnastics and I think everyone had a good time. You were so excited about it being your special day that as we drove through the line to pick up your favorite meal at Chick-fil-a, you rolled down your window and announced to the drive through operators that "It's my birthday!" 

Hannah, you work hard at gymnastics that you guys typically don't get to do fun things like play with a bunch of hula hoops. So you busted the hoops out and tried to hula with all of them! 

Nathan, you got to play paintball for the first time. When I asked if you had fun, you immedately showed me the cluster of bruises on your thigh. You said that it was kind of fun, but getting hit hurts. 

Immediately after the paintball birthday party, you went to baseball. I can see an improvement in all areas and your coach is considering letting you try pitching. We'll see how that goes. 

Martial arts is still going well. Hailey, you had your last class on Thursday and to celebrate, Nathan and Hannah both came to help out during your class. 

 

Hailey, you also said goodbye (for now) to your friends at the gymnastic school. As we take a pause in all of the classes that you are taking, the surgery is starting to feel a bit more imminent. 

Nathan you turned a decade old this week! It's hard to believe that I've been a mom for 10 years! Time flew by so quickly. 

Hailey, you are in charge of your daily fashion choices. Most days you pick a dress to wear but one day last week, you requested a hairstyle that involved hair sticking up and then becoming floppy. I think I nailed it! And yes, you wore that hairstyle all day and was so proud doing so. 

You guys all came to watch me play roller derby indoors for the first time in over 2 years. 

Hailey, you helped me switch out my wheels for the game. Thanks! 

A week prior, we went to the circus! Hailey, you had mentioned that you wanted to go to the circus some day and as if google was listening to our conversation, the next time I turned on my phone, there was an ad for the circus that was going to come to town in a month. I immediately bought tickets and you all had a blast. It was a great show! 

Since Nathan, your birthday is just 2 days before Hailey, we decided to celebrate yours a week before your birthday and Hailey's the week after. We held your birthday at laser tag. You invited your 10 best friends and had a literal blast at the party. For many it was the first time playing laser tag. 

Nathan, your first lego league team is also making good progress. We meet for 2 hours on Fridays after school to code robots and solve the world's energy problems. The team of 6 boys is quite interesting to host on Fridays after school. Overall, the boys are all so sweet and good kids, but some afternoons can be exhausting. 

Hailey, Hippos class is going well. Ms. Mary says you are a beam of sunshine in the class and she just loves having you there. You are also a good friend and good example for other kids. 

Here's a cute picture that I took of you the other day. 

In the afternoon, there's usually a little bit of time where we have nothing to do before Nathan and Hannah get home. Some days you go to martial arts with another family, some days you help me get dinner ready, and some days you do science or art. You are also very interested in making perler bead creations these days. You will sit and work on a project for 30-45 minutes before exclaiming, "Oh, I'm so tired." 

We borrowed a crayon maker from a friend and spent a few days using our extra crayon stash to make new crayons. You all were very interested in making the coolest combination crayons. Are they all just sitting in a bag somewhere? Yep. 

Hailey's surgery update:  For Hailey's surgery, she will need a blood transfusion, so we were notified to look people who fit very specific height and weight requirements. Even though I share the same blood type as Hailey, I didn't fit the requirements to donate and we found out that Steve's blood is not a match for Hailey. We asked our church pastor to put out an announcement to help find people who could donate blood to Hailey and the response was overwhelming. In less than 24 hours we had found all 3 people needed for the donation. Who knew such a little girl would need so much blood? 

Hailey will have a 4 hour pre-op appointment on Friday so we will find out more details of what the next few weeks will be like. And on the 11th, at 8 in the morning, she will go in for surgery. In the meantime, we have to keep her healthy. If she is sick in any way, her surgery will have to be postponed. 

Well, that's about it for now. 

I'll be updating more often in the next few weeks. 

Love, 

Mommy 

Last Days of Summer and Operation Date Is Set

Dear Kiddos, 

Our post picks up at the end of July. When you big kids attended Martial arts camp, Hailey and I did fun things together. On the last day of camp for Nathan and Hannah, I asked you Hailey what you wanted to do. You said make crafts and go to Costco. We went to Costco and spent the afternoon making minions (since we had just watched the Minion movie earlier that week). You were so proud of your work. 

Long days of playing calls for days of relaxation. Sometimes you just ask for some cucumbers and you just lay back for a few moments. Afterwards you always ask if you can eat the cucumber. 

Hailey, Martial arts is going really well for you. We figured out that wearing a jacket during class makes you hot and start to show asthma symptoms. At martial arts, after you get your power stripe, you have to wear your jacket. After the first day, you started coughing after class. I thought you were sick, but then you stopped coughing a few hours later. I called the doctors and they said that it could be  possible for you to cough after being overheated because your heart can't keep up with your oxygen needs. 

You still continue to be your silly self. Making banana tiaras... 

And dancing in your underwear with your siblings. You are just an interesting kid for a mom to be around. 

In August we dog sat another dog and she was the best. Almost convinced us that we need a new dog. Almost. 

Board breaking in martial arts was a big focus towards the end of this cycle. Hannah got to breaking black AND yellow boards and Nathan got to black AND green. 

Hannah really wanted to go to epic fun before summer was out so we went to cash out some gift certificates that we got pre-pandemic. It turns out that those certificates were no longer valid and so we picked 2 things that the kids really wanted to do and 30 minutes later, our adventure at epic fun was over. 

Hannah, since your birthday party got rained out last year, we decided to hold another one for you this year. You really wanted an art party so an art party is what you got. You invited a few of your friends from school and church to come to the house and do art. You all decorated cookies, created shrinky dinks, and poured paint over canvases. 

We had some snacks and cakes for the kids to eat. Nathan decided to make some cake balls, that ended up looking more like cake blobs, so we called them cake blobs and they were delicious. 

The kids also played pin the face on the Picasso. 

Here are the obligatory first day of school pictures. I've also pulled up the previous 2 years to document how much you all have grown! 

Hailey, we finally heard back from the cardiac surgeon and set a date for your surgery. We have to get a lot of things in order before you can have surgery: figure out your blood type, sign up for blood donations, and have a dentist clear you for surgery. Now that everything has been completed we just wait. The surgeon did a great job in explaining what will be done in the operating room as well as what we should expect before, during, and afterwards.  The good news is that the mortality risk for this surgery is low, like 1% low. But the thing we need to worry about most is the possibility of having to do this surgery when you are older. Apparently due to the anatomy of your heart, the blood flow out of the heart has created a membrane (scar tissue like substance) by your aortic valve. It is starting to spread close to the valve, so it is important to remove it before it actually reaches the valve. Also, while they are doing that, they will shave off the bulgy part of the septum that is between the 2 ventricles. 10.11.22 will be the date. We just need to make sure you are healthy before the surgery. 

After we got your blood drawn for a typing test, we got some froyo. 

Team gymnastics is going well for you Hannah. You love going to gymnastics every week and everytime I see you, I can see improvement. I can tell you are working hard and you are looking forwards to the competition season. 

Belt Testing happened last week. Hailey you got promoted for the first time. You were so excited about it and worked so hard during the belt test. I sat at the edge of my seat the whole time, nervous about whether or not you were working too hard, but you seemed to be ok. 

Hannah, you are 2nd level brown belt and once again this cycle, you were promoted not 1, but 2 levels. 

Nathan, you being a 4th level brown belt was expecting 1 or maybe 2 levels (since Hannah got 2 levels), but Sensei surprised you with a promotion to the red belt. This is huge because after going through the levels for a red belt comes the journey to the black one. 

After a long belt test, Hailey, you requested some more cucumbers and relaxed. 

  Baseball season is about to start. It kind of kicked off this weekend with tryouts. We look forward to seeing what team you end up being on and who will be on your team this year.  

While Nathan had try-outs, Hannah and Hailey had playdates. Hailey, you love playing with your friend that you met last year at ducks class. He is going to a different school this year, so hopefully we can keep the connection. 

Well, back to a busy week. I am officially a co-lead teacher at the preschool and will be teaching the 3's class. So I will be teaching in the morning, change my hat to chef to prep dinner, change to a chauffer hat, put on my artist hat and draw while I wait for the kids to finish their activities, change back to chef to finish dinner and then put on my roller derby helmet in the evenings. On Fridays I am coaching Nathan's first lego league team and on Sundays I am teaching the pre-K class at Chinese school. It's a busy week but its everything that I want to be doing. Mom life is tiring  exhausting, but I am loving every moment of it. 

Until next post, 

Love,

Mommy