What I Learned This Week

Last Saturday night my mom had a stroke.  The left side of her face and her left hand went numb and by the time Ryan and I had arrived her speech had been severely affected.  Fortunately, she called my sister and together we were able to convince her to go to the hospital.  I was so impressed with the American Fork Hospital and their quick response to her symptoms.  Within minutes we knew that she had a hemorrhage in her brain and that it was most likely caused by high blood pressure.  When she arrived her blood pressure was 230 over something that I can't remember.  But that top number was shocking to me.  I had no idea blood pressure could get that high.  The hospital felt that it would be better for my mom to be seen by the Neurologists at Utah Valley so they sent her there by ambulance.

This last week has sort of been like a whirlwind for me.  At times I felt like I was living hour by hour, just trying to field doctors and nurses and therapists and make sense of my mom's situation and what she needed.  My sisters and I all took turns at the hospital so that my mom was only alone for a few hours in the middle of the night and so someone would be there for whenever the neurologist happened to stop by.  My mom got worse before she started getting better.  She developed a severe headache, most likely due to the pressure of the bleed.  But it took a good day and a half to get that under control.  Once the headache was gone, though, she began to improve dramatically.

On Wednesday she was moved to inpatient rehabilitation where she has made miraculous progress.  Her speech has significantly improved and she has developed more movement in her left hand which is important since she's left handed.  The doctors are all hopeful that she will be able to go home next week.

As I have learned more about strokes I am amazed at how well she is doing and how quickly.  I know a lot of it is due to her own determination and I also feel part of it is due to the speed with which she was able to get to the hospital and get on medication to control her blood pressure and stop the bleed.  But I also believe in miracles and I believe that her healing has also been facilitated by her faith and the faith of those around her that love her.

I have also learned this week how important it is to manage our own health.  My mom hasn't been to a doctor for a check up in almost ten years.  She had no idea she had high blood pressure or high cholesterol.  She always said she'd go see a doctor when she had better insurance or when she had more time.  I know she's been trying to eat healthier the past few years but obviously it wasn't enough.  It is a lesson to me to never neglect my health for the sake of something else or everything else.  I too have been trying to eat better and exercise more and I feel that also made a huge difference this week.  My days were long and exhausting and yet this big pregnant body held up and I was able to do what was most important at the hospital and at home.

I am so relieved that my mom is doing well and will make a full recovery.  She has been positive through the whole experience and was cracking jokes like crazy.  I am so grateful to all my wonderful friends, family, and neighbors who were able to help me with my kids this week so I could be at the hospital with my mom and give her the support she needed without having to worry about my own responsibilities.  It has definitely been a week of shock, learning, and gratitude.
 

Merit Badge Madness

The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy.  I signed Dallin up for a couple of Pow Wow's because I was under the impression that that was the easiest way for him to earn merit badges.  And I figured since he isn't as busy now as he might be in the next few years it would probably be best to get as much done now as possible.  What I didn't know was how much of the work for the merit badges (usually the hardest part) needs to be done either before the Pow Wow or in between sessions.

For the first few weeks in October we concentrated on the things he needed to get done for the BYU Pow Wow.  We took him to a City Council Meeting, helped him keep track of his money, his schedule, and then write reports about it all.  He even spent all of Conference weekend working on an 8 hour service project making blankets for a shelter in Salt Lake.  I was so proud of him and excited for how much he was learning and accomplishing.

Then he went to a Pow Wow in Mapleton and came home with even more work to do.  That was when I called my Dad in a panic.  It's the wrong time of year to add anything to our busy schedule.  I begged my Dad to fly out and help us but he said everything would work out just fine.  So for the last few weeks we've been tracking and building with Dallin ...

First Ryan and Dallin went searching for deer or any other animal larger than a woodchuck that they could find.

Dallin made a mold of a deer track they found.

I happened to get this awesome picture on my way down to the river bottoms. Ryan said it didn't count. But then he and Dallin went out again and saw pheasants but weren't able to get a picture in time, so they got to use mine.  Hooray!

Over fall break I took Dallin for a walk along the new Spanish Fork River trail.  I was hoping to see more animals.  We didn't get that lucky but we did find raccoon tracks running across the trail from the river to the fields and back.

The city just finished this trail and it's actually very beautiful.  I've been able to take Eden and Austin on separate mornings.  We've had some interesting conversations and really enjoyed the fall colors.

But back to Dallin.  I forgot to mention that in the middle of all this tracking and BYU Pow Wow prep he came home with an assignment from his teacher to do four Egyptian projects in the next three weeks.  The poor kid got strep and I kept making him sit at the kitchen counter to work on canopic jars, an Egyptian cartouche, and finally a sarcophagus that eventually took him 8 hours.  It was madness I tell you.  The poor boy had a fever and stomach ache and I just kept saying, "I know you feel crappy but can you just keep on working for a few more minutes."  

By Thursday the antibiotics had kicked in and Ryan was able to take a half day off work and they began to tackle another merit badge - Carpentry.  This was the one I was most afraid of since we pretty much own a hammer and a crafting jigsaw.  I found some plans online to make a table that Dallin liked and off they went.  They spent two hours at home depot and then spent the rest of the night putting most of it together.

The next week Dallin sanded it, sealed it, stained it, and then sealed it again.  It now resides beautifully in his bedroom.

Today was the second session of the Mapleton Pow Wow.  He got up at 6:45 am this morning after getting home at midnight last night from going to Lagoon with his Dad.  The Pow Wow was supposed to last until 12:30 but he called at 9:00 and said they were done.  He now has three merit badges complete.  I have to say I am totally relieved.  He almost has everything done for the BYU Pow Wow next week and I can't wait to put this all behind us for a few months.  It's been a lot of work and stressful trying to make sense of all the requirements but I have to admit I have NEVER seen Dallin so happy!  This has all been like a dream come true for him.  For him it's just one fun thing after another and I'm glad.

The Pumpkin Patch

For Family Night on October 11th we took the kids to the Pumpkin Patch at the Big Red Barn.  I can't believe this is the first year that I don't have any kids taking a field trip to a pumpkin patch.  But I was so glad.  It was a beautiful evening and so nice to get to go as a whole family.

I told the kids they could have as big a pumpkin as they could carry.  They took me very literally.

Cameron's Birthday

We had a nice family party for Cameron on the night of her birthday.  She got some new bedding, a ipod dock, and the new Harry Potter Clue game.

Saturday night Cameron had a birthday party with a bunch of her friends and some cousins.  We called it a Night at the Museum Party.  They had pizza and watched Night at the Museum II, had homemade pie for her birthday cake, and then played night games outside.  One of the games was a museum one where you have to stand like a statue, hence the name of her party.

There are so many things I love about Cameron.  She's full of energy, wit, and humor.  She's creative and an amazing piano player.  She's considerate and helpful.  But one of my favorite things about Cameron lately is how sweet she is to her siblings.  She and Dallin have been babysitting a lot for us lately.  Instead of ignoring Eden and Austin she organizes games to play with them while we're gone.  She takes care of getting them ready for bed and then reads them stories and sings them songs before she tucks them in.  But it's not just when we're gone.  Most Sunday mornings I find Cameron in the basement building cities out of every box and piece of furniture we have and then playing games in them with Eden and Austin for the rest of the day.  I think it's wonderful that although she's so much older she can still be patient and playful with the little kids.