Drama

It seems the drama never ends at our house. Or should I say Houses! My dad came back through on his way back to Arizona to help finish getting the plumbing and electrical work done on our double wide. Thankfully we got a lot done (with still a lot to do). I think what we still need before we move in is to get the septic tank installed, have the A/C hooked back up and charged and build a fence to keep horses away from our house and cars etc. I was especially thankful Dad and Julia happened to be here when they did, and that Gregs mom was able to come help out for the day because yesterday "after" the Dr. offices were closed I realized I had a medical matter that needed attention on one of my legs. So last night at 9pm we went to ER while Dad and Julia watched Kayla. After some tests it was decided that there was a good possibility that I had a blood clot in my leg so I was given shots of lovenox and sent home with a prescription so I could give myself shots for the next few days until we make sure there either is no blood clot or the clot is gone. Now I hate shots! I really hate shots! I also have to keep my feet elevated and avoid sitting or standing. I am quite proud of myself for managing to give myself the first shot. Tomorrow I have to go have an ultrasound and then go see my Dr. to find out what my treatment will be in addition to the shots I have to give myself twice a day. In addition to the inconvenience of that our van is broke down and I might have to drive Greg to work tomorrow and in addition to that Kayla isn't feeling well again. I am very tired of being a sick and tired family : )
We did have a great day at church and Eric seems to be doing great. I have great peace that God is taking care of us but boy I'm ready for a break from all of this : )

ENT appt

Its 4:30 am and I am going back to bed in a moment but in case I don't get a chance to blog later today I wanted to put a short note here about the Ear nose and throat Dr. appt we went to today.

Eric had a good report and passed the hearing test with no problems. He will be tested again in 6 months just as a precaution since he was on antibiotics at birth.

Kayla loved the Dr. which amazed me and I really liked him too. She even sat on his lap after he looked in her ears and probed around! Anyways as I suspected she needs tubes placed in her ears. He also wants to remove her adenoids so that surgery is scheduled for July 7th. Keep us in your prayers as we move foreward with this next medical neccessity.

The best part of the day was using the gift card Greg got from his work as a doorprize from a work party. It was an Olive Garden gift card and I took my friend, Rachel there for lunch since she got a babysitter for her kids so she could come with me and help me take Kayla and Eric to their appt. I couldn't have done it alone that is for sure!

The worse part of the day was Greg having a flat tire on his way to join us for lunch at Olive Garden. We got him some lunch to go from there but he had to eat it later since changing the tire took up his lunch period and he had to return to work instead of joining us.

My dad and his wife Julia and her 2 Grandsons arrived tonight and will be with us for a few days so that will be fun. Kayla was very excited to see them.

So our week is ending busy like it began. The picture was taken of Eric monday when we helped out briefly at VBS. The VBS theme is Outrigger island so his outfit is supposed to match the tropical theme. Tomorrow we plan to take Julias Grandsons to VBS so we'll close out the week where we started it and after its over I'll be taking Eric to his primary care physician again to check weight etc.

Thanks for all your continued prayer and support

Acid reflux

I'm able to upload pics again so here are some pics taken a few days ago. Kayla loves her baby brother and loves to sit next to us when we are holding Eric and she is good to him for the most part. Eric loves to be cuddled and swaddled and when you un dress him he screams! I keep trying to take pictures of him with his eyes open but he keeps blinking and I get closed eyes pictures. I took more today but haven't put them on the computer so stay tuned.

Today Eric had his tests done and we found that he has acid reflux. This is a better diagnosis than some of the other possiblities so we are glad that medication 3x per day should fix the problem. He also gained weight in the last couple days so I think we are doing good.

Can't post pictures

I planned to post some current pictures but for some reason I can't get it to work. Ughhh oh well. Anyways please pray for us tomorrow as we take Eric to Victoria for some tests. He is scheduled for a swallow study and an abdominal ultrasound just to make sure there are no problems. He has been doing ok but is not gaining weight properly. The Dr. wants to see if he has acid reflux or any other problems that could be affecting his weight gain. Anyways keep us in your prayers and I'll try posting more pictures later.

Erics journey

I promised I would post pics and tell a little of Erics story so even though I don't have a lot of time here is a short blurp along with some pictures that are very disorganized and not any where close to being in order but they were all taken during his hospital stay after birth.

As most know, Eric was breech and just refused to turn so C section was our only birthing option. We had scheduled it for the 10th of June but on June 4th I started having contractions and the Dr. decided to do a C section that day to prevent any problems from laboring. The C section was performed (its really kind of neat how they do C sections and I was awake and aware of what was happening the whole time. Eric was born at 1:45 screaming and sounding like a healthy baby. He was considered full term medically and Dr.s and other medical staff did not expect him to have any problems. He got a good apgar score and seemed find at birth but within an hour or so he started to crash and his breathing was not good. It was decided that he needed to be rushed to Victoria to a bigger hospital with a NICU so that evening an ambulance arrived and Eric was rushed away and Greg followed close behind (but Greg went the speed limit I think!). I had to stay behind in Cuero until I could be released from the hospital 2 days later.

Eric endured many tests and procedures including blood transfusions, full IV nutrition, C pap machine for breathing, umbilical catheters for blood draws and medication administration etc. It was sunday the 8th before he stabilized enough that I could nurse him or even hold him. (I had been allowed to hold him about twice before that for a brief moment). On tuesday the 10th he was released to us but we all had to stay at the hospital for another 30 hours while they watched his condition to be sure he was going to do ok.

We finally got to come home the evening of the 11th as you saw on my last blog.

I'll post more on my next blog with some more current and much more pleasant pics of our little boy.

We're home!

Kayla is so happy to have her baby brother home! She was so gentle with him we were all touched by her reaction when she met Eric! Eric finally got released from the hospital today and we got to come home around 5pm. He is doing great after spending a week in NICU in very critical condition at first. We'll post more pictures of his amazing journey in life as we have time. Thanks to all for your prayers and support this past week. God has given us great strength in this time of trial and we are thankful that he has healed Eric.

Eric Franklin Johnson

Eric Franklin Johnson was born on June 4th 2008 at 1:45 Pm via C section. He weighed 7lb 5oz and was 19 1/2" long.

I don't have lots of time so I'll give more details later but Eric was taken by ambulance to Citizens hospital NICU in Victoria just hours after his birth because of breathing difficulties. He is still in NICU and has been on lots of machines and had lots of tests. Greg and I are staying in Victoria with Eric and Kayla is staying home with her Grandma Johnson and Grandad Goodall and Grandma Julia. We'll update more later as we can but for now Eric is stable and I am now out of the hospital in Cuero where I had to stay until yesterday and recovering well but a big incision with staples slows me down considerably. Please keep us and Eric in your prayers. We anticipate about a week in NICU if all goes well before getting to bring our little Eric home with us.

another week

Well we went to my OB appt today and found out that baby is still breech. Dr. decided it would be best to wait another week before scheduling a C section so that the baby could mature as much as possible. I see him again friday to assess but unless something changes the C section will be next tuesday morning. My blood pressure was a little higher than normal for the first time but not enough to cause too much concern. The Dr. felt everything else was fine and unless I go into labor before next tuesday we'll just plan for that.

Kayla is doing much better and seems to have completely healed from her strep throat and antibiotic sensitivities. She is having a great week because her Grandad Goodall and Grandma Julia arrived sunday as did her Uncle Stephen. Monday morning her Aunt Lee Ann, cousins Abby and Frank and Grandma Johnson arrived so she has had lots of people to entertain. I am very tired from all the excitment but have enjoyed having all the help and what great help everyone has been from working on our double wide to grooming our dogs and caring for our animals to cleaning house and helping with meals and Kayla. We even cleaned out Kayla's closet and found more newborn boy stuff Yay! We are so blessed to have such supportive family.
Our church family has been checking on us and praying for us as well so who could ask for more?

We'll update as we know more.