Kris and Dave met 16 years ago while Kris was in college and Dave was on his first of several enlistments in the Navy. We have 4 beautiful kids. Lucas is 12 and he is the best big brother ever! He loves his brothers and sister. He has been waiting a very long time to be the "big brother".
William, Logan and Jessica were born Oct.25 2007 at 33 weeks and 5 days! They only spent 10 days in the NICU and came home on their big brother's birthday- Nov. 5 !! This blog will be about the ins and outs of our crazy life.
I have been wanting to update, but just really don't know how to say what needs to be said. I did go down last weekend to see my mom. Thankfully Aunt Jen decided to make the drive with me. I was a nervous wreck and was very grateful for the company. We met my sister at 10am and headed into the hospital ICU. It was very, very hard to see my mom. She was and still remains unconscious and unresponsive. She was having a rough time breathing and it was hard to watch. We met the neurologist and got the worst possible news- she is not going to wake up. I had told you it was another stroke, but I was given wrong information. The neurologist says she had a seizure as a result of the stroke the week before. This seizure was very long and left her with very minimum brain function. She is pretty much brain dead. My sister and I tried to come to grips with this news as we waited for her regular doctor to make his rounds. Now, we both know my mom's wishes and this is exactly what she did not want to have happen to her which is why she had a DNR in her living will. There was a huge paperwork mistake at the nursing home and she was labeled Full Code which means do everything possible and the ER went ahead and did what they could and found out about the mistake after it was too late. We talked to her doctor after a gruelling 4hour wait in the ICU. He was very compassionate and told us how sorry he was since he knew my mom wishes. We discussed what our options were and the best way to handle this very upsetting turn of events. Since I am her medical power of attorney, I had to sign paperwork to get her moved up to the hospice floor and have things done as I know she would wish was done in the first place. I was a mess! But I know she did not want this and that makes it a little easier for me. Before I headed back to CT I said my goodbye and prayed for her to have a quick end. Unfortunately that has not happened. It has now been 6 days and for whatever reason, her body just won't give up. I call every few hours and there is never really any change. She remains unconscious, unresponsive and having a hard time breathing. It is killing me and I wish I was not having to deal with this!
Sorry to vent, but I wanted you all to know what is happening and I will try to get back in the groove of posting every few days!
Sorry that I have not posted again this week, but I have had an awful week. My mom was moved out of the hospital to a skilled nursing facility on Tuesday. I got to tell her I loved her and tell her about the kids. When she tried to talk I was unable to understand anything. It was very hard to hear her like that. She got frustrated and I just felt awful for her. Then, last night she apparently had another massive stroke and was rushed back to the ER. She had a DNR on file, but something happened and she ended up on a ventilator anyway. She was taken off it this morning and weaned off the heavy medication, but as of 9pm tonight, she has not regained consciousness and her prognosis is not good. I am driving down to PA tomorrow for the day with Jen to see her. I will of course update as soon as I know more.
While all this is happening, I got a call from the triplets pediatrician. She is concerned about Jessica. The visiting nurse has been by weekly for the last 2 months to check every ones weights and Jess has only gained 0.6 ounces. Logan is in the 20% for weight. Will is also becoming a concern - he is only 7% for weight. However, Jess is not even on the chart and has appeared to fall off her own curve and not made any progress the last 2 months. She put in a referral for us to take Jess to a pediatric g.i. specialist. The closest one to us is down in New Haven about an 45 mins. away. It is the hospital where they stayed in the NICU when they were born.
OK, I better close but if you would not mind, please say a few prayers for my Mom and Jess as we figure out where to go from here.
My mothers day gift finally arrived about two weeks ago and I love it!! I have been meaning to post a pic, but I was just not sure where to post it. While it looks like three bands, they are all interconnected to make one ring and move around while on my finger so whenever I look at it I see a different name on top! We ordered it from NelleandLizzy.com they have lots of cool jewelry. I may have to order more! LOL
This holiday weekend was a very rough one for me. We did some fun stuff with the trio and picked up Lucas from camp. However, it was all done while I tried to come to grips with some shocking news. My mom had an acute stroke sometime Wed night/ Thurs and was found by aunt late Thursday night and taken to the ER. My sister rushed up to be with her and spend the weekend with her and calling me with updates. I very happy to say that she is recovering, but my sister and I have some tough decisions ahead of us. Please pray that my mom recovers and handles the next months of rehabilitation without further complications.
Enough with the sad news, back to the rest of the weekend. The sub base had a carnival this weekend and it was free to military on Thursday. The rides were only a $1, so we decided to take the crew. Since they are so tiny, they were only tall enough for one ride! Here is the before pic:
and during the ride:
This pic really does not show how excited they were! They loved it and cried when they had to get off! We paid for them to go 3 times, but they actually were able to ride 5 times! They totally had a blast! They even tried some carnival food - fried oreos and cotton candy. Neither was a huge hit. I can't wait until next year when they will be able to go on more rides!
We picked up Lucas from camp on Friday. He had a great time despite the rainy weather. The triplets were so excited to see him! I went out for a Girls Night Out on Friday night. We went to see the Village People, ate dinner and gambled a little at the Mohegan Sun Casino. It was great to take my mind off sick toddlers and my mom. (Thanks Aunt Jen!)
Saturday night was the big fireworks display at the base. Dave took Lucas, since I did not want to keep the triplets out that late. I was also very unsure how they would do. I think that next year we will take them. I was able to see a few front the front yard! Dave and Lucas got home around 1030pm. Jessica had another rough night and we brought her to our room, where she did not get back to sleep until after 2am!
Today was very low key. We spent the day just hanging out and relaxing because this week will be anything but! Dave goes back to work from the long weekend tomorrow and Lucas starts his Groton Maritime Academy camp, which he will have for the next three weeks. I have several therapy sessions for the trio and a playgroup scheduled this week, along with my physical therapy. See. I told you it gets hectic around here!
To close tonight, here are 2 more random pics of the kids over the weekend. The housing area where we live has a great park and even a water area! The kids were very unhappy with the water area, but the swings were a hit!
Well, things have gotten a little rougher than normal around here. Jess started acting a bit "off" on Friday and the boys joined her Monday. They have been extra cranky, extra cuddly and their appetites are way down and it is affecting their sleep. Everyone lost weight in the last week and the nurse checked them out and said if the fevers continue I should probably take them in. Jess and Logan also started to have a yucky cough, so to err on the side of caution, I decided to take them in today to be seen. I did not want to risk waiting until after the holiday weekend. It is always a challenge to get the triplets appointments back to back to back for scheduled well baby appointments, however luck was on my side and the Naval base came through for me and found me appointments for mid morning. The doc gave everyone a thorough exam - and the diagnosis is a virus. The bad news - no antibiotics this time. We need to let it run its course and offer Tylenol and Motrin to help with the aches and pain. Jess as usual, has it the worst, followed by Logan and then Will. He said that everyone should start to feel better in about a week! That seems like an eternity, but we will just have to take it day by day. Dave and I are a little more sleep deprived than we would like, but we at least know it should not last long so please bear with me!
