My Blog List
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Is it June yet?5 years ago
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Catch Up5 years ago
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Christmas in Deer Park7 years ago
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9 Years Old!8 years ago
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Beach Birthdays8 years ago
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Physical therapy9 years ago
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Three weeks home...11 years ago
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Story time in the Holland house.11 years ago
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GREAT NEWS!!16 years ago
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Thursday, August 29, 2013
And the not-so fun part...
During our beach trip, we had a little incident that led to a trip to the Emergency Room and to us finding out that Elon has a heart condition called WPW (Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome). We went to the ER because she was getting sick in the morning, would seem to get better, but then would get sick again the next morning. I started to get concerned about dehydration (she had also said that she was swallowing the pool water from the salt water pool- that's not good).
Something just did not seem right.
So I plopped her in the car and took her.
We were taken right back and the first thing they found out was her heart rate was 245 beats per minute! And then Elon started complaining that her heart was hurting (this was the first time she had said that). At first, I did not realize how FAST that really was...the doctor was immediately concerned (as well as every nurse that walked past our room and saw her monitor reading 245). He was not sure that dehydration was the cause. He told me that dehydration can cause your heart to beat faster but not usually that fast. He wanted to do blook work, get an IV for fluids, X-rays, and an EKG right away. The IV was a challenge to say the least....after 8 try's the foot was the only vein they could get. Elon was such a champ....of course, she did not want them poking her and digging to find veins but no one had to hold her down. She held completely still. I was amazed, she cried but laid completely still!
It really broke my heart.
Once the blood work came back, it was confirmed that dehydration was not the culprit. There was another cause to what was going on. The ER doctor was communicating with a Pediatric Cardiologist and a Pediatric Electrophysiologist at MUSC. They read the EKG and advised the ER doctor to get her heart rate to slow down. To do this they had to do another IV.... in her neck! Yikes!!! The medicine given to slow down your heart rate reacts quickly, they could not put it in the IV in her leg because the medicine would never make it to her heart.
Here we go again....
Once again, she laid completely still, no one had to hold her down, even though there were plenty of people there that could have...at least 10 people in her room at this time. It did not seem real.
Her heart rate went from 245 to 112 in less then 5 seconds...amazing. She konked out after that!
The doctors put her on a medicine to keep the SVT (Supra-ventricular Tachycardia) or fast heart rate episodes from occurring again. ER doctor advised us to end our trip and head back home to see a Pediatric Electrophysiologist before we did anything else. He actually called and set up an appointment for us the following Monday.....
She doesn't look too worried, does she???? :)
After a lot of testing....
The doctor has recommended that she have surgery. Due to the fact that Elon is already showing symptoms, most people with this condition start to show signs during adolescence to early 20's, and the fact that her SVT episode did not stop on it's own, and most likely was going on for 2 1/2 days, this looks to be smartest solution for her. If untreated, she would be restricted in her sports in high school and college years AND she would be high risk for Atrial fibrillation.
Why wouldn't we do the surgery???
This surgery is one of the few that can permanently correct the heart rhythm problems. It will be done through a heart catheter ablation. With her condition she has an extra electrical pathway in her heart (you should only have one), through the catheter they will locate the extra pathway and then "clip" the extra pathway, this will stop the SVT's. The doctor will also do some testing on her heart once they get in there to try to learn more.
The catheter is done through the leg and she will only have to spend one night in the hospital.
So, this is what Elon picked out as her reward for being such a tough cookie!!!
Yes, my daughter wants to be a firefighter...not really what I imagined :)
Elon's surgery is set for September 4th...that's next week! They have allotted 3 1/2 hours for her surgery, I think this will be the hardest part, I am hoping it will not take that long. Please
pray for her and the surgeon. She seems fine but she also has A LOT of questions. As mom & dad, we are also doing fine...We have seen children go through much, much tougher things... having perspective can keep your anxiety level down a good bit :)
And, we know who is in control.
We are so thankful that this has been found and that there is a surgery that can "fix" it.
Please keep our little Elon in your prayers over the next week!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
More summer fun...part 2
For the Fouth of July we enjoyed the beach with Cole's family.
Warning....the post is mostly pictures
The girls enjoyed watching The Fourth of July golf-cart parade....it is a shame that we could not get the boys out of bed to join us! The girls looked like little flags...
Proud to be American!
At the beginning of the week, Harper still did not want her face to get wet unless it was on her own terms (and she would only let Case catch her...Camden was still not allowed). This picture shows how protective the boys were of her and how they helped her overcome her fear...
By the end of the week she was jumping off the rocks and trying to swim with no lifejacket!
I love how sweet the boys are with the girls. They are awesome big brothers!
And typical boys....
I love these pictures of the girls being silly...
And my handsome boys....
Case and Cole finished their Scuba certification this summer and Case practiced a lot in the pool....
This led to Camden and Elon wanting to get certified too...Harper even tried it!
I was so proud at how well they all did.
My little nephew was adorable to watch, as he just began walking recently and was so cute!
Grahm with her oldest grandchild and her youngest grandchild...so sweet!
The End...
Monday, August 19, 2013
Summer Fun...Part #1
We started our summer with a visit to my parents house. Always a fun trip! I LOVE my kid's getting to experience some of the same things I experienced when I was younger. As a child our family lived on a boat (not literally)!
The kid's jumped off the boat continuously! My daddy even joined them a couple times (that is him in the hat) - He is the biggest kid of them all!
Elon was not afraid of anything...ready to go and hanging with the big kids!
This was Harper's first boating experience and she loved it....as you can tell! Her only hiccup was when she got her face wet (big brother did not catch her too well when she jumped in) - it took her at least 30 minutes to recover, at that moment I think she decided that she will never trust Camden ever again :) But she survived!
I then went to Camp Debbie Lou to volunteer....such a happy place!
This place holds such a special place in my heart...for many reasons: the families, and children we have met through camp have blessed us in so many ways. Camp Debbie Lou is a camp for children with cancer and their families to come for a relaxing and fun long weekend away from the yuck they are experiencing back home. Cole and I had the privilege to be Directors for several years when camp first started up (and before Elon came home). It is also a stepping stone in which God was leading us and preparing us for our sweet Harper. We would have never thought to adopt a child who had been through treatment for cancer had it not been for Camp Debbie Lou and the remarkable children we had met through the years...yet God knew what He was doing.
It was great to be back with some of my favorite peeps! And to be a big ol' kid....
The horse back riding crew....
I am so thankful to be a part of this place...and so thankful for where it led us!
Sunday, August 18, 2013
It has been awhille....
OK, I have been a loser blogger recently! Our summer was very busy with a lot going on...so blogging was put on the back burner. I am hoping to catch up over the next few posts. So I will first start with an update on Harper (especially since I have received a couple requests). So here it goes...
First of all, Harper is doing great. She finished up our school year last year doing very well in her education and had already began to read. I was amazed! I was pleasantly surprised at how things seem to be going for her with how quickly she picks things up. She is a pleasure to teach, AND easy to teach.
In addition, and more importantly, Harper is constantly forming deeper relationships with all of us. We loved Harper before we ever met her...but she did not necessarily share those same feelings. She did not get to look at our pictures for a year before we met. I do not even know how far in advance she was even told about us, or how often she was able to look at our picture....then one day she was walked into a room and handed over to strangers (that would be us!)....So it took awhile for her to start letting us really in....
After a few months home, she would say "I was little happy in China, I BIG happy in America"....uhhhh, precious!
If I asked her "Why are you BIG happy?"
Her response was...."Family"! Every.single.time.I.ask..... "Family".....uhhhh, LOVE!!!
Something that I so took for granted before I entered this world of adoption. Something that I used to think that everyone had. But sadly, that is not the case. Yet it is what brings joy to my daughter now, just to have a family. I am so thankful that God chose us to be her family.
Well now she has moved past mentioning China... Now she just runs up to me (out of the blue), and wrap's her tiny arms around my legs, and look's up at me with the biggest smile on her face, and announces..."MOMMY, I SOOOOOO HAPPY!"
It happens almost everyday! Oh Lord, thank you for allowing me to be her mommy!
Her health is also great! She is currently 4 1/2 years in remission. Praise God! She has her next Oncology appointment next month. Prayers always welcome :)
Next up....our summer fun!!!
First of all, Harper is doing great. She finished up our school year last year doing very well in her education and had already began to read. I was amazed! I was pleasantly surprised at how things seem to be going for her with how quickly she picks things up. She is a pleasure to teach, AND easy to teach.
In addition, and more importantly, Harper is constantly forming deeper relationships with all of us. We loved Harper before we ever met her...but she did not necessarily share those same feelings. She did not get to look at our pictures for a year before we met. I do not even know how far in advance she was even told about us, or how often she was able to look at our picture....then one day she was walked into a room and handed over to strangers (that would be us!)....So it took awhile for her to start letting us really in....
After a few months home, she would say "I was little happy in China, I BIG happy in America"....uhhhh, precious!
If I asked her "Why are you BIG happy?"
Her response was...."Family"! Every.single.time.I.ask..... "Family".....uhhhh, LOVE!!!
Something that I so took for granted before I entered this world of adoption. Something that I used to think that everyone had. But sadly, that is not the case. Yet it is what brings joy to my daughter now, just to have a family. I am so thankful that God chose us to be her family.
Well now she has moved past mentioning China... Now she just runs up to me (out of the blue), and wrap's her tiny arms around my legs, and look's up at me with the biggest smile on her face, and announces..."MOMMY, I SOOOOOO HAPPY!"
It happens almost everyday! Oh Lord, thank you for allowing me to be her mommy!
Her health is also great! She is currently 4 1/2 years in remission. Praise God! She has her next Oncology appointment next month. Prayers always welcome :)
Next up....our summer fun!!!
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