Hazel's recovery going well

A quick update on Hazel: They discharged her from Seattle Children's on Thursday at around noon. She has been taking her antibiotic well and will finish up the course on Monday. We didn't have to drive back to Seattle to take the packing out; they were able to do that yesterday at the pediatrician's office right down the road. She is very scared of us tending to her surgery site, but not in any obvious pain. Not taking any pain meds. Last night she even slept through the night with no wake-ups for the first time in months!

Surgery

Hazel's surgery went well. They cleaned out the infection and they think they may have gotten the actual cyst as well (the way it was described to Noel was that a "cheese ball" type thing popped up and they were able to cut it out cleanly). We sure hope it's gone because we don't want another surgery! Noel said she was so scared. We go back Friday for the gauze to be removed.  We're praying that she doesn't need another surgery. It's so hard to see her so scared, especially after everything she's been through. We're also praying that she tolerates the remainder of her time at the hospital being hooked up to an IV and with a bandage and other things on. We also hope her Friday appointment is not too scary or painful. Thank you for your prayers.

Hazel

Once again, things were not looking any better this morning. We went to the doctor again and were told that the antibiotics are not working (which we knew from the way it looks) and that it would need to be opened and drained to clear the infection. So, we are headed to Seattle Children's tomorrow afternoon to have a surgeon look at it and decide what to do (either drain it or do emergency surgery). We have no idea if we'll just be there for the afternoon or longer, but have decided to leave Jude with a babysitter. For those who don't know, Seattle Children's is about 2 and 1/2 hours away, so this is far from convenient, but necessary to get this taken care of. We are still praying that this can be totally taken care of and we can still go to Michigan. Hopefully we'll know more tomorrow.

As you can see, the redness is very intense. It sticks out so far now too and is obviously causing her discomfort, especially at night. :( 

The cyst saga continues

Hazel's infection was looking quite a bit better on Saturday and Sunday. Still big, red, and infected, but better. She's still taking her antibiotic, but it seems to cause her a lot of gas (especially at night), which has made for a couple of sleepless nights for us. She was crying nearly the entire night last night and around 3 AM, Noel noticed that the zipper of her pjs was pressing on her infection (she sleeps on her stomach). So he put her in different pjs and she finally slept 3 hours without waking up. This morning, the infection is much bigger again (more swollen and red). We called the doctor and he said it's very possible the zipper is the cause of the increased inflammation. So, we're watching it for 24 hours and will see what happens during that time. Each day that passes that the infection does not go down makes us more and more nervous that she will not be cleared for surgery Friday, which is the last day we can do the surgery if it's to happen before our scheduled trip to Michigan.

Mother's Day Out

I am so far behind on blogging, but am hoping to catch up before our trip. By the the time the kids are sleeping and the house is picked up, there just isn't much energy left for anything! Anyway...

Hazel and Jude went to Mother's Day Out summer camp a couple of weeks ago at our church. It was 3 days for 3 hours each day. I think they had fun, but it was a big stretch for Hazel (she's become VERY clingy since we've been going out more). It was nice for me to have some time to run errands with just Nona and to be in a much quieter house. I can't wait til all 3 of them go in the fall! They'll learn so much, I'll have time to be alone and get things done. It's a win win!

Here are some of the crafts they made. So fun!

This was their first day (Hazel wanted the camera). 

Update on Hazel

Friday was a very scary day. When Hazel woke up, we noticed the cyst was larger, more red, and tender (all signs of infection). We called the doctor and he said we could either go straight to Seattle, or they could look at her in a few hours and see what they thought. We decided to go with the latter option, but were on edge all morning knowing that there was a good chance we'd have to drop everything and head out for a potential long stay in Seattle (for IV antibiotics and later surgery). The doctor saw her at noon and said it had doubled in size over night and was definitely still infected. Since she had refused to take her antibiotic, we had to give her 2 shots of an antibiotic that would cover her for 24 hours. She was terrified and it was heart breaking. We were given a new prescription for a different antibiotic, which we were told to start Saturday. If she didn't take it, we'd have to go to the ER for 2 more shots. Friday evening we noticed the area getting bigger and bigger. We took a picture and texted it to the doctor. He instructed us to draw a circle around it and measure it again in 3 hours. If it had grown, we'd have to go to Seattle. If it was the same, we could check her again in the morning. Again, we were incredibly scared and knew we might have to leave at any time. Praise the Lord that the redness was going down after we checked her at 10 PM. This morning, it looked even a little bit better. And the best news of all? SHE TOOK HER NEW PRESCRIPTION TWICE TODAY!!!!!! The first time, she drank it out of a cup and actually liked it. That did not work the second time, so we mixed it with chocolate pudding, which was a hit. Now we are praying that she continues to take this medicine and that it clears the infection by Thursday so that the ENT we see can decide whether or not she can have the surgery to remove it Friday. She is still acting very scared overall. She knows something's going on and is very anxious. We are trying to be very attentive to her and are praying that 2 trips to the doctor this coming week are not too traumatic for her (especially the surgery).

The saga of the cyst

About a year ago we noticed a small cyst just below Hazel's neck. We had a surgeon look at it a couple of weeks ago to see what we should do. He said to get it removed eventually because it may get infected someday. But, since it hadn't changed in a year, he didn't think it was any rush. Well, the next week (last week) it got infected. It started getting bigger and red so we took her to the doctor. We were told to give her an antibiotic to treat the infection and schedule her for surgery in a couple of weeks. So we are/were scheduled for the 29th. We tried the antibiotic, but after a few days, it was very clear that Hazel would not take anymore and trying to give it to her was traumatizing her. So, we called the doctor again. He said that since it had started to go down in size and wasn't red anymore, we'd switch her to a topical antibiotic. Well, we started that yesterday and each time we put it on, the area got bigger and more red. We thought she was allergic to it so we took her back to the doctor. He was very concerned at the rate of growth (and didn't think it was a reaction to the cream) and nearly sent us to the ER at Seattle Children's. But, he thinks he's identified it as a Branchial Cyst, which needs to be dealt with by an ENT. So he consulted with an ENT in Seattle, who isn't as concerned, but wants to see Hazel asap. That's where we are now. We need to talk to them tomorrow to get an appointment and we want to get this thing removed before we go to Michigan. We have less than 2 weeks to go for a consultation and get scheduled for surgery. Please pray that that will happen and that there are no further complications!

As you can kind of see, it's big and red. It used to be the size of a pea and only under her skin.

And if you want a good laugh, look at Jude's face in this picture.

Funny Faces

Fun and Games

Jude's OBSESSION with doors (and the way things work) continues. At least he turned it into a game here.

Everyday fun

 "Trying on" hand-me-downs

 Pigtails!!!

 Sweet boy

 They kind of like to color. It usually ends because someone tries to eat the crayons one to many times for mommy to handle.

Daddy is a jungle gym.

Sweet Nona

Hiccups are funny

Here's a genuine giggle from Jude and a forced, fake laugh from Hazel. She always wants to laugh whether she thinks something's funny or not.

Guess where we went?

To the nursery! Last Sunday was Hazel and Jude's first Sunday in the nursery since they've been cleared to enter the world of germs. It was a success. Now we've had two successful nursery Sundays, and tomorrow they are going to the Mother's Day Out program from 9-12. We like the feel of this new life. Here are a few photos of them getting all geared up to go.

Fun on the slide!

We went to the park twice this past week, and Jude finally decided to like the slide. We have a small slide in our backyard and there's also one at the church. Jude does not like either of those. But for whatever reason, he giggles with glee on this one. He likes to stick his feet out to the sides and try to stop himself as he's going down.

Hazel even figured out how to scoot herself down at the top, and how to dismount properly at the bottom!

Randomness

So much to post about. So little time. Here goes some randomness:

 Hazel is VERY into accessories. It's hard impossible to get her to leave her room in the morning without looking in her top drawer to pick her accessories for the day. It's usually a bow or 2, but the other day it was all of her bows. Sometimes it's her sunglasses (yes, she wears them around the house) and somedays it's her "house shoes". She's hilarious.

 Jude playing piano all by himself. He likes it this way. Then there's no one to bite him.

 Nona checking herself out in the mirror on her play mat.

 Tolerating tummy time for at least a few seconds!

This is Hazel's face when I say, "Smile for the camera!". Could it be any sweeter?

Ice Cream

This shows how different our kids are when it comes to eating. :)

 Hazel: "I've already had about 10 bites. Why would you try to give me more? And I only want it from a spoon today! Get that cone out of my face!"

 Jude: "Mmmmmm, ice cream."

 Hazel: "Standing on this bench is definitely more fun than eating ice cream."

 Jude: "Mmmmmm, ice cream."

 Hazel: "Sitting on this table and playing with napkins is fun.

 Oh, I better clean the table!"

 Jude: "Mmmmm, ice cream."

 Hazel: "This hanging basket is neat!"

Jude: "Mmmmmm, ice cream. I'm so satisfied."

Even though it was cloudy, cool, and a bit rainy yesterday, we went out for ice cream just to get out of the house. You can't wait for nice weather around here or you might never head outdoors.