Aftermath....

So the surgery was finished around 2:00. Christopher then went to recovery. We told the anesthesiologists that he had a high tolerance to sedation. I guess they found out for themselves as he woke up immediately after and was raring to go! LOL!

So far he isn't acting terrible. Of course he is grumpy, with good reason. I think we are handling pain OK. He is getting morphine about every 3 hours. I am not sure if he is trying to move his legs and can't or if his sedation/morphine is still messing with him, but he will fall asleep for about 5 mins then wake up in a panic. They are going to give him some more here soon.
We JUST got him up in his little feeding chair. Looks like we are going to have to have the ortho cut down the tops of his casts so that they don't cut into his privates & abdomen. Dr. Personality - the resident, might not be on board for that. We will see what happens.

(Sorry for the quality of this pic - my phone is dying)
They were talking of the possibility of sending him home tomorrow. I don't think that is going to happen. We want to be back on his home feed regimine for 24 hours, and have a good plan for pain management before we go. He had 3 doses of powerful antibiotics before surgery because he has a heart defect, so I do not want to get 150 miles away and have blow outs running down his casts. YUCK!

Thanks to all for all of the good thoughts and prayers today! We will keep you updated.

Hugs!

Steph

Surgery!!

11:55 - They just called to say that he went to sleep perfectly & they have him on the vent.  He is prepped and they started the first incision as we were speaking to the nurse.


OK.  They just took him back a few minutes ago.  It will take awhile for anesthesia to do their thing & to get him prepped.  Then surgery will be 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  They are doing both legs at  the same time.  We are praying that he does NOT come back with Spica casts on - the ones that go all the way up to the rib cage. 

Will update when we receive one.  :)  I'll add pictures later. 

Hugs!

Steph

We're Here!

Well, we finally made it...We are in Chicago. Surgery is scheduled for 9-ish tomorrow morning. I will update as I can. It has been CRAZY this week!


We had to come up on Thursday for pre-surgery stuff. We also found out that our real estate agent wanted to do an open house today - so the house had to be spotless when we left.

Tuesday, my sister's house was broken in to. They kicked in the back door and trashed the entire house. Most of the stuff that was stolen was my nephew's, including money, camera, & DSI. Who ever did it was watching my sister's house for awhile. ARGH! Although I think my nephew is handling it better than anybody else. :)

So far Christopher is doing well. He had to get an I.V. put in and tried to give the nurses kisses in exchange for forgoing the I.V. Didn't work. LOL! They were really great & were able to get it on the first try! WOOT! Now, we just have to keep him from chewing on it. :(

He is in heaven....All of the rooms here are private and have 64 inch flat screens in them. They also carry Sprout. His is obsessed with the Goodnight show on Sprout...guess what is on for the next 6 hours? :) Oh yeah - and no shortage of girls to flirt with.  Ha!Ha!

Oh well, He is in for a rough time of it tomorrow. Let him enjoy himeself now.

Will update when we hear something tomorrow!

Hugs!



Steph

Bummed.....

I am almost beyond words...Our T21 family has lost another friend and gained another angel today.  Warrior Princess/Rock star Kristen lost her 5 time battle with leukemia in her parents arms this morning.  If anybody could show how to handle adversity with grace and endurance, it was Kristen, her Mom Polly, & Kristen's entire family.  She was loved tremendously - both by her family and friends.  The world is a little darker and the heavens a little brighter tonight.

Our love and prayers go out to Kristen's family tonight. I can't imagine what Polly is dealing with right now.

John 3:21: To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

Hugs!

Stephanie

For our friends.....

Get out the tissues!  Just wanted to share a video that I came across on youtube.  This one goes out to all of my Special Needs parents.  This video doesn't just represent the race that THIS father & son are running.....we are all running our OWN version.  You don't have to physically run an Ironman to understand that is what we, as SN parents are doing everyday.  Pay attention to the end! You won't be sorry!  Hugs to all.  :)

Steph

P.S. We will get back to more regular posting soon.  Christopher's surgery is scheduled for July 26th & we just got the house officially up for sale.  Lots of stuff coming...:)

Recipe Recap - Sloppy Joes & 'Tater Salad

I thought I would re-post some recipes that I put up here last year for the 4th of July.  I can't believe it has come around again already!!!!  I don't think we are doing anything big this year.  Not sure if we will even go see the fireworks.  We will see how things iron out.

To all of our friends, have a Happy and Safe 4th of July!!!!  :)

So, the first recipe is a two part-er. The first part is for a mix that you can use for several different recipes. The recipe comes from this book. Most of the recipes in the book are bulk recipes that then get made into others.

MEAT SAUCE MIX: This yields five, 1 pint servings to be used in other recipes. Larger families might want to only divide in in half or use the whole thing. I use the whole thing for holidays and put the second part in the crock pot instead of a skillet.

4 medium onions, chopped (I use a bag of frozen, pre-chopped onions - saves time)

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic

2 cups finely chopped celery*

2 to 3 chopped carrots, optional*

5 lbs lean ground beef

5 teaspoons salt

1/2 to 1 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 (28 oz) bottle ketchup (I just use store brand or whatever is on sale)

6 drops hot pepper sauce, optional

1 large chopped green pepper, optional* (I also use a bag of frozen pre-chopped peppers if I don't have fresh)

*I put the celery, carrots, fresh green pepper, and fresh onions (if that is what I am using) in a food processor and chop VERY fine. I don't think anybody knows that there are celery and carrots in this recipe!

Spray large skillet (I use a chicken fryer or a dutch oven) with vegetable cooking spray and saute' onions, green peppers celery, carrots, and garlic until onions are golden. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Drain excess fat. Add salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and hot pepper sauce. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool

Put into five 2 cup freezer containers, leaving 1/2 inch space at the top. Cut through mixture several times to remove air pockets. Seal and label containers with date and contents. Freeze. Use within 3 months. Makes about 5 pints.

RANCHER'S SLOPPY JOES: This recipe is for using 1 of the 5 servings from above. If using the entire recipe for a crowd, multiply by 5. I will put those measurements in ( ). This recipe is great for busy nights. It can be ready in 10 -20 minutes, depending of if it was thawed ahead of time.

1 pint (5 pints) MEAT SAUCE MIX, thawed

1/4 cup (1 1/4 cup) packed brown sugar or equivalent brown sugar substitute (Splenda)

2 tablespoons (10 tablespoons) white vinegar

1/2 cup (2 1/2 cups) ketchup

1 tablespoon (5 tablespoons) mustard

hamburger buns

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Mix well, cover and cook over medium heat about 10 minutes, or until heated through. Serve over hamburger buns. Makes 6 servings.

For the entire recipe, I put everything in a crock pot at least 2 hours ahead of serving time. Put on low or medium setting and heat through. Stir occasionally. Serve over hamburger buns. Makes about 30 servings.


The other holiday recipe in our family in potato salad. My Grandma Krauel made the best potato salad. We have this at Christmas time too, with ham. It is best serves as cold as possible. This is another good sized recipe. If making just for a small family, I would at least cut it in half. There would still be enough for leftovers.

GRANDMA KRAUEL'S POTATO SALAD FOR A CROWD:

5 lbs potatoes, large diced

1 dozen hard boiled eggs, diced or sliced

4 stalks celery, sliced

2 medium onions, chopped (I use sweet yellow onions for this - your preference on how
"onion-y" you like it.)

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

2 cups Miracle Whip (do not use mayonnaise, but can use fat free, etc. Miracle Whip)

1/2 cup sweet pickle juice

1/4 cup sugar or equivalent sugar substitute (Splenda)

1 cup thinly sliced sweet pickles - optional

yellow food coloring

Peel, and dice potatoes all about the same size. Put in large dutch oven in cold water with a little salt. Wait until all potatoes are ready before cooking. Boil for about 25 -30 minutes. Start checking potatoes at about 20 minutes. You want a fork to go into them easily, but not to be cooked as you would for mashed potatoes. Those will be too mushy. Drain and cool. Put into large roster or plastic container in fridge.

Rinse pot and add cold water. Add 1 dozen eggs. Cook over medium heat until boiling. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pot cool - this way the yolks do not turn green around the outside. If you are in a hurry, you can put the entire pot in the sink and run cold water over all, until all of the eggs are cooled. Once eggs are cool, peel and slice or dice. I use an egg slicer - it makes it much easier. Add to potatoes.

Next add celery, onions, Miracle Whip, pickle juice, mustard, and sweet pickles. Add 1/8 cup sugar or Splenda. Mix well and taste. If the mix seems too bitter, continue adding sugar to taste. If the mixture seems "dry" , try adding Miracle Whip and mustard a couple of tablespoons full at a time, until you reach the right consistency. Add yellow food coloring until salad is a light lemon yellow.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Enjoy!

Hope everybody has a Happy and Safe 4th of July! Feel free to leave your browser open to this page. I put a new playlist at the bottom full of patriotic music. :)

Hugs! 

Steph