Saturday, August 28, 2010

"Don't Fall....."

It seems crazy that a year ago Nicholas could barely talk, because now he talks nonstop! His words have become more clear and he can hear and comprehend! The surgery and tubes worked miracles for him! It's absolutely amazing the difference this past year has made!

Last Saturday Kevin took us all to the library to return books that were overdue. The librarian didn't charge us a late fee since my hospital stay and surgery was the reason for the overdue books. Very nice of him! On the way back we had to make the loop around off the exit to head home. When we were looping around Nic looked down and noticed the interstate blow us. Out of nowhere, he says "don't fall daddy". Totally random. Kevin and I looked at each other to see if the other one knew what he was talking about. Then I looked at him and saw the direction he was focused on. I asked why he said that. His response, "you fall and Nic gets hurt.... You fall and you break truck". How cute! Of course we both laughed. It was just real neat that he put all of that together and oh so cute how he said it all! I love the innocence in children!


- Posted using BlogPress from Britt's IPhone

Location:El Paso

Friday, August 27, 2010

Our Little Waterboy

Nicholas is so much like his daddy! It's unreal the way they are. The two of them both have a fondness for watering the yard. A few days ago Kev and Nic were in the front letting Nicholas water the grass. When I went to the living room door it took me awhile to get out. Nic found so much humor in spraying the door trying to get me! Of course as soon as I walked out Kev told him to get me. Which you can see his devious smile in one of the pics below! Oh how I adore and love both my guys! They are two peas in a pod, always up to something!











- Posted using BlogPress from Britt's IPhone

Location:Biddle House

Here Froggy, Froggy

Our new house is very close to the Rio Grande in the Upper Valley area of El Paso. Very nice area and green too! The only thing is there are a lot of Mosquitos as well as frogs! Kevin and I are not fans of frogs, but as long as they remain outside we are okay with them. I mean, at least they kill bugs! That's a bonus, right? Kev was inside and Justin and I were sitting outside talking. The girls were also outside with us. It was a little before 10pm, so it's dark when the little frogs come out. This was last Friday by the way. Well, I looked over to see a little frog just sitting on out patio. A little later we saw a little baby one. They were actually kind of cute. Not sure how. Maybe its one of the situations where they are so ugly they can be cute. Am I making any sense? Of course we had to take pictures of Justin holding them. My favorite is the last one posted on here. It turned out real cool with them both in the cup!











- Posted using BlogPress from Britt's IPhone

Location:Biddle House

Only Out Here....

Only at a feed store out here would there be live animals in enclosed areas. When I say animals, I'm not referring to the common ones you'd think of. Well, not all of them anyways. Sure, they had mini donkeys and ponies and the even had some cattle. But this place also had a bison as well as a camel. Yes people, you heard right. They had a camel! Of course the kids and I had Kevin take us so we could get out and walk around. (grannie we can show you when you come out next week! It's real close to us). Kev laughed and told us not to get to close to the camel... It may spit on us. Ummm, gross! It was fun to see the kids faces light up like they did. We saw this last week when I had Kevin get us out of the house. We just drove around. Nice way to spend a couple hours! Enjoy the pics!








- Posted using BlogPress from Britt's IPhone

Location:New Mexico

"piderman" Pose

Nicholas has such an obsession with spiderman! In the pictures below is Nic showing off his new t-shirt with spiderman from his Grannie. Just to give y'all an idea of his size at 3, the shirt is a size 5. Our little man isn't so little!








- Posted using BlogPress from Britt's IPhone

Location:Biddle House

Summer Time Slip-N-Slide

A few weeks ago, after we moved into our new house but before Britt's surgery, we bought the kids a slip-n-slide for the back yard. Our three monsters LOVE it! The water and a but of dish soap can keep the entertained for hours! They have played on it so much and it's left them so full of smiles and laughter!




















- Posted using BlogPress from Britt's IPhone

Location:Biddle House

First Day of School

This past Monday marked the new school year for the girls! It is so hard to believe that Bre is now in third and Caitlin in second grades. Really, where has the time gone? The past nine years have flown by! The girls each seem to really like their teachers and the school seems real nice! They opened their doors for the beginning of the fourth school year this year! The administration is wonderful and extremely helpful. We are all excited to see what this school year has in store for the girls!

The first pictures are from the first day and the others from the second day.


















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The Things Kids Say

I don't know why Kevin and I are ever surprised by something one of our kids may say in public anymore. Yet, it never fails for one of the three to say something that catches us off guard. So last week we were at Beaumont for me to meet with my PCM for a medication refill and Nicholas is the one that decided to draw attention to us. I was standing in line to talk with the receptionist when I hear Nic yell, "look, a pirate". And when I say yell, I mean everyone in this clinic could hear him! I looked to my right to see a man sitting with a black patch over one of his eyes. Of course, people laughed and found him cute. Okay, sure it was cute and funny but it was also a tad bit embarrassing! The man didn't say anything nor would he even look at us. What can we really do? Kids are very outspoken and never mean to draw attention or hurt someone. Leave it to Nic to draw a lot of attention!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Do's and The Don'ts.......

What a chaotic couple of weeks this has been! Kevin, Nicholas, and I made a visit to the surgeons office for the post-op appointment. The good surgeon that is! Most of you know I have no desire or want in me to return to the first surgeon for any type of appointment. I had to go in for a follow up with the surgeon from Providence, Dr. Gomez. He is such a wonderful doctor! Kevin and I really respect him and his opinion on things. The appointment with him turned out to be a good one for the most part. Of course, he had to add more pills to my daily taking of what I am already on. Like I didn't already have enough to begin with! I am now also on three iron pills a day in hopes of getting my levels up and not having to have a transfusion in the near future. He has me set to have lab work done in four weeks and to see him again at the end of September, in about five weeks. Dr. Gomez let me know quickly that there is no point in blood work being done now because there will not be much of a difference from when I was in the hospital. It is just too soon to see the difference we are hoping for. As long as I am improving I will not have to have the transfusion. However, I am severely anemic so I have to be careful with all that I do at this point. If  my levels have not improved to what he thinks is suitable, then I will have to undergo a transfusion. (Thanks in advance Dad if you have to come out here!) We are all praying that time, rest, medications, and a proper diet will push me in the right direction. Dr. Gomez made it clear that I am for the most part, out of the most dangerous part of this recovery, but I need to really understand that I still have a long road of recovery ahead of me. He made it clear this is nothing I can play with, which I promise I am not. I am taking this whole situation and recovery more serious than I have anything else in my life. I plan on hanging around for quite awhile longer! I have three kids that I have to be here for as well as a husband that I have every intention on growing so very old with! I refuse to let this hold me back more than it already has. I am not allowed to do any heavy lifting for at least another six weeks. He won't even consider releasing me of that until I see him in five weeks, then we go from there. I have been feeling very light headed and faint lately which has caused me to take a break or just kneal down wherever this occurs. I have also been real cold and had chills at the oddest times. Dr. Gomez explained that this was alll normal because I lost so much blood and what blood I do have is incredibly thin. He is allowing me to pick back up to my routines such as taking care of the kids and house. Yet, whenever I start to feel at all weak or tired I have been told to stop and rest. Thankfully Kevin and the kids have picked up my slack... or better yet have told me to sit still and let them do everything. I really could not ask for a better family. They have all been awesome! Even Nicholas has been excellent with everything. He knows he cannot be held and always asks me if I am okay. It is so precious! The doctor reminded me that this recovery is going to take a minimum of three months, but I will slowly start to feel better. The bad part is not only am I trying to go through this recovery, but I am also trying to adjust to this menopause crap! And let me just tell you all, it really does suck! Hot flashes and night sweats are no joke, not to mention the emotional side of it all! I feel like an emotional rollar coaster at some points! It is crazy! I am just glad my life is slowly coming back together. Oh, and the best news of all, I do still have to watch out with my kidneys and stay very hydrated to avoid kidney failure later on. But, since they were able to get my kidneys functioning again within 24 hours of being in the hospital, I should not have any permanent damage. With that being said, nothing is promised. With everything that happened we are still not sure what the future holds from all of this. Whatever is in store, I will take head on and remain positive through it all. I am so very lucky to be here and plan on cherishing and enjoying life so much more than I already have.

Thank you everyone for the emails, comments, texts, calls, cards, and prayers! Keep the prayers coming because there is still so much ahead of us with this recovery!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Much Needed Update

What a busy and chaotic month August has turned out to be. I can honestly say we are looking forward to seeing the month come to an end and to begin a new one. We did get fully moved into our new house and are loving it! The neighborhood is excellent and the people so far have proved to be wonderful! We both like this area so much more than anywhere else we have lived, especially out here. The girls started school yesterday and are now riding the school bus. They love it! We are waiting on the Internet to be connected at our house right now. As soon as it is we will be updating with some pictures! There are quite a few to add! Hopefully soon.

Thank you so much to everyone for all the prayers, love, and support. We cannot thank everyone enough. I guess now is a good time to update you all on the medical hell experienced this month. I went in on August 9 for surgery at William Beaumony Army Medical Center. Due to many years of female problems and the fact that the partial hysterectomy didn't correct the problems, I had to have my ovaries and tubes surgically removed through a laparoscopy. Now, for those of you who may not be aware of the ins and outs of this procedure, it a very common one! So, we go in early to prepare for this surgery, it lasted a little over an hour. I spent over two hours in the OR recovery area because they could not get me to wake up, then spent a little over an hour in another recovery area before being sent home. In the second recovery area as they were sending me home I kept telling them I was unable to urinate. I was in a lot of pain and there was an enormous amount of pressure. I was told to go home and take it easy. Let me stop right there for a brief moment. They cannot send home a patient that cannot willingly urinate on their own following a surgery. If you cannot urinate within six hours following the operation you have to have a catheter placed in and be admitted. Now that I said all of that, you heard right when I said they sent me home WITHOUT being able to urinate. I also collapsed in the restroom while Kevin was getting the truck because of the pain and pressure. I had never hadthat feeling following a surgery. We got home and for the life of me I could find no comfort at all. I slept on the couch, well spent the night on it. Kevin was absolutely amazing! He grabbed a sleeping bag and slept on the floor next to me, never leaving my side. By Tuesday afternoon 24 hours had passed and I had yet to urinate and felt the pressure from needing to. Kevin had to take me to the ER at Providence. Not the military one. They had to catheterize me, which helped the pressure and pain a little but I still did not feel right. We were sent home because my urine was the rich color and they said it was probably my body reacting to the anesthesia. Which, can typically slow a persons system at times, only as temporarily. The following days were the worst I have ever been faced with. Ive never felt the pain I endured and pray I never do again. It made labor feel like the easiest thing ever. We had no idea what was going on. I couldn't urinate at all, I could barely move. I tried different positions on the toilet just trying to make myself go, never any luck. I had Kevin run water and even attempted to sit in like two inches of warm water. We tried so much and Kevin did anything he could to try to help me. It was so frustrating, plus the pain just got worse and worse. From the time I could stand, I could never stand up straight because I was hurting so badly. It was unreal, I had never gone through anything like this after a surgery or period in life. On Thursday evening I began feeling sick to my stomach, which didn't help the situation. Friday I was actually vomiting at everything. Throughout the entire week I could never really eat, which really had Kevin concerned with all the pain meds I was taking. I went through so many just trying to eliviate the pain. I tried a heating pad, nothing worked. I don't think I slept much at all either that week. The final straw was Friday night. I was upstairs in our room and couldn't move and could barely breathe. I had to send Kevin a text message telling him I needed him. Thankfully he came right up. When he got upstairs I was doubled over on the floor, vomiting into a bucket, tears rolling down my face, struggling to catch my breath. I had him rub my lower back because the pain was unbearable. I couldn't move my arms much because the pain that was in my shoulders. None of this pain made sense! Kevin called the nurses at Beaumont to inform them of what was going on. They told him to rush me to the ER. Of course wanting me to go there and Kev let them know that was not happening. Thank God he didn't take me back there. When we arrived at Providence the waiting room was packed. Kev went inside to find out how long I'd have to wait. There was no way I could sit in the chairs. They told him to bring me in and they'd take me back next. He helped me get out of the truck and I must have looked as horrible as I felt when we walked in. He asked me if I wanted to sit, I said no because I didn't want anyone to hit me or bump into me. I'd rather stand because that was somehow easier than sitting down and getting back up. As soon as I said that some guy rushed over with a chair for me, like I said I must have looked terrible. For all of y'all that know me and know I rarely even leave my room without a bra, I was standing in the er without one on and a tank top that didn't match my sweats....and I didn't care at all! Hair a mess with no makeup. As soon as I sat down they called me back. They took my vitals, which were so high for me! My bp was 135/88 and hb was 130...both are very high for me. Of course that registered as there was something wrong. Oh, and over the week my stomach made me look pregnant! It was huge, hard and real tight. Oh and it hurt. I couldn't do anything. After vitals I was taken to a room. The nurse walked in and I started to beg her to put a catheter in, to please help relieve the pain and pressure. She put one in and not much at all came out. What did was a real dark, almost coke color filled with blood. Very scary to see. They immediately ordered labs due to this. A little over an hour later the doctor walked in and sat down next to me. He had a look that Kevin nor I liked. A look as in you could tell this was not going to be good news. The excellent er doctor I had then started explaining my kidneys had failed. Talk about a lot to take in and process. I was in acute renal failure and they had no idea what we could expect or what the outcome would be. So there we were at 130 in the morning, 330 for you guys on the east coast, calling the parents to let them know the bad news. I've never been so scared. All I could think is I have a husband and kids I have to be at home with. They had to pump me full of insulin and a few other things. All through my IV, two of the medications burned and each took about 5 or so minutes to push through. I was terrible! I had to be hooked up to machines monitoring my heart because of everything. It was crazy! I broke down talking to my dad that night, and many more times following. After this, I was admitted. The following day I was notified that my kidneys were functioning again due to all the meds and the kidney specialist and internal meds doctors tried to send me home. The kidney specialist told me that because my blood test came back in the high, but normal range I should be okay. I told him if I always believed blood tests results I'd be dead by now. (meaning my thyroid issues). I was still in the same pain and my urine was red from the blood. Not normal! The internal meds doc came in, let's just say we didn't hit it off. Kevin nor I liked this woman at all! She twisted me and popped the incision back open. When I snapped at her because of the pain, she informed me that it was just a little stab wound. Okay, then let me put you through this, then tell me that! She asked me if I had ever had kids and I quickly made her aware this was so much worse than being in labor. There was no comparison! I made her so irritated she spitefully let me know I would be there another night and she was putting in for a CT scan and ultrasound. I did the CT at 9 that night, which led to a 130am visit from my nurse. Once she had me awake she explained I would be going into emergency surgery at 630 that morning. The surgeon came in a little after 6 and let me know there was a lot of fluid picked up by the CT. At 645 I was being wheeled out for surgery. The procedure was once again done laparoscoply. At the end of the surgery I had six incision sites, three lower and three upper on my abdomen and had a a JP drain also attached to me through one site. Come to find out Beaumont had caused everything because of their negligence to perform a surgery correctly! They did not cauterize the areas that they removed my ovaries which led to internal bleeding. How does one miss this step??? It is a necessity! Following the surgery we found out the internal bleeding had filed my abdominal cavity, chest and was up through my shoulders. Hence the reason for the pain in these areas as well as the kidney failure. I lost a lot of blood and was in need of a blood transfusion. However, the surgeon said it would take quite awhile, but I could recover from the blood loss. So many of my levels were all over the place at this point! I stayed in the hospital for two more days following the surgery. I'm still severaly anemic and have to be very careful with what I do and eat. I have to watch for signs of kidney failure because I now stand a higher chance of kidney issues. I am on a minimum three month recovery and not sure of permanent damage at this point. The doctors all informed me that I have a very high pain tolorance and strong will to live, I shouldn't still be here. Most would not have survived. My hard head and stubbornness saved my life. They were amazed I survived it all. Here I am now, a week after being released and I'm alive and happier than I've ever been. This experience was all an eye opener. I should not be here, yet God gave me another chance at life, and living it and enjoying it is what I plan to do. This made me put things into perspective and made memorialize just how lucky I truly am. I have three amazing and beautiful kids that I have been blessed with. We came close to losing them when I was pregnant and we went through hell to get them here, but I could be any happier. I know people were worried and not happy with Kev and I having them so young, but inwouldnt change a thing. Everything happens for a reason and had they not come when they did, we wod have never had kids. Thank you God. I have been blessed with an exceptionally amazing husband that I'd be lost without. I'm so thankful for another chance at life. The recovery has been rough, but we are getting through. Not only am I recovering from the surgeries and complications, but I am now also going through surgical menopause. Which, is by the way, insane! Emotions and hot flashes all over the place! Thank you Kevin for continuing to always stand beside me. You and the kids are my life! Things could have easily gone the other way. I've let go of a lot of anger and any grudges. Life is just too short. There is no way to put everything into words. This has been a real difficult time for us as well as an eye opener.

Thank you to everyone that visited me or called while I was in the hospital. Thank you so much for the prayers. Thank you to F Co. 123 BSB. Y'all are absolutely amazing! This has been the best company Kevin has been in while in the army. They have supported us through this time, called, brought flowers and cards, and let us know they are here for us. Kevin was able to take time off work, including an additional week without the headaches and only sincere concern. It has been amazing to see the amount of concern and people that have been here for us. Thank you!

Not it is time for me to wrap this post up. I'm writing from my cell phone. Hopefully we will have the net soon! We love you all. No worries, I promise I'm taking this recovery one day at a time and taking it easy. I'm not over doing it or doing more than I should. I plan on sticking around for quite awhile longer....

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Busy Biddle Life....

I know I have not updated this as quickly as everyone would like, but in my defense, it has been such a busy (almost) week here for us! Last week was GYN pre-op for me, we picked up the keys to our new house, moved in and made it our home! Neither of us have had much downtime or "net" time.

We LOVE our new home! It is working out wonderfully for all of us! We started to move in last Thursday and are pretty much settled in now! A few odds and ins still need to be taken care of, but you could never tell we've only been here a few days. While Kevin went in to sign out of work, I managed to get the kitchen just how I wanted it on Thursday night. Of course, the rest of the house came together fairly quickly after that!

We were able to register the girls at their new school today. Seems like it will be an excellent school for each of them! We are very excited to see what this school year has in store. We have New Student Orientation on August 12 and Orientation to meet their teachers on August 19. School starts August 24, three weeks from today! Where has the time gone? It is so hard to believe that Bre is in third grade and Caitlin in second! They will be riding the bus this year, which makes them feel even bigger! The part they are most excited about.... No school uniforms!!! Thy have the typical dress code to follow, but nothing like the past few years with certain pants and only polo shirts of certain colors! Of course, we had to take them shopping for clothes over the weekend. Trying to get as much done as possible before my surgery!

Speaking of surgery, it will occur on August 9 at William Beaumont Army Medical Center here on Fort Bliss. As of right now, the details are very limited and we will not know exactly what will happen until after the operation! They are starting it off as a laparoscopy. Three small incisions in my adominal area. They will remove my ovaries this way. They will clean the area out and go in with a microscope in order to look at my cervix. At this point, with my health and previous surgeries they are unsure if they can remove my cervix. It may cause to many complications right now, as well as problems with my bladder that could possibly lead to further surgeries. If they can remove my cervix they will then do a full abdominal incison, the same as with my c-sections and partial hysterectomy. If they are unable to remove my cervix, they will have to closely monitor it from here on out and we have to pray for no further difficulties. The doctors are hoping they will be able to remove it without the damage and added on complications. They have already stated I fall into a high risk category. They have also pulled me from my pain pills due to this surgery. The pain medication and my health can cause complications leading me to not wake up from the surgery. Good news, as of right now, my thyroid panel looked excellent! That is great news considering it has been quite awhile for a wonderful panel to come back! The thyroid panel checks my TSH and T4 levels, as well as other things. Since I no longer have a thyroid gland, my levels are monitored frequently. About every 12 weeks or less I have to have lab work for it. Now, we are playing the waiting game to see what the outcome will be. Kevin will try to contact everyone to give an update and I will attempt to get on here to write a quick update. No promises on that one though! Feel free to send me or Kev a text if you want, or send me an email if you want a call! If you don't hear from us right away, please understand, things are incredibly chaotic right now! We don't know how long the surgery will take and the waiting room at the hospital has terrible reception for cells. Please be patient, you will hear something at some point on August 9! Don't call and get upset if we don't answer or return calls back shortly!