The Past Year...Part II

That last post was getting pretty long, and I was getting bored, so I decided to stop for a few days. I'm back now though.

I did think of one more thing that I left out. Last September, Miles started preschool. We wanted to send him somewhere with a lot of structure, somewhere with an actual curriculum, not just a glorified daycare. So, we sent him to Catholic school. There is a wonderful private school in Tooele, that was just a couple of miles away from our home called St. Marguerite's. Miles' best friend, Avery, had attended the 3 year old preschool class the year before. She had learned so much. We knew that this is where we wanted to send Miles. We weren't worried about the religious aspects because the preschool classes were not expected to attend mass or anything. Coincidentally, Avery is not Catholic either. She is Baptist. They did pray in the morning, and when they did a unit on animals, for instance, they would do an activity about Noah's ark. We thought it was great.

He did so well! His teacher, Ms. Bonnie was amazing! Miles can now identify, write and sound out all of his letters. He recognizes and can sound out some small words. He understands his numbers and can easily count to 100 and higher. His art skills improved so much. Most important to me, he learned to function well in a classroom, working with other kids and following his teacher's instructions. I really think that this is going to give him a leg up when he starts kindergarten this year.

 

Ben had a big year. He took up running and lost an insane amount of weight. He worked so hard and was so dedicated. Even though he doesn't necessarily enjoy running, he recognized that it provided the results he was looking for and improved the way he felt. After some training, he started registering for every race he could.

He had fun building a running bond with his mom and spent some time with my family doing a relay in St. George. He was also planning on running Ragnar with them this summer, but plans had to change on that one. We are all very proud of him for sticking with his goals. It inspired me to set the goal to run a race....a very small race, someday. I don't run. Ii would really like for our family to be able to do some Run Disney races in September 2014. I think it would be really neat since there is something for every age.

 

Ben also graduated with his bachelor's degree this past winter. After a lot of effort, between classes and still working full-time, he finished his degree in finance from Utah State. He'd worked especially hard to be able to coordinate the right classes with his unusual work schedule. We were all super excited to see it done. We knew that it would provide new opportunities. I don't think that any of us realized how quickly those opportunities would come though.

 

In March, Ben received a call from a recruiter at Fisher Investments. I don't know if either actually realized that the other was out of state in the beginning. Certainly, there was no harm in interviewing. To begin, we didn't take it terribly serious because it would require a really great offer in order for us to be able to relocate. The interview process kept progressing though, and things started looking more and more promising. After several phone interviews and a face to face in WA, Ben was offered a position toward the end of April. The offer was too good to not accept.

 

Ben moved to Vancouver, WA in May, but two weeks was not nearly enough time to get the house packed and prepared to sell. I decided to stay behind, with the kids, for a period of 3 months or until the house sold. That didn't happen, but I'll explain later. For the next month, I along with so much help from Rod, Alex, Jenn, my mom, Karri, Cathy and others, worked tirelessly to get my house ready. From cleaning to carpet replacement to painting to yard work. We did everything. I cannot thank family enough for everything that they did. It was so amazing. For two weeks, Alex and Rod were over at my house every night checking and repairing things that I didn't even know needed to be repaired. I cannot put into words the help the gave me and the thanks that I owe them.

 

Finally, May 31st everything was done. The house looked incredible! (I tried to upload some pictures, but it wouldn't let me) After a rough month without Ben, we decided that there was no point in me staying in UT just to wait for the house to sell. Ben flew in, and the family (with the help of Rod and a Uhaul) drove to Vancouver. While we were waiting for our house to sell, we decided to rent an apartment. Once our house is sold, we'll be in a better position to purchase a more permanent home.

 

After just a week of being on the market, Ben received a message from our realtor letting us know that our basement had flooded. It was a nightmare. Unfortunately, it would prove to be the least of our worries, but again, that will come later. We were so confused as to what had happened since everything had been checked and rechecked before we left. Things were great when the realtor took pictures for the listing a few days after we left. I am super grateful for my dear friend Terreye and for my father in law who immediately went over to check it out and attempt cleanup. Sadly, they estimated that the water had been slowly dripping for about a week, and it would require more than wet vacs and fans. It turns out that somehow the water softener, which we had never used and wasn't even hooked up all the way, had been turned on. After filling, since the hose was not connected to anything, water just ran out. Disaster cleanup came in and pulled up all of the carpet. Luckily, they were able to keep it. All of the padding had to be replaced, and a small section of water-damaged dry wall also had to be replaced. Not exactly the way we wanted our first showing to go (that's how the flood was discovered), but it was taken care of and could have been much worse.

 

And then comes the much worse...

 

 

It's Been Almost a Year?!

I cannot believe that it has been almost a year, and I haven't posted anything. And it's been a very eventful year too! This might have to be a long entry, but I'll try to give the condensed version of events.

I believe that the last post was in August, so I'll start with the next big event that comes to mind...that I can remember. That's Festival of Trees. Last year, I did two large trees. One was called Christmas Colors and was for Miles. It was decorated in oversized crayons and paintbrushes and was COVERED in glitter. That glitter was never completely deleted from my living room until we replaced the carpet. It was a time consuming and messy ordeal, but I think that the tree turned out so cute! Of course, my mother's help was invaluable.

I'm not sure why the picture is sideways, but all of them seem to be doing that on my computer lately. Sorry.

Tree number two was donated by the family in memory of my Grandpa Ray. We called it Deck the Hall w/Donuts. When we were younger, my grandpa worked for the company that did the bxes for Dunford Donuts. He used to always bring us a box when he's come and visit. I'm sure that this is where my love for donuts began. We thought it only appropriate to decorate a donut themed tree for him. Dunford was so helpful by donating several gift certificates for donuts and other baked goods to include with the tree. They were amazing to work with.

Again, sorry about the sideways picture. Hopefully, you get the idea.

 

We were happy to hear that both trees sold at auction. They actually both sold to the same buyer, which we found to be pretty ironic. It was totally by chance though.

 

We had a very eventful December, but sadly, it was not full of the kind of events that we would have liked to experience. On Dec. 14th, my sweet little niece, Amelia, passed away. She is Mike and Marinda's second daughter to be diagnosed and pass away from Trisomy 18. It was so heartbreaking, but I am grateful for the time that we got to spend with Mike, Marinda and the kids over the holiday, and I am grateful to know that Hope and Amelia are together, families are eternal and we can all be together again.

 

Miles had been sick the few days prior to Christmas. We'd thought of taking him in a couple of times, but he would always improve quickly soon after those thoughts. Christmas morning was cut short when Miles just didn't have the energy to open all of his presents. Ben took Conan and Phoebe out to visit family, and I stayed behind to tend to Miles fever. When Ben returned, we both decided that it was time to take Miles to the hospital. As usual, by the time we were seen, his breathing had improved, and his fever was down. I think we were about to be released when they checked him one more time. His fever had spiked, so they decided to keep him. Within several hours, he had been moved to the ICU and was on breathing assistance. He spent the entire Christmas break at Primary's, most of which was spent without food, on ventilation in the ICU. It was the longest and scariest stay in the hospital that we have had, and that includes his heart surgery. I have the days detailed in the notes section of my facebook page if anyone would like more information. Miles was released on New Year's Day. His diagnosis was complications from RSV. By the time he got home, both his little brother and baby sister were down with RSV and strep. It was a long, kind of unpleasant holiday. We're thankful for all the love and concern that was shown to us though. So many people were ready and willing to help with the kids and come and visit Miles. It was so appreciated!

 

Our next major event was a great one. In February, the family took our annual trip to Disneyland. The days were cut a little bit short due to torrential rain, but it was still so much fun! It was Phoebe's first trip (unless you count while I was pregnant, in which case it was technically her 3rd), and she loved it. The boys were crazy about everything, as always. Ben was grumpy, but it was just to play his part. He really loves Disneyland. And we were so happy to have Grandma Karri there with us part of the time. We always have more fun when there are more people to enjoy the festivities with. Plus, it is super nice to have an extra adult to help with the kids. One of my favorite memories from our trip was taking Miles to his first really fancy dinner. We decided to have him join Ben and I at Nappa Rose at the Grand Californian. He fell asleep within about 5 minutes of being seated. The wait staff was so cute about it.

I lied when I said that Festival of Trees was our first major event after August. I just need to keep more up to date on these things, so I don't forget anything. Toward the end of August Rod, Cathy and all the Jackson kids (and their kids) headed up to Park City for a mini vacation. Thanks to Cathy's fantastic connections, we stayed at the Marriott resort right there where all the fun stuff is. They kids had a blast going on the Alpine slides and playing with their cousins in the pool. We adults had an interesting time playing the "not so newlywed" game with other guests at the resort. It was a great way to end the summer!

We spent the beginning of September at Bear Lake with my family. My parents rented an amazing cabin, big enough to accommodate the ENTIRE family very comfortably. It had every convenience and amenity you could imagine. It even had slides connecting one floor to the other. We had and indoor playground, trampoline and basketball court. There was a pool table and game table. We had an x box room and even a full theater. It was amazing. We spent most of our time enjoying the cabin, but we did get out to play on the lake...and pick up some raspberry shakes.

 The past year, part 2 to come shortly.

 

A little lighter

I thought I'd add a little humor to my blog since I usually only post when something horrific has happened. I frequently post my conversations with Miles on facebook. He's a pretty hilarious little fellow....which is good because he's also suuuuuuuper naughty (that's why we're making him go to Catholic preschool--if anyone can whip him in to shape, it's them. ha. ha.). Sometimes I feel guilty that I don't post much about my sweet (and also naughty) little Conan, but there's a reason. I can't post conversations with Conan because Conan doesn't really converse. His vocabulary is ever growing though. I just thought I'd share it with you. This is the Conan Pronunciation Guide (you can call it CPG for short).

bottle=bahtoo
Yo Gabba Gabba=GABBY GABBY!!!!!!!
let's go=ee-koh
cookie=quickie
quiet=kwykee
toothpaste=psht
Phoebe=Beebee
baby=beebee
crying=a-kign
Mickey Mouse=Meekee
Minnie Mouse=Meemee
here you go=ah-go
goodnight=nigh-nigh
toothbrush=bush
Miles=Mighs
stove=uh-hot
bathtub=showee
water=wahtoo
milk=mook
iPad=iPad (he even includes the capital P)
hello=uhyoh
door-doy
stairs-shtees
pat-a-cake=(lifting both legs in the air)pee-kay
this little piggy=(sticking a foot in my face)pee-kay
fruit snack=nack
pacifier=pasthi
get dressed=dsht
sippy cup=sip-see
hair=heh

This is but a sampling. I'm sure that I will have more to add as I hear them.

Another One Bites the Dust--car that is

Well, we are officially a one car family. This is actually the first time since Be and I were married that we've only had one car. That's not to say that we haven't gone through a couple of cars, but with those, we'd had time to plan, save and purchase a replacement before getting rid of the previous. Not so much this time.

Even though it was almost 10 years old, our Intrepid had been a good car. We purchased it when it was already 6 years old, but it had low mileage and had been taken good care of, being used to transport visiting authorities for the church. Anyway, we're certainly not perfect in our upkeep, but we try to stay on top of oil changes and the such.

On Sunday, the car started reading hottish when Ben drove it to Zariah's baby blessing in Stockton, but it wasn't a huge deal. He drove my car to work on Monday and was off on Tuesday. The car seemed okay on Wednesday. He just wouldn't run the AC. Unfortunately, it did end up overheating right as he got off the freeway in SL. I went to meet him, and we were going to have the car towed back to Tooele to have our trusted mechanic look at it. The tow truck was about an hour out, and in the meantime, the car cooled down and started up okay. We decided to cancel the tow, and I'd just follow Ben back to Tooele. I got stuck at a light while still in SL, so I was left far behind Ben. I kept a watchful eye on the side of the road though in case he had to pull off. I never saw our car the entire drive back, so I figured he'd made it to Main Street Garage.

Just as I was about to pull in to the mechanic I got a call. It was a UHP officer requesting that I come pick up my husband. He said that his car had caught fire, but he was okay, and I needed to come get him. Fantastic! I didn't assume it was too big of a deal. We'd actually had a car catch fire before, but it was practically nothing, put itself out quickly, and after some work, was perfectly fine. Boy was I in for a surprise.

I headed back to I-80. The officer had told me that he was at the Great Salt Lake lookout, which was a relief to me because I'm always terrified about stopping on the side of the freeway. Just as I got to the freeway entrance, I saw a giant cloud of black smoke. "Oh please don't be my car!! Be some stupid lightning fire somewhere." A selfish thought, I know. A few miles down the freeway proved otherwise when I could make out a burnt up shell of a car on the other side.

A UHP officer met me at the entrance to the lookout, that had been blockaded, and let me through after a few questions. My favorite was, "Do you by chance have an insurance card? I don't think your husband is going to be able to find his." Ha. Ha. He certainly wouldn't have been able to. The contents of the car were completely burned. Even the seats were disintegrated. It's hard to tell in the photos, but if you look hard, you can see that all that is left of the driver's seat is some fluff that had fallen into the back.

Ben was obviously very shaken, but this was his account of what happened....not in his exact words, but you'll get the idea. He was driving home and was quite a bit ahead of me. Even though the car wasn't registering hot, he noticed a little smoke coming out of the hood, so he pulled off at the lookout. He was still in the car and saw a trucker pull in behind him waving his cell phone. Ben said something like "Thanks, it would be great if I could use your phone. I need to call my wife." The response, "Why would you call your wife? You need to get out of your car right now. It's on fire. You need to call 911." Ben hopped out of the car, the smoke turned black and KABOOM! Fiery inferno!

This is a picture that a UHP officer took with his phone and emailed to Ben. Ben said that it was incredible how quickly the entire car was engulfed in flames. He said it was terrifying but kind of cool when the tires exploded and when the air bag exploded and when the can of febreeze that was sitting in the car exploded. The car was in flames for at least a good 20-25 minutes. I had time to get almost home and back to the lookout, and the last of the flames were just barely going out when I got there. Ben said that the fire was incredible, and you can see how black the smoke is. I could see the giant smoke plumes with no problem from a good 10 miles aways and would have seen them from much further if I would've been paying attention and looked up.

All in all, not a great day. Obviously, Ben missed the day of work, our car exploded, we only had liability on it, so no sort of reimbursement, and there's a chance that we could be held liable for road damage. Despite all of the crappiness, we were definitely blessed. Things worked out with Ben's training, so it wasn't a disaster that he wasn't at work. We were lucky enough to have an observant trucker following Ben that got him out of the car just in time. Without even thinking of a reason why, I had told Miles no when he asked if he could ride home with daddy, an enormous blessing since I know that there wouldn't have been time to get a child out of a car seat. Things could have been so much worse, and I know that we were being looked out for. Sure, we're down a car and are not currently in a position to  replace it, so that really sucks, but everyone is safe. And I really think that things will be okay. It's looking like Ben will hopefully be able to change shifts, based on the circumstances, so that the car will be home to take Miles to and from school and to get to and from church. And we'll just take other things as they come up. Bad things happen (seems like pretty frequently at the Jackson residence), but life is good, and we've been able to get through everything so far. I don't think that this challenge will be any different.

The Newest Jackson

I should have posted something while we were in the hospital, but I guess I forgot I had a blogg. We finally had our little girl on Tuesday (5/8) Her name is Phoebe Veralyn Jackson. She was born at 4:09pm and was 5 lbs 14 oz., 19" long. Everything went really smoothly for both baby and mommy.

I was blessed with an OBGYN that, like me, prefers the convenience of a scheduled delivery as opposed to being woken up in the middle of the night with a surprise, so I was able to be induced a little less than a week prior to my due date. Worked out really great for me because one of my biggest fears was the possibility of going into labor naturally, having to try to get a hold of Ben at work, wait 45 mins. for him to come home only to have to drive for another hour to get to the hospital. I've heard too many delivery on the freeway nightmare stories, so I appreciated being induced a little early.

I headed into the hospital at 11:00am. After about 20 minutes of admissions and paperwork, I was given the iv of petosin. Maybe a half hour later, Dr. Tanner came in to break my water. This may be (probably is) more than anyone wants to know, but I thought it was kind of interesting. They usually use a thin hooked device to break waters. I was induced with both of my boys, and that's how it was done, with no problem. This time it just wasn't happening, and he ended up having to use a scalpel, and that even took some effort.

We just hung out for an hour or so. I think I watched some "Swamp People". I was feeling quite a bit of pain, so I asked for the epidural pretty early. That was Ben's favorite part. I kind of wish that there were a mirror or something behind me, so I could see what was going on because it sounds pretty cool. I'm sure it would hurt a lot more if I saw it though. I could tell that things weren't going normal with this epidural because it was taking a pretty long time, and I could feel several "pops", and I think there is usually only one. When I thought that it was finished, the doctor administering it said nervously, "Sometimes when you get an epidural, the needle hits a pocket of fat or a blood vessel and has to be redone. It looks like I've hit a blood vessel, so I'll have to redo it. The good news is about 75% of it is okay, so this shouldn't take long". I didn't really care because I couldn't really feel it anyway, but Ben said that when he put the catheter in, blood started spurting out of my back like I sprung a leak. I think I would have liked to see that.

It wasn't too long before, even with the epidural, the contractions got pretty painful. This was a new experience for me because I really felt almost nothing at all with the boys. The nurse came in to check me, and in less than an hour I'd gone from a 2 1/2 to a 9 1/2. This was about a seven hour process with the boys. The nurse had me do a practice push, and when I did, baby's heartrate dropped drastically, so she told me to stop pushing. She suspected the cord may be around the neck a little bit, but she was fine as long as I wasn't pushing, and I was on oxygen. Dr. Tanner came down and must have fixed the problem right away because he had me start pushing again. After the second push, he told me to look down. I said "gross" and told him that I didn't want to see anything, and he again, a little annoyed, told me to look down. I looked down, and he was holding a baby. Weird. Two pushes. I didn't even know that she was out. She was so little, tiny headed, and didn't look anything like the boys. I think that Dr. Tanner may have just smuggled a baby in with him, and I'm actually still pregnant.

Luckily, we started seeing some of Miles in her mouth and some of me in her nose and a whole lot of Conan in her mannerisms, so I'm pretty sure she's ours. She's just so tiny! And her head is not a giant globe (I suspect the reason for the quick delivery). Everything looked good with her, and we got to spend most of the two days in the hospital with her in the room. With the exception of the regular blood sugar testing (that returned to normal by the time we were discharged), and a couple of hours I asked them to take her to the nursery, so I could sleep, she was always with us. Good practice for real life.

Now, we're home and trying to get adjusted to life with 3 kids. The boys love her, but we have to keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't accidentally jump on her while she's laying on the bed or to avoid Conan trying to carry her by her head. I think this will be our challenge. I'm glad that they like her and aren't too jealous as of yet.

P.S. This is a very old post that I just never actually posted. Sorry. I will try to be more diligent. Also, remember when looking at that lovely family picture that I had just birthed out a baby. Certainly not my lovliest picture, but those babies sure are cute.

Miles had his annual cardiology appointment today. I didn't have too many concerns. This year hasn't been terribly eventful, well not too much out of the usual anyway. He still has asthma exacerbation's all the time, and he still typically gets pneumonia one or more times a month, but that was all going on prior to his last visit. And in the past year, he's only been hospitalized once (I think).

The paperwork today asked if there were any new symptoms. I did have two. Over the past couple of months, Miles has been vomiting on a pretty regular basis, maybe 3 or 4 times a week, for no particular reason. He has had reflux issues in the past, but that was always preceded by coughing. Now, it's just out of the blue. Number two, there have been a few times, also in the past couple of months, where Miles has come to me complaining that he needed a treatment. There weren't any signs of respiratory distress, so I'd tell him no he didn't. You see, because Miles has been taking so much medicine for so long, he's actually likes it, so I thought he just "wanted" a treatment. After some insistence on his part, though, I'd take his oxygen levels and find them in the low to mid '80s. Very strange since there wasn't wheezing or retracting, so I was curious about that.

As I suspected, the appointment did go very well. Dr. Puchalski said that Miles's mitral valve sounded great. That is kind of the biggest concern of his problems. Last year, there was some worry that the reason for all of the respiratory problems and clouding in Miles's lungs was because of mitral valve stenosis. The mitral valve can become hardened and move as it should, and it can allow blood to pool in the chamber or leak into the lung. Even though, Dr. Puchalski couldn't hear anything that pointed in that direction, last year, he ordered an echo to check it out because a separate condition just seemed too unlikely. As he put it, lightening did strike twice, and the respiratory issues were not heart related. In fact, he thought that the mitral valve actually looked healthier than it had when Miles was first diagnosed, which is almost impossible, improvement, I mean. Anyway, mitral valve still sounded great.

He did hear some leaking from the aortic valve. The typical heart has a tricuspid aortic valve (with three leaflets). In many Shone's kids, the aortic valve is only bicuspid. This is the case with Miles. I believe it's a relatively common issue, and usually doesn't cause problems, but the valve can become narrow and restrict blood flow, or can become leaky, as is the case with Miles. It still isn't anything to cause too much worry at this point. It just has to monitored (with only a yearly check-up unless something worsens), but I was told that it would have to be monitored for the rest of his life. I'm not sure why, but I just thought it was a little funny that the doctor added that last part.

Dr. Puchalski did address my concerns, but really didn't have any super helpful answers. He seemed a little perplexed by both issues. He didn't think that the vomiting would have any relation to his heart problems, but he did think that it would be a good idea to visit a GI specialist since it is such a frequent problem. I didn't really think that this was a result of Shone's, but since I'm certainly not an expert, I'm going to bring up any weird thing that happens. I think that this could just be the result of genetics. Ben has a real issue with throwing up too, so the males in this family may just have very weak stomachs. Dr. Puchalski did suggest something that I found a little interesting though. He said that there is a disease (not a serious disease) where people just throw up a lot. He told me the name, and it was something super hilarious that sounds made up, but I can't remember it. That's part of the reason that he thought that it may be advantageous to see a GI specialist.

As far as the mysterious low oxygen levels go, Dr. Puchalski didn't have a real explanation for that either. He said that it was very strange for that to happen without obvious signs, but he also said that Miles compensates very well. We know that by the fact that he wasn't diagnosed with Shone's until he was one. It's usually diagnosed in utero. By the time he was diagnosed, his coarc was so bad, that it required surgery within weeks. I saw the portion of his aorta that was removed. There was even a pinhole left. The surgeon seemed a little shocked but also excited to show us what Miles had overcome. Without any major blood canal to his extremities, Miles still did not have any obvious symptoms. Most kids would have had swollen hands and feet and blue fingers and toes. Not Miles though. His lesser passageways must have taken control and compensated for the practically useless aorta. Pretty amazing how the body can do that. He did give some recommendations for additional things to watch for. He said that even if I was not seeing bluing around Miles's lips, to check the inside of his mouth. When oxygen levels are particularly low, the interior part of the lips will almost always blue. He also told me to be aware of the color of his lower nail beds. They will usually get a bluish tint as well.

Anyhow, I was assured that this, too, was strictly a respiratory issue, not a cardiac one. He told me that the only reason something like that would happen from a cardiac stance would be if blue blood was mixing with red blood, and right now, that is not happening. It's nice--well, kind of--to know definitively, that the respiratory problems are a separate issue. I say kind of because it would also be really nice to have an explanation because we still know that it's not all asthma. I suppose we'll just continue to see a million different doctors for a million different issues. Right now, Miles has his regular pediatrician, his cardiologist, his pulmonologist, his allergist, he sees a respiratory therapist pretty regularly (although it's not the same person each time), and now, I guess we get to add a GI specialist. You know, many Shone's patients also have neurology and ADHD problems, so maybe down the road, we'll get to add a few more.

Back to the usual, blogging because of a hospital visit. This one wasn't the usual visit though.

Last night, Miles and I were downstairs watching Ben play his new video game (the new Uncharted game is really cool). Conan was already up in bed since it was probably close to 9:00pm. Ben started complaining that a couple of sunflower seeds he had eaten were giving him really bad heart burn. I thought it was really funny because he had literally only eaten maybe five seeds. Apparently, they give him heart burn though. He went upstairs to get some antacids, and Miles and I waited and waited for him to come back down. A few minutes later, from the basement, we could hear Ben vomiting violently in the bathroom upstairs. That lasted for a good ten minutes. Ben's always had a pretty weak stomach, so i didn't think too much of it, although it did last a lot longer than normally. A few minutes later, I heard some screaming, then Ben yelled for me. I ran upstairs and found him writhing on the floor in the entryway. I asked if he wanted to go to the hospital, and he told me to give him a half hour. He only lasted about 5 minutes though.

We all threw some clothes on since we'd already gotten ready for bed. I called Alex to see if I could drop the kids off, and he quickly answered that he was at the Gateway, but he was on the way home. He said that he would call as soon as he got home. I was so grateful that they were willing to take them even though they weren't at home....and especially because I didn't think about it at the time, but it was Jenn's birthday. Man, I'm a jerk. Anyway, I loaded the kids in the car, and Ben hobbled out. He was definitely in pain when we left, but he seemed okay enough to just take him to Urgent Care. As we drove down Main Street it just got worse and worse though. Every minute or so, he'd clench his chest and scream for about 30 seconds. It got to the point where he was instructing me to run red lights, and obviously, we went straight to the ER.

In all the chaos, I had set my phone down by my purse after talking to Alex and left it at the house. I was a little concerned because how was I supposed to arrange babies without being able to get a hold of him? Whoops! Luckily, I have great in-laws that didn't even go home before coming to the ER. Not long after taking the kids into the waiting area, I saw their van pull up in front of the doors. I don't even know how they got there so fast. Thank you so much Alex and Jenn! You guys are the best!

Not too much happened at the hospital. They gave him morphine, and that really seemed to calm Ben down (and make him a little silly). They did an EKG, x-ray, and a ct, along with blood work. Nothing showed anything terribly telling. I guess one of his kidneys is a little small, but that wouldn't have caused these problems. They narrowed it down to gall bladder problems and/or ulcers, but they ultimately sent us home and told us to come back if it came back. Not super helpful. Although, I'm very glad that it wasn't a heart issue, it would have been so nice to have some sort of answer.

Ben hasn't had any more of those "episodes" since we got back from the hospital, but he did say that he felt like his chest had been run over by a dump truck. Today, he followed up with his regular doctor. I stayed home with the kids, so I honestly don't know what happened. I was asleep when he got home, and he was asleep, and still is, when I woke up. I did gather that he was referred to a gi specialist, and he was given nexium. I'm pretty anxious for Ben to go to a specialist because I've thought that he has ulcers for a long time. I'd definitely like to get it all under control. Our family has enough medical issues as is.