Family Health Update!

I haven't done a health update in awhile, so I thought I'd let everyone know what's going on with everyone.

KANAAN:

KIDNEY: Kanaan's kidneys are stable. We have switched to a new nephrologist. The "new" one that we had after Dr. Seifert left, was really pushing the Human Growth Hormone injections. Andy and I just really didn't feel comfortable doing them, especially as Kanaan is still growing, he's just short. Neither one of us come from super tall families anyway and there are a lot worse things in life than being short. We also felt, like he didn't really listen to us, and we just felt like we couldn't trust him 100%. When your child's life is in a doctor's hands you need to be able to trust him 110% and we just couldn't. We were able to switch to another Dr. in the same group there at STL Children's hospital,  Dr. Hmiel. We met with him in August, and loved him. He was great with Kanaan and even gave his Sesame street characters a checkup too. He agreed that Kanaan didn't need the Growth hormone injections and was also fine with having our pediatrician (who used to be a pediatric nephrologist) checking up on Kanaan's kidneys in between visits to him. So instead of us having to travel to STL every 3 months, we can go to STL every 6 months, and see Dr. Collins in Quincy at the 3 month mark in between STL appointments. We go back to STL to see Dr. Hmiel in September. Kanaan's labs looked good. His creatinine was stable, his phosphorus was low enough that we were able to discontinue the medicine he was on, and the other labs looked good too.
NEUROLOGY: Kanaan met with the neurologist a year ago in August. They said they didn't see anything that would indicate why Kanaan wasn't walking much at that point. He started walking right before we went to that appointment and they said if he hadn't been walking at that point they would have wanted to do an MRI, but they didn't see any other signs or risk factors for other problems going on, so they said it was our call if we wanted to do one. We decided not to, it wouldn't have changed the care for him, it just may have given an answer as to why he walked later, but may not have as well. We didn't want to have to put him through all of that if it weren't necessary, and since it wouldn't change anything if he did do it. We didn't do it.We went back in August to see them again. Once you see Neurology, you have to follow up with them once a year. This year at his appointment, the Neurologist said that they thought Kanaan may have something called "Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome" Which is a condition where the connective tissue is super flexible, it can cause problems with joints and the heart. They scheduled an appointment for us to meet to a genetics specialist, to determine
if they thought he had it as well.
GENETICS: We met with the Genetics Dr in October. Our pediatrician said she didn't think Kanaan had Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, because it would be extremely rare for him to have 2 different, unrelated conditions. They Genetics doctor, looked over Kanaan and asked lots of questions regarding our medical history and Kanaan's pregnancy. She said she didn't believe that he had Ehlers-Danlos. He is super flexible in the joints and skin, but wasn't exhibiting any other symptoms, and we have no family history of it. She did say that they don't usually diagnose someone that young with EDS anyway, and we didn't need to go back to her unless other symptoms popped up or if we suspected Kanaan's kidney disease to be hereditary.
ORTHOPEDICS: Kanaan also met with the orthopedic doctor last winter at the beginning of the year as a follow up on his SMO braces. At that time he had been wearing them for about 6 months. They decided that he didn't need to have his SMO's anymore and instead has a shoe insert to put into his shoes. When we went back in August to see the Neurologist, they trimmed up the inserts a bit for us to fit in more of his shoes since we were at Shriner's anyway. We don't have to go back to see the Ortho until January.
CARDIOLOGY: At Kanaan's 3 year checkup his pediatrician heard a heart murmur, so she scheduled an Echo to be done to look into it. Normally it wouldn't be a concern, but since they were questioning the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, she decided to go ahead and have the echo done to have results for the genetics appointment. The test showed that Kanaan's Aorta is mildly dilated. The pediatrician said she has patients with it that do have connective tissue disorders (like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) and some that have this that don't have any tissue disorders either. We met with the Cardiologist Dr. Nicolas. He is from STL and Springfield and comes to Quincy once a month. When the nurse called to tell me the results she mentioned that usually for the first appointment you have to go to either STL or Springfield, but then can follow up at Quincy, simply because it's hard to get you in as soon as they need to see you in Quincy. Well when the cardiologist office called to let us know our appointment time, they had scheduled us in Quincy for mid November. Kanaan's echo test was done the very beginning of October. We met with Dr. Nicolas and he said that since Kanaan isn't showing any other symptoms or effects of the dilated aorta that we can just do another echo in 6 months. If it were still dilated then we may start a medication. He said it's something he could grow out of, but also he said not to rule out the Ehlers-Danlos completely, because a lot of the symptoms don't show up this young as well. He didn't seem too concerned about it since Kanaan is doing well and it doesn't seem to be bothering his daily life.
EAR/NOSE/THROAT: Kanaan had tubes put into his ears in May. He had several several ear infections last year and because of his kidneys, he has to have a lower dose of antibiotics to clear it up, which often is not sufficient to clear it up and we have to switch to a different one to try to clear up the infection. Antibiotics are hard on the kidneys, and Kanaan always spikes a fever and that also makes us worry about dehydration which can be detrimental to his kidneys. With the tubes if he were to get an ear infection we could put drops in his ears to treat it instead of antibiotics. The drops aren't filtered through his kidneys like the antibiotics would be so it would be easier on his kidneys to have the tubes. Tubes in his ears won't necessarily prevent him from getting ear infections, but it would be easier to treat once he did get them. His hearing tests came back fine, before the tubes, and the main reason we decided to go ahead with them was because of his kidneys and how hard ear infections are on his body. Since he's had the tubes put in in May, he hasn't had any ear infections at all. I'm not exactly sure off the top of my head, but I think this may have been the longest he's ever gone in his life without one. We still haven't had our followup from the tubes. He goes to a doctor in STL because of his kidneys and needing anesthesia, they wanted him to see a pediatric ENT instead of one here that doesn't specialize in kids. We've tried to schedule our follow up when we are already going to be in STL and it hasn't worked out yet. Which is why we haven't had our follow up. I'm not really worried about since, he hasn't had any infections since the surgery, and he passed the hearing test before the surgery, so I don't anticipate him not passing after the surgery. We have some other St. Louis appointments coming up so I am going to try to schedule a follow up when we are already going there.

I think that is all of Kanaan's specialists we see. He's battling some Croup now, but otherwise is doing good.

ANDY: In February Andy was hospitalized. We originally thought it was his gallbladder, but it turned out that his liver was inflamed, and his kidney function was at Stage 3. His liver function ended up returning to normal, and they determined he must have had some type of virus that attacked his liver. His kidney function, however, has not returned to normal. He had a biopsy in October, and that showed that his kidney disease is caused by sleep apnea and extra weight. He is working on losing weight, and had a home sleep study. The study did show that he has sleep apnea and will be getting a cpap machine soon to help with that. Hopefully this will keep his kidneys from getting worse, and maybe even improve some. We aren't sure if Andy's kidney disease is connected to his mom's kidney disease or not. If it is they said it is likely not connected to Kanaan's kidney disease, because Kanaan's kidneys were never normal, and Andy and his mom's kidneys were normal and then started to fail/failed. Which could end up affecting Eden even though her kidneys are completely normal right now. Hopefully her kidneys will never have an issue. Also this means that Andy cannot donate his kidney to Kanaan when he needs a transplant. On October 27th, Andy broke his ankle and foot. He fell on our front steps and broke a bone in the ankle and one on the side of his foot as well. He has been in a cast since November 1st. It is his right foot so he can't drive which has made things more complicated, as I have to drive him to appointments/work/home etc. He goes back to hopefully have his cast taken off tomorrow and they said he would have a walking boot for awhile after that. I'll be so glad when he is able to walk around again. I've been doing all the housework, childcare, and driving. Shuffling him and the kids around while trying to work 2 jobs and get everything done at home and everyone to all of their doctor appointments is a lot, I'm exhausted.

BRITTANY: Over all I am doing well. I did have to have my gallbladder removed in July, but since that has been done, I haven't had any trouble with that. I do have pre-diabetes, which was expected since Mom had type 2 diabetes and I had gestational diabetes with the kids. I'm on a low dose medication to help keep my blood sugar down, but otherwise am doing fine.

EDEN: Eden has a little cold right now, but otherwise is really healthy. She is rarely sick, and if she does get sick, she usually is fast to recover and doesn't seem to get it as severe as Kanaan does.

Christmas Photo Dump

We had 7 family Christmases this year. The Stremmel's (my Mom's Mom's family), The King's (Andy's Dad's family), The Brown's (My mom's family), The Ancell's (Andy's Mom's family), The Prior's(My Dad's family), Andy's Parent's and Sister, and Our own little family Christmas. We've done this every year since we've been married, and frankly it's exhausting, and the house is a disaster by the time we've been to every place. However, it's so nice to spend time with our families and the kids have so much fun. I know there will be a time when we only have a few christmases to go to and we'll miss the crazy busyness that we have now. 

This was Andy and my Christmas present to ourselves. Andy hit a deer and totaled his vehicle, so we got this as a replacement. 

2012 Recap

Wow what a year of changes! Last year at this time I would never have dreamed I'd be where I am today, but I wouldn't change it for anything.

JANUARY

• Dumped by the 2nd guy I'd been talking to in two weeks.
• Decided I wasn't looking anymore. 
• Concentrated on improving myself. 

FEBRUARY

• Told by 3 different people to join Christian Mingle within a week or so. 
• Saw Christian Mingle commercial and decided to give it a try, even though I was pretty sure it would be a waste of time. 
• Met Andy the night I joined and instantly hit it off. 
• We started dating the next week.

MARCH

• Sprained my ankle when Andrew and I went to St. Louis to a Boyce Avenue Concert. 

APRIL

• Started My Fitness Pal
• Drank my last soda on April 9

MAY

• Lost my job at Robert Morris University
• Grandma's 80th Birthday Party
• Dog sitting Duke while Grandma had her Kidney Removed

JUNE

• Started temporary job at Blue Cross Blue Sheild

JULY

• Got engaged!!!!!
• Quit working at Carthage Public Library

AUGUST

• Job at BCBS ended
• First Bridal shower. (Andrew's Family)
• Started working at Gem City Chiropractic

SEPTEMBER

• Second bridal shower. (My family and friends)
• Third bridal shower (My church family)
• I turned 27! (the same age as my mom when she married my dad)
• Got MARRIED!!!

OCTOBER

• Andy turns 32!

NOVEMBER

• Our First Thanksgiving as a couple.

DECEMBER

• Our First Christmas as a couple

Halloween 2012

This year for Halloween Pogo was a giraffe. His favorite toy is a tiny yellow giraffe named "Jeffers", so when I saw the giraffe costume at Petco I had to buy it. It was a little big for him and he didn't like to wear the hood. When he had the hood on he couldn't see forward only down. We were in the kitchen and he had the hood down and ended up walking right into Andrew's leg. It was so funny. We laughed and laughed. Now on to the pictures.

Catching Up plus BIG NEWS!

I have been a terrible blogger lately. Here is a quick recap of what's been happening in my life.

• May 4th, I was let go from Robert Morris University because of cutbacks
• On June 25th I started a temporary job at Blue Cross Blue Shield answering phone calls dealing with MLR it has to do with the Obamacare decision. The job only lasts until August 24th or maybe sooner as the project is not generating the expected response.
• July 3rd, Andrew proposed! We are engaged!!!! The wedding date is September 22nd! Engagement story to follow.
• July 4th, told our families.
• July 6th, I found my wedding dress. 
• July 7th, pool party at Aunt Stacey's 

That's a really quick recap to catch you up on the major happenings in my life. I will try to update more frequently but can't promise anything.

Date Night!!!

A few weeks ago, my sweetie Andrew and I went on a date night. We went to the mini golf/putt putt golf course in Quincy. It was so much fun, and when we got there we found out that during the summer if you have your max card (from the County Market grocery store) you can get $2 off on putt putt. The price is regularly $5/person which is a pretty good price anyway, but we were able to play for $6 for both of us! It was a beautiful night and we got there at just the right time before a huge crowd hit. 

Our Score Card. I WON!!!! Andrew was only 1 point behind though!

About to Putt!

Having Fun!

Looking Good!

Hole in ONE!

Concentrating hard

Stray Ball!

2 Month Anniversary!

Today is Andrew and my 2 month anniversary. I thought it was the perfect time to share with you how we met.

I had been on eHarmony for a little over 3 years. I met someone right away and it ended up being a bad relationship, we broke up about a year later. Over the next two years I talked to a few guys here and there, but never actually met someone. Right before Christmas I started talking to a guy and met him for supper. Things were going well or so I thought until a few days before Christmas when he emailed and told me it wouldn't work out. About a week later another guy and I started talking and made plans to meet up. Everything was going well, then a few days before our date, he called and said it wasn't going to work out. I was pretty upset, this was the second time this had happened in 2 weeks! I decided then that I wasn't looking for anyone else and really wasn't interested in finding anybody.

My sister had convinced me to join christianmingle in early December. I hadn't really done anything at all with it. I got the emails everyday saying "here are your new matches" but I just deleted them. I wasn't really interested at all in finding anyone. One week in late January/early February christianmingle was mentioned to me by 3 different people (who didn't know I was on it), then I saw a commercial about it too. I thought "maybe someone is trying to tell me something" I decided to log on and see what it was about it.

I searched my matches and came across a few profiles I liked. I sent "smiles" which is like a hi to a few guys. One of them being Andrew. I also decided to go ahead and subscribe for a month, but didn't really expect anything to happen because of it. Later that night I got a christianmingle message from Andrew asking if I'd like to chat(IM) on christian mingle. We started chatting and 3 hours later realized we both only had a few hours to sleep before church, so we exchanged numbers and went to bed. The next day we spent the day texting each other and then finally talked on the phone that night. We ended up talking for another 3 hours. We continued to text and talk throughout the week and met the next Friday night. We hit it off immediately. Neither of us were even nervous on our date because we felt like we already knew each other. We were both about ready to give up on finding anyone and feel incredibly blessed that God brought each other into our lives. In the past two months we've gotten to know and love each other and our families. If I could create my perfect match, I wouldn't be able to make as good a match for me as Andrew is.

This is our first picture together, taken at our Valentine's Day celebration.

Sometimes the best things in life come when you least expect them!

Catching Up

Wow it has almost been a month since I've blogged! Where has the time gone? Here's what's happened since we last talked. 

• I have a new boyfriend Andrew! We met in February right before valentine's day! Details to come. 
• Andrew and I went to a concert in St. Louis in mid March right around our 1 month anniversary, pics coming. 
• We were able to stay with Kayla! It was fun to spend time with her even though it was very short. 
• I sprained my ankle a few hours before the concert. We almost didn't go but I'm glad we did.
• I have a few more recipes to post soon. 
• I have slacked off on the weekly habits so I will do 2 habits per week until I'm caught up. 

I think that about sums it up. I will try to stay on top of things better now.