my last blog

I'll going to stop posting on this blog. I originally started this blog so the kids won't see pictures that would upset them and for anyone who didn't want to see the pictures of him in the hospital, but now he's looking so good I don't think it's an issue. So if you still want updates just go to www.growinguptexans.blogspot.com

as you can see he got his helmet.

Lost in the mail

jackson was supposed to get his helmet on thursday, but we were rescheduled for friday. friday morning while i was getting ready to go to his appointment, i got a call from the prostetic place saying that ups had lost his helmet and that they'd call us when they find it or get a new one. i'm a little worried because the older he gets the less it will work. i'm sure a week won't hurt anything. however if everything would have gone as plan he would have already been wearing it for a six week now.

Jackson is doing great. I just wanted everyone to see how well his head is healing.

all the kings horses and all the king men couldn't put jackson together again but dr. hollier could

I have a better understanding of the surgery now. We went to Jackson post-op with his surgeon. He explained that they took off the left-front quarter of his skull and then later had to take off the right-front side of his skull to do everything they wanted to. We asked him how many plates and screws were in his head and the doctor said "a ton (pause) a ton." They broke his skull into a lot of little pieces and then shaped it the way they wanted. To get the pieces to stay that way, they had to piece them together with plates and screws. If you look closely at the baby's head you can see ridges where there are probably plates. It will take a full year or year and a half for the plates and screws to dissolve completely, but the docotor said that they have already begun to dissolve. This will allow the helmet to work easier.

Makayla and Jackson (long lost siblings reunited)

Long Lost Siblings Reunited

As you can see Makayla and Jackson have reunited, thanks to Jackson's inablity to get his hoody off.

Today is the second day of hoody sweatshirts. I think Jackson is getting really sick of them. For now it's working real well.

brother jackson in the hood

These pictures of him with Jeremy were taken last night. He's been in such a good mood.

You can see that the helmet that he'll wear will have to fix a few more things, but they did such a good job.

We tried putting a hat on Jackson, so Makayla would be around him, but he kept taking them off. This evening I put a hoody sweatshirt on him (one that bailey lent me) and he keeps the hood on, so now makayla will be around him. So he maybe wearing a zip up hoody everyday. Good thing Bailey lent us two of them.

Texas Children's Hospital

Everyone at the hospital was so amazing and helpful. What a great hospital.

We're home now and the baby looks so good. I have new picture from last night. I'll have to take some today so you can see how great he looks.

Makayla's having a real hard time with the baby. She is terrified of his stiches. She won't be in the same room unless she's covering her eyes and we're holding her. Today Jeremy went into work late so I could take Makayla to school (without the baby). After school a friend is bring her home, but she's going to have to give a little. She keeps locking me out of rooms and screaming if anyone comes close to her (just in case we're holding the baby)

We don't know what to do?

Jackson hit his head pretty hard on the corner of our computer armoire. It was less than an hour after we got home. His stichs were bleeding. I realized how hard it was going to be to keep him from getting hurt. Plus Isaac accidentally got him a few times. So, I'm borrowing a playpen from a friend so he can play in it without Isaac tackling him or hurting himself. I've been putting him in his hi-chair a lot and feeding him crackers to keep him safe also. I'll probably be a little over protective for a few days. The doctor told us not to worry that his stitches were not coming out, but better safe than sorry.

He's such a champ. I've given him pain meds once or twice but not a lot. He seems to be fine. It's amazing that he could have a surgery like this and not need pain medication for a month.

Jackson the world strongest baby

The day before we went home one of jackson's IV's backed up. His whole arm, shoulder, peck, and back on his leftside swelled up so bad. He looked like a muscle man on that side. It totally shocked me but the nurses said it was no big deal. By the next day it was all gone.

Ronald McDonald Rocks!

While we were in ICU there are no beds, bathrooms, or even recliners in the rooms. So Jeremy and I had to take shifts. In the waiting room there were about 25 reclining chairs that you could sleep in whenever. But there were no showers.

The greatest thing ever was the Ronald McDonald House. It was in the Hospital. I was like a nice hotel. There were 25 rooms first come first serve. Your child had to be in one of the ICU units to stay there. They were free. You could sign up for a nap time during the day 1 to 5 and then overnight 7 to 11. You had to leave after your time and sign up for the next time slot after it started (first come first serve) So you couldn't just stay in the same room for three days straight. It was to make sure in wasn't just sitting with no one in it and so it could be availible for those who could use it and needed it at that time. They had a kitchen with food and washer and dryers so you could do laundry. They even had computers available. But the firewalls won't let me use my e-mail because it's a Yahoo account or use my blogs. We stayed there two naptimes and one night (I think) It was so great to be able to shower and take turns sleeping.

Once we left the ICU, our room had a hide-a-bed and a bathroom. He was supposed to stay a week but was able to leave two days early because he was doing so well.

Dad gave me a brain freeze

Jackson's Mellon

Jackson's surgery was on Friday, December 29, 2006. We showed up to Texas Children's Hospital at 5:45 and Jackson left our side to go to the surgery room at 7:30. We were told that the surgery would take about 4 or 5 hours, however it only took 3 hours. The surgeon told us that his case was more difficult and more severe than he thought it would be. I don't know what he meant by that.

We stayed in recovery for about 4 or 5 hours, because they didn't have a room ready. We were suppose to only be in recovery a half hour, but it wasn't a big deal. While we were there both the plastic surgeon, Nuero surgeon, and optimologistl came in to check on him. They were a little worried at first because he could shut his right eye but it's fine now.

After recovery, we went to pediatric intensive Care Unit (PICU) For the first 5 or 6 hours they couldn't figure out how to manage his pain. It was kind of frustrating. They would give him a dose of morphine that was suppose to last 7 hours and it would barely last 20 minutes (at the most). So they would keep trying new things but it would never last long. They were afraid to give him too much because he's so young they were worried that he would stop breathing. So at about 8pm they started a small continuous drip of morphine into his IV. And then every 15 minutes we could give him more, if he was fussing (from pain) It worked and he did very well after that.

I will post more pictures and stuff later.