Day +349: Sunshine, Surgery & Snuggles

It's day +349 for Max and all is well. Max continues to do well and gain more and more energy everyday. I can tell that he is feeling better and better because he is more and more bored around here! The two definitely go hand in hand...the better he is feeling, the more trouble he tends to get in! Always a good thing, though, to have him feeling more like himself all the time, even if he is more mischieveous.

We head down to the Day Hospital on Friday morning for his regular monthly visit and medication infusions. The last time we were there for our regular visit, we talked about the possibility of March being the last time that Max would have to get the two meds (one IV and the other through a breathing treatment) that he has been getting each month. That would obviously be wonderful as it would mean that Max would not have to get an IV at these monthly visits! They would still want blood samples to check his levels, etc but, not having to have an IV would be fantastic! We'll be sure to update sometime after the visit to let you know if that will be the case going forward for Maxer.

The kids and I have been enjoying every minute of the warmer spring weather we have begun having here in Cincy. The pictures at the top of the post were taken last week when it got up into the 60s for a few days. The boys are up to their old tricks outside - ramping with their buddies Jack and Joey from up the street. It's so great to see them doing this again and enjoying fun with kids their ages! Ellee loved the nice weather too and had a little picnic on her blanket while she watched the boys scootering.

Beyond that, we are gearing up around here for Matt to have his gallbladder removed tomorrow. His surgery will be at 7:30 am tomorrow morning so, he and I will be heading to yet another hospital tomorrow at 6:00 am. If all goes smoothly, which I'm sure it will, we should be home here tomorrow afternoon - it is an outpatient surgery. Matt will be sore and tired for a few days at least and will be off of work for a week. But, we are both glad to be getting rid of the problem in his gut and hope that this surgery will eliminate future GI issues for him. We are holding our breath that things will go smoothly as Matt needs to be healed up enough for his sister Sarah's wedding in just 12 days from now! The doc assured him that he would be so, we are trusting and keeping the faith that he'll be ready.

We had a real bright spot shine into our lives last Friday morning... my sister, Kim, had a baby boy, Carter Douglas! He wasn't expected until this Friday (the 19th) when she had a c-section scheduled but, he was ready last Friday and is a healthy little guy. I got to go down to the hospital on Saturday morning to meet him and visit with my sister and her husband for awhile. It was such a joy to hold a teeny baby again and to just relish in the miracle of life. I enjoyed just snuggling with him, smelling him and watching his precious expressions. I said to Kim at one point that it is just amazing to realize that this little tiny thing is a human! We are thrilled to have the opportunity to enjoy a newborn again with my sister and her family and look forward to seeing him again soon. The kids can't wait to meet Cousin Carter either!

That's it for today...going to keep it short and sweet. I'll post more tomorrow or Wednesday to let you all know how Matt is doing. Thanks for your continued thoughts, prayers, love and support.

Peace and love,

Kristi (and Matt, Max, Alex, Ellee and Spud)