Day 14

My computer came back from Toshiba!!!! I am excited to have it back, sad to lose all my stuff I had on it. I'll get to blog now in longer paragraphs!!

Day 13

Meetings!!!!!! Lots and lots of meetings today, but that's okay. I am just not real great at sitting at a table for an extended length of time, I get restless!!! That's about all for today.

Day 12

Today was AWANA, which is always a good thing. Today was kind of a long day, but getting to AWANA always lifts my spirits and the kids are great. They've all come so far in there verses and learning. We are going to be going through a time of learning about serving our community and how as children they can still make a difference. I'm really excited to see where God will lead the kids in this series. We will be doing a soldier project soon, that I'm super excited for.

Day 11

Finally get caught up at work, lots and lots to do!

Day 10

Back to work today, at least it didn't all fall apart while I was gone, not to just get my computer back!

Day 9

Sunday, gotta love Sunday. Went to church, and went shopping for groceries. I was completely out of groceries, so I went to Aldi. I love that place, it's supper cheap. I then took a nap, very boring don't ya say. That's what I love about Sundays

Day 8

Today I drove 750 miles, but I made it home. That's it for day.

Day 7

Well,  I've been in Nebraska 18 days now, a little more then originally planned with all the stuff that happened with Aaron.  I am ready to go back to work though, it will be nice to be back in a routine.  I went to see my grandparents tonight.  I sure miss them when they are so far away from Minnesota.  I cherish all the moments and memories I have had with them through the years.  Well, off to Minnesota tomorrow.  Aaron's doing great.  Just thought I'd share a few of my favorite photos from Christmas.

Tarassa, Kylie, and myself
The only 3 girls in the family of 9 boys

Grandma & Lily

What my dad did to my car

Grandpa

My little buddy, Aaron

Day 6

Today we didn't do much except catch up on sleep and lounge around.  It was nice though that mom made supper and we were able to sit around the table with ham-noodle casserole, corn, salad, and homemade bread. It was really good.  This is one of my favorite meals my mom makes.  It's really good.


Ham-Noodle Casserole

1 16 oz pkg noodles
4 c. chopped cooked ham
4 c. grated sharp process cheese
1 c. diced green peppers
26 oz cream of chicken soup
1 c. milk
4 T. butter


Cook noodles. Drain. Combine ham and 3 c. cheese and green pepper. Alternate layers of noodles and ham mixture in greased baking dish. Mix soup and milk. Pour over casserole mixture. Sprinkle top with remaining 1 c. cheese. Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 45 min to 1 hour.

Day 5

We stayed at the Marriott again on Tuesday night and go a good night's sleep.  Aaron was super agitated after surgery so a CNA stayed with him to make sure he didn't pull the drain out.  Mom got there the next morning and they took his IV out and he was sure that meant it was time to go.  He got discharged around 8:30 and then mom came to the motel while we waited for the pharmacy to fill his antibiotics.


Aaron after he was discharged.  We told him he looked like he
was mugged by a red can of paint.

We left Colorado and were happy to be home.  Aunt Dorothy made Aaron his favorite meal for supper, pizza.   We went to her house for supper as well as Grandma & Grandpa.

We were so thankfully for so many prayers while Aaron was in the hospital and are so thankful it came out well.  He will have a complete ear reconstruction in about a month or so, but all in all it turned out well.

Day 4

We had an awesome night's rest and got up the next morning feeling refreshed.  Mom got to the hospital super early and I stayed back to sleep in a little.  The docs came in the morning and decided to have Aaron's ear drained around lunch time.  Mom came back and we had breakfast and we got back just in time for Aaron to go to the clinic to have his ear suctioned out.  They got him in a wheel chair and bundled for the cold and off we went to the clinic.  They got him in and I had to hold his head while two doctors suctioned his ear for about 15 minutes.  He wasn't very uncooperative so they decided that because his infection was so bad they need to drain it further under anesthesia and clean it out, and it would give them an opportunity to evaluate it further.  They decided he had a cholesteatoma (a benign growth of skin in an abnormal location such as the middle ear) that would need to be take out at a later date, and that he had a very narrow ear canal.  He has a prosthesis of the inner ear that will need to be taken out as well.  They decided it would be best to do that later and do it as one large surgery.  The doctor said his ear was too infected to do it when they did the draining. 

They tested his hearing at the clinic and he had 96% in his good ear and 20% in his bad ear.  We always thought he was completely deaf in his bad ear, but he isn't which was a good sign. 

They took Aaron back to his room and mom took me back to the motel and then in the afternoon they went in and cleaned it out and drained it.  They left a drain tube in to make sure it drained well.  They decided if he did well he would get to go home the next day.



Aaron post surgery



I also kept everyone up to date on Facebook, as so many were praying for Aaron

Sitting in the ENT clinic with Aaron waiting for the doc to suction his ear out. -Tuesday at 11:10am

Aaron is going in for surgery at 4 to have both ears cleaned out and evaluated. Depending on what they find they may due total ear reconstruction later which would be a much larger surgery. -Tuesday at 12:45pm

Aaron is in surgery right now.  -Tuesday at 6:34pm

Aaron came out of surgery with a drain behind his ear. He became very agitated afterwards and had to be sedated. His ear will require a total reconstruction in a month or two but they have to get all infection and inflammation taken care of first. It loos like he will get out tomorrow morning and will get to ride home in a car instead of a helicopter. -Tuesday at 9:01pm

Day 3

Mom and I hurried home and our pastor and local missionary were here when we got home to talk with my dad and figure out what to do.  Mom & I got packed, prayed with everyone, and left at midnight.  The roads weren't great, but we got there around 3:30 in the morning.  I tried sleeping on the way, but that was completely fruitless.  We arrived  at Denver Health and were able to find the hospital, park, and go directly to Aaron's room, which was a completely miracle in and of itself as the hospital is massive and the parking is confusing, completely a God Thing.  We got in and Aaron was sleeping and they were giving him antibiotics in his IV and the doctors were supposed to come the next morning to give us an update.  We pulled out the sofa in the room and mom slept in the recliner, we tried to sleep but little to no sleep was accomplished.  They started getting Aaron up around 6 to do vitals and change shifts.  The docs came in and reported the CT scan an informed us they were going to have Aaron go in the afternoon to have his ear suctioned out and evaluated, and in the mean time they were going to continue antibiotics and drops in his ears.  Unfortunately that was the last time we heard from the docs till late that night, and we had a nasty nurse the whole day to deal with. They came in that night and both mom and I expressed out frustration for their lack of communication and input, and they said they would be back in the morning and that the next day they would drain his ear.  I tried to keep everyone up to date with Facebook and my statuses went something like this:

We made it, will know more in the morning. No surgery yet. -Monday at 4:50am

We are doing okay. Little to no sleep in 48 hours is taking a toll on all three of us, especially Aaron. No news from the docs yet, just lots of antibiotics and pain killers. -Monday at 9:10am

We are still in the hospital, hurrying up to wait on incredibly slow doctors. Dr came in this morning and wants to go in and do a suction out his ear later today. We don't know much yet. -Monday at 3:51pm

Please be praying for Aaron. We are hearing bits and pieces and words like MRSA are being spread around, and we can see the infection has spread into his neck. The drs have still not been back up.-Monday at 5:38pm
So here's the scoop. Pardon any misspelled medical terms. Aaron's mastoid was removed around 2001 and so that left just a shallow bone over the dura lining of the brain and it has a small opening from a previous abscess in it. He has a massive infection that is being treated with very strong antibiotics to prevent it. from spreading. They will continue until it goes away or appears to abscess and if it does they will do surgery in the morning if it clears up they will let him out around Friday. Thank you everyone for your prayers, we truly appreciate it. -Monday at 7:32pm

Mom and I are at the Marriot for the night. 48 hours with no sleep except a small nap is wearing on us. Aaron asked us to leave, which despite the fact it is actually a good thing because it means he is being himself. If the antibiotics help we are looking at no surgery. In the morning they will decide if they are helping, if not they will do surgery. -Monday at 9:14pm

Aaron waiting for the docs to come, who never did come til late.

Needless to say,  mom and I were going on 48 hours with hardly any sleep, so we left around 9:00p and got a motel and were completely frustrated with the hospital, nurses, and docs.

Day 2

My parents church was canceled due to the snow storm, so we just lounged around.  Aaron's ear had been draining since Christmas day, and the Tuesday after Christmas I found a button in it, and pulled it out.  That seemed to help for a couple of days, until it started draining again. Mom noticed that his ear had a bump behind in on Saturday.  I was looking at it Sunday light before lunch and it looked really red and inflamed.  Mom & I decided it would be good  to take him to Scottsbluff to Urgent Care to have his ear looked at because his shunt is on the same side as his bad ear.

Mom took him in, and I stayed in the car while they went in.  The PA there wouldn't touch it as it was so infected, and recommended to my mom that she take him to the ER.  Off we went to the ER to have it looked at.  The only ENT in town was out on vacation so they had to call in the plastic surgeon who was also certified in ENT, but hadn't practiced in years.  She looked at it and was worried and suggested a CT scan to look at it. She was concerned as care has no bone (mastoid) behind his left ear so the only thing between the ear infection and his brain was the dura mater (the lining of the brain).  She was worried the infection could spread to his brain and could get into his shunt.  The CT result came back that his dura was affected and that he had fluid on the brain.  The doctor decided the best option was to take him by helicopter to Denver to have it looked at further.



Aaron sitting in the ER waiting to get an IV.



They prepped him and got him already.  I was an absolute mess at this point as I had no idea what was going on, and all I could do was pray.  Mom & I left before the helicopter left, we both didn't want to see it go.  So, off he went to Denver and we rushed home to pack and drive to Denver.

Day 1

 Many of my friends last year wrote everyday on their blog, so I am going to try and do the same. Everyday I will try to post a picture or an actual entry. So, this will be my first one. For Christmas I got a ginder/pasta maker for my Kitchen Aid mixer so this is what I made with it. I love the pasta maker. It will make thin and thick spaghetti, macaroni, lasana, and just regular egg noodles. I made home made spagehetti, sauce, and meatballs, as well as homemade french bread. It was really good, and a lot of fun to make. I am excited to use the grinder part of it as well.  So, not a long post but it will do for now.