Just some updates ...

Well, it has been a long time since i have blogged so i figured today would be a good day. The past month and a half have been very eventful around here. Hayden has had 3 hospital stays, we have moved and Andrew is fixing to start at a new school. I guess I will start from oldest to youngest of the children and tell you a little bit about what has been going on ...

Lindsey is doing great in school. Progress reports came out and she has all A's. She is also at the top of her reading group. Last week she had a really bad case of strep throat and was out of school the two days before Thanksgiving so she got a extra couple of days to recover.

Andrew is starting the new Pre-K class at Alto Park Elementary (Lindsey's school) next monday. He is so excited to be going to a big boy school. Last week he was fourtunate enough to catch the flu so he has not been feeling too well but he is getting better. He will have the rest of this week to recover before he has to start school.

Hayden, my handful has had a rough month. We started at the beginning of November in the hospital trying the ketogenic diet to control his seizures. By day two on the diet he stopped eating and drinking. By day three his liver was starting to fail and he was put on an IV. Day four he was changed to the modified Atkins diet and started to eat again but still no drinking. Day five his kidney's shut down and he was pulled off of the diet. Finally on Saturday, Day six he was eating and drinking and his kidney's and liver started working again like normal. The doctors sent us home, stable but no diet and no seizure control.

Last week Hayden started getting sick, stopped eating and drinking again and we ended up back at the doctor. He tested positive for influenza A & B, possible strep throat, and dehydration. The doctor admitted us into the hospital, again. They started him on IV fluids, tested him for strep, and did chest xrays just to make sure he was not developing phenuomia. The strep test came back negative and chest xrays looked good. By Tuesday afternoon he was doing better so they sent us home. Five hours later we were back in the ER because his bladder was swelling. His kidney's had stopped again and he was retaining fluids. After putting a catheter in him and getting out 9 ounces out of his bladder they decided to do chest xrays again because he did not sound too good. Hayden had now developed phenuomia in the 5 hours that we were at home. We were put back in the hospital and started on IV antibiotics. Finally Thanksgiving Day we were well enough and stable enough to come home. He is doing alot better now and hopefully will stay that way until after Christmas.

Now, since you have heard all of the bad news, here is some good news ... We moved into a new house at the beginning of November. It has enough room for the kids to play in and we don't have to deal with my nasty step-father-in-law anymore!!! Also Hayden's SSI (Social Security Disability) was approved!!! He will now start recieving a check every month which will help out greatly with all of the bills and his prescriptions. Hopefully our bad luck is starting to turn around and maybe we will have a good Christmas.