The First Do-Nothing Weekend in a While

(Video is from my aunt's house in Cypress, CA on Christmas day)

This was our first nothing to do weekend in over a month. It was great. We took turns sleeping in and watching Sam (who woke up at 5ish both Saturday and Sunday). We drove up to Forsyth and went to a great independently owned pizza parlor and bakery called Jonah's. The pizza was great, the service was great, and the owner was super nice and gave us two fresh baked loaves of bread for free! We did a little shopping and a lot of hanging out...all in all a good weekend.

Sam has some new tricks. He says "thank you"...of course, it sounds nothing like thank you, more like 'ta ta' but we know what he means. He also said "dog" this weekend when we were playing with Relo. He stands a little better now, but I stay pretty close because he has no idea how to catch himself if he falls. He pulls up to a full kneel but doesn't pull to stand yet. He FINALLY is able to sit from a supine position, but doesn't do it often. He is really ready to walk but not physically ready. I wish he would hurry up and do it though, because he gets frustrated when he can't do what he wants to do.

Say some prayers for Sam's little buddies: Logan is home after his heart surgery and so far so good, with just a touch of pleural effusion. Jordan came home from heart surgery but had to go back after they discovered an infection in her incision that has become systemic. Derrick had a complication related to fluid drainage from his chest tubes, which means increased time with the chest tubes (which is supposed to be the most painful part of these heart surgeries). He's a trooper though, and so far is responding well to treatment. Natalie (who had the surgery that is next on Sam's list) has had a fantastic recovery, and is home and healing well...it is amazing what these heart kids can bounce back from. Sam's premie buddy, Amelia, had a GI surgery this past Friday. This little warrior has been in the NICU for 9 months and this is her third procedure. Please pray this is the fix that brings her home!

Upcoming events for the Wimberly Fam:
Mardi Gras Balls in Mobile (Feb 11-12)
New Job for Kathy (Feb 15)
Pedi Appt for Sam (Feb 19)

~Kathy

Birthdays and Tummy Bugs

This week was mine and Chris's birthdays (not sure on how to make that grammatically correct...). Mine was Thursday. Chris surprised me with a cake. Since my Christmas present was big (a NICE Trek mountain bike), and was supposed to count for my bday too, his present for me on my birthday was to listen out for Sam while I took a super nice bubble bath. It was fantastic. I also got too pick dinner...5Guys Burgers and Fries. It, too, was fantastic.

Friday was Chris's birthday. It was destined to be a bad day. I woke up nauseous, but tried to go to work anyway. I lasted about 20 minutes at work before I realized it wasn't going to happen. By the time I got home I was hurling. I spent the entire rest of the day between the bathroom and the bed. By night I was feeling a little better, and wanted to make Chris's birthday nice. We attempted to go out to eat for something 'light'. We went to a Thai place called Lemongrass. I just ordered rice. But it didn't matter, Sam was a total butt and we had to get them to pack up dinner to take it home. I felt kinda bad for Chris, but we decided to get him nice Trek mountain bike for his birthday (which we picked up on Saturday) so I hope that made up for the bad day.

I felt much better on Saturday, but I guess my blood sugar/pressure was all out of whack because I nearly passed out Saturday morning. The rest of the weekend was quiet. We took Sam out for a ride on our new bikes and in his new bike trailer. We got him an adorable helmet, too. He liked the ride, but not the helmet.

Today, however, the tummy bug returned with a vengeance...this time for Chris. We were half way to church when we had to turn around. I had almost convinced myself I just had food poison, and not a bug. Alas, the bug has hit, and I am now super nervous Sam will be next. I'm saying a prayer it skips him. Of course, for all I know he gave it to us...he has a history of not seeming sick when he really is...

On another note, all our heart buddies are kicking butt in their recoveries from surgeries (weird how a whole group of them all had surgery at the same time for different reasons)! Little man "D" has his surgery tomorrow, so pray for a successful operation and recovery for him, as well as continued successful recoveries for Logan, Jordan, and Natalie.

~Kathy

Cardiology Appointment

Sam had his every-3-month cardiology visit today. Usually, we check in, hang out in the wait room for about 10 min, and then the fun starts. Two nurses do a tag team job of measuring height, weight, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and perform an EKG, all within literally 5 minutes. It's amazing. Then we head to another room for a 5 min wait before we get to see Dr. Cardis.

USUALLY Sam likes the 5 min tag team nurses. He's a big flirt, and they love to give him an audience. He's really never pitched a fit in any doctors office. TODAY, however, he threw a true tantrum during the tag team portion of the visit, and he never calmed down. Dr. Cardis was trying so hard to listen to his heart while Sam was screaming his head off. The only time he stopped screaming (and I do mean screaming) was when Dr. Cardis was leaving the room...Sam suddenly stopped screaming, raised a waving hand and said "bye bye".

No bad news today. His oxygen saturation was a little below our usual (around 83% when they usually run 87%). We also mentioned that Sam seemed to have a few more blue spells than usual. Dr. Cardis offered the idea that Sam may have built up some extra red blood cells during our time in the higher altitudes in Cali. In a normal person, this would help you oxygenate yourself in the lower oxygen altitudes. In Sam, who doesn't have the capacity to oxygenate anymore red blood cells than he already has, he just ends up with increased 'blue' blood verses 'red' blood. He thinks it will all work itself out in a few months. We'll see. Sam is acting just fine, eating just fine, sleeping just fine...no outward signs of any problems. We go back for an echo in three months, and maybe a full panel blood test just to check on internal function of other organs. For now, all's well!

Lot's of things to be thankful for today, both in our immediate family, our heart family, and in our circle of friends!

~Kathy

FINALLY!!! (and prayer requests)

After literally MONTHS of hearing "Da da" over and over and over again, Sam finally said "Ma ma" tonight! Just in the last few weeks, he had mastered a few new syllables... 'ba' and 'na' being among them. But tonight was the first time we heard a distinct 'ma' come out of him, and he actually strung two 'ma's together a few times. So proud...

On another note, there are a couple of heart babies who need prayers. The first is Natalie, who has the same defects as Sam and who has had a VERY similar surgical/medical history as Sam. She is having her Fontan TOMORROW! Jordan will be be having her second, and an unexpected open heart surgery TOMORROW! Also, pray for Logan, who will be having his third open heart surgery in his third year of life Thursday! We have found the congenital heart defect community to be surprisingly large and small all at the same time. Everyday we are introduced to more families facing the same fears as our own. And every single one seems to be willing to bend over backward to help each other through it all. We may never meet, but we are forever connected. I think about them all quite often. Pray for these families, because they pray for us!

~Kathy

I Miss My Vacation!

Well we made it back from California this past Monday. We had a fantastic time. Sam was such a good boy. He got to do so much in those two weeks. He saw snow in the mountains and touched the Pacific, met his great grandmother and extended family, saw the Rose Parade in Pasadena, went to the Griffith Observatory, saw the LA zoo, and ate lots of new foods. Chris and I snowboarded for our 3rd Anniversary. We looked like total fools but we REALLY had a good time. We flew home and Sam was pretty good. We finally pulled in to our house at 11pm-ish Monday.

Chris stayed home the next day to clean and put up Christmas, but Sam went to school and I went to work. When I picked Sam up from school, I noticed his right ear was literally oozing mucus. I rushed him to the Pedi, who casually tells me he has busted his ear drum. Apparently he had an ear infection and it just gradually filled up with fluid. Sam NEVER pulled his ear or had a fever. He never told us he was in pain. Sigh. Apparently it's not a big deal, though, and didn't cause any damage. He's on the pink antibiotic (which he loves) and an ear drop and he's doing fine with those.

Chris and Sam both got an extra day of vacation today. There was ALMOST snow here today, and out of fear the county closed all schools, which meant Sam's daycare closed, too. Naturally it hardly even rained. But Chris and Sam got to have a boys-day-in. Momma is very jealous, as she is still totally knocked out from the trip. And she has to work tomorrow :(.

The photos are from our trip. I doubt I could handle the cost of living or the traffic for extended periods of time, but I just love being in California!

~Kathy