Thursday, April 30, 2009
Out of Surgery
Jim is finally out of surgery (it took a few hours longer than expected). I just spoke to the surgeon and it went well. They had to plate his mandible and his maxillary sinuses, they wired his jaw shut (and it will stay wired for 2-4 weeks), stitched up his jaw, upper lip, nose, and forehead, and re-aligned his nasal septum. He is in recovery now and I am just waiting for them to tell me I can see him. Thanks for your prayers.
Surgery
On Tuesday afternoon, Jack and I took the metro to downtown D.C. to meet Jim at the zoo. When I got off the train I had a new voicemail. I assumed it was from Jim telling me he was at the zoo already or that he was running a little late. It wasn't. It was from a girl who found Jim shortly after he had a pretty bad bicycle accident. Jim was riding his bike along an asphalt path to meet us when he hit a bump and his front tire came off. Jim went over his handlebars and landed on his face. Luckily he was wearing his helmet. He did not lose consciousness, and was able to take the cell phone out of his pocket to call 911. He could not talk, though, so he gave his phone to a passerby to talk to the 911 operator. A pediatric resident happened to walk by and Jim gave her my phone number. She called me and waited with Jim until an ambulance came (around 30 minutes later!). Jack and I got in a cab and met Jim in the ER at George Washington University Hospital. I had my camera with me to take zoo pictures, but I ended up with bloody Jim pictures instead. Knowing that not everyone wants to see those, I will not post them. If you would like to see pictures of Jim a couple hours after the accident, email me and I will send them to you.
Jack and I spent several hours in the ER with Jim. He had a chest x-ray and CTs of his head, c-spine, and maxillo-facial bones. He has a lot of facial fractures, but thankfully his brain, spine, and eyes are fine. I asked the ER attending if I could stay with Jim all night and he said yes. So, I contacted the wonderful family we are staying with in Maryland and they met me at the metro station where my car was parked. They took Jack back with them and I headed back to the hospital. After talking with Jim for a bit, I went to the waiting room where I could get cell phone reception and call Jim's and my parents. When I returned to Jim, they were ready to move him from the ER to a holding room (there still was not a free room on a surgical floor for him). The woman transporting him told him it was well past visiting hours and I could not come with him. I broke down crying. She took Jim up to his room, and I left the hospital. It was close to 11:00 p.m. and I made the 45 minute (without traffic) drive back to Maryland. Ugh.
Yesterday, Wednesday, Jack and I took the metro to the hospital and spent the whole day with Jim. Jack was a trooper - stuck in a small hospital room all day. He did a great job of entertaining himself and staying out of the way.
This morning I left Jack with the family in Maryland and I came down to the hospital to be with Jim all day. We are currently waiting for them to take him down to surgery. His surgery is scheduled for 12:00 or 12:30 p.m. It should last about 3 hours. They are going to wire his jaw shut and put in plates and screws on the mandible. He may also need some maxillary plates and screws, but they won't know until they get into surgery. They will also stitch up a couple big gashes and fix his broken nasal septum. They may be able to take the wires out after surgery. If not, he will have them in for 2 - 4 weeks. I will try to update the blog shortly after, but please keep Jim in your thoughts and prayers.
Jack and I spent several hours in the ER with Jim. He had a chest x-ray and CTs of his head, c-spine, and maxillo-facial bones. He has a lot of facial fractures, but thankfully his brain, spine, and eyes are fine. I asked the ER attending if I could stay with Jim all night and he said yes. So, I contacted the wonderful family we are staying with in Maryland and they met me at the metro station where my car was parked. They took Jack back with them and I headed back to the hospital. After talking with Jim for a bit, I went to the waiting room where I could get cell phone reception and call Jim's and my parents. When I returned to Jim, they were ready to move him from the ER to a holding room (there still was not a free room on a surgical floor for him). The woman transporting him told him it was well past visiting hours and I could not come with him. I broke down crying. She took Jim up to his room, and I left the hospital. It was close to 11:00 p.m. and I made the 45 minute (without traffic) drive back to Maryland. Ugh.
Yesterday, Wednesday, Jack and I took the metro to the hospital and spent the whole day with Jim. Jack was a trooper - stuck in a small hospital room all day. He did a great job of entertaining himself and staying out of the way.
This morning I left Jack with the family in Maryland and I came down to the hospital to be with Jim all day. We are currently waiting for them to take him down to surgery. His surgery is scheduled for 12:00 or 12:30 p.m. It should last about 3 hours. They are going to wire his jaw shut and put in plates and screws on the mandible. He may also need some maxillary plates and screws, but they won't know until they get into surgery. They will also stitch up a couple big gashes and fix his broken nasal septum. They may be able to take the wires out after surgery. If not, he will have them in for 2 - 4 weeks. I will try to update the blog shortly after, but please keep Jim in your thoughts and prayers.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
D.C., Gettysburg, Annapolis
Things have been pretty busy the last couple weeks and I haven't had a chance to update the blog. Jim is taking a course in Washington D.C., so Jack and I decided to come along. We are staying in Maryland with some distant relatives of my uncle's. The father is the fourth cousin of my cousins. They have 5 children and have been so kind to let us stay with them. Jack is having a blast playing with his 5 new friends. Last Monday night, around 10:00 p.m., we started our journey to Maryland. We stayed the night in Indianapolis (got in around 3 a.m. local time), and then continued our drive Tuesday morning. Tired, we arrived in Maryland around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday, Jack and I hung out at the house and relaxed. On Friday, we took the train into D.C. to meet Jim.
Jack ran around in his new "2" shirt while we waited for Jim outside the Museum of American History.
Jack was a little afraid to sit next to this statue.
More trains!!! Jack likes to say "Chug-a-chug-a-choo-choo!" (although it doesn't sound quite like that).
On Saturday, we went to Gettysburg for the day. After enjoying a nice lunch, we bought a CD for a 2 hour auto tour.
Jack ran around in his new "2" shirt while we waited for Jim outside the Museum of American History.
The trains were a big hit with Jack.
Jack was a little afraid to sit next to this statue.
More trains!!! Jack likes to say "Chug-a-chug-a-choo-choo!" (although it doesn't sound quite like that).
On Saturday, we went to Gettysburg for the day. After enjoying a nice lunch, we bought a CD for a 2 hour auto tour.
The CD was very informative; we learned a lot. We got out of the car a lot to see many of the landmarks. 
The battle lasted only 3 days, but there were around 50,000 casualties!
This is one of the high towers we climbed to get a good view of the battlefields.
Jack enjoyed climbing on everything: wooden fences, cannons, this rock wall...
He's ready for a horse to pull him.
On Sunday, we drove to Annapolis to visit Jim's medical school friend, Shirin, and her husband David. After lunch we explored the downtown area. We happened upon a festival on one of the town's streets.
Shirin and David took us to the waterfront where Jack could see lots of boats.
The weather was awesome (if not a little hot)!
The battle lasted only 3 days, but there were around 50,000 casualties!
This is one of the high towers we climbed to get a good view of the battlefields.
Jack enjoyed climbing on everything: wooden fences, cannons, this rock wall...
He's ready for a horse to pull him.
On Sunday, we drove to Annapolis to visit Jim's medical school friend, Shirin, and her husband David. After lunch we explored the downtown area. We happened upon a festival on one of the town's streets.
Shirin and David took us to the waterfront where Jack could see lots of boats.
The weather was awesome (if not a little hot)!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Happy Easter!
Jack and I spent the night at my parents' house on Saturday night because Jim was working. Luckily, the Easter Bunny knew where to find us. Easter morning, Jack got to find candy-filled Easter eggs in Nana and Papa's living room.
While I made Jack's breakfast, Papa read him stories.
Jack and I met up with Jim at Easter mass. Then we went to my cousin's house for brunch. When we left there, we headed to Busch Stadium for the Cardinals game. On Saturday when we were listening to the game (and Pujols hit a grand slam and a 3-run homerun), we heard that Sunday was Ryan Ludwick bat day for kids. We decided that was a great reason to take Jack to the game. It was not nearly as warm and sunny as Saturday's game, but we still had a lot of fun. The stadium was not very crowded, so Jack was able to try out all 5 of the empty seats by us.
The Cardinals won, sweeping the Astros! Jack got a Ryan Ludwick bat. We got free hot dogs and sodas. Although it was cold, the game only lasted a little over 2 hours. It was a successful adventure! The kids could run the bases after the game, and we took Jack down to do it, but the line went halfway around the stadium so we opted not to run the bases that day. Maybe we'll do it another time.
While I made Jack's breakfast, Papa read him stories.
Jack and I met up with Jim at Easter mass. Then we went to my cousin's house for brunch. When we left there, we headed to Busch Stadium for the Cardinals game. On Saturday when we were listening to the game (and Pujols hit a grand slam and a 3-run homerun), we heard that Sunday was Ryan Ludwick bat day for kids. We decided that was a great reason to take Jack to the game. It was not nearly as warm and sunny as Saturday's game, but we still had a lot of fun. The stadium was not very crowded, so Jack was able to try out all 5 of the empty seats by us.
The Cardinals won, sweeping the Astros! Jack got a Ryan Ludwick bat. We got free hot dogs and sodas. Although it was cold, the game only lasted a little over 2 hours. It was a successful adventure! The kids could run the bases after the game, and we took Jack down to do it, but the line went halfway around the stadium so we opted not to run the bases that day. Maybe we'll do it another time.Monday, April 6, 2009
Birthday Party and Vacation
I have a lot of pictures from the past week. Jim was on vacation, we celebrated Jack's birthday with family, celebrated our 4 year anniversary, and traveled to Chicago and Wisconsin.
Jack had fun with his cousins at his birthday party.
Yummy cupcakes!
We lit two candles and Jack knew just what to do, even though he's never blown out candles before.
Daddy had to help blow them all the way out.
Jack ate his cupcake icing first.
Caeleigh enjoyed the cupcakes as well. She was not quite as messy as Jack, though.
Presents!!!
"Wow!"
On Monday, we drove up to Chicago and stayed with Uncle David and Aunt Melanie. We neglected to take many pictures while we were there. Here are a few from the Children's Museum we went to on Tuesday. Jack and Jim got to be builders for a day.
Can we fix it? Yes, we can!
Jack's favorite: a slide!
There were a couple of trucks that Jack got to play with, too. He didn't want to leave.
I love his big, blue eyes!
Jack really liked all the trains he could see from David and Melanie's apartment. Here he is waving to the passing train.
On Wednesday we went to Shedd Aquarium. We didn't get any good pictures inside, but here are a few from our walk home.
Jack loved running down this hill.
On Thursday, we met up with Aunt Karen, Uncle Lenny, and Colin and went to an indoor water park in Sheboygan, WI. It was awesome! The place was right on Lake Michigan. We stayed in a spacious villa and had a great time. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures at the water park (Jack loved it - especially the water slides), but here are some from our chilly walk on the beach.
Jack had fun with his cousins at his birthday party.
Yummy cupcakes!
We lit two candles and Jack knew just what to do, even though he's never blown out candles before.
Daddy had to help blow them all the way out.
Jack ate his cupcake icing first.
Caeleigh enjoyed the cupcakes as well. She was not quite as messy as Jack, though.
Presents!!!
"Wow!"
On Monday, we drove up to Chicago and stayed with Uncle David and Aunt Melanie. We neglected to take many pictures while we were there. Here are a few from the Children's Museum we went to on Tuesday. Jack and Jim got to be builders for a day.
Can we fix it? Yes, we can!
Jack's favorite: a slide!
There were a couple of trucks that Jack got to play with, too. He didn't want to leave.
I love his big, blue eyes!
Jack really liked all the trains he could see from David and Melanie's apartment. Here he is waving to the passing train.
On Wednesday we went to Shedd Aquarium. We didn't get any good pictures inside, but here are a few from our walk home.
Jack loved running down this hill.
On Thursday, we met up with Aunt Karen, Uncle Lenny, and Colin and went to an indoor water park in Sheboygan, WI. It was awesome! The place was right on Lake Michigan. We stayed in a spacious villa and had a great time. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures at the water park (Jack loved it - especially the water slides), but here are some from our chilly walk on the beach.Here is the resort: 
A nice father-son moment:
Now we are back home. It's good to be home. It was snowing today, but Saturday it was in the upper 60s! Welcome to the Midwest. We were able to get outside to enjoy the nice weather and some of Jack's birthday presents while it was nice out. Check out his tee ball swing! 
A nice father-son moment:
Now we are back home. It's good to be home. It was snowing today, but Saturday it was in the upper 60s! Welcome to the Midwest. We were able to get outside to enjoy the nice weather and some of Jack's birthday presents while it was nice out. Check out his tee ball swing! 
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