Busy as Ever

Well, I haven't updated the blog since last week, so I have some catching up to do. Courtney has been back in school for a week now and doing really well. She had some stomach issues over the weekend. Her stomach was distended, but we couldn't get much air out. She was in quite a bit of pain at times, made many trips to the bathroom, and wanted to be held most of the time. She seemed to perk up quite a bit Saturday night when Kelsey got back home (as usual). No matter how bad she feels, Kelsey can always seem to perk her up and get a smile on her face.

We went to the Barnum & Bailey circus at the Sommet Center on Sunday. We were sitting in Vanderbilt's suite so it was a little less stressful for Courtney. However, it was still too loud for her and I had to go back to the car to get some ear muffs. Actually, I went to the car twice - the first time I forgot the keys. Kelsey drove there and I forgot she had the keys. Once she got the earmuffs on and settled in, she really enjoyed it.

Kelsey has played 3 JV basketball games since the last blog. They have won all 3 against Portland, Goodpasture, & White House. She is not complaining about the dizziness or headaches anymore and has been able to play a lot more. In fact, last night she played the entire 4th quarter. The varsity team lost their 2nd district game last night and play the #1 team in the disrict this Friday night. Courtney has been dribbling and passing a basketball for the last week, but we gave in last night and let her shoot some between the girl's JV game and the varsity game (with me rebounding and keeping it from hitting her in the chest of course). She should be able to be back to full activity levels by next week (Yes, Paul she should be ready to shoot with you then). She was really excited to be shooting last night (with here DCA team signed ball). :-) She wrote a Thank You note to the team and Coach Winfree read it to the team last week and let her go into the locker room with the team. :-)

Kelsey is also auditioning for her 1st high school musical this week. They are performing "Thoroughly Modern Millie". She got a call back for a character other than the one she tried out for. She is very excited.

Jennifer has begun playing tennis again (finally after a long lay off while Courtney was in the hospital and out of school). I am trying to make it to the Y at least 3 times a week and get myself back in shape also. I would like to be able to run a 5K race this year and possibly do the half-marathon next year here in Nashville.

I will add some more pictures to this blog after I get home tonight.

Courtney gets clearance to go back to school

YEAH!!!!! Courtney is really excited to be going back to school tomorrow and watching Kelsey (and Jamie) play basketball again tomorrow night.

Dr. Drinkwater (surgeon) saw her today and gave her clearance to go back to school, but she will still be limited in her activities for another 2 weeks. He wants her to avoid any activity that could cause a direct hit to the chest until 8 weeks past the surgery. She can dribble a basketball now & shoot under very close supervision with someone rebounding for her.

Kelsey played 6+ minutes straight in 2 different quarters in their JV basketball game against Greenbrier last Friday. The JV team won 30 - 13 and the varsity won 55 - 47. They play Portland tomorrow night in another district game. She seems to be doing better, but still has occasional headaches and is still working on getting back in playing shape.

I will try to add a few pictures of the girls this week. I am not sure I will keep up the blog, but may leave it up in case new things arise throughout the next few weeks.

Thank you again for your prayers, your kind words and deeds, and your genuine concern for our family.

Randy

Courtney's Cardiology Post-Op Visit

Jennifer took Courtney in today to visit with Dr. Doyle for her cardiology post-op appointment. They did an x-ray, echocardiogram, EKG, and clinically observed her.

Her gradient pressures are down in the 20 - 30 range, which is normal. Those numbers being well over 100 is what led to this last surgery because that meant the valve was not working properly. Even when they did the catherization procedure in 2006 to make the valve more pliable, her gradient pressures were still in the 70 - 90 range. She has also finally grown to where her heart is now the right size for her. Dr. Doyle said that her heart has never been as healthy as it is right now. We are not used to hearing that with Courtney so it is definitely a blessing.

We still can't pick her up under her arms until next Tuesday (6 weeks after the surgery) and will still be under "limited" activity like shooting a basketball until then also. After Jan 22, she should be able to resume her normal routine - starting slowly and building from there. Otherwise, Dr. Doyle thought she looks great and is doing really well. She wanted to go to a mall to get a High School Musical 2 calendar, so Jennifer took her to Opry Mills for the calendar, lunch, and ride on the merry go round. She was trying to make the most of her day out since it has been a few weeks since she has had that much activity.

Courtney's post-op appt with Dr. Drinkwater [the surgeon] was rescheduled for next Monday. Hopefully, Courtney will be able to return to school on Tuesday, the 22nd.

On the Kelsey news front, she was allowed to play the last 2 minutes of each quarter (and OT) in the basketball game against Harpeth Hall last night. Other than feeling a little weak and tired from not practicing in awhile, she was able to play without complications other than a small headache. They play again this Friday and the trainer will have to see her at practice to determine if she is okay to play more minutes from this point forward.

I will update again next week after Courtney's next doctor appointment.

Thank you for your continued prayer support and thank you to the Franklins for our meal last night. Please keep Jack Weber in your prayers as he recovers from triple bypass this week.

Randy

Kelsey gets Doctor's Release - YEAH!!!!

We finally have an answer to Kelsey's medical issues & it is called "orthostatic hypotension" or "orthostatic intolerance". Basically, that is the medical name given to what she has been experiencing (a sudden fall in blood pressure when a person assumes a standing postion usually after a prolonged period of rest - Wikipedia explanation). Symptoms, which generally occur after sudden standing, include dizziness, lightheadedness, headache, and blurred or dimmed vision.

Jennifer took Kelsey to see Dr. Doyle (Courtney's cardiologist) today and there were many confused people seeing Jennifer there with someone other than Courtney. They did an echocardiogram, EKG, and several other tests for her blood pressure. The good news is that her heart is okay and that she can try to regulate without medication [for now].

Her instructions are to stand slowly, sit or lie down when symptoms occur, maintain an elevated salt intake (Kelsey said YEAH - McDonald's french fries here I come), and drink plenty of additional fluids (especially before sports activities - but avoid caffeine) to retain water (not what most teenage girls want to do). They also told her to stay active and that not being active would aggravate the condition.

We are very excited to finally know what the problem is and how we can take care of it. Thank you very much for your prayer support and well wishes. Thank you also to the Sanders family and Parker family for the wonderful meal tonight and to Robin for keeping Courtney today (I know Courtney had a blast playing with Robin).

Jennifer is going to take Courtney into the office with her tomorrow for a little while. That will be the first time she has gotten in a car since we got home. Prayers for safe travel are appreciated. :-)

Randy

Family Update

We finally got the blood test results today. The blood tests confirmed that Kelsey does not have mono or anything else that they could find. However, they informed us that sometime in the past Kelsey has had mono and we did not know it. It must have been a minor case, but I still feel bad that we may have overlooked the signs and thought she was just stressed or doing too many things at the time and was tired. We have realized that at times we unfairly expect Kelsey to handle sickness and pain better because we compare it to how well Courtney handles all that she has been through.

Kelsey's pediatrician has referred us to visit a cardiologist (since there are issues involving blood pressure). Jennifer is going to take her to see Dr. Doyle (Courtney's cardiologist) tomorrow afternoon. Robin (our friend and Vandy nurse) is going to keep Courtney at the house while they go so I can finish out the day at work. Please pray that we can discover what Kelsey's problem is and know how to handle it.

Courtney is still doing well and goes in for her post-op visits next Tuesday & Wednesday. She could go back to school on Thursday or possibly wait until next Monday, but it is all dependent on how they think she is doing. Her educational assistant (EA) is coming out in the afternoons this week and working with her on work she is missing at school. She didn't get to go outside this past weekend, but maybe we can do something this weekend.

I did get to go to the Predators game Saturday night (YEAH!! another win 4 - 1) and then went to a friend's house to watch the Titans' game Sunday afternoon. They looked good for the 1st half and were only a few plays away from possibly winning the game. Still 10 - 6 and making the playoffs was a lot better than most people thought we would do this year. Maybe next year. :-)

Jennifer is starting back on her Creative Memories and has been making some progress this week on Kelsey's last 2 years of pictures.

Thank you again to our Sunday School class for bringing us meals this week. Please keep Jack Weber and Johnny Turner in your prayers also. They are in our class - Johnny is recovering from a chainsaw accident (fingers cut but doing better) and Jack will be having open heart surgery sometime in the next week or so.

I will update again tomorrow night once I know how the visit with Dr. Doyle went with Kelsey.

Randy

Update on Kelsey

The CT scan came back negative as far as Kelsey having any sinus infection. The trainer at school took her blood pressure while she was lying down and then when getting up and noticed it was fluctuating. He will not allow her to play basketball until she gets a medical release from her doctor. The doctor called back this afternoon and asked if we could bring her in to draw some blood and take her blood pressure.

I came home to work from here and keep Courtney while Jennifer took her to the doctor. The doctor noticed the drop in her blood pressure also, but thinks that it is in the normal range. She took several vials of blood to send off for testing and will speak with a specialist on Tuesday. She thought Kelsey was better today than she was the other day, but wants to wait until she speaks with a specialist before releasing Kelsey to play. She will have to sit out the JV and varsity games tonight and possibly Tuesday.

Jennifer took her back to school for the end of the JV game and talk to the coaches and then will come back home. I will go later to the girl's varsity game and then help sell cotton candy during the boys game to raise money for Kelsey's choir trip this spring.

I combined with some friends at work to buy 2 half-season tickets for the Predators this year. I finally got to go to my first game this year last night (YEAH!!! they won 5 - 2) and will go again tomorrow night. I think Kelsey may spend the night with her grandparents tomorrow night.

Courtney is getting better and better at bowling on the Wii games. She told me she had 3 turkeys (3 strikes in a row) today and I saw her finish one game in which she bowled a 212. WOW!!! She is feeling good and her scars are healing nicely, but I know she is getting tired of being cooped up in the house all the time. Maybe if the weather gets warm this weekend, she can go out for a little while.

I will update again once we hear results from Kelsey's blood tests and after the doctor speaks with the specialist. In the meantime, please keep her in your prayers.

I wanted to say Thank you to our New Life Sunday School class at church who have coordinated bringing us meals a couple of times a week. They started last night and it is very much appreciated.

Randy

Courtney Rings in 2008!!!

Courtney is doing very well. In fact, she decided that this year she would stay up with us and welcome in 2008. She even wanted to watch a movie afterwards before going to bed. I rocked her while she watched most of Peter Pan (the Broadway version). I dozed throughout some of it and she finally went to bed around 1:30 AM. She slept in Kelsey's room (who was having a friend sleep over and were watching movies in her room) and they all slept in late New Year's Day.

Jennifer's parents ate dinner with us last Wednesday night and Courtney and I opened our gifts from them. Kelsey got a Wii game system for Christmas and we have all been enjoying it. In fact, Courtney has already become a PRO at bowling (she bowled a 199 last night). She also enjoys playing tennis and baseball on it. Kelsey has bowled a 200 and is getting really good at the tennis.

My parents, my sister & her kids, and my aunt Charlotte came over Sunday morning. We ate lunch with them at home and exchanged our gifts with them. They stayed until 4:00 or so (3 hour drive over and 3 hours back makes for a long day). :-) Courtney really enjoyed playing with my niece and getting to see everybody. She is really having a hard time understanding why she can't go anywhere yet. I went over to a friend's house Sunday night to watch the Titans beat the Colts (YEAH!!!) Who would have believed that we would win 10 games this year and make the playoffs. It hasn't always been pretty, but they are wins just the same.

I was off on Monday (lots of errands) and went to the Music City Bowl. It got really cold in the 2nd half (wind gusts) and I actually left early in the 4th quarter. Since it wasn't any of my teams playing and it didn't look like FSU would do anything (UK was ahead 28 - 14). I actually saw the end of the game at home (UK had to recover an onside kick to hang on for the 35 - 28 win). Kelsey had friends over to play games & watch movies that night.

New Year's Day was pretty much a relaxing day. Kelsey, Courtney, & Kaitlin watched movies all day. Jennifer went through paperwork and payed bills while watching some movies and the UT game (I tried to keep her from watching it - but they hung on to win anyway). I watched football all day (except for the end of the outdoor hockey game), took down the Christmas tree, & hung Jennifer's new print in the living room.

Well, now it is back to work for me yesterday and Kelsey started back to school today. Please continue to keep her in your prayers also. She has been complaining about headaches, dizziness, and back ache for awhile. She had to leave basketball practice early on Monday. Jennifer took her to the doctor yesterday and they did a CT scan on her sinus cavities to verify whether or not she has a sinus infection. Hopefully we will find out something today.

Courtney has been playing Wii a lot and yesterday spent a few hours doing some school work and coloring. I had to make her stop to eat dinner last night.

Well, that catches you up on how we are doing. Courtney will go back for post-op doctor appointments on January 15th and 16th to see how she is doing and determine when she can go back to school. I will update the blog as I get a chance, but now that I am back at work and our normal hustle and bustle has started back, I am not sure how often I will get to. I will for sure update it on Kelsey's condition and after Courtney goes back to the doctor.

Thank you again for your continued prayer support, kind words, friendship, & thoughtful gifts of meals and gift cards. We will at some point take time to personally thank each of you for your thoughtfulness and generosity.

By the way, I want to thank all of you that have posted comments and thank all of you who have made comments to me about appreciating this blog site and wanting to comment, but didn't have an account. There should be a section in the comment part about posting anonymously if you would like to post a comment or you can send an email to me at randy.queen@gmail.com.

Randy