Potty Train-ed (past tense)????

Nothing could bring me out of my blogging hiatus then the absolute joy of having a child potty trained!!! Samantha has had so many issues related this that it has been an interminable endeavor. She has some serious bladder/digestive problems AND she had (has) terrible fears of toilets and the noises they make. All of those factors have combined to a 4 yr old who is still in diapers!!!

Well, all of that began to change last Wed night (Jan 20th, 2009!!). She was trying desperately to stay awake and was using every trick in the book to get out of bed.  After exhausting everything, she tried the one thing she knew wouldn't get her in serious trouble, "I need to go poopy!!!"  Dan and I didn't even leave the living room because we thought it was a big hoax.  Lo and behold-she pooped in the potty for the first time.  We were in shock! 

So things have not been 100% perfect since Wed, but she has repeated this event, so we feel like this is the real deal!

And then this morning I had the biggest, happiest news ever.  Her diaper was dry this morning for the very first time.  DRY!!!!  DRY DIAPER!!!!  It's so exciting!!!  She even came downstairs naked already saying, "Mom, I don't want my diaper on."

Way to go, Baby Girl!  Pretty soon you'll let go of everything baby about you, but you'll always be my Baby Girl!!

Update:  Later this same day, we were at Timothy's school for a parent's meeting.  Samanatha came to me to tell me her "bottom hurts".  I raced her to the nearest bathroom which was closed, and then we ran to the next closest.  She held it in AND went #2!!!  Such a victory!

For God So Loved the World...

Today Timothy decided to teach Samantha John 3:16.  This provided about an hour of entertainment for me, as these were some of the things overheard:   

1. Timothy said to "repeat after me". T: "John 3:16", S: "John 3:16", T: "For God so loved the world." S: "IT HAS MY FAVORITE NUMBER, NUMBER FOUR!!!!" 
   
   
2. When he got to "but have everlasting life", Samantha was getting a bit bored.  She was distracted and not responding, so he kept saying, "Say but... say but...say but now"!!!!
   
   
   

Samantha and Daddy at the Zoo!

Samantha has always been very confident about what she likes. Her favorite color is (and always has been) red. Her favorite number is (and always has been) 4. And her favorite animal is the elephant, as evidenced by this picture taken at Mountain Mike's a month ago...

During the month of October, all kids are free at the San Diego Zoo, and active duty military are free all the time. Sunday I asked Dan if he would find an hour or two this month to take Samantha to see the elephants.  Dan quickly accepted my request and took Samantha this morning! 

She was immediately in heaven when she saw this before they even got to the front gate.

Our girl loves to pose silly for the camera!

This is a bird that's extinct.

But here is what they really came for.

My Baby Girl made a friend at the zoo today.

I wish I could post the amazing video that Dan took of her at the kangaroo exhibit saying, "Daddy, we need to go to the elephant AREA!" What a precious memory Dan will always have of this time with his daughter.

Update on Annual Physicals

Last week was a pretty eventful check up for both Timothy and Samantha, and this week has provided several results! All 3 referrals for Timothy have been approved, and 2 of the appointments are next week. Blood work came back "borderline", so the doctor put in a prescription for a multi-vitamin that I assume is something like the one Samantha takes (stronger than OTC). Samantha's referral to the Speech Pathologist has also been approved. The earliest they can get us in is the last week of September, but I'm feeling extremely grateful!

Samantha's 3-yr Physical

So I have had a really hard time finding a pediatrician I'm happy with at Balboa, but since Samantha's CF dr is so fantastic (and requires our gen ped to be there) I try to look over it. And it's not just that there are some really bad doctors, it's also a bad, impersonal process. A few months ago when Samantha was sick, I stumbled on a doctor I was quite pleased with, so I scheduled both annual physicals today with him. Well, he did not disappoint!

Potty Training

Samantha is 3 1/2 and still not potty trained. There's no way to say that without embarrassment. This is the mark of a good mother, right? I keep trying to remind myself to chill out, but facts are facts so I mentioned it today. He reminded me every child goes at their own pace, and then asked me what our issues are...

A) We can't quite make the switch from me taking her every hour to her telling me that she needs to go BEFORE she wets

B) Any kind of bowel movement on the toilet is out of the question.

He gave me 2 techniques to use for kids who can have a propensity for constipation or digestive issues (CFers). I'm still going to share them because if you have a child who is #1 trained, but not #2 trained they may help you...

1. There is a body position that anatomically allows for elimination more easily than any other, and you can email me (experiencingeachmoment@gmail.com) if you want to know it. When we got home, I knew she needed to "go" before naptime, so I tried it and sure enough it works!!! Now we have a long way to go in the training area, but I'm convinced of this body position tip.
2. The other thing he said to do was spend about 15 or so minutes on the toilet after each meal. There is a reflex in the body that tells the colon to eliminate in order to make room for the food that is on its way. This is why infants will often poop after a feeding, and it's the same concept even at age 3. Right after meal time is a more likely time to be able to poop. He said stay in there whether or not she needs to, but don't make it reading time or tv watching time or anything. It's purpose is for pooping (I asked if we could sing or talk, and he said yes). I think this could also help her go longer to urinate. If she knows every 4 hours she'll be on the potty she may practice holding it. Who knows? But the intent of this exercise is for pooping.

My philosophy in all these random parenting milestones with preschoolers is that I would rather hear 100 tips if it gets me to the 1 I need that works in my situation. These may be common, but they are 2 tips I had yet to be told. So we'll try them, and if they work they work. If they don't work, we'll be right where we were before...learning to be patient!

Stuttering

One month ago Samantha started stuttering out of the blue. I don't really know how to explain it, but it's extreme. After 4 years of speech therapy (with Timothy) you would think I would have a clue, but I don't. Everything I've found online talked about kids "growing" out of it by age 7. I'm thinking that's 4 years!!!! As far as I'm concerned she can grow out of it while she's being treated. Thankfully, the doctor took this seriously. He didn't know if it would be best to go through developmental (speech pathologist) or the psychology route (behavior mod/anxiety), so he's going to find out, and we'll get a referral to one or the other!

I've got a school fair, karate, and Awana leaders meeting tonight, so I've got to scoot out the door. I'll write about Timothy's appt later!

WW & SEW: The Head Tilt

Samantha's new "pose" for the camera includes this adorable head tilt, along with her standard "CHEESE!" This was taken on July 3rd. The bear in her lap was given to her by Russ & Sherry, CF parents in Hawaii, whom Dan met while he was there. Sherry is the Great Strides coordinator in HI and gave Dan this bear to pass on to Samantha.

This was taken today at the beach. Samantha was totally stoked about her new "kitty" goggles. If you look closely you can see the catlike skin.

For more Wordless Wednesday (WW), visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

For more Special Exposure Wednesday (SEW), visit 5 Minutes for Special Needs.

The Diagnosis

Three years ago today, we were given the shocking news that Samantha has Cystic Fibrosis. Here's our story...

Thursday, December 8, 2005-After an uneventful pregnancy, Samantha was born, via scheduled c-section. Timothy's birth is somewhat of a blur (due to drugs), but I was wide awake the whole time with Sam and it was wonderful. We both were healthy, I was walking w/in hours, and we went home as soon as I could be released (I don't even think I was there the full 48 hours). Samantha's birth weight was 6 lbs 9 ounces.

The first week went by like all do. She slept a lot, and we were all just adjusting to our family of 3 becoming a family of 4. I've been asked if she displayed symptoms. Yes and no. If I were to have another child with these symptoms, I would know in a heartbeat, but did anything scream out as off? No. But this was Samantha: She glistened. Her poops were horrendous (and would be for months to come, actually). And she had a small cough.

After a week I started having nursing issues. I had milk supply problems with Timothy, but this time nursing was going well. So when I started having pain, I made an appt w/the lactation consultant, thinking I had an infection.

Monday, December 19, 2005 (11 days old)-I couldn't drive still, so all 4 of us went to the hospital for the appt. Dan and Timothy went to McDs while Sam & I saw the lactation consultant. It was a pretty basic appt. Samantha weighed in at 5 lbs 15 ounces-not possible to be back to birth weight by 2 weeks. I didn't have an infection, but she gave me some things to try, and I would return another day. As I was putting Samantha back into her infant car seat, she coughed (staccato, croupy cough).

The lactation consultant was extremely disturbed. She asked if that had been happening, often to which I replied yes. Then she said, "Well, infants aren't supposed to cough. She could be sick, and that may be the nursing problem. You need to go over and see the doctor right now."

I couldn't think straight. I remember just obeying the orders and being in this weird haze. I kept hearing "newborns don't cough" over and over in my head, and I just wanted to get to Dan. I remember crying quietly at McDs while Dan and Timothy were finishing their lunch...you just don't tell a postpartum mother that kind of information in that way. I was exhausted.

It was too late to be seen that day, so we made an appt for the next day...

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 (12 days old)-After explaining why we made an appt to the pediatrician, she said, "Newborns can totally cough. Can you tell me how many times a day she has been coughing?" We didn't know we were supposed to be counting. Just every so often I said, and it's always that 1 barky cough. The doctor blew the whole thing off since there were no other "symptoms", and said to bring her back if there are more than 10 coughs a day. [This was Samantha's first, and thankfully only, missed diagnosis.]

Wednesday, December, 21, 2005 (13 days old)-we came home to find the following message on our machine:

Hello, I am RN B____. I work with Dr. W_____. We have received some results from Samantha's newborn screen, and the doctor wants to fit you in on his lunch hour tomorrow at noon. I know this is not a message you want to receive by phone, but we need to tell you the results in person. Please call me if you can't make it at that time.

Those words still make me cry 3 years later. Dan and I couldn't stand the thought of waiting until the next day, so we started looking for anything we could find on newborn screenings. We didn't even know what they tested for! None of the tests that California did seemed to be an option, so we were even more confused.

I remembered that the nurse had given the doctor's name, so I did a search on him and the first thing to pop up was the CF foundation's care center link. Besides being our hospital's pediatric pulmonologist, he is also the CF Center Director. Cystic Fibrosis was not one of the CA state newborn screening, but we discovered it was done in other states. In our heart of hearts we knew this is what Samantha had, but then we had to wait a day to get the official news.

That was the worst day. My heart breaks for those of you who went months and even years trying to get an answer, trying to get a doctor to take you seriously. The unknown was terrible, and we didn't want to alarm our friends and family, which made that night a long one. Dan and I each asked one person to pray for us. I called my dear friend, Christi. I hadn't even spent tons of time with her (at that point), but knew she was a "kindred spirit". Christi and I both have been through more than we could have ever imagined since that phone call 3 years ago, but that's another story (or 3 or 4)!

Thursday, December 22nd, 2005 (2 weeks old)-As we were checking in at the appointment desk, one of the hospital workers said to another, "Yeah, they're here for CF." Obviously, he had no idea that we didn't know yet, but our inclinations were confirmed. I think our doctor was a little surprised by our lack of surprise, but the actual words coming out of his mouth were a bit anti-climactic at that point. I actually liked that the night before I was able to be prepared and have some concept of what in the world CF was.

We considered waiting until Christmas was over with to tell our families, but I'm so glad we didn't. My mom flew out here as quickly as she could get on a plane, and honestly we spent Christmas just appreciating that we had each other. I had always known of a cousin who died as an infant, but never knew Michael died of CF. There are no known cases on Dan's side, as is normally the situation.

One reason the tests took 2 weeks to get back to us is that after the first "positive" CF test, Sam's blood was sent on to another lab for full genetic testing. There can be false positives, so this way, there was no question of the results. Dan and I both are carriers of the most common mutation, Delta f508. The Wed after Christmas both Samantha and Timothy had sweat tests done, but that was basically for documentation. Samantha was positive, Timothy was negative. In time, we will find out if Timothy is a carrier. It's a simple test since they already know what mutation to look for.

I have to be honest. Samantha has been healthier in these last 3 years than I ever imagined she would be. For me, this disease has been such a roller coaster. I get comfortable thinking everything is smooth sailing, and then I'm jerked sideways. So it's a journey, and like everything in my life, I'm learning to experience each moment instead of avoid them. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Quarterly CF Clinic Day

About 3 weeks ago, Samantha was put on an antibiotic for upper respiratory-like symptoms. Every time we put her on antibiotics she loses her appetite. This time it hasn't really come back, which is disappointing. She did gain a little in the last 3 months, but not as much as I would like. She's also pretty lethargic, which makes me think she's lacking some kind of nutrient. Thankfully, this was the big appt of the year where we do chest x-ray and blood work.

First stop: x-ray. Samantha's lungs look clear: "no pneumonias, no blockages, whatever you're doing is working". Have I mentioned that Samantha is not "into" x-rays. She had calmed down just in time to get to clinic...

Next stop: basic stats

Pulse Ox: 99 (Yippee!)
Weight: 13.2 kilos = 29 lbs; 30th percentile
Height: 92.7 cm = 36 inches; 30th percentile

A continual goal for CFers is 50th percentile, but Samantha has sustained a consistent 30th percentile height, which makes her 30th percentile weight a little more acceptable. We'll continue to pump calories in her as best we can. We're looking at a 15.5 BMI, which is about 40th percentile.

Third stop: blood draw

I thought I was going to start crying. I think it lasted 5 minutes...it took forever!!! Dan and I were both having to hold her down. She kept looking at the needle and blood was leaking out. It was awful. She was so traumatized afterwards that she fell asleep sitting up in my lap. I call back Monday for lab results.

Doc did a pretty minor exam on her (since she was out cold), but then decided today would be a good "test Vest" day. I'm sure all of you CF moms are thinking "Samantha is 3 and doesn't have a Vest?" I know...it's shocking. That's not even the norm in our clinic. Basically every time we go there is a different reason he chooses not to start it. We practiced it a year ago, and she got through an entire 20 minutes, but oh no not today. Did I mention she was still traumatized? We made it almost 4 minutes before the RT said let's call it quits. So the reason we won't be starting The Vest now? Patient Compliance (or lack thereof). I think I actually heard my aching wrist let out a cry. I want The Vest SO badly, but Dan is deploying very soon so consistency in treatment is a good thing.

By the way, CF moms, Sam wore a "small" Vest today, and we had to wrap it pretty tight. I'm just curious if any of you used anything smaller (like extra small?) when your kids were younger?

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

Samantha, today on December 8th, you turn 3, and I love that...

you have been calling yourself 4 yrs old for almost 9 months, confusing and amusing many!

you can take a tomato and pickle from your kitchen and name them Bob and Larry. And then care for them like they are the actual actors in the movies. I love that Larry's mom is a green bell pepper and Larry's dad is a cabbage. And that you are creative enough for a french fry to be Junior.

you talk to Timothy as your equal, convinced you can do anything he can do.

you adore him, and cry often "I want Tim [no o] thy". (You dropped "Bubba" months ago)

you are a daddy's girl, but still want me when you don't feel good (or Daddy says no).

you appreciate girly things ("That's pretty"), but will play with a car any day!

I have had 3 amazing years with you where you teach me patience (or is that try my patience?), show me that circumstances don't have to be obstacles, and remind me to snuggle.

I love you, Samantha!

And now that you're 3 I'm going to TRY to stop calling you Baby Girl!

Cystic Fibrosis Facts

Talana, an adult CFer who lives in Oregon, blogged yesterday about an incident that happened at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, on Monday. The school hosts an annual fundraising event called Shinerama for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (ccff), which started at the school 24 years ago. Evidently, the student body leadership decided next year they would like to raise funds for a different cause so ...

"In a meeting Monday night, CUSA members voted 17-2 to approve a motion to look at donating the frosh week fundraising money to other charities because 'cystic fibrosis has been recently revealed to only affect white people, and primarily men' and 'all orientees and volunteers should feel like their fundraising efforts will serve their diverse communities.'”

This information is wrong! I want to communicate the facts:

1. Race: Cystic fibrosis is the most common life-limiting autosomal recessive disease among people of European heritage. In the United States, approximately 30,000 individuals have CF; most are diagnosed by six months of age. Canada has approximately 3,000 citizens with CF. Approximately 1 in 25 people of European descent and 1 in 22 people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent is a carrier of a cystic fibrosis mutation. Although CF is less common in these groups, approximately 1 in 46 Hispanics, 1 in 65 Africans and 1 in 90 Asians carry at least one abnormal CFTR gene.
2. Gender: Cystic fibrosis is diagnosed in males and females equally. For unclear reasons, males tend to have a longer life expectancy than females.
   

Since Talana's post popped up in my google reader, I have read several newspaper articles and various other blog posts. Obviously, there has been an outcry from the CF community, and according to this article one of the board members will encourage an emergency meeting to "reconsider their decision" since "the information provided to the panel prior to the vote was factually incorrect". They will probably revote and still decide to switch charities, but at least it will be based on the truth.

And the question that keeps nagging at me: Since they have been fundraising for the CF foundation for so long, why did no one in the room catch how false these statements were?

Timothy tried to obey!!!

Last night was a late night for us, so we all slept in this morning. I slept in until 8:20, which is I can't believe! Yippee!!! When I woke up, I heard no noise coming from Sam's room and "play noise" coming from Timothy's. Very nice. At 8:39, Timothy came out and said, "Mom, I've played and played, and the number never shows SEVEN!!!!!!!!!!!" (Do you feel the angst?)

Oh, it made me laugh so hard! He also slept in later than he usually does, so by the time he woke up his clock had an 8 in the front. We have a rule that he doesn't get out of his room "until it says 7" because the days that he wakes up at 6:30am mommy still needs alone time before I start the day.

I never thought he would ever sleep until 8, and I would have to be specific enough to say "7 or HIGHER". But I have now, and so we got a mini-lesson/review in what higher and lower is. But I'm so glad he didn't know before today! The fact that he thought he needed to stay and play allowed me to sleep until 8:20 and still get 20 minutes of me time!!! And my son really worked hard to obey the rules. It's a good way to start the day!

Samantha and Meds

I've really been trying to give Samantha and Timothy words to use to describe all the treatments and medicine for her Cystic Fibrosis. As they start to explain it in their own words, we've had some conversations that are a little poignant to me...

Samantha was kind of complaining about taking enzymes a couple of days ago, and Timothy said, "That will make your sickness go away." Oh, if that were only true! But of course we pray that one day CF will stand for Cure Found.

Samantha was complaining about treatments when she woke up this morning (see a trend?) I told her, "We have to do it so that you can breathe better". In a very resigned voice, almost to herself, she said, "It makes the cough go away."

CF Videos

I'm late again for the 2nd month in a row-this time a surprise visit from hubby. It was wonderful! The breathing treatment videos are way too long, so I'll have to figure something else out. In the meantime, I thought I would talk about the digestive side of things.

Samantha takes Creon-10 and Prevacid daily.

For the last 3 years, we have opened up the capsules and dumped them in some kind of food (yogurt, applesauce) and fed it to her. A few weeks ago, she started doing this....

.

For those of you who have to do this, I don't have to tell you how this has revolutionized our life!

Yes, I'm more than embarrassed by how short I am with Samantha in this video! It's awful! I think I was trying to hurry it along because I was taping, but Samantha was having too much fun watching Timothy ham it up for the camera.

Merry Masquerade

You know how another greeting for Merry Christmas is Happy Holidays? Well, I'm starting a new one for Halloween: Merry Masquerade! Hee hee! These pictures are from our Saturday of fun with Amber & Caedmon.

Timothy casually told me about a month ago that he wanted to be Mario. It was fun that he picked a costume before seeing the options. Thankfully it was a simple one to put together because Mario "costumes" were only accessible online and those were out of stock!

A few weeks ago, we saw a tiger costume at Party City and she "knew" that's what she wanted to be. I went back a few days later, and they were all gone. And after calling all Party City's in San Diego, I discovered they were gone from the whole city! Amber lent me a lion costume (which is adorable and I hope to get her in it today). But when Sam wears it (we've played dress up a lot), she says, "I'm a LION, and I'm going to be a TIGER for Halloween!" I happened to say this on facebook and another friend of mine said, "I've got a tiger costume!"
She doesn't look very ferocious, does she?

Caedmon was the Green Lantern. How cool is that? And while I don't know much about comic books, there were several people at Border's who DID know and were loving it!


And here is my Baby Girl climbing (yes, almost choking) on Amber!

Measurements Are Funny Things

So I've asked my step-mom for aprons for Christmas for me and the kids! I'm so excited! She needed me to get waist measurements and length measurements for them.

Timothy is 10 inches taller than Samantha. He's 95th percentile height, while she's 25th.

But here's the big surprise...both of my children have a 22 inch waist!!! Isn't that hysterical?

Tree Huggers

We finished the craft fair (see previous post) quickly, and the kids found a tree to climb on.

Strike a Pose:


You would never guess by their coloring that these 2 beautiful children are related. They are so unique:

Craft Fair and I Spy Bags

My friend Amber told me the Holiday Treasures Craft Fair to benefit the Armed Services YMCA on Saturday. It sounded like fun, and I'm always up for spending time with Amber (and my kids are always begging to be with Caedmon) so I said yes! I tell you what, with scary Halloween stuff at every turn, it sure was nice to start thinking about Christmas. It was an amazing craft fair (people are so talented), and I went away with a few cute things:

Christmas ornament for my sister (not showing pic, in case she looks!).

Last Christmas I heard this idea: Buy an ornament each year that has to do with whatever activity or "love" your child has at the time, and note the year on it. Over time it will be fun to see what showed up each year. I still need to go back and fill in the "holes" of previous years, but it's a tradition I want to start. I found ornaments that represent both kids.

I Spy Bags. Our kids LOVE them! The Tip Junkie linked to Kelly's tutorial back in July. We got a fantastic deal at $6/piece, but you can buy them online here. I'm trying to convince my step-mom (seamstress extraordinaire) to make them! I've posted a picture of Timothy's, and if you enlarge it by clicking on the picture you can read the list of items that are in the bag.

Care for the Caregiver Retreat

Yesterday, CREDO (Navy chaplain org) offered a day retreat for those in the role of caregiver. It was 7 hours, and they provided childcare free! I honestly didn't care if it was the most boring 7 hours of my life-I knew I had to take advantage of it. Two of my favorite MOPS moms joined me. All of our kids are used to playing with each other, which made them all feel like they were just getting a really long play date! (By the way-these are 2 great friends. One brought me a strawberry cake Fri night just because I had such a hard week.)

It turned out not to be boring at all. We had 4 themed sessions that would introduce a topic, and then we went around the table answering discussion questions. Here were a few things that stuck with me:

1. Explanation of why to use "I" instead of "you" when answering a question-In our English language, we tend to use the word "you" when describing incidents. This allows us to disassociate from our feelings and experiences. Using "I" makes us take ownership and "reclaim" our story.
2. Stress Assessment-I took one of these a year ago and my numbers were off the charts. It was encouraging to take the assessment this time and score in the borderline high stress. And some of the things that added to my score occurred a few months ago and aren't happening any more. It's nice to be reminded that stress comes in waves, and it can decrease!!
3. "When I weave, I weave." We watched a video of a photographer from National Geographic, who walked us through what his process is in discovering the best shot. He was once assigned to photograph a weaver, and when he asked her what she thinks about while she's weaving, she said simply, "When I weave, I weave." I must practice that discipline of simplicity. When I'm with one of my children, I'm with them. When I listen to a friend, she has my full attention. When I'm driving, I'm ONLY driving!

The chaplain invited a friend of hers to visit with us during lunch. His name is Keith Barany, and he's a comedian who has done a bunch of stuff. He currently writes for Jimmy Kimmel, although it's not in his bio. He was funny, except for the one question I asked, "What's Jimmy Kimmel like?" Suddenly he had only one word, "Nice". It was awkward! But he had some good jokes, and I guess his emphasis is PG Comedy.

Leading up to Sat, the organizers were asking me all kinds of questions about Sam's illness. Her breathing treatments & chest PT are done in the morning and at night, but she has to take her enzymes before she eats (in other words, all day). At one point I thought they may not let me come, but they allowed me to go into the childcare room to administer her meds throughout the day. I couldn't help but think of the women not present because they care for children who have really difficult special needs. Those women can't go to something like this, and my heart breaks for them.

One cute thing that happened. When I went to the kid's room for the morning snack, the workers realized that Timothy and Samantha were siblings. Samantha had called Caedmon (Amber's son) "my brother". I think the workers really thought they were brother and sister for a while. Ironically, as they were telling me the story, Timothy said, "Caedmon is my brother, too". Sweet, sweet friends.

Back from the Doctor

We were not admitted!!! Yippee!!! I want to do cartwheels!

Her O2 level was 98

Dr says her lungs "whistle a little bit, but she sounds pretty okay"

She told me her thoughts of how she would proceed, but paged Dr. W (Sam's dr). This is the normal procedure. He makes the decision whether he's there or not. Samantha is going back on an oral steroid for 7 days PLUS she will start a daily steroid along with her current treatments.

We will just add the third part onto what we do now morning and night:

Albuterol (through nebulizer)-about 15 minutes
Chest PT-about 10 minutes
**Pulmicort (through nebulizer)-hopefully only 5 minutes??

Both the albuterol and steroid can be given in an inhaler form, which would decrease the time from 20 minutes to about 20 breaths. Problem is Sam doesn't like the Aerochamber (mask) against her face, and it has to seal in order to work. She's been doing better lately playing with it, so I'm really hoping we can switch over. It would really cut down treatment time!!!

Living Worry Free

Our pastor is doing a sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount. It's been great! I'm typing up the sermon notes from yesterday so that Dan can see them. Hi honey! And I'm also writing this to be reminded not to worry! Samantha finished her steroid last Tues and her antibiotic on Fri. Sadly, her cough returned yesterday, and it sounds so painful. She's in good spirits, but we have an appt at noon today. I have a hard time thinking she won't be admitted, but I am reminding myself not to worry.

Matthew 6: 25-34

Jesus says there are 4 problems with worry:

Worry distracts me (v 25)
Worry devalues me (v 26)
Worry doesn't work (v 27)
Worry dishonors God (v 28-29)

The root of all worry is doubting God's goodness. Worry is practical atheism.

Remember to...
Live one day at a time (v 34)
Do one thing at a time (v 33)
Trust God all the time (v 31, 32)

Replace panic with promises!!! (He listed a bunch, but I don't have time to copy.) Here's a website he referenced: http://www.olivebranch.com/promises/promises.htm

Definition of worry: Assuming responsibility that God never meant for me to have. Opposite of worry is trust.

So, I'm headed to the dr. appt now, and I'm remembering the truth of God's word as I go!