Chris is now home from the hospital and adjusting to the defibrilator. Yay! We're sure glad he's home and well.
It sounds like Greg and Chris' mom, Pam, will also be doing some testing to see if she has the condition as well. After some reflection, people have been able to identify several members of the extended family who have died young of heart attacks.
On another note, Brayden has started showing the signs of being a frustrated toddler. That includes temper tantrums full of screaming, real tears, and throwing himself on the floor. I'm not sure what the next year or two will be like, but I am sure that he's only just warming up :-)
Friday, October 3, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Medical Worries
There is good news and there is bad news. The good news is that my brother-in-law, Chris, is alive...the bad news is that he has a heart condition that requires the insertion of a defribrilator and life-long beta blockers. And he cannot ever run competitively again.
The disease is CPVT (the long version would take forever to type). From what I have read, it is a genetic mutation that disturbs the calcium storage in the heart and when adrenaline (or catecholamines) is introduced, the heart does not respond properly and produces a fast and chaotic heartbeat that throws the heart into tachycardia. The outcome is either the heart reverts out of the tachycardia or it doesn't. That latter results in sudden death. Chris realizes he has probably had about 20 incidences while running over the last few months, though he did not know what he was experiencing. In all of those episodes, his heart reverted back to a normal state, luckily. From this point forward, he will have to be vigilant of high levels of emotional stress and intense exercise, though his prognosis is good with defribrilator and meds.
The genetic implications are plain, with 30% of CPVT having familial linkages. Greg and Chris' father (Mike) will be consulting his physician and so will Greg. Then we will think about any implications for Brayden. Scary to note - this disease is difficult to diagnose because it comes on only during exercise and/or high levels of emotional stress. Chris had a stress test a couple of weeks ago and it was normal. Only while continuing to run while wearing a heart monitor was the arrythmia discovered. So, even if Greg's stress test comes back normal, he may not be free-and-clear. It seems we have to really wait until he either has a syncope (fainting spell) or...well, you get the idea.
Another scary note: this disease is typically diagnosed in children, with the mean age of onset at 7-9 years, though (of course) it can be diagnosed as late as the 4th decade. I read a study reporting 30% of untreated cases of CPVT resulted in sudden death before age 40. Another study indicated 50% of untreated childhood cases resulted in sudden death by the age of 20.
Please be praying for Chris and his family as they move forward with the adjustments that will be necessary. I will post more as we learn about Mike, Brayden, and Greg.
The disease is CPVT (the long version would take forever to type). From what I have read, it is a genetic mutation that disturbs the calcium storage in the heart and when adrenaline (or catecholamines) is introduced, the heart does not respond properly and produces a fast and chaotic heartbeat that throws the heart into tachycardia. The outcome is either the heart reverts out of the tachycardia or it doesn't. That latter results in sudden death. Chris realizes he has probably had about 20 incidences while running over the last few months, though he did not know what he was experiencing. In all of those episodes, his heart reverted back to a normal state, luckily. From this point forward, he will have to be vigilant of high levels of emotional stress and intense exercise, though his prognosis is good with defribrilator and meds.
The genetic implications are plain, with 30% of CPVT having familial linkages. Greg and Chris' father (Mike) will be consulting his physician and so will Greg. Then we will think about any implications for Brayden. Scary to note - this disease is difficult to diagnose because it comes on only during exercise and/or high levels of emotional stress. Chris had a stress test a couple of weeks ago and it was normal. Only while continuing to run while wearing a heart monitor was the arrythmia discovered. So, even if Greg's stress test comes back normal, he may not be free-and-clear. It seems we have to really wait until he either has a syncope (fainting spell) or...well, you get the idea.
Another scary note: this disease is typically diagnosed in children, with the mean age of onset at 7-9 years, though (of course) it can be diagnosed as late as the 4th decade. I read a study reporting 30% of untreated cases of CPVT resulted in sudden death before age 40. Another study indicated 50% of untreated childhood cases resulted in sudden death by the age of 20.
Please be praying for Chris and his family as they move forward with the adjustments that will be necessary. I will post more as we learn about Mike, Brayden, and Greg.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
September?
Where in the world did this month go? We have had a busy month, for sure. Some good...some bad.It started out kinda' rough and we thought we were going to lose Toby. After rushing him to the emergency vet where he stayed overnight, we learned he has an enlarged heart and congestive heart failure. Somehow, his bloodwork showed no organ damage and everything looks good overall, so he is now on meds for the rest of his life. After three weeks, he is doing GREAT! He's already lost some weight and his blood pressure is under control. A few days ago, he even played with one of Brayden's balls like a puppy. It was amazing to see.
The weekend of the 13th, we traveled to Texas for my sorority reunion. First, on Friday the 12th, we weren't sure we were going to get out of town. More specifically, it rained 12 inches on Friday and flooded most of west Wichita. We almost couldn't get Brayden from daycare (at 119th and Maple). We did manage to get out of town and left behind a continuing flood. They said it was the worst flood in 15 years. Our house is in no danger, though it was still anxiety-producing to leave and not know for sure.
While in Texas, Nana and Papa kept Brayden while Greg and I stayed over in Wichita Falls for the reunion. We got a hotel - it was our first night away together without Brayden since he was born. It was great! Brayden developed a strong affinity for Nana that weekend...they bonded!
I thoroughly enjoyed the reunion and got to see sisters I haven't seen in years. More importantly, I got to see Michele and Mandi - my two best friends from college. Both of them live in the Dallas area and I miss them a lot.
We stayed in IP visiting with Mom and Dad until Sunday night. The trip was kinda' rough coming home to Kansas because Brayden decided he wasn't ready to go to sleep. He was awake all the way until OKC (ugh!), but at least he stayed asleep after that.
After getting home about 1:30am, I got up at 6:00am and left for Salina for a faculty retreat. We stayed at Webster's Conference Center - very....umm...camp-like, though we got a lot done. :-)
The Britches and Lace fall consignment sale was the latter half of that week. I somehow managed to get all of Brayden's old clothes ready to consign in time. I was able to shop on Wednesday during the pre-sale and got him loaded up and ready for the winter.
My sister-in-law and brother-in-law experienced a series of health challenges during that week that kept us all in prayer. I won't share their stories here because they aren't mine to share but all parties are healing in the ways that they will need healing.
Last Sunday, we tried out a new church. While it was not a match, it is exciting to be "in the market". The church had many great qualities - nursery, people, and location. The cons, however, were the preaching style and music worship. We'll keep looking and are open to suggestions!
We had the carpets cleaned on Monday - FINALLY! We are usually very good to get them done each spring, but we got busy this year. We also had the house sprayed for Brown Recluse spiders after seeing on downstairs
My 34th birthday was this past Thursday. I worked all day, but everyone made it a great day. I got cards, cake, and lots of well wishes from friends and family alike. My amazing husband gave me an amazing gift - 6 different 90-minute massages! Plus, he scheduled the first one for this past Saturday. It was the absolute perfect gift. The evening of my birthday, I came home from work, put on my pj's, and watched television. Did I mention this was premiere week? I'm on television overload.
Friday was my dad's last day of work at Cryovac after 33 years. Hard to imagine he is unemployed for the first time in his entire adult life! At one of his parties on Friday, he got a Mr. Potato Head kit, crayons, and a coloring book from his co-workers. Either there is a side to my dad I don't know, or else he must really talk about Brayden at lot!! Mom and Dad came up this weekend and brought the gifts to Brayden and they were all a huge success.
Saturday, my parents, Greg, Brayden, and Greg's dad, Mike, and I all went out to eat at Granite City. We topped the night off with a stop at Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream and then crashed when we got home. But...not before enjoying a fabulous evening on our deck. The weather this week has been better than we deserve.
Today, The Tonn-Robertson family went to the zoo for Greg's work picnic. We have been getting Brayden excited about seeing the gorillas for several weeks by watching them on the Internet. In fact, he says "gorilla"... sorta'. He sticks out his tongue rapidly and it comes out as "lilla". VERY CUTE! Anyway, we went straight to the gorilla exhibit when we got there today and wow!! At first, he was a bit scared because one of the big silverback gorillas was sitting about 4 inches away from the glass. But, after he saw that it was okay, he started pointing at him and saying "lilla". We let him walk around in the exhibit room for a while and he had a wonderful time. I have both video and pictures that I will post when I download them from the camera. He was so wound up after the zoo visit that he went all day without a nap. Boy was he tired!
Michelle and Jason came over tonight to watch the premiere of The Amazing Race 13. It was our turn for dinner, so I made roast, but Michelle brought cake to celebrate my birthday. Yum! They also brought a giftcard to Carrabbas! Double Yum!
I guess that's enough of a September '08 update...
Friday, September 5, 2008
Sick sick sick
Brayden was sick last week and gave his lovely germs to me. I have a nasty head cold that is getting worse and worse. Even Greg has been sick the last couple of days - and Brayden is well! The irony is not lost on me.
It really stinks because we were going to go with Jason and Michelle to the State Fair in Hutchinson tomorrow. We haven't made a for sure decision yet, but it ain't looking good for the home team.
This was a good week overall. One really exciting thing happened with a family member, but we can't yet say anything. Once we get the go ahead, I'll post about it. Otherwise, Greg and I worked very hard. Brayden added two new words to his vocabulary - "done" and "apples". I was videoing him brushing his teeth and caught "done" on video the first time out of his mouth! He said apples last night when eating applesauce for his bedtime snack. Honestly, I think he almost said "applesauce", but he kinda' gave up on the last syllable.
It really stinks because we were going to go with Jason and Michelle to the State Fair in Hutchinson tomorrow. We haven't made a for sure decision yet, but it ain't looking good for the home team.
This was a good week overall. One really exciting thing happened with a family member, but we can't yet say anything. Once we get the go ahead, I'll post about it. Otherwise, Greg and I worked very hard. Brayden added two new words to his vocabulary - "done" and "apples". I was videoing him brushing his teeth and caught "done" on video the first time out of his mouth! He said apples last night when eating applesauce for his bedtime snack. Honestly, I think he almost said "applesauce", but he kinda' gave up on the last syllable.
Here's the toothbrushing video:
I worked late tonight and when we got home, we watched "The Incredibles" on Disney. Brayden watched a lot of it with us ~ he even laid in the floor with me on my pillow!
Happy Weekend!
Next week is my sorority reunion in Texas and I can't wait!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Best Buy, a Fussy Kid, and a Teenage Salesperson
Poor Brayden woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. He was tired and cranky from the get go and we couldn't do a thing to help him. Food, water, juice, fresh diaper...nutin'! We loaded up as a family about 11:15 and headed to Best Buy with the intention to purchase a new television for our living room. Here's the run down of the situation
Michelle's Goal: Get more space in the small living room and move all of the devices out of site (i.e. hall closet).
Greg's Goal: Get the best TV ever.
Best Buy's Goal: Hire the youngest, most ill-informed high school minimum wage worker ~ who also confuses numbers ~ to wait on us.
Michelle and Jason - friend's of ours - were there already in the shopping process and well on their way to getting what they wanted: a new tv for the living room and a tv for the bedroom - both beautiful Samsung flat panel LCD TVs. They were gracious enough to help us manage a fussy kiddo who just wants to push the cart around 90mph (see yesterday's blog for more details) while Greg asked all of the necessary and important questions of the not-so-informed salesperson. In that conversation, he settles on the most amazing television ever. Goal met!
After 45 minutes, 1/3 of the movie Cars, half of a McDonald's Happy Meal (that is apparently now called a Kid's meal and comes with MILK!), and 48 rounds of "Brayden, don't push that button, please", our salesperson informs us that she has located a television that we should consider. It is big, "out of the box", refurbished, and fantastic. Also, she quotes us a price that is $900 less than the retail price. NOW WE'RE TALKING! We start making things happen... sorting through the type of wall mount we would need and how we could get it mounted over our stairwell...and how much installation costs. After another 35 minutes, 14 more rounds around the electronics section fulfilling Brayden's cart pushing needs, we get down to the nitty-gritty and schedule a consult for tomorrow (Monday) with one of the installation guys to determine if this gi-normous television (52") will even fit in the space we have in mind. We decide to purchase the television and wait until the dude comes to our house before bringing it home - in case we determine it won't fit. They'll just refund our money and we're out nothing.
We get all the way to the purchasing and I watch our not-so-speedy 17 year old girl enter the sales information. The slower she goes, the fussier Brayden gets. We're already 45 minutes into regular nap time and dangerously close to a meltdown. Remember, he did not wake up happy this morning! As I watch, she rings up the television at $100 more than the actual retail price. Ironically, that makes it exactly $1000 MORE than she quoted us, so I naturally think she typed the number wrong and point it out. She says, "no, the television is that much". I say, "no, sweetie, remember? The television new is $100 less than that, so how can a refurbished one be $100 more?" She gets quite confused at this point and stares blankly at her paper as if it will answer my question for her. We walk to the wall displaying the television we are getting (well, the new ones) and sure enough, I'm right! The price on the TV is $100 cheaper than the price she just put in the computer for our refurbished one. She says she just doesn't understand what is happening and has no memory of quoting us a more than $900 cheaper price just a little over 40 minutes ago.
She disappears into the Best Buy abyss and returns 3 minutes later to report that she guesses the since it is the morning of the first day of a new sale, not all of the sales prices had been updated in the computer when she first came to us. According to her, the regular price of the TV was actually $300 more than the sales price, which is now more than $1200 more than the original price she quoted us for the refurbished one!! WHAT?? When I asked her how in the world she ever got the number she quoted us, she replied that she must have gotten the numbers all mixed up. YOU THINK?Anyway, she said the manager would be okay to sell us the television with an additional $150 off the sales price, which is absurd, so we informed her she just lost a huge sale and promptly left.
IRRITATING!
Back at home, Brayden barely made it to his bed before crashing for over 3 hours. We still haven't made it all the way through is birth story. Meanwhile, Greg and I spent the afternoon evaluating the logistics of the whole TV situation and realized that it would be incredibly expensive and a whole lotta' work to do everything we want to do (Well, everything I wanted to do. Remember my goal?) So, instead of getting something now that will sit on the television cabinet we have and risk Brayden pulling it over and killing him, we'll probably wait until Christmas or later to get started on the mounting project (no snide, inappropriate jokes here).
We did get to spend the evening with Michelle and Jason, though, and had a fabulous time. We cooked steak, grilled veggies, and watched Big Brother. Brayden is fascinated with Michelle's iPhone, by the way. Brayden hit the hay about 9:45 and Greg and I are concluding the night with a a round of hurricane coverage with Jim Cantore on the Weather Channel before heading to bed. Tomorrow, I plan to catch up on laundry and any other details needed before going back to work for the first time in well over a week. I'm glad to be going back, but wish I had a little longer to rest up.
Oh, and Jason and Michelle got their new TVs home only to learn that one of them isn't working right! Arghhhh!
Michelle's Goal: Get more space in the small living room and move all of the devices out of site (i.e. hall closet).
Greg's Goal: Get the best TV ever.
Best Buy's Goal: Hire the youngest, most ill-informed high school minimum wage worker ~ who also confuses numbers ~ to wait on us.
Michelle and Jason - friend's of ours - were there already in the shopping process and well on their way to getting what they wanted: a new tv for the living room and a tv for the bedroom - both beautiful Samsung flat panel LCD TVs. They were gracious enough to help us manage a fussy kiddo who just wants to push the cart around 90mph (see yesterday's blog for more details) while Greg asked all of the necessary and important questions of the not-so-informed salesperson. In that conversation, he settles on the most amazing television ever. Goal met!
After 45 minutes, 1/3 of the movie Cars, half of a McDonald's Happy Meal (that is apparently now called a Kid's meal and comes with MILK!), and 48 rounds of "Brayden, don't push that button, please", our salesperson informs us that she has located a television that we should consider. It is big, "out of the box", refurbished, and fantastic. Also, she quotes us a price that is $900 less than the retail price. NOW WE'RE TALKING! We start making things happen... sorting through the type of wall mount we would need and how we could get it mounted over our stairwell...and how much installation costs. After another 35 minutes, 14 more rounds around the electronics section fulfilling Brayden's cart pushing needs, we get down to the nitty-gritty and schedule a consult for tomorrow (Monday) with one of the installation guys to determine if this gi-normous television (52") will even fit in the space we have in mind. We decide to purchase the television and wait until the dude comes to our house before bringing it home - in case we determine it won't fit. They'll just refund our money and we're out nothing.
We get all the way to the purchasing and I watch our not-so-speedy 17 year old girl enter the sales information. The slower she goes, the fussier Brayden gets. We're already 45 minutes into regular nap time and dangerously close to a meltdown. Remember, he did not wake up happy this morning! As I watch, she rings up the television at $100 more than the actual retail price. Ironically, that makes it exactly $1000 MORE than she quoted us, so I naturally think she typed the number wrong and point it out. She says, "no, the television is that much". I say, "no, sweetie, remember? The television new is $100 less than that, so how can a refurbished one be $100 more?" She gets quite confused at this point and stares blankly at her paper as if it will answer my question for her. We walk to the wall displaying the television we are getting (well, the new ones) and sure enough, I'm right! The price on the TV is $100 cheaper than the price she just put in the computer for our refurbished one. She says she just doesn't understand what is happening and has no memory of quoting us a more than $900 cheaper price just a little over 40 minutes ago.
She disappears into the Best Buy abyss and returns 3 minutes later to report that she guesses the since it is the morning of the first day of a new sale, not all of the sales prices had been updated in the computer when she first came to us. According to her, the regular price of the TV was actually $300 more than the sales price, which is now more than $1200 more than the original price she quoted us for the refurbished one!! WHAT?? When I asked her how in the world she ever got the number she quoted us, she replied that she must have gotten the numbers all mixed up. YOU THINK?
IRRITATING!
Back at home, Brayden barely made it to his bed before crashing for over 3 hours. We still haven't made it all the way through is birth story. Meanwhile, Greg and I spent the afternoon evaluating the logistics of the whole TV situation and realized that it would be incredibly expensive and a whole lotta' work to do everything we want to do (Well, everything I wanted to do. Remember my goal?) So, instead of getting something now that will sit on the television cabinet we have and risk Brayden pulling it over and killing him, we'll probably wait until Christmas or later to get started on the mounting project (no snide, inappropriate jokes here).
We did get to spend the evening with Michelle and Jason, though, and had a fabulous time. We cooked steak, grilled veggies, and watched Big Brother. Brayden is fascinated with Michelle's iPhone, by the way. Brayden hit the hay about 9:45 and Greg and I are concluding the night with a a round of hurricane coverage with Jim Cantore on the Weather Channel before heading to bed. Tomorrow, I plan to catch up on laundry and any other details needed before going back to work for the first time in well over a week. I'm glad to be going back, but wish I had a little longer to rest up.
Oh, and Jason and Michelle got their new TVs home only to learn that one of them isn't working right! Arghhhh!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Oceans Eleven and Saturday Night
Today I spent the day with Brayden while Greg did his 6 month check ride. We went to Office Depot and bought envelopes because we're out and I needed to mail my check and RSVP for my Gamma Phi Beta reunion. Nothing like taking an 18-month old toddler into a store for one item. He was ready for a shopping spree. So, I let him push the cart around the store at full speed for 15 minutes. The patrons alternated between finding him cute and dodging his potentially lethal driving. He bends over and puts his hands on the bar where your feet go and pushes. FAST. I merely steer the cart and warn people of impending harm.
After that, we headed to the post office, to buy stamps, and drop the envelope in the mail. He has just recently started loving to walk everywhere on his own rather than be carried. It is so cute to see him reach up and take my hand! Then we got to the post office with the revolving door and he had to be carried it. That door, though, fascinated him. We got the envelope mailed and headed back home.
Brayden has been fussing at nap time lately, and today was no exception. Reading a book didn't help and neither did trying to hold him. I got a random idea to tell him a story and he LOVED it! I decided to tell him his birth story from start to finish and he was asleep within 10 minutes.
For dinner, we ordered pizza and watched the storms out on the porch. It was an amazing night! Greg and I cleaned the house and once we settled down we found Oceans Eleven on TBS. That's our all-time favorite movie. It was about 2/3 of the way through and we watched it to the end. It is being repeated now, so I'm watching the beginning while I type this. Brayden went down about 9:30...within 4 minutes, while I continued his birth story. Either I am dreadfully boring or incredibly soothing!
Tomorrow evening, we're having some friends over to grill out and watch Big Brother. Monday will be more relaxation and then back to work Tuesday. Blech!
After that, we headed to the post office, to buy stamps, and drop the envelope in the mail. He has just recently started loving to walk everywhere on his own rather than be carried. It is so cute to see him reach up and take my hand! Then we got to the post office with the revolving door and he had to be carried it. That door, though, fascinated him. We got the envelope mailed and headed back home.
Brayden has been fussing at nap time lately, and today was no exception. Reading a book didn't help and neither did trying to hold him. I got a random idea to tell him a story and he LOVED it! I decided to tell him his birth story from start to finish and he was asleep within 10 minutes.
For dinner, we ordered pizza and watched the storms out on the porch. It was an amazing night! Greg and I cleaned the house and once we settled down we found Oceans Eleven on TBS. That's our all-time favorite movie. It was about 2/3 of the way through and we watched it to the end. It is being repeated now, so I'm watching the beginning while I type this. Brayden went down about 9:30...within 4 minutes, while I continued his birth story. Either I am dreadfully boring or incredibly soothing!
Tomorrow evening, we're having some friends over to grill out and watch Big Brother. Monday will be more relaxation and then back to work Tuesday. Blech!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
And so it begins...
nothing like a little down time to create a sense of urgency to do something! As I sit here enjoying my week off from work, I felt the need to create a blog about our family and share with the world what goes on here. It isn't like we're all that chaotic - or interesting, even - I merely feel compelled to talk.
From where I sit, at nearly 7pm on random Wednesday, I see my son beating on the door...the very door I cleaned thoroughly about 2 hours ago, removing the thousands of overlapping handprints. He wants to go outside with his daddy, and after 2-3 minutes spent intently trying to open the door himself, he resorted to beating on it. It amazes me that he is almost tall enough to open it and go outside whenever he wants. That's going to present a problem because I'm not sure there are any safety locks for that type of door handle.
Today, Brayden is sick again. Yesterday, the doctor said he has impetigo, but I am not feeling that diagnosis. She claims he has strep and took a throat culture before starting him on antibiotics. What can we do, though? He seems quite prone to anything with blisters, sores, or rashes in the symptom list. In fact, that appears to be his primary illness each time. I can see the sores inside his mouth (again) and he has only had 3 wet diapers today. No question he is resisting swallowing. He is supposed to be able to go back to daycare tomorrow. I suppose we'll see how tonight goes.
Tomorrow, I am going to do nothing but "me" stuff. Greg is taking Brayden to daycare and I think I am going to rest and then maybe get a pedicure. About 5, I'll head to Jennifer Jay's and see her new house.
I got a lot of things done today - put together a list of Mary Kay products that I'm discounting 50% off (you can email me for details), got several meetings scheduled at work, and even took a nap. I did the dreaded bathroom cleaning and wonder how in the world we ever get clean in a room so disgusting.
That's all for now. See ya' next time.
~michelle
From where I sit, at nearly 7pm on random Wednesday, I see my son beating on the door...the very door I cleaned thoroughly about 2 hours ago, removing the thousands of overlapping handprints. He wants to go outside with his daddy, and after 2-3 minutes spent intently trying to open the door himself, he resorted to beating on it. It amazes me that he is almost tall enough to open it and go outside whenever he wants. That's going to present a problem because I'm not sure there are any safety locks for that type of door handle.
Today, Brayden is sick again. Yesterday, the doctor said he has impetigo, but I am not feeling that diagnosis. She claims he has strep and took a throat culture before starting him on antibiotics. What can we do, though? He seems quite prone to anything with blisters, sores, or rashes in the symptom list. In fact, that appears to be his primary illness each time. I can see the sores inside his mouth (again) and he has only had 3 wet diapers today. No question he is resisting swallowing. He is supposed to be able to go back to daycare tomorrow. I suppose we'll see how tonight goes.
Tomorrow, I am going to do nothing but "me" stuff. Greg is taking Brayden to daycare and I think I am going to rest and then maybe get a pedicure. About 5, I'll head to Jennifer Jay's and see her new house.
I got a lot of things done today - put together a list of Mary Kay products that I'm discounting 50% off (you can email me for details), got several meetings scheduled at work, and even took a nap. I did the dreaded bathroom cleaning and wonder how in the world we ever get clean in a room so disgusting.
That's all for now. See ya' next time.
~michelle
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