Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our Brody followers! :) December has flew by so fast and we are only 12 days away from our (hopefully) last trip out to California. When we booked our flights and hotels for this trip it seemed like forever away and now we are only a week and a half away! Yikes.
Brody hasn't necessarily been looking forward to this trip or is he not wanting to go. He talks about it once and a while. With not too much excitement about getting his ear but more excitement that his cousin Jack will be coming out with us for a week.
I am excited for this trip as we are hoping that it is our last "surgery" trip. I will welcome the 75 degree weather with open arms. As far as the surgery, I am still nervous. You would think that this being his fourth one, I would know the ropes and it would be a breeze. It doesn't always work like that though. I am sure I will be a nervous wreck through out the whole process just as the previous ones. I am also hopeful that Brody will get his second big boy ear and that he can move on as a normal little boy without all the stares and questions. Not that I'm not open to all the questions because I love to share Brody's story, but I just want Brody to have a normal conversation with other kids with out being asked, "What happened to your ear?" and being stared at for the next 5 minutes.
We fly out on January 7th and the surgery is on the 9th. This time we are renting a house in Marnia Del Ray. Then before head back home we will once again head to Palo Alto to meet with Dr Robersons staff to make sure the canal is doing well and have a new mold made. If all goes well we will be headed back to Wisconsin on January 26th.
Happy Holidays to you and your family! I know this year has truly been amazing in so many aspects! Our little boy now has 2 canals and is so close to having 2 big boy ears! :) We are beyond blessed for all the support from the community, family, friends, and the amazing doctors which have changed Brody's life for the better!
Friday, December 27, 2013
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Canal cleaning
WOW! Sorry it has been a little while since I have posted on the blog... I guess as soon as we got back from California we went straight into benefit mode and I was focused on that. We did make it back to Wisconsin. Brody's benefit this year was amazing. We had beautiful weather and lots of volunteers to help us have such a successful weekend. With all the fundraising we have done from day one, we can officially say that we have raised enough money to pay for Brody's surgeries!! We are so thankful for everyone who has helped us with this effort in so many different ways. THANK YOU!
Today we traveled to Milwaukee to see Dr Kershner for an ear cleaning. He checked his canals and said they look wonderful. He didn't need to have them cleaned. I very much enjoy these appointments where he doesn't need them cleaned, as Brody is not a fan of the whole cleaning process.
Overall Brody is doing very well and his new ear looks amazing! The swelling has gone down a lot and the coloring is start to look like a regular ear! :) The ear is still pretty sensitive and occasionally gets bumped and hurts him. It is still in the healing process and will take quite a while for him to get used to his new ear. It is something he hasn't had before and will take a little adjustment.
We had ordered some travel tumblers (hot-cold) for the benefit. We completely sold out of these and ordered a second round. We do have these for sale still and are $7 each. We will have them for sale at the Montello Holiday Trail on November 23rd at Kendall Tire and Auto just south of town. I'm hoping to serve apple cider in the mugs too!
Thanks again to all how are following Brody's Story. Many Blessings to all of you and wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. We have some busy months coming up. Brody's birthday is November, Christmas and then we are back to California in January!
Today we traveled to Milwaukee to see Dr Kershner for an ear cleaning. He checked his canals and said they look wonderful. He didn't need to have them cleaned. I very much enjoy these appointments where he doesn't need them cleaned, as Brody is not a fan of the whole cleaning process.
Overall Brody is doing very well and his new ear looks amazing! The swelling has gone down a lot and the coloring is start to look like a regular ear! :) The ear is still pretty sensitive and occasionally gets bumped and hurts him. It is still in the healing process and will take quite a while for him to get used to his new ear. It is something he hasn't had before and will take a little adjustment.
We had ordered some travel tumblers (hot-cold) for the benefit. We completely sold out of these and ordered a second round. We do have these for sale still and are $7 each. We will have them for sale at the Montello Holiday Trail on November 23rd at Kendall Tire and Auto just south of town. I'm hoping to serve apple cider in the mugs too!
Thanks again to all how are following Brody's Story. Many Blessings to all of you and wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. We have some busy months coming up. Brody's birthday is November, Christmas and then we are back to California in January!
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Hearing Test and Check-up with Dr. Roberson
Today we were back in Palo Alto where Brody had his canal surgery's done earlier this year by Dr. Roberson. Brody had a hearing test for both ears to see where he is at with his hearing. He did a great job with the test. He played the throw the ball in the basket game when he hears the Birdy. The audiologist said that he is hearing about the same in both ears which is great news meaning the prosthesis is doing its job in his right ear! We then met up with Dr. Roberson for a check-up and to talk about his hearing. He cleaned his right ear canal a little and also made a new mold for his new ear to wear at night to protect it, and to keep the canal the proper size. He will wear this mold for the next 4 months at night. Dr. Roberson then went on to tell us that we (in his exact words) "HIT A HOME RUN" with Brody's hearing!! He was more then happy with the hearing test results and told us he is hearing at 95% and there was really no need to wear his hearing aids! This was the best news we have heard yet, since our goal in all this was to get him to normal hearing unaided!!!!!!!
We had an appointment scheduled for Thursday just In case Brody's canal was to small he would have needed to wear a plug for a couple nights that makes the canal bigger before Dr. Roberson made the new mold. The canal was good size so there was no need to come back! We then said our good bye's until we meet back up with the CEI crew in January!
Tomorrow we are headed to a cool place in San Jose called Happy Hollow, We took Brody there when we were here in June so he wants to show Rilyn all the fun rides and animals there! We will then be flying home Thursday instead of Friday which we are all excited for, to be finally back in Wisconsin!!
We had an appointment scheduled for Thursday just In case Brody's canal was to small he would have needed to wear a plug for a couple nights that makes the canal bigger before Dr. Roberson made the new mold. The canal was good size so there was no need to come back! We then said our good bye's until we meet back up with the CEI crew in January!
Tomorrow we are headed to a cool place in San Jose called Happy Hollow, We took Brody there when we were here in June so he wants to show Rilyn all the fun rides and animals there! We will then be flying home Thursday instead of Friday which we are all excited for, to be finally back in Wisconsin!!
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| Our princess Rilyn playing in our beautiful back yard at the last rental house. |
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| My silly kiddos having fun!!! |
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| My all-pro sports guy!!! :) |
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| Cheese.... |
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| The world famous Doctor Rienich... We are soo thankful for him. |
Last leg of our journey for September...(9.23.13)
After Brody got his ear cup off it was kind of a relief! We had been anticipated this for a long time. We have to be careful for his ear to make sure there are no significant bumps, falls, wrestling matches, Etc. so far he has been very careful I think because it is very sensitive yet and new. Even Rilyn knows she needs to be careful!
Today we checked out of our house and had an appointment with Dr Renisch . He said everything looks good. And would like us to send him photos of Brody's ears. He likes to see all of his patients at least once a year. He informed us that his daughter just moved to Chicago so he would be more then willing to meet up with us there! :)
We are flying to San Jose tonight and checking into our stay bridge suites (with air conditioning). Our flight is to leave at 8:40pm.... When we checked in it had already been delayed 10 minutes.... Hopefully this is all it will be delayed. We are to arrive in San Jose at 9:40pm, so either it will be a peaceful ride or a very loud one!
Tuesday we have Brody's hearing test with the California ear institute and then our appointment with dr Roberson! Wish us luck! Thank again to everyone for your thoughts and prayers! We are extremely excited that we are only 4 days away from Wisconsin!
Today we checked out of our house and had an appointment with Dr Renisch . He said everything looks good. And would like us to send him photos of Brody's ears. He likes to see all of his patients at least once a year. He informed us that his daughter just moved to Chicago so he would be more then willing to meet up with us there! :)
We are flying to San Jose tonight and checking into our stay bridge suites (with air conditioning). Our flight is to leave at 8:40pm.... When we checked in it had already been delayed 10 minutes.... Hopefully this is all it will be delayed. We are to arrive in San Jose at 9:40pm, so either it will be a peaceful ride or a very loud one!
Tuesday we have Brody's hearing test with the California ear institute and then our appointment with dr Roberson! Wish us luck! Thank again to everyone for your thoughts and prayers! We are extremely excited that we are only 4 days away from Wisconsin!
Friday, September 20, 2013
NEW EAR!!!!
Thursday at 4:00pm we had Brody's 'Big Boy ear Reveal'!! Brody thought it was going to hurt... He was so worked up he didn't care what anyone told him... He was not going to have that cup taken off. As the nurse puts it, he has a lot of anxiety!! Well after a short wrestling match... the stitches were off the cup and the bandage was off the skin graft.... While he wanted nothing more to get out of daddy's lap and out of that room, He lunged for his momma and is desperation of him to stop crying and screaming, I said, "Hey look at your ear!" We walked in front of the mirror and mid cry-screaming, Brody stopped, and had the biggest smile on his face as he checked out his new ear!! Momma was already crying in amazement but that moment when he saw his ear for the first time was so AMAZING!! The tears were just flowing... I think the nurse had a few tears as well!! :)
As that moment, there were so many emotions going threw my head. I was sad for Brody that he had to endure all the pain and uncomfortable Dr appointments. I was overjoyed with excitement when I saw his ear. It was a miracle all in itself. This little boy who was born without ears, now has an ear! An actual real ear!! I was in shock, I really didn't believe my eyes, It was surreal! And then when he took one look at it! It was instant gratification! :) I'm pretty sure Daddy and Mommy had a permanent smile the whole Doctor appointment!! Rilyn was also happy to see her brothers new ear... She was clapping and saying "yeah Brody" Brody really enjoyed his sisters' excitement!!
The appointment was about 2 hours long, with the big reveal, the washing of the ear and the hair, mom learning how to care and clean the new ear, making a new mold, Dr Renisch showing off his beautiful work to some Doctors from Holland, lots of pictures from both the Drs and Mom, lots of questions all around!
While we were there we took a quick snapshot of the ear and texted to the family. On the drive back to the house, I was reading all the replies to Brod. He couldn't get enough of what everyone had to say! (some needed to be censored a little.... :) He was laughing and smiling at their responses!!
All of these experiences are soo amazing... I don't even have words to describe them!! We are soo thankful for everyone who has supported us threw this journey in our lives! There are soo many people who care and love Brody soo much and followed this road to "Big boy ears". Lots of love to you all!!!
As that moment, there were so many emotions going threw my head. I was sad for Brody that he had to endure all the pain and uncomfortable Dr appointments. I was overjoyed with excitement when I saw his ear. It was a miracle all in itself. This little boy who was born without ears, now has an ear! An actual real ear!! I was in shock, I really didn't believe my eyes, It was surreal! And then when he took one look at it! It was instant gratification! :) I'm pretty sure Daddy and Mommy had a permanent smile the whole Doctor appointment!! Rilyn was also happy to see her brothers new ear... She was clapping and saying "yeah Brody" Brody really enjoyed his sisters' excitement!!
The appointment was about 2 hours long, with the big reveal, the washing of the ear and the hair, mom learning how to care and clean the new ear, making a new mold, Dr Renisch showing off his beautiful work to some Doctors from Holland, lots of pictures from both the Drs and Mom, lots of questions all around!
While we were there we took a quick snapshot of the ear and texted to the family. On the drive back to the house, I was reading all the replies to Brod. He couldn't get enough of what everyone had to say! (some needed to be censored a little.... :) He was laughing and smiling at their responses!!
All of these experiences are soo amazing... I don't even have words to describe them!! We are soo thankful for everyone who has supported us threw this journey in our lives! There are soo many people who care and love Brody soo much and followed this road to "Big boy ears". Lots of love to you all!!!
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
DISNEY... Excited to see the new ear FINALLY!!!!!!
Disneyland. Oh my, where do I start? This place is ridiculously awesome!! I don't even know how to describe our experience! Lets just say you really use all of your senses! Walt Disney really knew what he was doing when he created Disneyland!!! The sights are incredible, all the lights and displays are awesome. The smells are so delicious they make you want to eat every single thing they have!! Even the rides have different smells that make them more desirable! The sounds of all the shows and music that are incorporated with every single ride is some thing that I can't even describe! It truely is an experience that everyone should do once in a lifetime!
Brody had an awesome time! Every time we would come back to the room he would say lets go do this, lets go do that! He was so overwhelmed by everything it was so enjoyable to see!!! He even got a little present from all his Disney friends! When we walked into the room there was a gift basket with some toys and snacks! It was adorable to see such a big smile on his face when he saw the present! I think he smiled bigger when I told him who it was from!
Tommrow is the big day!! We get to finally see Brody's 'Big boy ear'!! Mom and Dad are very excited! I ask Brody if he is excited, and he just looks at me and says yeah and turns away! I think he knows it will hurt when they take the stitches out. Daddy has been talking to him how he needs to be strong and brave when they take the stitches out! He is a smart cookie and knows when we are trying to sugar coat something!
Brody had an awesome time! Every time we would come back to the room he would say lets go do this, lets go do that! He was so overwhelmed by everything it was so enjoyable to see!!! He even got a little present from all his Disney friends! When we walked into the room there was a gift basket with some toys and snacks! It was adorable to see such a big smile on his face when he saw the present! I think he smiled bigger when I told him who it was from!
Tommrow is the big day!! We get to finally see Brody's 'Big boy ear'!! Mom and Dad are very excited! I ask Brody if he is excited, and he just looks at me and says yeah and turns away! I think he knows it will hurt when they take the stitches out. Daddy has been talking to him how he needs to be strong and brave when they take the stitches out! He is a smart cookie and knows when we are trying to sugar coat something!
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Beach Bums. Heading to Anaheim today....
Sorry for the lack of writing.... to be honest.. .I don't have much to report. No news is good news right? Brody is really doing GREAT!!! His rash-swelling in his elbow has gone down, (actually it is almost gone) and he hasn't complained at all about any pain.... :) Which is wonderful!!!! His ear cup is still stitched on and the bandage over his skin graft. Our next appointment is the 19th where they will take both off and wash his hair and his new ear!!
This last week we pretty much have not done much except walk down to the beach ( it is only like 5 blocks away from our house). We walked the beach and looked for seashells and built sand castles.. Venice beach is a beautiful beach and I think I could make this my second home... The kids really like it too! They enjoy playing in the sand and digging for treasures!!
Today we are packing everything up and heading to Anaheim to stay at Disney Land!!! :) I'm not sure who is more excited for Cars land, Daddy or Brody? I myself am pretty excited to ride the cars racer experience!! Miss Rilyn has a new love Minnie Mouse!! She is excited to see her! Brody wants to ride Tow Mater.... I told him I wasn't sure if we could ride him but we could get our picture taken with him... not sure he is ok with that, so we will see how that goes!!
Enjoy a few pictures from our beach week!! :)
This last week we pretty much have not done much except walk down to the beach ( it is only like 5 blocks away from our house). We walked the beach and looked for seashells and built sand castles.. Venice beach is a beautiful beach and I think I could make this my second home... The kids really like it too! They enjoy playing in the sand and digging for treasures!!
Today we are packing everything up and heading to Anaheim to stay at Disney Land!!! :) I'm not sure who is more excited for Cars land, Daddy or Brody? I myself am pretty excited to ride the cars racer experience!! Miss Rilyn has a new love Minnie Mouse!! She is excited to see her! Brody wants to ride Tow Mater.... I told him I wasn't sure if we could ride him but we could get our picture taken with him... not sure he is ok with that, so we will see how that goes!!
Enjoy a few pictures from our beach week!! :)
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| My little beach bums... |
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| Digging for treasures.... |
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| Mermaid & Merman |
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| Highlight of the week... A tractor on the beach |
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| At the grocery store.... Brody is missing all his pumpkins back home!! (Grandma, What you think? Should we raise our prices?) |
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Sea World. G&G airport...
Monday. We ventured 3 hours to San Diego to go to Sea World. Today is the last day that Grandma & Grandpa are with us in California. Brody and Rilyn were both very excited to see all the animals. Brody is especially into whales, sharks and dolphins. We have been reading lots of ocean books lately, so Brody was pretty amazed to see everything up close and in person. We went to all the shows we could possibly get in. Everyone enjoyed seeing all the animals! It was very neat experience for all of us. We spent all day there and got back home about 8:00pm... Needless to say it was a long day, but a fun one!!
Tuesday morning we drove G & G to the LAX airport. They were ready to get back to Wisconsin and their cows. And I think Uncle Matt was even more excited for them to be back as he is requesting his vacation now! ;) We are very thankful for them coming out and staying with us during his surgery! It was a tremendous help!! THANK YOU! All day today Brody and Rilyn talked about G &G and asked where they went?
This afternoon we all took naps and then went grocery shopping! We needed to restock for the week ahead. :) Brody is doing very well... We only had one little mishap... Rilyn and him were messing around and he bumped his ear cup... Oh boy did he feel that. He was not very happy and I think he learned his lesson! I think this was a blessing in disguise.
It is still pretty hot here, but the humidity levels have seemed to drop a lot. It is very comfortable sleeping at night. This is a major bonus for everyone. It was pretty sticky for a while!!!
Good night all!
Tuesday morning we drove G & G to the LAX airport. They were ready to get back to Wisconsin and their cows. And I think Uncle Matt was even more excited for them to be back as he is requesting his vacation now! ;) We are very thankful for them coming out and staying with us during his surgery! It was a tremendous help!! THANK YOU! All day today Brody and Rilyn talked about G &G and asked where they went?
This afternoon we all took naps and then went grocery shopping! We needed to restock for the week ahead. :) Brody is doing very well... We only had one little mishap... Rilyn and him were messing around and he bumped his ear cup... Oh boy did he feel that. He was not very happy and I think he learned his lesson! I think this was a blessing in disguise.
It is still pretty hot here, but the humidity levels have seemed to drop a lot. It is very comfortable sleeping at night. This is a major bonus for everyone. It was pretty sticky for a while!!!
Good night all!
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| Dolphin show |
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| Checking out some baby sharks... |
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| One Ocean... Pretty amazing stuff! |
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| Brody liked seeing all these fish and the turtles... |
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| My little surfer dude... |
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| Brody wanted me to take a picture of his ear cup so he could see what it looked like, He needed to check out his stiches! |
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Weekend. Feeling Better...
Saturday. We had Brody's first post op appointment with Dr Renisch. It is so nice to have these very nice Drs out here, who take the time out of there busy schedules to come in on a Saturday just to see their patients. :) He did a little cleaning around and in the ear cup and made sure that everything looked good with the bandage coming off a little early. He told us that we didn't need to come in on Monday for our next appointment since we saw him today. Our next appointment is set up for the 19th at 4 pm, this is to take off the ear cup and the skin graft bandage on the back of his head, wash his hair and clean the ear... We are all very anxious to see his brand new ear. Dr Renisch told us we could come in anytime if we were concerned about anything. Brody has a little rash starting on the inside of his elbow where the IV was placed. It is starting to become very swollen and irritated. If it doesn't seem to get better the next few days we will go in and have him look at it. Just to be on the safe side.
Brody really has turned the corner for the better. He is back to his normal self with running around and fighting with his sister. The precautions this time around are to be very careful with the ear and do not bump it. He said that most of the times that it gets damaged due to sibling messing around etc... I can totally see this as the first thing he does when we get back from the appointment is start picking on his sister and they start running around and playing train! oh boy....
His swelling on his left side is really starting to come down and his incision in his groin area is seeming better. He only has a slight limp now. Still babying it a little. I would say the most pain he is having is in his elbow where the rash is starting!
The kids were getting restless in the house so we ventured down to the beach... this may have been a mistake!! lol... the Venice boardwalk in not a place for kids after 5 pm.... There is a lot going on and too much for little eyes!!! needless to say we will be doing the beach thing only before 5pm! :)
Sunday. We took a drive up the coast to Malibu and hit up a farmers market... Very neat. Had some fresh squeezed OJ and same wonderful pastries!! The kids even found a neat little park to stroll threw. The only different between out parks back in WI is the warning signs... Beware, Rattle snakes in this area!! eeeekkkk.... (we only stayed for a little bit and were on our way!)
Thanks to all who have been thinking and praying for the little man!! He is being quite the trooper. It is funny how sweet and innocent he can be one day and the next be the little stinker pestering his sister!! We sure can feel all the love from all of you even if we are all the in southern California!
And thanks to all of you are helping hang Brody's Pumpkin Patch flyers!! Sounds like we are getting them up all over!! :) THANK YOU!!!!
Brody really has turned the corner for the better. He is back to his normal self with running around and fighting with his sister. The precautions this time around are to be very careful with the ear and do not bump it. He said that most of the times that it gets damaged due to sibling messing around etc... I can totally see this as the first thing he does when we get back from the appointment is start picking on his sister and they start running around and playing train! oh boy....
His swelling on his left side is really starting to come down and his incision in his groin area is seeming better. He only has a slight limp now. Still babying it a little. I would say the most pain he is having is in his elbow where the rash is starting!
The kids were getting restless in the house so we ventured down to the beach... this may have been a mistake!! lol... the Venice boardwalk in not a place for kids after 5 pm.... There is a lot going on and too much for little eyes!!! needless to say we will be doing the beach thing only before 5pm! :)
Sunday. We took a drive up the coast to Malibu and hit up a farmers market... Very neat. Had some fresh squeezed OJ and same wonderful pastries!! The kids even found a neat little park to stroll threw. The only different between out parks back in WI is the warning signs... Beware, Rattle snakes in this area!! eeeekkkk.... (we only stayed for a little bit and were on our way!)
Thanks to all who have been thinking and praying for the little man!! He is being quite the trooper. It is funny how sweet and innocent he can be one day and the next be the little stinker pestering his sister!! We sure can feel all the love from all of you even if we are all the in southern California!
And thanks to all of you are helping hang Brody's Pumpkin Patch flyers!! Sounds like we are getting them up all over!! :) THANK YOU!!!!
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| At the beach having a little fun... |
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| Being a lizard... |
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| Silly Girl... |
Saturday, September 7, 2013
First Night. Friday.
Brody had a pretty rough night. He woke up every hour. His head was hurting him and was very thirsty! Gave him some of the chewable Tylenol and that seemed to help a little. He had to go to the bathroom very often, since he had so much fluids during his surgery.
Friday. He is very sore in his groan area as this is where there was an incision for a skin graft, having a very hard time walking. He favors it a lot and can tell it is sore since it is right in the crease of his leg. His right arm is very sore as well where the IV was placed. When he eats he eats left handed, when normally he is a righty!
We ventured out for walk as Rilyn was getting a little restless and Brody kept asking about the beach. So we packed the kids up and went for a walk down to Venice beach. It was nice to get some fresh air, well really hot and humid air, the temps where in the 90's again, but it was very pleasant right by the ocean as the breeze was blowing nicely. There are a lot of little shops and street vendors that we checked out. The kids each got large slushies' and some ice cream! It was an experience at the very least. :)
Once we were back at our hotel, most of us took naps. Again keep in mind that it is very humid and hot. All we have in our house are fans. Rilyn and I woke up very sticky, ok we woke up a little drenched!! :)
We read online that there is suppose to be this drum line that forms on Friday nights at 4 pm right on the beach. Brody is very into his bands, (Thanks to his cousin Monica!) so we thought he would enjoy listening to this. We kind of forgot about this throughout the day, but Brody reminded us about it. So this time we loaded up in the car and headed down to the beach in search for the drum line. And a search it was. We drove around looking for it, but didn't have much luck. We ended up at the Santa Monica Boardwalk. Brody's eyes were feeling very adventurous, but his body was still very sore. We went to the grocery store and headed back home to make supper.
We no longer got done eating supper and Brody was ready to lay down. He was very hesitant to lay his head down on the pillow. I could tell he was in a lot of pain and very uncomfortable! :(
We had to call the dr at 2:25am as his bandages were slipping off his head. We took them off and have an appointment in the morning! He didn't sleep much better and neither did daddy or mommy. But Brody woke up like a new little boy. His attitude was very much better. Hand and hand with his sister they cam outside to play. :) We have a little courtyard at our house with a fireplace, patio set, and grilling area. They kids love to play in the rocks!
Brody looks a little rough with all his battle wounds. He is very swollen on the left side of his face. His eye also swollen alot. His new ear has a large plastic mold sewn on his head and where the skin graft is, a large bandage sewn on as well. Lots of blue lines from the surgery process.
No plans for today. Just going to meet Dr Renisch around 10am. Hoping for a little less humidity!! It sure doesn't feel like September!
Friday. He is very sore in his groan area as this is where there was an incision for a skin graft, having a very hard time walking. He favors it a lot and can tell it is sore since it is right in the crease of his leg. His right arm is very sore as well where the IV was placed. When he eats he eats left handed, when normally he is a righty!
We ventured out for walk as Rilyn was getting a little restless and Brody kept asking about the beach. So we packed the kids up and went for a walk down to Venice beach. It was nice to get some fresh air, well really hot and humid air, the temps where in the 90's again, but it was very pleasant right by the ocean as the breeze was blowing nicely. There are a lot of little shops and street vendors that we checked out. The kids each got large slushies' and some ice cream! It was an experience at the very least. :)
Once we were back at our hotel, most of us took naps. Again keep in mind that it is very humid and hot. All we have in our house are fans. Rilyn and I woke up very sticky, ok we woke up a little drenched!! :)
We read online that there is suppose to be this drum line that forms on Friday nights at 4 pm right on the beach. Brody is very into his bands, (Thanks to his cousin Monica!) so we thought he would enjoy listening to this. We kind of forgot about this throughout the day, but Brody reminded us about it. So this time we loaded up in the car and headed down to the beach in search for the drum line. And a search it was. We drove around looking for it, but didn't have much luck. We ended up at the Santa Monica Boardwalk. Brody's eyes were feeling very adventurous, but his body was still very sore. We went to the grocery store and headed back home to make supper.
We no longer got done eating supper and Brody was ready to lay down. He was very hesitant to lay his head down on the pillow. I could tell he was in a lot of pain and very uncomfortable! :(
We had to call the dr at 2:25am as his bandages were slipping off his head. We took them off and have an appointment in the morning! He didn't sleep much better and neither did daddy or mommy. But Brody woke up like a new little boy. His attitude was very much better. Hand and hand with his sister they cam outside to play. :) We have a little courtyard at our house with a fireplace, patio set, and grilling area. They kids love to play in the rocks!
Brody looks a little rough with all his battle wounds. He is very swollen on the left side of his face. His eye also swollen alot. His new ear has a large plastic mold sewn on his head and where the skin graft is, a large bandage sewn on as well. Lots of blue lines from the surgery process.
No plans for today. Just going to meet Dr Renisch around 10am. Hoping for a little less humidity!! It sure doesn't feel like September!
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| Enjoying slushy's on our stroll... |
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| Watching the birds in the ocean at the end of the boardwalk... |
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| Playing a game on the boardwalk... |
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Waking up. Home.
Throughout the surgery we were updated, once that he was doing very well. This was around noon.
Then at 3:00pm the nurse came and got us to wait in the recovery room. Brody came in about 3:15pm, sleeping like a baby! so sweet with a pretty blue bandage wrapped completely around his head. It took him awhile to wake up. He woke up crying, then went back to sleep. Then he woke up crying wanting mama, so I help him and rocked him for a while, while he slept. He was so sweet and cute while he was attempting to wake up. He was very pale and thirsty when he woke up the third time. Then he wanted daddy, so he sat with daddy for a while and kind of sort of woke up. The nurse took out his IV and monitored him a while... We talked with Dr Renisch and Dr Jumper for a while and they told us that he did very well and that everything turned out good. Brody didn't have any cartilage for a tragis, so this will be a little floppy. He said that when we come back in January he will look at it and maybe try to take a piece of bone and put it in there in place of the cartilage. He showed us a picture of the ear. I think it looked good. I was a little emotional to take a really good look at it... Between Brody waking up crying and the thought that Brody actually had an ear.. I was thinking too much of everything that was going on, I think they were tears of joy and tears of sadness to watch my perfect baby boy lay there with nothing I can do to soothe him. But Brody does now how to cheer up his mom even when he is half asleep. He would randomly wake up and give us and the nurses a great big smile! :) He even let out a great big belch, turned and looked at me with a great big smile, and said, "Excuse me!!!" Oh man does that little boy know how to melt some hearts!!!
We left the surgery center at 4:30pm and headed back to our rental house. Brody slept the whole way home, with only a few demands! When we got home, he wanted some more apple juice and then went to sleep. He is doing really good. We are so happy that he woke up half way in a pleasant mood. Thank you to everyone who has been thinking about Brody and praying for him. He is such a brave boy and are so very proud of him!!! Dr Renisch and his staff are amazing. We are anxious for the healing stage and pray that everything goes well and heals quickly! Here is to the first night with the new big boy ear!! (Even though we haven't been able to see it, and he has a cute blue turban on his head!)
Then at 3:00pm the nurse came and got us to wait in the recovery room. Brody came in about 3:15pm, sleeping like a baby! so sweet with a pretty blue bandage wrapped completely around his head. It took him awhile to wake up. He woke up crying, then went back to sleep. Then he woke up crying wanting mama, so I help him and rocked him for a while, while he slept. He was so sweet and cute while he was attempting to wake up. He was very pale and thirsty when he woke up the third time. Then he wanted daddy, so he sat with daddy for a while and kind of sort of woke up. The nurse took out his IV and monitored him a while... We talked with Dr Renisch and Dr Jumper for a while and they told us that he did very well and that everything turned out good. Brody didn't have any cartilage for a tragis, so this will be a little floppy. He said that when we come back in January he will look at it and maybe try to take a piece of bone and put it in there in place of the cartilage. He showed us a picture of the ear. I think it looked good. I was a little emotional to take a really good look at it... Between Brody waking up crying and the thought that Brody actually had an ear.. I was thinking too much of everything that was going on, I think they were tears of joy and tears of sadness to watch my perfect baby boy lay there with nothing I can do to soothe him. But Brody does now how to cheer up his mom even when he is half asleep. He would randomly wake up and give us and the nurses a great big smile! :) He even let out a great big belch, turned and looked at me with a great big smile, and said, "Excuse me!!!" Oh man does that little boy know how to melt some hearts!!!
We left the surgery center at 4:30pm and headed back to our rental house. Brody slept the whole way home, with only a few demands! When we got home, he wanted some more apple juice and then went to sleep. He is doing really good. We are so happy that he woke up half way in a pleasant mood. Thank you to everyone who has been thinking about Brody and praying for him. He is such a brave boy and are so very proud of him!!! Dr Renisch and his staff are amazing. We are anxious for the healing stage and pray that everything goes well and heals quickly! Here is to the first night with the new big boy ear!! (Even though we haven't been able to see it, and he has a cute blue turban on his head!)
Hollywood. Venice beach. Pre-surgery night and morning.
Wednesday. Pre-surgery day. Today we all slept in and tried to catch up on some much needed sleep from our busy Tuesday. Brody and Rilyn both were a little restless in there home away from home. We decided to take a tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. It was very neat to see some famous places along with some celebrity homes. We saw Britney Spears house and Justin Timberlake... We'll at least all the trees and security around them. Oh and the Osbournes house when they had there tv show. Also drove threw the famous rodeo drive, pretty fancy!! The tour was 2.5 hours long. Brody took a little snooze and Rilyn was getting a little bored towards the end. The tour ended in front of the Chinese theater and we walked the famous Hollywood walk of fame.
Then we headed back to the house for some much needed lunch and relaxing. Upon arriving at the house... Some workers were replacing the toilet, so once again we had to share the house! Brody wanted to go to the beach, so we walked down to the beach (5 min). Brody just loves running and playing in the sand and waves of the ocean. The sound of the ocean is amazing and watching the waves is awesome. Rilyn was a little scared and would run away from the waves as they came close to her, she preferred chasing the birds and playing in the sand. We stayed for a few hours and watched the sunset. It was beautiful and the cool breeze was amazing, mind you the temps are in the 90's and very humid! We had a nice walk back to our house and enjoyed (Brody's choice) cheesy hot dogs and Cheetos. We all slept good Wednesday night and had to be awake by 5 to get ready for surgery day. When I woke Brody up Thursday am to go, he was very tired and didn't want to go for surgery. :( we convinced him by bribing him with a movie on the way to the hospital and with mama sitting with him in the back.
We arrived at the specialty surgery center at 6am. Filled out all the paperwork and headed back to meet with the nurses and Drs.. Everyone was overly nice and very welcoming. Dr jumper the anestgiologist was super nice and very friendly with Brody. Dr Renisch came out as well to say hello . Brody does not do very well with the happy juice so we talked with dr jumper and he agreed to let us go with Brody to the prep room to take the "airplane mask". This didn't go quite as planned Brody was very scared and wanted nothing to do with this mask. Plan a. Plan b, both failed so we were on to plan c. An injection of some type of sedation medicine to keep him calm so he could take the mask. My poor baby boy fought the medicine hard but once he gave in, he looked so peaceful laying there. I'm glad we were able to be with him till he feel asleep even if he was fighting it. Then dr Renisch walked us out and told us about some places to eat and a shopping center to. Check out so we aren't sitting in the waiting room for so long. We went and ate breakfast at a a little cafe and went to the Beverly shopping center. Once again a little too fancy for this Wisconsin girl! But it was very neat to see. Picked up a few toys and books for the little man once he wakes up.
Now we are back in the waiting room. It is 12:13and we just got an update that said everything is going well! Now to wait till we can see him in the recovery room.
Then we headed back to the house for some much needed lunch and relaxing. Upon arriving at the house... Some workers were replacing the toilet, so once again we had to share the house! Brody wanted to go to the beach, so we walked down to the beach (5 min). Brody just loves running and playing in the sand and waves of the ocean. The sound of the ocean is amazing and watching the waves is awesome. Rilyn was a little scared and would run away from the waves as they came close to her, she preferred chasing the birds and playing in the sand. We stayed for a few hours and watched the sunset. It was beautiful and the cool breeze was amazing, mind you the temps are in the 90's and very humid! We had a nice walk back to our house and enjoyed (Brody's choice) cheesy hot dogs and Cheetos. We all slept good Wednesday night and had to be awake by 5 to get ready for surgery day. When I woke Brody up Thursday am to go, he was very tired and didn't want to go for surgery. :( we convinced him by bribing him with a movie on the way to the hospital and with mama sitting with him in the back.
We arrived at the specialty surgery center at 6am. Filled out all the paperwork and headed back to meet with the nurses and Drs.. Everyone was overly nice and very welcoming. Dr jumper the anestgiologist was super nice and very friendly with Brody. Dr Renisch came out as well to say hello . Brody does not do very well with the happy juice so we talked with dr jumper and he agreed to let us go with Brody to the prep room to take the "airplane mask". This didn't go quite as planned Brody was very scared and wanted nothing to do with this mask. Plan a. Plan b, both failed so we were on to plan c. An injection of some type of sedation medicine to keep him calm so he could take the mask. My poor baby boy fought the medicine hard but once he gave in, he looked so peaceful laying there. I'm glad we were able to be with him till he feel asleep even if he was fighting it. Then dr Renisch walked us out and told us about some places to eat and a shopping center to. Check out so we aren't sitting in the waiting room for so long. We went and ate breakfast at a a little cafe and went to the Beverly shopping center. Once again a little too fancy for this Wisconsin girl! But it was very neat to see. Picked up a few toys and books for the little man once he wakes up.
Now we are back in the waiting room. It is 12:13and we just got an update that said everything is going well! Now to wait till we can see him in the recovery room.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Travel day. Pre-op. House.
Tuesday. 9.3.13
We all woke up really early to be in Milwaukee at 8:40am. Aunt Christa drove us to the airport. We left bright and early at 4:30am! Our travels went very well. Grandma & Grandpa Borzick are traveling with us which has helped tremendously in the airport scene to have some extra hands. We also have a double stroller to contain the children in which is also a huge lifesaver! The only delays in the day were while heading to the airport, I received a text from southwest that our flight was delayed a half hour, not anything to serious. Then once we got to LAX, everything was going smoothly till we got to the rental center to get our car. I received a call from the airport that said they have a car seat with our name and it and we have someone else's.... therefore we had to return to the airport and exchange the seats!! fun fun.
We couldn't check into our house till 4:00pm. So we decided to go find some lunch and check out the beach. We did a drive by of our rental house and saw people outside with a vanity sitting outside... We were slightly nervous that we wouldn't have a sink, but once we arrived they were still working on it and assured us that it would be fixed. :) no big deal, just shared our house for a few hours.
While we were eating lunch, I received a phone call from Dr Renisch office and asked if we could do our pre-op appointment today instead of on Wednesday. Sure, it was a go with the flwo kind of day. So we went and found the Dr's Building and had our appointment. It was nice to match all the faces with the names that we have been talking with for so many months. Everyone was very nice and friendly. We had a nice appointment and Brody did a great job.
After we were all settled in our house, we went and got some groceries for the next few weeks. We went to a whole foods which was a very neat store. I believe that everything was organic. Lots of different foods and produce.
Once we got back to the house. Grandpa had both the kids sleeping. They were pretty well wiped after our very long day!
Today, Wednesday we will have a day all to ourselves. No Doctors. Brody wants to show grandma and grandpa the surfers. So we will have to find some surfers somewhere and go check out the beach this afternoon.
Brody's surgery is Thursday. We have to arrive at the Specialty Surgery Center at 6:00am. With surgery starting at 6:45. The surgery will be anywhere from 8-10 hours long. And then he will have his first big boy ear!! :)
Please send up some prayers for the little man for a very successful surgery and some fast healing!
For anyone who would like to help spread the word about Brody's benefit in October, by hanging up flyers; please contact Christa Van Treeck she has all the flyers and can arrange a time to get the flyers to you! Her phone number is 608.697.5434 Thanks!
We all woke up really early to be in Milwaukee at 8:40am. Aunt Christa drove us to the airport. We left bright and early at 4:30am! Our travels went very well. Grandma & Grandpa Borzick are traveling with us which has helped tremendously in the airport scene to have some extra hands. We also have a double stroller to contain the children in which is also a huge lifesaver! The only delays in the day were while heading to the airport, I received a text from southwest that our flight was delayed a half hour, not anything to serious. Then once we got to LAX, everything was going smoothly till we got to the rental center to get our car. I received a call from the airport that said they have a car seat with our name and it and we have someone else's.... therefore we had to return to the airport and exchange the seats!! fun fun.
We couldn't check into our house till 4:00pm. So we decided to go find some lunch and check out the beach. We did a drive by of our rental house and saw people outside with a vanity sitting outside... We were slightly nervous that we wouldn't have a sink, but once we arrived they were still working on it and assured us that it would be fixed. :) no big deal, just shared our house for a few hours.
While we were eating lunch, I received a phone call from Dr Renisch office and asked if we could do our pre-op appointment today instead of on Wednesday. Sure, it was a go with the flwo kind of day. So we went and found the Dr's Building and had our appointment. It was nice to match all the faces with the names that we have been talking with for so many months. Everyone was very nice and friendly. We had a nice appointment and Brody did a great job.
After we were all settled in our house, we went and got some groceries for the next few weeks. We went to a whole foods which was a very neat store. I believe that everything was organic. Lots of different foods and produce.
Once we got back to the house. Grandpa had both the kids sleeping. They were pretty well wiped after our very long day!
Today, Wednesday we will have a day all to ourselves. No Doctors. Brody wants to show grandma and grandpa the surfers. So we will have to find some surfers somewhere and go check out the beach this afternoon.
Brody's surgery is Thursday. We have to arrive at the Specialty Surgery Center at 6:00am. With surgery starting at 6:45. The surgery will be anywhere from 8-10 hours long. And then he will have his first big boy ear!! :)
Please send up some prayers for the little man for a very successful surgery and some fast healing!
For anyone who would like to help spread the word about Brody's benefit in October, by hanging up flyers; please contact Christa Van Treeck she has all the flyers and can arrange a time to get the flyers to you! Her phone number is 608.697.5434 Thanks!
Monday, August 26, 2013
8.22.13 appt. Preparing for Next Week.
Brody's last appointment (8.22.13) went very well. Brody's first appointment was with Dr Kerschner for a checkup and cleaning. He was one lucky little guy who had clean ear canals...therefore he did not need to get on the table and get them cleaned!! yippee for all involved as this is not a very pleasant experience for anyone, especially our little man. We then went to Dave & Busters for lunch and a few arcade games since we had some time to kill before our next appointment with the audiologist. Brody was very happy that Grandma Borzick came along for the ride. We all enjoyed playing a few games and had a lot of fun. Our next appointment was the hearing test. The test went well and he is doing very well. The results are about the same as the previous test after his left canal opening. The audiologist would like for Brody to wear his BAHA's still. Brody is not hearing all of the pitches he needs to and with some words he is not hearing the beginnings and endings of words. She said the reason he doesn't like wearing his BAHAs is because they are too loud now. So we sent them in to have them adjusted so it is a happy medium with his new canals and still with his hearing loss.
The appointments both went well. Brody did a great job.
Sorry this update took about a week and a half.. I've been trying to get everything organized and planned for our upcoming 3.5 week trip for body's big boy ear. Oh did I mention we will leave in one week? I'm very excited for this but also very nervous! 8-10 hour surgery. We are very blessed to have made it this far in our journey. Brody is excited to have a 'big boy' ear. Along with planning for our trip we are also making all the plans for Brody's Harvest for Hearing which is October 12 & 13. Busy. Busy. :)
We are looking for help with hanging up flyers around the area... I should have them by the end of this week if anyone would like to help hang flyers... please let me know and I will get some to you!! This will be a great help, with us being going pretty much the whole month of September. Thanks!
The appointments both went well. Brody did a great job.
Sorry this update took about a week and a half.. I've been trying to get everything organized and planned for our upcoming 3.5 week trip for body's big boy ear. Oh did I mention we will leave in one week? I'm very excited for this but also very nervous! 8-10 hour surgery. We are very blessed to have made it this far in our journey. Brody is excited to have a 'big boy' ear. Along with planning for our trip we are also making all the plans for Brody's Harvest for Hearing which is October 12 & 13. Busy. Busy. :)
We are looking for help with hanging up flyers around the area... I should have them by the end of this week if anyone would like to help hang flyers... please let me know and I will get some to you!! This will be a great help, with us being going pretty much the whole month of September. Thanks!
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Check-up. Hearing test. Benefit....
Hello all!
Last Wednesday 7.31.13 Brody had a checkup for his right canal and a cleaning on his left canal. Brody was lucky enough to have his cousin Haiden come with for the ride. It is getting harder and harder for us to get Brody to go to these appointments with ease.... Therefore haiden was a great distraction for Brody. Once we got there, the appointment went very well with a good cleaning getting all the debris out and a large scab with had come off earlier in the week. He said the skin graft in the new canal was healing very well. He then made a new mold for his right canal. And checked Brody's left canal and said it was very clean with only a little bit do debris right on canal and decided to leave alone since he has such good hearing in that ear. We then scheduled Brody hearing test for his left canal, 4 months post-operation the California drs want to see the hearing test results. Brody's next checkup and hearing test will be August 22nd. Two appointments, hearing test in the morning and dr. Kerschner in the afternoon. I'm excited to see what his hearing results are after these 4 months. And see if Brody actually needs to wear his headband. He hasn't really worn it since his last surgery. I like to think this is a great sign as he can hear with out his baha's!
Working hard on trying to get things all lined up for Brody's harvest for hearing, especially since we will be gone the better part of September (3.5 weeks) . Trying to get donations for the silent auction and basket raffle. If anyone would be willing to help get some donations for these, that would be wonderful. I have a letter typed up explaining Brody's story and asking for donations. If you would like me to email you a copy,please email me at ashleyhenke16@gmail.com
We excited to have a kids corn maze this year at the benefit. And the ever favorite barrel train ( new tractor train in the works) . The pumpkin patch is looking awesome! Are excited for some new additions to the. Benefit. Save the date: October 12 & 13!
Last Wednesday 7.31.13 Brody had a checkup for his right canal and a cleaning on his left canal. Brody was lucky enough to have his cousin Haiden come with for the ride. It is getting harder and harder for us to get Brody to go to these appointments with ease.... Therefore haiden was a great distraction for Brody. Once we got there, the appointment went very well with a good cleaning getting all the debris out and a large scab with had come off earlier in the week. He said the skin graft in the new canal was healing very well. He then made a new mold for his right canal. And checked Brody's left canal and said it was very clean with only a little bit do debris right on canal and decided to leave alone since he has such good hearing in that ear. We then scheduled Brody hearing test for his left canal, 4 months post-operation the California drs want to see the hearing test results. Brody's next checkup and hearing test will be August 22nd. Two appointments, hearing test in the morning and dr. Kerschner in the afternoon. I'm excited to see what his hearing results are after these 4 months. And see if Brody actually needs to wear his headband. He hasn't really worn it since his last surgery. I like to think this is a great sign as he can hear with out his baha's!
Working hard on trying to get things all lined up for Brody's harvest for hearing, especially since we will be gone the better part of September (3.5 weeks) . Trying to get donations for the silent auction and basket raffle. If anyone would be willing to help get some donations for these, that would be wonderful. I have a letter typed up explaining Brody's story and asking for donations. If you would like me to email you a copy,please email me at ashleyhenke16@gmail.com
We excited to have a kids corn maze this year at the benefit. And the ever favorite barrel train ( new tractor train in the works) . The pumpkin patch is looking awesome! Are excited for some new additions to the. Benefit. Save the date: October 12 & 13!
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Upcoming surgery... plans.... healing
This week we are working on booking airplane tickets and finding a place to stay for our upcoming September surgery. We are traveling to a different part of California this time around. We are headed to Beverly Hills so we need to find a new hotel or house. This is a little harder this time for some reason.....
Next week we will start planning for BRODY"S HARVEST FOR HEARING benefit on October 12 & 13... We would love to know what you all like about the fall pumpkin patch - activities and what you would like to see different... Please let us know your thoughts either by commenting or emailing us at ashleyhenke16@gmail.com . Plans so far include the hayride and pumpkin patch. New this year will be a kids Corn Maze... we are very excited for this... we have had professional trial runs with this new endeavor. `The experts (Brody & Rilyn) are very much in love with the maze and would like to warn everyone that it is very fun!!! As far as music, Luke the Drifter will be playing on Sunday the 12th at 2:00pm.
Hayrides * Pumpkin Patch * Kids Games * Kids Corn Maze* Bake Sale * Silent Auction * Food * Music
*Straw Maze * Bouncy House *Tractor-Train Rides * Face painting
SUNDAY (10.13.13)
Noon: Prairie Thunder Cloggers Performance
2:00pm Luke the Drifter
Silent Auction Ends 4:30pm
We are also looking for volunteers to help this weekend. If you know of anyone who would be interested in helping please have them contact us. As far as our raffles go this year. We have decided to do the silent auction for sure and maybe do the bucket raffles. It is very hard for us to get donations for all the raffles. So depending on the amount of donations we get for our raffle will determine if we will do the bucket raffles as well. If anyone would be interested in helping get donations for the Silent Auction or bucket raffles this would be wonderful... with being gone pretty much the whole month of September it will be very hard for us to go around and ask for donations. This would be very much appreciated if anyone would be willing to help us out on this!! We were thinking that it would be neat to have a "basket" raffle as part of the bucket raffles too with various types of baskets put together.
We are still searching for some entertainment- music on Saturday... if you know of anyone who we should contact please let us know. Thanks
Brody's canal is doing pretty good. It does seem to be healing very well... last week a large part of the skin graft scab came off and left a very unhealed spot in the canal that I was a little concerned about. It does seem to be better this week. I am always relieved to go to Brody's Dr appointment to hear what he has to say and to ease my mind. Sometimes I wish I could see the doctor every week! :) Our next appointment is next week Wednesday. They will be taking out the little washer that was a divider for the sponge and the new ear drum. And also will be making a mold for Brody to wear in his new canal.
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers... I think we are half way there!! This is exciting that we are almost done with surgeries but I also wish that it was over already for Brody's sake as it is getting harder and harder to have to see Doctors all the time... Take care.
*Straw Maze * Bouncy House *Tractor-Train Rides * Face painting
SUNDAY (10.13.13)
Noon: Prairie Thunder Cloggers Performance
2:00pm Luke the Drifter
Silent Auction Ends 4:30pm
We are also looking for volunteers to help this weekend. If you know of anyone who would be interested in helping please have them contact us. As far as our raffles go this year. We have decided to do the silent auction for sure and maybe do the bucket raffles. It is very hard for us to get donations for all the raffles. So depending on the amount of donations we get for our raffle will determine if we will do the bucket raffles as well. If anyone would be interested in helping get donations for the Silent Auction or bucket raffles this would be wonderful... with being gone pretty much the whole month of September it will be very hard for us to go around and ask for donations. This would be very much appreciated if anyone would be willing to help us out on this!! We were thinking that it would be neat to have a "basket" raffle as part of the bucket raffles too with various types of baskets put together.
We are still searching for some entertainment- music on Saturday... if you know of anyone who we should contact please let us know. Thanks
Brody's canal is doing pretty good. It does seem to be healing very well... last week a large part of the skin graft scab came off and left a very unhealed spot in the canal that I was a little concerned about. It does seem to be better this week. I am always relieved to go to Brody's Dr appointment to hear what he has to say and to ease my mind. Sometimes I wish I could see the doctor every week! :) Our next appointment is next week Wednesday. They will be taking out the little washer that was a divider for the sponge and the new ear drum. And also will be making a mold for Brody to wear in his new canal.
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers... I think we are half way there!! This is exciting that we are almost done with surgeries but I also wish that it was over already for Brody's sake as it is getting harder and harder to have to see Doctors all the time... Take care.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
3 weeks post op...
Brody update. 7.10.13
Brody has been doing very good over all with the healing of the skin graft as well as the skin. Graft site. This time around, it has been a little more difficult to have him let us do the drops, as now we need to do drops in both of his canals... Also we need to still be putting the mold in the lt canal... This makes sleeping hard for him as he likes to sleep on his side and the mold sticks out and is uncomfortable therefore he sleeps on the new canal and makes that side sensitive.
Tonight we had a post op appointment in Milwaukee and got the sponge removed... We really like our Milwaukee dr and there staff... He is very positive and does very well with our little man. Brody hasn't been looking forward to this appointment for about a week. We have been trying to prep him but it didn't seem to work. I think Brody has had enough of doctors, especially when he knows there is little pain that comes with each appointment, (and lots of nerves).... I keep telling him that is a very lucky boy to be able to have these surgeries to help him hear better and a very BRAVE boy too... We are working on the brave part, even though it hurts a little he is strong and does what needs to be done so that his new canal can heal! :) a little 3 year old talk for you.
Over all the appointment went good with good results as the dr said his new skin graft looks great and he was very impressed with his hearing test results from his first surgery, the left canal. Brody also politely turned down the " I was a good boy toy" from the nurses because he was going to pick one out from the store. ;) so Brody was treated to ice cream and a toy for being a very brave little man... Brody seems to be doing very well with the healing process, it just is hard on him at the appointments, he takes after his mother and is more scared of how it will feel then how it actually feels...
We are starting to work out all the details and plan the next Brody's harvest for hearing benefit... We are excited that we might have enough money raised for the last two surgeries, just trying to figure out final cost and details. Once we figure all the details out, we are excited to "PAY IT FORWARD" to someone in need and keep Brody's Harvest for hearing going year after year! We are extremely grateful to everyone who has helped us thus far on our journey to " Brody's big boy ears" . This years benefit will be October 12 & 13.
Brody has been doing very good over all with the healing of the skin graft as well as the skin. Graft site. This time around, it has been a little more difficult to have him let us do the drops, as now we need to do drops in both of his canals... Also we need to still be putting the mold in the lt canal... This makes sleeping hard for him as he likes to sleep on his side and the mold sticks out and is uncomfortable therefore he sleeps on the new canal and makes that side sensitive.
Tonight we had a post op appointment in Milwaukee and got the sponge removed... We really like our Milwaukee dr and there staff... He is very positive and does very well with our little man. Brody hasn't been looking forward to this appointment for about a week. We have been trying to prep him but it didn't seem to work. I think Brody has had enough of doctors, especially when he knows there is little pain that comes with each appointment, (and lots of nerves).... I keep telling him that is a very lucky boy to be able to have these surgeries to help him hear better and a very BRAVE boy too... We are working on the brave part, even though it hurts a little he is strong and does what needs to be done so that his new canal can heal! :) a little 3 year old talk for you.
Over all the appointment went good with good results as the dr said his new skin graft looks great and he was very impressed with his hearing test results from his first surgery, the left canal. Brody also politely turned down the " I was a good boy toy" from the nurses because he was going to pick one out from the store. ;) so Brody was treated to ice cream and a toy for being a very brave little man... Brody seems to be doing very well with the healing process, it just is hard on him at the appointments, he takes after his mother and is more scared of how it will feel then how it actually feels...
We are starting to work out all the details and plan the next Brody's harvest for hearing benefit... We are excited that we might have enough money raised for the last two surgeries, just trying to figure out final cost and details. Once we figure all the details out, we are excited to "PAY IT FORWARD" to someone in need and keep Brody's Harvest for hearing going year after year! We are extremely grateful to everyone who has helped us thus far on our journey to " Brody's big boy ears" . This years benefit will be October 12 & 13.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Home...
Our travel day, Wednesday started at 4am and ended at 7pm. It was fairly uneventful. Just tiring. Brody woke up with his last bandage laying next to him in the bed... Usually the this one stays on for a few more weeks. This was the one over the skin graft site. This is a very sensitive spot now and Brody defiantly lets us know about it. The canal still seems to be red and not getting much better. I hope the antibiotics kick in soon. As soon as we got home Brody wanted to ride his bike, and of course the broken record came out.... Sorry honey we need to not move too fast and not jump etc. etc.
Reuniting Brody and rilyn was the cutest thing ever... They kept hugging and holding hands! I do think they missed each other. Now today we are back to the normal, fighting and all the fun brother-sister stuff. ;)
We all slept really good last night in our own beds. Brody's next appointment is July 10.
Reuniting Brody and rilyn was the cutest thing ever... They kept hugging and holding hands! I do think they missed each other. Now today we are back to the normal, fighting and all the fun brother-sister stuff. ;)
We all slept really good last night in our own beds. Brody's next appointment is July 10.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Last day in cali....
Today was a great day... Brody did awesome at his last Dr appointment today. He was very scared but between a very helpful Dr Roberson and a bribing mom we had a great appointment. They noticed a little redness around the new canal which they prescribed some antibiotics just in case there is any bacteria in there which may cause an infection. We thought the best way for him to take this would be chewable, but turns out he very much dislikes this as way... since he "chokes" it up... guess we will have to get a little more creative when giving him these pills. Otherwise they said his canal looks good and we are ready to go home.
After the appointment, we decided that we needed to go somewhere to get out of the hotel to occupy the little man. So we headed over to San Jose to the children's discovery museum featuring a display with Curious George. Brody was running from one thing to the next... ok not running but walking fast.... he thought it was great and it helped that there was other kids to play with too... he is getting home sick to be around his friends and cousins. This museum was great and I highly recommend it if you are out this way. Lots for all ages. Brody enjoyed this very much.
Then we headed back to the hotel house and started cleaning up and packing everything for our early flight in the morning...
Thank you to everyone who has been following Brody's journey so far. We are so grateful for all the love, support, thoughts, and prayers that you all are giving. Brody is truly loved and adored by many and we are so happy for this. Please continue to pray as we are in the recovery and healing phase we need to keep a close eye on the redness and swelling as well as keeping him still so that his prosthetics can heal properly for the next 3 weeks... yes 3 I thought it was only 2 but it is now 3!
Happy Trails California, Till we meet again in September!!
Monday, June 24, 2013
Sunday. Monday. Relaxing...
On Sunday we traveled to Santa Cruz, about a 50 min drive, to check out the boardwalk and to find some more surfers. The boardwalk was a huge carnival with lots of rides and games... Really not the place to go for Brody who is suppose to be staying still for two weeks post-op.... But we rode the merry go round and let him play a few games. Then we walked down to the beach again didn't see any surfers so we headed back to our hotel house. The drive was very scenic again. The redwoods are huge and all the shrubs and flowers are blooming beautifully.
Monday. We needed a day to just relax and catch up. Mom and dads idea of relaxing is apparently not the same as Brody's. when we stay in the hotel room for too long, Brody gets very ancy. Even after we played trains, semis, watched franklin, and built forts... It just wasn't cutting it for brod. We went for a little walk and then went for a ride downtown and got some supper. Now we are back at the hotel and Brody is loading his horses in the trailer.
Tomorrow we have Brody's final post-op appointment with Dr Roberson. I'm hoping it goes well for two reasons... First Brody is sick of doctors and dislikes doing what they say because he knows the end result is pain... Second, the new canal seems a little more swollen the. I can remember from the first time and a lot more red around the new skin graft site. I hope that we get the ok to go home and the new canal is doing wonderful. We have been trying to talk to talk Brody into cooperating tomorrow at the appointment with a few bribes, but we will see how it goes. He doesn't believe me anymore when I tell him it will only hurt a little. The poor boy has been threw so much with these surgeries already, I fear come September he really will want nothing to do with it... But he so far says he wants to come back. (With the next breath, asking when we can go home) We are very positive when talking about his new canals 'holes'. I do believe this helps as he always asks me if I like his new hole... :)
Nagging mom... I've been feeling like the nagging mom the past few days since we are suppose to keep Brody calm and not to jump around and make fast movements... (Im sure James feels the same way) We try to explain to him that he can't jump or run around, but he just doesn't seem to understand,I mean come on, you try telling your 3.5 year BOY that he needs to sit in a chair and not move for 2 weeks... Haha. So for 9 more days I will sound like a broken record.
Night all, tomorrow is our last full day in Cali.... Yippee
Monday. We needed a day to just relax and catch up. Mom and dads idea of relaxing is apparently not the same as Brody's. when we stay in the hotel room for too long, Brody gets very ancy. Even after we played trains, semis, watched franklin, and built forts... It just wasn't cutting it for brod. We went for a little walk and then went for a ride downtown and got some supper. Now we are back at the hotel and Brody is loading his horses in the trailer.
Tomorrow we have Brody's final post-op appointment with Dr Roberson. I'm hoping it goes well for two reasons... First Brody is sick of doctors and dislikes doing what they say because he knows the end result is pain... Second, the new canal seems a little more swollen the. I can remember from the first time and a lot more red around the new skin graft site. I hope that we get the ok to go home and the new canal is doing wonderful. We have been trying to talk to talk Brody into cooperating tomorrow at the appointment with a few bribes, but we will see how it goes. He doesn't believe me anymore when I tell him it will only hurt a little. The poor boy has been threw so much with these surgeries already, I fear come September he really will want nothing to do with it... But he so far says he wants to come back. (With the next breath, asking when we can go home) We are very positive when talking about his new canals 'holes'. I do believe this helps as he always asks me if I like his new hole... :)
Nagging mom... I've been feeling like the nagging mom the past few days since we are suppose to keep Brody calm and not to jump around and make fast movements... (Im sure James feels the same way) We try to explain to him that he can't jump or run around, but he just doesn't seem to understand,I mean come on, you try telling your 3.5 year BOY that he needs to sit in a chair and not move for 2 weeks... Haha. So for 9 more days I will sound like a broken record.
Night all, tomorrow is our last full day in Cali.... Yippee
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Saturday. San Fran zoo. Surfing...
Today we wanted to take Brody somewhere to get him out of the hotel... He has been very cranky since surgery and our little 15 min walks weren't cutting it. We decided to take scenic highway 1 to half moon bay and check out some beaches. Brody really got into watching the surfers and walking along the beach and playing in the ocean little waves... (Only our feet mind you.) then headed to San Francisco zoo.
Brody was still a little edgy but was enjoying looking at all the animals... Pretty sure his favorite part was the five minute train ride . But it was really neat seeing all the different animals! Brody's favorite animal was the flamingo because they were all standing on one foot. We spent pretty much all day there, from 10:30 till 4! Then we took the scenic route home to avoid the crazy highways. It is a very nice drive, between driving through the tunnels, huge trees, valleys and of course the ocean. Brody talked us into stopping at one more beach on the way back... Here we watched some more surfers and walked along the beach again.
On our travels back to Sunnyvale we decided that we should stop at a seafood restaurant since they were all over along the ocean.... We chose an ocean front dining restaurant with outside seating..... Brody wanted to sit outside.... It was freezing we had to find our jackets! We all ate fish and it was very delicious! Brody quickly made friends with the waiter and the people sitting next to us.... While sitting there eating and looking at the ocean we got to see dolphins swimming and jumping! This was very neat!!! Brody enjoyed seeing them and so did we!!! The people next to us, really liked Brody and were very talkative with him,,,, Brody talked his new friend Nate in to taking him surfing!!! And found out where the big waves Were. When we left the restaurant, the waiter told us he took care of Brody's meal. What a nice guy!!!! :) we really hit the jack pot with nice Californian people.
Now we are back at home getting ready for bed! Goodnight all!
Brody was still a little edgy but was enjoying looking at all the animals... Pretty sure his favorite part was the five minute train ride . But it was really neat seeing all the different animals! Brody's favorite animal was the flamingo because they were all standing on one foot. We spent pretty much all day there, from 10:30 till 4! Then we took the scenic route home to avoid the crazy highways. It is a very nice drive, between driving through the tunnels, huge trees, valleys and of course the ocean. Brody talked us into stopping at one more beach on the way back... Here we watched some more surfers and walked along the beach again.
On our travels back to Sunnyvale we decided that we should stop at a seafood restaurant since they were all over along the ocean.... We chose an ocean front dining restaurant with outside seating..... Brody wanted to sit outside.... It was freezing we had to find our jackets! We all ate fish and it was very delicious! Brody quickly made friends with the waiter and the people sitting next to us.... While sitting there eating and looking at the ocean we got to see dolphins swimming and jumping! This was very neat!!! Brody enjoyed seeing them and so did we!!! The people next to us, really liked Brody and were very talkative with him,,,, Brody talked his new friend Nate in to taking him surfing!!! And found out where the big waves Were. When we left the restaurant, the waiter told us he took care of Brody's meal. What a nice guy!!!! :) we really hit the jack pot with nice Californian people.
Now we are back at home getting ready for bed! Goodnight all!
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Waking up.... and sleeping again....
Right after we talked with Dr Roberson about the surgery, Dr Baliker came out and talked to us in a little more detail about his left ear canal and how good it looked. She tried to clean it in the pre-op appointment, Brody was very hesitant and didn't want anything to do with that. So she decided to do the cleaning in the Operating room, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise, since on the ear drum were some crusting and it was attached pretty good. So she mentioned that it looked great and got it all cleaned up with minimal bleeding. :) This saves a little less craziness for the office visit.
A short time later, which was suppose to be 45 min turned into 10 minutes they came and got us and told us that Brody was awake. We went in to a crying and irritated little guy. He was a little out of it still and all he wanted was his IV taken out and his heart monitor off his finger... (This is a huge difference from last time as when we went into recovery room we waited what seemed like forever for him to wake up and then he was just a sleepy little boy with no care in the world.) The nurses then decided I should hold him to try to comfort him.... this was good for a few minutes and then he decided it was time for the IV to come out well after about 20 minutes of trying to get him to eat and drink something they sent us home... Brody cried most of the time because he was thirsty and of course we left the juice in the trunk! Once we got back to the hotel he and mama took a long nap for about 3 hours.
He is still kind of dazing and just wants to get out of the hotel room. The Drs want us to keep brody calm and no high impact for the nest 2 weeks, like no jumping! Because of his prosthetic middle bones. Well lets just say, how in the world am I going to keep my 3.5 year old from jumping into and out of the bed?!?! Maybe we should take the nurses advice and duct tape him to a tree!! ;)
Brody is sleeping again now and hopefully he sleeps all through the night with either mom or dad... he needs rest to get back to his normal self. Tomorrow will have to take him to the store and he gets to pick out his "I had Surgery" toy.
Thank you everyone for the thoughts and prayers. This surgery was defiantly the harder of the 2 for both brody and us!! But in the end this will defiantly be worth all the tears! I hope his recovery goes well and we can find enough things to entertain him with to keep him from moving around too much. Brody will need lots of encouragement when we get back home as well as when it is time to get his 3rd surgery.
A short time later, which was suppose to be 45 min turned into 10 minutes they came and got us and told us that Brody was awake. We went in to a crying and irritated little guy. He was a little out of it still and all he wanted was his IV taken out and his heart monitor off his finger... (This is a huge difference from last time as when we went into recovery room we waited what seemed like forever for him to wake up and then he was just a sleepy little boy with no care in the world.) The nurses then decided I should hold him to try to comfort him.... this was good for a few minutes and then he decided it was time for the IV to come out well after about 20 minutes of trying to get him to eat and drink something they sent us home... Brody cried most of the time because he was thirsty and of course we left the juice in the trunk! Once we got back to the hotel he and mama took a long nap for about 3 hours.
He is still kind of dazing and just wants to get out of the hotel room. The Drs want us to keep brody calm and no high impact for the nest 2 weeks, like no jumping! Because of his prosthetic middle bones. Well lets just say, how in the world am I going to keep my 3.5 year old from jumping into and out of the bed?!?! Maybe we should take the nurses advice and duct tape him to a tree!! ;)
Brody is sleeping again now and hopefully he sleeps all through the night with either mom or dad... he needs rest to get back to his normal self. Tomorrow will have to take him to the store and he gets to pick out his "I had Surgery" toy.
Thank you everyone for the thoughts and prayers. This surgery was defiantly the harder of the 2 for both brody and us!! But in the end this will defiantly be worth all the tears! I hope his recovery goes well and we can find enough things to entertain him with to keep him from moving around too much. Brody will need lots of encouragement when we get back home as well as when it is time to get his 3rd surgery.
Not so happy juice. Recovery room.
We arrived at the waverly surgery center at 6:20am. Got all checked in and waited to go in. Surgery was scheduled for 7:30am. We were called back to the pre-op room at 7:45am. Met with all the doctors, nurses, anesthesiologist. And waited till the surgery room was ready. Then we proceeded to "attempt" to give Brody the happy juice... This turned into a crying game and then resulted in putting the juice in a syringe and having Brody choke it down!!! not a pretty sight, he was not impressed and then dry heaved for ten minutes. :( after we got him calmed down, ( by holding him and rocking him like my little baby) at this point I was pretty sure this happy juice should be called the 'not so happy juice' . Now it is time for him to go into surgery, he didn't want to us to leave him so we walked down the hall and then gave hugs, instant kicking and screaming! :( so much for the second time around being easier! I have to say this time was defiantly harder sending him off for surgery.
I'm holding on to the fact that the he is in the best hands with these doctors and nurses! The staff here with dr Roberson is amazing! I know as soon as he had his pilot mask he is resting comfortably and the magic begins! :)
It is now 11:00am and we just got done talking with the dr. The operation went well. Brody's middle bones were not connected properly so they went ahead and placed the prosthetic middle bones. With the prosthtics, it is likely that his hearing on the right side will not be as good as if he had his orginal bones. Placeing the middle bones now will save from having to come back for another surgery later down the road. We will get to go in recovery room in about 45 minutes.
Excited to see him. Not so excited about how he may wake up.... They warned us that when they go in kicking and screaming, they wake up the same way!
I'm holding on to the fact that the he is in the best hands with these doctors and nurses! The staff here with dr Roberson is amazing! I know as soon as he had his pilot mask he is resting comfortably and the magic begins! :)
It is now 11:00am and we just got done talking with the dr. The operation went well. Brody's middle bones were not connected properly so they went ahead and placed the prosthetic middle bones. With the prosthtics, it is likely that his hearing on the right side will not be as good as if he had his orginal bones. Placeing the middle bones now will save from having to come back for another surgery later down the road. We will get to go in recovery room in about 45 minutes.
Excited to see him. Not so excited about how he may wake up.... They warned us that when they go in kicking and screaming, they wake up the same way!
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Pre-op appointments. Happy Hollow...
This morning at breakfast we had a mom come up to us and ask if we were here to see Dr Roberson. It was nice to see someone in the same strange city for the same reason. We got to meet Conner from Texas who had combined medpor a month ago with Dr Renisch and Dr Roberson. We checked out his brand new ear. It looked amazing for only being 1 month after. I think it helped Brody to know that other kids are going to have surgery just like him. Actually on the way to our hotel, he was asking if Manny was going to be here... and he was going to take the mask just like Manny did! Way to go Manny you are still an inspiration to our Brody boy.
We ventured over to San Jose today to go to Happy Hollow, it is a small amusement park and zoo... lots and lots of kids everywhere. Brody had a blast... they had lots of playgrounds and animals everywhere. Brody's favorite part was the rides... they had lots of smaller kiddie rides. Brody rode them all... he wanted to ride the tilt a whirl like he did with his cousin emma at the fish n fun but they didn't have one so he opted for the frog hopper instead... It was only a little scary to watch, but he was smiling and laughing the whole time...:)
After Happy Hollow, we headed over to the California Ear institute for Brody's pre-op appointments. First we had body's audiogram (hearing test) and brody had fun throwing the play balls into the basket whenever he heard the birdie chirp... he did great. His hearing test improved on his left side 20-30 decibels. It is very close to normal hearing range. This is a great improvement even with some wax on the ear drum. They said that the real hearing test will be in 4 months which will hopefully show the most improvement. We were so very excited to hear these results.
Next we met with Dr Baliaker to check out his canal and all the other fun pre-op things. She was very impressed with how his canal looked and with the audiogram. She then proceeded to tell us that if Brody needs to have the prostatic middle bones put in, they will go ahead and do it right away instead of having another surgery.
Tomorrow is Surgery day... We have to be there at 6:30am and then surgery will start at 7:30am.
Now on to Skype with Rilyn and go eat some supper. Tomorrow is the big day, Thanks for all the prayers already! All prayers will be greatly appreciated!!
We ventured over to San Jose today to go to Happy Hollow, it is a small amusement park and zoo... lots and lots of kids everywhere. Brody had a blast... they had lots of playgrounds and animals everywhere. Brody's favorite part was the rides... they had lots of smaller kiddie rides. Brody rode them all... he wanted to ride the tilt a whirl like he did with his cousin emma at the fish n fun but they didn't have one so he opted for the frog hopper instead... It was only a little scary to watch, but he was smiling and laughing the whole time...:)
After Happy Hollow, we headed over to the California Ear institute for Brody's pre-op appointments. First we had body's audiogram (hearing test) and brody had fun throwing the play balls into the basket whenever he heard the birdie chirp... he did great. His hearing test improved on his left side 20-30 decibels. It is very close to normal hearing range. This is a great improvement even with some wax on the ear drum. They said that the real hearing test will be in 4 months which will hopefully show the most improvement. We were so very excited to hear these results.
Next we met with Dr Baliaker to check out his canal and all the other fun pre-op things. She was very impressed with how his canal looked and with the audiogram. She then proceeded to tell us that if Brody needs to have the prostatic middle bones put in, they will go ahead and do it right away instead of having another surgery.
Tomorrow is Surgery day... We have to be there at 6:30am and then surgery will start at 7:30am.
Now on to Skype with Rilyn and go eat some supper. Tomorrow is the big day, Thanks for all the prayers already! All prayers will be greatly appreciated!!
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