Back from Vacation

I just got back from a wonderful 6 day vacation in Colorado Springs. My brother Steve and his lovely bride, Samantha tied the knot on Saturday, July 18th. The weather was perfect and everyone had lots of fun. I got to see lots of my family and play with the nieces and nephews (too cute!) I got home quite late (or early) - 3:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. Its a long story; I took a later flight than expected, but I got home okay. The kids missed me and we've been having fun since I got back.

Apparently Clayton thought they needed a trampoline, so guess what I found in our backyard when I woke up? Yup, a nice big trampoline, which the kids talked me into jumping on with them. Scary at first, but then it was kind of fun. They just laughed when I showed them my "trick", touching my toes in the air. I suppose they were expecting something like a double flip from their mother. Whatever, I might practice while they are at school and surprise them one day. Its good to be back home, but I really enjoyed seeing the family and chatting with G.G.

quick update

I just thought I'd write a little something this morning. Its been a week since my last post. Clayton has been back to work since Wed. and is doing alright. He is going to see a few doctors in the next few weeks for follow up and referrals. I do have him on a bunch of supplements and I hope everything helps and he just keeps improving.
The kids are doing better. I think we've finally gotten rid of most of the illnesses we were harboring in the family over the last month. I registered Broden for Preschool and Marissa for Kindergarten the other day! Wow. I can't believe I will actually be home by myself 2 mornings a week in the fall. What will I do??? Marissa's birthday is in a couple of weeks and she'll be 5! These kids are just growing up way too fast. Well, we are just wishing and hoping that Spring will show up one of these days and that it will stay for a while. This winter has been neverending.

He's really home!!!!!!

We are just so glad that Clayton was discharged from the hospital earlier today. He is resting and enjoying the kids. We got a few movies and we are just all having some fun at home as a family. Today was bittersweet. We are remembering our beautiful precious boy Jarin and missing him, but we are also grateful to have Clayton home again. Interesting twist. Anyway, I just want to say that life is short. You'll never regret spending more time with your family and loved ones. Enjoy everyday. Sorry to sound sentimental, but I think I'm allowed that today. Love to you all, Cynthia

Dare I say it.....Clayton is probably home tomorrow!

Well, we are just holding our breath. The doctor came in tonight while I was there at the hospital with Clayton and said things look good. So he is recommending discharge tomorrow.....yeah! The one final hurdle to get over is the actual doctor that is in charge of him to say he can go tomorrow. I'm quite sure that everything will work out in our favor, but I just don't want to get my hopes up too high. Clayton looks better and has more energy. We are really looking forward to having him back home and he is of course more than ready to come home!!!! He will spend a few days recouping at home before heading back up to Calgary for work. I think he will take it easy the first week or so at work as well. Thank you for all of your prayers! They made a difference. We will let you know tomorrow if he actually got out of there. I plan to go in at about noon and we're hoping it doesn't take all day to release him. Love, Cynthia

waiting game

I took the 2 little kids to the hospital today to see Daddy. They all had a good time. They put in Clayton's central line this morning, so he is continuing to receive TPN through that now. His spirits are a bit low, so we are trying to cheer him up. I bought a few helium foil balloons to brighten up his room. He was having a hard and uncomfortable time sleeping, so I bought a memory foam for his hospital bed. I hope this helps. I did not get to talk to a doctor yesterday or today, so I don't know much more news. I will print off the posts for him and we are all going in again tomorrow night for games and treats. They have a big room right next to his for families to gather and watch tv or movies or play games. No one is ever in there, so we like to go and spend some time together as a family. I am going to the temple tomorrow morning with some good friends and I think that will be great for me. It is a tough week for our family and we hope to have Clayton with us on Friday, whether its just a day pass or permanent. I'll let you all know results of this new treatment, TPN as soon as I find out. Love, Cynthia

Update on Clayton

So, Clayton is finally on TPN and doing all right. He can breathe better, his kidneys have calmed down, so they are not as worried about them. They are just trying hard to increase his nutrition because that will solve (hopefully) many of the problems he is having. His mood is a bit down, but I can't blame him. We all went in for F.H.E. last night, and that was great for everyone. So we are praying hard that this TPN will work wonders and he will be able to come home soon. I am going in this afternoon to see him and to pick up a few items for his hospital room. Flowers, balloons, a memory foam for his bed, and maybe some crossword books and more magazines. We are trying our hardest to be positive for him because that will really help him along. We have wonderful amazing friends here in Magrath. I haven't had to do hardly any laundry or meals for almost 2 weeks. Our kids always have a place to go and people are just so willing to do whatever they can to help. Thank you for your prayers. We feel them and they really help. I can tell you are praying not only for Clayton, but for me as well. I have lots of energy and patience and feel like I can handle this, so thank you. Love you all, Cynthia

What a weekend. Basically, the medical team at the hospital OBVIOUSLY did not want Clayton to leave the hospital. They pretty much avoided him the whole weekend. So, here is the information I have so far. I am hoping to meet with a doctor that can tell me more today sometime. They want to put him on TPN, which is a way of getting nutrition in quickly. They put in a central line and deliver it via IV. Its very expensive (paid for), and they don't do it unless absolutely necessary. They feel that in order to solve the other problems going on with his body, he needs some proper nutrition. Although he eats a lot of good food, his body just has a really hard time absorbing it. I don't know yet how long they plan to keep him on the TPN as it is an in hospital treatment because it needs to be constantly running and monitored. He wants out this Friday. We shall see. I just hope they can get something going soon because he really feels like he is just wasting his time in there. We will let you know when we know anything more. Love, Cynthia

Well, Clayton called me last night and said they had just tried to drain some more fluid, but were unsuccessful. Today they will do another CT scan, an ultrasound and some more tests. I think they want to get rid of that fluid around his lungs before he leaves the hospital. He is anxious to go back to work, but hopefully he can stand to stay in until they feel comfortable letting him go. He is feeling better every time I go to see him. He is just a bit grumpy about still being in the hospital. I am going in later today, so I will probably write more tonight or tomorrow. Love to you all, Cynthia

Update on Clayton. When I went in yesterday to see him, he had more energy and they had already done the chest tube. He was able to breathe a little better. They drained a bit of fluid and sent it away to be tested to see how to treat him better. No test results have come back yet. Then he called me last night and told me that the doctor is going to put 2 more chest tubes in today to drain more fluid. I hope it will help him breathe even better. Hopefully we will get some of those results back today. I will let you all know. Also, if any of you would like to make comments to Clayton in the way of encouraging words, just comment after this post and then I will be able to print them off and hang them on the wall next to his bed. We are trying to stay positive and that would help. Thanks for all of your love. Cynthia

So, here I am writing at 5 am because I can't sleep. Clayton called late last night from the hospital and told me that they were going to try and drain his lungs today via a chest tube. He is a bit anxious to say the least. I just hope it will help him breathe better, which it should. We have been praying for the doctors to know how to treat him, so that is what they are doing. Love to you all and thanks again for your support. Cynthia

I bought a nice cozy blanket for Clayton and the kids just loved it. So, I had them lay down and I covered them with the blanket. I took this picture and printed it. Clayton has it on the wall in front of him in the hospital where he can see it all the time.

Hello everyone. I thought I'd give you all a quick update on Clayton. He is slowly improving. He has a bit more energy and can breathe a little better. There are 3 doctors working on him, so we should get some answers soon. He's had lots of tests, but we haven't gotten any results yet. We are hoping that we will hear something more tomorrow. His spirits are up and he wants me to say THANKS TO EVERYONE for fasting and praying for us. It has made a difference! What a blessing it is to have so much family that loves us, even though we are apart, we can still help each other. Our goal now is to get lots of protein into him as his albumin(protein in the blood) is extremely low. The kidney doctor is also trying to figure out why protein is leaking into his kidneys. The Crohn's doctor started him on some meds today, some low dose steroids. I told him that he unfortunately won't be able to compete in the Olympics now. Steroids. He smiled. That's better than I've seen in the last week and a half. He still has fluid in and around his lungs, and they are trying to get rid of that as well. So, I will TRY to write more when I get home tomorrow. Thanks again for all your support and WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!! Family is everything. Love, Cynthia

First post

I am going to try this out. I wanted a way to share our family with extended family and friends. The kids are growing up so fast and life is passing by way too quickly. I thought this would be a fun way to keep in touch a bit. I'm not sure how I'll do with updates, but I will try to do my best when I get a chance.