Bye-Bye Reflux

As many of you know, before Callie was born she was diagnosed with kidney reflux. Since she was two days old she has had to take antibiotics daily and has had routine tests and check-ups to evaluate her condition. After her two-year check-up showed no sign of improvement we decided to accept the doctor's recommendation and schedule her surgery. For those doctors out there, the operation was going to be a cystoscopy bilateral ureteral reimplantation. We told Callie she was going to get her kidneys fixed. It's easier to say. We tried to prepare Callie for the big day, or as much as you can prepare a two year-old for such an ordeal.

Finally, two months after we scheduled it, January 4 arrived. We woke up at 4am, showered, packed the car, and got to the hospital at 5:30am. It was time to register and go through the pre-operations procedures.

We start with the star of the show. She is already in her hospital gown and has received the first of what will eventually be three Central Baptist Hospital teddy bears. Sandy was our nurse at this point and she was fabulous with Callie. It was a difficult waiting period. We were in a small room and every time the door opened someone new entered. The anesthesiologist, the physician's assistant, and so on down the line.


One of those visits came from the anesthesiologist tech, who brought with her the mask that would be used to put Callie to sleep. She suggested having Callie play with it, smell it, talk into it...whatever she wanted to do. It would hopefully make her more comfortable with it. And the approach worked very well. Callie definitely had fun playing with it, as you can see here. We all had to put it up to our mouth and say, "hellooo!"

As mentioned above, we were in a small room. And for some reason, they crammed a small red wagon into it. Of course Callie was completely attracted to it, and before long she was sitting in it and had both her favorite baby and new teddy bear buckled in. It was one more fun way to pass the time.



Clearly we didn't understand the big picture here. We quickly found out that the red wagon had a very important role in the morning's process. Once the final nurse came in to visit Callie, she asked if Callie wanted to go for a ride. Obviously Callie accepted the offer and in a split second we realized that this was goodbye and the nurse was going to wheel Callie off to the operating room. We tried not to freak out since this was a solid transition. However, we must admit it was pretty difficult. And as we look back, we can still see Callie being wheeled away while she is looking up at the nurses trying to get a sense of what this ride is really all about.

The next 3-4 hours was difficult, though made bearable in part by a series of gifts provided by Sarah's boss, Catie. She gave use five paper bags. They were labeled with the assigned hour at which they could be opened. Fortunately for us, the 8:00am bag contained cards to play Canasta, and that actually took up most of the two plus hours Callie was in surgery. We got the word Callie was out of the OR, and then had to wait for what turned out to be a very brief consultation with her surgeon. The man is short, sweet, and to the point. Most importantly, he is very good at what he does. After the longest hour ever, we were finally allowed back to the post-op area where Callie was just waking up. We were excited to see her and overwhelmingly happy to know that Sarah could sit in a chair and just hold her. Sarah got to hold her in the chair, then in a wheelchair as we transferred to the pediatric unit, and for the first three hours or so in the room.


But everyone has to get up and go to the bathroom at some point, and that's when John swooped in to get some cuddle time with Callie. One of the scariest things for us heading into this surgery was not knowing what to expect afterwards. So we both just wanted to sit and hold her. And while she was definitely lethargic, holding her was not easy because of the various tubes she had coming out of her. She had a catheter, an IV, a heart rate monitor, and a tube to drain the incision. Not fun.


We did everything we could to try and distract and comfort Callie. We brought her Bitty Baby and her favorite books from home. We also brought her pillow (made by her Great Aunt Teri) and the blanket she sleeps with every night. And finally we brought a quilt also made by Great Aunt Teri. It has pictures of all her family sewn throughout alongside various pictures of animals and objects. It is an incredible, personalized, "I Spy" quilt. All of the nurses oohed and aahhed over the craftsmanship.


That night we took advantage of the free wireless and had video chats with Grammy Gayle, Nana Banana and Sport, and the Balestraccis. It is so hard to be so far away from family and friends, but technology made this process much easier. In fact, we were even able to use this to have visitors well past official visiting hours. And hopefully it relieved some anxiety among our families. That first night was tough. The best sleep we got was from about 2:30-6am with all three of us packed into the hospital bed you see above. No, we are not kidding.


However, children are extremely resilient, and Callie is no exception. By 10:30 the next morning, less than 24 hours after the completion of her surgery, she was looking for something to do. So we talked to the nurses, got some simple directions on how to make Callie and her numerous tubes portable, and headed down the hall to the playroom. Although she was a little slow, which was good since her parents had a difficult time keeping the IV pole, the catheter bag, and the drainage balloon all in step and out of harms way. It was a juggling act to say the least.


Fortunately for all of us, Callie didn't always have to walk. There were a few cars available for her to cruise the pediatrics ward. She had her eye on this green one and would accept nothing less. Needless to say, we made more than several laps in the three days we were at the hospital. As mentioned before, Callie scored three teddy bears during her stay at Central Baptist. But her haul of "incentive prizes" (we'll give you this if you take your medicine or let us look at your incision) included approximately 50 stickers, a dog purse, an arts and crafts bag, and a baby doll now appropriately named Little Baby. Seriously, she made sure that she got more than just some hospital jello for her troubles.

By the third day, Callie was definitely feeling better about 60 percent of the time. The other 40 percent she suffered from bladder spasms that the nurses described as being comparable to labor contractions. In other words, they were relatively short but extremely painful. In addition, she still had some pain from the incision and the drainage tube. But let's get back to the 60 percent of the time she was feeling good. Perhaps the picture below says it best.



We'll give the picture some context. We had to change her gown (or her dress as Callie called it) because it had gotten wet while Callie was washing her hands and face. But we couldn't change it without the assistance of a nurse who would disconnect the IV briefly. While we awaited the nurse, Callie was happy to pose for a quick picture. Please notice two things. First, no catheter bag. It was removed on day 2. Second, Callie is now starting a new fashion trend with Sarah's assistance. Anyone can have a drainage bubble, but only the most classy folks tuck it into the waistband of their diaper for ease of movement.


During the three days we were in the hospital Callie was exposed to a large number of foods and beverages she never received at home. It is safe to say that her consumption of apple juice in 72 hours exceeded by leaps and bounds what she has had at home. Jello was another source of amazement, along with whipped cream and hospital dinner rolls. At this point she was not eating much, but she was eating. We have had to wean her off of the juice as well as off of the idea of always getting a prize for doing something. This is just a picture of the last meal she and John shared before they left the hospital. At this point we were so excited for our bed, real food, and the general comforts of our house.

But we also need to take a moment to express our thanks to all of the folks at Central Baptist. We had a great experience when Callie was born there, and this time was no different. The nurses knew what they were doing and always made sure that we had everything and anything we needed. It was also obvious that they cared about Callie's recovery and in fact we got a card from them today wishing her well. They do things right at Central Baptist. So we give our utmost thanks to Mary, Rebecca, Lynsey, and Deana.

And while the nurses supported us physically and mentally during our stay, our emotional well being was strengthened by the love, thoughts, and prayers of our family and friends. The calls, the emails, and just the plain old good vibes were received and greatly appreciated. Callie truly doesn't know how lucky she is to have such a widespread and strong support system.

The support also came from her peers who truly understand Callie's mindset. Claire and Nora Leshney and Hayden and Jackson McBean were thoughtful enough to send her a fine fruit arrangement spouting out of Elmo's head. It is safe to say that Callie loves it. Even this morning John had to give Elmo a kiss before he could give Callie one.


Thank you again for all of your support. Although we can certainly think of better ways to start a new year, we also know that the surgery will make Callie better and allow her to enjoy many new years to come. Who knows what 2010 will hold?

Christmas on the East Coast

To round out a fun-filled and eventful 2009 we hopped on a plane and made our way to Connecticut. We timed our travel well and missed by several days the big snowstorm that dumped about 15-16 inches on Madison and Guilford. But that doesn't mean we missed the snow.

The morning after we arrived we headed over to the Balestracci household, where they know what to do with all of that snow. It's all about sledding and snowballs. Callie hasn't quite caught on to either of those yet. But she was excited to see her cousins and spend some time exploring the white stuff. Her California roots showed up, however, and she soon retired inside with her Mom to warm up.



When we last saw Suzy and Brian they were in Colorado. Now that they are engaged they are showing their true domestic sides. The two of them make both a fine couple and a fine cookie. It was a lot of fun having a full house for the holidays.





Now Nana Banana had to make sure that the cookie making was done right. The decorative aspects needed to be tasteful and not overdone. And of course there needed to be a batch of cookies left undecorated for Sport. Callie was more than happy to help with the quality control when it came to tasting the final product.


Speaking of the final product, here is Callie with one of the many cookies that were baked that day. She knows a good thing when she sees one. We would like to claim that this was the only sweet item she had over the course of our visit, but that is far from true. And she had quite a few adults at her disposal who she could turn to for help indulging her sweet tooth.




On Christmas Eve we traveled to North Madison to spend the evening with the Skonieczny clan. Now that Mike and Kristen are living in Madison they wanted to host the traditional festivities. It was quite an event with a total of seventeen in attendance. There was good food and the kids had a great time.



Callie and John got to enjoy "Twas the Night Before Christmas" as read by Mike. You can see the latest addition to the family, little Eli, who was born on December 4. Despite the look on Callie's face, she enjoyed the experience.


But the story was not the end of night. Kristen, Ella, and Callie prepared plates for Santa and his reindeer. They wanted to make sure that everyone was well fed during their late night journey and left the plates on the edge of the fireplace.






This experience was both adorable and surreal. Although Callie hasn't quite made the full connection between Christmas and Santa, she can identify pictures of the jolly, bearded fellow, and is beginning to catch on to the whole thing. Next year is going to be an eye-opening experience for us.


Because Callie hasn't gotten caught up in all the hype, we got to have a leisurely Christmas morning. No presents were opened until the afternoon when Katie, Chris, Michael, and Brendan arrived. Then the fun really began.




Once we were all settled in our spots in the living room, the stockings were distributed by Elf Brendan and the paper ripping began in earnest. Callie certainly loves ripping paper, and the fact that presents for her are involved just makes it that much better.


One of the fun things about the stockings in Madison is how long they are. Callie nearly disappeared into her stocking in the search for more presents. It was very sweet when she got to the bottom and pulled out an orange. She and Sarah opened it immediately so that they could share the tasty treat. It was great to see Callie get excited about the orange as much as she did about her other presents.



There were countless times that Callie simply glued herself to either Michael or Brendan. It should not be surprising, but she ADORES them and they are incredibly good with her. It makes us so happy to see how they play with her and deal with her love and demands. One night Michael had to stop eating because Callie had her head on his right arm and was just gazing lovingly up at him. To us this is cute, but to a 12 year-old it might be different.



One of the great things about our Christmas trips to Connecticut is our dinner with John's Uncle Tommy and Aunt Terry. We couldn't wait to have them meet Brian and see just how big Callie has gotten in the two years since they last saw her. Tommy and Terry focused on Suzy and Brian first, but Terry also wanted to give Callie her gift before dinner began. When it all comes down to it, Terry wanted to make sure she got on Callie's good side as soon as possible. Mission accomplished.



Here is Callie with what in some circles is called the "Bitty Baby starter kit". We were unaware of its existence before the evening. But as you can see from the look on Callie's face, this will not be the end of it. She only put the baby down to devour a couple of plates of pasta and some strawberry shortcake. At all other times she was walking around the table showing off her baby. Three weeks later as we write this, "Baby", as she is named, is still a prized possession and constant companion.


By the time the evening had come to an end we had enjoyed a wonderful meal and even better company. It's a shame the dinner had to end, but we look forward to having more time with the whole crew in June at Suzy and Brian's wedding.




Just like the dinner, our time in Connecticut is never quite long enough. There were still people we missed seeing and others we didn't get to catch up with in depth. But such is life. Fortunately, however, we were in Madison long enough to be around when one of the final gifts arrived in the mail.


What do you get the UConn fan who seems to have it all? That's right, a UConn snuggie. We thought it was a fitting gift for two people who enjoy watching their team play from the comfort of their family room. Hopefully it brings them good luck. Too bad they didn't have them when the UConn men's basketball team played our boys from the University of Kentucky. C-A-T-S Cats! Cats! Cats!

If we had exciting pictures from our New Year's Eve celebration, this is where we would put them. However, our New Year's Eve included an earache that gave Callie fits, and our New Year's Day started with a trip to a local medical clinic. But that could not put a damper on what was a wonderful year for the three of us. And we hope that 2010 will prove to be even better.

Getting Ready for Christmas Festivities

It may the new year, but it is time for us to reflect on the last month of 2009. We did our best to pack a whole lot of holiday activities into our travel break from the end of Thanksgiving in California to our Christmas trip to Connecticut.


The first thing we had to do was go out and get a tree. For the record, we flew back from Sacramento on Saturday, November 28 and went tree shopping on Sunday, November 29. This is the earliest we have ever put up a tree. But we wanted to make certain that we made up for the fact that last year we didn't even get one. So here we have Callie and John walking through the rows of available trees at our local Christmas tree vendor. When you go shopping on November 29, you have quite a selection.



Here is the chosen one, all wrapped up and ready to get into the house. The whole process definitely intrigued Callie to no end. She enjoyed watering the tree and putting up the ornaments. And as a reward for reading through this lengthy post, you will get to see some pics of the finished version.






With the tree up, our next activity was supposed to be a quick and simple fun family project - decorating a gingerbread house. How hard could it be? One evening we set aside a couple of hours to assemble the house and decorate it with all of the finest candies in town. However, as John read the directions, the assembly was supposed to take 6-7 hours when you factor in drying time for the icing/paste. Therefore this turned into a 3-day project. Callie was remarkably patient.


Although we are not going to give you a play-by-play of the decorating process, we need to let you know that Callie truly enjoyed "accidentally" getting the icing on her fingers so that she had to lick it off and eating an M&M here and there. We think the finished product came out quite well.




The tree was up and the gingerbread house was complete and looking good. Two checkmarks were now on the to-do list. Next up, some quality time with her friend Iain.


The first step was a present exchange. Iain thoughtfully gave Callie a few of his favorite books all about Gossie, Gertie, Ollie, Peedy, and other feathered friends. Needless to say, Callie loved them. She thought Iain would like a playmobil dumptruck, and all signs point to her being very right. But the gift exchange was only the beginning. As you can see in this picture, Iain's coat is off, but his parents still have theirs on. That's right, we had Iain for the evening.


So off we went to the "Southern Lights" display at the Kentucky Horse Park. This is the second time we have gone, and we were once again impressed with the display. They have everything from the entire 12 days of Christmas to Star Wars to the Keeneland starting gate and horse races. It is pretty impressive. But the lights are only one part of the whole fiesta.


In two of the buildings at the horse park they have a craft fair and a model train exhibit. Both Iain and Callie loved the trains. They would have stayed there all night if they could. And we must admit, the trains and the detailed little towns were quite cool.






Here is more evidence of their enjoyment of this element of the evening. Although we didn't get a photo, they also both enjoyed Thomas the Tank Engine, who had his own little section of the display.




Now we must also point out, that at this point in the evening, it was past the regular dinnertimes of both Callie and Iain. The trains seem to have made them forget their hunger and so we weren't too worried. Besides, there was a corn dog vendor outside and we knew we could always depend on a child's appreciation for breaded meat on a stick.


This picture is a case in point. Callie enjoyed the corn dog. We don't have a picture of Iain eating the corn dog, because he did not want anything to do with it. This is probably because his mother provides him with such an amazing assortment of well-prepared foods that are, shall we say, a bit classier than your average corn dog. Iain is a boy with discerning tastes. So now we felt guilty and realized it was time to leave to get Iain some food and put them both to bed. On our drive home we got a call from Iain's parents wondering where we were. Hmmmmm....apparently they were done with dinner and ready to pick up their child who surely was sleeping after a good meal. What are the odds that we will get to babysit Iain in the near future?


Why is Callie in her Halloween outfit in December? Well, look closer at the picture and see what she is holding in her hands. We got a package from Nana Banana (aka Nana Taffy) and it contained one of the coolest ornaments ever.



It is an almost exact replica of Callie in her doggie costume. We all loved it. Callie was quick to put it up on the tree.


This felt ornament has more meaning than you might expect. John and his two sisters have similar felt ornaments that Taffy made and every Christmas there is a contest over the placement of those ornaments. In other words, who is in the most prominent place on the tree. So Callie's ornament is part of that grand tradition.


This year we decided to write Santa and ask to celebrate Christmas early before we got on the plane to Connecticut. Fortunately we had all been good in 2009 and he complied with our wish.




It was pretty cool because the day we chose to celebrate, the Sunday before Christmas, there was snow on the ground in Lexington. It was a white Christmas that we could all enjoy. What a great day. All of the stockings were full of great gifts. Callie got a stroller for her baby, a playmobil safari set, and some great books.


And Santa was kind enough to provide a good breakfast for Callie....a cookie. All in all it was a good day and we had a great time playing with our new toys and spending time together. But this was only the beginning. We had to get the house in order before we headed out for another Christmas gathering in Madison. That post is coming soon, so stay tuned.