Infection

Ahhh....... It's crazy how quickly things can change. On Wednesday July 8th DeDe came home from work and her mom had told her that Avery was quite cranky that day. It was the first day in the past few that Avery needed Tylenol for the pain. DeDe got her ready for bed that night and realized that something had changed. Her back was quite swollen...in fact at first DeDe thought that it was the bandage on her back, forgetting that the dressing had already been removed. She started looking at it more closely and noticed that it was not only very swollen but it was starting to get hot to the touch. Avery would wince even when she would touch the area. We had a neighbor who is a RN look at it and he thought that it looked okay to him. DeDe just felt that something was not right. I came home from school and by the time I got there it was even more red and swollen. Avery was now running a fever and was hurting. We called Primary Children's and they instructed us to bring her in. We were getting ready to take her in when the Hospital called us back and said our Surgeon would meet us as the Hospital even though he was scheduled to be off. When we got there it was a matter of minutes and they had seen her. The Doctor began to push on the area of her back with the drain and yellow puss came out around the drain site...and that was it, we were being admitted to the Hospital to try to fight this infection. We have never seen Avery like this. When she wasn't screaming she was clinging to us so tight that we had to pry her off of us just to have her looked at. They immediately started an IV and began giving her antibiotics. At that time they didn't know what was going on or what they were going to have to do. They talked to us about running several doses of meds every 8 hours, and the possibility of having to re-open her surgery site and cleaning it out. Avery was a very sick little girl. I think DeDe and I cried every bit as much as she did. We were all scared. On July 10th Avery was responding to the meds, the drain tube was removed and she was improving. Her blood work was getting better, and the option of having it re-opened was no longer there. Now it was a matter of would we come home with a Pic line and continue receiving at home IV therapy with home health or would we get to come home and continue with oral antibiotics. At 2:30 in the afternoon we got the go ahead to come home. They were happy with the way she was responding to the meds, and they had pin pointed the type of infection. Avery had developed a staff infection, but we had caught it in time. We came home exhausted, overwhelmed but happy to be headed home with oral meds and no more tubes.

Avery's surgery

When Avery was about 3 weeks old we noticed a small lump on her back, right under her shoulder blade. We showed it to her pediatrician and he said it was a cyst and we should just watch it for awhile. When she was 11 months old we were getting her out of the tub and realized it was a lot bigger than normal, when we started poking at it we felt a hard lump in it. We took her to the Doctor within a couple of days and he sent us to see a surgeon. Two weeks later we headed to Primary Children's Hospital to meet a surgeon. That's when we decided to have it removed. What they found was called a Lymphatic Vascular Malformation. Basically the area on her back didn't develop correctly and it had produced a small tumor that needed to be removed because it was growing, and the larger it grew the more difficult the surgery would be. The surgery was scheduled for July 1st... Everything went well, the Dr. was able to remove all of it and the biopsy came back perfect. The area produced a lot of lymphatic fluids that needed to be drained to try to help avoid infection, that is why the drain tube was placed in her back. Avery bounced back quickly following surgery and just when we thought we were almost out of the woods... on Wednesday July 8th two days before the tube was scheduled to be removed Avery's body got an infection.

Avery's 1st birthday

Avery's birthday was so much fun! We celebrated all weekend. It was the same weekend as Art City Days in Springville, so we were in the childrens parade, went to the carnival, watched the fireworks, and had a birthday party. It was a very busy weekend and we decided from now on we would go somewhere for birthdays. That way someone else does the set up and clean up and we just show up to have fun!

Day at the zoo.

We went to the zoo today. It was lots of fun. We met Michelle, Sheri, Catcher, and Katelyn there. We seen all the animals but Avery liked the big ones the best. The elephant seemed to be her favorite she laughed, clapped, and screamed at her. We were there at the perfect time! They were feeding her so she was out and active! It is so fun to watch Avery take in everything around her!

Mothers Day

So we celebrated our first Mothers Day this year! We did more of a Mothers Day weekend. It was the best weekend we have had in a long time. We spent Friday night at DeDe's softball practice then went to dinner as a family. On Saturday morning we headed to the softball teams yardsale. Avery loves hanging out with all the girls she thinks she is the S^&* when they are around! Then we went to the mall and hung out for the whole afternoon. There is a lot of interesting stuff to see at the mall. By stuff I mean people. We had dinner at Red Robin and Avery ate a whole bowl of Mac-N-Cheese. Anything with noodles and she is in heaven. We rented movies and came home. Avery played until about 11 then crashed for the night. On Sunday we got up and went to the ranch for dinner. Avery loves to crawl in the grass and play in the sand box! Mommie (DeDe) was struggling to let her get dirty and I was in the sand box with her! She is such a joy all the time. She is a great baby and we could not ask for more!

Spring is finally here!

We went to the ranch for the first time this year! We made a fire to roast hot dogs and marshmallows. Avery got to play on the swingset and Kanyen flew her Hanna Montana kite. It was a beautiful day, very relaxing which is exactly what we needed after last week.

Grandma Lee

So Avery and I just got back from Michigan. I wish I could say it was a good visit, however it was for my Grandma's funeral. She passed away on April 14th. Don't get me wrong it was good to see everyone the reason just sucked. Avery is what got me through it, she makes me laugh even when I am sad. She waved Bye-Bye to Grandma, threw her kisses, and kissed her forhead.

Just some fun stuff about Avery!

• She is very happy!
• She loves any and all music.
• She does the hand motions to head, shoulders, knees and toes.
• She is walking with her push toys.
• Popcicles are one of her favorite treats.
  

Fun Weekend

Kanyen was here for the weekend so we hung out at home and played with the girls. On Saturday we played on the playground. Avery loves to swing and play in the wood chips! On Sunday we went to feed the ducks! Avery loved the ducks, she ate more bread than they did though.

I thought Avery was taking a nap! However Kanyen was in her crib and they were playing!

Nine Months Old

I can not believe Avery is nine months old today! She had her well baby check up and everything is great! She is now 30 3/4 inches & 21.12 lbs she is in the 97% ! She is doing all the cute little things babies her age should be doing.

Bath time is one of Avery's favorite times of the day! As soon as she hears water running she crawls to the bathroom even if it is the washer filling.

I am new to blogging so bear with me! Hopefully I can figure this out and keep it updated.

Avery is almost nine months old and I have no idea where the time went. She is getting so big and doing so many new things. She is crawling all over and pulling herself up to any and all furniture. She has three teeth that she refuses to let you see, plays patty cake, and loves to laugh. She finds herself funny and keeps us very busy! I wouldn't change it for the world!