For Cora

One of my friends lost her little girl, Cora, to a CHD (Congenital Heart Defect) on December 6, 2009. Cora was only five days old.

Her mom now spends everyday trying to get letters and signatures to help get legislation passed for mandatory pulse oximetry testing done on every baby born in the US, within 48 hours of birth. This testing can help detect some CHD's.

A pulse oximetry test is a simple and relatively cheap test that checks oxygen saturation. Most adults have probably had this test done at some point in their life. The oximetry probe looks like a plastic clothes pin with a red light.

Today, Tuesday, March 30, 2010 would have been Cora's 4 month birthday. All of Cora's friends and family celebrated by wearing pink or red. Some people passed out pink ribbons. Others also particpated in random acts of kindness. Some of these random acts included: care packages for hospitalized people, some wrote notes thanking people for all they do for them, one person even helped to pay the medical expenses of a child who died unexpectedly. I am celebrating the day by wearing pink and by taking on some of Cora's mom's burden by spreading Cora's Story.

Tonight, I lit a candle for Cora, her mom, dad and all of the CHD babies. These are the pictures I took. I hope you enjoy them.

Wow, it has been a while!

I haven't posted anything in over a year and half...I know I am horrible about keeping up this blog thing. LOL!

What's up with us:
-Brian is still working at Peytons. He finally finished his training stuff.
-Austin is a third grader at Lancaster. He is doing cursive, multiplication, story problems, etc. He LOVES reading and science. He does pretty well in most subjects.
-Coltin just turned 6! I can't believe time has flown by so fast. I am homeschooling him this year. He wasn't doing as well as we had hoped for in preschool so we pulled him out.
-Ashtin is 3 1/2. She isn't doing dance this year because she is just too shy. We are going to try again next year...
-As for me, I am going back to school. I am at IPFW right now but will be transferring to USF next fall. I am planning on getting my Master's Degree in Nursing. After I graduate, I want to be a Family Nurse Practitioner.




My boys-Fall 2009




Brian and the kids on our trip to Tennessee August 2009



Ashtin and Bitty at Riley Jan 2010

Ashtin's Riley Trip

Ashtin was born with Spinal Tethering. Basically, when she was developing, the part of the fetus that develops into the skin and the part that develops into the spinal cord and spine didn't seperate the way it should have. This caused a sinus tract (like a straw) to form from just under her skin, down through the layers of muscle and spine and connected to the spinal cord. As she grew, it put tension on the tract and spinal cord b/c it could only grow so much. This caused nerve damage in her spinal cord and we were told that if she didn't have surgery to "release" the tethering, she would have more nerve damage. They also told us that it could mean that she would loose function of her legs, bladder and bowels.
We decided it was time to have the surgery when she started complaining of back pain. She was only 1 1/2 and we had a very hard time deciding what to do but felt that it was the right thing. In April 2008, she had the surgery done at Riley Children's Hospital.
We still have to go to Riley for check-ups but she seems like it has helped. She isn't as cranky and crabby as she used to be. She still complains of back pain so we have to keep an eye on everything but it seems for the most part, she is doing well.

Summer 2008

Our summer started off by going to the Coliseum to see, "Walking With Dinosaurs." VERY expensive but very worth it! The boys had a blast!

Their favorite part I know they are goofy!
(They get it from their dad)

In June, we went to Myrtle Beach:

Austin also played T-ball:

Overall, we had a really good summer. The kids had fun and we had a chance to get away and do fun things.

Graduation

I finally did it!!! In May 2008, I graduated from Nursing School. Just a few pics to remember the day!

My family (not the best picture but they were still proud!)

Mandi and I

Sarah's Graduation Party

Sarah and I

Sarah, Mandi, Me, Terah and Marla

(These are the people who helped me survive nursing school)

Our Family

Brian and I have been married for almost 8 years. We now have 3 kids: Ausitn, Coltin and Ashtin. I will post new pictures of all of us from time to time so everyone can see how we are doing.

ASHTIN 2 Years Old

AUSTIN 8 Years Old

COLTIN 4 Years Old