for sharon + chase update + a couple of good things

tomorrow sharon goes in again for bloodwork due to the results that she got last time. so please send her prayers, good mojo, and vibes that this bloodwork comes back good and no scans are needed. she is going to show cancer who is boss, i just know it. go sharon!! you've got this -- i have no doubts!

i also wanted to give the latest update on chaser:

"Back at it-  

"Captain" seems to be as happy to be at home as Chase does! We had a great catch-up weekend with the kids after being gone all week. While I prepped Tanner for QB tryouts with the Vikes and tossed around the football, Lisa, Ava and Chaser hung out on the front lawn and soaked up the incredible weather. We threw some burgers and steaks on the grill, and had some of our neighbor friends join us for a bonfire Bobcat trail style- in the driveway! Chaser seemed content the entire time. Although he didn't get to enjoy one of the smores he usually wears more than he eats, I know the smells of burning marsh mellows and sounds of friends and family made him feel good :)

After a weekend of hanging out and relaxing, it was back to work for all of us today. Last night Lisa and I were discussing Chase's weekend at Mayo. We came to the conclusion that we need this surgery to happen sooner than later. I emailed the surgeon that was scheduled to do the operation in Oct and expressed our concerns. I received an email response early this morning from him offering to introduce us to one of his colleagues to perform the operation sooner. One hour later, Lisa received a call from Mayo to set up a consultation on Wed. Man, do we love Mayo!- Hopefully our meeting goes well, and we can get Chaser into surgery sooner.

Chase had a busy, and active day. The morning started out with speech- mom had to break the news to the gals at Gillette's that he can't have any oral intake- due to his vomiting and other stomach issues. They hooked up the vital stem to keep his swallowing muscles active and did oral stimulation with an electric toothbrush. Although it was a "dry" run, with no food or flavor involved, we don't want to stop him from using his swallowing muscles, or we may lose all of the progress we have gained thus far.
In PT/OT, Chaser was all business. They had him straddling a bolster swing, and asked him to push off using his leg muscles. The therapist was impressed as she felt his leg muscles contracting to try and move the swing. This was the first time he has ever attempted an exercise with his legs on command in therapy- and he did well. Apparently the 1 mile treks around Bobcat trail on his Trike are paying off! They also had him moving his fingers to push a ball at a target that was on the wall. Lisa watched as his little fist opened up to follow the requests and try and move the ball. As soon as they came home, Chaser spent over an hour in the stander. Grampa Mike dropped by at supper time, and we took Chaser for a stroll on his trike. He seems to really like it. Its going to be a really bummer when the white stuff falls and we can't take him out on it anymore- we will have to find something to takes its place.

We ended the night with little/big scare. Chaser's feeding tube got caught on his car seat, and was pulled out. Fortunately, our friend Shannon Hanson was here to save the day! We gave her a call to ask her what to do next, and 15 mins later, she was her and had it back in place safely! Thanks Shannon, you just moved up a couple notches our speed dial list!
Chaser is now resting soundly, and hopefully we will be soon. Hope you all have a good week. 

God is Good!"

 

also, a couple of things that i came across today that i thought some of you might like:

- for the ladies, if you need ten days of saying yes to the moment, you need to sign up for this (free!!!) adventure from liz lamoreux. i can't say enough good things about liz. there are literally not enough words. you will not regret it.

- my mouth started watering a bit when i saw these no bake pumpkin cookies

- also for the ladies, if you have the itch to start getting the planning underway for the holidays, you should check these handmade holiday organizers

- i think that these autumn bucket lists from marta writes are adorable and so inspiring to get ready and start decorating for fall

- looking at marta's post reminded me that it is almost time to make nutter butter ghosts. yes!

happy tuesday peeps -- it has to better than monday, right? we can only hope.