Quite a bit has happened since I last updated. Most of it good.
We have just been so busy that there has been no time to update.
With Izzy's birthday last Monday, I had to share the fun we've
enjoyed!
I'll start with where we left off though in heart month. We did
so much. There was the Hearts of Hope "Day of Hearts" for CHD
families, where the kids got to dance, play games, and Izzy was
even part of a magic show!
Then Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week where we did a huge fundraiser at the kids' school, raising over $2,100 for the Children's Heart Foundation through an elementary school coin drive!
Izzy was a star the entire week since her picture was all over the school. You know that she loved that. Of course, that same week was Valentine's Day, so there was a dance at school. Izzy had so much fun! She was able to hang out with her best friends, walking around the school like a big kid. AND she was dancing with the big girls too!!!
Unfortunately, between the big week at school, staying up late from the dance, and germs, Izzy got terribly sick on Valentine's Day and even had to miss her party at school.
The only place she wanted to be was on the floor :(
We were extremely close to bringing her to the hospital many times. In fact, there was a point that Izzy asked us to take her to the hospital and I am fairly certain that the hospice staff thought we should have brought her there. But we didn't want her catching anything else and we managed to keep her hydrated and on oxygen. She had a virus (metapnuemo) so the hospital could not have done more.
Izzy was pretty much over the virus itself after 5 days, but it took her another week to really eat. The next week, Izzy got to take us to see a firehouse with the Daisies. That was a lot of fun!
Finally, it was time for the big number 6! See if you can guess Izzy's chosen theme:
Special thanks to my sister for making the amazing cake!
Izzy had the best rainbow birthday ever!!!!!
Our fun didn't end then though. The next day, Izzy got to play
with her new toys.
She was even cooking! Izzy LOVES to cook and so we got her a kids' cooking set with knives that actually cut (but are safer and small for kids).
And of course, birthday girl's choice for dinner out--Maggianos!
On Izzy's actual birthday morning, we surprised her with tickets for "Disney On Ice"!
That night was beautiful, so Izzy got to play outside!
Since it was St. Patrick's Day, Phin made Izzy a hat.
It was an amazing couple of days and I think our girl has taken being 6 to heart. She has started behaving even better! One can only hope for the best. Our fun continued this weekend as well. Yesterday, we got to go to the park for the first time this year!!!
Izzy was on a mission when I took these photos! I told her we wouldn't be able to go on the swings and she was sure we could!
Yes, she is copping an attitude. I wasn't wearing boots and that frozen water was well over 6 inches deep. I wasn't lifting her up!
She forgave me though when I reminded her that we have swings at home without puddles underneathe.
And to end, today we went to see "Disney On Ice". Izzy was in her glory. Phin didn't seem to into it, but claimed at the end that he loved it. We had great seats and lots of fun!
Izzy had to wear all of her Minnie Mouse clothes!
Posted Mar 31, 2014 9:08pm
Posted Mar 24, 2014 5:22am
Posted Mar 23, 2014 9:12pm
Posted Mar 23, 2014 8:51pm
Posted Mar 23, 2014 6:03pm
Then Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week where we did a huge fundraiser at the kids' school, raising over $2,100 for the Children's Heart Foundation through an elementary school coin drive!
Izzy was a star the entire week since her picture was all over the school. You know that she loved that. Of course, that same week was Valentine's Day, so there was a dance at school. Izzy had so much fun! She was able to hang out with her best friends, walking around the school like a big kid. AND she was dancing with the big girls too!!!
Unfortunately, between the big week at school, staying up late from the dance, and germs, Izzy got terribly sick on Valentine's Day and even had to miss her party at school.
The only place she wanted to be was on the floor :(
We were extremely close to bringing her to the hospital many times. In fact, there was a point that Izzy asked us to take her to the hospital and I am fairly certain that the hospice staff thought we should have brought her there. But we didn't want her catching anything else and we managed to keep her hydrated and on oxygen. She had a virus (metapnuemo) so the hospital could not have done more.
Izzy was pretty much over the virus itself after 5 days, but it took her another week to really eat. The next week, Izzy got to take us to see a firehouse with the Daisies. That was a lot of fun!
Finally, it was time for the big number 6! See if you can guess Izzy's chosen theme:
Special thanks to my sister for making the amazing cake!
Izzy had the best rainbow birthday ever!!!!!
She was even cooking! Izzy LOVES to cook and so we got her a kids' cooking set with knives that actually cut (but are safer and small for kids).
And of course, birthday girl's choice for dinner out--Maggianos!
On Izzy's actual birthday morning, we surprised her with tickets for "Disney On Ice"!
That night was beautiful, so Izzy got to play outside!
Since it was St. Patrick's Day, Phin made Izzy a hat.
It was an amazing couple of days and I think our girl has taken being 6 to heart. She has started behaving even better! One can only hope for the best. Our fun continued this weekend as well. Yesterday, we got to go to the park for the first time this year!!!
Izzy was on a mission when I took these photos! I told her we wouldn't be able to go on the swings and she was sure we could!
Yes, she is copping an attitude. I wasn't wearing boots and that frozen water was well over 6 inches deep. I wasn't lifting her up!
She forgave me though when I reminded her that we have swings at home without puddles underneathe.
And to end, today we went to see "Disney On Ice". Izzy was in her glory. Phin didn't seem to into it, but claimed at the end that he loved it. We had great seats and lots of fun!
Izzy had to wear all of her Minnie Mouse clothes!
I think we celebrated Izzy's 6th birthday in style. She had so much
fun and exclaimed that each day was the best!
On the serious front, we continue to deal with the kids' fears,
anger, and frustration. When Izzy got sick, Phinney got really
worried. He was even trying to find a way to replace Izzy in his
life now so it wouldn't hurt him so much to lose her. It has been
heartbreaking to help him understand that nobody can or will
replace her. Thankfully, he has wonderful therapists to work with
and his teacher is awesome!
We have finally reached the therapeutic level for Izzy's
sildenafil (viagra) as well. It took us a couple of months to get
there, but this weekend we did the final increase. I personally
believe she is doing better. Her oxygen is better at night and she
doesn't seem to be as tired all of the time. I don't think it is
fixing anything, but it is nice to have her feeling better.
We hope all of you are getting spring as well and that spring
will actually get sprung around here. It is nice to go outside, but
20 degrees isn't really spring weather, even if it is warmer than
we have been for months!
Take Care,
Mel
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Posted Mar 31, 2014 9:08pmPosted Mar 24, 2014 5:22am
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