Half the Energy, Twice the Spunk

Maybe it's because I 'missed' the fall time completely - or rather enjoyed watching the colors change from my 6th floor window at the hospital - but i am just feeling like it can't possibly be spring already!

Our lives have changed SO much in the past year... 2 long hospital admissions for myself, and now I am muddling along on TPN with central lines, and feeding tubes, and all the necessary medical 'stuff' that comes with all that. Between Brandon and I, our med schedule, and the IV and central line care I feel like a full time nurse most of the time.

But - we have hit a pretty decent 'plateau'... I am weaning off the steroids slowly as the side effects were too severe to stay on them - and I am feeling the lower doses... my gut, which could handle small amounts of a handful of foods has mostly just stopped again completely... I can put meds through my J tube (So thankful for that - I can put narcotics or nausea medication through it, and it goes directly into my intesting, and is absorbed in minutes so the relief is very fast - if I were to swallow the medicine, it could sit in my stomach for hours before it was finally moved along to the intestines and absorbed... I only use the J tube for meds but it is sooo worth having.) But any attempts to eat food result in pain, nausea, and me looking 8 months pregnant...

That said - if I behave and avoid food, I feel pretty good and I'm home with my family so I won't complain.

Part of my effort to avoid food has involved me learning how to use the tools in Dave's shop, and making pretty things out of wood! I am going to set up a table at some craft shows over the spring/summer to sell said pretty things - I'm really having a BLAST out there - I've been making trucks of all sorts for the boys (much to their delight!) and boxes, necklace holders, and other random fun things... using up scrap wood and having lots of fun doing it :)

Brandon is doing GREAT. I cannot state that enough... he is in such an awesome place medically right now - strong, healthy, happy, smart, and stubborn as ever (we encourage this - he will need it in the long run... though it can test my patience... LOL!)

Tyler too is doing wonderfully - he adores kindergarden and as of last week he can read!! It's slow work and he has to sound stuff out carefully but he can do it!!! Brandon is SO close - we will be very excited when we have 2 readers on our hands - I don't have to explain how Brandon's life will be transformed by the ability to read and write to us... I am very eager to 'read' what he has to say... :)

Well that's our spring update... I will attempt to be more consistent with updates... usually no news is good news!