Thursday, June 14, 2007

Caring Heart

We just finished our VBS and once again, had a blast! We did Group's "Avalanche Ranch" and Greg was "Cowboy Cody" (a character we made up). The kids love watching him be goofy and do tricks.

One of the craft projects was to stuff two bears (for each child). One bear was for them to take home and one bear will be sent to an orphan in Africa. The idea is for the U.S. child to remember to pray for the African child everytime they see their bear. This will be handled through Group Publishing and Compassion International. I think it's a great way for the kids to get a picture of the world around them.

The other day, while taking Carter to the eye doctor, he asked about the bears. I told him that one of the bears he "made" would be sent to a child in Africa. He inquired, "Because they don't have a family?" I told him that was true. Then he asked why they didn't have a family. I explained that a lot of people in Africa get sick and then they die. He asked if kids got sick and died too. "Yes, sometimes," I replied. He said, "I wish I could go to Africa." I asked him why he wanted to go to Africa and then what he said just melted my heart. "Then we could be their family." I told him that I thought it was a very sweet idea and that I wished we could do that too. Then he began to plan...asking who could live in our house when we left and who would drive our van.

Isn't that sweet? I hope he never loses that heart for kids!

Friday, June 8, 2007

Jackson's CF Update

Jackson is doing well overall. His weight is between 50% & 75%, which is great for a child with CF. His height seems to be taking more after Mommy than we would like, but it's okay.

Wednesday (the 6th), they did his annual tests, blood work and lung x-ray. I don't have the results of the blood work yet, which will check his vitamin levels, liver enzymes and more (that I don't even know, I'm sure). The x-rays show that there is mucous growth in his right lung. His lungs had been very clear up until now, so it was a bit discouraging. The Dr. said that it's not real bad, but because it is an increase, they want to begin treating it aggressively. So, added to his daily treatments will be Pulmozyme. It is not an anti-biotic, which I'm glad for. It is used to thin the mucous in his lungs and will have it's biggest benefit if used during his chest therapy (The VEST)-that will be a trick to get him to do both at once!

He's had the Vest for a few months now and he still resists it, though he's getting much better at it and can tolerate it for a longer period of time. The Pulmozyme will be put in his Nebulizer and so, he'll be doing a breathing treatment and the Vest together...with lots of prayer and muscle!

The Dr. also noticed a cold coming on and she was right. The next day he woke up with a cough and runny nose, so they have prescribed an anti-biotic that he will take for 14 days. I wish I didn't have to put him on it, but that's what will cause more mucous in his lungs, so we have to weigh out the pros and cons and do what they tell us!

The good news is that they can catch all of this so early that it can be treated immediately and not have time to get ahead of us so much that we can't maintain his health. I was recently on a website www.cysticfibrosis.com, which is not the same as www.cff.org published by the CF Foundation), and was reminded of how fortunate we are to be living today. Just in my parents' lifetime (1950's), kids with CF didn't live to attend Elementary school. I am so thankful that I live in a time when the average life span is up to about 38 years. Of course, we hope and pray that by the time Jackson is 38 (36 years from now) even more science and research will be done to make that age at least double!!!

"Who Am I?" Awesome Video

Before playing this video, please scroll down to the bottom of the page and pause or silence my music player. Enjoy! This is awesome!!!

Music


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