Thursday, October 29, 2009
ah, the circle of life
we've had a week, well, several weeks, of pretty serious ups and downs in the tuttle household. that is why i haven't posted anything for a while--I didn't really have words...
yesterday afternoon we had to put our much-loved dog, zeke, to sleep. those of you who had been to our house in the last few years, particularly this year, were well aware of the "wait, let me put the dog up in our room..." schtick. Zeke had always been a little "protective" of us, but unfortunately, his erratic and at times threatening behavior was only increasing toward anyone deemed "stranger" (um, pretty much anyone or thing who wasn't our immediate family). After consulting with a dog behaviorist/trainer and our veterinarian, we learned what I think we already knew in our hearts--Zeke's troubles were completely temperment and not behavior that could be changed. We agonized, but we knew what we had to do. We have shed many, many tears in the past 24 hours. Although he may have seemed "threatening" to others, he was our friend and our other family member, as Ella Brooks continues to call him. He loved us, perhaps to his own detriment. He snuggled with us on the bed, delighted in late-night walks, loved to have his soft ears scratched, and kept Chris company all those times I was on youth trips. The night before Heath crashed last December, I found Zeke under Heath's crib, perhaps knowing what we would know soon after. He slept in Heath's room while he was in the hospital. We were his people. He was our friend. We will forever love him for who he was to us.
Chris and I are now crying on the couch while watching the world series.
We had some good news, though, too. I took Heath into a routine cardiac clinic check-up this morning at Duke. After making it very clear to everyone within earshot how angry he was about being weighed, measured and having his blood drawn again, he settled back into his usual pleasant self, just in time to find out that he is doing so well that he is going to be losing 4 medications!!!! We will be easing out the iron, enalapril (one of the blood pressure meds), prednisolone and valgancyclovir over the next few weeks and month! YEAH!!! We don't go back for a check-up until February. Then, we'll do a cath maybe a month or so after that and if all goes well--not another cath for a YEAR!
we know that there is alot of time (and sickness season) between now and then, but that is pretty darn exciting. the kids have h1n1 and regular flu shots and Heath is getting synagis, the monthly shot that is regularly given to premies during winter months to help stave off rsv. And we're starting to try to stick closer to home with him too (my awesome bible study group just gave me the most incredible care package for being home more--thanks!!). This is tough because he would like to go out and flirt and hug pretty much every person he sees. Yes, he is my child. If you say anything about his belly, he lifts his shirt to show WHOMEVER is in front of him (yesterday it was random ladies at the table next to us at Rick's). I am not sure whose child he is when he does that...(Chris??)
speaking of contagious illness, I don't think i have written about the "chicken pox episode." it appears that eb sat on some sort of biting insect or something because she suddenly had little red bumps all over her legs and torso one evening. since she had been vaccinated, we weren't sure how chicken pox would present itself (she didn't feel bad), so to be cautious we and our wonderful pediatrician and the heart folks at duke decided to quarantine eb and me at my mom's house (bless mom and strow--they are very good sports with these sorts of things). we had to go and get her "scraped" at duke (they had to do it in our car because we needed it done quickly and they had no room in the inn) to see if it was pox or not. oh my. it was a little scary because it could be very bad for heath to be exposed to something like chx pox. but alas, it was some sort of bug bite (over 50 of them--poor itchy girl) and we were reunited again for more fun, tuttle family adventures.
we had a great time celebrating ella brooks' birthday. you'll see some pictures of her party with her friends. mom and pat were the fabulous grandmas with music, art and lots of fun! it was a great time for all, especially eb. heath actually slept through the entire party, which was PERFECT since we didn't want him around so many people. We did a little family celebrating at the birthday hut (long story) at mom and strow's the weekend before.
on monday our family went to burlington so I could speak to the Presbyterian Women at First Presbyterian. it was so wonderful to be back with our dear friends in burlington--and they tolerated my lovely children getting excited about the microphone and lecturn and piano after the lunch! it was an emotional day too because it was the first time i had spoken in public about all that has happened with us in this past year. it was hard to re-live those events in november and december of last year, but it was also helpful to see how far we've come--only with the help of others and by the grace of God.
step by step. hour by hour. day by day. if i have learned nothing else, it is to appreciate all those moments, especially the little things.
carrie
yesterday afternoon we had to put our much-loved dog, zeke, to sleep. those of you who had been to our house in the last few years, particularly this year, were well aware of the "wait, let me put the dog up in our room..." schtick. Zeke had always been a little "protective" of us, but unfortunately, his erratic and at times threatening behavior was only increasing toward anyone deemed "stranger" (um, pretty much anyone or thing who wasn't our immediate family). After consulting with a dog behaviorist/trainer and our veterinarian, we learned what I think we already knew in our hearts--Zeke's troubles were completely temperment and not behavior that could be changed. We agonized, but we knew what we had to do. We have shed many, many tears in the past 24 hours. Although he may have seemed "threatening" to others, he was our friend and our other family member, as Ella Brooks continues to call him. He loved us, perhaps to his own detriment. He snuggled with us on the bed, delighted in late-night walks, loved to have his soft ears scratched, and kept Chris company all those times I was on youth trips. The night before Heath crashed last December, I found Zeke under Heath's crib, perhaps knowing what we would know soon after. He slept in Heath's room while he was in the hospital. We were his people. He was our friend. We will forever love him for who he was to us.
Chris and I are now crying on the couch while watching the world series.
We had some good news, though, too. I took Heath into a routine cardiac clinic check-up this morning at Duke. After making it very clear to everyone within earshot how angry he was about being weighed, measured and having his blood drawn again, he settled back into his usual pleasant self, just in time to find out that he is doing so well that he is going to be losing 4 medications!!!! We will be easing out the iron, enalapril (one of the blood pressure meds), prednisolone and valgancyclovir over the next few weeks and month! YEAH!!! We don't go back for a check-up until February. Then, we'll do a cath maybe a month or so after that and if all goes well--not another cath for a YEAR!
we know that there is alot of time (and sickness season) between now and then, but that is pretty darn exciting. the kids have h1n1 and regular flu shots and Heath is getting synagis, the monthly shot that is regularly given to premies during winter months to help stave off rsv. And we're starting to try to stick closer to home with him too (my awesome bible study group just gave me the most incredible care package for being home more--thanks!!). This is tough because he would like to go out and flirt and hug pretty much every person he sees. Yes, he is my child. If you say anything about his belly, he lifts his shirt to show WHOMEVER is in front of him (yesterday it was random ladies at the table next to us at Rick's). I am not sure whose child he is when he does that...(Chris??)
speaking of contagious illness, I don't think i have written about the "chicken pox episode." it appears that eb sat on some sort of biting insect or something because she suddenly had little red bumps all over her legs and torso one evening. since she had been vaccinated, we weren't sure how chicken pox would present itself (she didn't feel bad), so to be cautious we and our wonderful pediatrician and the heart folks at duke decided to quarantine eb and me at my mom's house (bless mom and strow--they are very good sports with these sorts of things). we had to go and get her "scraped" at duke (they had to do it in our car because we needed it done quickly and they had no room in the inn) to see if it was pox or not. oh my. it was a little scary because it could be very bad for heath to be exposed to something like chx pox. but alas, it was some sort of bug bite (over 50 of them--poor itchy girl) and we were reunited again for more fun, tuttle family adventures.
we had a great time celebrating ella brooks' birthday. you'll see some pictures of her party with her friends. mom and pat were the fabulous grandmas with music, art and lots of fun! it was a great time for all, especially eb. heath actually slept through the entire party, which was PERFECT since we didn't want him around so many people. We did a little family celebrating at the birthday hut (long story) at mom and strow's the weekend before.
on monday our family went to burlington so I could speak to the Presbyterian Women at First Presbyterian. it was so wonderful to be back with our dear friends in burlington--and they tolerated my lovely children getting excited about the microphone and lecturn and piano after the lunch! it was an emotional day too because it was the first time i had spoken in public about all that has happened with us in this past year. it was hard to re-live those events in november and december of last year, but it was also helpful to see how far we've come--only with the help of others and by the grace of God.
step by step. hour by hour. day by day. if i have learned nothing else, it is to appreciate all those moments, especially the little things.
carrie
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