Just a quick update to let everyone know that Heath is scheduled for a heart cath. tomorrow. Please keep Heath and everyone in your prayers that this new "routine" is simply that...routine.
Blessings, Gran Sarah
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
August 30 Update
A wonderful update from the Tuttles....
Hi Gran SARAH!!!
So Chris looked at me yesterday and said, "um, we haven't had a blogupdate in a while..." and i said, "well, do you want to write it?"and he gave me his very sincere face (those of you who know him well knowthis silly fake sincere smile) and said, "oh, but i always like it when youwrite it..."
so, here are some pictures for you--i wish there could be more because there are so many pics of all of our wonderful family and friends who we have spent time with this summer.we've had such a lovely summer. and such a busy summer. As ourlast blog update left off, we went to Harker's Island with chris andheath and ella brooks, mom and strow, and had a marvelous time. Then, Ella Brooks and I went on a girl adventure in our new mini-van (oh yeah, we did it) and took the ferrys up through the outer banks to kitty hawk to meet up with my extended family (or "the cousins and pops" as she said the whole time). She and I had a much-needed respite and girl time, even in the midst of staying with 20 other family members in one house!! I hated that heath and chris couldn't come, but it was so great to see everyone. Pat came to Durham to stay with Chris and Heath, and they had a really good week together.I think through those times with family you could perhaps have SEEN the stress of the last year roll off of all of us amidst the beauty and calm and laughter and hugs.
So Chris looked at me yesterday and said, "um, we haven't had a blogupdate in a while..." and i said, "well, do you want to write it?"and he gave me his very sincere face (those of you who know him well knowthis silly fake sincere smile) and said, "oh, but i always like it when youwrite it..."
so, here are some pictures for you--i wish there could be more because there are so many pics of all of our wonderful family and friends who we have spent time with this summer.we've had such a lovely summer. and such a busy summer. As ourlast blog update left off, we went to Harker's Island with chris andheath and ella brooks, mom and strow, and had a marvelous time. Then, Ella Brooks and I went on a girl adventure in our new mini-van (oh yeah, we did it) and took the ferrys up through the outer banks to kitty hawk to meet up with my extended family (or "the cousins and pops" as she said the whole time). She and I had a much-needed respite and girl time, even in the midst of staying with 20 other family members in one house!! I hated that heath and chris couldn't come, but it was so great to see everyone. Pat came to Durham to stay with Chris and Heath, and they had a really good week together.I think through those times with family you could perhaps have SEEN the stress of the last year roll off of all of us amidst the beauty and calm and laughter and hugs.
We were back in Durham for a couple weeks. We got some good time withUncle Jamie before he went back to Haiti, went to a Bulls game withAunt Sarah (it felt like, "Heath takes the Bulls Park..."), enjoyedthe annual Barnes Picnic, and celebrated our good friends the Irons inburlington before they left for Italy. Then, I even took the kids upto northern virginia to spend some really good time with Nana, Pops(my dad), Uncle Pete and Aunt "mona", and carson and emma and Uncle Al, Aunt Laura and "D" (and Kat, who Eb likes alot!). Then lastweekend we had a great time in Black Mountain celebrating bob'sbirthday! and got to come back in time to celebrate our dear friendLen's birthday *(and uncle jamie's from afar).I tell you all this to say that we got to have what I can only imagineas a "regular" summer.We had sacred moments in the midst of "regular" times because we knewthat we were lucky to be there--watching a little boy try to run intothe waves giggling, watching him dance (he has quite a bit of rhythm)to the Dixie Chicks in the car (long story and very hilarious), tearing up as he and ellabrooks embrace impulsively, hollering at him to stop climbing onsomething, enjoying the splendid little person that eb just is. For all those moments we are grateful.
OK, so you are probably wondering about actual health issues--Heath isdoing quite well. He has had a yucky cough for the last 3 WEEKS,which has caused his family a bit of stress, but doesn't seem tobother him in the slightest. The poor folks at Chapel Hill Peds hadto endure our "please check him and make sure his chest sounds clearvisits" quite a few times, especially our dear friend and pediatricianAndy Dunk! He has come through it beautifully. Our cath has finallybeen set for Thursday, September 10. Hopefully if all goes well andlooks good, we'll even be able to lose a couple of the medicines. Hehas a few more teeth, and he has said a few more words (his version of"bubble" is hilarious). By the way that you can tell that he fullyunderstands everything and thinks that he is communicating veryclearly (specific noises and pointing or handing you your shoes andmaking his door turning motion), you expect him to one day just comeout in a full sentence. He actually brought Chris the black leotardin one of these pictures with the "put this on NOW" noise--promise.we do know that we'll have to start being a little more conscious ofour immune-suppressed guy now that school is back in full swing andthey are expecting issues with H1N1. He willl have all those shotspretty soon, and we'll just have to figure out how to be home a littlemore and maybe not journey into the world quite as much as we havethis summer. We'll take that as we go, though, knowing that we dowhat we have to do.
Perhaps our best medical news comes from a different angle this month. We received word the other day that after a final round of tests EllaBrooks is completely clear of any of the possibilities that could cause any heart condition. I don't think i had realized how much that was weighing on my own heart until I heard Chris' teary words in the phone and burst out into tears myself. My poor friend Amy and the children who were riding in the car with me perhaps did not get it immediately, but, they all know i am a little nutty anyway. :)
We're doing well and hope the same for all of you. Thank you fortaking the time to still read about our journey. Thank you for your continued prayers. It has been such a joy to see many of you this summer.
love, Carrie
Monday, July 13, 2009
July 13 Update
A great update from the Tuttles....
Hi Gran Sarah--
I am sitting at the kitchen table listening to Heath yell (he is still not quite talking yet, so it sounds like a mix of sounds and names) and run around, occasionally yelling myself, "Heath Tuttle, get out of the dog water!!!" (that seems to be his most fun new hobby--dog water splashing--yes, he is a regular child!!). I just downloaded a ton of pictures and realized that I hadn't written a blog update recently!
All of the Tuttles are doing very well. As you wrote after our visit to Burlington, they were so impressed with Heath's progress at his appointment a couple weeks ago, that we don't even have a heart cath date because they weren't very concerned about needing one immediately! YEAH! He is a busy, busy guy. You can tell he understand everything (read: turns around and smiles and walks away for a few minutes when i yell to get out of the dog water) but he is still not talking a ton. No one is concerned, but we are going to go ahead and do a little speech therapy to maybe help jump start the process. I am pretty sure that one day he is just going to look at me and say a complete sentence. He still only has 2 teeth, which is a little funny-looking for an 18-month-old, but not too much of a big deal. We are going to take him to a pediatric dentist to make sure all is well in the teeth department. BUT, if those are our two major issues, we'll take them!!!
He is hilarious. He is such an extrovert. When we go to Costco or another store, he just waves at strangers until they see him and wave back. It is amazing to see the smiles on their faces, and they don't even know what a miracle he really is...And he is a climber, like his Uncle Jamie was at his age, which makes for a little stress for whomever is supposed to be watching him. All in all, you would never know what he has been through if you didnt' see that little scar peeking out from under his shirt. That works for me.
We have had quite a busy summer for people who thought that they would be house-bound with an immune-suppressed child. I sent a bunch of pictures that capture what we've been up to so far. You can see him giving his Bop (Chris' wonderful 97-year-old grandfather in Black Mountain!) a high-five. We've been to Black Mountain a few times to see Chris' family and also several of our best friends and their children who were at Montreat for various reasons...We got to meet baby Sam Lamar for the first time. My college roommate, Page, and her kids were at her mom's house in Greensboro down from Connecticut, so we made the drive over to see them, which was a great day. We have enjoyed playing in our new yard with lots of friends. We were so sorry to have missed Mimi and Papa (Chris' parents) stint as the Grand Marshalls of the Montreat 4th of July Parade. We couldn't make it work to get there, but we were thrilled to have a wonderful visit from our great friends the Oedys! Yard projects have begun with a huge mountain of mulch (as you see in one picture) that was delivered by an enormous dump truck that made Ella Brooks' day. I was even able to serve as liturgist with Chris at Westminster on July 5--which was my first time back in worship leadership since October, and it was really nice.
Chris is in the middle of a DMin class with Barbara Brown Taylor at Columbia Seminary in Decatur. He is enjoying the class, and perhaps a little extra sleep, but I think he misses his crew at home! He came home this weekend to see us and got caught in my fury of car research & shopping (his car died the day before we moved to our new house in May), and after spending all day on Saturday looking, we purchased a "very cool" used Honda Odyssey. So, yes, my odyssey as an at-home mom continues with a vengence! :) We'll get to have a quick family trip this weekend, and then Ella Brooks and I are off to Nags Head to the Miller/Rhoads family beach trip, while Chris returns here with Heath and his mom comes to take care of him.
Speaking of the care of children, I am constantly reminded that it has truly taken a very large village to get us to the great place where we are right now. From my best buddy from high school, Wendy, coming for the moving weekend (can you imagine volunteering to come visit to MOVE someone??--she is awesome) to our wonderful families, I am so grateful I don't ever know how to say "thank you." Sarah Edgecombe (Chris' sister) stayed with us ALL last week and endured my nutty car shopping and gave me the courage to work on our children's sleep issues. My mom, strow, nana and uncle jamie (who is coming home from Haiti for a month TONIGHT!!!) are now taking a turn of helping us for this week. Chris' mom is coming next week to stay with Chris and Heath while EB and I take a little vacation...so many people make it possible for us to function. I tell you this, I also have a great new respect for single parents--I don't know how they do it on a day in, day out basis.
As i believe we wrote in another blog update, Heath and Olivia got to meet finally (she was his roommate in the PICU who we have talked so much about). There is a picture of that too and one with Ella Brooks and Whitney, one of the awesome physical therapists at Duke. Olivia was able to go home to western NC this past week and is doing well. Hooray! I ran into Chad Stewart, one of the wonderful cardiologists who cared for Heath during his hospitalization, the other day. In fact, Chad was the on-call fellow the day that Heath crashed and ended up on life support. It was so good to see him! We also saw Michelle, one of the ecmo techs who took care of Heath ALOT, at Target last week. Oh, we love our friends from Duke. it is amazing how much like family they feel...I guess they should after all they have done for us.
I am thinking about my Burlington youth who are at Montreat this week. I hope they are having a wonderful time. I love those folks!
Ok, i just realized that it is time for Ella Brooks to be AT school. Those of you who know me well, know that it is the same as usual (late--trying to do too many things!). Some things never change.
love to you all,
carrie
I am sitting at the kitchen table listening to Heath yell (he is still not quite talking yet, so it sounds like a mix of sounds and names) and run around, occasionally yelling myself, "Heath Tuttle, get out of the dog water!!!" (that seems to be his most fun new hobby--dog water splashing--yes, he is a regular child!!). I just downloaded a ton of pictures and realized that I hadn't written a blog update recently!
All of the Tuttles are doing very well. As you wrote after our visit to Burlington, they were so impressed with Heath's progress at his appointment a couple weeks ago, that we don't even have a heart cath date because they weren't very concerned about needing one immediately! YEAH! He is a busy, busy guy. You can tell he understand everything (read: turns around and smiles and walks away for a few minutes when i yell to get out of the dog water) but he is still not talking a ton. No one is concerned, but we are going to go ahead and do a little speech therapy to maybe help jump start the process. I am pretty sure that one day he is just going to look at me and say a complete sentence. He still only has 2 teeth, which is a little funny-looking for an 18-month-old, but not too much of a big deal. We are going to take him to a pediatric dentist to make sure all is well in the teeth department. BUT, if those are our two major issues, we'll take them!!!
He is hilarious. He is such an extrovert. When we go to Costco or another store, he just waves at strangers until they see him and wave back. It is amazing to see the smiles on their faces, and they don't even know what a miracle he really is...And he is a climber, like his Uncle Jamie was at his age, which makes for a little stress for whomever is supposed to be watching him. All in all, you would never know what he has been through if you didnt' see that little scar peeking out from under his shirt. That works for me.
We have had quite a busy summer for people who thought that they would be house-bound with an immune-suppressed child. I sent a bunch of pictures that capture what we've been up to so far. You can see him giving his Bop (Chris' wonderful 97-year-old grandfather in Black Mountain!) a high-five. We've been to Black Mountain a few times to see Chris' family and also several of our best friends and their children who were at Montreat for various reasons...We got to meet baby Sam Lamar for the first time. My college roommate, Page, and her kids were at her mom's house in Greensboro down from Connecticut, so we made the drive over to see them, which was a great day. We have enjoyed playing in our new yard with lots of friends. We were so sorry to have missed Mimi and Papa (Chris' parents) stint as the Grand Marshalls of the Montreat 4th of July Parade. We couldn't make it work to get there, but we were thrilled to have a wonderful visit from our great friends the Oedys! Yard projects have begun with a huge mountain of mulch (as you see in one picture) that was delivered by an enormous dump truck that made Ella Brooks' day. I was even able to serve as liturgist with Chris at Westminster on July 5--which was my first time back in worship leadership since October, and it was really nice.
Chris is in the middle of a DMin class with Barbara Brown Taylor at Columbia Seminary in Decatur. He is enjoying the class, and perhaps a little extra sleep, but I think he misses his crew at home! He came home this weekend to see us and got caught in my fury of car research & shopping (his car died the day before we moved to our new house in May), and after spending all day on Saturday looking, we purchased a "very cool" used Honda Odyssey. So, yes, my odyssey as an at-home mom continues with a vengence! :) We'll get to have a quick family trip this weekend, and then Ella Brooks and I are off to Nags Head to the Miller/Rhoads family beach trip, while Chris returns here with Heath and his mom comes to take care of him.
Speaking of the care of children, I am constantly reminded that it has truly taken a very large village to get us to the great place where we are right now. From my best buddy from high school, Wendy, coming for the moving weekend (can you imagine volunteering to come visit to MOVE someone??--she is awesome) to our wonderful families, I am so grateful I don't ever know how to say "thank you." Sarah Edgecombe (Chris' sister) stayed with us ALL last week and endured my nutty car shopping and gave me the courage to work on our children's sleep issues. My mom, strow, nana and uncle jamie (who is coming home from Haiti for a month TONIGHT!!!) are now taking a turn of helping us for this week. Chris' mom is coming next week to stay with Chris and Heath while EB and I take a little vacation...so many people make it possible for us to function. I tell you this, I also have a great new respect for single parents--I don't know how they do it on a day in, day out basis.
As i believe we wrote in another blog update, Heath and Olivia got to meet finally (she was his roommate in the PICU who we have talked so much about). There is a picture of that too and one with Ella Brooks and Whitney, one of the awesome physical therapists at Duke. Olivia was able to go home to western NC this past week and is doing well. Hooray! I ran into Chad Stewart, one of the wonderful cardiologists who cared for Heath during his hospitalization, the other day. In fact, Chad was the on-call fellow the day that Heath crashed and ended up on life support. It was so good to see him! We also saw Michelle, one of the ecmo techs who took care of Heath ALOT, at Target last week. Oh, we love our friends from Duke. it is amazing how much like family they feel...I guess they should after all they have done for us.
I am thinking about my Burlington youth who are at Montreat this week. I hope they are having a wonderful time. I love those folks!
Ok, i just realized that it is time for Ella Brooks to be AT school. Those of you who know me well, know that it is the same as usual (late--trying to do too many things!). Some things never change.
love to you all,
carrie
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday Surprise!
Summer Greetings Folks!
Just a note about Monday's wonderful suprise. Carrie called me this morning and she and the "babies" were able to stop by the church today! Of course we were all thrilled to see them! It took Genie and I both to keep up with Heath and Ella Brooks-what two busy little folks! Whew! We enjoyed seeing the new building spaces together(particularly the youth spaces that Carrie envisioned-especially the stage in the Sr. High room!). Ella Brooks insisted on going to a "classroom"- a.k.a. her old daycare classrooms. We carefully did a "drive thru" in CDC with Heath in a stroller so we didn't pick up any "bugs"! Better safe...
The best part of the day is to see Heath looking so well and walking so fast his little chubby cheeks wobble when he walks! Ella Brooks was quite the great big sister - sharing her goldfish crackers with her little brother. What a great sight!
It was also great to hear that the Tuttles love their new home, all the wonderful space and enjoy being the proud owners of only ONE home!
Carrie reports that Heath is doing so well that his next heart cath. looks like it will be not be as soon as the doctors expected. The doctors felt like Heath was doing so well that the heart cath. could wait!
We all enjoyed a great visit today. Now matter how long the Tuttles can stay it somehow seems too short a visit! Thanks Carrie, Ella Brooks and Heath for stopping by-we always love seeing you. "Gran Sarah" just never gets enough of those sweet babies!
Blessings,
A very happy "Gran Sarah"
Just a note about Monday's wonderful suprise. Carrie called me this morning and she and the "babies" were able to stop by the church today! Of course we were all thrilled to see them! It took Genie and I both to keep up with Heath and Ella Brooks-what two busy little folks! Whew! We enjoyed seeing the new building spaces together(particularly the youth spaces that Carrie envisioned-especially the stage in the Sr. High room!). Ella Brooks insisted on going to a "classroom"- a.k.a. her old daycare classrooms. We carefully did a "drive thru" in CDC with Heath in a stroller so we didn't pick up any "bugs"! Better safe...
The best part of the day is to see Heath looking so well and walking so fast his little chubby cheeks wobble when he walks! Ella Brooks was quite the great big sister - sharing her goldfish crackers with her little brother. What a great sight!
It was also great to hear that the Tuttles love their new home, all the wonderful space and enjoy being the proud owners of only ONE home!
Carrie reports that Heath is doing so well that his next heart cath. looks like it will be not be as soon as the doctors expected. The doctors felt like Heath was doing so well that the heart cath. could wait!
We all enjoyed a great visit today. Now matter how long the Tuttles can stay it somehow seems too short a visit! Thanks Carrie, Ella Brooks and Heath for stopping by-we always love seeing you. "Gran Sarah" just never gets enough of those sweet babies!
Blessings,
A very happy "Gran Sarah"
Monday, June 8, 2009
New Tuttle Family Update!
A great update from the Tuttles!
"I have downloaded some pictures today, and I thought I should probably write an update for you, since SO MANY FOLKS have asked about why we haven't had a blog update since April. Sorry. it has been such a busy time for all of us, I think!!
I am writing this note from my kitchen table in my new house--2 Breton Place, Durham, NC 27707, by the way. We love our new house. It is so much good space, and it is just perfect for all of us. We hope we'll live in this house for a VERY long time! That is a really nice feeling. It is also a nice feeling to not be juggling the details of 3 houses! It was starting to make me a little crazy (yes, many of you are laughing about whether this would have been the first time I thought I was a 'little' crazy, I know!).
We closed on the Greensboro house on May 28. We had a lovely morning clearing out the rest of the yard stuff with some of our good buddies, the Burris family, and we are grateful to Betty Rissmiller, who took such good care of us in getting that house sold! Once again, thanks to our wonderful families and friends, we got moved on memorial day weekend to our new house (and celebrated a very exciting 6th wedding anniversary in the middle of mounds of boxes!).
The guys from TROSA moving company were awesome! I am constantly "moved" by how generous our families (and friends) have been to us during this crazy roller-coaster time in our lives. We really couldn't do it without them.
Our toughest time recently has been in the very sudden death of our dear friend, Bill Bartholomay, who chaired the search committee that brought Chris to Westminster. He died suddenly on Memorial Day afternoon, and we ask you to keep his family in your prayers. I will say i can feel myself smile as think of the glorious way his life was celebrated at Westminster last Monday morning.
"How are you really doing?" folks keep asking. Really, fine. Tired, yes. Heath's health continues to improve. He is still not sleeping very well, although we are realizing that it might be due to some bad sleeping habits (yikes, normal kids stuff!) and not anything else. We had a scary night 2 nights before we moved with an ear infection that kept him up all night. My instinct told me it was not like the last emergencies, but it is so hard not to feel your anxieties rise once you have been through all that we have with his health. He is well-recovered and giving us all a run for our money. Anyone who is around him says, "wow, he is BUSY!" He is walking everywhere. We were also given a slight break on the getting out in the world stuff too. We were able to start going to church at the 8:30 service (less people) this week. He was so excited. When we were in the car later, Ella Brooks said, "Mom, it was so much fun to have Heath at church today!" It made me smile. it is funny how we still cherish the little things. Ella Brooks is doing very well--she is so tall, and full of mommy-ing and orders (I can't imagine where she gets that from...) She is such a joy.
We have been excited to get to see old friends recently (the picture is with Dana and Caroline Irons)--friends from college with their kids, from Burlington, from Greensboro. We have even been able to get out on the town a little bit, thanks to our dear families and friends (Beth and Barrett Patty even got a night of medicine, play and bed this weekend! thanks!) Mattie Anne Walker, one of my former youth and now college student, has been coming to help me out with babysitting all semester and this summer as we have moved, which has been such a blessing. Ella Brooks will say, "is it a 'mattie anne' day?" and it makes me laugh. Her coming made it possible for me to get out of the house a little and get some much-needed moving stuff done. And tomorrow, we're headed for the first of two short trips to black mountain/montreat to see family and good friends coming in from far away!! We can't wait!
We watched today as the green lumina was carried away by the WUNC donation people. Yes, it finally was time to say good-bye when the words "stranded" and "blow up" were used in the sentence by the car guy...luckily we have use of a few cars of family members for the month, and then we'll start CAR SHOPPING! The fun never ends. But, I am reminded as I say that that it is normal life "fun" stuff. We're grateful to be there for a while.
Heath has an appointment on June 25 at Duke, and we're waiting for a date (probably somewhere around then) for his 6-month cath! I can't believe it. I went to get medicine the other day at the Duke pharmacy, and ran into one of the cardiologist fellows who took such good care of us. It is amazing how much the folks at Duke feel like family. On another wonderful note, Olivia, Heath's roommate in the PICU who we have asked you all to pray for periodically, has been released from the hospital. She had a heart cath today, and hopes to be headed home to Asheville soon! We are hoping to have the two of them meet next week sometime for the first time. We'll take pictures, I promise!
Well, there you are. I am sure there is something else I would have liked to write, but Chris just said, "are you still writing the blog update??" That is my cue.
Blessings to you all. Hopefully we'll have even more good updates soon. Love to you all. Cherish every moment--we're trying!
love, carrie"
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
A note from Carrie....
We are doing quite well. Getting ready to close on our new house this week--so excited! We're hoping to have sold our Greensboro house (under contract!) and we're getting ready to move out of this rental house. So many residences! The other day the insurance woman said, "Mrs. Tuttle, we got a great final number for your new house's homeowner's insurance!..." then we worked through that one. "What do you want to do about the homeowner's insurance? when do you want to stop it?" we finished that one. Then, she said, "hmmm...now what about this other house in Greensboro, what do you want to do with that one?" (oh yes, we need to keep that too..." :) It made me smile.
We had a really nice weekend. Chris' mom was here, which was so nice. ella brooks, chris and i got to have a nice evening out with some of the folks from westminster at a supper club. This afternoon when they were showing our rental house for the 14th time *(UGH!!), we went out to my mom and strow's house. We met up with my cousin, Margaret, and we went walking at the Haw River. it was so beautiful, and the moment that we watched Heath stick his fingers in the water with such joy was a beautiful moment. Then, that crazy, fearless guy started trying to WADE in the WATER!! He was so excited. I sent you quite a few pictures of our time in the water. Ella Brooks has so much fun too. It was a such a perfect afternoon, and i wanted to share some photos.
I sent another picture of Heath in the refrigerator. Everyone always asks about what we do on a daily basis. This is one of our daily activities--dragging my sweet boy out of the fridge. He loves to reorganize the shelves. I know it is bad for the environment, so I try to shut it quickly, but he sees the door open and bolts for it! It is pretty funny, and if you see one of us, you can ask us what his favorite thing in the fridge is...i won't print it on the blog!
All in all, we are doing well. Heath is doing well--other than still not sleeping very well. He fought us until 11:15 last night! But, if that is our worst issue right now, I suppose we'll have to take it.
love to all.
carrie
We had a really nice weekend. Chris' mom was here, which was so nice. ella brooks, chris and i got to have a nice evening out with some of the folks from westminster at a supper club. This afternoon when they were showing our rental house for the 14th time *(UGH!!), we went out to my mom and strow's house. We met up with my cousin, Margaret, and we went walking at the Haw River. it was so beautiful, and the moment that we watched Heath stick his fingers in the water with such joy was a beautiful moment. Then, that crazy, fearless guy started trying to WADE in the WATER!! He was so excited. I sent you quite a few pictures of our time in the water. Ella Brooks has so much fun too. It was a such a perfect afternoon, and i wanted to share some photos.
I sent another picture of Heath in the refrigerator. Everyone always asks about what we do on a daily basis. This is one of our daily activities--dragging my sweet boy out of the fridge. He loves to reorganize the shelves. I know it is bad for the environment, so I try to shut it quickly, but he sees the door open and bolts for it! It is pretty funny, and if you see one of us, you can ask us what his favorite thing in the fridge is...i won't print it on the blog!
All in all, we are doing well. Heath is doing well--other than still not sleeping very well. He fought us until 11:15 last night! But, if that is our worst issue right now, I suppose we'll have to take it.
love to all.
carrie
Friday, April 17, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
A great email from Carrie...
Wow, Sarah, it has been while since we have sent you an update for the blog. Whew! We've all been quite busy!
I am not sure where to begin.
Let's start with the article--Last Sunday (Easter) there was an article about our family and the support of the church community in the News and Observer. It was a little shocking that it was on the front page!
Here is the link: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1482323.html
Chris and I realized after recounting our WHOLE story for the reporter a couple Saturdays ago that it was the first time that we had told the whole story together since everything happened. It was much more emotional than we had realized. Obviously Yonat (the reporter) did not have the space to recount our whole tale, but I think she did a lovely job telling about how the church communities have held us up in this whole time (she is a reporter for the RELIGION section). We are so grateful to Westminster for loving and welcoming us, and for First Burlington (the youth had a wonderful fundraiser for us a couple weeks ago and it was SO GREAT to see you all!) and Faith for continuing to support and pray for us.
What she could not possibly have done was to really make clear how MANY PEOPLE in so many ways have really held us up--alongside our churches. She wasn't able to express the love and unbelievable gratitude that we have for our families, who dropped everything and lived and breathed all our moments of horror and happiness with us. Or the folks from Cary Presbyterian for putting themselves out there to create the Good Samaritan Fund (we asked her not to mention this because we didn't want the church to get an onslaught of requests to make more work for them after all they have done for us). Or our friends, who flew in or drove in on a moments notice. Or the extended "family" of faith who held us up all over the world. Or the people we didn't even know, like the wonderful teachers at my mom's new school who made Christmas happen for Ella Brooks. Or the co-workers or professors who made it possible for our families to leave their jobs to be with us. Yes, I could go on and on and on.
And particularly--the staff at Duke Hospital--who became more like family to us during our long stay. They treated us with kindness and grace. They loved our son like he was their own. They gave us the courage to keep hoping.
Yes, words don't really touch our gratitude to any of you...
There I am, feeling a little mushy and emotive in this beautiful springtime.
Sometimes we look at each other and can't believe where we've been--usually with a look over our sweet children as they laugh or as Heath smiles his slightly toothy (2 teeth and counting!) grin and seems to have sheer joy just being in the world, like he knows that he is lucky to be in world.
We had our clinic visit the thursday before last and they took away a medicine--magnesium--which was great because it was the one that has hurt Heath's tummy. They were thrilled with his progress and we don't go back until JUNE 25!!!
They gave us the go-ahead to make 2 short trips. SO, mom and I took the kids up to Northern VA to see my family! The cousins had much fun together, and Heath had his first egg hunt. Traveling went well, too. Sleeping, not so much, but Heath hadn't been sleeping well anyway.
Then, after wondeful Easter services at Westminster, we hopped in the car and headed to Black Mountain to see Chris' family. It was the first time that Bop (Chris' 97-year-old grandfather) had seen Heath since the day before his diagnosis in November. Visit, wonderful. Sleeping, not so great! (you will see a pattern here)
We're now working on getting ready for our next move. Yes, we have a contract on a fabulous house here in Durham and we will close on April 30. It is perfect for us, and we're so excited. (it is the house in the background of the picture with heath and chris walking)
As of yesterday, we have a contract pending on our house in Greensboro. Please say a prayer that THIS person qualifies for the loan. whew.
AND, they are also showing our rental house, so periodically I have to get both children and the DOG (who is now on anti-anxiety meds and doing so much better!) :) out of the house. Frankly, these regular "worries" I will take any day.
As we have done before, we would ask your prayers for our dear friends, the Landreths, and their daughter, Olivia, who was Heath's roommate in the PICU at Duke. The day before she was to leave the hospital, Olivia took a turn for the worse, and is back in the PICU. Please prayer for her healing, and for her family, who have been at Duke since December.
Gosh, this is long, but not so surprising, I have much to say.
love to you all.
carrie
I am not sure where to begin.
Let's start with the article--Last Sunday (Easter) there was an article about our family and the support of the church community in the News and Observer. It was a little shocking that it was on the front page!
Here is the link: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1482323.html
Chris and I realized after recounting our WHOLE story for the reporter a couple Saturdays ago that it was the first time that we had told the whole story together since everything happened. It was much more emotional than we had realized. Obviously Yonat (the reporter) did not have the space to recount our whole tale, but I think she did a lovely job telling about how the church communities have held us up in this whole time (she is a reporter for the RELIGION section). We are so grateful to Westminster for loving and welcoming us, and for First Burlington (the youth had a wonderful fundraiser for us a couple weeks ago and it was SO GREAT to see you all!) and Faith for continuing to support and pray for us.
What she could not possibly have done was to really make clear how MANY PEOPLE in so many ways have really held us up--alongside our churches. She wasn't able to express the love and unbelievable gratitude that we have for our families, who dropped everything and lived and breathed all our moments of horror and happiness with us. Or the folks from Cary Presbyterian for putting themselves out there to create the Good Samaritan Fund (we asked her not to mention this because we didn't want the church to get an onslaught of requests to make more work for them after all they have done for us). Or our friends, who flew in or drove in on a moments notice. Or the extended "family" of faith who held us up all over the world. Or the people we didn't even know, like the wonderful teachers at my mom's new school who made Christmas happen for Ella Brooks. Or the co-workers or professors who made it possible for our families to leave their jobs to be with us. Yes, I could go on and on and on.
And particularly--the staff at Duke Hospital--who became more like family to us during our long stay. They treated us with kindness and grace. They loved our son like he was their own. They gave us the courage to keep hoping.
Yes, words don't really touch our gratitude to any of you...
There I am, feeling a little mushy and emotive in this beautiful springtime.
Sometimes we look at each other and can't believe where we've been--usually with a look over our sweet children as they laugh or as Heath smiles his slightly toothy (2 teeth and counting!) grin and seems to have sheer joy just being in the world, like he knows that he is lucky to be in world.
We had our clinic visit the thursday before last and they took away a medicine--magnesium--which was great because it was the one that has hurt Heath's tummy. They were thrilled with his progress and we don't go back until JUNE 25!!!
They gave us the go-ahead to make 2 short trips. SO, mom and I took the kids up to Northern VA to see my family! The cousins had much fun together, and Heath had his first egg hunt. Traveling went well, too. Sleeping, not so much, but Heath hadn't been sleeping well anyway.
Then, after wondeful Easter services at Westminster, we hopped in the car and headed to Black Mountain to see Chris' family. It was the first time that Bop (Chris' 97-year-old grandfather) had seen Heath since the day before his diagnosis in November. Visit, wonderful. Sleeping, not so great! (you will see a pattern here)
We're now working on getting ready for our next move. Yes, we have a contract on a fabulous house here in Durham and we will close on April 30. It is perfect for us, and we're so excited. (it is the house in the background of the picture with heath and chris walking)
As of yesterday, we have a contract pending on our house in Greensboro. Please say a prayer that THIS person qualifies for the loan. whew.
AND, they are also showing our rental house, so periodically I have to get both children and the DOG (who is now on anti-anxiety meds and doing so much better!) :) out of the house. Frankly, these regular "worries" I will take any day.
As we have done before, we would ask your prayers for our dear friends, the Landreths, and their daughter, Olivia, who was Heath's roommate in the PICU at Duke. The day before she was to leave the hospital, Olivia took a turn for the worse, and is back in the PICU. Please prayer for her healing, and for her family, who have been at Duke since December.
Gosh, this is long, but not so surprising, I have much to say.
love to you all.
carrie
Blessings,
"Gran" Sarah
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