Senior Year & general update

I'm a bad blogger! It's true. I don't update very often. Anyway, since Elizabeth is doing really well now, I'm going to give family updates.
All five of us have joined Powerhouse gym. Tom just started working out last week. He can ride the incumbent bicycle for 6 minutes and does the weight machines for about 20 minutes....it's a start. I have been going to a gym since last September and I have lost 60lbs. I have 50lbs to go. THe girls and Tom and I all workout about 4 days a week. Jack works out 6 days a week.

I can't believe we are getting ready for their Senior year. Gosh time flies. Senior pictures are first on the to-do list. I have them scheduled for next Friday, but I'm not ready so I will reschedule for the end of September or early October. I still have to get a suit jacket for Jack and the girls need a nice outfit. I want one shot of them together wearing their varsity jackets. It's too hot out to wear the jackets in August. We are also planning some college campus visits soon.

Healthy Elizabeth

Surgery was great. Dr. Cotton went in, took a look, airway looked great, no signs of any granulation tissue growing. She looked so good that he won't need to see her again for 1 year!!! Wow, that's the longest I think we've ever gone between visits.
The only problem she had was the dumb I.V. It took 7 tries to get one I.V. in and that one ended up in her foot. Her hands are just too scarred from so many previous I.V.'s over the years. Her poor hands got poked 6 times and are a little bruised and actually swollen around each poke site.

Now it is on to living a normal teenage life with her triplet siblings. They are juniors this year. Prom is coming up on May 9. We will be making a couple college visits. Elizabeth wants to go to either Madonna University or MSU. Jessica wants the same or maybe Washtenaw Community College and Jack will go to either Eastern or Washtnenaw. They all need jobs too. They will need cars, so they need jobs to pay for those cars. They are growing up.

I'll try to post once a month from now on.

Sugery #71 tomorrow

Yep, #71 will be tomorrow. That is Elizabeth will be put under general anesthesia for the 71st time in her life. She has had about 8 or so major surgeries and the rest have been minor surgeries and scopes that required general anesthesia.

Tomorrow she is scheduled for a bronchoscopy/laryngoscopy so the surgeon can take a look at her airway and how it has healed since the reconstructive surgery last July. She says she feels like there is something in there. She feels it low in her throat, especially when she tips her head back. Last December she felt the same thing and it was granuloma...a piece of tissue growing in her airway. The surgeon removed it, but we think it has grown back.

Pray for a safe drive for us and good outcome for Elizabeth.

Friday the 13th

Tom's surgery went well. The skin cancer spot that was the size of a quarter ended up being 2 inches by 3 inches, but the surgeon said he got it all. He has stitches and is putting ice on the area to keep swelling down. He will go back to get the stitches out in 2 weeks.

Elizabeth really wants to get down to see Dr. Cotton. Last night after her workout she said it feels like she has a lump of tissue in her airway. It seems to swell up when she works hard and is breathing hard and then she feels like gagging because the lump is pushing on her gag reflex. We will keep a close eye on her. We are all looking forward to April 8 so Dr. Cotton can make her feel better.

February already

Well it's almost Valentine's Day. Elizabeth is doing well in school and sports. She still has trouble with the pain in her chest when she runs hard. She is lifting weights to build up her upper body so she will be in good shape to throw shot and discus in track. She might not be able to run much, but she will throw. She will have another bronchoscopy/laryngoscopy on April 8 which is during her spring break so she won't miss any school. She is looking forward to it because she says she can feel something in the front of her airway when she leans her head back or when she is breathing hard.

Jack and Jessica are doing well too. Jack is in the musical at his high school. It is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and he got the part of Willy Wonka. The girls and I will be helping back stage.

Jessica is getting ready for track season. She is a sprinter and does long jump. Jack is on the golf team and he might run track as well. Both sports are at the same time, but other boys do both.

Tom is having surgery on Thursday, Feb.12 for skin cancer. There is a spot about the size of a little bigger than a quarter on his chest. It is squamas cell bowens disease. Hopefully they can get all of it. Keep him in your prayers.

I'll really try hard not to go sooooo long between post from now on. Sorry about that.

-Trish