A Rollercoaster of Emotions

I wanted to give everyone an update on Parker and the appointment he had on Wednesday ... but I can't do that without telling you about our entire week - because it was a significant week.

{Saturday, August 18th - Monday, August 20th}
- Randi and Erica (Chris' mom and sister) fly to Nashville to spend a long weekend with Chris and Erica's Uncle Gary and Aunt Karen, and their daughter and granddaughter, Briana and Bella.  Erica started orientation for her master's degree at Vanderbilt University on Monday, August 20th, and Randi went with her to spend some time with her sister and brother-in-law.
- Terry (Chris' dad) flies to Atlanta an hour after Randi and Erica departed Orlando, we (all 4 Evens) pick him up at the airport and head straight to Nashville to surprise Chris' mom and throw her a 60th birthday party.  We arrived early on Saturday evening, surprised Randi by showing up at Karen and Gary's door, and spent the rest of the evening celebrating and spending time with family. 
- Chris, Terry, the babies and I were planning to leave Nashville Sunday afternoon because Terry was flying home to Orlando on Monday morning ... however, while booking his flight, there was an error in the flight times and Terry ended up getting a flight out of Atlanta at 11PM on Monday instead of 11AM.  So Chris and I decided that we would all stay another night in Nashville to get as much time as possible with his mom, sister, aunt and uncle, and just drive home Monday afternoon.

So we did this, and we spent all day Sunday at his aunt and uncle's house, we all visited Vanderbilt University and Uncle Gary helped Erica figure out where to go on Monday morning for orientation and to find the ever-elusive college parking spots.  We had an easy and relaxed dinner of take-out pizza on Sunday evening, put the babies to bed, and spent the entire night talking and catching up with Chris' aunt and uncle.  After breakfast on Monday morning, we packed up and departed Nashville to head back to Atlanta.  It was really a wonderful trip; Randi was still completely surprised that we all made it to Nashville to throw her a birthday party, and we were all surprised we were able to keep our mouths shut!

Chris, Terry, the babies and I arrived to our house around 5:30pm on Monday, we fed the kids, bathed them and put them to bed.  Chris, Terry and I then ate dinner and Chris took Terry to the MARTA to send him on his way home to Orlando.

Dinner napkins.

 

Happy 60th, Randi!
{Cupcake toppers from here; cupcakes from Publix}

Reagan leading Randi around the house.

Sweet Bella, Parker & Reagan's 2nd cousin.

Parks and his daddy.

Erica and Bella playing in the kitchen.

Parker "helping" his Grams open her birthday gifts.

 

{Tuesday, August 21st}
The morning was rough since we were all sleep-deprived from a fun weekend, but we made it through the morning alright, ran some errands, and I was on the hunt for a thank-you gift to send to Chris' aunt and uncle for having us stay at their house this weekend.  I never did find the perfect thing, but I thought I would try again later this week.  Around 4:30pm, Scott (Erica's husband) called me, and I could tell immediately that something was wrong.  "Gary's gone ..."

I just couldn't believe it.  Uncle Gary, who we had just seen the day before and spent the entire weekend with, was gone.  Scott told me as much as he knew, but was at work and had to go pretty quickly.  I waited for Chris to get home ... what felt like a very long wait ... but he finally did and I could tell that he must have talked to one of his parents on his way home. 

The phone calls and correspondence that I assume accompany any family during a loss like this ensued.  I talked to Erica (who was driving home from her first day of orientation at Vanderbilt) for most of her drive home so that I could make sure she arrived safely to her aunt and uncle's house.  Please understand that I am in no way saying this was orchestrated or willed by God, but I do believe He helps us to be where we need to be and when.  Randi wasn't scheduled to fly out of Nashville until Wednesday, so she was thankfully there with her sister during this amazingly difficult time and immediately cancelled her flight to stay as long as she needed to. 

The evening was hard - but as hard it was it was for us, we couldn't stop thinking about Chris' aunt Karen, and his cousins, Ryan and Briana.  Our hearts are still breaking for them.
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{Wednesday, August 22nd}
We had Parker's spine xray and appointment with the Orthopaedic Surgeon in the morning.  After not sleeping very well and generally not functioning very well, we got up and got ourselves and the kids ready to go to Children's Orthopaedics of Atlanta.  Upon our arrival, and while still in the parking garage, I proceeded to trip over a curb and fall onto the concrete ... with Reagan in my arms.  I am bumped up and scraped and bruised a little, and Reagan bumped her head on the ground, but I broke most of her fall.  The triage nurse at the Orthopaedic clinic looked both of us over and said we were lucky we were ok.  Thank you, Jesus, for taking care of us!

After the long-awaited xray, the doctor came into the exam room to tell us some good news.  He said the curvature in his spine looks the exact same as it did 4 months ago - not better, but more importantly, not worse.  So, he said we are not going to do anything right now, but we are not out of the woods yet.  He wants to do another xray in 6 months to see if his spine changes at all.  We will be in the same shoes at that point if it does - discussing a possible spinal fusion.  But we feel so relieved that nothing has changed for the worse in his spine.  It was some good news amidst a very hard 24 hours - and in the grand scheme of things, another surgery would just be a small bump in the road of life.
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Last night, Chris started his first class as a Professional MBA student at Georgia State University.  He will be in class Thursday evenings and all day on Saturdays, every other week.

We are not sure of the service plans for Chris' uncle just yet, but we will try as hard as we can to be with Chris' immediate and extended family during this difficult time.  Please keep them in your prayers, as they are still grieving the loss of Terry's brother, Randy, who passed away in January of this year.

The good news we received on Wednesday mixed in with all of the overwhelmingly sad news from the week has been weighing on us ... but we are so thankful to have our friends, families and most importantly, our God to comfort us. 

We love you, Uncle Gary, and will miss you dearly.

{The Brukardts & Evens at Erica & Scott's Wedding

October 9, 2010}

Great report from down under!

No, not from Australia...from Parker's bum! (I crack myself up!)

We went to his check-up with his general surgeon, Dr. Durham, yesterday morning.  (A quick overview of this miracle-worker: she saved his life the day they were born by performing his 1st surgery {colostomy}, she performed his 2nd and 3rd surgeries {imperforate anus repair and colostomy take-down}, she came to his post-op room to check on him and us after his 4th surgery in December, and she has seen him in her office about 7 or 8 times now to make sure his "plumbing" is working properly and to make sure his anus hasn't dilated down at all.  On top of being an amazing surgeon, she is probably the nicest, warmest doctor we have ever met.)

Anyways, she asked all about how Parker and Reagan are progressing, wanted to know their new "tricks," what they have been eating, who weighs more, who did what first, and then finally said, "I better go ahead and check him..."  How does she do this, you ask?  Well, she has to make sure his anus is as open as it should be, so she, well ... manually checks it.  Yup, it has got to be as uncomfortable as you think it is ... and Parker always lets us know how violated he feels for about an hour after the appointments (yesterday it was not a consistent hour, just a little "Ehh!" every now and then). 

Chris and I were both nervous about this check-up because if his anus had closed down at all, then we would have to possibly dilate it everyday - which is done the same way as a manual check, but parents get a probe-type thing to use.  We had to do this everyday for about a month after his imperforate anus repair last year, and it was awful for all parties involved.

But ... Parker got a GREAT report from Dr. Durham yesterday!  She said everything felt great and since he feels fine and his bowel movements are regular and normal, she does not have to see him again unless he is having any issues later on with potty training, etc. (side note: sometimes kids who are born with an imperforate anus can have residual effects for years afterwards, including potty training issues, bowel management issues, etc.)  But if we don't have any of those issues, then she just asked us to keep in touch.

We left the office with a smile, without making a follow-up appointment (which was a very weird feeling) and gave Parks a fist bump for having the best of man-made (actually, woman-made) bums.

Yea, Parks!!

{Parks & Reags running around the exam room yesterday...}

Summer Lovin'

We've had such a fun, family-filled summer that I haven't even had time to post anything about it! (what else is new, right?)
Let's see, our summer in short:
May - not too much out of the norm!  We had not ONE doctor appointment for Parker, which was such a nice break for all of us!  We did have a sick kitty, but he recovered nicely after the vet finally figured out what to do with him! (bad vaccine reaction).

June - As a music therapist/business owner, I visited GiGi's Playhouse with one of my contractors, Katrina, and we led a free music therapy session for the GiGi's Playhouse families.  What a blast!!  We hope to go back soon after everyone gets settled into their school year.
Then ... Parker, Reagan and I went to Orlando for a week and a half!  We visited my family and Chris' family, and basically had more fun than a barrel of monkeys.  While there, we visited the Central Florida Zoo with Parker and Reagan's Aunt Erica, Uncle Scott, Grams & Gramps (Chris' family), went shopping at mine and Chris' ol' stomping grounds, and had fun just hanging out in rainy Florida. (apparently we brought the rain from Atlanta!)  On June 29th, we celebrated my nephew Landry's 2nd birthday by going to Sea World ... and what a BLAST we had!! (and by the end of the day, we had three very tired children all under the age of two)  We always have so much fun going home to Orlando, and it is very hard to leave our families.  But don't worry O-town ... we have another nephew on the way this October, so we'll be baaaaack!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Landry!!

Landry waiting very patiently to get his cupcakes!

The 3 cousins playing together

Uncle Brian, Aunt Selena, Landry and Parks waiting for Shamu!

Shamu Stadium!

Grammie and Reags waiting for Shamu

Gramps and Parks at the Zoo Splash Pad

Reags at the Zoo Splash Pad

July - We had a quiet 4th since we returned home from our Orlando trip on the 3rd.  Then we went to the Patterson family vacation (my mom's sisters, parents, etc) in Hilton Head, SC in the middle of the month.  This year we had 24 people staying in 3 different houses - and we continue to grow!  Parker and Reagan saw the beach for the first time ever, Chris got to golf, and we just had a blast hanging out with our extended family.

First time in the ocean!



My grandparents with their 3 daughters, 3 sons-in-law, 7 grandchildren and their significant others, and their 4 great grandchildren. (missing: Selena's husband, Brian, and Uncle Bill, Aunt Kris and Korey Patterson)

After we got back from HHI and settled back into our daily lives at home, my mom and Chris' parents came up to Atlanta to visit and to help me out while Chris took a prep-class for his Professional MBA program that he starts in 2 weeks!  He is VERY excited to be getting back to school, and we are both looking forward to the opportunities this degree will bring to our family.

His new briefcase :)

We visited the Gwinnett County Aquatic Center a few times in the past few weeks ... and it could not have been any more perfect for little ones!!  Parker and Reagan became really brave with their swimming and had a blast while doing so.  If you live in Gwinnett County, you must go!

And then, I turned 29 on July 31st!  That's right, one more year til the big 3-0.  I better live it up, huh?!

What are Parker and Reagan's new tricks they have learned this summer, you ask?

• WALKING! (yup, even Parker with only 6 toes!)
• RUNNING!
• Using a straw
• Waving bye-bye
• Signing "all done" and "please"
• Blowing kisses
• Giving kisses
• Getting more teeth :)
• Climbing stairs (under supervision)
• Climbing up on the couch (under supervision)
• Swimming and LOVING the water (under supervision)

Which brings us to August:

Not too much to report now ... we have 3 doctor appointments in the next 2 weeks for Parker and Reagan (I guess we are making up for the break this summer!).  One of the appointments is just their routine 15 month check-up, and the other 2 are Parker's general surgeon follow-up (to check on his bowels) and an xray/appointment with the orthopedic surgeon to check on Parker's spine/scoliosis.  Prayers are solicited for this appointment ... if his scoliosis has gotten any worse, a spinal fusion may be necessary in the near future.  We will keep you posted!

Stay cool, peeps.