Friday, December 28, 2012
Merry Christmas 2012
Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful holiday. The kids seem thoroughly pleased with all their gifts and we are, as usual, it is over. I love this holiday and try very hard to keep with the meaning, but it is tough. My favorite part is Christmas Eve mass. I love our parish and they do a great job with Christmas Eve mass. After mass we headed to my aunt's house to celebrate with my dad's side of the family--it was a great night. Christmas morning brought gifts at our house and then off to Mimi and Papa's house. After a great brunch and gifts with cousins we headed to my uncle's house for dinner. It seemed like a longer day/night this year than normal, but it was still great. We have been enjoying the time off from school and mornings spent sleeping in with no obligations. It is short lived, but nice once in a while.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Halloween
I know Halloween is long past, but I wanted to post the few pictures I did get around that time. Aidan was a football player, Cian an elf, Fintan was the Hulk and Maeve was Bat-Girl. It was great weather here so it made for a great night of fun!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
SVT
Three little letters have caused us much anxiety the past week. Aidan has been complaining of heartburn the past few weeks on and off. Honestly we didn't think much of it as he has mentioned it occasionally in the past. After his most recent complaint, he mentioned that his heart hurts and beats out of his chest during his "heartburn". We immediately perked up when we heard this and let him know this wasn't normal. We planned to bring it up to his pediatrician on his next appointment. Then last Thursday Aidan came home from football practice and said he was having heartburn, but his heart was really hurting. I felt his chest and his heart was beating VERY fast. As soon as we got home I got out our stethoscope and counted his heart rate at 220 beats per minute. I checked it a few times before I believed I was hearing it correctly.
I called up to the ER and spoke with one of the attending physicians. They told me to come in immediately and Aidan and I were out the door. Once we got to the ER, we went straight back to a room where staff were on hand waiting for us. They hooked Aidan up to the monitors and his heart rate was about 230 bpm. He was in supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). Thankfully he was doing fine, but I knew what was in store for him. They tried a few natural ways to convert him out of without success. They then used a medication called Adenosine which removes all the electrical activity of the heart, causing it to briefly stop and then restart again. It was terrifying for Aidan! I was mess watching it all happen, but thankfully the medication worked and converted him back to a normal rhythm.
We spent a few more hours in the ED and then went home to follow up first thing in the morning with cardiology. The next morning he had an echocardiogram and another EKG completed. All were normal (thank you God!). Based on his history, we think he has been going in and out of SVT for the past 12-18 months. With that information on hand, they are recommending Aidan have a cardiac ablation done soon to "zap" the cells in his heart that are causing the SVT to start. They started him on beta blockers to help prevent it and keep his heart at a lower rate. He has gone into SVT one time since last Thursday and he was able to convert himself out of it using the tricks he learned in cardiology.
This has been a very nerve-wracking experience and one I would like to not have. We return to cardiology next week to meet with the electro-physiologist to discuss the ablation in more detail. Hopefully we can schedule it soon, but at the same time we are worried sick about doing it! Please keep Aidan in your prayers and ask for a quick recovery from this!
I called up to the ER and spoke with one of the attending physicians. They told me to come in immediately and Aidan and I were out the door. Once we got to the ER, we went straight back to a room where staff were on hand waiting for us. They hooked Aidan up to the monitors and his heart rate was about 230 bpm. He was in supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). Thankfully he was doing fine, but I knew what was in store for him. They tried a few natural ways to convert him out of without success. They then used a medication called Adenosine which removes all the electrical activity of the heart, causing it to briefly stop and then restart again. It was terrifying for Aidan! I was mess watching it all happen, but thankfully the medication worked and converted him back to a normal rhythm.
We spent a few more hours in the ED and then went home to follow up first thing in the morning with cardiology. The next morning he had an echocardiogram and another EKG completed. All were normal (thank you God!). Based on his history, we think he has been going in and out of SVT for the past 12-18 months. With that information on hand, they are recommending Aidan have a cardiac ablation done soon to "zap" the cells in his heart that are causing the SVT to start. They started him on beta blockers to help prevent it and keep his heart at a lower rate. He has gone into SVT one time since last Thursday and he was able to convert himself out of it using the tricks he learned in cardiology.
This has been a very nerve-wracking experience and one I would like to not have. We return to cardiology next week to meet with the electro-physiologist to discuss the ablation in more detail. Hopefully we can schedule it soon, but at the same time we are worried sick about doing it! Please keep Aidan in your prayers and ask for a quick recovery from this!
Monday, October 22, 2012
Fall Wrap Up
I am going to try to do a better job of keeping up this blog! Life seems to always get in the way, but I will give it a better try.
Since school started back up it seems we have never stopped running. Aidan is playing football with 3 day/week practices and games on the weekends. He took to it slowly, but after the first few weeks, he is really enjoying it.
Cian is playing soccer this year after a 3 year (?) break. It has been fun to watch as Aidan never played soccer past 1st grade. The 3rd graders are really quite good and actually have to follow rules of the game. His team is doing okay in their league, so it is fun to watch them win some and lose some!
Fintan is also playing soccer and having a good time. He is on a mixed team of some of his classmates and some other random kids thrown in there. It has turned out to be a pretty good experience, so we are happy for that!
Maeve has just been along for the ride! We thought about (for maybe 10 seconds) of putting her in soccer this fall, but quickly regained our senses and decided against it. It would have been way to much for what she would have gotten out of it. Maybe next year?/
Fintan and Maeve both recently celebrated birthdays! Fintan turned 7 and Maeve turned 5. Fintan had a rock-n-bowl party. It was fun and the kids seemed to enjoy it. Maeve had a family party and will graduate to a friend party next year! I think she had more fun with her cousins anyway! It was a nice night!
We are settling into our new home. Slowly each room is coming together. I recently finished painting our living room. We got some new formal furniture from Susie's parents (their old furniture not needed/wanted in their new home), so it looks nice in our living room. We are thinking about recovering it, but that will come another day.
Well that is it for now...
Since school started back up it seems we have never stopped running. Aidan is playing football with 3 day/week practices and games on the weekends. He took to it slowly, but after the first few weeks, he is really enjoying it.
Cian is playing soccer this year after a 3 year (?) break. It has been fun to watch as Aidan never played soccer past 1st grade. The 3rd graders are really quite good and actually have to follow rules of the game. His team is doing okay in their league, so it is fun to watch them win some and lose some!
Fintan is also playing soccer and having a good time. He is on a mixed team of some of his classmates and some other random kids thrown in there. It has turned out to be a pretty good experience, so we are happy for that!
Maeve has just been along for the ride! We thought about (for maybe 10 seconds) of putting her in soccer this fall, but quickly regained our senses and decided against it. It would have been way to much for what she would have gotten out of it. Maybe next year?/
Fintan and Maeve both recently celebrated birthdays! Fintan turned 7 and Maeve turned 5. Fintan had a rock-n-bowl party. It was fun and the kids seemed to enjoy it. Maeve had a family party and will graduate to a friend party next year! I think she had more fun with her cousins anyway! It was a nice night!
We are settling into our new home. Slowly each room is coming together. I recently finished painting our living room. We got some new formal furniture from Susie's parents (their old furniture not needed/wanted in their new home), so it looks nice in our living room. We are thinking about recovering it, but that will come another day.
Well that is it for now...
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Summer 2012
We had a very busy summer which runs directly into our busy fall. It is hard to keep up this blog, but I am going to try to do better.
Here is a picture from our annual trip to HHI. It was, as usual, awesome!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Well hello 2012
Happy New Year Everybody! Since we last met, we have had a very winter. Aidan and Cian both had birthdays. We enjoyed our first Thanksgiving at home in many years and celebrated a wonderful Christmas! Time seems to fly by this time of year. Our New Year's Eve celebration was another one for the record books and the kids had a blast.
We are now knee deep in basketball for Aidan and Cian. Fintan and Maeve are excellent fans (sometimes!) and for the most part do a great job of traveling all over the city to watch their big brothers.
Maeve had a recent trip to St. Louis to see her hand surgeon and he has cleared her for another year! All is looking good!
Here are some recent pics from NYE...
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