A fallen world . . .

Olivia's MRI was postponed yesterday, but went on today. She is "stablized" now, but coded(her little heart stopped) when they tried to extubate her today. Drugs and a minute of CPR restarted her heart. Her narrowing is so severe now that even crying or any agitation might cause more pressure than her heart can handle. They've done everything they can. It's only a matter of time.

Another college friend's little sister is also in that same PICU. Eleven year old Nicole was thrown from the car in an accident on Monday in Idaho and life-flighted down to Primary Childrens' in SLC. To quote a friend's blog, "She wasn't breathing and showed no signs of brain activity."

Thanks for all of your prayers. There is so little I can do from so far away except pray, and mobilize the prayer troops in the Midwest. I'll update you with the news as I get it.

A

Kids Love Saturdays . . .

Does anybody remember these shows? I loved the Monchichis and yep- I had Menudo posters all over my room. I liked the dark haired one . . .

Back again . . .

Little Olivia is back in the hospital. New narrowing. MRI today to see where and what. Oxygen saturation down, weight down, eating down, agitation, can't breath when eating . . .

Thanks in advance for your prayers.

A

Sometimes I forget . . .

Sometimes I forget that I am a girl. That God has made me just the way He wants me- a girl! In our singles' study we are reading a book called Master, Mission, Mate by Ken Graves. He explains that the language of Genesis implies that God created Adam in His image and then created Eve from Adam. Not in addition to Adam, but by taking a part of Himself from Adam. That together we make fully illustrate God's image. It's a cool thought. Sometimes we try to be what we are not.

What brought this up tonight? Last night I bought pink paisley/floral flannel sheets for my bed. I wasn't sure how I felt about them last night, but now I love them! I can see them from where I sit in my Dorset Gold living room, which I realize is a "girl" color. I finally went outside this evening to clear a foot+ of snow from my car, and I left a square on the very top, just so I could be reminded of the total amount of snow, I guess. No man that I know would ever do that. I then finished it off by making a snow angel in my backyard. I wouldn't even get to do all these things if I was a married girl!

This morning I looked outside at about 7:00am to see that Daniel(landlord, neighbor, friend) had already snowblowed and shoveled this morning. He was loading up the snow blower to go snowblow other people's drives, I think, with Chad. I was very glad then that I wasn't a boy. Even if I had to do the shoveling or snow blowing (which thankfully I don't!) I wouldn't enjoy it enough to travel with it! Boys are so weird!

***I'm not bashing, though. I do realize there are good points in the design of both sexes, and can only truly appreciate them the longer I walk with God. All in all, I am just glad to be who God created me to be!

BTW- I think we got nearly a foot and a half of snow this weekend, and it's still coming down! It made for a great snow angel!

Long days . . .

I didn't know that it was possible to have so many long days crammed into one short week! Or maybe it's because with the High School Forensics season in full swing, my one week has stretched for weeks without a day off. This weekend we were planning a retreat, but God seemed to have other plans. It baffles me that despite all the "warfare" we've been experiencing, God knew before time began that our retreat would be canceled due to crazy weather. He wrote the weather program, you know!

I took a dive this morning. After picking up Kels for school, I proceeded to twist my ankle in their front yard. I was sobbing uncontrollably and giggling hysterically at the same time. Must have been an odd sight, or maybe people were far too interested in the amazing sunrise God painted to notice some random nutcase laying on the front lawn? I worked for a couple of hours and then was able to get a sub to come in for me, so I could go home and lay with my ankle elevated and on ice.

God blows my mind. He, in His infinite wisdom, knew exactly what we needed and when we needed it. This snowstorm provides me with an excuse to be a recluse. (sorry- I think the rhyming is punny!) I have been terribly undisciplined with my sleep schedule (to be backed up by the time stamp on this entry!) and can't seem to catch up and can't seem to get to bed early enough to make a dent.

The snow storm tonight is gorgeous. They are predecting anywhere from a couple of inches to a couple of feet. Hard to tell if "they" will be accurate or not this time! So far we have a couple of inches, starting out with snow pellets and moving to flakes. All fast and heavy. It looks beautiful! I think tomorrow I will make home-made potato soup with ham . . . mmmmmm.

I got a new TV tonight. Life is ALWAYS an adventure when Ang and I set our mind to something! Fitting a 27 inch TV in a little Saturn with her, me and a seven year old was a challenge! Comparable to the beginning of December when we fit 2 Christmas trees on the roof of my car and drove 30 minutes . . . we are both so random! It seems a little too big for my little living room, though. It's amazing how it looked so small in Walmart, but so big in the car and at my house! It has great sound and appears to pick up 5 PBS channels! I'll let you know tomorrow, because 3 of them say "tune in tomorrow at 6" or something! It's fancy!

Movie night at my house!

Enjoy the snow, take time to make snow angels! Have a good weekend!

A

If random were hit with a twenty pound maul...

A couple of weeks ago Robocarp titled a blog entry with this. It'a been ringing round and round in my head ever since. I have to wonder, if random were hit be a twenty pound maul, what would it sound like, or what would it say? I've no doubt that it might well involve dinosaurs or giraffes . . . (I thought of this again tonight on my car ride from the big eclair with Angely).

So, if random were hit with a twenty pound maul, what WOULD it sound like?

Home Soon

I'm not all that big of a fan of Valentine's Day. Never have been. I guess that's part of still being single at 31 and not altogether loving it! I enjoyed today, and my coffeehouse shift rocked! I got to be around people and my brain was way too busy about my service to be busy about the things that God has chosen to not give me! It was a good day . . .

I have to say my favorite part of the day came in the form of a cheap little candy heart. The message was "home soon". Completely randomness for a heart, but a great reminder that we will be home soon. As a Christian, I get to look forward to heaven. A reminder like this serves to get my eyes back on the end goal, instead of walking into things on this path because I'm too busy looking at my feet! And all this from a tacky little candy heart!

Happy Valentine's day. Hope you all had a good one.

Buh-dump-duh-duh-duh! I'm loving it!

A Divine Appointment

Sometimes I wonder what God is doing in my life. Sometimes He graciously reminds me! Sunday afternoon, while hanging out with Leslie, we went to the movie store to return her movie and to each get one to watch later. I didn't have my checkbook, or cash, and I remembered the hard way that that movie joint don't do plastic. Leslie graciously paid for my movie in addition to hers. (The Devil Wears Prada, which I enjoyed!) This plays into my story because I forgot to return the movie by Monday at 7:00, obviously incurring a late charge(not important to the story!). I even looked at the movie twice Monday and really planned to return it! I then put it in my purse to return after work Tuesday, and still I forgot! At 10 minutes to 7, I remembered, scarfed my supper and headed to the video place.

After returning it promptly at 7:00, I decided to go to the library to pick up some movies that came in. I considered stopping in at Good Will, but decided to make that decision after the library because I really just wanted to be home in my cozy little apartment! I FORGOT that I was going to stop at the library first and kept right on going! Good Will it was!

As I was wandering aroung Good Will, I heard someone say hello to me. Randomly, it was a classmate from high school whom I'd only seen once in the last however many years since high school! When talking to her in August, I'm sure she was living around Ellsworth. Turns out that she and her husband and 4 kids (I AM NOT OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE 4 KIDS!!!) had had a chimney fire in the house they'd just bought and the little town they live in didn't have a hotel, so they had to come to Menomonie! Of all the people for her to run into at Good Will in my little town, she runs into me! Now, in case you didn't get this from the title, I consider this a Divine Appointment. I have no doubt that God can and does cause us to remember or forget things according to His plan. (And, this obviously makes me feel better about being so forgetful!) I was able to help them out a little with a microwave(that my neighbors conveniently had extra) and some basic dishes for cooking ramen and instant potatoes and some other odd stuff. Hopefully making their hotel experience a little more like home! I was also able to give her contact info for our food pantry.

My point? I'm not sure, except maybe prayers requested for Trisha and her family? Maybe just to give the glory to God for His perfect timing. And maybe just to tell a real cool story!

Thanks for listening!

Home!

Guess what? No. HmmMmm. Nope, that's not it either! Okay, I'll tell you! Olivia Faith came home from the hospital today! She seems to be doing okay but is still getting used to eating again. She is peaceful and happy and has yet to get mad. Before all of this she would get upset and then turn blue and require oxygen to get her levels back up. I really hope that this was because of the heart issue . . .

I am just amazed at the road that lil' Olivia has been on in the last 2 weeks. Just 2 weeks ago Aaron and Tori had the worst news they could imagine . . . unfixable. Then surgery. Lest we think that the surgery was really at the hands of the surgeons, a fever of 105, should we still think that the doctors healed her, he let her have the tremors/spasms. The doctors didn't seem to have had an answer for that one! God has proven himself yet again. Thanks so much, God!

Glory to God!

Just wanted to praise God for what He's doing with Olivia! Whether all God, or God through meds, she seems to be improving! She has been able to rest! They are going to try moving her feeding tube from her intestine to her stomach and see how she tolerates it. I just have a hunch that He's doing this for His Glory!

Thanks so much for your prayers!

Mama said . . .

Mama said there'd be days like this . . . she just didn't say they'd be caught on film!

My friend Jen took this picture of my college friends, Sam and Caroline's son, Tim.

I feel your pain little man!

Home Bible study and Super Bowl Commercials

Tonight was our first home Bible study of the new year. Every other month we're splitting up for a midweek study at people's houses. Mine was in Spring Valley and was so fun! It was nice to hook up with some other single girls and pile in the car for the ride. We got to know each other better and some new friendships have developed! It was a surprise when I looked up from my discussion of Super Bowl commercials to see that it was 9:45!

In a very animated(sugar wired) reproduction, I acted out my favorite commercials. I have it narrowed down to 2. Jack in the Box- I want to be like dad, and Blockbuster- the mouse, with a "now that's excitement" following close behind. If you did not have opportunity to see these, you MUST go to www.usatoday.com (I think that's the website, thanks Sheena!) or look for Ifilm. This may require some research on your part, but which one is YOUR favorite? Let me know!

A

ups and downs

I must report another setback with lil' Olivia. I am tired of reporting the ups and downs day after day. I am exhausted because in a way I am experiencing these 2nd hand with my friends. I must keep in mind that every sigh of frustration or smile of joy is so minor compared to those of Tori and Aaron. I guess it comes with being part of The Family (of Christ) and weeping with those who are weeping. I think it also comes from the heart that God has given me for people, and I know it's often less painful to keep my distance. Unfortunately, I can't do that as God has placed them inmy life, and unfortunately for you- I have a blog.

That said- Olivia has developed a syndrome(probably from her surgery) that involves the uncontrolled movement of her body. Her legs, arms and even her little face and mouth are constantly moving, interfering with sleeping(no sleep in over 12 hours), eating and other activities, and using up valuable calories. They are trying some more medication, even though it isn't clear if this will help, or if it CAN help. This could be temporary or it could be permanent. There isn't enough information to tell.

This said, I appreciate your prayers and thank you for holding Tori and Aaron's arms up in this battle with your prayers.

A

Plagarized good news

Yep, I just copy and pasted this from Aaron. I'm too (mentally) tired to pick out the highlights and summarize. It's great news, though, and I wanted to update those who are praying.

Aaron says:
Today has been probably the best day since Olivia’s surgery. She had another restful night, and was actually awake and happy when we came down this morning. She was weaned down on her pain and sedation medications, but was still calm. The plan this morning was the same as it has been for the past 3 days - give her a shot at a spontaneous trial with the ventilator off, and then make a decision about taking the ventilator out. The day before yesterday, she did not do well on the trial, and yesterday, her chest x-ray did not look good, so the extubation was postponed both days. Today, though, she passed her spontaneous trial and her x-ray showed that her lungs had improved, so was able to be extubated! It was definitely a big step for her. She has done well for the past 3 hours, so we are hopeful that she will keep progressing with her breathing. The next step will be to start her back on her feedings by mouth. The plan right now is that she will be able to start tomorrow. They have been giving her breast milk right into her small intestine, and will move the feeding tube into her stomach tonight and see how she does. They also took her catheter out today, which definitely makes her more comfortable! The other plan tomorrow is that they will take out her pacing wires. She has basically had a pacemaker since surgery in order to make sure her heart will beat correctly again after being on the heart/lung bypass machine. It is just a bedside procedure, so it should hopefully not take too long. Her heart rhythm has been good for the past couple of days, so she shouldn’t need the pacemaker anymore.

Home!

Angilee is home and her brother Travis went home from the hospital on Saturday. (Amazing that they can put pins in your hip and still send you home within a couple of days, isn't it?).


Just got word on Olivia. One of the boys has the stomach nastiness and they had to go home because they can't stay at the Ronald McDonald House with sick kids. Olivia also appeared to get this and her chest xray looked worse, but tonight the nurse said she "looked like a different girl" which is hopefully good news! Her Momma says "She is happier and resting well and not in need of so much pain medicine!" Very good news!

A

Olivia

This is Olivia Faith Swank. Now you can see who we are praying for. Isn't she beautiful? I had to steal this from another friend's blog.


Here is their first family photo with baby Olivia. Aaron & Tori Swank, Audrey Grace, Jonathan & Joshua(not necessarily in that order!) and Olivia. By the way- If you ever feel that your heart is getting a little dry and insensitve, let me know. They posted some pictures on their blog of Olivia post-surgery. They would break your heart.

Thanks again for your prayers.

Sacia- you're right, it's not that hard to do pictures, but hard to format them with so little text! Thanks for the inspiration!

Updates

My little Olivia came through her open heart surgery just fine. They opened up all 4 veins and also fixed her ASD. (I don't know what this is, but it would have required another surgery at some point) So many ups and downs, things are changing almost from hour to hour. They'd hoped to have her extubated Friday afternoon, but then she had a fever of 105 and has had the fever since. Poor baby is almost maxed out on her pain med and sedative just to keep her resting and comfortable. They are hoping to wean her off those today to try extubating her. They are also hoping to take out her chest tubes today. They did a virus panel and it came back negative (not a virus causing the fever).

There are some other things, too, but many in a language I don't speak. :)

Thanks for your prayers for little Olivia Faith Swank. Her family appreciates it so much. It is amazing to see how widespread the body of Christ is. What a comfort to know that people around the world are praying for your little one! It always amazes me that I can pray with my friend who lives in England for our friends in Utah and God hears it all. Where 2 or more are gathered just doesn't look the same any more, does it? Thanks again for joining me in prayer!

I haven't heard anything more from Angilee.

By the way- I am waiting for news from that friend in England regarding the much anticipated birth of their second baby! For some odd reason it may take a couple of days for me to hear the news . . . She was past due last weekend, so now I'm just waiting for the news to catch up to me!

A