Craniosynostosis

Craniosynostosis is a congenital (present at birth) defect that causes one or more sutures on a baby's head to close earlier than normal. Sutures are connections that separate each individual skull bones. The early closing of a suture leads to an abnormally shaped head. Side effects could include: loss of hearing, blindness by age 6, 1% chance of brain damage and dental problems.
This is a defect that our baby Cooper has. It was not caught at birth nor at any of his wellness checks with our family doctor. A nurse at Kearney Clinic saw pictures of him and was concerned and recommended we go see a pediatrician. So we traveled to Kearney. While there, we were sent over to the hospital for an MRI. The MRI showed that his frontal cranial was prematurely closed. From Kearney Clinic, we were sent to Surgical Images in Omaha where we met with our plastic surgeon Dr. Richard Bruneteau. In just 5 minutes, he knew we needed to fix Cooper's skull. However while there, he recommended we see a neurosurgeon to see if there was possibly any brain damage. While meeting with Dr. Mark Puccioni, he reassured us that there was not any brain damage present.
So with letters to our insurance company, surgery was scheduled for May 17, 2010 at Children's Hospital in Omaha.
The day of the surgery, we had to be at the hospital by 5am. They preped him for surgery and gave him his happy juice and took him away. We went out and sat with our crew of family members that came to support us. It was nice to have them all there to help pass the time, but little Cooper was in our minds the whole time.
Around 9:30am, the surgical nurse came to say they were closing and near completion. Both Dr's came out to visit around 10:30am to reassure us that things went well and that they were taking Cooper to recovery.
We had to wait until about 11:30 to see our little Cooper. His poor little head was bandaged up, and his right eye was beginning to bruise and swell. He was coming out of anestisia and not a very happy camper. Nothing we did could settle him down, so they tried more pain meds. Finally we were able to calm him down enough that he could sleep.
Later in the day, they informed us that his heart rate was creeping lower so they wanted to change his pain meds. That helped the heart rate, but he began vomitting almost every hour. The first night was a very long night for all of us.
By Day 2, his eyes were swelling a lot more and his bruising was terrible and we were still in PICU. They were able to stablize him enough that we got to move to 5th floor which is pediatric floor at Children's. It was on this day that his sweet little eye opened up. It was close to 7pm and everyone was wanting to leave the hospital and his cousins were talking to him and all of a sudden he opened his eye. It was one of the most precious things I've seen!! We were all happy to see his little blue eye ball!!
On Day 3, Dr. Puccioni came in and noticed his little eye was opened and said that as soon as he ate something, we could go home. The nurse we had was not in agreement to that, but the little man wanted FOOD! We gave him some food and by noon, Dr. Bruneteau came in and said that we could be released. With all the paper work and consulting with Dr's, we were finally on the road home by 7pm.
The trip home was a great one. Cooper vomited once, but I think it was the pain meds on an empty stomache. We finally made it home at 11:30pm, and on the way home his other little eye opened up!! When we got home, my parents had the older boys here waiting for our arrival! Cooper was so happy to see his big brothers and they were excited to see him!!
Thank You everyone for all your continued love, support and prayers through all of this!

Been awhile!

I can't believe it's been since May that I have posted anything!! A lot has happened since I posted last! Coy was in coach pitch baseball and Carter was in T-Ball. They both enjoyed themselves a lot!! It sure kept us busy the month of June! In July they both took swimming lessons in Broken Bow. Ma'Ma was able to take them both weeks and they all had fun! Cooper even got to do a little swimming! In August school started again and Coy & Carter were both eager to get back into the swing of things! (so was I!!)
We celebrated Cooper's 1st birthday Thanksgiving weekend. We were blessed to have so many family and friends join us. I think we ended up feeding 35 people. I made beef 'n' noodles, chicken 'n' noodles and mashed potatoes for the event. I had a lot of help and was very thankful for that!
The holiday season came and went with a bang! We busted through hood high drifts to get to my parents house on Christmas Day. We only stayed for 45 minutes because of the blizzard. Thank goodness we were able to make it back out okay! The drifts we busted through were already blown shut!!
The beginning of January has changed our lives a lot! We have made the decision that I would stay home with the boys and keep the house in order...along with the book work of our business. I am so far enjoying being home-cooking and cleaning and just being around for Tig whenever he needs me to run for parts. The older boys miss going to Ma'ma's after school, but really enjoy being able to come home, get homework done and go outside and play.
Cooper and I are getting along good. We have a routine figured out and we like it that way!
I will post pictures sometime soon!! I hope you all had a great holiday with your families and a prosperous 2010!!

5 Months

Happy 5 month birthday Cooper! He is rolling from stomach to back now and definitely has his own personality! Coy & Carter love him very much and help out a lot.

Tired Day

Not much has happened this week. Carter is feeling better each day, Cooper is still coughing, but feeling better each day as well, and Coy, well, he's my trooper and rarely gets sick! Thank goodness!! We are enjoying this nice weather and we enjoy taking Cooper outside to watch the older boys play.

Here is a picture I snapped yesterday morning. I love seeing Vinton with his boys. The were both real tired after a Saturday of nothing, so they were catching up Sunday!

Coy was doing his homework last night, and one of his assignments was to read this book. He enjoys reading so much that his reading level is 3rd grade in the 6th month. I was impressed when I saw that. We are both very proud of him. So is Cooper! He loves listening to Coy read to him.

Busy Week

I have been told that I haven't updated our blog in a while, so here it goes...
Coy is cruising through 1st grade. He loves the challenges that it brings him. I went to listen to him recite a poem to his class. He did very well and I can see him in Speech/Drama when he gets older because of the expressions that he uses when he reads.
Carter is enjoying pre-school. He keeps talking about being in the "shoe club". He has been able to tie his shoes since last fall, but he keeps talking about being the only kid in his class in the shoe club. I know there are more than just him in the club, but for a while it was just him. We finally got his new glasses and he seems to be adjusting well.
Cooper is good too. He has been sick again however. He had a severe ear infection in one ear and a bit in the other. He was given a shot and things started working better real quick. He has been rolling from tummy to back and almost mastered back to tummy! Time flies!!
The motor in Tig's truck took another dump! It was in the shop for 10 long days. But, we finally got it back and he has been fighting the weather a lot lately. Hopefully it will cooperate for a while.
As for me, I'm keeping busy with the boys' activies and helping Tig whenever I can. We branded calves yesterday at Mom & Dads and my legs hurt real bad! I vaccinated and I think I did around 250 squats yesterday. These little legs aren't used to that! But it is all worth it!
We had Easter at my parents house today. All of us kids were there and we actually had a good time. We played Nurts and everyone enjoyed themselves.
Tig and I also celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary. It has been a great 8 years and we look forward to the next 8+ years!!
One last note, please pray for one of my co-workers. She tragically lost her husband last weekend to a heart attack. He was only 58 and it makes one very thankful for what they have.

Being a Wrestling Mom

I always told myself in high school that I would never be like those wrestling mothers that were down on the mat cheering on their kids or telling them what moves to do next. Well as of today...I am eating my words! But damn it was fun!

After Coy hit a kid in the nose and gave him a bloody nose, he was able to come up with 2nd. The kid he hit got 1st and well deserved! Coy was very aggressive during all 3 matches. Coy impressed Coach Hoyt when he did a double leg on a kid! Actually so was I!! I thought he did so much better this week than last!

Carter also did real well! He got real mad during his 1st match. The other kid had him on his stomach and Carter couldn't remember what to do next. The next two periods were interesting for the other kid because Carter's temper was showing. His little cheeks were red and he was so pissed off that he was crying. I think that's why he ended up with a 1st place medal!!

Good job Coy & Carter!

The cake...

Carter got to pick out his cake this year! He still loves Thomas the Train stuff, so this is the one he picked. I sure wish I could take credit for this one, but I have to thank my mother-in-law one-hundred times over!! She did a wonderful job! The birthday party was a success with all of our brothers & sisters, parents and grandparents here. There were a lot of people packed in this house, but having everyone together was great!