Hugs & Prayers

For the last few weeks me and my boys have received lots of hugs and prayers and well wishes. They are so appreciated and make us feel loved and I would love for them all to continue for a few more days. On Wednesday, April 1st, Tanner will have surgery for the second time.

He had his first surgery in December 2007 to place tubes in his ears due to infections that couldn't be cured with antibiotics. He had one ear infection immediately after his surgery, but his tubes did their job and the infection was cleared.

However, one of his tubes fell all the way out about two months ago (which happens as children grow and the tubes no longer fit) and the other remains half in and half out of the ear canal.

Both ears have become infected over the last month and a half, and the doctor originally said that they were bulging. Tanner received a round of oral antibiotics, followed by a round of antibiotic injections, with no improvement. He was sent immediately to an ENT due to his history. By the time he saw the ENT last week, the right ear, in which the tube has completely fallen out, has become damaged.

The eardrum in his right ear was sucked down by the amount of fluid and pressure, and is now "stuck." This will be repaired before the new tubes will be placed in his ears. He currently has complete hearing loss in this ear, and decreased hearing in his left ear. This may perfectly well be temporary. However, we won't know if his hearing is restored until more hearing tests can be done about a month after the surgery.

My baby is a trooper, very seldom complaining, though very often wanting just to be held. Tanner continues to live with the pain and discomfort that this causes. Sleep comes difficult to him, and unfortunately codeine keeps him awake rather than helps him to rest. So the only thing that I can do until surgery day is continue to hold him and pray for comfort and for a full recovery.

Thankful Thursday Post

My blog has needed an update, and since I came to the conclusion that it is indeed Thursday (after having to actually ponder that for a few short moments) I thought it a perfect time to do a Thankful Thursday post. Today, I'm thankful for my sore muscles. It means that I am active and productive and most importantly, that the class I attended at the gym last night actually worked and falling off the balance ball a few times was worth the effort.

I'm thankful to have a yard for weeds to grow in. Not that I love the weeds, but it means that I have a place, however modest, for my children to run around and play in. The backyard in particular provides a wonderful place for them to play croquet. And on a side note, pulling weeds goes a little ways to letting you get some of your aggressions out. Not as good as the batting cages- let's not get carried away, but there is a certain satisfaction to pulling on a weed and feeling that stubborn root rip right out of the ground.

I'm thankful that my poisonous oleander plants that grow just as bad, if not worse than, the weeds, at least produce pretty pink flowers to look at. There's something serene about a flower that blooms from a tiny bud, whether it's on an elegant rose bush or on this wacky plant. I'm also thankful that having the lawn forces me outside, where I can appreciate some of the things that I may miss otherwise. For example, these little guys:

...actually, they were fairly large. I found a handful of them crawling around on the top section of the house, near the attic. A couple of them measured as big as six inches long. They were neat to watch crawl around for awhile and gave me a good reason to go grab the camera and procrastinate about the weed pulling for a little while. ;)

My Ponytail for Beautiful Lengths

Last week I cut my hair. I had just celebrated my 30th birthday, I needed a change, and I wanted to do something good. So I went to my stylist and asked her to cut off a minimum of 8" of my hair. That was the requirement for Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program.

In the past I have donated my hair to Locks of Love, which is a wonderful program for children suffering permanent hair loss. However, this time, I felt inclined to give my hair to this program, which makes wigs for women who are going through treatment for breast cancer. According to their website, eight percent of women are at risk of refusing treatment due to the fear of hair loss. Having a stylish wig can change this very scary fact, and it takes only six ponytails to make one wig. 48 inches of hair. That's all it may take to help one woman face her fears head on and feel better about herself while doing it.

I was able to donate 9.5" this time and will continue to donate my hair every other year as I have been for the last eight years. It's such a small thing for me to do to help another woman in need.