Faith's Mom's Blog

I am so very proud of both Rob and Faith. I only wish I could have been there with them. Today was a new experience as Faith's medical providers used conscious sedation while administering her Botox shots. I was pretty bummed that I couldn't be there. January marks our busiest month at work so taking time off is limited. I already have to take time off on Monday for an appointment. So, there I was this morning at work wanting to be with Faith and praying that all would go well. Rob and Faith had to be at the hospital at 8:30. Faith's pediatrician was there, along with a few other of Faith's favorite medical providers. She was especially happy to see PBS playing on the television. Seeing something familiar helped to keep her calm. Rob and I have struggled in the past wondering if conscious sedation was the right thing to do for Faith. It just didn't seem like giving her sedation drugs every time she got Botox was very good for her. In the past during her Botox ...

Last month, we had a sad surprise - that Brittnee, a respite care worker who has been with us for a year and a half, was leaving. Once again, it was time to say goodbye to someone who had become like a part of the family.  It's hard when these respite care girls leave, although it is completely understandable. More often than not, they are college-aged and in serious relationships which lead to engagement and then marriage. There have been three wonderful girls we have gotten the privilege of knowing through respite care services. And I am continually impressed with their maturity, professionalism and most of all, their great care-taking skills with Faith. While it is hard for us to see them go, it is great that there is e-mail, Facebook and even Skype so we can keep in touch. With all of today's technology it makes the goodbye seem not so final. So, to our amazing young ladies who we are blessed to know through respite care - we wish you the best in al...

Though it wasn't a white Christmas - not too many people minded considering the astronomical amounts of snow we have received the last three winters - it was definitely a Merry one! Following are some photos of some of our special moments this Christmas. Our Happy Birthday Jesus cupcakes that Rob and Faith delivered to Faith's teachers and therapists at school.  Our little family Faith enjoying a special visit from Auntie Barbara and Uncle Todd Faith's new hat! Faith finally reaches December 24th on her LEGO Advent Calendar! Faith's personalized cupcake painting to match her cupcake room! Riding along with Todd and Barbara on the way to Watford City. The Lawlar family on Christmas Day Happy to have Barbara and Amber join us as sisters! Funny boys - Donnie trying to take a picture of the inside of Preston's mouth! Me and Dad - 2 NDSU Alumni who will cheering for the Bison to win a national championship in January! A beautiful ...

Recently on Facebook, I saw that someone had written to one of her friends, "I heart you." I thought it was cute and quite appropriate to say to my Mayo doctors, especially since they are cardiologists! The first time I ever met a doctor from the Mayo clinic was shortly after my cardiologist in Fargo told me I might need to start taking a blood thinner called coumadin because my right atrium was grossly enlarged and then neglected to call me back to let me know for sure.   I ended up having to call them and he told me to just stick with an aspirin a day. Well, there is a big difference between using a baby aspirin a day and coumadin! Of all people, my cardiologist's nurse told me about the Mayo doctors who come to Bismarck, North Dakota. After some pushing from my mom (who was really worried about me because I was not well at all but was still trying to work full time) I finally called and set up an appointment. I met Dr. Hagler and Dr. Ackerman in April of 1999, and ...

Since my last post regarding my pacemaker battery change , I unfortunately have not been doing as well as I would have hoped. My hopes for higher energy levels have been dashed as I have been even more tired than usual. On Monday night, I began feeling weird palpitations and sometimes my heart would beat so hard that I could see my chest pounding. I thought maybe my body just needed to adjust to the new battery. The next day at work though, I noticed the same symptoms. On my afternoon break I tried to call the pacemaker clinic but of course I couldn't get through. When I got home in the evening, I tried to call again. This time, the surgeon who performed the battery change was on call, so I was able to speak with him. At first, he wanted me to come to the ER and get an electrocardiogram done but I told him it wasn't doing it all the time so then he told me to come in and get hooked up to a Holter monitor. On Wednesday during my lunch break I got hooked up. I had to wear i...