Faith's Mom's Blog

What About the Boy? is written by Stephen Gallup, the father who made a pledge to his disabled son to help him find wellness no matter what it took. Joseph's parents were convinced that something was wrong him. He spent much of his time crying and while lying on the floor he would shake his head from side to side. Doctors and specialists told them that Joseph had a brain injury but that nothing could be done for him.  Believing that it was Joseph's birthright to be well, Joseph's parents took matters into their own hands, rising to the challenge of enabling Joseph to live a life of wholeness. For my complete review of What About the Boy click here . Read Stephen Gallup's guest post on my blog, Who Needs Sympathy?

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 i

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 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 Kimberly, Lindsey and Brittnee - three amazing young ladies who we are blessed to know through respite care - we wish you the be

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 Our friend Joann delivers a wonderful Christmas present to Faith - a porcelain tea set 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! "Cookies for the Bousfield Family - Rob Cari Faith" cookie jar that my parents got us for Christmas. It's perfect because Faith has been eating a lot of cookies lately! 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 o

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 t

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 it f

Though Medcenter wasn't having any Black Friday specials, Faith and I both found out that it was the best day to have an appointment. Everyone in Bismarck was either gone, shopping or sleeping, so we got into our appointments right away and were in and out very quickly. For my appointment, I arrived at 9:30 to get my pacemaker battery replaced. A pacemaker check on November 11 via telephone showed that my battery was in ERI - the stage at which the battery begins to conserve energy because it's getting low. Apparently, it had been at that stage as of October 23rd - which is the day before I started my new job and also the day before I once again had health insurance. When a pacemaker is at ERI, it usually has about three months of battery life but because my heart sucks the juice out of my battery at a faster rate than normal, they advised me to get it changed as soon as I could. It worked out that I could get in the day after Thanksgiving - a holiday for us at work. At fir

Throughout the month of November, I have noticed many of my Facebook friends celebrating the month of Thanksgiving by updating their status each day saying what they are thankful for. I haven’t been doing this on Facebook, so here are my 30 days of thankfulness all in one day. During the month of November these are the things I have been particularly thankful for: 1. JESUS 2. My wonderful husband and our amazing daughter 3. Our accessible van 4. Wi-fi 5. Finally being a two-car family 6. Living in Bismarck and in North Dakota 7. Praying friends and family 8. JOY International women’s ministry 9. Health insurance 10. Heaters that emit warmth 11. Wonderful Christian music 12. Our amazing respite care ladies who look after Faith 13. Having a good job 14. Warm coffee drinks w/ whip 15. Faith’s school and everyone who works with her there 16. Great haircuts from our stylist, Julie 17. Good books to read 18. Knowing a trustworthy mechanic who fixe

Rob and I have certainly had our share of transitions since getting married nine years ago. About seven months after having Faith, we closed our desk-top publishing business in Watford City and made the move to Bismarck. This was all totally unplanned but due to Faith's medical needs, we felt God was preparing the way for us to make such a huge transition. Since coming to Bismarck, there have been more transitions including a few moves from apartment to apartment and having to get used to Faith's adaptive equipment, tube feedings, and the many therapy appointments that go along with having a child with special needs. It seems that just when we get into the groove of a new transition, another one comes our way. And more often than not, they are quite unexpected. This latest transition involved me going back to work after being home with Faith for three years while Rob took his turn once again to be a stay-at-home dad. At first, Rob and I were a little stunned about our situa

Faith recently went to see a surgeon regarding the placement of a baclofen pump . At our last appointment with her specialist who oversees all of her therapy we were shown x-rays that proved her left hip was about 40% out of its socket. For this reason, we set up a consult with a surgeon and were looking at getting the baclofen pump sooner rather than later. I was surprised to find out that the surgeon has some reservations about inserting the baclofen pump. The main reason for his reluctance is that Faith is still pretty small. They normally won't put the hockey-puck-sized pump in a child that is less than 45 pounds, which is pretty much what Faith weighs. There is extra concern with Faith because there is even less room in and around her abdomen due to her having a mic-key button. When Rob mentioned maybe waiting a year until Faith grew more, the surgeon said that was probably wise. But still, there is her hip to think about. I really don't think her other doctor is going