John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
We were blessed to enjoy this Easter weekend as a family NOT at the hospital! We had quite a great time with our family.
Corbin enjoying some of the candy from his 4 easter egg hunts! The boy got a ton of eggs and had a blast!
John Deere. We start them early around here. Mason enjoying some sun this weekend.
The boys' Easter baskets.
Corbin enjoying his bubble leaf blower.
Mason was staring me down. "Really Mommy? This is SO embarrassing!"
Those of you that have known me for awhile have known George. George, for those of you who don't know was my sweet dog. Today, due to cancer, we had to put him down. It was a sad day. But I don't want to focus on the sad, I want to remember the good times we had.
I got George while I was in college and have had him ever since. I would say he was the perfect combination of a dog. Loyal to the "t" but not annoying. I can count on 1 hand the times I have heard him bark. He was so laidback and easy going. Our personalities meshed. George helped me get through some rough times in my life. He loved everyone, especially if they would slip him some food. He even turned some dog not likers into dog lovers because of his loving heart. This year I haven't gotten to spend a lot of time with George because my parents were taking care of him since we were gone so much at the hospital with Mason. George had had skin cancer about 2 years ago that had gone into remission. The week that Mason came home my mom took him and noticed that he was losing his hair again and sure enough it looked like the cancer had come back. She worked hard to get it back in remission and for that I am thankful but he was older and it was harder to battle. Fortunately I went and got him a week ago and spent a lot of quality time with him before it was time for him to go. He was such a good dog and he will definitely be missed by many! We love you George!
Quick update on Mason: He is working hard to battle this virus and is still having some difficulty breathing because he is so stuffy in his nose. We are having to suction him quite often but we will get through it.
Sorry for just now posting but Mason did get to come home yesterday afternoon. We had a rough night last night and had to increase his oxygen sone but he has seemed to improve today and we have been able to wean him back down. We almost think it was a mechanical error because it didn't seem like he was struggling. I took him to the pediatrician to get checked out plus he was due for his synagis shot and after all of that Mason was not in a great mood! Here's to a better night and better today tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers! We are ready for no more hotel Brenners!
Mason is doing better today. He has kept a fever throughout the day which they have been treating with Tylenol. They are hesitant to send him home with a fever so we will see. He came back positive for the coronavirus which could be a respiratory sickness which could point to why he is having difficulty breathing and needing to go back on oxygen. The dr team today wasn't happy with the clarity of yesterdays chest x-ray (it was very blurry) so they ordered another one which looked great. So it isn't looking like pneumonia but just a virus. They want to keep us there until all cultures are 48 hours out and fever free. So please pray that Mason's fever goes away! Will update again tomorrow.
Mason is in the hospital again. Chest X-ray looks worse than 2 weeks ago. White blood cell count elevated. Tapped his shunt to check csf. Started him on iv antibiotics. He had a high fever this morn of 102.5 and had to put him back in oxygen. Congested and spitting up mucous. Many prayers appreciated. Admitting is very likely.
After a ct scan and another shunt series we finally got home! It was a long day. Ct scan showed that the brain isn't under pressure anymore but the ventricles are still enlarged some. He thinks it will just take a little time for them to return back to Mason's normal. Other than that we are doing good and are thankful for your prayers.
Mason had to wear a mask because he was on isolation for having a cold.
Mason is in there somewhere! We are so thankful to be home!
Good news! Mason's shunt was malfunctioning due to the part in his heart so it was an easier fix. He did great throughout the surgery and is recovering well. If all continues to go well we should be home sometime tomorrow. Thank you for all your prayers!
We did get some good news yesterday as neurosurgery was pulling fluid off of Mason's head. Mason's csf finally looks like it is supposed to! Yay! Due to his brain bleeds it has looked dark yellow and has been mistaken for urine numerous times. We were excited. Got to celebrate the small stuff right? Surgery should be around noon today. Thanks for you prayers.
Neuro even said his CSF looks normal! Have waited awhile for those words!
Well surgery is probable for tomorrow. MRI showed hydrocephalus and Mason's heart rate dropped so they had to tap his shunt with 70 cc. He feels much better now. So if cultures continue to be negative and his breathing is good we will be headed to the OR after 11 sometime. I will keep everyone posted and would appreciate prayers!
We are still waiting in the hospital to make sure Mason's second blood culture remains negative and to see if that first one grows out a specific organism or comes back as a contaminate. While we wait, Mason's head has become more full so now we wait to see what is going to come of that. Please continue to pray. I will update later on today.
Getting ready to head up to hospital. Got call from Josh at 2 am that blood culture had come back positive for gram positive coxi ( excuse any misspellings) so they added vancomycin to his drug list and drew more blood to test. Dr thinks it is a contaminate but rather be safe than sorry. So we are prob going to be in hospital longer just so his other blood checks out. White blood cell count is normal and no fever so nothing else is pointing to an infection of that kind. Please pray! I am missing my little boy being home! No more infections! Plus he's had an allergic reaction to the vancomycin and has a red line around his ears running up to his forehead.
Mason is still at the hospital and they are watching him to make sure he continues to improve. Josh is pulling the night shift tonight. They are hopeful that he will be able to come home tomorrow after another dose of IV antibiotics. Thank you for your prayers because they are working. I'm going to put Corbin to bed and then myself considering I have been up since thurs morning! Phew! Getting too old for this!
I feel like I should write a song or something. Mason's head and symptoms have been progressively getting better this week but last night he spiked a fever so we headed to the ED. Turns out he has pneumonia so right now we are still waiting for a room so that he can get some rounds of IV antibiotics. He has been off oxygen since last Friday and doing great but now he is needing a little bit. Please pray for a speedy recovery and short hospital stay!
We need your prayers. Last night I noticed that Mason's head was bulging around his soft spot and he was very fussy. I called neurosurgery today and they had us come in and readjusted his shunt so that it would drain more (it was on one of the lowest settings as far as drainage goes so it wasn't draining that much). Please pray that this fixes the problem and that it is NOT a shunt malfunction. Thanks-Will definitely keep you posted.
"She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future."
Proverbs 31:25
I tell you I pray daily that I will be a woman like this and of course, this morning, this is what I needed to hear. Lately I have been preoccupied with the future. As Mason gets older I have been waiting with fear. Fear that he is getting further and further behind (which is expected considering how early he came). I have been watching him slowly meet milestones which we celebrate! I have had fear of his future. It has really been on my mind A LOT lately. Don't get me wrong...Mason is doing great and he continues to amaze his therapist and us daily. But as any mom does I get caught up in worry and I need to let go and let GOD. I love to sit and watch my 2 boys together. Corbin has such a tender heart and he loves his brother with such a selfless love. He would be content to kiss on him all day long or pile toy after toy at his side in an attempt to encourage him to play. And Mason loves him and tolerates his pulling and prodding SO well! Throughout all of this I continue to remind myself that God has us in the palm of His hand and that He has a plan for all of our lives. He has healed Mason and kept him here for a purpose and I have no reason to doubt Him and His promise for all of our lives. And no matter what Mason's future holds we are going to be here for him 100%. Mason fought to live...and God answered our prayers...and now we will fight for him and all that he needs. God knows each of our futures (even knows the number of hairs on our head right?). I love this Casting Crown song (which has been playing quite often-coicendance I think not but exactly what I need to hear). It reminds me that he is already there and is able to see how every puzzle piece of our life fits. Because to us, here on earth, it is a puzzle. Why did this happen? God knows. And one day it will all make sense to us as well.
From where I'm standing Lord, it's so hard for me to see Where this is going And where You're leading me
I wish I knew how All my fears and all my questions Are going to play out In a world I can't control
When I'm lost in the mystery To You my future is a memory
'Cause You're already there You're already there Standing at the end of my life Waiting on the other side And You're already there You're already there
From where You're standing Lord, You see a grand design That You imagined When You breathed me into life
And all the chaos Comes together in Your hands Like a masterpiece Of Your picture perfect plan
When I'm lost in the mystery To You my future is a memory
One day I'll stand before You And look back on the life I've lived I can't wait to enjoy the view And see how all the pieces fit
One day I'll stand before You And look back on the life I've lived 'Cause You're already there You're already there
When I'm lost in the mystery To You my future is a memory 'Cause You're already there You're already there
Standing at the end of my life Waiting on the other side And You're already there You're already there
"For this child I have prayed,
and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.
So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord."
I am going to post 2 videos. I struggled to decide which one to put up so I decided I would do both. Mason woke up in a fantastic mood the other day and was laughing and "talking" a little. They are both pretty short so take your pick. We have been doing pretty good this week. Mason went to Kids Eat which was perfect timing because we have really been struggling with feeding. He had completely stopped wanting to take the bottle any and she discovered that his suck had gotten so strong that he was taking it too quickly and couldn't handle it. She said he was pretty smart to not take it since he couldn't handle it. So now we are thickening his milk with rice cereal and using a different nipple and that seems to be doing ok. We are beginning to have A LOT of therapies begin which we are excited about and Mason is doing well. I will try to more update more soon! We try to cherish every moment with both of our sweet boys.
Mason is also trying to pull of his oxygen on here as well which his PT thinks has helped him discover his hands...hmmmm.
Below are some more pictures taken by Gail Jones Photography that I thought I would share.
