Shunt Update

The fluid around Cayman's shunt has gone down! And her soft spot has sunk again. It's not quite where it was but this tells us her shunt IS working.

"Thank You, God!"

And thank you for praying. I was so worried about it! Since her last revision, it has not been typical of Cayman's fluid to fluctuate like this,, which is why my "flags" went up. I feel so relieved that it is looking better. Thank you for praying with me!

"Thank You, God!"

Cousins

Cayman has two (first) cousins.
Sidney (on the right) will soon turn 5 years old and CeCe (on the left) is 3 years old.

The girls are so much fun! Sidney is more quiet and easy going while CeCe is full of fire and spunk. They laugh and giggle a lot. After spending an evening with them their laughter will still ring in my ears (in a good way) and keeps me smiling for the next several days.

They are the daughters of Mike's brother, Mark and his awesome wife Cara. They are the most phenomenal people you could ever meet. They have awesome kids, which totally reflects their awesome parenting.

I will never forget the day they all came to the hospital to visit us.

When Mark entered the NICU I am certain the sun shined brighter that day. He had a big smile on his face as he approached Cayman's bedside so happy and proud to meet her. It made Mike and I forget all about the tubes, wires, and monitors that our sweet baby was hooked up to. It restored the joy of having a new baby join our family. And when Cara came in, she talked to me like I was a regular mom that just had a baby. It was not at all that they did not respectively acknowledge the seriousness of Cayman's condition. They were quite aware of it and understood it was a very scary time for all of us, but their joy of having a new baby niece did not get lost in all that worry.

Mike and I now live a short 10 minute drive from them! It's so great!! We have loved spending more time with all of them.

Lazy Days Have Ended

I guess I should not have bragged yesterday.

I took Cayman to the Pediatrician today. A couple of her incisions were a little red and puffy. I was afraid they were becoming infected and wanted to get them checked out. Good news, they are not infected, just irritated. Not all of the stitches have dissolved yet for whatever reason and they were irritating Cayman's skin. The doctor was able to successfully remove some of them, but the others have a knot that are underneath the healed skin that are not dissolving. She prescribed an ointment that will take away the irritation and once the puffiness goes down hopefully the remaining stitches will either fall out or dissolve as they are suppose to. If they don't I will probably have to return to her Neurosurgeon for him to take a look at it. But I think I may be returning to him sooner than what we had planned anyways. I'm hoping I'm wrong, but just yesterday evening Cayman's soft spot has changed in appearance. For the last 2 weeks it has been slightly sunken in. Now it's completely leveled off with a little bit of fluid around her shunt. :o( *sigh* I hope her shunt hasn't failed again. I've been keeping her propped up and praying all day!

Lazy Days

We finally have weeks.....plural....WEEKS, without Doctor appointments. It's so great!! How have Mike and I taken it? We've become LAZY!! Our conversations go something like this:

"You want to get out and do something?"

"I don't know. Do you want to get out and do something?"

Usually we end up taking a nap.

This week is very busy for Mike though. He is in the process of working 11 days straight....or in his case it's 11 nights straight. A coworker is on vacation and Mike's pulling the extra hours in for him. Plus this week was the start of coaching middle school football with his brother.

Cayman has been clingy. I adore holding, rocking, and cuddling. But when it's been around the clock I get very exhausted. There were times Mike came home to find us like this:Could it be a tooth? We're not sure. We don't see anything popping through yet, but she's constantly sucking on her fingers, chewing on her burp cloth, drooling, making spit bubbles, and just whines which is very untypical of her. She normally only fusses when she's hungry or has gas. We've tried orajel. It does not seem to make much of a difference. She hates the stuff anyways. Oh the faces this child can make!! She keeps us entertained. Even the grape flavored Tylenol is yucky to her.

I really need to get motivated. I had my lazy days, now it's time to get stuff done.

You Can Do It....

She sees it














She reaches













Contact is made














She grabs for it













Almost...















She's got it!












Look at how proud of herself she is!

Cayman is getting more accurate at grabbing things. You will also see...or hear, how she is quite the little chatterbox.

My Favorite Quote...

It's not what the world holds for you. It's what you bring to it. -Anne of Green Gables the SequelI adore the entire series of Anne of Green Gables. I have watched the movie and sequels many many times, and can still watch it many many more times. I still cry at the same parts as I did the first time I watched it.

I think why I like it so much is mostly because of this quote.

I can build a whole sermon off of just this one quote, and I think I will. Here is where my thoughts have taken me today.

We all have our lives planned out to a certain point, but then discover life changes those plans, most often without our permission.

There's a lot of stuff we might not be able to control. At times life may seem not as exciting and wonderful as we might have once imagined it. If we're fortunate enough we discover it's even better, but never do we arrive at such a blissful state by chance. We cannot forget to be proactive and take control. To take risks and try something new. To not settle for something mediocre, to reach for something you really really want even if it's out of reach. To build off of what life gives you. Not sit back and wait for life to plop its wonders in our laps. To not expect my plans will be God's plans.

Your life is what you bring to it, not just what is placed in your lap. It can be so much more.

My comfort zone encompasses a small area. I do not have to step too far to be outside of it. I have found that it is good to push my comfort zone and I have discovered I can bring satisfaction and happiness to almost any situation. Never without resistance at first though. Perhaps someday I will be more compliant with God's plans.

Often we want life to go as we have planned, but perhaps that is not the direction that leads to the happiness that we truly seek. That's why I can trust that God works things for my good. Only He truly knows me...He created me, He understands me. Only He knows the future and the paths I need to take to reach a life full of love and satisfaction.

I realize these are strong statements and my life does not quite reflect them fully. I'm working on it though. But I've come to realize that my life, mostly the parts that did not go according to my plans, have brought me to a place of greater joy and peace than I have ever imagined.

Video Songs

An Anonymous commenter asked me what the name of the song in my video montage is.

The first song is Amazing by Janelle

The second song is Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

One Year Ago today...

about this exact time, I found out I was pregnant! What a fun day that was!

I was looking through all my pregnancy pictures, reminiscing. I don't have very many. Looking at them I can remember exactly what I was feeling at that time. I was so full of fear. Oh how I wish I would have known how amazing Cayman would be. I did not know how to process the devastating news that our baby might not live. We just went through each day trying to feel as little as possible to keep from breaking under the pain of it all. I am sure that is the reason why we did not get the camera out very often. We're making up for that now. We have over 2000 pictures of Cayman.

One year ago, we did not realize the journey we were just starting. It has been full of a lot of pain and fear, but has brought us to a greater joy than we have ever known.

I credit that completely to God and to Cayman...and to Mike...I cannot forget my husband. He has been amazing this past year.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Lemon-Lime Gatorade Debate

Mike has been working very hard to "win" the YELLOW-GREEN gatorade debate.

Here is the story behind it all:

One evening Mike was feeding Cayman and he asked me if I would get him a glass of gatorade. He had just bought several different flavors-orange, grape, red, and lemon-lime. I went to the pantry, which is viewable from where Mike was sitting on the couch. I opened up the squeaky pantry door and asked him, "What flavor would you like?"

He replies, "The Green kind."

I proceeded to pull out from the pantry the orange gatorade, then the red one, then grape, and last, the yellow one. I did not see any green gatorade. So out came a case of pop, a few jugs of water, and still no green gatorade.

Finally, I asked, "Where did you put the green gatorade? Is it in the refridgerator?"

Mike said, "No. I can see it right there next to you. "

I stood there for a bit looking at all the items that now surrounded my feet. I saw no GREEN gatorade.

That is when the YELLOW-GREEN Gatorade Debate was launched.

Majority of the voters said YELLOW but Mike has continued to stay firm in his opinion that it is GREEN. I suppose in his desperation to get me to stop smiling over reading all the YELLOW votes, he created characters that left me comments voting GREEN. But it was the comment left by the "Smartest Man Alive" that has brought me to surrender and declare, yes indeed the Lemon-Lime Gatorade is GREEN, not YELLOW.

Click here to go to the official website of Gatorade, and you will see for yourself.

"Yes, honey, you are the smartest man alive! Thanks for making life fun!"

Looking Back

Here's Cayman when she was 1 month old...And here she is now, 4 months old.

You can really tell how much she has grown if you compare the way the belt buckles look in each picture.

Videos

I'm responding to the requests for Cayman pictures. I just love receiving such requests!!
My mama heart swells with pride! :o)

Instead of pictures though here's a couple of videos showing the progress Cayman is making batting at her toys.

Neurosurgeon Appointment

Cayman saw her Neurosurgeon today. A head ultrasound was done. It was so encouraging to see the results! Her brain matter has increased 2 1/2 times it was at the last scan which was the end of April. The doctor is so pleased at how well her shunt is working. He does not want to see her for another 6 weeks!!

6 WEEKS!!

That is amazing!! I do not know how to express how happy I am!!

The Neurosurgeon talked a little about Cayman possibly needing a Cranial Helmet in a few months. The helmet would help mold her head to be round instead of oblong. Yep, my child is an egg head right now. Still darn cute though!

Cayman was not happy about her head ultrasound today. Last time, she took a bottle during the scan and was completely oblivious to her head being messed with. This time, even though she was hungry, she wanted nothing to do with her bottle, and fussed through the whole exam. It's seriously painless. It's just like having a belly ultrasound done when you're pregnant, except it's over the head. She started fussing as soon as the goop touched her. I kept trying to get her to take her bottle or look at her toys. I even got right down in her face and was talking and playing with her like we do at home and she took her hand and smacked me right in the face! She was so mad!! I'm not sure why she was so upset over such a simple procedure. But it seriously was a funny site, especially since this baby was not expected to have much of a personality with her brain injury. She definitely has personality...and an attitude, and spunk, and opinions. I think I'm receiving a glimpse of what will be her teenage years.

I love my baby!

Pediatrician Yesterday

Cayman had her routine 4 month check up with the Pediatrician yesterday. She's weighing 12 lbs 12.1 oz. and is exactly 2 feet tall.

Isn't it funny referring to a baby as tall?? It's always spoken they're "long" not "tall". That was Daddy's deep thought for the day. I think you must be able to stand up to be referred to as tall.

Cayman checked out well. Her G-tube hole has closed up. Daddy calls the scar her 2nd belly button.

The Pediatrician told us to put a teaspoon of rice cereal in Cayman's bottle before bed and see if that would help her sleep longer in the night. Thinking of her sleeping through the night is fabulous!! I'm excited if she sleeps for 4 hours straight...I can't even fathom if it would be more than that!!

Rice Cereal here we come!!

There's so many brands. So you Mom's, I'm curious, what kind of rice cereal did you like?

Help!

We need your to help to settle a friendly debate between Mike and I. :o)

Is the color of the Lemon-Lime Gatorade YELLOW or GREEN?

My Life in 6 Words

My blogging friend, Shannon, tagged me to define my life in six words. Here goes...

1. I
   
2. have
   
3. the
   
4. best
   
5. life
   
6. ever!!

I thought I would think outside of the box with this one. :o)

Now I'm supposed to tag five more people...(the rules are to describe your life in 6 words and tag 5 more people, leaving them a comment on their blogs so they'll know they've been tagged)

1. Jill
2. Sara
3. Sherri
4. Lisa
5. Beth
   

Zebra

Cayman's new toy.

She played with it all day... looked at it, grabbed at it, smiled at it. Daddy said I should get a video of it. By the time I pulled out the camera though she was done playing. I still got a cute video of her, that ends with her picking her nose. It's hilarious!! I would love to share the video but after several failed attempts to upload it to the blog I have given up.

Lost "Thank You's"

In the 5 moves Mike and I have made within the years we have been married, we have done great at not losing anything during the moving process that had much value to us... except this time.

I have misplaced my "Thank You" list.

It was a list of people that had given to Cayman and us in various ways that we wanted to send a personal "thank you" to. As time allowed, I worked on getting a card sent to each person checked on the list. I had several more to write before we moved. I have searched everywhere for this list and it has not turned up. Now I have no idea whom we have "thanked" and those we have not.

I know this is really impersonal, but please please know how grateful we are for your gifts. Some of you have cooked meals for us, bought Cayman toys, clothes, and diapers, and some even made her a dress, crocheted a blanket, and embroidered bibs. We have had people visit us at home and at the hospital. The monetary gifts we received help paid for our stays at the Ronald McDonald house, our meals, and the expensive gas bills we have every month with all the traveling. Thank you so much! Your gifts have helped us tremendously.

Our expression of gratitude could not be complete without taking the time to say thank you for your prayers, the love, and the attention you have given Cayman. I mostly direct this to our families, friends, the people in our community, and our church family. But I am very aware that there are many people we have never met that have found Cayman's blog that are traveling this journey with us too. We thank you, as well, for caring about our little girl. I am humbled as I have discovered Cayman has her own fan club of people all over the country that pray for her, are inspired by her, and truly care about her. I have learned that Cayman's blog is a homepage on someone's computer, little kids ask to see her pictures and give them daily kisses, and some have even ordered a "Cayman" T-shirt.

How can I possibly express how touched we are?

Tears fill my eyes .

Thank you...seriously, thank you!!!

Happy Birthday....to ME!

I'm 27 years old today. I've always considered 24, 25, and 26 to be the mid-20's age. I'm officially pushing 30 now!! I enjoy my life! I love my family, my in-laws, my home I share with Mike and Cayman, and the friends we have! There's very little I want and even less that I need. My life is very satisfactory! I'm sure there is many things I could come up with that I WANT. Focusing on what I have in life is the key to being content in every situation.

...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13

I came across these steps from Lloyd-Jones' book On Spiritual Depression that gives some helpful steps to arrive at this blessed condition.

Know these things:
1. Conditions are always changing, therefore I must obviously not be dependent upon conditions.
2. What matters supremely and vitally is my soul and my relationship to God--that is the first thing.
3. God is concerned about me as my Father, and nothing happens to me apart from God. Even the very hairs of my head are all numbered. I must never forget that.
4. God's will and God's ways are a great mystery, but I know that whatever He wills or permits is of necessity for my good.
5. Every situation in life is the unfolding of some manifestation of God's love and goodness. Therefore my business is to look for this peculiar manifestation of God's goodness and kindness and to be prepared for surprises and blessings because 'His ways are not my ways, neither His thoughts my thoughts.'
6. I must regard circumstances and conditions, not in and of themselves therefore, but as a part of God's dealings with me in the work of perfecting my soul and bringing me to final perfection.
7. Whatever my conditions may be at this present moment they are only temporary, they are only passing, and they can never rob me of the joy and the glory that ultimately await me with Christ.

These fresh, renewing thoughts have been particularly meaningful and helpful to me in the rough times with Cayman's medical scares.

How did all these deep philosophical thoughts sneak into what is suppose to be my birthday blog?!

About my birthday...

Mike took me on a date last night for my birthday while Grandma Sue and Aunt Sam babysat. We ate at Abuelo's and then went Putt-Putt. If you don't count all the re-do's Mike let me have, then I won by 2 strokes! :o)

Here's a trip down memory lane. This is me with my Pac-Man cake at my 5 year birthday!I must have really liked Pac-Man. Check out the table covering too.

Naturopathic Doctor

Cayman had her 2nd appointment with the Naturopathic Doctor yesterday. Her Neurological numbers are looking better! That was so exciting to see!! So far she has been seizure free and we do credit it to the care she is getting from this Naturopathic Doctor. I tried to explain in an earlier post what exactly this Naturopathic Doctor does. If you missed it you can read about it here. He told us of some success stories he has had with people with severe neurological problems. It was so encouraging and amazing to have the hope that there is something more we can do for Cayman and we're doing it.

Our Apartment

Each day we have gotten closer to getting settled in. It's taken some time. It's incredible how a tiny little baby controls about every minute of each day and well..nights too. There's still more unpacking to do, but at least the main room is finished...the living room. It always feels like home once our pictures are hung on the wall. It's like the signature to an artist's painting. I'm sure you can tell Daddy had some influence on our decor. :o)

There is not possibly another thing we could squeeze into this living room. Our house we moved from, our family room there was very large. I had to make sure my glider chair fit though. That's where Cayman and I spend a lot of our time cuddling.

I'm excited to have a gas fireplace. The landlord said it's more for ambiance than it is for heat. But either way I'm excited! Once I get a chance I'm going to whip out my knitting needles and make our own Christmas stockings for the mantle! Mike has learned that it is not strange for me to think about Christmas anytime of the year. It's my favorite holiday and I Christmas shop all year round. My mom is at total influence here. Growing up, it was not uncommon for Mom to have our Christmas tree up in October...and that was just our main tree. She had a separate Victorian tree for herself in another room. We were aware that this was not the norm for most people. And to make sure the neighbors did not think we were crazy we were found, at times, running through the house to shut the tree off if they were driving by. A bit strange I am aware, but I can definitely say there was no "hum-bug" spirit in Mom at Christmas. She made it fun!! I am sure that is why it's my favorite holiday.

My next project is hopefully decorating Cayman's room. We're not allowed to paint here so I've gotta come up with some creative ways to make white walls look girly and fun. Anyone got any clever ideas? Perhaps wall stickers?

Buckeye Girl

For the past 4 months Daddy has been saying, "Why isn't she in Buckeye clothes yet!?!?"

Up until now the clothes did not fit.

So, I know I just posted, but per Daddy's request, here's a few pictures of his Buckeye girl!

4 Months Old

Cayman's Accomplishments

• She eats 100% by mouth.
• She no longer has a G-tube.
• She has survived 6 surgeries.
  
• She now weighs 11 lbs. 14 oz.
  
• She smiles...at people or her toys.
• She coo's. She "talks" to her toys or to us when we talk to her. Sometimes she'll even "talk" to get our attention if we're not looking. Once we look she smiles.
  
• She laughs. This one we've only heard once or twice. It just started.
  
• She reaches out to grab objects...sometimes it's her toys or Daddy's chin hair. A few times she has put her toys to her mouth.
• She lifts her head a little. The most she does is when we're holding her up, she'll lift her head off our chest, turn it to the other side, and then it plops back down.

We are in awe at how well Cayman is doing. If I would have known how well Cayman would do, I would have worried less and enjoyed my pregnancy more. I try to apply that learned lesson to life right now. I try to not let the worries of Cayman's quality of life as an adult stop me from enjoying her and all her accomplishments right now. We feel so blessed!

G Tube-Less

Cayman got her G-tube out today! The doctor was at first reluctant to take it out even though it has not been in use to feed her since the beginning of April. He asked questions like "What does the other doctors say about how she is going to grow and develop?" "Where is Cayman delayed developmentally?" etc. These are never easy questions even though we have such positive answers to give. At home our world feels so different than it does when we're at the hospital. Cayman is doing so well that it's easy to not focus on all the worries of her not developing and focus just on her accomplishments. Then when the doctors start asking all these kinds of questions it stirs up that same panic feeling I use to get during all the ultrasounds before she was born.

Then I am reminded, only God and Cayman determine her outcome.

Taking the G-tube out was an exhilarating feeling, probably more for us than Cayman. She cried but that's because she was hungry.

Taking it out was so simple. First the balloon was deflated, the tube was pulled out, some thick cream was put over the hole that seriously resembles caulking to help seal up the hole until it closes on its own, and then gauze was taped over the hole! It was that simple. Of course, rarely, anything comes without possible complications. The potential complication in this situation is if the hole does not close on its own then the doctor has to surgically go in and close it. It takes less than a week for the hole to close. The doctor does not suspect that there will be any problems because the G-tube has been in a relatively short time.

Cayman is an amazingly little healer. She has so many scars and they have all healed nicely!! We're not too worried that the hole won't close on its own.

Funding For Cayman

A Benefit Dinner is being planned for Cayman.

When: Saturday August 9th
Time: 4-8 p.m.
At: Pettisville Missionary Church
19055 County Road D
Archbold, OH

There is going to be food, entertainment, a silent auction, and kid activities. A separate website has been created for this event. You can check that out at:

fundingforcayman.blogspot.com

As long as Cayman is doing well that day, she'll be there for part of the event.

Donations are needed for the benefit. My sister Stacey is ahead of it. If anyone would want to volunteer or donate anything you can email her at svandock02@yahoo.com.

I'm not entirely sure what kinds of donations she needs. Frequently, Stacey will be updating the "Funding For Cayman" website listing the areas of help needed for the benefit.

We greatly appreciate your support!

Thanks for taking the time to help our little girl in ways we can't do it alone!

Little Miss Firecracker

Neurosurgeon Appointment

Good news!! Cayman's shunt is working!!

"Thank You God!!"

5 Shunt surgeries within 3 1/2 months. That's a lot!! Too much! Cayman says "Enough is enough!"

The Neurosurgeon dialed her shunt down one point (1.0). He would like to see more fluid drain. He removed all her bandages too. I did not expect her incision on her head to be so large!! Poor thing really looks butchered. She's doing very well though. She was smiling and "talking" while we were at the doctor's office.