Updates

Let's see if I can catch up a little here...
Mark
Mark is now the big boy. He's really starting to hit some big milestones. I was starting to wonder if he was ever going to go mobile.He wouldn't stand on his legs, and he would get angry when you put him on his knees. He would roll around a bit, and I was impressed with how quickly he could get around by spinning around on his behind.  But for the most part, he was perfectly content to be carted around. However, it has been getting harder and harder for mommy to carry him. Then about a month ago, he started getting frustrated that he couldn't get around and go where he wanted to. And then about two weeks ago, he just decided to crawl. He didn't really practice a lot; he just started to crawl one afternoon. Now he is all over the place. I am constantly trying to childproof the house, but then I've got the anti-childproofer, Sam, who is constantly leaving little things like pennies where Mark can get them (despite our many discussions on the matter). I'm not sure how well the house is going to hold up. I couldn't keep up with Hurricane Sam, and now I have Tornado Mark as well. Mark is just as talented as his brother at destroying a clean room. I am outnumbered, so if you should come by my house don't worry if it takes me a minute to get to the door...I just have to unbury myself from the chaos!

I don't know if I ever mentioned that Mark ended up getting a shunt last December. It was something that we were trying to avoid, but the swelling on his brain kept increasing, so it had to be done. And I have to say, that it has made all the difference. Basically the shunt is a tube that runs from the ventricles between his brain halves down into his stomach cavity and drains extra fluid from the head into the stomach where it's just absorbed by the body. While he may not need it for his entire life, it's something that he will probably have for the rest of his life. It's just easier to leave it in, and there's extra coils of tube in his stomach that should supposedly unroll as he grows. Isn't medical technology incredible!? Mark has a little bump on top of his head, but for the most part, you would never know he has the shunt. It was night and day when he got the shunt. He immediately became more interactive and he started putting on weight and looking so much more healthy.

Now he only has to do his regular pediatrician visits and see his neuro-surgeon once a year. His neurologist was so impressed that she said we don't have to come back unless there are any problems. We also have an early intervention specialist, Melinda, who comes to the house once a month to work with Mark. She helps us monitor his progress and helps us to set goals for him. For example, last month our goal was to work on getting Mark used to being on his knees. She was so impressed when she came this past week to see him crawling all around. Mark loves to show off for her too! The doctors told us that the brain is a complicated thing, and we may never see any issues from Mark's early struggles or something may pop up one day. You just never know. But for now, Mark is perfectly normal. He's a smart kid, full of personality, and very interactive. In fact, I think he's going to really give us a run for our money! He's cute, and he knows it.

Mark doesn't talk much yet. He says "dadda" (he's a total daddy's boy) and "uh-oh" and just this week he's started doing the sign for more. But he loves to make sounds and interact with people. He loves to make silly sounds. And he's always watching his big brother and trying to copy him. That could be trouble! =)

Sam
Sam is almost three and such a smart cookie. He knows his alphabet and can count to twenty. He is a mini-Nic in so many ways. Not only does he look like daddy, but he seems to be mechanically inclined and loves numbers just like his dad. He loves to take things apart to see how they work and is so curious about everything which sometimes/often gets him in trouble. But it's fun to discover the wonder of the world with him.

Sam is a very verbal child. You have to watch what you say around him. Luckily, he hasn't picked up some of daddy's vocab, but does say things like, "heck yeah!" and "time out! Two minutes!" from mom. We have a list of 'yucky' words like "stupid", "hate", "go away", and "oh my gosh". Sam has tasted soap once for continually using yucky words despite warnings. Now he lectures others when they use yucky words. He's gotten after Grandma M and Aunt Holly for saying "oh my gosh" and has threatened them with time out and soap.

He's also a technology junky. He knows how to work the iPhone better than most adults. He can get on the iPhone and on the TV, find Netflix, find the show he wants to watch, and then watch it. He has a bunch of educational games on the iPhone that he likes to play, and if you aren't careful, he knows how to get more games. I just learned that he got on my sister's phone and bought $6.00 worth of apps. My iPhone used to have a picture of Mark on the sleep screen and a picture of Sam on the home screen. Well, Sam got on there and changed it so there's now two pictures of him.

A funny story, over labor day weekend, my parents went on a vacation with my aunt and uncle to Mt. Rushmore. Well, early Sunday morning, a little before 7 a.m., I was taking a shower when Sam came into the bathroom and told me that he called grandma and grandpa. Sure enough, he had my cellphone and was talking to grandpa. He called my parents all on his own and woke them up. He told them I was in the shower and even let them talk to Mark who was still in his crib, supposedly sleeping. It was their favorite wake up call ever!

One of my favorite things is to spy on Sam when he's playing or during what I call his "bath confessional". Sometimes when he's taking a bath, he'll act out the entire day with his toys. I get to find out things I didn't know he did that day and I get to hear what I sound like all day. It's quite interesting some days! Sam is very imaginative and likes to come up with stories. He'll take characters and story ideas from his favorite TV shows and combine these things with his life. He loves role play. He'll tell me, "I'm mom. You're Sam." And then proceed to act the part. It's super cute.

Sam can be a real stinker with his trouble making and tantrums, but he's also such a sweet kid. He gives plenty of hugs and kisses, and my favorite thing is that he tells us that he loves us now. The other day, I wasn't feeling well and was lying in bed crying. Sam crawled up onto my bed and hugged me. He kept patting my head and saying, "Don't cry, mommy. It's okay. I'm right here. I love you." He's such a tender heart!

The rest of us
Nic is doing well, though he's extremely busy. From work to church to trying to take care of us,I don't think the poor guy gets much sleep. We're still trying to find that perfect balance with everything. I think Nic feels guilty about the time he spends away from the family, but he works really hard to be with us as much as he can. He's been coming home at lunch time lately whenever he can get away to help me with the boys and spend some time with us. I love that Nic is a dad that interacts with his boys. He plays with them, reads stories with them, talks with them. As his dad said the other day, "For all the time he spent saying he didn't want kids, he sure loves those kids. He's a good dad." 

I have about four more weeks left of this pregnancy, and, honestly, I'm just in survival mode. I haven't really been sick or anything, but this pregnancy has kicked my tooshy. A big factor, is that my body wasn't fully recovered from my last pregnancy (Mark and the baby will be barely 14 months apart). I am constantly exhausted. I can't really stand for much longer than 10-15 minutes without getting dizzy and sick. I'm also a lot bigger with this one than my other two pregnancies. I've gained twenty pounds so far which I know isn't much, but is double what I gained with my other pregnancies, and I'm about 3 centimeters bigger. It's not a huge difference, but it feels like a lot on an already tired body. I feel bad that I'm not as active with the boys right now, but I keep telling myself that it's just a short moment in the scheme of things and that the boys are doing okay. I'm lucky to have two boys that can play on their own and keep themselves entertained while mommy rests. I also feel bad because I feel like I'm more whiny these days, and I don't mean to be. I am truly blessed to have this new miracle coming into my life. Some one pointed out the other day that we're getting our invitro paid back now because we're having our third baby and we did three rounds of invitro. Maybe. All I know is that in the past three years, I've gone from wondering if I could ever have children to being the mother of three little ones (soon). And I know that there are so many out there struggling to have babies. It's all in the Lord's timing. We just have to trust in Him, whether it's infertility or surviving three boys under three or whatever it might be. And I'm slowly learning to leave the hard stuff to Him, and to just enjoy what life gives me.

So that's about it. We've had a fun summer filled with adventures. There are so many stories to tell, but it's so hard to find the time and energy to record it all. As usual, I will try to do better! It very likely, however, that the next time you hear from me will be to report the arrival of little Pumpkin.

Happy Birthday, Mark-o Polo!

Today my baby is officially one year old. It has been an adventurous and amazing year so far, and it only gets better each day. I love this little guy! He's such a character and a perfect part of our eternal family.
 Here's a look back over the past wonderful year with my sweet angel, Mark.

August 2011

 September 2011

 October 2011

 November 2011

 December 2011

 January 2012

 February 2012

 March 2012

 April 2012

 May 2012

 June 2012

July 2012

August 2012

Some call it a miracle--Riverton High School calls it a Silver Rush

The air was charged with excitement at Riverton High School on Dec. 23 as students entered the gym for their Silver Rush closing assembly.
Riverton High’s Silver Rush began 12 years ago as a sub-4-Santa charity drive and has grown in leaps and bounds since. Each year, for three weeks in December, the student body officers decide on a charity and then the entire school and community work to raise money for that charity.
This year’s Silver Rush kicked off on Dec. 1 with a special assembly and a community meeting that evening. Since then, the students had been working hard, along with the community, to raise money for the Christmas Box House. Now the students were waiting anxiously to see if their hard work had paid off.
When the banner with the total amount of money raised was unfurled, there was a collective gasp.
Raising a total of $107,167.12, the students had set an all-time Silver Rush record. Including this year’s amount, Riverton High has earned over $717,000 over the past12 years for various charities.
It’s a staggering number, but students and faculty at the school are always quick to point out their motto: “It’s not about the dollar; it’s about the change.”
As soon as the amount earned was revealed, the students flooded onto the gym floor where one of the student body officers led them in an impromptu singing of the Riverton High fight song. Emotions were high, and the tears and hugging continued long after school was dismissed.
For the the three-week long Silver Rush, students did lunchtime activities, concerts and performances, door-to-door odd jobs for donations, a food drive, a toy drive, a camp out, and much more to help children at the Christmas Box House. Some students worked temporary jobs and donated their earnings. All around the school, students woreT-shirts and sweaters bearing a quote from Gandhi: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
Richard Paul Evans, author of the book “The Christmas Box” and one of the founders of the organization, in his speech to the school, quoted one of the student body officers as saying: “I’m so tired, but what will I do now?”
Evans began his speech by describing a 7-year-old girl who had won a watch that she had really wanted through a contest on Evans’ website. The girl was excited to win the watch, but when she discovered that one of the other participants in the contest was a boy with spina bifida, she contacted Evans and requested that the watch be given to the boy instead.
“How do you get that into a kid?” Evans asked the audience. He then commended Riverton High by saying that that was the kind of people in their school.
“What makes the difference? What makes you different from other schools? You get the concept of respect,” Evans said.
He commended the administration, teachers, parents, and families of the students for teaching these students to have respect for themselves and others.
“Every dime will be used to help as many kids as much as possible,” Evans said.
During the assembly, the winner of the Battle of the Bands contest that was held during Silver Rush, Lampton View, performed a song that they had written for Silver Rush.
Colton Gibson, along with the other band members, Zach Swan, Jordan Higgins, Carlin Smart, and Cory Gunn, wrote the song in an effort to inspire people to donate. The words of the song seemed to capture the feelings of the student body: “It’s a silver rush of charity/This is where I really want to be/A rush of kindness/This is where I really want to be.”
At least 17 local businesses contributed to their efforts. Artic Circle sold a Silver Rush shake and donated a portion from the shakes sold. A spokesperson from Artic Circle told the students at the assembly that the restaurant definitely wants to do it again next year.
Riverton High students really focused on involving the community in their efforts this year. Drew Hunt, a student body officer, described seeing how the school and community had come together as “humbling” and “amazing.”
“Silver Rush has become something that is part of our community, and we’re just trying to hold onto the reins,” Principal Brad Sorensen said.
Sorensen also told the students that Silver Rush isn’t something that ends when they graduate.
“You’ll always be a Silver Wolf. Your contributions and efforts don’t stop just because you graduate,” he said.
Student Body President George Alexander echoed these sentiments when he addressed the student body. “Silver Rush makes us who we are. Continue to be the change—we can change the world.”
Lisa McDonald, a representative for the Christmas Box House, thanked the students for their efforts.
“It goes beyond the funds. You have engaged us. The staff, the kids, the teenagers ... all month long we were aware of what Riverton High School was doing for us ... Because of you guys, these kids will have somewhere to be. They will have a childhood,” she said.

Riverton High students offer hope

Riverton High School’s Hope Squad held its annual Hope Week Jan. 23-27.
During the 2005-2006 school year, two students at Riverton High School took their own lives. At the beginning of the next school year, another student committed suicide. In answer to this, the school developed the Hope Squad.
The Hope Squad held daily lunch activities during Hope Week to encourage a positive atmosphere in the school. They also had a special assembly where songwriter and motivational speaker, Michael McLean, performed.
McLean told the students that he wanted to share the background music of his life and some of his experiences.
 “My whole life I have struggled. I have been clinically depressed for 40 years. It would have helped me to have a Hope Squad,” he said.
Through music and word, McLean encouraged the students to hold on through hard times and to not be afraid to seek help.
“When you’re in the middle of it, it’s hard to see when it’s time to reach out. It’s okay to get help...You never know when things are going to get better,” he said.
Hope Week culminated on a Saturday morning, Jan. 28, with the annual Hope Walk, a walk from Riverton High School to City Hall.
“This is a walk where we remember, when we keep hope alive in our hearts,” Janeen McMillan, school counselor, said to the group of about 75 dedicated students gathered for the walk.
“We always do [the walk] in January because it tends to be a dark month for people. We put on some color and give people hope,” McMillan said.
The Riverton Parks and Recreation Department works with the Hope Squad each year to help with Hope Week and the Hope Walk. Last year, they donated yellow scarves; this year, yellow gloves for all those participating. They also provided donuts and hot chocolate at the end of the walk.
The Unified Police Department also participated and helped to keep participants safe.
“This is a wonderful, wonderful event. This is a bunch of good kids doing something wonderful for each other,” Chief Rod Norton said.
“It warms my heart. It’s not just the Hope Squad; it’s a community effort,” McMillan said.
Mayor Bill Applegarth spoke to the group at the end of their walk.
“The desire these students have to help each other is commendable. On a very cold Saturday morning, to see this many students walk in a commitment to their fellow students, is tremendous,” he said.
“It has been super amazing. We walk for those who have passed away at our school and for their families. We walk with a purpose,” Summer Bailes, a member of the Hope Squad, said.
The Hope Squad is a student-based program adapted from a similar program in the Provo School District. With the Hope Squad, students are actively involved in helping their peers find hope amidst struggles and to see positive alternatives to destructive personal behavior.
Each year, students, teachers and counselors at Riverton High have the opportunity to nominate cheerful and upbeat individuals who they would feel comfortable turning to in time of need. Applications are distributed and members are chosen from this list of students.
Each Hope Squad member is required to take a pledge and complete a training session directed by the school psychologist and school counselors. The program currently has 80 members.
Parker Young, a member of the Hope Squad and a class officer, described an experience he had while doing door-to-door odd jobs as part of the Silver Rush.
“At this one house, this lady was so excited to see us. The first thing she asked us was if any of us were on the Hope Squad. Then she broke down and thanked us. She had lost a daughter eight years ago, but the Hope Squad helped to save her son,” Parker said.
“I feel like we really are saving lives,” another member of the Hope Squad, Sierra Samowitz, said.

High school senior shows you’re never too young to beat cancer

There’s a less than 0.01percent probability of getting breast cancer as a teenager. In fact, most breast cancer statistics don’t even show ages younger than 20 because the numbers are almost non-existent. But Morgan Watson, a senior at Herriman High School, knows what it’s like to go against the odds.
In August 2010, when she was 15 years old, she discovered a lump the size of a quarter on one of her breasts. Her mom immediately took her to a doctor. Usually a lump in a teenage girl’s breast is something minor, such as a swollen gland or a cyst. But for Morgan, it was the beginning of a very long and difficult battle.
Morgan was diagnosed with Stage III Triple Negative Medullary Breast Cancer, a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. Over the next year, she had to squeeze in normal teenage events such as driver’s education and prom between chemotherapy, doctors’ appointments, surgeries and radiation.
Morgan began her first round of chemotherapy two days before her 16th birthday. She then went through six rounds of chemo, three weeks apart. After the chemotherapy, Morgan opted to have a double mastectomy, because she had been diagnosed with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, a condition that affects the body’s cancer-fighting genes.
With Li-Fraumeni, only one copy of the cancer-fighting genes is working, so there is a small chance of Morgan getting cancer again in a different place.
On Jan. 17, 2011, three days after the surgery, Morgan received the news that she was now cancer-free. It was a huge victory for Morgan, but she still had a way to go.
After the mastectomy, she began radiation treatments, doing five weeks of treatments, every day Monday through Friday. Three months later, Morgan had reconstructive surgery.
Throughout it all, Morgan has been strengthened by the support of her family and friends. Cards, gifts, phone calls, texts, notes and meals poured in during the hard times. Neighbors decorated Morgan’s yard and the neighborhood with pink ribbons and planted pink tulips in their yards to show support.
During her junior year, Morgan was attending Riverton High School and would often be greeted when she came to school by posters showing support for her. One time, the entire football team and their coach came to her first period class and sang the school’s fight song to her. On the days when she had to start her chemotherapy, the students at her school would wear pink to show their support.
After finishing her radiation treatments, Morgan’s family took a much-needed vacation in Mexico. Mom Jana Pendleton remembered looking at her daughter sitting by the pool, along with other teenage girls, and thinking, “You would never know just looking at her, all that she has been through. She looks like a normal teenage girl.”
But ‘normal’ isn’t really the best word to describe Morgan. ‘Spunky’, ‘brave’ and ‘strong’ are the words her friends and family use to describe her. Health-wise, Morgan will never be the same. There will probably always be some scars and leftover pain, and she will always need to be vigilant in taking care of herself. But more than the physical changes, Morgan is a different person. She is a stronger, better person.
“If I could go back, I would still choose to go through it. I am a stronger person. Life has more meaning. I can touch so many more lives now. It has been such a blessing,” she said.
“Everyone has a mom, a sister, a friend...someone who has faced cancer,” Jana Pendleton said. Morgan and her mom hope that they can use their experiences to help people through these experiences and to encourage breast cancer awareness for all ages.
Morgan is currently working with the Susan G. Komen foundation to increase breast cancer awareness among her peers. She hopes to take her message to local high schools.
As she wrote in a letter sent to all the high schools in Utah, “Breast cancer is known as an ‘old woman's’ disease. I want to send this message with the great people of Susan G. Komen for the Cure to alert and notify the public that it is far from it. This disease can affect anyone; daughters, mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmas, even men. I hold myself personally responsible to spread breast cancer awareness among young people and educate them about checking themselves.”
And while it is very rare to face breast cancer as a teenager, Morgan hopes to encourage other teenagers in whatever trial they may be facing.
“The teen years are hard, but don’t give up on things. Value your experiences—they make you who you are,” she said.

Bingham High prom king and his court stand together with big hearts

When Hayden Nickel was announced as prom king at Bingham High School’s prom this year, it was a crowning moment, not only for Hayden, but for the entire school.

The minute Hayden’s name was announced the entire crowd erupted in cheers for everyone’s friend, a classmate with Down Syndrome.

“It was a really cool experience seeing Hayden up there with his excited face. Everyone was so excited...Hayden has the most school spirit. He’s the best prom king we could have ever picked,” Kayla Huff, a fellow Miner, said.

“Hayden won by a landslide. It wasn’t a sympathy vote. People really wanted him to win because of who he is,” Jayson Isbell, one of the school’s special needs aides, said.

As it is for many juniors, it was a night to remember for Hayden. He and his date Courtney Baggett, met with other special needs students and their dates at the school and traveled together to Madeline’s for dinner and then to the Capitol for the prom.

Some of Hayden’s favorite moments were when everyone was chanting his name, being carried around the Capitol on his classmates’ shoulders, and, of course, dancing with his really good friend and prom queen, Mattie Watts.

Christy Nickel, Hayden’s mom, said that Hayden’s older sister and brother, who graduated from Bingham High in 2006 and 2008, predicted this would happen.

“They knew this or something like this would happen for Hayden because Bingham High is such a wonderful school,” she said.

 “Last year when Hayden was a sophomore, there were student body officers and cheerleaders that took him under their wing and led the way for everybody to be Hayden’s friends. It has just snowballed, and everybody has followed each other’s good examples,” Nickel said.

At Bingham High, students have the opportunity to participate in an elective class called peer tutoring in which they get to work with special needs students.

“As a mom, it touches my heart to see how everyone accepts Hayden for who he is. When we moved here about nine years ago, we were told how great the peer-tutoring program is. To see these kids work so close and become Hayden’s friends, real friends, is amazing. I wish all schools had this program and could learn from it,” Nickel said.

“Hayden teaches people to see each other for who they are. He doesn’t see religion, ethnicity or differences. Hayden sees people, and he teaches others to do the same. Hayden has united our student body,” Jared Denslow, Hayden’s teacher, said.

Hayden not only has many good friends at school, he is a good friend to everyone around him.

“He’s just a good friend. We all try to befriend him, but he’s the one who reaches out. He comes to support us in whatever we’re doing,” said one classmate, Anthony VanDongen.

Kayla Huff recounted how after a performance of the school play in which she had a leading role, Hayden rushed onto the stage to present her with flowers. His mom said it was all Hayden’s idea.

It isn’t uncommon to see Hayden at high school events cheering on his classmates. Last year, Hayden joined the swim team and has been there at every meet.

“He’s always wanting to know when our next meet is. And when we’re swimming, he’s always on deck yelling and screaming for all of the swimmers,” Shane Callihan, fellow classmate and top backstroke swimmer, said.

“He’s hung out with us so long, he’s just one of the guys. He’s touched my life. You come to school, and he’ll scream your name and make you feel good no matter what,” Tyler Winkelkotter, a senior, said.

“Hayden is Bingham’s number one fan. Whenever I see Hayden, it just makes my day,” Garrett Kordsiemon, a member of the soccer team, said.

Mike Nickel, Hayden’s dad, wishes he had enough money to take the school to dinner or do something to express his gratitude to the students at Bingham High School for all that they do for his son. From the football team buying all of special needs students Bingham hoodies last year to the friends who always just drop by to hang out with Hayden to Hayden’s being crowned prom king, Nickel feels that everyone benefits, especially Hayden.

“For me, it’s all about the students who include Hayden in everything; how they treat the whole special needs class. I just want to give a big thank you to all of the students at Bingham High,” he said.

The Herriman hero

Lynn Allred says anyone would have done the same, but his recent actions saved a woman’s life.

On Feb. 6, Allred, a vice-principal at Herriman High School, had just left work and was heading to the local credit union to turn over a Dodge Durango to its new owner.When he came to the intersection of 13000 South and 5500 West, he noticed the Honda Accord in front of him appeared to be stalled.

“I was getting ready to jump out and go help push the car,” Allred said, but then he noticed the driver was moving around in a strange way.

Allred realized that something was wrong with the driver, and then the other driver hit the gas. “She was driving through construction cones and barricades, so I hurried and punched the gas to pull up alongside her.”

When Allred looked inside the car, he could see that the woman driving the car was having some sort of medical episode. He also noticed that her car was heading straight toward a tractor with a digging bucket that was at the same level as the car’s windshield. The car was going about 25 to 30 mph at this point.

“I didn’t really have time to think about it. I just knew that if she hit that bucket, it would probably kill her,” Allred said.

Allred took action. He pulled in front of the car and hit his brakes to allow the car to bump into the back of his Durango a few times to slow it down. Allred then swerved out of the way at the last minute to avoid hitting the bucket himself. The car slowed down and rolled into the backside of the tractor at about 5 mph.

Allred immediately jumped out of his vehicle and tried to get into the other car to help the driver. The other driver, 25-year-old Shareena Knight, was conscious but unaware of what happened or was happening. An ambulance soon arrived and emergency crews were able to break into Knight’s car and take her to the hospital.

Knight had a massive stroke two years ago and had to relearn basic skills many of us take for granted. She was doing well prior to the accident.

Two days after the accident, Knight’s mother, EvaSue Taylor, sent Allred an email thanking him for his actions. Allred said that the email was wonderful and really touched his heart.

A week later, Knight came to Herriman High School with her husband and 3--year-old daughter to thank Allred. Unfortunately, Allred didn’t get to meet her at that time.

Knight left a gift basket and a card thanking him “for helping [her] be around to be a mother on earth a little longer.

“I’ve been hoping to see her again ever since the accident just to know she’s okay,” Allred said.

Allred is quick to point out how good the school and community have been to him following the accident.

“I wasn’t asking for anything, I’m just grateful she’s okay, but a lot of great things have happened since,” he said.

On March 13, Jordan School District Superintendent Patrice Johnson came to the school and presented Allred with a certificate recognizing his heroic actions. The teachers gave him a standing ovation.

Students like to call him ‘The Herriman Hero’ and keep telling him things like, “I can’t believe you did something like that.”

Also, Superior Auto Parts in Riverton fixed the Durango, and when they heard that Allred’s insurance wouldn’t pay for a rental car, they even covered the cost.

After the accident, the original buyer was no longer interested in the Durango, but a teacher at the high school ended up buying the vehicle.

“Herriman is a great area. Everyone has been so kind to me,” Allred said. “It’s great to see all the good things people do.”

“Anybody would have done the same,” Allred said, speaking of his actions that Feb. afternoon, but he also acknowledges, “I was there for a reason.”

The mighty journalist

About nine months ago, I adventured out and got a job as a journalist for a local newspaper called the South Valley Journal. The South Valley Journal covers four cities and is delivered to every home for free each month. In case you're wondering, as I was, they pay for publication through advertising.

I have covered the education beat for the newspaper. I have really enjoyed writing for the newspaper. I have to admit, that while I love to write and although I taught journalism for a couple of years, I really had no idea what I was doing at first. It took a big learning curve for me, and I'm really grateful for a patient editor. I realize that I've always been more into creative writing. I love telling stories. Writing in the newspaper genre is completely different than what I'm used to. If I were to go back to teaching journalism again, I would do a lot of things differently, now that I've had some real experience in the field. But I do feel like I improved over the months. I'm proud to say that I started our writing three to four articles a month and now average six to seven articles each month. And I have had so many priceless learning experiences and have had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people. It was wonderful for me to still have a connection to the education world, and it was my job to really spotlight the amazing things going on in the education world. And believe me, there are some AMAZING things going on! I have been touched and inspired many times by what the children and teachers are doing in our schools.

Here are some of the things I've learned from this experience:
1. I can do hard things. It was very intimidating to me at first to write in a different way and to go out to schools and be assertive. So often I want to fall back into my shy shell, but this job has really pushed me and taught me to talk to people. I've realized that I really can do challenging things if I set my mind to it.
2. I've learned that there really are wonderful things going on in this world, we just have to keep our eyes open for the good in life and not always get bogged down by the bad.
3. I am still a procrastinator. It seems I receive my best inspiration when my articles are due in two hours! =) When I was teaching, I remember getting frustrated with students who waited until the last minute to get their assignments done, but I'm realizing that, sometimes, that's okay. We just need to be patient with people and realize that we all have our own way of doing things. And while I might be a procrastinator, I'm still dependable. Sometimes the kids would be running around in just their diapers, eating cereal out of a box and watching reruns of Barney as I hurriedly wrote my articles last minute, but I really worked hard to get my articles done by deadline. I also have learned that deadlines are my kryptonite!
4. I love being involved. I like the idea of making a difference. And I truly believe that the written word can make a difference. I also believe that the media has a greater responsibility to promote good in the world than it realizes.
5. I really, really do love writing. It has been so good for me to be forced to write more often. I definitely need to make goals to write every day. Life is just better when I'm writing!
6. My husband is a very talented headline writer. For some reason, I really struggled with writing headlines. Nic probably doesn't want me to announce this to the world, but he's got a way with words and many of the really good headlines were written by him!

So, as I'm approaching a new chapter in my life--having three kids under the age of three--which I've entitled 'Insanity'. I've decided that I just won't be able to write for the newspaper anymore. This is my last month. In fact, tomorrow is my last deadline, and of course, I have four of my six articles to write still. I'm sad to not being doing this anymore but happy for the experience. I feel like I've really grown from this experience. I have a lot more confidence in myself and am excited to try new things like this through out my life.  In honor of my journalism 'retirement' I'm just going to post a few of my favorite articles in the next few posts. Please take note, that these aren't my favorite articles because of the amazing writing skill demonstrated (often it's quite the opposite!), but because of the inspiring people I met in writing the articles and the good changes they brought to my life.

Operation Bishopric

I realize that I have really been slacking on updating my blog. So much has happened and the boys are constantly doing cute things that I'm afraid might get forgotten because I haven't taken the time to write them down. I must do better! Currently, by some miracle, both boys have finally settled down to take a nap, so I had better take advantage of this time and catch up as much as I can.

Well, as noted by the title of this post, one of the biggest changes right now is that Nic was called into our ward's bishopric. For those not familiar with the LDS church, I would describe the bishop of a ward as the father of the ward. He is in charge of the spiritual and temporal welfare of all members of the ward. He has two counselors to support him in this calling, and  I see these counselors as kind of older brothers who help take care of the family. Nic is now the first counselor in the bishopric.

Two weeks ago, before church, Nic received a call from the stake presidency asking if we could come meet with them after church. We weren't really anticipating a calling into the bishopric at that time. Nic had been serving as Elder's Quorum president for over six years, so we were thinking maybe he was just being released. Then at church, the bishop announced at the end of sacrament meeting that the next week we would be having a homecoming and a farewell--we would be hearing a homecoming address from a sister who had just returned from serving a mission in Russia, and we would be hearing the farewell address from the bishopric because they were being released. Suddenly, Nic was starting to sweat bullets. Still, he thought maybe they were releasing him to fill a spot left empty by someone else being called into the bishopric.

After church, we loaded up the boys and headed over to the stake center to meet with the stake presidency. The stake president met with Nic for a couple of minutes and then we all met together, and they extended the calling. They offered us some wonderful counsel and told us that they were aware of our needs having a young family.

After that, we had to keep it all a secret until it would be announced the next Sunday. It didn't make it any easier that I think we ran into the entire ward randomly through out the week, and everyone was speculating who might be in the bishopric. We were able to tell our family, however, and invite them to church the next Sunday.

On July 15, Nic was officially called and set apart as a member of the bishopric. It was a wonderful, overwhelming day. Our old bishop, Bishop Spencer, and new bishop, Bishop Messmer, both spoke. The love that a bishop has for every member of his ward is just so amazing. Bishop Messmer had just retired from his employment a few days before he was called as bishop. He joked that while many friends were wondering what he was going to be doing with all of his free time now that he was retired and many were encouraging him to let his hair down and take a long vacation, his plans were now a little different and his first thing to do with his retirement was to attend young women's camp. He also expressed his love, his testimony, and commitment to serving the ward. His words really touched my heart, and I really felt the spirit that this man had been called of God to lead and direct us.

Every day since then, it has been slowly sinking in just what this is going to entail. Nic has had meetings or church responsibilities pretty much every day this week. I'm realizing that 1-I'm not going to see a whole lot of him now and 2-this is how it's going to be for quite some years.  I have been really touched by how many people have come to me and offered their help. We have quite the list of people ready and willing to sit by us at church and help me wrangle the boys. I'm going to need it! Sam used to be really good at church, but he's really taking this toddler thing seriously and is Mr. Wiggles these days. Actually, a more accurate description is that he's my little pin ball. He is often just bouncing off of the walls. He's still a good kid--just high energy! People have also offered to help me take care of the boys during the week as needed. Miss Lavon, who has taken care of the boys for me when I went to my newspaper staff meetings all year, has offered to be our 'Granny Nanny' and help in whatever we need. It has been good to be the recipient of such an outpouring of love and support.

When Nic was set apart, I felt the spirit strongly that this is exactly where the Lord needs him. I might be prejudice, but Nic is such a good man. His genuine love and acceptance of all people and his willingness to roll up his sleeves and work, are two of his best qualities that will really bless the lives of people. He's not perfect, but he has a great love for the Lord and an honest desire to do what is right. I cry as I write this because I'm realizing how truly blessed I am to be married to a man like Nic.

This is going to be a new adventure for our family with many ups and downs. But above all, I know that the Lord is aware of our family and will bless us abundantly through this new calling. And, hey, we've already had our first miracle: I had the boys loaded up by 8:30 a.m., and we made it to church by quarter to nine. Usually, if we make it by the sacrament, I'm feeling pretty good about things. My first Sunday of getting everyone ready on my own, and we made it ON TIME! Nothing short of a miracle! =)

A post for my Lover Man

This is a post from a few months ago that, for some reason or other, I never published:

With the recent Valentine's day and having celebrated our wedding anniversary at the end of January, I've had love on my mind. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my husband? I know for a fact that I found my soul mate. I know that Nic and I were best friends long before we ever met or before we ever came to this world. Some relationships, the important ones, have no beginning and no end. How happy I am to have a forever love with Nic.

During the past year we've had a couple of people that we know well get divorced. The first couple was married for about five or six years. We were there on their first date. We used to do double dates every once in awhile. I was so sad when I found out. There was no big event that broke up their marriage. They just drifted apart. The second couple was only married a couple of years. Again, there was no big event, no major issue. As Nic told me, "their goals in life were going in different directions."

I guess I've always thought that divorce was caused by some major event such as an affair or some conflict that is impossible to overcome. But I'm realizing more and more that it's usually the little things that make a difference. And I'm realizing more and more how many little things Nic does every day to keep us going in the same direction.

I love how much Nic hates going out of town. He has to travel for work quite a bit sometimes, but he never looks forward to it. I know of too many people who are constantly trying to get away from their spouse. I love that Nic is constantly thinking of excuses to be with me.

I love how Nic shares his interests and dreams with me, and listens when I share my dreams and interests with him. He is the foundation to my dreams and one of my greatest dreams come true.

I love how Nic expresses his love for me in so many different ways every day. I don't ever doubt his love for me.

I love how happy Nic is to be a father. He wasn't too sure about the whole thing before we had Sam, but the minute that little boy was born, Nic's heart was changed. He loves his boys and wouldn't change a thing.

Have I mentioned how much I love that guy?!

 

So, sweetheart, Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Anniversary. Thank you for being the best husband ever.

An announcement

Mark's Miracle at Primary Children's Hospital

**Warning this post is extremely long, and some things are still rough for me to read about, so it might be a little rough reading for you also!

I've had mixed feelings about doing a recap of Mark's scary time/miraculous moments at Primary Children's Hospital. Part of me would like to forget about all of it. But the better part of me realizes that, despite of how hard this has all been, we have been so blessed, and I want a record to always remember those blessings. So here is Mark's story. Most of this is from a notebook that I wrote in while we were at the hospital. I've also included the update emails that Nic would send out each day.

Sun., September 4, 2011
It was just a normal day. The night before I had been debating whether or not to take Mark to church. I was feeling good and he was doing really good. But I decided to give him at least one more week before exposing him to all of the germs that float around with any large gathering of people. Saturday night, Mark had slept longer through the night than ever before, giving me almost seven hours of sleep. He had always been a sleepy baby, but this was an added bonus.
Sunday morning we mainly lounged around all morning. Nic had a meeting before church, so I got Sam ready for church and then the two of them headed off to church together. I gave Mark a sponge bath and trimmed his finger nails. Around 1 p.m., Mark nursed the best that he has ever done. Then, while he was napping, I took a much needed shower. After that, I started getting out my pump and bottle supplies because I was planning on trying to introduce Mark to the bottle later that day.

Mark started to fuss a little, so I picked him up and rocked him in my arms a little until he fell back asleep. Then I decided to throw in a load of laundry. When I came back into the bedroom, Mark's eyes were open, but his head was kinked back in a weird way. At first I thought he had wiggled into a weird position and gotten stuck that way. I said something like, "What are you doing, silly boy?" and then I tried to straighten him out. But his body was completely rigid and then I noticed that his eyes were bulging and seemed to be stuck looking outward in opposite directions. His left side was the most affected. I didn't know what was happening or what to do. I didn't know if this was some little baby quirk or what. But deep down I knew that something was wrong. It was the worst feeling in the world. I felt so scared and powerless. First, I tried to call the pediatrician's office because they have an on-call pediatrician. But I couldn't focus on the message enough to get the information that I needed. I needed to talk to a real-live person. I had the phone number for Alta View (where I had Mark), sitting right there on my bed, so I called them. The nurse that I talked to told me that she couldn't make a diagnosis over the phone but judging from the concern in my voice (I was bawling at this point), she recommended I bring him into the ER.

So then I called Nic at church. I knew he had his phone on him, and I was just praying that he would answer. He didn't answer at first, so I texted him, and then called him again. All of these calls were within a five minute time frame. Luckily, Nic had been visiting with the bishop, so he noticed my call. He answered the second time and I managed to tell him that something was wrong with the baby and that I needed him to come home right then. He hurried and got Sam from nursery and came home. Meanwhile, I got Mark into his car seat somehow, grabbed our insurance information and the diaper bag, put Gus away, and, at the last minute, thought to put my shoes on. It seemed like forever waiting for Nic to get there, though it was less than ten minutes. I didn't know what was happening but I did know that something was seriously wrong with my baby. He wasn't making any sounds, but continued to be completely rigid, his head arched at a terrible angle, and his eyes wide and in different directions. I would learn later that this was a seizure. He was in this seizure the entire time until we got to the hospital and they gave him some drugs. Just before Nic got home, I called him again to see how close he was and to see if maybe I should call 911. Nic hurried even faster and as soon as he pulled up, we loaded the baby into the car and headed to the hospital. I sat in the back seat between the two car seats. I felt bad for Sam because he was excitedly trying to show me his picture of Jesus that he did in nursery, and I was trying not to be hysterical in front of him while I tried to assess if the baby was still breathing. It was only about a ten minute drive to the hospital, but it seemed like forever. I swear every slow driver in the world was on the road, blocking all lanes. Nic even ran a red light (after making sure there was no one coming in either direction)! On the way, Nic had it together enough to call his parents and have them meet up with us at the hospital. He also called 911 and they patched us over to the hospital, so the ER was ready for us when we pulled up. They actually had us pull right into the ambulance entrance. Nic jumped out and grabbed the baby's car seat and rushed into the ER. I sat there for a couple of seconds, trying to figure out what to do. It felt like my brain was frozen. I wonder if there is something like mental shock where your brain just shuts down? Finally, I was able to think enough to go park the car, get Sam out, and head into the ER. When we came into the ER, there was already a pack of nurses and doctors surrounding Mark. They had also sent for someone from the NICU because they didn't have any equipment small enough for an eleven day old baby. I was quickly losing the battle to hold it together. I felt so powerless. A nurse noticed that I was struggling to hold it together and offered to take Sam for a treat and a stuffed animal. About the time that she took Sam, Nic's parents showed up and were able to take care of him. A doctor pulled us aside and told us that Mark was having seizures. He also told us several possible causes of the seizures, none of which sounded good. He also told us that they were working on stabilizing him and then planned to life flight him to Primary Children's Hospital. At this point, it was really starting to hit me that this was really happening and that this was really serious. Nic and I mostly just tried to stay out of the way and talk to Mark while the hospital staff got in an IV, gave him anti-seizure medicine, and put him on oxygen.

An interesting note, before all of this, we hadn't really decided what we were going to call the baby. We had had a hard time deciding on his name at the hospital, but had finally given him three names: Mark Emmitt Clay. Nic was leaning toward calling him Mark, but I wasn't really going for that because he has two uncles named Mark, and I thought it would be too confusing. I leaning toward Emmitt. Basically, for the first few days of his life, I would call him by a different name, trying to gauge which name sounded right. Well, at the hospital, they asked me what my baby's name was, and without hesitation, I told them 'Mark'. And so it was decided. He goes by Mark now.

One of the nurses, noting Nic in his suit and tie, asked Nic if he was LDS and if he wanted to give Mark a blessing. Nic's dad came in and all of the doctors and nurses kept working on Mark in complete silence while Nic blessed our baby. The blessing brought so much peace to the room. I'm so grateful for the priesthood!

Soon after that, the life flight team arrived. Primary Children's hospital has their own life flight team that is specialized in children emergency care. They were so impressive with how quick and efficient they were. They had this specialized stretcher for babies that they were able to transfer Mark with all of his wires and IV to. Because it was labor day weekend, all of the life flight helicopters were too far out dealing with other emergencies, so they decided it would be faster to take Mark to Primary's by ambulance. For some reason, it was a relief to me that I wouldn't have to watch my baby fly away in a helicopter. It didn't change the serious of the situation really, but I don't think I could have handled the helicopter. I was able to ride in the ambulance with Mark. Nic made sure that Sam was under control, switched vehicles with his parents, and still arrived at the hospital right after we did!

We were rushed into the ER and, again, I was amazed by the skill and efficiency. The doctors and nurses were a fine working team; everyone knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing, and everyone was doing their part. A social worked named Tim immediately arrived to help comfort us and walk us through what was happening. It was crazy how everything came to us--the pharmacy came to the ER with the drugs the doctors ordered, the lady came to us to check us in and get our insurance information so that we wouldn't have to leave the baby. What really impressed me was that, above their skills, the team was so compassionate. Mark was their number one concern, but they still took time to explain things and say, "it's going to be okay." One of my dearest memories was watching this tall, ER doctor put his arm around my husband's shoulders and talk to him. We knew we were in the right place for the best care of our baby.

While we were traveling to Primary's, I had called my family and told them what was happening, and they arrived shortly after us. They gave us hugs and then waited anxiously in the waiting room.

Mark's seizures were under control at that point, so they began blood tests and did a head scan to figure out what was causing the seizures. The head scan immediately answered the question--intraventricular hemorrhaging. Basically, he was bleeding in his brain. Luckily, it was the best kind of bleed. From my understanding, the ventricles are like the brains pipe system through which spinal fluid flows back and forth. Mark's ventricles were full of blood causing pressure on his brain and thus causing the seizures. Now that we knew the cause of the seizures, we needed to get the seizures under control and figure out what was causing the bleeding.

Mark was transferred from the ER to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) around 6:30 p.m. At 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., they do what we began to call the changing of the guard.. During this time, parents have to leave for a half hour so that the nurses can change shifts without any distractions. So as soon as we got to the PICU, we had to leave. We went and found the waiting room where my parents, my sister, and my Uncle Allen and Aunt Suzy were waiting. It was so good to see them. I remember my dad just hugging me and telling me that everything was going to be okay. "Remember that, Jolene. Everything is going to be okay," he told me over and over again.

We were so shell shocked. We had been crying on and off for about six hours and were so tightly would up during that time. It was hard to believe that it was really happening to us. We ate some food and counted down the minutes to when we could get back to Mark. Nic made some calls to his family and his boss, and I made a post on FaceBook. The more we had to say it, the more real the situation became. When we left to go back to Mark, my family headed home. Nanny Manda went to the house to take care of Sam and Gus.

That night, the hospital made arrangements for us to have a room to sleep in. We decided that I would sleep in that room and that Nic would stay with the baby. One really hard memory happened while I was laying down in the room, trying (without success) to sleep. The sleep rooms are connected to the PICU waiting room. On the other side of the wall of my room was a Hispanic family. Now I don't speak a lot of Spanish, but I understood enough and knew from all of the crying that they had just lost someone. And the fact that we were at a children's hospital told me that it was a child. I lay there for quite awhile listening to them mourn. Then I felt really strongly that I should go out and do something. I didn't know what to do. Finally, I went out into the waiting room and hugged them. I told them I was sorry and went back into my room and cried. I felt so sad for them and at the same time, so happy that my baby was alive.

From Nic's email update:

On Sep 5, 2011, at 8:02 AM, Nic wrote:
Ok just a mass email to get everyone up to speed.
Yesterday lil Mark went into a seizure about
3:30pm. By 3:50 we were at Alta View by 5:00 life
flight was taking him to Primary Children's Hospital.
Luckily Papa and Mama J were able to meet us at Alta
View and take Sam.
A CT scan showed he has blood on his brain which is
causing the seizures. Sounds bad but it actually good
that they know what is causing them.  They have been
able to control the seizures with medication.
The body has the ability to absorb the blood with time.
So that is what we are hoping for. His chances of full
recovery are best without any procedures but they have
a list of things they can do if needed. They are watching
him closely.
Grandpa and grandma M met us at primary and made a run to
the house for necessities. We are hanging in there, Joey
and I spent last night with Mark, jolene's sister Amanda is
staying with Sam and Gus.
One day at a time. Keep us in your prayers.
Love,
Nic and Jolene
Email is probably best. We don't have a signal in most of
the hospital. 

Well, that was the first day. Monday, Mark seemed to be doing okay. He was hooked up to monitors, an IV, and who knows what else. We met with many doctors and the hope was that the seizures were under control and that Mark's body would absorb the blood and heal. We were thinking that we would be out of the PICU by the next day.

From Nic's email update:

On Sep 5, 2011, at 9:25 PM, Nic wrote:
Ok thought we would take a second and give an update.
We are still in the PICU at Primary.  Lil Mark has made some progress.
But we still have a ways to go.
He is off the hi flow oxygen and most of the meds. Currently just the meds
that control the seizures.
We are hoping to get out of the PICU and into a regular room in the next
day or two.
Big thanks for all the prayer on his behalf. 

However, Mark had a really bad night Monday night. Nic was with him and said that it was basically a seizure fest, one quick-fire seizure after another. He was originally on a less aggressive seizure med, but they had to put him on a more aggressive medication called phenobarbital. The phenobarb got his seizures under control again but, unfortunately, just the one dose knocked the poor baby out. Basically, Mark slept for the next three days. We did learn many new words from the doctors and nurses for being heavily drugged--everything from 'snowed' to 'ploughed' to 'snockered'. It was good for Mark to be able to rest, but it was really hard on me. The last image I had of my baby being awake was when he was having a seizure and I desperately needed him to look at him with those beautiful, blue eyes of his, in order to get that terrible image out of my mind.

Mark was hooked up to an EEG monitor, along with all of his other monitors, so we weren't able to hold him. We couldn't really even touch him very much because they didn't want him to be overstimulated or exposed to too many germs.

On Tuesday, they did a MRI of his brain and things looked really good. His brain appeared to be a healthy, newborn brain. I like to joke that when Mark is a teenager and wanting to do something stupid, I'm going to tell him, "I've seen your brain, so I know you have one! Now use it!" Unfortunately, with the MRI, my already sleepy baby had to be sedated so that meant a breathing tube along with his feeding tube. And even though I knew that the breathing tube was just in case of problems during the MRI, it was so hard to watch them put that tube down his throat.
We had to warn visitors that came about Mark's appearance. He looked a lot worse than he was. He had his head wrapped in order to keep the EEG wires stuck to his head and then he had a lot of 'hardware' (as Nic put it). And even though we were used to it, it didn't make it any easier! We wanted to put a skull & crossbones sticker to put on his head bandages to make Mark look tough, but, thus, the gift shop didn't carry such things, so we had to settle for an American flag.

One sweet memory--some time during this week, my brother came to visit us. Now, my brother doesn't deal well with this kind of stuff. He never came to the hospital when Sam or Mark was born and wouldn't even hold Sam for the first few months because it just freaked him out. Jason was also preparing for his wedding that week. Imagine how surprised I was when we ran into him out in the hall. He came in and saw Mark and did pretty good with it. I don't think he'll ever understand how much that visit from him meant to me because I know that it wasn't an easy thing for him to do.

From Nic's email update:

On Sep 6, 2011, at 8:03 AM, Nic wrote:

Well it's Tuesday morning. We have had a pretty rough night. The seizures came
back and we had to increase and change the meds.They have him hooked up to a EKG to more closely monitor the seizures and brain activity. It gives us some comfort to stop guessing at the seizures. Sam is with papa and mama j and doing well. He likes country life.The outpouring of love and concern has been amazing. We are so grateful for family and friends. Emails, facebook posts, phone calls, most especially
the prayers. It has definitely given us strength to keep going. You all are the best.As mentioned before no cell phones the PICU so emails are best.

Thanks again for all your love and support,

Nic and Jolene

On Sep 6, 2011, at 11:18 PM, Nic wrote:
Ok Tuesday night update. After a rough last night, today has been a pretty big upswing. They have been able to control the seizures and continue to fine turn the meds. For the most part of the day he has been resting comfortably. He did have an MRI done today which had some pretty positive results.
Despite the blood in the ventricles the MRI showed his brain is healthy without any abnormalities. It also showed that the trauma that caused the bleeding was consistent with labor and shouldn't be a factor going forward. Because of the medications and the MRI he now has a feeding tube and breathing tube in addition to the other wires and tubes. So our next hope is to get this stuff off and back to eating and breathing on his own. I know that sounds bad but most of the extra equipment has been either mandatory
to sedate him for the MRI or as a precaution to increased drugs to control the seizures. He is currently breathing without assistance from the machines, which is awesome, but the tube is there just in case. Sam has been hanging out with papa and mama j and having a great time.
They brought him up again tonight so we could spend time with him. Grandpa and grandma M also came up tonight so it was a nice break to have sam entertain all of us over dinner. Thanks again for all the prayers and kind words. It is funny how they seem to show up at the hard times and help pull us through.

Love,

Nic and Jolene

Wednesday was just a rollercoaster of ups and downs. He would be looking really good, then have some hard times, then be doing better. He had the breathing tube still because he wasn't breathing on his own 10% of the time. He was doing pretty good, but wasn't quite conscious enough to function on his own.

On Sep 7, 2011, at 3:43 PM, Nic wrote:
Ok my Wednesday morning update didn't happen. Sorry.
But on the positive side, we are 24+ hours seizure free. (I am a little nervous about saying anything for fear of jinxing things, but hey why not celebrate the progress). They just removed the EEG sensor leads so he doesn't have the dreadlocks anymore.
Yeah part two!!
Jolene is currently working on getting EEG goop out of his hair. Everyone is getting a kick out of his hair! With the sensor leads wrapped in gauze no one could tell how much hair he had let alone the how blond it is.
I have had a lot of questions about what it is like up here so I thought I would write a min about that.
Primary children's is amazing! There is only 2 hours a day that we can't be by the bedside. 7-8am and 7-8pm during shift changes. This allows for the leaving staff to bring the oncoming staff up to speed. It also works out for good times to get food for me and Joey.
That is when we usually go outside and walk around too so that is when we get our voicemails and can make phone calls on our cell phones.
At night they have a chair that makes into a bed here at Mark's bedside that I have been sleeping on and they also have "parent sleeping rooms" that have a single bed that Joey has been sleeping in. We feel pretty lucky that we have been able to get the sleeping rooms for Joey every night so far. They are assigned by need and availability.
Our next big milestone will be when he is conscious enough to maintain a regular breathing pattern so they can remove his breathing tube.
Well thanks again for the kind words and prayers. We are definitely making progress.
I am reminded of a favorite quote, "Faith in God, includes faith in His timing."
- Neal A. Maxwell
Love, Nic and Jolene

Sam was staying with Nic's parents and having a good time 'out in the country'. He was having a blast feeding the horses, the cows, the dogs, and the cats every day. Around 7 p.m. each night, when they kicked us out of the PICU, Papa J and Carol Lee would bring Sam to the hospital, and we would get to hang out with him for an hour. He always brought such comfort and smiles with him. I felt so torn though. It was hard to have to say good-bye to Sam each night and not be with him, but it was also really hard any time we were away from Mark. I was suddenly learning the pain that comes from not being able to be in two places at once. Thursday through Sunday, Sam went and stayed in G-ville so that he could be a part of the wedding festivities. He had a good time with my family, and then, because they all had to work, went back to Nic's parent's house to stay.

Thursday was a big day for us though, because that was the day when Mark finally woke up. It was actually a wonderful/difficult moment for me. I had promised Sam that I would come home and go to story time at the library with him. It was the first story time since spring, and I wanted to give Sam some mommy-time and let him know that he was loved too. Well, right before I was to leave the hospital, Mark opened those beautiful, blue eyes of his and started responding to people talking to him. I wanted to stay and enjoy this wonderful, miraculous moment, but I had also promised my other boy that I would be with him and a promise is a promise. It was yet another moment of wanting to be in two places at once. I went to story time and was glad to get some time with Sam. That kid was such a trooper through everything! It was so weird, though, being out in the world outside of the hospital. I was almost unsure of how to act!

Mark was also finally able to get his breathing tube out. While we were in Primary's, we learned to really celebrate the little victories like Mark breathing on his own. Every time a monitor or tube was removed, it was a big celebration for us!

From Nic's email (this email was actually just before Mark woke up) update:

On Sep 8, 2011, at 9:14 AM, Nic wrote:

Thursday morning.2 days no seizures. Wahoo!
On the other side we haven't found the magic point of balance where he isn't having seizures and is at a functioning level of conscienceness. So he is still has the breathing tube and he is breathing on his own probably 90-95% of the time, but the machine is there for the other 5-10% of the time.
The Doctors feel like when they find the magic balance point in meds we will be able to take the breathing tube out.
Since last night he has woke up a couple of times on his own, once to say hi to his Mom and the others to flirt with the nurses.
We are currently waiting for some blood work to come back so we can know what the medication levels are at. This will give us a better understanding to find the magic point. :-)
Have a great day. ;-)
Love,
Nic and Jolene

On Sep 8, 2011, at 5:57 PM, Nic wrote:
Thursday afternoon.
Yes, I am early but lil Mark has been awake this afternoon and they just took the
breathing tube out!!!
It is has been sooo good to see his eyes and now his mouth!!! Its funny I know, to be so excited for something so basic, but we have been waiting for about 48 hours to get him awake and breathing tube free. :-)
He still has some swelling in his throat from the tube that he still need to overcome, but he is looking good.
Thanks for all the support and love. We're getting there, little by little. :)
Love,
Nic and Jolene

Friday was a wonderful day in so many ways. My little brother married his sweetheart Felicia that day. It was hard at first to decide what to do. Jason and my family told me that it would be completely understandable if we didn't come to the wedding or anything. But this was my baby brother and I was so happy for him! Mark was doing really well, so we decided to go to the wedding ceremony just down the street at the Salt Lake Temple. I am so glad that we went! It was a beautiful ceremony performed by a friend of the family who was the same person that set me apart to be a missionary. He was also bishop when I was a young woman and put up with a lot of my crazy antics. It was such a special experience to be in the temple with all of my family for the first time and to be reminded that we are an eternal family. It was also a great reminder of all of the promised blessings in the temple. Being there and feeling the spirit brought me so much comfort with everything that was going on with Mark.

Afterwards, we did the traditional pictures outside the temple. I took lots of pictures of Sam and felt a little sad that Mark wasn't there to get photographed/smothered by me too. We dealt with a couple of Bridezillas, but got through it okay. We decided to also go to the wedding luncheon afterwards. It was hard being away from Mark but it was also so good to be there with so many family and friends. Nic and I really tried hard to keep the focus on Jason and Felicia, and not Mark, because this was their big day. But it was good to see everyone's concern and support for Mark.

When we got back to the hospital, the nurse that let us into the PICU, grabbed us right away and told us some good news. While we were out, Mark had been moved out of the PICU to a regular room on the Infant Medical Surgical Unit (IMSU). We were told the room number and hurried off to find our baby. I'm glad the nurse caught us because I think we would have freaked out to find him gone!

Being in the IMSU was good and bad. It was funny because we had become so used to the routines of the PICU and we were used to always having a nurse in the room with Mark. In the IMSU, there's always a nurse assigned to you and available at the drop of a hat, but she doesn't stay in the room the whole time. We were also a little sad to say good-bye to the good doctors and nurses that we had become friends with in the PICU. But we were ELATED to be graduated to a regular room because that meant Mark was on the road to recovery and doing well.

On Sep 9, 2011, at 2:37 PM, Nic wrote:
Hi everyone!!!
Big news! We are officially out of the ICU!!!
The doctors are feeling comfortable with the progress in meds and Marks response to them. So we are in the regular hospital now.
We still need to figure out swallowing and the other basics. But hey we are really excited!!!
Thanks everyone!
Love,
Nic and Jolene

The first day in the IMSU, Mark ended up with a fever, so they were worried about infection. He had to undergo so many tests. He was one tough cookie though. He got through all of them like a champ, even a spinal tap. All of the test results we were getting back were inconclusive. So he was put on three different antibiotics until they could eliminate different infections. Finally, they got him down to just one antibiotic. They were never sure if he had an infection, but, as they say, better safe than sorry.

On September 11, 2011 Nic wrote:
Well I just got a reminder I am a little behind on updates.
We thought that getting out of the ICU meant getting closer to getting home.
Yesterday was a little rough. Lil Mark woke up with a fever which led to about every kind of test you can imagine, including spinal fluid test. :-( It will take a couple of days to get the results of the tests but in the mean time he is getting a TON of meds to fight what might be.
Today the fever is a little more in control and we have been able to hold him, which is AWESOME.
Also his seizures meds are finally in the range they would prefer and Mark is SO much more active. Which is fun. I have been holding him and watching some football this afternoon. :-) Which also gave Jolene some time to get out of the room and to take a nap.
It's weird to think we have been here for a week. Being in the regular hospital room is good but different. I think we were spoiled in the PICU, but we can rough it if it means getting Mark healthy. :-)
Our next steps are getting a pic line, dedicated iv, for the antibiotics. A swallow test to make sure he can swallow milk without things going to his lungs. Then hopefully nursing. Luckily, Jolene and I have both been able to still stay here at the hospital, but the sleeping rooms aren't available like before. So we just take turns watching mark and sleeping on the available chair/bed thing. :-) Never been so happy to get so little sleep.
Hope this finds you well and thanks for all your support.
Love,
Nic and Jolene

Our time in the IMSU is a blur in my mind. The days and nights just kind of meld into one.We settled into a routine of meetings with doctors, eating in the cafeteria downstairs, and waiting. People would ask when Mark might be getting out of the hospital, but we never asked. We focused more on little goals like passing a swallow test so that Mark could get his feeding tube out or getting his medication level in a good range. The first time we were able to take Mark outside was so wonderful, and nerve-wracking! But it was the little moments that we focused on. I think it was a faith-building experience for me because I knew that I could leave the big stuff in God's hands and just worry about the little things.

On Monday, Nic had to go back to work which was hard for him. The first day, he only made it a couple of hours and then ended up back at the hospital. The next day, he made it half a day. It was hard to
think that the world was still turning outside of our hospital room! I stayed during the day and at night with Mark and got quite used to sleeping on the chair in Mark's room.

Little by little, tubes and monitors were removed.



Our first trip outside. Poor Mark, he was so little when all of
this happened that he hadn't really had much experience
 with the world except for hospitals!

Let me mention here how wonderful the staff at Primary Children's Hospital is. All of our nurses were absolutely amazing. I truly think they are angels on the earth. They took such good care of our baby and of us. We made many special friendships with them. And our doctors were amazing also. We had a neurology team, a neurosurgery team, a pediatric team, and an hematology team working with us. All of the doctors, interns, and residents were not only exceptional at what they do, but also compassionate and patient with us. Two resident doctors, Dr. Dean and Dr. Kody became close friends with us. Dr. Dean was with one of the neuro-teams and was always so good to come check on us and really explain things to us. Dr. Kody was on the pediatric team and would check on Mark regularly and visit with us. He even brought us some Ben & Jerry's ice cream one night! I ran into Dr. Kody a month later at Primary's when we were there for a doctor's appointment, and Dr. Kody still remembered Mark and had been keeping up with his case to make sure he was doing well. The entire staff, from cleaning staff to nurses to social workers to doctors, became like family to us.

Tuesday update-

Well, as much as I am nervous about jinxing ourselves, I am really excited about Marks progress.

So Monday he was able to go from 4 antibiotics to one and his ultrasound came back great. No new worries. :-)

Just now he came back from getting his PICC line and the placement went very well. Now we can skip the IVs. Yeah! I am not sure if you are aware how hard it is to get an IV in someone who is under 8 pounds.

Next step: swallowing test. If he can pass that we can get back to nursing. It probably won't happen today, with the sedation required to get the picc line he isn't likely to be awake enough.

Thanks again for everything. Jolene and I have decided we need a better word or way to say thank you. It just doesn't feel adequate to describe the gratitude we feel for the love we have felt as we have gone through this.

With all our love and appreciation,

Nic and Jolene

Ok Wednesday update a little Late. :)
Soooo Big News.
Mark passed his "swallow test" with flying colors yesterday afternoon. Yeah!!!
Then came the bonus. Since there wasn't any complications of milk going into his lungs, he was able to eat from a bottle! They gave him 20 min to finish a bottle and the lil man polished it off in 4 min! I think he has remember the joy of eating!
We also had a lot of learning yesterday, we learned how to take care of the PICC line,
possible problems with it, and how to give him his medicine through it. Pretty intimidating at first, but we felt a lot more comfortable after we got a chance to have some hands on training with nurses watching over our shoulders. :)
Mom and Dad brought Sam up a little earlier last night and he got a chance to work with a Child Life Specialist. The Child Life Specialist is a person who helps siblings learn how to deal with family members being in the hospital and helps prepare them for spending more time around the medical equipment. She brought a "buddy" which was basically a doll that had the same extra lines as Mark has right now, picc, eating tube, etc. That way Sam could check out all of the hardware and not hurt his little brother. We actually get to take the "buddy" home so when we are working on Mark, Sam can help by working on his buddy. :)
The last couple of nights in the IMSU, Nic's parents didn't bring Sam to the hospital
any more because it was just getting so hard on all of us. Being away from us and from
home was starting to take its toll on Sam, and he would start having tantrums when he
had to leave the hospital. And having to say good-bye to him every night was taking
its toll on me. It was so good to see him but so hard to say good-bye. Thursday night, Nic went and spent the night at his parent's house so that he could be with Sam. The next night I went and spent a few hours with Sam at their house. Luckily, we didn't
have much longer of this.

On Saturday, September 17, Mark got to go home! We were so excited and so nervous. They had started talking about him going home the day before but we didn't want to get our hopes up. But on Saturday, it finally happened. Mark was still on antibiotics so he
came home with a PICC line. It was a little unnerving learning how to administer his
antibiotics, but we got it down. If anyone wants to know a great acronym for remembering how to do it: SASH (Saline-antiobiotic-saline-heparin). I was really glad
that I wouldn't have to do the feeding tube because initially, we thought he would be
coming home with that also.
Words can't describe the emotions and the feelings of being home at last, in our own beds, with BOTH of our wonderful boys with us.
It is also hard to describe the amazing love and support we received from our family
and friends. I truly could feel the power of the countless prayers being offered on
our behalf each day. Emails, calls, texts, Facebook messages...every little bit of
support was so much appreciated and really got us through the hard times. Neighbors
even came while we were at the hospital and cleaned up the house a little, mowed our
lawn, and for two weeks after we got home, people brought us meals, so that we could
really concentrate on our little boys. My heart just felt so full with the love of
those around us. My boys are lucky to be growing up with such a strong support net
under them!

This is Mark--no more wires, no more tubes--ready to go home! It's crazy to think that
we took a two week old baby into the hospital and brought home a one month old baby!