Healthy - Sick - Healthy

So Molly was doing well after kicking that nasty cold she had just after the new year. Last week when we went for shots she was fine. Then Thursday when we went to the GI she had a fever. As the days went by the fever went up rather than down and we returned to the pediatrician to find she most likely had a stomach bug.

The stomach bug caused her to dislike eating a bit, so we had to get back to the GI to find out how to alter her feeds appropriately - you see how these things spiral?

Well now she is back to healthy. At least she appears to be. She is happy and vocal and really that's how we measure her health these days.

The Bear has some big days coming up in the next couple weeks so, as always, please keep her in your thoughts and we'll keep you in the loop.

On Feb 12 she is having tubes put in her ears: this should be a fairly straightforward procedure, and hopefully we will not need to spend more than a day in the hospital. One never knows, however, so we'll just keep our fingers crossed. We're hoping this helps Molly's hearing and it will certainly help the doctors' ability to see into her ear canals to check for infections, etc.

On Feb 22 she is having a swallowing study done to ensure that she is swallowing safely. She had a feeding evaluation last week where the facilitator was very positive about her capability to progress toward solid food. We have some work to do to get her to that point, but if all goes well with the study we can start moving that way.

And in case you haven't been paying attention, the Giants are in the Super Bowl. Patriots fans need not visit this space until further notice.

I Was Minding My Own Business, I Swear - Part 2

Last November, during one of our CHoP visits, I was accosted by an Eagles fan in the cafeteria. I was minding my own business, I swear. I was in Philadelphia. I was wearing a Giants hat. It was the middle of the season and both teams were very much "in it". I tried ignoring the guy, but there comes a point where you just have to say something. It was all in good fun.

A few Sundays ago, in the bagel place near our house, I truly am minding my own business. I am standing at the front of the line waiting for my bagels; I am rocking that same flex-fit sideline cap from a year ago; I am anxious for the 4 pm kickoff in Dallas even though it's hours away. In a strange dialect I hear someone behind me mumbling about "choking" and "Manning" and some other such things. It reminds me how annoying the Cowboys really are. They're like the Yankees: basically someone in every corner of every town in the entire world claims their loyalty. It's bad enough I have to live right on the border separating Eagles fans from Giants fans, but now I have to be reminded of "America's Team" spanning all corners of the universe.

I glance behind me casually to see the store has filled up, as it does on Sunday mornings. One customer has an odd grin on his unshaven face hidden slightly behind knockoff Dolce's. He seems to be looking in my direction. But I turn back around without a word.

I can still hear him talking that nonsense. And now he has gotten another person involved who seems to speak the native language more clearly. They're absolutely discussing the very game I am anxiously anticipating. But I don't care. In a few minutes I will be back in my house, surrounded by Giants fans, enjoying a warm bagel.

For some reason it is taking a long time to get me my order. The rest of the line is moving quickly. Now I feel two eyeballs peering at me just over the top of those fake Italian shades. I am ignoring him. I refuse to even look that way.

"Well we'll see you in the offseason tomorrow," he says. The words come out slowly, but relatively clearly. It seems his brain does not process these words as quickly as those in his own dialect. It was then I realized I had heard this accent before and all rationality escaped me.

"What are you an Eagles fan?!" I said.

His foolish grin widened; his head nodded.

This is my neighborhood! This is not Philadelphia! Granted we live right on the border, but we're on the north side. Eagles fans should be going to bagel places in Hamilton. They don't deserve the high-quality, perfectly crusted, round dough of Hot Bagels. I simply must be imagining things. Not to mention we're talking about the Divisional round of the playoffs...a game taking place roughly six weeks after the Eagles season unoffically ended, and two weeks after it literally ended.

"Sorry about that." I say as I finally collect my order and walk toward the exit.

"Yeah we figured it was about time you guys won one."

This is now the second thing he has said clearly enough for me to understand, but also the second thing that has made virtually no sense.

And then I notice he is following me out the door.

The rest of the conversation was quick and painful, each of his comments sending me further and further into a pit of hatred for all those pledging allegiance to the dirty bird of south Philadelphia. And for that matter the Flyers, Phillies, Soul, Ben Franklin, Vince Papale [Ed. note: even I can't root against Rocky], Dave and Busters, Robbins 8th and Walnut, whatever...and it basically just consisted of me pointing out reasons - rooted in fact - why the Giants were superior, and him mumbling things that were barely complete sentences in response.

Me: "Right since those two Super Bowl wins don't measure up to your two appearances."
Him: "Your QB stinks."
Me: "Your QB has been overrated for eight years, and can't complete a season."
Him: "He wins when they count."
Me: "Like those three straight NFC Championship games he lost or the Super Bowl where he threw up in the huddle?"
Him: "He owns the Giants."
Me: "1-1 in his career against the Giants in the playoffs and Garcia actually played in the win."

The moral of the story is that I would never talk trash to a total stranger simply because they are wearing clothing supporting a team I hate. And I am certainly smart enough to know I have no leg to stand on when my team is no longer playing. My preference is to say nothing. But there comes a point where it's just too daggone hard to be quiet.

And the important thing to really take from this whole experience is it's now been a solid two months since the Eagles played a game that mattered, and the Giants have won two since this little exchange. With one more to go.

And please get your bagels somewhere south of my town.

Big Shots

I was off Monday so we took a family trip to the doctor's office. I figured since Erin always has to take Molly by herself it would be nice to give her a break. Of course, since I had to drop my car off for some work and I needed her to give me a ride, she didn't actually get to stay home. So the least I could do was give her a break from having to go back into the room. So while Molly and I hung out waiting for the doctor, Erin and Gavin played in the waiting room.

Molly weighed just over 16 pounds, which is about what she weighed last time. She was in great spirits, and actually was giggling and smiling for the doctor while he was checking her out. And then came the fun part.

He gave her three shots. And they hurt.

Let me tell you, Molly has some lungs on her. I'd be surprised if anyone within a mile of that office didn't hear her scream. It was loud and she made it clear she was not a fan.

But aside from that all is well. Molly has been sneezing less and sleeping well. She has been happy and energetic.

In a couple minutes I am actually meeting Erin and Molly at the doctor over near the hospital. She needs to have a follow up on her belly after the incident from last month. Everything has been working normally, and she has slowly been increasing the volume of her food. So this appointment should be nice and easy.

Molly and Erin had a feeding evaluation done yesterday and it seems all went well there. I am sure Erin will write more since she was there. So keep an eye out.

And if you haven't been paying attention, the Giants are the NFC Champs and will be headed to Arizona to play the thus-far-perfect Patriots. We played them tough back in December so I have to hope we can do the same this time around. A good game would be nice; a blowout victory our way would be even better.

Toronto Isn't as Cold as You'd Expect (Jan 6, 2008)

I was home from Toronto this morning before 9:45 am. Getting up to go to the airport at 4:30 is tough, but when it gets you home with a full day ahead of you it makes it all worthwhile.

As anticipated, Erin had to cancel. This is unfortunate because I would have liked for her to be there with me but more so because now we have to find a way to reissue a ticket that is one way on Air Canada and the other on US Air. Not a whole lot of options there, I guess? Seems like we'll be taking a long weekend to Canada at some point soon.

The weekend was a huge success. 8,000 Knights fans made the trip north of the border to participate in numerous University/Foundation sanctioned events, and watch the football team completely dismantle an over matched Cardinals team.

I managed to have a lot of fun while working the majority of the time, and I still also managed to get some sleep. Of course, being on the road did not get me back to good health.

Big Giants playoff win this afternoon. Next up is Dallas down their way. Keep your fingers crossed. Nothing would make me happier.

Well, obviously, I'd also like Molly to get better. She seems to be doing just that. Hopefully she is on the back side if her cold and will be her normal self again soon.

Happy New Year (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm back at work for the first time since Dec 22 and it feels like I have only been out a couple days. I'm still really sick and not looking forward to getting on a plane tomorrow (luckily it's only an hour flight) with sinus congestion.

Molly is still very congested as well and she has not been sleeping well at all. We've started to give her supplemental oxygen at various points during the day and all night. She is still on antibiotics, and she is still getting regular nebulizer treatments. Hopefully the combination of all these things is going to help move things along, although at this point it seems unlikely.

For New Year's eve this year we decided to make it even less eventful than we usually do. We grilled a couple steaks, drank a few glasses of wine, and all went to sleep well before midnight. Gavin and I had a sleepover on the couch downstairs. He has been asking if he could do that for months and since I have been sleeping on the couch for what seems like two weeks no it made sense to go ahead and do that. He and I both woke up around 4 am and he wanted to know when the ball would drop. I told him we missed it by a few hours and we'd have to wait until next year - when we'll record it just to be on the safe side.

At any rate, despite Molly's current displeasure, we have a lot to be thankful for as we say goodbye to 2007. Overall it was quite a successful year and we couldn't be happier. We're looking forward to another great year in 2008 and, of course, wish you and yours a healthy and happy '08 as well.

A Giant Disappointment (Dec 30, 2007)

I started to feel a little sick on Tuesday evening. I knew something was wrong when I was sitting in the living room at the Logan's house, in front of a huge, roaring fire, freezing. Then I woke up Wednesday and there was no doubt. I spent the majority of the day Wednesday on the couch, and I even slept there Wednesday night. By Thursday afternoon I was feeling a little better and then Friday I thought I was pretty well healed.

Of course, then Friday night Molly woke up in the middle of the night not feeling well. And when I say she woke up I basically mean she was jarred awake by some pain and/or discomfort just after midnight, and she didn't close her eyes again for a number of hours.

Saturday I went to the Giants vs. Pats game with Rob. While the overall takeaway is that we almost ruined a perfect season and we played really well, the day as a whole was wrought with disappointment. I'll spare you the long details, but share the list: the western spur of the NJTPKE was closed forcing us to take a bizarre route through Seacaucus that we had to figure out on our own; said route put us on the wrong side of the stadium and thus in a parking lot we're not used to parking in; we bought into a tailgate rather than bringing our own stuff like we always do thus leaving us with nothing but beer upon arrival; when we finally got in touch with the folks from the tailgate we bought into we learned they were in the absolute furthest lot from where we were, and actually quite close to the lot we usually park in; tons of people sold their tickets to Patriots fans all of whom walked into our house like it was theirs (same goes for the players); two of those Patriots fans were seated to our immediate right; and finally, if Randy Moss beats you deep and drops the ball there is no excuse for letting him do it again on the very next play since it's unlikely he is going to drop two in a day, much less in a row.

And I woke up Sunday to find myself sick once again.

And of course, Molly was getting worse. So Erin took Molly to the doctor today where they gave her a prescription for an antibiotic and some meds to put in the nebulizer. She is really junky and according to the doctor her lungs sound a bit crackly. Since she can't cough up the phlegm like we can, a lot of it ends up backing up. Needless to say this makes her quite uncomfortable and keeps her from progressing toward good health.

I am leaving for Toronto on Thursday and Erin is supposed to meet me there Friday night. Rutgers plays Ball State in the International Bowl on Saturday. Right now it's not looking like Erin is going to be able to make the trip.

Merry Christmas (Dec 26, 2007)

Mom and Greg left today after a nice five day visit. We spent a lot of time doing nothing in particular, but it was nice to have them here and I am certain they enjoyed seeing Gavin play soccer over the weekend and open his presents yesterday morning. Santa was good to everyone as he suggested he would be when we saw him a few days ago.

Yes, that's correct, Santa came to our house Sunday. He arrived on a big fire truck and brought with him an early present for Gavin: a big fire truck. He also brought Molly a soft Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal, which goes nicely with the decor of her room. It was nice of him to make the early trip to see us and to spend some time with us around the tree. We sent Santa and his helpers (Mrs. Claus and some firefighter friends of mine) back to the North Pole (the firehouse) with some pumpkin bread and a bunch of cookies. Those are some good people: Santa and his helpers.

Christmas Eve we went to the evening children's mass and then to dinner and a nice, little Italian place near our house with Erin's parents and Monica. Molly and Gavin were very well behaved in both places, which is more than I can say for myself. I spent the entire mass counting the minutes until it was over (just too crowded and pretty long). I am not sure how they can call it a children's mass and make it last 90 minutes? Oh well.

Goodbye 2007....

...hello annoying and tedious illnesses.

Again I find myself appalled by the amount of time that has passed since my last post. And again I realize that so much has happened since that post I can either plow forward and drag this on and on until everyone is all caught up, or I can post a series of short blurbs outlining specific events. I am not sure which one I am going to do but I can assure you that by the time you read this the answer will be clear.

Actually you know what? I am going to do it a little different still. I am going to catapult myself back in time as if I am writing these in a more timely fashion. Rather than backdating the posts and confusing all of you I will simply put the date that the post should have been written in the title of each post. That should make me feel like I actually accomplished something in the last three weeks.

And yes, we're sick. Me and the Bear enough so to be miserable. Erin and Gavin enough to notice. And like that bad tattoo you got when you were 17, it just won't go away. Although, actually, as of last night Molly seemed to be doing much better. She was laughing and playing before bed and slept a good portion of the night without oxygen (although I may be delirious).