Heartfelt Thanks

A quick note of thanks to everyone who has: sent flowers; called/emailed/mailed cards; posted comments/signed guestbooks; made contributions in Molly's memory; bought/delivered/sent food; hung out with us until the wee hours of the night and/or morning; and any other show of support I have left out. We are so thankful for the love and support of all our friends and family and we can't thank all of you enough.

Those of you who were able to take the time to join us for Molly's memorial service yesterday, we're glad you were able to share Molly's farewell with us. It was a special day for our family (albeit sad) and we were touched by all the visitors. I know some of you traveled a great distance, and I hope we had a chance to fully express how touched we were by that.

I am working on getting Molly's slideshow posted on this site, but for some reason it is giving me trouble right now. I'll keep working on it; it keeps me busy.

It is with indescribable sadness that we report the sudden and unexpected passing of Molly Elizabeth. Last night at about 7:30, while sitting on Erin's lap at the dinner table surrounded by loved ones, without a sound or the slightest hint of discomfort, Molly's heart simply stopped beating. Police and paramedics responded immediately, CPR was administered, and she was rapidly transported to the hospital in Princeton. Emergency Room personnel admirably attempted to revive her for over thirty minutes. She never regained consciousness after that silent goodbye at the table.

A memorial service will be held at St. Anthony of Padua in Hightstown, on Tuesday, March 18 at 10:30 am; interment will follow at Holy Cross Burial Park in South Brunswick; then a gathering of friends and family in the hall at St. Anthony. All are welcome.

As this will be a celebration of Molly Bear's life, please don't feel the need to wear black.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Trisomy 18 Foundation in Molly's memory: 4491 Cheshire Station Plaza, Suite 157, Dale City, VA 22193.

It Only Seems Long Because It's a Leap Year

That's right, it really hasn't been as long as you think it has since I posted something. It's just that since it's a leap year it seems longer.

So Molly has been doing well since her discharge from the hospital. We're having some trouble with her feeds, as usual, but otherwise she is fine. Today she has an appointment with the GI, so maybe she can give us some ideas on what else to do. We appear to have tried everything; we're not doctors.

It's too bad we're not doctors because it would come in handy with all the bugs currently going around. The weekend after Molly came home from the hospital, I was knocked completely for a loop by some variety of a bug. I didn't have the high fever that is supposed to go along with the flu, but I did start taking medicine as soon as I felt the first symptoms. At any rate, I came home from work on Friday afternoon (the day of the "big snowstorm"), participated in a snowball fight with Gavin and Erin, and then by dinner time I was asleep. Save for the occasional trip downstairs to fill my water, I was pretty much asleep until Sunday night around 9 pm. I was incapable of standing up for longer than a few minutes. My whole body hurt (most notably my fingers as I tried to change the channel using the TV remote) and I was flat-out exhausted. Fortunately it was also the weekend of the NFL Combine so I had something to watch each time I woke up for a short time. I even stayed home from work Monday, which I rarely do.

When I got back to work everyone in my office was out. Some of them are just now recovering. Thursday and Friday of last week I was literally the only person here out of a group of five. I am just hoping whatever we all had was the same thing so I don't have to worry about getting it again.

Miraculously (mainly because I was banished to the bedroom and Gavin and Molly stayed far away and Erin slept on the couch) the rest of the Browns have managed to stay healthy. Let's hope that continues.

At the end of last week Molly had a swallowing study done. Specifics can be more efficiently provided by Erin, and I am sure she will offer those to you once she has a free moment. Basically the test was to determine if Molly could try to safely consume foods orally. Apparently the test had positive results, because Miss Molly has been trying all sorts of pureed foods these days. As expected, she doesn't like many of them.

Speaking of safely consuming foods orally, Gavin is off the Life Savers for a while. Last week one managed to slide down his throat, intact, and become lodged in such a manner that while he was still able to breathe (thanks to the hole in the middle of the Life Saver, no doubt) it would not move in either direction. At the point where he confirmed he could not really breathe and started reaching down his throat for the object, I went ahead and forced it out for him. One might think it's a good thing I have CPR and First Aid training, but I will offer this pearl of wisdom: even if you don't "know the heimlich" go ahead and give it a shot. I've practiced it on a dummy a hundred times and the one I gave Gavin was nowhere near perfect technique - and it worked just fine.

Then just this past weekend we celebrated Ethan's baptism. He and his mom and dad came up from Houston and all the Logan/Murphy/Ely/Johnston clans converged on the Plainsboro/Princeton Junction area to celebrate properly. Gavin and Molly got to see their great grandparents from Ohio, who they rarely get to see. It was a nice day. Somehow we even managed to get the church to ourselves. When Gavin was baptized it was the same thing. Normally the service involves many babies all at the same time, but somehow we've managed to have two in our family where we've been the only people there. Maybe the folks in the church know more about us than they let on, and it was planned that way?

Family time continues this week as the Browns have recently arrived from SC for a short stay. While I wasn't paying attention my eldest cousin, Meghan, whose birth I clearly recall happening like five minutes ago, went ahead and turned 17. Apparently she needs to look at some colleges, so the whole family is in town to visit some local institutions, not the least exciting of which is her parents' alma mater and my current employer.

In recreational news Team Molly Bear 2008 is forming as we speak. I sent a recruitment email out the other day to folks who had indicated they may be interested in racing this summer. If you didn't get the email and you think you're up for a run or a tri, please let me know. We have eight confirmed members already, five of whom are new. Keep an eye out for promotional materials arriving in your Inbox in the very near future. Meantime check out the Team Trisomy 18 link to the right if you're curious what the 2008 schedule looks like.

This seems like quite a long post. As an experiment, I am not planning to reread this or spell check. Feel free to edit on your own time.

Molly is Home

Sorry it took me so long to post this. Been a long day. More later.

Back at RWJ. Again

Molly was terribly unhappy on Saturday evening and ended up not sleeping much all night. Sunday morning she had a 105 temperature, so we took her to the ED at RWJ at around noon. We spent a casual afternoon having blood drawn, a couple x-rays, and aurine sample taken, while squished in a crowded pod with a tiny television. Around 3:30 they moved us all to the five-star accomodations on the pediatric floor. We've been there before. Molly is like a rock star up there: everyone knows her.

At any rate it appears she has a urinary tract infection and she'll be in the hospital a few days, at least. They're waiting for some blood culture results to determine if the antibiotics she is on will suffice, or if they'll need to change to another. But that's essentially the treatment: Motrin for fever; antibiotics for infection.

That's basically it.

Bright and Early at CHoP; and Gettin' "Stuck"

The alarm went off at 4 am this morning. Of course, we still didn't get out of the house until about 4:55. It takes about an hour and fifteen minutes to get to CHoP; we need coffee; we've got an hour and five. As one would expect, since we're in a hurry, there are two cars in front of us at the DD drive though - the first of whom is clearly ordering a custom breakfast sandwich that has to be delicately prepared by the lone employee manning the entire place. We then proceeded to hit three straight red lights, all of which appeared to be red at the same time as the intersecting light. I had a slight sense the day was going to be less than stellar.

But miraculously, somehow, through some stroke of absolute miracle [I didn't go less than 80 the whole way], we made it to the hospital with four minutes to spare.

There was no reason for anything to be delayed at that hour, so we anticipated Molly going in for surgery at about 7:15. The only thing that could hold her up - and has before - was her IV. She is what the nurses refer to as a tough stick. We remind the nurse this is the case.

She pages an all-star.

He gets the IV in on the first try and tries to sell my wife on the concept of a wall-mounted flat-screen TV.

Definitely an all-star.

Molly went out right on time. They told us the procedure would be fast, and it was. After we sent Molly off I went down to the cafeteria for a couple bagels and a coffee. I went straight back upstairs to meet Erin. Before we had finished eating our bagels they called to tell us she was out and recovering.

We joined Molly back in prep/recovery. We were keeping a close eye on the time and the weather because we didn't want to get caught in traffic or the "snow storm." It looked like we were going to get out reasonably early.

Then Molly woke up.

And then she threw up.

After a little while she fell back to sleep and was resting comfortably for several hours. Eventually we got her to keep some fluids down and they agreed to let us go home. We were walking out of the hospital at around 1 pm apparently beating traffic, snow storms, and historical precedent.

All in all, quite a good day. We actually pulled off an out-patient surgical procedure. Amazing.

Then we got home. And here is where the day became just plain swell.

It looked like it was going to work out nicely, since there was a box on the step for Gavin. I got a new pair of running shoes in the mail yesterday and Gavin wanted to know why he hadn't gotten any packages lately. So this was quite a welcome turn of events.

Erin walked in and checked the voicemail. I grabbed the US mail. As she listened to the messages, I went through the pile. In the span of about 30 seconds the following took place:

1) I got called for jury duty. I can probably get out of it, but seriously, is there a more clear symbol of bad karma?

2) I was denied for a loan I didn't apply for. I presume it was because I talked to the loan officer about potentially refinancing and then never got the paperwork done, but I really have no idea. In any event, it was nice to see the bank I've been using since 1997 stand behind one of their loyal customers.

3) Our new insurance decided to no longer cover Molly's formula. Not a huge deal, I mean I guess we shouldn't have gotten used to someone else paying for Molly's food anyway. But it was a nice stipend. And remember, when I say new insurance I mean new six months ago. So I'll have to assume this denial will be accompanied by six months worth of bills.

"Yes, hello, I have a 3 pm appointment to see 'The Man'."

"Right you're scheduled for the 'kick in the groin and steal your girl?' Go right in he's expecting you."

But let's look on the bright side. We're home and Molly is feeling much better. In fact, as I type she and her big brother are sound asleep. And I will soon follow.

Thanks to all of you who called/sent emails and texts to check in today. We appreciate you all looking out for us.

Oh yeah, and since I know you've all been on the edge of your respective seats since last Wednesday: I gave up procrastination for Lent. Friday

An Afternoon at CHoP

So much better when it's just a couple hours. And even more so when it is pre-planned and non-emergency. Of course, it's still a hospital. And it's still in Philadelphia.

I don't miss making that drive. Let's hope we can continue to avoid needing to do so.

But I did get to wear a Super Bowl Champs t-shirt into the city of "brotherly love." It's like someone offering a ride on their private jet: you'd be foolish to pass up the opportunity.

So the Bear is scheduled for the surgery to have tubes put in her ears next week. We've been informed it's a "day surgery" and we should be on our way home in no time flat. We will likely have to be there at about 6 am; they'll prep her for the procedure, which reportedly takes all of 15 minutes; and then she'll have to recover for a few hours. Try to imagine our excitement if all actually goes this smoothly. Fingers crossed.

Her vitals were excellent yesterday. All the numbers looked good, her lungs sounded good, she was happy and well behaved.

We actually had the same nurse practitioner prepping her that we saw before the catheterization in October 2006. Needless to say she was taken aback by Molly's progress and demeanor. I hate to put words in anyone's mouth but I would be shocked if she thought back then she'd be seeing us almost a year and a half later for an elective surgery.

Of course, all kidding aside, it's still surgery and Molly is still delicate. The procedure is short, but if her breathing isn't stable once they anesthetize her, there is a possibility they'll need to open up her airway. This is never an easy job, since her airway is so narrow. And there is always the possibility once this happens that she won't go back to breathing on her own. There is a chance of this happening to anyone. But, obviously, odds increase as a result of Molly's somewhat unique genetic makeup.

But they don't really talk about that much, because it's so unlikely. We, like many other things medical, are just sort of keen to it because if our experiences.

At any rate, let's hope Molly stays healthy for the next few days so she can go in as scheduled, and have all that extra strength. We'll keep you posted on her, ovbiously.

"You Can't Win."

C'mon you know the scene: Right before Rocky storms out of his Main Line mansion [I know I wish he lived in North Jersey, too, but I didn't write the movie and they had to make him a Philly guy for the sentimental attachment] to drive his Lambourghini recklessly through the streets, his condescending and pessimistic wife tells him all the reasons he is crazy to fight the big, mean Russian who has just killed Apollo, culminating with the dramatic (and high-pitched), "You can't win."

So it's not a perfect football metaphor, although brilliantly written amidst mid-1980s Cold War tension, but as a Giants fan I've got to say I felt a bit like Rocky walking into the ring against the overpowering, genetically superior, and thus far perfect New England Patriots the other night.

We hung tough with them on Dec 29, losing by decision after a 15 round battle. We used the momentum from that game to catapult through the playoffs, beating the two best teams in the NFC (two of the three best teams in the league). And finally, somehow, after establishing ourselves as a legitimate contender, upended the "best team in the history of the NFL" - the undisputed heavyweight champs - with a flawless defensive scheme designed to pressure the unflappable Tom Brady, and another solid effort from our coming-of-age-before-our-eyes-QB-of-right-now.

I'd be lying if I said I knew we could do it all along. Hell I picked us to go 4-12 at the Draft Party back in April. I was nervous going into the Tampa game; I had a good feeling about Dallas; I was scared of Green Bay. Once we got to the Super Bowl, "I am just glad to be here. Wanted to do my part and help out the team." Seriously: Super Bowl runners-up; the 19th game ending in a win for a perfect team; a gutsy Giants squad who won 10 straight games on the road, including one in a European country on the hallowed grounds of Wembley, one in the hostile environment that is Dallas, one on the frozen tundra of Lambeau in the second coldest game of all-time! I mean c'mon, how could I be disappointed with that season?

The Pats were perfect. They set records in just about everything. They're a dynasty. I'd be lying if I hadn't thought "we can't win."

But then a funny thing happened at the end of a 60 minute battle. Don't get me wrong: some loose balls bounced the right way; some wayward passes fell shockingly incomplete; a QB refusing to lose somehow breaks four tackles to loft a ball downfield where a special teams expert/# 4 WR makes amazing use of his helmet during the gutsiest drive in recent SB memory (surpassing the drive Brady and the Pats had just completed moments earlier).

And we get to spend the next year as the Super Bowl Champions.

But what am I going to do for the next seven months? Ah the wonders of DVR.

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).

Back to Normal

Well things are back to normal in the Brown house. And, as tends to happen when things are normal, another weekend has flown by without a whole lot of rest. But hey when the choices are laying around all day watching movies in a hospital room or staying busy doing holiday things, I'll take busy every time. If you're curious, neither make it particularly easy to get up on Monday morning...especially when it's freezing cold.

As you can guess from the photo, we've acquired and adorned the Brown Family Christmas Tree 2007. We found a new farm, closer to home, with a better selection. Saturday morning we all went down there and within minutes everyone had agreed on winner. As is typical, Gavin wanted to bring home some others that were either too wide or too small [he tends to lean toward the "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" more so than the "Sean Brown Christmas Tree"]. It then took the remainder of the day Saturday to get the tree and the rest of the inside of the house decorated. We have decided that, as well as having an overcrowded garage, we have too much Christmas stuff.

That reminds me: I told Gavin he had to go through his toys so that we could pick out a bunch to give to the kids who weren't as fortunate as he is and don't have as many toys. He wasn't happy, but he'll go along with it. Anyway at one point during decorating he came out to the garage with me where I told him I was going to have to go through my mess out there and he says, "you mean you have to give it to people who don't have as much junk as you?" Sometimes I swear he is 14.

Then yesterday we did some grocery shopping and some baking (Pumpkin Bread: I'd share the recipe but it's not mine and there may be some copyright infringements). We also went to a birthday/holiday party with some friends, which was nice. The roads were pretty bad north of where we live, but as a result most people stayed off the road. Amazing thing is that the only people who went out, however, were the idiots. This, I've noticed, is no different than any normal day, except when the roads are bad there just aren't as many idiots.

Then I wound up the weekend watching the Giants stink up all of East Rutherford and its surrounding areas. If anyone hasn't been paying attention they're 9-5, third in the NFC, and could have clinched a playoff spot with a win last night. But they stink.

And I know, all you care about is how Molly is doing. Well she is great. She's got a bit of a cold and she has been sneezing and coughing a little more than normal, but her insides seem to be working the way they're supposed to (we go back for a follow-up with the GI this week) and she has been smiling and happy. More like Molly than she was the last few weeks.

Home Again

We left the hospital last night around 7 pm. Molly recovered fine from her procedure and tolerated her feeds all day.

We'll have the biopsy results some time next week, and have to schedule a follow up visit with the GI. Hopefully we can get this all figured out very soon.

For the time being, Molly is quite content. She is back to her happy, smiley self. And as of this morning when I left the house she was sound asleep in her crib. Gavin and Mom were also sound asleep in their beds. And Dublin was sound asleep on his. What I wouldn't have given to be doing the same.

Back at RWJ

On the one hand, it's easier to do this when I am posting regularly, so I just have to throw in an update. On the other, in that case I would have to find time to post regularly. Since I haven't had time to post with any consistency, I'll have to figure out a good place to start.

I mentioned Molly's Thanksgiving virus in my last post. She was miserable that day, and a few days before and after. On Thanksgiving evening, while I was holding her, I noticed a big lump in her belly. It was pretty large, and hard as a rock, and nurse Cara confirmed it could in no way be something that actually belonged there. We mentioned it to the pediatrician, but considering Molly's other symptoms, he didn't think it could be a bowel obstruction. He said if it was she wouldn't be able to go to the bathroom at all, and she would be throwing up a lot. Neither was the case, and in the days following she went back to her normal, happy self.

Then last week we realized that she a) still had the lump, b) was throwing up a little, and c) still hadn't really gone to the bathroom in a while. This coincided with Molly's fifteen month check-up. When she went in for that check-up her doctor agreed there was definitely something amiss and suggested we call Molly's GI. All day Thursday both Erin and Dr. Paul called the GI, without a response. A fellow at CHoP suggested it was simply constipation. After 24 hours of this, Erin decided to take Molly to the ER.

Oh but wait, let me back up. I totally forgot that while most of this was happening I was in Chicago.

So Tuesday night I went to the airport to fly to Chicago. Minutes before boarding, both my flight and the flight following were cancelled due to weather in Chicago. I booked a seat on the first flight Wednesday morning and went home. I was going out for a two day conference and if my morning flight was on time I would only miss about 90 minutes of the first day. Nothing is ever on time flying to O'Hare, so I figured maybe I'd miss three hours tops.

Wednesday morning we board and pull back from the gate on time. As soon as we've backed away the captain shuts down the engines and comes on to tell us that due to weather in Chicago we're going to have to hold for an hour.

40 minutes later we're taking off.

All goes well and we're still scheduled to arrive just a few minutes late. As we begin our descent into O'Hare, something happens I have never experienced before: the pilot aborts the landing and pulls back up into a holding pattern. He told us the runway was icing up and we needed to hold while they set up landing on an alternate runway. Hold time estimated to be 30-40 minutes.

After half an hour I notice we are no longer circling, but now climbing and heading straight in some direction I can't figure out. Captain comes on to tell us we had been put in another holding pattern, 30-40 more minutes, and we haven't got enough fuel for that so we're being diverted to Indianapolis.

We land in Indy, they refuel us right there on the tarmac, and then we're told there is a two hour wait before we can take off again.

15 minutes later we're taking off.

We arrive in Chicago about four hours late where it is now sunny. After a quick cab ride (during which it again began to dump snow) I arrive at the conference roughly five hours after it started.

Day two of the conference I am planning on making the most of it. My flight is scheduled to leave that evening around 9 pm. The facilitator is aware that people are trying to catch flights that night and intends to condense the second half of day two to ensure everyone gets where they're going on time. Unfortunately there is rumor of another dumping of snow that night and people are starting to work on even earlier flights. I am confident I'll be spending one more night in Chicago because of the snow. That's just how it goes with me and that city (some of you may recall in July I flew out to play golf and was supposed to go out and back the same day; I spent three days trying to get home because of thunderstorms and overbooked flights).

Then about three hours into the morning session of day two I get the call from Erin that she has just come from the pediatrician and she and Dr. Paul are unsuccessfully trying to reach the GI. She mentions taking Molly to the ER and/or her being admitted. I decide to get on an early flight home so I beat the snow for sure. I walk out of day two of the conference after a two-day total of six hours of a scheduled eighteen.

Now back to Friday morning and Molly in the ER at RWJ.

X-ray confirmed there was a giant mass in her stomach and the doctor was pretty sure she wasn't passing it on her own. They began some aggressive treatment to try to break up the mass, which continued all day. She finally was admitted and brought up to a room at around 9 pm. Their aggressive treatment continued through the night on Friday, all day Saturday, and all night Saturday night. By Sunday she had passed most of it, and was clearly feeling better.

With that being said, we were pretty sure she would be heading home yesterday. However, the doctor is still concerned there may be a more serious issue than just a build-up. They're concerned there may be some malfunction in her system that could cause this to be a recurring issue. So after talking with us, and then consulting with Molly's doctor's at CHoP, it was decided Molly would have a minor surgical procedure this morning to test for Hirschsprung disease.

If all goes well with Molly's recovery after the procedure she should be able to go home tonight. We're really hoping that is the case.

The only really good thing about this hospital stay is that RWJ is literally two blocks from my office. So I am heading over there now. I'll post another update later.

Thanksgiving Prep

That's sort of a misleading title. It may make one think I actually have to prepare in some way for this holiday. Like I am cleaning the house before all the guests arrive; or cooking the turkey. I am really not doing anything to prepare. Maybe I should have made the title simply: The Day Before Thanksgiving?

Things are busy as ever in the Brown house. Gavin is going to school; Erin is working from home and tutoring a couple nights a week; Molly is hanging out with Mom and visiting her regularly scheduled specialists; and I am just trying to keep up with all of them.

A couple weeks ago Molly had a nasty stomach virus, and the last couple nights she has been waking up with some new, unrelated stomach issues. But aside from that all is well. She was slightly miserable for the week or so she had the aforementioned virus [not that I blame her]. It's always so obvious to us when she is not feeling well because typically she really might be the happiest baby ever.

Most kids cry for a reason: hungry, diaper, tired, uncomfortable. Molly is no different, except she hardly cries for anything. She lets us know when any of the above scenarios needs to be addressed, but to actually cry - I mean to let out a whimper or a scream - something has to be really wrong. This explains why even I - the soundest of sleepers [I am not really sleeping through I am choosing to ignore most issues] - bolt out of bed when Molly awakes with a scream in the middle of the night.

So as I mentioned at the beginning of the post, we're gearing up for turkey day. The Wilberts clan came up from Houston and Cara is coming out from the city (even though she has to be back for work at 7pm). I am psyched for some relaxation time with the whole crew. Maybe this year I'll even try not to eat myself ill.

Then again maybe I will.

Hope you all have a nice Thanksgiving and take a few minutes to consider the things you have to be thankful for. I know I will. Not that I even need a holiday for that these days.