Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.....

I started this blog three long years ago to chronicle the, what I thought would be, relatively simple adoption of our second child from Kyrgyzstan.  It has, as you know, turned out to be a very long, very difficult process.  It has also brought us some unexpected and very welcome surprises.  Our lives have taken miraculous twists and turns and we have not only survived, but, in my opinion, thrived!  Our little family works.  We are changed people, Kevin and I, that is for sure.  There are things that three years ago would've been at the forefront of my mind that never even cross it anymore.  Our hopes and dreams as well as our goals continue to evolve.  That said, it's time to start fresh.  I will be leaving this blog (don't worry, I'm exporting it so it'll not be lost) for another.  My hope is that it will be a place to share our daily happenings, to keep loved ones updated, to advocate and educate, share our joys and our sorrows, and as always continue with the therapy that blogging provides me.  I sure hope you'll join us, add us to your dashboard, Google Reader, follow us, or whatever it is you do.  Oh, and as a little incentive, I promise there's something really exciting coming up - but you'll have to come on over to find out about it!! 

Our new home is at:   Chaotic and Comfortable  

See you there!!!!

Hospital admission number.........oh, who am I kidding?

As if I could actually count how many times she's been admitted - right!

So, we're here again.  It all started with a "simple" cold last week.  Colds, as I've said a million times before, are not so simple for M.  There is a reason I am the Clorox Queen, Germ-a-phobe, Purell Nazi - whatever term of endearment you wish to bestow upon me.  Illnesses, no matter how insignificant or minor they may seem to the average individual wreck havoc on M's system.  You see, getting sick isn't "good for her" contrary the the advise of so many well-meaning (non-doctor) types that like to give me advice.  I took her to see her pedi on Saturday who promptly started her on an antibiotic to hopefully ward off the secondary bacterial pneumonia that always seems to join her following a cold.  I should mention that this is her first illness of the very long Wisconsin winter, so we HAVE done quite well.  Unfortunately, she had already started into this very unpleasant gag-vomit cycle which continued through the weekend.  That quickly lead to increased issues with her already compromised bowels which may have lead to issues with her distal shunt catheter which may have lead to a complete, multiple shunt malfunction.  Further testing today will hopefully tell the whole story.  All we know for now is that she is miserable, her brain MRI looks awful, her abdomen is distended, her xray looks crappy (pardon the pun) and we could be looking at surgery. 

Stay tuned.............................................................