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Showing posts from March, 2026

Faith's Recent Hospital Stays (Part 2)

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 As mentioned in my previous post  Faith had to go back to the ER about 6 days following her first stay in the hospital. The reason I took her back was to determine whether or not she was still battling a UTI or if there was something else causing her ongoing fatigue.  Thankfully, the ER waiting room was pretty empty, which meant we could go back pretty quickly. After putting in an IV, they drew some labs and also did a chest x-ray and electrocardiogram (ECG) as her heart rate we really high.  An empty waiting room at the ER!  More Tests  They were also going to have to draw another urine sample with a catheter, which was causing Faith to be super anxious. This time, they gave her something to help decrease her anxiety, which made getting the sample much easier. After a while, the x-ray showed a possible pleural effusion.  The doctor recommended a CT scan to get a better look. Faith was becoming very anxious again and wanted to sit up in bed, so I ...

A Topsy-Turvy Month of March

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Topsy-turvy...that's the only word I can think of to describe the month of March. It's been disorderly, chaotic, and a bit out of joint. There have been ups and downs. Highs and lows.  It all started out well enough. My dad celebrated his 75th birthday. This was an especially big deal as he gave us all a scare last month when he came down with a staph infection, which entered his bloodstream. He was very sick and his doctor said if he would have waited 1 more day before going to the ER, the outcome might have been different.  Celebrating my dad's 75th birthday!  On his birthday, we just had a small party as he was not yet feeling 100 percent. A couple of weeks later, when Dawn was here with Faith and I stayed with my parents, I noticed he seemed like he had more energy and was feeling better. I am very thankful for that!  Another person in my family (my sister Tesa) also had a milestone birthday this month. She turned 50! We were all hoping it would work out to have ...

Faith's Adaptive Skiing Adventure

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I am usually all for Faith trying something new. Years ago, though, I drew the line at adaptive skiing. I knew that Dreams in Motion does an annual event at Huff Hills (North Dakota's largest ski area), but I was too afraid to let Faith try it. I just didn't know how she would do being strapped down so tightly, especially with her high tone and issues with her left hip.  At her day program, some of her friends had been going for years and Faith thought it sounded like so much fun. So, this year, I decided we should give it a try. Since there are only 20 spots available for this event, I got her registered the morning it opened up.  Lots of fresh powder at Huff Hills  As the event drew near, I knew I needed to get snow pants for her (since she had none) and make sure I had all the right winter apparel to keep her warm. That was also one of my biggest concerns is her getting too cold, which can cause her tone to increase even more.  As the day approached, she was...