I'm Just a Phone Call Away

Hospital Stay: Day 5 

He said –Today was a great day with my family. I wasn't feeling all that great, but I did my best to be present and active while they were here.

I've been battling nausea a lot this stay and it really seems to be taking it out of me. But, the lung pain is improving and I think I'm close to being able to take a deep, full breath. When I'm able to do that, I'm sure things will improve much quicker.

It was tough to see them go, but having them around is a good reminder for why I'm here.

She said – Today we got to see Ronnie! We planned on going down to see him tomorrow, but this morning Mckenna was missing Ronnie something fierce. There were tears. She insisted she couldn’t wait one more sleep until she saw him. I tried selling the idea that we were going to do something fun today and that it would make the day go fast. She asked me if I could go do that really fun thing by myself while she went to see daddy. It was then I knew that little girl just needed her daddy. So off we went to Tucson.

We had a nice visit. Poor Ronnie seemed like he wasn't 100% up for visitors, but he rallied for the sake of his Daddy’s Girl! We had lunch, went to the library, and played at the gift shop.

When we left it was brutal. Mckenna was the most upset I’ve seen her about leaving Ronnie. If she made eye contact with him she would just lose it. But we all got through the goodbye, and she slept off her sorrows on the drive home.

We got home just in time for dinner and bedtime routine. I put Bennett down and surprised Mckenna with a “girl’s night”…we watched a show and ate popcorn in my bed. It was a nice way to end the day!

As expected...

Hospital Day #2

He said – I'm not a big napper, but today I was sleepy. I even managed to take a snooze for about an hour. I'm still looking for the truck that ran me over, but I am seeing little signs of improvement.

Little brother made my dinner tonight - chicken breast with BBQ sauce, asparagus and sweet potato fries. And yes ladies, he's single :)

She said – Day numero dos was another success. Keni is seriously nailing it the last couple days. She’s been an awesome listener, tabled the sass, and has been a joy to be around. Bennett has been a little needy, but he only got up to eat once last night again, so I give him a gold star. I even managed to get their naps to overlap by 45 minutes so I could sneak in a little more work and a little kid-free time! #Winning.

Today was packed full again. We got up and had breakfast; went to Bennett’s swim lesson; and then went to the gym. We then scurried home because I had a babysitter coming so I could get a run in (I’m training for another marathon, and I don’t like running on the treadmill). The kids were with the sitter a few hours while I ran and then did a couple hours of work. I came home and surprised Mckenna with a trip to Chick-fil-a for lunch since she had been such a good girl the last couple days. We came home for naps for the kiddos and then left again for a playdate and dinner with friends. Then it was bedtime!

The day flew by and everyone made it through it with happy hearts! Success.

First Day In the Hole

You know when you have known someone for a really long time, except you don’t know their name. They told you it once, but you don’t remember it, and it’s been too long to ask them? Well it kind of feels like to write a blog after not writing one for so long. It’s a little awkward, but at some point, it’s necessary to bite the bullet and ask your name-less BFF their name.

I decided a great way to get back to blogging is to take it back to the basics. This blog started just to document my journey to get back lung function and run a mile, back in 2009 by writing what I did daily. So to get back into the groove, I’m bringing it back old school. I came into the hospital for a tune-up yesterday, so I am going to document my stay and what each day looks like. To add a little fun, we are going to make it a he said-she said format; I am going to write what I did during the day and Mandi is going to share her day…if we are feeling really crazy, maybe Mckenna will share her perspective some days here and there.

Hospital Stay: Day 1 

He said: Today was like most first days in the Hole…It felt like I had poison flowing through my body. I was tired, my eyes were heavy and I was achy all over. I also did PFTs and ended up having the worst numbers I’ve seen since 2009. I’m not shocked, but seeing an FEV1 of 36% was a bit jolting. You know what they say – Nowhere to go but up!

My lungs are certainly feeling much more junky than normal and I have a stabbing pain that is preventing me from taking a full breath. So, are my lungs really that sick right now? Probably not. But I have a lot of work to do and feeling like this is not acceptable, so I’ll do whatever it takes to dig out of this hole.

Looking forward to the challenge.

She said: Today is our first full day of Ronnie in the hole. It started out awesome because both kids slept well! Bennett was only up once in the night to eat, and Mckenna slept in my bed, so I didn’t hear from her except a little snuggle here and there.

We crammed the day full of activities to help the day go faster. First up was the typical morning routine of cartoons and breakfast, then Bennett had a swim lesson, I volunteered at Keni’s school (Bennett came too). After volunteering, Bennett and I came home, he took a nap while I worked, and then we went back to school to pick up Keni. It was then home for naps. While the kids napped I picked up the house and got a little more work in. Post-naps I met a friend at the gym for leg day. After the gym it was home for dinner, baths, and bed.

All in all it was a great day. How Mckenna behaves usually dictates how good the day feels to me…to be honest. Mckenna was a good little listener with a happy heart today, so the day felt pretty smooth. Unfortunately, we did have a couple little crying bouts by Mckenna because she missed Ronnie, but she recovered and was good otherwise. This stay seems like it bums her out more than stays in the past. The stays after Ronnie’s crazy stay where he was in for longer and I had to be with him for 3 weeks, seem to be harder on her. But she will get it one day!