Saturday, August 18, 2007

Lordy, where do I start?! I know ... ok, now I have a glass of wine. Now, let me recap the last couple of weeks, and with the help of my palm pilot, hopefully I can stay in chronological order....
Right around the last time I wrote I was in week 3 of my extensive Hal Higdon 1/2 marathon training program when *SNAP* went my knee. I actually heard it. Luckily, according to the orthopaedic guy, it was only a torn tendon or ligament or muscle, whatever, I can't remember which one. Either way it really hurt, and it put quite a damper on my training regiment. Needless to say, I was unable to run for 4 wks and my New Year's goal for 2007 to run a 1/2 marathon has gone down the tubes. I'm considering organizing the first annual Brookfield New Year's Eve 1/2 Marathon, of which I will most likely be the only participant, but that might even be a stretch. We'll see ... I'll do my best. And if you're interested in joining the Brookfield 1/2 marathon we're accepting applications.

Charlotte spent her first night away from home (since the hospital, of course) when we went out to my parents house for their annual Garden Walk in mid-July. She did really good and it didn't take her too long to fall asleep. It's good to know that should we need to leave her alone with anyone for a weekend (Grandma and Grandpa, perhaps?) that she can adjust to new surroundings. Vegas, here we come!
Brian and I were treated to a day on our own when my parents watched Peanut one Saturday and we did one of those Segway Tours along the lakefront downtown. It was a total blast! I was a little concerned about looking like a geek, and my fears were immediately confirmed when someone yelled, "Dorks!" at us out of their car window, but we were so enthralled with mastering the Segway and trying to maneuver around the busy, weekend, downtown foot traffic that I barely noticed the stares and giggles. Let's face it, people may have laughed at us in our helmets and nametags Segway-ing in a single-file line down Michigan Ave., but I'm willing to bet they were thinking, "Hey, I wouldn't mind trying that." If you ever get the chance to try one of these tours, I highly recommend it! It did take awhile to get used to the Segway and it took a lot more balance than I thought it would, but after an hour we were zipping all over the place.

In late July the three of us had the chance to participate for the first time in a program at Loyola (the hospital where Charlotte was born and spent her days in the NICU) called Operation Homefront where 3rd year med students spend time with a Loyola family in the community during their pediatric rotation. We had the pleasure of meeting two students, Vernesha and Anthony, who we can already tell are going to be fantastic doctors. They spent one evening in our home, observing bathtime and getting Charlotte to bed, and then Vernesha came to Charlotte's NICU follow-up appt and Anthony came to our house a second evening. It was so nice to see the enthusiasm and desire for knowledge in these two students. It totally reconfirmed my choice to pursue nursing. Hopefully, our family will be chosen again for this program, but it was really great to be able to give a little something back to Loyola.

Speaking of going back for nursing ... I finished my Psych class on Aug. 2nd, and I got 362 out of 364 points in the class! Whoohoo!! For everyone who knew my in college, I want you to know I went to every single class AND my paper was done and printed TWO DAYS before it was due. Seriously. I went to every single class. I really hope my Chemistry class that starts soon is just as easy as this class. We had open book tests, people missed tests and were able to make them up willy-nilly, the Final consisted of the exact same questions in the exact same order that were on the previous tests, and to get full credit for 1/3 of your grade all you had to do was show up. I start my next class on the 28th and it goes all the way til December. I'm actually very nervous about it, because I just don't get Chemistry. It doesn't add up.

A HUGE SHOUT-OUT to my Aunt Marilyn, my Mom (aka Grandma) and everyone who was involved in the baby shower that they threw for me a few weeks ago! I thought I was going to my Aunt's house that night to have my fortune read by someone she knew and it turns out ... no fortune-teller, just lots of wonderful family and friends! I had such a great time and to be honest it kind of filled a void. That probably sounds weird, but with my pregnancy and the birth of our children being so unorthodox I sometimes feel like I missed out on so much of what other women get to experience. And while Peanut has made me the happiest mom in the world, it was still nice to have that "rite-of-passage" into motherhood. And I actually had it better. I was able to have some wine.
Last week, we took our first Team Hellyer family vacation up to White Lake Beach "Resort" in Montello, Wisc. For those of you who haven't heard of this place - I used to go up there every year with my friend Patty and her family. Over the years we've befriended lots of other families that go there and now our generation gets the chance to bring our own families up there. We had a relaxing week of swimming, golfing, bean-bagging and gossiping. Peanut slept better than she ever has before and because of that mommy and daddy got to take turns visiting the local drinking-hole. Of course, our little Team can't stay still for too long so for the first time for all of us we visited the Wisconsin Dells . Yes, it's a bit cheesy, but it going to be so much fun when Peanut is older and we can go to some of the water parks and go on the roller coasters. This time around it was more about walking up and down the "boardwalk". Another day we visited The House on the Rock. We still don't know what the story was about that place (some guy built some house on a rock and he had a lot of eccentric collections), but it was really cool and we have already planned a re-visit next year. Above is a pic of Brian and Peanut in the Eternity Room. See how it seems like the room is going on for ever and ever and ever ..... The freaky part was that this room has no support underneath. I got out of there pretty quick when I realized that.
Now for the part you've all been waiting for .... Charlotte's ABR results!!! Charlotte had her hearing test yesterday at Children's Memorial Hospital. We drove down yesterday morning only to find out that Eric and Kathy on the 101.9 morning show were having their annual 36 hour fundraiser in the hospital lobby. It was kind of neat that they were there on the same day, but it was a zoo down there! I had several conversations with the Anaethesiology Attendings at both Loyola and Childrens regarding how to approach Peanut's procedure - sedation or general. It was ultimately determined that general anaethesia was the way to go, but I was still very nervous. She still has BPD and she's still so small, so seeing the doctor carry my baby away into the operating room was horrific for me. But all of my worries were for naught, and Charlotte came out of it only a little hungry and ........... (drumroll please) ....... diagnosed with a moderate hearing loss!!! Peanut will still need the help of her hearing aids and she's still going to need therapy and Child's Voice, but the road will be much easier for her than originally anticipated. She can hear more than we were told after the initial ABR, but it seems that she's missing out on most of the speech sounds around here. I get the impression that unaided she knows people are talking, but the clarity isn't there. Regardless, it's fantastic news for her. And I have to boast, she was such a trooper. She only cried when she first came out of surgery and she was hungry. Other that than she didn't fuss when they took blood, or she couldn't eat for 8 hrs, or she couldn't take a nap, etc. I KNOW I wouldn't be that good. She's amazing.
I have more to tell - itch mites, OT, our yard sale, I'm old, Charlotte meets baby Jesus and tries to give him a high-five. I'll write more after Brian goes skydiving next weekend. Glad it's not me!!!!

P.S. Leah Hillman - thank you so much for the beautiful comment you left last month! If you get the chance, please send me an email at achellyer@yahoo.com. I'd love to hear how you and your girls are doing. Btw, Loyola is planning a NICU reunion on Oct. 27. Put it on your calendar!