Surgery Day

On Monday, April 9th, Jeff came home from work early complaining of chest pains. The pain progressed and he thought he was having a heart attack or stroke so he called 911. The ambulance picked him up and took him to Presbyterian Plano where tests were run and his heart was pumped. The results were negative. He was told the pain is most likely stemming from the neck and to contact his Neurosurgeon ASAP. An appointment was made that afternoon.

Le me back up, Jeff had surgery on his C5 and C6 in January, 2001. A part of his hip bone was removed to fuse C5 and C6. The pain has progressed since 2006. He is on prescriptions to relive the pain as well as seeing a pain management doctor for neck injections. Within the past year Jeff has had a hard time sleeping and even functioning day to day. His pain doctor decided it was time to see a Neurosurgeon. Per the doctor's request a myelogram was performed in February. (A myelogram uses x-rays and a special dye to make pictures of the bones and the fluid-filled space between the bones in your spine and neck. During the test, a dye is put into the fluid-filled space with a thin needle. The dye moves through the space so the nerve roots and spinal cord can be seen more clearly). Jeff hasn't had the time to review the results with his surgeon as he's been busy with work.

So, here we are Monday morning at the doctor’s office to go over the results. Jeff's C5 had deteriorated, C6 collapsed and C7 is herniated along with extreme nerve damage. The doctor leaves the room, comes back and tells us Jeff is having emergency neck surgery on Thursday! We knew at some point he needed surgery but for it to take place in the same week? We were not physically nor mentally prepared for this.

Jeff had pre-op Wednesday and we were to be at the hospital at 5:45 the next morning. The surgery took 3 hours with 1 hour in recovery. We were hoping to go home around 11:00 that Friday but Jeff had more than normal drainage coming from his neck. He was draining 12 oz. when it should be less than 10 oz. We were finally discharged Friday night. I was so ready to get home to get a good nights sleep and to see Landon as I have not been away from him for more than a night. Jeff will be at home up to 6 weeks and can only take his neck brace off when he showers and eats. He has a long road ahead of him and with everyone praying for him hopefully he will have a speedy recovery and back to his normal self.

Three of these plates were inserted into the neck.

 

 

Happy 85th Birthday Grandpa!

Sunday, the family celebrated Grandpa's 85 birthday. The party was held at my work, in the conference room as we needed a large enough room to hold the 58 immediate family members (24 missing). The room was dressed in blue and gold (or yellow) for Jesuit and we enjoyed great homemade BBQ food. Melissa set out pictures of Grandpa and the late Grandma as it wasn't only a celebration of his birthday but of their 64th wedding anniversary on April 30. She introduced the Schnitzius genealogy book which she spent many months working on. She also provided everyone with CD of Grandpas voice recordings of the many stories he tells and a video of the aunts and uncles telling their stories (with the generous help of cousin Marc). I'm grateful to have this as it will be a memory I will cherish forever and be able to pass down generations. (more pics to come)

Here is the family picture with 21 or so family members missing.

Happy Easter

After Sunday morning church Landon opened his easter basket and had his first Peep. Needless to say he didn't care for it.

Another year of traditions was spend at Great Aunt Dorothy's house for the annual easter egg hunt.

Cousin Nick helping Landon.

I forgot his basket so we used a target bag which he quickly filled up.

 Trying pieces of candy he seemed to not like it. Doesn't hurt my feelings!

After a long excited day, he crashed early!

The Baby Stork Has Struck Again!

Its official, baby no. 2 will make his/her appearance on October 5. I didn't think I could get pregnant again as it took me over 6 years to get pregnant with Landon so this was definitely a surprise. We keep telling Landon that mommy has a baby in her tummy and he says "no mommy no". He will be a great big brother. I went to my first OB visit February 17 and everything looks great! The first few weeks I was nauseous to smells and I'm having food cravings like chips, candy, ice cream and fruit. With Landon there was only a certain candle smell that I could not take (even to this day) and I didn't have any food cravings. The bad side is I will be pregnant through the HOT summer!

(taken 3/31)

 

Perfect Sunday Morning

The day after the party we decided to take Landon to the Dallas Zoo. It's best to go first thing in the morning while the crowds are light and it's not as hot. We packed a cooler with drinks and snacks and enjoyed the sites and sounds of the animals.

 

Feeding the Koy Fish and Goats at the Childrens Zoo.

 

The Koala Bear exhibit opened in March and will stay opened for 2 years. The Koala Bears are on loan from the Los Angeles Zoo.

 

Happy 2nd Birthday Landon!

Today turned out to be a beautiful day to celebrate a birthday. Landon had an orange and blue themed party at the local neighborhood playground. The kids enjoyed pizza and cupcakes ran around like crazy. We enjoyed the company of family, friends and Landon's school friends.

24 Months

My sister took time out of her busy schedule to take pictures of Landon at 24 months. The first few of pictures were taken in Georgetown at an old bridge down the street from my sisters house and the rest were taken in Plano at Arbor Hills Nature Reserve. She did her best at taking his pictures as it's hard to keep him still. I hope you enjoy!