Tuesday, July 30, 2013

sometimes life throws you a curve ball




the beginning of july was very promising.  we had a great third of july party, we were planning a vacation to florida, and things were just looking up.
but, sometimes life has a different plan.


july 10th, around 1:30, Jorge was sent to the ER. Neither one of us expected that he would be in the hospital for exactly 2 weeks (almost to the hour!). I can honestly say that it was the longest two weeks of our entire lives, and poor gabe too.  it seemed like every few days there was something new going on.  at one point, i gave up giving people updates because everything kept changing.
here's the short version....he was diagnosed with diverticulitis (an infection in the colon) on july 10th, a wednesday.  on sunday morning, he had a small perforation in his colon, causing him enormous pain and resulting in him being moved to an ICU room.  the pain subsided, but then monday he threw up and it was cause for concern. they did a few scans and determined that there was a small obstruction in his bowel.  they decided to insert an NG tube (it is inserted through the nose, to the stomach, and drains anything in the stomach). he had this for a few days. by the end of this ordeal, he was pain free, nothing was being drained from the tube and we were hopeful.  until...one of the colo-rectal doctors decided that he needed surgery (requiring a colostomy bag). they would wait for results on monday, he was scheduled for surgery at 12:30. thankfully (but not without a few panic attacks), he didn't run a fever and therefore didn't need surgery. on wednesday, he was finally discharged on a full liquid diet and iv antibiotics.  he needed to give himself the antibiotics 3 times a day. 
today, his picc line was removed and he is on oral antibiotics.  he has no pain, but is taking everything easy.



jorge and i cannot even begin to tell every one how incredibly thankful and grateful we are for everyone who came to visit, called, texted, or took care of gabe (or even just offered). it means the world to us. we are very lucky to count all of you as family and friends. thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Jorge is sick

My life for the past week has been about coordinating plans for gabe so that I could be at the hospital. Luckily, Cristina was on vacation last week and my mom is home. It has been a very long week.



It all began last week, Wednesday. Jorge had stomach pain and was running a fever. He was sent from his department to the ER, with a possible appendicitis. After a CT scan, they found out he had diverticulitis, an infection in his colon. He was put on IV antibiotics and told that he would be in the hospital until Sunday. He was allowed only ice chips. By Friday, he could have jello, broth and juice.



Saturday we were getting things ready to leave Sunday afternoon. Until, he woke up in the most horrible pain. He looked like he was in labor, the way he was contorting from the pain. They called in the rapid response team and took him for an emergency CT scan. It showed a small perforation to one of the diverticuli. He was moved to an ICU and was still in a lot of pain on Sunday.


Yesterday was a lot better pain wise, but he was unable to eat or drink anything. Today, they did a chest X-ray because they were concerned that he might be developing pneumonia. We are still waiting for the results.



He just wants to go home and gabe and I just want him home. I miss gabe, and so does Jorge. I've never been as scared as I was on Sunday.


-jen

Wordless Wednesday

God I've missed this kid so much!




















-jen

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The fourth

I've said it before, and anyone who really knows me knows that I really don't like fireworks. Jorge on the other hand, LOVES them. So far, gabe is with me. He was seriously shaking when Jorge lit a sparkler fire truck thing.



Wednesday, the third, the country club behind our house does a show. Last year we had a few people over. We really didn't know how it would be. Thins year, since gabe's not having a huge party for his birthday, we decided to go kinda big for the 3rd. We had 17.5 pounds of carne asada, rice, guacamole, kabobs and tons of kids.

*side note* almost all of my friends are married with kids. When did this happen?

Anyway, it was a blast! Tons of friends, tons of beer, tons of food and most important to most, tons of fireworks. Javi, gabe and I were inside during the fireworks so I'm not sure if they were awesome or not. However, I'm super excited that Alli, Todd and Mia were able to make it all of the way from Frankfort to hang out! And Megan finally made it to a party!

Alas, I took not a single picture (Alli if you read this and have some can I have them too?) I did take some the next night when we went to Liz and Devon's. The girls were so cute! Gabe slept thru the fireworks if you can believe it!














I forget what Devon and gabe were saying to each other, but they were cracking each other up!
-jen

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Long overdue update on mom




My mom has been through a lot since november, blood clots, lung cancer, quitting work. The second Monday of June however signaled then end (at least for now) of her radiation and chemo treatments. She goes for a CT scan on the 11th of this month, and we have been given the go-ahead to plan a vacation to Florida in August.



She was able to make it to my cousins wedding with no problems. She is pretty much symptom free except for some tiredness some days. I hope that the scan brings good news. Thank you everyone for your prayers and good wishes. They mean a lot to her and me.

One of the best things that has come from this has been her ability to make Beans. If she were still smoking, not a whole lot of people would have wanted one, so really it was kinda like a blessing in disguise. Don't hesitate to ask for a Bean of your own to love! She really loves making them!






-jen

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Going to the zoo (again!)

Sunday was the perfect day for the zoo! Unfortunately, every one else thought so too. Gabe and I were going to meet Alli and Mia at Brookfield. It's between both of our homes, and really the only thing that's in between Chicago and orland park.



The kratt brothers had two shows at Brookfield on Sunday. I really didn't think it would be as crowded as it was. It took me about 30 minutes to get into the parking lot. It took Alli about an hour. They were parking cars in the grass and on the hills! I couldn't believe how packed it was!


Once we finally got in it didn't seem so bad. Gabe and Mia were so excited to see each other! I swear, gabe doesn't get this excited about other friends, except Molly (sorry Maggie, Lucy and lilah). He wanted to hold her hand and he gave her "boo boo" a kiss when she fell. *awe* I just wished that we lived closer so we could spend more time together.












-jen

Monday, July 1, 2013

My cousin's wedding




June first is Jorge's birthday. This year, it was also my cousin Sarah's wedding. She married this awesome guy, Adam. We are so glad to have him as part of our family!

My cousins and I never miss an opportunity to take a ton of pictures! At my cousin colleen's wedding almost 8 years ago, we took the disposable camera on our table and took the goofiest pictures of ourselves. It was hilarious! We didn't disappoint this time around either.









Of course we took some nicer ones too....















But, goofy ones are the best!






-jen