Happy Birthday Sissy!

I hope you have a FANTASTIC birthday! I wish I was there to take you to Primrose Retreat for a birthday cupcake! Go ahead and eat one for me :) I hope the kids give you that present you want. (cleaning their rooms) Let me know about that one!

The end of a very fun day! Let's go get some hot chocolate and dry clothes... Becca wants to go again tomorrow :)

They are verrrry cold! My finger was cold from clicking the pictures! When we drove home it was 11 degrees!

Here's the brains behind this family excursion... He had as much fun as the kids! Thanks Dad!

Soooo much fun!

Mr. Grayson is in charge on that sled! He had fun racing friends down the hill. We had some close calls!

Little Miss becca enjoying her time in the snow. She was fearless on that very steep hill!

I hope you can read these letters to Santa. (just click on the picture and you should be able to read it) These kids just make me laugh so much! How sweet are they? Santa did leave a "response". Santa told them thanks for the cookies, but he was very cold and wearing big gloves, so he couldn't write very well :) When Becca woke up she was mad that he didn't eat ALL the cookies. We told her that he had a lot of snacks that night!

Becca and I had a blast decorating our own gingerbread house. There was only one problem... we ran out of frosting! Oh well! Next year we will be more prepared.

Becca had her Christmas program the day we left for Mesa. She loved being up there singing! She also got to dance with a classmate to the song "Holiday Ho Ho Ho Down". (I wasn't able to get a picture that wasn't blurry) Here are some pictures of her and her bestest buddies. She has a great class this year. She loves her teacher ~ Ms. Trickey. She wants to thank her Aunt Jana for such a great Ms. Claus dress!

Becca hanging out with Eli in the hospital. She loves him so much!

On Saturday I sat with Eli in the hospital while Gregg got to take Becca to the mall for some shopping. They didn't want to wait in line for Santa, so she decided Frosty was just as good! They had a really great time! Becca was able to introduce Gregg to Claire's. She loves that store! She really wanted to get her ears pierced but she doesn't want it to hurt, maybe next time :)

Hey Everyone! I am finally able to sit down and let you know what's new.

Becca and I went to Mesa to pick up Gregg and Eli last Thursday. We got to the hotel just as he was starting his dialysis. I had to take pictures much to his dismay :) It just fascinates me how this whole thing works. After I took these pictures I went to get us something to eat.

We had dinner and then Eli started to complain about a headache. After about an hour, he was laying down holding his head again. I took his blood pressure and it was 160. I freaked out because this is what happened before his last seizure. I called the doctor and he told me to bring him back to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital his blood pressure was 175, they admitted him again. He was out of the hospital less than 24 hours. They said he was having a "spinal" headache, from his spinal tap days earlier. They did a blood patch the next day and his headache went away. His blood pressure was still out of control and his oxygen levels were very low.

They kept him for another four days.

John, Eli and Jacob before Prom...

I am embarassed to say... this is the only picture I have of Eli that I can download right now. I am pretty computer illiterate and I can only get the pictures that are stored in my computer. Hopefully, I can figure it out soon :)

Eli was in Mesa last week doing dialysis all week. He is now a pro! He drove home Saturday and got home around four. After a couple of hours he started complaining about a headache. I told him he probably overdid it in Mesa and needed some rest. We were all in bed by ten!

Around 7:00 am Gregg woke up and walked through the house, as he was crossing the living room he glanced over and saw Eli on the floor holding his head. He tried to talk to him and ask him what was going on. He wouldn't respond.

He came and woke me up. We tried to ask him questions and he wouldn't answer. I went and got some blankets and pillows because he was shaking like he was cold.

We tried to turn him on his side because I knew he was pinching the catheter in his stomach. We started rolling him over and he started having a grand mal seizure. I called 911. After what seemed like an eternity he stopped. He then went into some sort of trance.

The paramedics got here and loaded him into the ambulance as it was snowing. Gregg went with him. I stayed to take care of Grayson and Becca. They had witnessed their brother and they were quite scared.

Eli had another grand mal seizure on the way to Show Low.

They got him to the ER and immediately gave him seizure medication and morphine. They tried to stabilize him. Eli had another grand mal seizure. After 45 minutes they decided he needed a cat scan. Gregg was watching the cat scan when he saw his back starting to arch. He ran in there as fast as he could.

Eli had another grand mal seizure while in the cat scan machine.

It was snowing so badly that they could not fly him in the helicopter to Phoenix. They took him in an ambulance to the Show Low airport to fly to Phoenix by airplane. Gregg was able to fly with him. They got into Sky Harbor airport and went by ambulance to Banner Baywood Hospital. They had a room in ICU waiting for him.

He was in ICU for three days. They moved him to a regular room today. He does not remember a thing. He sounds good, a little shaky. It is hard to understand him because his tongue is so swollen from biting it so hard. He is very sore. The hospital does not understand how he didn't have a stroke. It is literally a MIRACLE!

I want to thank everyone for ALL you have done to help our family during this scary event! With everything he has been through we are planning a very low key Christmas. I just want to sit by Eli and hold his hand and let him know everything is going to be alright.

Happy Birthday Graysoni!

This is my little Grayson when he was nine. I was looking through some pictures to find a cute one to put on for his birthday! My little guy turned twelve on the fouth of this month! I couldn't pass this one up! He is such an entertainer, I think this picture captures it all :) It seems like just yesterday I was helping you tie your shoes and wiping your face off from all of your peanut butter moustaches :) We love you Bud!!!

Dialysis Anyone?

The kids called and told me a man was at the house with a delivery for Elijah Bargo. I ran home as quickly as I could to get the delivery... I walked in and about fell over! I tell the nice delivery man that he has left too much! We only have one person on dialysis and it should only be for a month. He looked at me with a nice smile shaking his head. His response was "yes, this is all yours" I gasp and barely try to respond. He told me this was one months worth of peritoneal dialysis liquid. I signed for it, then sat down to catch my breath. Eli has been in Mesa all week by himself. He had to go down to the dialysis clinic everyday from 9-3. He is a trained professional now! He informs us that only one parent is allowed in the room with him while he is dialyzing, and we have to wear masks to help prevent the spread of any infections.

I had to run to Round Valley for an eye appointment today. Carrie rode with me along with Becca, Cassidy and Ashtyn!

While I was in with the doctor the kids played out front in the snow... Becca is jumping around in one picture, while the mittens are trying to "dry" in another.

They did build a rather glamorous snowman! They froze their bottoms off and didn't care a bit! Snow makes everything better! They were wet from head to toe. We scooped them up and took them to McDonalds to get out of the cold.

I hope we get more snow over the holidays, it makes the kids so happy! You never know, we had snow in May after Eli's graduation! Grandma and Papaw Bargo and Aunt Quetha were here from Kentucky. I think they thought they were in the twilight zone. ha ha

Yeah!!!

Done with Thanksgiving...
We drove home from Kingman on Sunday and left Monday morning for Scottsdale. Eli and I were there for a week. He had appointments with the Mayo Clinic for the rest of the week. That is an amazing facility. All of the doctors, surgeons, nurses, phlebotomists (I have to add the phlebotomists because we got to know them VERY well) and just about everyone else you could think of were fabulous! We were in good hands!

Here is Eli driving home with his "mommy" after surgery and a fun filled Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Marolf's. He sure looks happy! (He loves spending quality time with me in the car ha ha we tend to battle over our music choices :) )Poor guy was in a lot of pain. What a little trooper!!!