Thursday, March 1, 2012

Out with the old in with the new....

As many of you know Lukie's central line (broviac) is his life line.  We have been very blessed and have saved his broviac on many occasions.  Every few weeks Lukie's nurse takes blood work from his broviac for his TPN labs.  We always struggle to get blood to draw out of his line.  Yesterday I put cathflo in his line like I always do.  When his nurse came we could not get any blood.  We put more cathflo in, after 7 hours of trying to declott the line it still did not work.  So we headed to UVRMC for blood work and try to declott the line.  They tried with no luck:(  Their was a weak spot in his line, with all of the work trying to get blood to draw back his central line broke and sprung a leak.  We have been very fortunate to have the same central line for 37 months!  This is a record for a broviac in a baby.  We were admitted to the hospital and Lukie received central line #7 today.  Surgery went well, and the broviac was placed in his left subclavian vein.  Lukie was worried but recovered great.  We are crossing our fingers that this central line last as long as the last one did:)  Thanks for all of the positive thoughts and prayers!

Every day Lukie prayers to make a snowman.  He finally got his wish and got some snow.  So Mike took him outside to play in the snow while we were patiently waiting to unclott his line.
 Lukie settled in his room.  These are just a "few" gifts nurse Dennis brought in for Lukie.  Dennis was in the room when Lukie's line broke and felt really bad for him.  Every time he see's Lukie he has to bring him something Phineas and Ferb:)
 Lukie refused on being wheeled down to the OR on the bed so I had to ride with him.  
 Lukie's new line! 
 This is an X-Ray the surgeon gave us after surgery.  His old line was on his right side, the new one is on the left.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Day 7 Saying Goodbye

Today we said goodbye to the Happiest Place on Earth-Give Kids the World.  It has been an amazing week.  One we will never forget!  Instead of spending our last day at an amusement park we decided to have a relaxing day at GKTW.  We are so thankful for the organization and volunteers that made our vacation so magical.  For one week we were able to be stress free and enjoy everything in life.  We are thankful for the experience we had to stay in the village.  We were all very sad to leave.  The kids talk about GKTW everyday and can't wait to go back to volunteer someday.  The kids told me they cried at school because they missed GKTW.  They have not said anything about missing the amusement parks, just GKTW.  Isaac always says things that make me laugh......the other day he said "I hope one of my kids is sick so I can go back to Give Kids the World".  Ahhh what?
As we were leaving they gave us a going away packet.  They know it is hard for families to leave so they try to make it special.  First they gave Lukie another star like the one they hung in the castle.  They also gave us a certificate for a free poster of a picture from our trip.  They also gave us a disk full of pictures that were taken of us in the village.  As well as a Disney disk full of Disneyworld pictures.  We also received a certificate for a scrapbook of our vacation made by a nonprofit organization who makes scrapbooks for wish kids.  And the highlight was a Children's Passport.  This is a passport that we can use at Amusement parks across the world.  We can go to several parks one time each for free for one year!  We are planning on using it at Lagoon this summer, and would like to take the boys to Lego Land in California sometime before the year is over:)
We had to go buy a large suitcase to bring home all of the treasures from our trip.  We were all very spoiled!  Thank you for love of the wonderful memories Give Kids the World and Make-A-Wish, what an amazing time we had:)
Breakfast at the Gingerbread House
This is where the kids got their food from the "Lil' Chew Chew"
Dounuts and waffles
These little waffles were so good!  I had to buy a waffle iron when we got home because we missed our yummy breakfasts!
This volunteer (From Utah) walked around to every table and squirted whip cream in all of the kids mouths:)
This is the Cupcake room where the kids liked to eat.
The view from our villa
Saying good bye to our dream home.....
Some other Villas
We spent some time in the castle.  This is the desk where Luke made his star.
They had a Valentine party, the boys made Valentines, picture frames, crepe paper flowers, and had candy.
The star tower where Lukie's star is.....
This is the door outside of the star tower where Lukie's star is.  I really wanted to take a picture of Luke by the door but he refused to stand there alone.  So this is the best I could do:)
Outside the tower.
The tree where the boys made their pillows
Some of the many many stars
Luke's star is in one of these galaxies
More of the castle of miracles
Laughter fills the air at Give Kids The World Village, a fanciful, carefree retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses, and their deserving families. Give Kids The World Village is a 71-acre, nonprofit “storybook” resort located near Central Florida’s most beloved attractions. Here, children and their families are treated to week long, cost-free fantasy vacations, complete with accommodations in whimsical villas, transportation, donated attraction tickets, meals, and much more. At the Village, these children learn that dreams really do come true as they and their families are immersed in joy, love, and hope for a few unforgettably happy days. Since 1986, Give Kids The World has hosted more than 107,000 families from all 50 states and more than 70 countries.

Inside the House of Hearts
Amberville.  This was Isaac's favorite place.  We spent a lot of time here today.  They have arcades, remote control boats, video games, pool, table tennis, train, miniature golf, model trains,and basket ball.  Isaac said when he grows up he wants to work in Amberville and his wife can bring the kids to play:)
Remote control boats
This is a garbage collector that actually sucks up the trash with his trunk.
Isaac could spend hours playing this game.
Mike and Jayden played a game of Football
This is a life size Candy Land play ground.  We really wanted to play here.  Unfortunately it was closed during the week we were there. 

The Castle of Miracles and the Carousel that Lukie LOVED!
Chocolate dipped Strawberry YUMM!
The pool right next to our villa.
Every week GKTW hangs flags from the countries of those staying in the village.
The movie "Letters to God" is a true story that was partly filmed at GKTW.  They have a mailbox in memory of Tyler (from the movie), where anyone can leave a letter for God.
This is inside of the Chapel.
We looked over and Isaac was at the pulpit writing a letter to God.  I thought it was really sweet.
This is what he wrote......
This is inside the Gallery of Hope....
A map of the Village
Replica of village
The Corral where kids can ride horses
Our favorite place the Ice cream palace
Boston Market for lunch
Ol' Elmer
Inside Ol' Elmer
This is inside Julie's Safari Theater where the kids can get popcorn, ICEE's  and make pixie sticks wherver they want.
Inside the castle is a spa where girls can get there nails and hair done and hand massages.  The boys went to the spa to tattoos before we left. 
Jayden got a soccer ball.
Air brushing on the tat's
Lukie got a dolphin.
Isaac got 3 tattoos.  This one is a boxer on his leg.
Hockey player, and basketball player
Our plane was delayed 3 1/2 hours!  We finally arrived home at 1:00am (3:00 Florida time).  We were all exhausted.  I think my face tells how we felt lol.  But the airline was nice and gave us each a $25 food voucher for dinner.  Mike, Jayden and Isaac went to Outback Steak House.
Picture Mike made using all 3200 pictures from the Wish trip!!!
Give Kids The World Village From Above!!!
A Highlight Video of Lukies Make-A-Wish Trip
Inside our Villa!!!

A little tour outside the villas!!!
Lukies favorite ride - "Horsey Ride"