Happy Valentine's Day, Daddy!

Tickling feet, sitting still, inspecting each other, making silly faces... ugh, maybe you get "the picture" if you put them all together...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brogan is on the Move

And Ayden isn't always happy about it.

Clap!

Ayden has become quite the singer of late. He does it quite frequently. Much to the dismay of Allison, his song repertoire is rather small. While there are a couple of other things he knows, his current favorite thing to sing is the Thomas and Friends end credits song. Although the video below shows Allison helping him along, he now knows all of it and can sing it without prompts. As you'll see, he also likes to dance.

When his done with whatever rendition he has chosen, his new thing is to demand (and I do mean demand) that we clap for him - he'll forcefully and loudly say "CLAP!"

Elvis was in the building.

On Monday, my grandmother was told that someone was coming to visit her. My uncle Ray kept teasing her, telling her that Elvis was that special visitor. Though Elvis was a "no show," the person who DID make an appearance was Dabo Swinney, Clemson's head football coach. Actually, he made more than an appearance. He made an impression. He made a memory. He gave my family encouragement and laughter. He gave his time, his story, his faith, and his affection. He was interactive, and he listened as much as he talked.

My daddy wrote the following message regarding Dabo's visit:

Every now and again someone acts in a way that helps restore my faith in humanity. If you have been on this earth long enough, you know what I am talking about. Additionally, you hear much about what’s “bad” in college athletics, and seldom do you hear about the “good.” Well, yesterday, I witnessed a wonderful meeting between a woman struggling to beat cancer (my mom) and a NCAA Division I head football coach (Dabo Swinney). Dabo took time out of his very busy schedule two days before national signing day to meet, encourage, and pray over Mom.

Mother has had to resume chemotherapy (after a two month reprieve) because of the renewed growth of the cancer. And while chemo is hard on her, she seems to be singularly focused on seeing her granddaughter (my sister’s daughter) get married in May. And while this is a worthy goal for her, we all felt that she needed a “boost.”

My brother, Ray, had seen on one of the Clemson University websites that head football coach, Dabo Swinney, had done some visitations to Clemson fans who were undergoing hospice. Ray thought that it would be a worthy endeavor to write Dabo about our Mom, what she was going through, and ask if he would be willing to pay her a visit. 

**(Footnote: It’s important to note that Mom, like many in our family, is an avid Clemson University fan and loves football. Also, Mom and Dad make their home in Easley, SC, which is about 15 miles from Clemson, SC.

  
About 1-2 weeks after sending the letter, Ray received a call from Don Munson, Director of Creative Media Services, Clemson University. Don indicated that Dabo wanted to visit Mom, a date was set based on Dabo’s schedule, and the visit occurred yesterday at Mom & Dad’s home.

Ray, Susan (my sister), and I were in attendance when Dabo and Don arrived at my parents' house. Mom knew someone was coming, but she had no idea of the mystery visitor’s identity. One hint that she was given was the fact that he was a Clemson fan. And lest any of you think that this was about a media event or publicity, nothing could be further from the truth. The only ones taking pictures were Susan and me. This WAS a very intimate meeting between Dabo and my mom. And while the rest of us did interact with Dabo, the focus was Mom, which was exactly what we wanted. Dabo loved on Mom, encouraged Mom, and prayed over Mom. His words and actions were both encouraging and inspiring. He was patient. Dabo wanted to know all about Mom’s illness, so he would know “how to pray.” He was personable, telling us stories about his wife and sister’s struggle with cancer. He told us about his mother and her struggles with scoliosis. His 30 minute visit turned into an hour and twenty minutes, and he didn’t seem to want to leave. He was gracious in every way, even with the signing of Clemson souvenirs for all of our family members. 

I could go on for quite awhile about Dabo’s visit but will simply say, it was a wonderful memory that my family will cherish always. We will never be able to thank Dabo (& Don) enough for what we believed was a very timely visit with my Mom. 

I ask that you continue to lift Mom up in prayer.

God Bless! 
JimBo

 

 

 

THANK YOU, DABO & DON, 

FOR BLESSING MY FAMILY! 

GO, TIGERS!

Morning After

Brogan and I got home at around 1:45 this morning. The vast majority of the time, all we did was wait. We waited in the lobby, we waited in his room, we waited to see the doctor/nurse/respiratory therapist. In between all that waiting, there was vitals, a breathing treatment, some deep suctioning (like Ayden used to get - the kind that involves a long tube being shoved down the nostrils), and an RSV test.

When it was all said and done, it was decided Brogan has bronchiolitis again. This would be the third time since October. Fortunately, the RSV test came back negative. They sent us home with an inhaler and an attachment that allows us to give some puffs to Brogan. It's not as effective at getting him the medicine as breathing treatments from a nebulizer, but it's better than nothing.

He did pretty great through the whole process. We were there a long time, but he never broke down, except during the deep suctioning (I saw the same look in his eyes that I saw many times in Ayden's). He did a lot of cruising around his crib and played with a couple toys I put in there with him (ones that were too big for him to drop through the openings in the rails).

It was a long (and pricey) process, but even looking back, it was probably the right decision. He sounds quite a bit better this morning than he did yesterday at this time. Progress.

Receiving Treatment

Bryan has been standing in the doorway of Brogan's hospital room with Brogan in his arms. Brogan has been highly entertained by the action in the hospital... but the kid is starting to get heavy!

I guess it's a good thing the respiratory therapists just arrived to administer treatment and suctioning. Well, maybe not such a good thing while in process, but you know what I mean. Certainly it will be a good thing afterward. I mean, the kid needs some relief!

In a Hospital Crib

The doctor just listened to Brogan and said the issues appear to be upper respiratory and throat. He thinks Brogan has bronchiolitis again (third time this winter). They want to give him another breathing treatment and then watch him for awhile.

So Brogan is hanging out in a hospital crib, which makes me sad... but he's in pretty good spirits: He's been taking off his socks (a favorite activity of his) and shaking the sides of the crib.

No Real News

They are done with triage and are once again waiting... Brogan was terribly uncooperative, so the nurse was unable to get accurate sats or blood pressures. Otherwise, Bryan says he has been good. I guess they don't consider Brogan acute, or he would already be in a room...

At home, Ayden laid down on the couch and told me, "Not feeling well." (He feels just fine.)

Brogan Headed to the Hospital

Yesterday Brogan had a slight cough. A slight cough turned into a lot of coughing and difficulty breathing. Our pediatrician's office normally has Saturday hours, but the office was closed due to weather. We took him to the walk-in clinic, and he was diagnosed with an ear infection and given an antibiotic. For his respiratory issues, he was given a breathing treatment and steroid shot. The clinic was unable to get us a nebulizer to take home (we had to use a borrowed one with him a few weeks ago), so we took him home hoping things would get better. They didn't. Bryan and Brogan are now headed to the children's hospital. Please pray that this is easily and quickly remedied, so they can come home tonight to recover.

Swords & Sabers

At lunch today, Ayden rolled up his paper towel and began swinging it around. Then he threw in sound effects. He then told me he had made a "saber." Thanks, Uncle James.

 

Christmas present...

 

Another School Day

We have had weather as warm as 70 degrees this past week. Then we had tornadoes. This morning we woke to ice and snow. Ayden had never had the "fun" of removing ice from the cars. He was dying to get outside this morning to help his daddy, so he could go to school.

"Okay, maybe it's a little cold out here."

 

Ayden loves school, and his teachers and friends seem to think he's great too. Today the assistant teacher told him, "You are adorable." He replied, "Yep, I'm adorable."

A week ago, his school had Tacky Day. Had there been a contest, Ayden might have won: