Luke 16 year stats

Height: 5’9.75″ (70%)

Weight: 130.4 lbs (40%)

BMI: 25%

Blood pressure: 124/86

Life and EoE

Since my boys have gotten older, I haven’t updated much on here. They need their privacy.

Here are some quick updates so I have them documented/don’t forget:

Kenny graduated from high school this past May. He graduated with an IB certificate and was a National Merit Scholar Finalist. His dream college was Columbia, but when he didn’t get in, we told him he should look at schools that had good opportunities for National Merit Finalists. That’s how Alabama came into the picture. They offered him a full ride and he took it. He’s in the honors college, is currently rushing a fraternity, and is loving life (and the weather) there. We lucked out that we get to root for good college football (Alabama) AND good basketball (KU). He finished out his soccer career with his club team in May but plays intramural soccer at Bama. Roll Tide.

Luke is a sophomore in high school. He’s been a captain on both his freshman and sophomore high soccer teams. And then he plays club soccer the rest of the year. Both he and Kenny lifeguarded for me this past summer. I’m writing less about him because I feel like he’s more at that age where he likes his privacy.

Eric just hit 20 years at his police station, which means he could retire any time he wanted to. He’s only 43 so he’ll stay longer since his pension goes up every year (up to 30 years). He’s a captain now and has aspirations to be a chief next. My goal is to eventually get him out to Cape Cod. We’ve been going there for the past 6 summers and it’s just my favorite place.

I just left my job as an aquatic supervisor. It really was the best place to work, with the best people, but I’m burned out. I want to enjoy my summers, and that’s mainly when Kenny will be back in town. I don’t want to miss him (or Luke). I still work for our swim team, but the hours are pretty minimal each month. Now I just need to figure out what I want to do next.

I was diagnosed with EoE (eosinophilic esophagitis) a little over three years ago. I was having trouble swallowing, so I went to see an ENT. He scoped my upper throat and didn’t see anything wrong, so he sent me to a GI doctor. The GI doctor put me under to do a scope of my lower throat down to my stomach. He said it could be a few things, but would dilate my esophagus if it needed it while he was in there. I woke up and could immediately tell that he had. A few weeks later, the biopsy came back and that’s when I found out I had EoE. It’s all due to allergies. White blood cells form rings on my esophagus, which can lead to the narrowing of the esophagus, compactions, and choking. The GI doctor sent me to an allergist. Allergy tests aren’t incredibly accurate, but they think mine are mainly environmental allergies. I don’t know if it’s better or worse that mine are environmental allergies vs food allergies since I can’t really control mine. I started allergy shots in Dec 2019 and they say it usually takes around 5 years.

I noticed that it was getting harder to swallow things but could usually get things down with water or a Coke (the carbonation really helps). I kept meaning to call and schedule something with the GI doctor. On Friday, I warmed up a soft taco, took my first bite, and felt it get stuck. I just couldn’t get it down. Even my saliva wouldn’t. I just kept having to gag the liquids up. A few pieces of food came up, but not enough to unclog the compaction. I ended up going to the ER around 4. They tried giving me a Pepsi (didn’t work), and gave me some medicine to try to get it down. After the medicine, it felt better. I didn’t feel the pressure in my throat, and liquids would eventually go down. Kind of like a clogged drain. I could feel them sit there but then gradually drain. I couldn’t tell if all the food had gone down so they brought their GI team in and put me under. I hate being put under and this was the first time I had to have a breathing tube. They dilated my esophagus (a normal one is 20-30mm, mine was at 12, and they stretched it to 17), and it did tear a little during that process. I went home afterwards and have to eat soft foods for a week. But honestly, food just doesn’t look good right now. I have to go see this GI doctor in a week and I’m going to ask him about a medication called Dupixent that other people in my EoE FaceBook groups seem to have success with. I asked my allergist about it at my last 6 month appointment and they couldn’t prescribe it. Fingers crossed that maybe I qualify for it.

We lost our Mac, the unicorn of all dogs, in Dec 2019. He was acting lethargic so we took him to the vet, who found a volleyball sized tumor in his abdomen. We still miss him. Cain (aka Abe Froman, the Sausage King of Chicago) is 8 now, and then we added Cheesy (aka Cheesy Poof) to the mix in 2019, and Hef (aka El Jefe) in 2020. Cheesy and Hef are both 3. Cheesy is a border collie/lab mix and Hef is a Great Pyrenees.

Luke 15 year stats

Height: 5’8″ (70%)

Weight: 119.6lbs (45%)

BMI 25%

Blood pressure: 108/66

Kenny 17 year stats

With the boys getting older, I obviously don’t post much but I do like to keep track of their stats.

This was from June 18 –

Height: 6’3.5″ (95%)

He still swears he’s 6’4″.

Weight: 155.4 (70%)

Blood pressure: 118/76

Luke age 14 stats

Height: 5’5.2″ (60%)

Weight: 102 lbs (30%)

BMI: 15%

Kenny 16, Luke 13 stats

We went to their doctor appointments a little late due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Luke

Height:  5’1.8″ (50%)

Weight:  90 lbs (25%)

BMI:  24%

 

Kenny

Height:  6’3″ (95+%)

Weight:  140 lbs (55%)

BMI:  9%

Kenny’s 15 and Luke’s 12 year stats

Luke (as of May 6)

Height 4’10”

Weight 81 lbs

——————-

Kenny (as of today)

Height 6′.5″

Weight 131 lbs

Kenny’s 14 year stats

Height:  67.9 inches (88%)

Weight:  109 pounds (48%)

BMI 16.6 (10%)

(And yes, he got his driving permit this summer!)

Luke’s 11 year stats

Height – 56.5 inches (50%)

Weight – 69 pounds (25%)

BMI – 15.2 (11%)

 

Kenny’s 13 year stats

Weight:  96 pounds (30%)

Height:  66.25 inches (88%)

BMI:  15.4 (3%)

BP:  110/50

P:  68

I think this is the first year that Kenny wasn’t in the high 90 percentile in height but our doctor said he’s going to shoot up again this year and should gain some more weight too (he only gained 3 pounds this last year).

Luke’s 10 year stats

Height:  54.5 inches (50%)

Weight:  66.5 pounds (45%)

BMI:  15.8 (35%)

Kenny’s 12 year stats

Height:  63 3/4 inches (95%)

Weight:  94 pounds (55%)

BMI:  16.2 (30%)

I miss my dad

 

My dad passed away Tuesday, February 9th.  I wasn’t ready to talk about it on here before now.  I just miss him so, so much.

I was at my normal Tuesday noon spin class.  I don’t normally put my phone at the bottom of my bike but I did that day.  We got off the bike about 35 minutes into class to do some arm work.  When I was about to get back on my bike, I noticed that I had three missed calls, two from my mom and one from Eric.  I immediately had that feeling, that bad feeling when you know something isn’t right.  I left the spin room and listened to Eric’s message first.  His message said, “Your dad collapsed and it doesn’t look good.  Go home now.”  I called him back and he said was already on the way to their house and asked if I wanted him to come get me.”  I said no, grabbed my stuff, and drove over to my parents’ house, crying the entire way.

My mom usually works in the morning.  She didn’t go in that day because she had an eye appointment for her future cataract surgery.  She said that she and my dad went to it together and had a nice morning together.  He said he felt a little funny but they just thought that maybe it was anxiety or something.  They got home and my mom walked into the house.  She then heard a loud noise.  She went to the garage, saw that my dad had collapsed, and called 911.  They had her check to see if he was breathing (I think she thought he was a little bit at that time).  EMS got there quickly and did CPR on him.  Our neighbors, the Mayers, were there with her.  Eric was randomly doing training out by their house and he beat me there.  I got there next, and then my brother, Billy.  It was pretty awful watching them work on my dad.  They had this machine that did the CPR compressions for them.  It felt like forever before they decided to transport him to the hospital.  My mom rode in the ambulance with him and I rode with Billy behind them.  Eric and the Mayers stayed behind to make sure everything was shut.

When we got to the hospital, they took us to a little room to wait in.  Sarah (Billy’s wife), Eric, the Mayers, and Mary (Eric’s mom), were there with us.  After working on my dad for almost an hour, they took us back to see him while the nurses lined up in a train to do CPR on him and they tried pushing different medications to get his heart to start.  We just held his hand through it all.  I think the doctor wanted us to see how hard they were working on him to no avail.  He talked to us about discontinuing CPR.  I refused to make that decision so my mom and Billy had to make that tough call.  I just couldn’t do it.  They stepped out to talk the doctor and I stayed in the room to continue holding his hand.  They stopped CPR and my dad passed away at 2:45pm.  A priest from Holy Trinity came over to give my dad his last rites and we were able to stay with him for a while to tell him good-bye.  It just didn’t feel real when we left the hospital without him.

It was awful telling the boys.  Just awful.  Our friends had taken them home from school for us so we waited to tell them until we got home.  I think we went back to my mom’s house after that.  Is it horrible that I don’t remember?  It seems like everything just kind of ran together after that.  The next few days consisted of making plans while family came into town.  My dad didn’t like a lot of fuss so it was fairly easy to pick out his coffin, flowers and service details.  My mom knew which cemetery to bury him in.  Eric’s dad passed away in 2002 from cancer, just six months before we were married.  He was buried in that same cemetery and there was a plot open, just five down from his.  We took it.  My mom wants to be cremated so her remains will eventually be buried above him.  We were so busy that week that I don’t feel like I really had time to process everything until it was over.  I cried a lot and was sad but I don’t think the reality of everything hit me until after the funeral.

My dad never regained consciousness after he collapsed.  I never got to tell him again that I loved him.  Selfishly, I’m sometimes jealous of people whose family members were sick and they were able to savor those last months or days and say their good-byes.  But, I’m also glad he didn’t suffer, and I know in my heart that he knew that he was loved.

I miss my dad.

Luke’s 9 year stats

Weight:  58.5 lbs (30%)

Height:  52.25 inches (50%)

BMI:  15 (25%)

2015 year in review

Name:  Luke

Age:  8

Favorite color:  Silver

Favorite food:  Mac and cheese

Favorite activity:  Playing Clash of Clans

Favorite book:  Goosebumps

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2015

Greatest lesson learned:  Make sure the gate is closed when I leave the backyard

Hardest thing this year:  Cleaning my room

Favorite memory:  Royals winning World Series

What I loved about 2015:  Royals winning the World Series

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2016

Want to learn:  More science

Want to get better at:  Clash of Clans

Goals for 2016:  Be good at Clash of Clans

Name: Kenny

Age: 11

Favorite color: Blue

Favorite food: Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Favorite activity: Soccer

Favorite book:  The Last Hero

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2015

Greatest lesson learned:  Always make sure the gate is closed

Hardest thing this year: Getting up at 6:00am every school day to go to pre-algebra

Favorite memory: Getting the Xbox One

What I loved about 2015:  Getting Cain, our new dog

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2016

Want to learn: How to do an “around the world” with a soccer ball

Want to get better at: Soccer

Goals for 2016:  Go to Monster Mountain and climb it

Ornaments 2015

Happy holidays 2015

Happy holidays from our family to yours.

World Series Champs!

After 30 years (including making the World Series last year), the Royals finally won another championship!

We are so, so, so proud of our Royals.  They are just a lot of fun to watch, partially because you can tell that they like each other and they are genuinely having fun.

Here’s to hoping it won’t take another 30 years to take the crown.

Cain aka 1738

Meet Cain, the newest member of our family.

We took the plunge and adopted a black lab/retriever mix.  He’s 1.5 years old and seems to be a real sweetheart.  He came from another shelter so we don’t know what his original circumstances were.  We looked at all the dogs that the shelter considered to be good with other dogs and kids and “Donald” seemed to fit in best with the kids and Mac.

The name Donald didn’t seem to fit him so we changed it to Cain, after my favorite Royals player, Lorenzo Cain.  With the Royals in the playoffs, it seemed right to name him after one of them.  Cain’s nickname is 1738.  The Royals had a joke this year.  They had to use “1738” in their interviews.  If they didn’t, they fined each other.  You can read why in these two articles:

1.  http://www.foxsports.com/kansas-city/story/royals-fetty-wap-and-how-1738-is-taking-over-the-kc-clubhouse-072915
2. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/the-royals-are-saying–1738–in-interviews-because-they-love-fetty-wap-211924083.html

 

Kenny’s 11 year stats

Weight:  82 pounds (55%)

Height:  61.5 inches (96%)

BMI:  15.3 (15%)