Morgan's Surgery

I am very grateful for my life. I have not made the best decisions & seem to do things the hard way. But, even through all my mistakes, I have been blessed with amazing family & friends. I am so thankful for you all.

Isaac & I have been blessed with a love that has carried us through many storms. We have 2 beautiful children, with a 3rd on it's way.

Next month, March 5th, Morgan will have a Varus Osteotomy. Two weeks from this Thursday.

The surgery will take 4 hours. They will make 6 inch incisions, at the hip, on both of her legs, break the femur right below the hip socket, & put in "L" shaped brackets & screws. This will position her legs so they will hopefully stay in the hip socket. At this point they will also release some tension in her muscles, ligaments & tendons. They will put her in a cast from her chest to her foot on the left side & to her knee on the right. She will be in this cast for 1 month. They will also cut the tendons in her left foot at this time because it is turning in.

We have been told that this surgery is the only option for fixing her dislocated hips. So I have been checking around to find out if that is truly the case. I have spoken to Morgan's orthopedist 4 times & his nurse, her pediatrician, her 2 main physical therapists, her Rehab doctor, & her wheelchair specialist. This is her only option in order to get her standing again, hopefully walking in her walker again...but more than that, to not be in pain & not lose more mobility.

They tell us this surgery is our choice, but what choice do we really have? Our child in pain & not mobile at all is not a choice. And then I asked him "How do you decide? Or who would decide to not let their child have this surgery?" Our doctor responded, "The children that are too frail to make it through the surgery are usually the only ones whose parents choose to not go through with it". Well, that is not our Morgan Mae. She is a fighter & always has been. She will be in pain, but hopefully alot less after she heals than when we started.

Morgan Mae will be in the hospital for 4-5 days following. During those 5 days, she will have a line feeding her constant pain meds. Her orthopedist says she will feel like she's been hit by a truck for the 1st 2 months. Umm, how in the world are we going to get her home in our car with her in a somewhat reclined position in a body cast & with her feeling like she's been hit by a truck?!

My Mom is coming out from Maryland to be with us & help with Noah. Noah loves his Mimi & it will be fun for them to spend some time together. Noah LOVES his big sister. This will be hard on him too. The last big surgery in April of 2007, I was still pregnant with him. He was easier to take places in the hospital:). Noah looks for Morgan when he wakes up in the morning & when he gets up from his nap. "Morg--mee. Wher r ouu?" Then when I tell him she's at school, he's says "Oooo. Kool." He is so excited when he sees any bus. "Morg--mee!!" And when she's home & he finds her, he gets this super excited tone, "Morg--mee, HHIII!" And runs over & gives her a hug. He is a great helper too. Getting toys for her & taking snacks to her.(Well, most of the time:)) So thank you Grammy or Mimi for all your upcoming help.

And back to Morgan. I have one more doctor to hear from again, well, her Rehab doctor, who is also a part of a spasticity team up at Primary Children's, who will give me the update on what that team thinks. I asked them to look at her x-rays & tell us if this surgery is truly the only solution for our sweet girl. It would be an absolute miracle if they came up with something else.

Please keep our sweet Morgan Mae in your prayers. Those that can join in a fast for her, please join us on March 1st.

We thank you for your prayers & love for our sweet Mo & our family at this time & always. We love you all.

Many families have asked how do we do it. How can you even say it outloud. She is our child. Our sweet angel. If she was yours, you would do the same. She needs us. We want to keep her here as long as we can. And we want her to be happy & healthy. Morgan is our rock. She has always brought so much joy to our lives & all those around her. She has taught us what is truly important in life. We could never do as much for her as she has done for us.

Emotions

Sometimes I wonder why life is so hard. I know it is to appreciate the good times, as my sweet friend said, "all glitter & roses", but seriously. I also need to realize that it's okay to be mad & cry sometimes. I need to let my emotions out.

Morgan has such a sweet, special spirit. She's amazing. She has always been that way. So happy & loving & reads people by their souls, not their appearance. Why do I get frustrated with her? Why is her experience here on this earth so hard? Well, to us it's hard. She doesn't know the difference. Morgan is almost always happy & smiling, saying "hi", wanting kisses & hugs, & talking about butterflies. She touches so many lives & so many people know & love her.

Morgan has had 12 surgeries in her lifetime...with more to come. The last major surgery was open heart April 2007. She did marvelous & was home in 2 and 1/2 days. Now today, we met with her new orthopedist. He was not the bearer of good news, but a sweet man nonetheless. I go in to talk about her left leg & he examines her & tells me his biggest concern is her right hip. What?! Not expecting that one. Her hips are becoming dislocated from her spastic muscles & a major surgery is our only solution to fixing them. He wants to do it sometime in the next year. We could also wait it out & see how much it limits her mobility & how painful it becomes...but the older she gets, the less they can do. We've tried botox injections but that has not been enough. We will get more opinions for what is best for her, but it doesn't look like it will be avoided.

Why? Why does a sweet little one have to go through so much here on this earth? I'm venting, so bear with me. I don't usually vent publicly, but I am needing some help. Some comfort. I try to be as strong as I can, but sometimes I'm just so mad. I want to cry. I want someone to comfort me. I know that I need to reach out to God more, but I want to be mad at Him too. Also, being sick for the last 2+ months doesn't make me any stronger emotionally either.

I love my children. They bring me so much joy. They also try my patience at times. And as any Momma would, I would bare their pain or struggle in an instant so they would not have to face it. Morgan is here to teach all of us. She has taught me so much about patience, the power of prayers, humility & unconditional love. She is the sweetest & strongest little girl I know. I just wish (well, I'm sure we all wish) her little body didn't have to go through so much.

Now that I've said all that, maybe I can get some sleep.

What Have You Done??

The lines that are bolded are things that I have done...how about you?

1.Started your own blog
2.Slept under the stars
3.Played in a band(elementary & middle school:)
4.Visited Hawaii
5.Watched a meteor shower
6.Given more than you can afford to charity
7.Been to Disneyland
8.Climbed a Mountain
9.Held a praying mantis
10.Sang a solo
11.Bungee jumping
12.Visited Paris
13.Watched a lightning storm at sea
14.Taught yourself an art from scratch
15.Adopted a child(Isaac always says we're going to b/c our pregnancies are no fun...but now he just says we're done:)
16.Had food poisoning
17.Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty(been there when I was younger & can't remember)
18.Grown your own vegetables
19.Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20.Slept on an overnight train
21.Had a pillow fight
22.Hitch hiked (you'd have to be seriously out of your mind to do that nowadays!)
23.Taken a sick day when you were not ill
24.Built a snow fort
25.Held a lamb(a baby pygmy goat named skittles count?:)
26.Gone skinny dipping
27.Run a Marathon(one day!)
28.Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29.Seen a total eclipse
30.Watched a sunrise or sunset
31.Hit a home run(does Wii count?:)
32.Been on a cruise
33.Seen Niagara Falls in person
34.Visited the birthplace of your ancestors(how far back though?..in the states only)
35.Seen an Amish community
36.Taught yourself a new language
37.Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38.Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39.Gone rock climbing
40.Seen Michelangelo's David(in a text book or picture:)
41.Sung Karaoke
42.Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43.Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44.Visited Africa
45.Walked on a beach by moonlight
46.Been transported in an ambulance
47.Had your portrait painted
48.Gone deep sea fishing(too scared too!---sharks---my bro-in law loves too & saw a great white last time he was out!!!)
49.Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50.Been to the top of the Eiffel tower in Paris
51.Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52.Kissed in the rain
53.Played in the mud
54.Gone to a drive-in theater
55.Been in a movie(kinda...for swimming)
56.Visited the Great Wall of China
57.Started a business(kindof...made own jewelry & sold it in a store back in Maryland when Mo was little)
58.Taken a martial arts class(does tae-bo count?)
59.Visited Russia
60.Served at a soup kitchen(no, but want to & want to make it a family tradition when the kids are older)
61.Sold girl scout cookies
62.Gone whale watching(want to BAD!)
63.Got flowers for no reason
64.Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65.Gone sky diving
66.Visited a Nazi concentration camp
67.Bounced a check
68.Flown in a helicopter
69.Saved a favorite childhood toy
70.Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71.Eaten Caviar
72.Pieced a quilt
73.Stood in times square
74.Toured the Everglades
75.Been fired from a job
76.Seen the changing of the Guards in London(seen them on T.V:)
77.Broken a bone(many)
78.Been on a speeding motorcycle
79.Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80.Published a book
81.Visited the Vatican
82.Bought a brand new car
83.Walked in Jerusalem
84.Had your picture in the newspaper
85.Read the entire Bible
86.Visited the White House(not the inside though)
87.Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88.Had Chickenpox
89.Saved someones life(lifeguarding at an amusement park & my daughter's)
90.Sat on a jury(was called but already moved back to Utah---whew!)
91.Met someone famous
92.Joined a book club
93.Lost a loved one
94.Had a baby
95.Seen the Alamo in person
96.Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97.Been involved in a law suit
98.Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

And one day hopefully more of the traveling!!!

Announcement

Check out the side bar & you'll see something a little new. Not only are there fun new pictures of my sweet family, but something else :). Do you see what it is??????

Tree Decorating...

I know, it's the 20th of January. I still don't have my camera back, but I found these pictures when I downloaded our family pictures. I forgot to post the decorating the tree!!!

This year, by far, was the most fun decorating we've ever had! Morgan & Noah had so much fun! They were great little helpers this year & couldn't wait to put on the next decoration:).

The finished product.

Papa putting the star on top.

Morgan & Noah getting hugs in between the hanging

of the ornaments.

Momma & Morgan.

The garland was by far Noah's favorite part:).

He was such a great helper:).

So by the time Christmas was over, only about 7 Christmas decorations got broken. Along with Momma's Precious Moments Nativity that was pulled down from the top of the piano. Seriously though, at least no one got hurt from falling or broken pieces, right?:).

Ok....

Just so you know...the camera has been found! Yey!!! It still has all 600 and something pictures on it. The only downside is it's still in MARYLAND! So however long it takes my mom to send it, is when the updates begin! I'm so glad she found it hiding behind the huge alarm clock...I'm serious...it's the biggest alarm clock I've ever seen... in our room at Grammy & Grandad's or Mimi & Popee's(for those whose vocab is a bit smaller)! So either I hid it from Noah or he hid it from me because he didn't want me to know he had it! Thanks for finding it Mom!!!

I WILL Update Soon...

We are back from our Maryland Christmas trip. Isaac & Noah came back on Sunday...Isaac had to change his flight because he started student teaching on Monday!!! Yey! A degree is in our near future! Like April!!! *And I forgot to add earlier that Noah had a blast traveling with Papa. Looking at all the planes, cars, & trucks or as Noah says "paaane, car, & frucks"(i know, the last word is close..we're working on it:)). Noah also backed up to a lady, who was sitting on the floor at the airport playing with her phone, & sat down in her lap. He loved watching The Backyardigans on a young man's laptop until his battery ran out & Noah shared his cars with him. And loved running up & down the aisle on the plane & playing with empty water bottles that the stewardesses(sp?) gave him. He's so funny & cute of course:)!*

And Morgan & I came back on Monday. It was delayed from it's starting point while they tried to fix the main water line, but couldn't do it in 10 degree weather. That's weird. So our flight was an hour & a half leaving from BWI and we had no running water for anything on the plane. I mean sinks, bottles, coffee & tea for those who care or hot cocoa! And no peanuts in the MAIN cabin(you cheap people) because of a severe peanut allergy of one of the passengers. Aren't airports wonderful?

And I want to update you all on our fun, but I cannot find our camera anywhere from the trip! So once I do, I have some new posts & pics for you all!!! Hope your holidays were wonderful! Love to all! Happy New Year!