Ellison June Part 2

While Tyson was driving to Salt Lake with my Mom, I was riding with the life flight team. I was told that Elli's heart rate should be watched and should not go too far below 100 BPM. Often on the flight her heart rate was at 90, and then 85 --Then 80. It was a little overwhelming to watch it as she lay in the incubator, and I feared that she may not hold up. 

Upon arriving at Primary Children's Medical Center I was told that Ellison had what was called Pulmonary Stenosis and that when a baby is in the womb there is a valve that is open and helps to pass oxygen through out the infants body. When the baby is born, that particular valve closes within 24 hrs to a weeks time. If Ellison's closed she would not be receiving enough oxygen, so she would need to be administered medication to insure that that valve did not close until she has had a procedure and/or a surgery to help her Pulmonary valve work correctly. They then explained that she would not be having surgery until the next day, but that they had chosen to life flight her due to the severity and that she would need to be up there in case things turned south and they needed to do an emergency surgery. 

Pulmonary Stenosis for Ellison meant that her valve just wasn't created right. It was more of a tight dome and didn't flap correctly and wasn't passing enough oxygen. A typical person(s) valve flaps back and forth and pushes the blood through to create enough oxygen. Her valve would push the blood through and then the blood would leak and fall backwards which as a result the blood wasn't flowing correctly and she wasn't receiving enough oxygen.

It was a rough night that night and it was tough to wrap my mind around so much information so quickly. Tyson arrived that night late and my mom stayed at my brothers house - an hour drive away. 

They sent us to a "sleep room"- which was a tiny room with a twin bed and a chair. We ended up sleeping for a few hours that night. I was beyond exhausted but it was nice to be able to have a private place to cry and pray. 

The following day she had her procedure- exactly one hour after she was born. We were blessed because she did not have to have her chest cut into. They sent a catheter up her main artery near her groin and her right leg. There was a balloon that was connected to the catheter. When the catheter reached her pulmonary valve then they blew up the balloon in order to rip open the pulmonary valve in hopes of the valve to be ripped so much that it would heal correctly and flap more normal with less leakage. 

When she was done with her surgery they said that it was successful and that they had to use the largest balloon they made because her condition was so severe. I was just grateful that they did not have to cut her open and that she did so great with her anesthesia and everything. It was a huge answer to our prayers. PCMC has some extraordinary doctors and nurses. She still currently has leakage (blood that flows the wrong direction) but it is much less than it was pre-surgery. One Doctor told us that before Elli's procedure her heart murmur was so loud that he was compare it to Niagara Falls, post surgery he said it sounds more like a bathtub running. 

We were at PCMC for a total of 3 nights. My mom was was an enormous support in such a difficult time. My brother brought us dinner and visited us, and Tyson's family and my sister stepped up to take care of our boys. Everyone came together to assist us in caring for our family. 

Ellison's heart will be watched for the rest of her life. She has doctors appointments with a cardiologist every 6 to 8 weeks for a year and then they will decide what do there after. Eventually we hope that she will only have to see a cardiologist once a year- but thats only if her heart stays stable. If it gets worse and the valve hardens than she will have to have another procedure or a surgery. She will never not be watched. She will have to see a Cardiologist for the rest of her life. We are totally okay with this. I am just happy that she is here and that Medicine and research has come so far that we are able to do a non-intrusive procedure that saves a child's life. 

Thanks to everyone's love and support as we went through all of this. I couldn't have asked for better friends and family and I mean that with so much sincerity. 

Ellison June

Please excuse all the errors. I didn't have a lot of time to type this up, but I wanted it to be recorded for my memory.

Ellison was born on March 27^th, 2014 at 1:47 pm. Her actual due date was not until the 3^rd of April but we were happy to have her arriving a bit early.

When I was 16 weeks pregnant I was told that I was in fact carrying a girl. I was ecstatic to know that my intuition was correct and that we would now have a bit of diversity into our mostly testosterone driven family.

Tyson and I arrived at the hospital at 6 am and by 8 am my Doctor had broken my water and I was well on my way. My contractions were much worse this time around than the last time and I received my epidural when I reached a 5, and shortly after my Mom and Mother in law arrived.

When It was time to push I was very anxious to meet her. I pushed twice and that little girl was welcomed into my arms. I cried and reached out to hold her immediately. I knew her little spirit was meant for our family and I felt like I had waited a long time to have her here with us. It was the sweetest feeling.

After she was born she was pretty cold and I kept trying to warm her through skin to skin, warm blankets and feeding her but she was still struggling a bit.  They checked her glucose, the placenta, and finally her heart where they realized she had an extremely loud heart murmur. In the midst of all of this my Dad arrived to meet his newest grand baby when all of a sudden they sent a team of Cardiologist in to hear her heart. Finally one of the Cardiologists turned to me and explained that Ellison needed to go to the NICU right away. I was shocked and my jovial side immediately turned to worry and stress. I was unable to go to the NICU with her right away because I had been given an epidural and could not walk. Tyson and my Dad followed the team to the NICU where they gave her a blessing and asked for her to be watched over.

I was moved to Mother and Baby floor and received a text from Tyson saying that they were taking photos of her heart and listening to her heart and they are thinking that she will need to be life flighted to Primary Children’s Medical Center as they don’t have a NICU Cardiologist team in our hospital to cater to her needs.

When the nurse came to my room she quickly grabbed a wheelchair and told me that they requested I come down to the NICU.

Once I got down there they explained that they were sending the photos and sound of her heart to PCMC to find out what the next step was, they then proceeded to sit down and tell us what was happening to her heart. Within 10 minutes we got a call back from PCMC and said that Ellison had to be there as soon as possible and must be life flighted.

I was lucky because by this time I was able to walk a bit and I collected what little I had brought with me to the hospital and went with the team and my baby girl to the Airport to save Ellisons life.

Tyson went home and grabbed a few more things from our house and drove to Salt Lake with my Mom to meet me at the hospital.

* To be continued*

Parks says:

We pulled up to the grocery store and were getting out of the car to go inside. Parks climbed out of his booster seat and announced that he wanted to unbuckle Tracen's car seat. He was taking a long time and so I asked him I could help him. He looked at me, put his hands in the air and said, "Everyone: Remain Calm, remain calm."

His newest story:
"Mom, Last night, i was eaten by a Pine-a-saurus Dinosaur and I broke his tooth, turned into a goat, and I escaped.'

Driving to Cali and Tracen was crying.
Parks: Tracen, dude, Be strong - Be strong!

Falling in love.....

This morning I was browsing through random blog's, including a friend from high school {McCall- her blog is  http://www.aweekofsundays.com/ }and I came across a request for and examples of other "Love Stories" that she had read. Anyhow, for blogging purposes I figured I should share mine. {For the record, if you are reading this, you should also share yours!)

August 2006

I was fresh off the plane from New Jersey and I had just worked as a Nanny for the last 10 months and moving back to Utah felt just right. I was thrilled to be back home yet also genuinely grateful for the lessons I had learned while working as a nanny.It was a great opportunity for me.

Returning to Utah meant I was returning to a boyfriend of a year and a half and my family. I had expectations for this relationship with my then boyfriend, as this had been one of those "on and off" one's. Reality was, we were better off friends. Fate took it's course and eventually we took separate paths.

With that being said, you can image my thoughts on having an all too soon relationship start with someone new. I was not looking.

I was very weary and untrusting when it came to men.

I was working at my dad's office as a secretary. 

{R} was one of the employees there, and he invited me to come watch boxing with him and a bunch of buddies at the County Fair. I wasn't too into the idea at first but had no other plans so I decided it would make a boring night a little more stimulating. 

I arrived at the Fair at around 7:30 p.m. and met {R} and his buddies right in front of the warehouse where the boxing matches would be held. I remember fairly quickly noticing one of the men in their group. He was tall, tan, and carried a beach vibe. He has wearing a black T with dark jeans and flip-flops. His hair was as shaggy as they came and way before Beibers time. He had an intimidation to him-- one that made me hesitant of what to say, which is ridiculous. I always have something to say! ;) 

Before long we all decided to walk down and purchase snow cone's. This handsome man who held intimidation was walking behind me. I wanted to know who he was, so as I held my snow cone - I turned around faced him, held out my hand and vibrantly said "Hi, my name is Jade. No one has introduced us.".  A smile spread across his face, he shook my hand and then replied, "I'm Tyson, nice to meet you."

It was then that he started walking beside me. He asked me all sorts of 'first time' questions. I learned that he was from the neighbor city of where I grew up. He had just lived in Argentina for the last two years serving a mission, was two years older than I, and was attending college. 

He asked me if I would take him home, as he had come with the other men and didn't want to ride back with them. Although I was still very weary, we ended up spending the rest of the night together long boarding and continuing the "Get To Know You" phase of a relationship. 

I did not return home to 4:00 a.m.

Every night for weeks upon weeks were the same story - Although, I did give him a bit of a chase because of my nervousness in a relationship. I think that was something that kept him intrigued.

After two weeks of dating, he still hadn't even kissed me- which made me feel a little unsure. He was just different, nothing like who I thought I would ever date. He was special.

Before long, He did finally kiss me and our chemistry was undeniable. 

Things in our relationship were advancing and on a deeper level I felt that I was suppose to be with him. That he and I had something that was beyond just this life, it was spiritual. I knew that I was intended to cross paths with him. I knew he was who I was suppose to be with.

I remember the moment I told my mom that I thought he might be the one. She cried. She told me she had prayed for him to come... prayed for me to have happiness and security. Her blessing and support was such an incredible feeling. 

Tyson and I got engaged on December 15th, 2006 is Salt Lake City, UT. It was a cold snowy night and we rode around the Temple in a horse drawn carriage. It was whimsical. Tyson turned to me and asked me if I would marry him and spend eternity with him. I said "yes". I was teary eyed and taken aback. My ring was gorgeous and I felt blessed. He gave me 3 kisses { I. Love.You.} and we snuggled up to one another. We were undoubtedly falling very hard for one another and feeling very much in love.

March 10th, 2007 we were married in the St.George, Utah LDS temple for time and all eternity. I was incredibly nervous that day. My mom and best friend had helped me prepare myself and get ready that morning. We were up at the crack of dawn. 

Our reception was a blast. A huge dance party-- which is really unlike 'normal' LDS receptions. Most have what they call "A line" where the parents of the bride and groom, along with the bride and groom stand in one place the entire time and greet and thank everyone for coming. This was in no one way our idea of a reception. We wanted to have a fun time. So, we hired a DJ and we all danced. I can not recall a more fun reception that I have ever been to. I cherished every minute of it. 

------

Today we have been married for over 5 years and we have two boys. Parks is 4 and Tracen is 14 months old. Tyson loves me unconditionally and will stand by me no matter what, something I am so thankful for. We have had some speed bump's along the way but today we are more in love then the day we got married. 

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Trying to stay on top of our crazy little life... Can not believe we are already getting into June!

My mom and older sister:

Parks has been attending Special Education for behavioral children for the past year. He has grown dramatically and we were so grateful for the opportunity he had to attend the school. Below are a couple photo's of his "Graduation" performance.

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Tracen thinks he is at least a year older then he really is. He always wants to be so independent and such a big boy. I worry about him on occasion because he has no fear!

I have been wanting to grow Tray's hair out, but because the sides were longer than the top I decided to trim up the sides. He looks so big now with his new haircut! 

His new thing is also toothbrushes, and wants to suck & chew all over mine! =/ Teething!

Parks is totally into reptiles lately and I am the biggest baby- so luckily his grandma is such a bad "A" and caught this lizard with him. He was so thrilled.. I was actually a bit worried about the lizard because Parks was squeezing him and tossing him around.

 Tyson's work paid for us to go on the zip line, so we took Parks. He LOVED it, and surprisingly was not scared at all. I, on the other hand, am super afraid of heights and thought I was going to die-- FOR SURE! As long as I didn't look down I was okay though....

Relaxing:

 My older Sister just finished their backyard and pool. So we went over for a swim...
The water was a little cold and Tracen would hardly even dip his chunky little feet in. Parks and Paris swam together for a little while. I think I'll wait till' the pool warms up a little more!! :)

It's a Party!

Parks turned FOUR!
It's so surreal to say I have a four year old. 
This year Parks asked to have a Dino party.. so that's what we did.
We just had a small party with family and a few close friends.
Parks got his bike for his birthday and the kid was ecstatic. He asked for an orange bike with a horn AND a bell.
I attempted to make a cake. It tuned out fine. I think I need to work on my cake skills a little more though... 

Thanks to all who came and helped us celebrate his special day!