Catching up with Pics

Here is a little recap of our Halloween in pictures:

Jilly working hard at carving her pumpkin

Our finished product - the first one is Haley's - she carved her skull and crossbones upside down:)

We then went to Jilly's school's fall carnival and Jilly had so much fun on this slide

this is Jilly and Mikayla - Mikayla was helping out in the haunted house - she graduated from this elementary school and went to every carnival while she attended

then Jilly had a carnival at her daycare - here she is in a sack race

and a doughnut eating contest

and then trick or treating with Haley and some good friends of ours

super girl and her SuperMan

I did it

Jilly got her H1N1 vaccine tonight. Thank you very much for all your comments and emails.

Yes, I am like a lamb being led to slaughter.

I say that in jest, really. But the research I did on the internet shed a whole new light on the meaning of wackadoodle.

Did you know there are sites out there written by people who truly believe the government is trying reduce the world population by having introduced the swine flu in the first place and now injecting us with chemicals. What I found is that there is a huge mistrust in our government, our medical community, research labs, pharmaceutical companies, the list goes on.

I did find some legitimate reasons to be concerned but then I found some answers and solutions - but I'm not here to sway anyone's decisions or become a propaganda machine so I'll keep that information to myself.

For some reason the decision to have her vaccinated was really hard. I"m not sure why. Not because of any conspiracy theory, more just some good old common sense that led me to want to know more. The whole way over to the medical office I was still feeling unsure about my decision.

Holy Cow!! Half of Elk Grove had beat me there. Waiting specifically for the H1N1 vaccine. I waited in line for over 45 minutes.

Safety in numbers. If they are all here for it then it must be ok. Because if something fishy is going on and the government is trying to turn as all into pigs, then most of Elk Grove fell prey to their trickery.

And were off to carve some pumpkins.....

H1N1 Vaccine

The H1N1 vaccine is available for Jillian at Kaiser. Just found out so I haven't taken her in yet. I have tried to do some quick research on the safety of it. Of course there is tons of conflicting information. And of course both her pediatrician and her pediatric cardiologist both say it's safe.

I am not one to follow conspiracy theories or extreme views. But there is a case to be made that the vaccine was developed very quickly.

So I am just curious - for all you heart moms out there - or moms in general since all children are considered a high risk group and can get the vaccination when available - what are you all thinking? Have you already had your kids vaccinated with the H1N1 vaccine - are you planning too? Let me know what you are thinking about all of this. I want to know.

Bits and Pieces

So yes, somebody lost her first tooth. It was wiggly, she wanted the tooth fairy to bring her some cash, so she pulled that sucker right out. And was very proud of herself.

She's been a busy gal. We went on her first field trip with her kindergarten class yesterday. Very cute. She has a halloween party tomorrow night at her daycare. She has a halloween carnival next Friday at her school.

And Jilly finally has something of her own. She had her first girl scout meeting on Tueday. Now, the world of girl scouts is very new to me. I never did girl scouts. The older girls never did girl scouts. But she really wanted to do it because a couple of her best buddies from school are doing it - so here we go.

It is interesting how being in this heart world has opened up a new perspective in life for me. I have mentioned time and again how Russ and I run into students and others whose lives are affected by CHD. Russ has a student this year, somebody who Mikayla has gone to school with since kindergarten, who had open heart surgery not too long ago and was in and out of the hospital with some heart issues. He reached out to his mom, let her know he understood what she was going through. Her response was that of finally, somebody who knows what I am going through. A friend of mine recently was told her little boy has to have open heart surgery. She was stressed. I tried to give her as much information as I could to help relieve a little tiny smidgen of stress.

And then at the girl scout meeting the most interesting thing. As I was filling out all of the paperwork I went up to speak to the two moms who are the leaders. I told one that I would bring the emergency information to her another day because I needed to attach some paperwork and take my time filling it out. I mentioned that Jilly has a CHD and I just want parent chaperone's to be aware of her health issues in case she goes on an outing without me.

But when I said "Jilly has congenital heart disease" the other leader mom laughed, pulled down her shirt to expose her scar and said "Me too!" I laughed and said "What do you have?" I have since forgotten what her CHD is but she said she's had 2 open heart surgeries. Then she touched my arm and said "you are not alone - she's in good company"

The irony that here we stand, two adults, one living with CHD and the other living with someone with CHD, laughing at our connection.

I guess it's nice that I can laugh out loud about these little ironies. These little connections that seem to keep happening. I guess if I am not laughing I am wanting to cry.

Like on Jilly's field trip yesterday. Sitting on the hayride with a bunch of moms - who by the way seem so much younger than me...but that's what happens when you have a baby later in life. It seems that there are a bunch of Sutter ICU nurses whose kids attend Jilly's school. So they were talking about ICU life, one happens to work on the cardiac ICU. And she's talking about a 14 year old boy who had a berlin heart or something like that I think. Talking about how amazing it is to see kids come in and get heart surgeries and the amazing things these surgeons are doing. And the other ICU nurse is agreeing, having just worked a graveyard shift and has not slept yet.

And the whole time part of me wants to say "yeah, pretty amazing stuff" But I don't want to get into that conversation of how I know that stuff is amazing. I don't want to use Jilly as a segway into conversations.

One of the ICU mom's turns to me at the end of her conversation and says "I just love Jillian, she is absolutely adorable."

Yeah, I agree. She is. I would much rather use her cuteness as a segway into a conversation.

Apple Hill Pics

So I'm a week behind but here are some pictures from our annual trip to Apple Hill last weekend.

Jilly and a big pumpkin she found

Surfing the pumpkins

Trying to take a family pic and our little ham wanted to dance instead. I'm actually thinking I like this pic so much I may use it on my Christmas cards

riding a pony

Jilly and her "Coco"

My girls

My beautiful girls:)

If it makes a difference to just one..........

I have mentioned before somewhere in the history of this blog a friend of mine who is a teacher who has used Jillian as an example of why her students should appreciate their lives and stop sniveling and whining.

Russ does too. Uses Jillian as an example. An example of why his students should appreciate the things they have. Why they shouldn't stress out on the little insignificant things in their lives. Why they should treat others with kindness because you never know what another person is going through in their life.

In my last post I noticed a new comment. It was from one of Russ' students. Didn't leave their name. That's ok. Because it did not matter whether or not we know who it was. It mattered that they heard what their teacher was trying to tell them. It mattered that they took the time to find Jillian's blog. It mattered that they took the time out of their busy teenage life and read her story. And that they were able to empathize. That they took the time to leave a comment and let us know that they heard Russ.

It mattered to us that Jillian's story mattered to somebody else. And affected them. And made them stop and think. That's all it takes. Just one person.

Jillian is on the postcard that the American Heart Association sent out this month. If you got one in the mail isn't she cute? I'll have to scan it and post it here.

We are off to Apple Hill this weekend. Can't wait.

A Poem Found

Found this on another blog while I was trolling today.....amazing.........

Somewhere…someplace… today…
A family is waiting to hear…
Is something wrong with their baby?
The answers aren’t quite clear…
This family has entered an unwanted world…
And they just don’t know what to expect…
Somewhere…someplace… today
They first heard the words: heart defect.
And how they hoped this was not true…
And thought… this cannot be…
I too… know just how this feels…
For one day…this was me.
Somewhere…someplace…today…
A man and a woman embrace…
Their baby is in surgery…
They long to see his face…
They haven’t got to hold him yet…
Without…a cord or line…
They pace the room awaiting news…
And hope she’ll be just fine.
Prayers fill this busy waiting room…
And mom and dad are scared…
Somewhere…someplace..today…
The tiniest hearts are repaired.
Somewhere…someplace…today…
A child’s growing fast…
Smiling,laughing,thriving…
His mom thinks…can this last?
It’s almost easy…to forget…
That anything is wrong…
Somewhere…someplace..today…
Her child seems so strong.
Somewhere…someplace… today…
A little boy fights…just to live
A father holds his tiny hand…
His love…all he can give…
The doctor’s are all baffled…
They fear that he might die…
Somewhere…someplace…today…
A family says goodbye…
Somewhere…someplace…each year..
More than 40,000 families will see…
What it means…when something’s wrong…
They’ll face a CHD.
Today…for just a moment…
Stop…remember…reflect…
Make time to tell someone you know…
“I’ve been changed by a heart defect.”

Author - Stephanie Husted

Stephanie Husted is a free-lance poet who has a child with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. She enjoys encouraging other families through the written word. She lives in Michigan with her husband and two sons, Colin and Braeden.