What's happening in our world...

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted, life has been busy, here is the rundown. Last weekend Kam and I had the opportunity to finally hang out with some friends. We had our friends Marci and Michael and Nick and Elizabeth over for a barbecue. We had a good time trying to cook over a fire instead of a grill. It was nice to hang out with some friends and have some adult conversation. Kam has been busy studying for finals. He has a final on Tuesday and then again on Wednesday. He gets a break until the week after in which he will have three more. I have been keeping myself busy this week with Enrichment night, working and taking care of Ellison.
Ellison is doing great. We thought she may have had an ear infection because she has been pulling at her ears a little this week. We took her into the doctor and he said everything was fine! She has been trying more and more to crawl and I am sure she will figure it out soon! She is so wiggly and we practically wrestle with her when we hold her (specifically in church)! I know I am biased, but she is the cutest baby ever, and we are constantly stopped by strangers who tell us so. I am sure this is one of the perks of being a mom right?
Work has been going well, but we have been busy! I am seeing about 9 patients a day on average and am still in the intensive care units. I also have some great news to report. When I had my surgery the doctor drew a lot of labs on me to test for clotting disorders. He said that usually people don't have a clot as big as mine unless there is some underlying reason. He did also mention the idea that during the pregnancy everything just came together (the weight of the baby on my veins, blood being thicker, being on bedrest and having a narrowing in my vein) which could have caused the clot. So I went for my six week follow up from surgery and he let me know that all the tests came back negative, but one Lupus Anticoagulant, they were unable to tell if I had it or not (this is a more severe clotting disorder than the others tested). So he drew another lab to test for this particular clotting disorder. That was all about 3 weeks ago. So I called on Monday to get the report and they said that the pathologist wasn't done reviewing the lab work...Pathologist? I didn't know they reviewed the lab work! So I wait through Tuesday and call again on Wednesday. The office staff inform me the nurse is busy and will call me back...but doesn't. So I wait through Thursday. Each day I am becoming more and more anxious at knowing the results. On Friday I call and am informed that the nurse is out of the office. I display some mild irritation on the phone and they finally get another nurse to tell me the numbers. She tells me the number is a little high, but didn't know what that meant so I would have to call on Monday and ask the doctor. I was so irritated to think I would have to wait through the weekend again!
It just so happens that I had to work the weekend and low and behold who do I see...Dr. Neglen. What luck! He tells me that the lab work came back fine and he had talked with the pathologist personally to make sure. So, now I wait 5 or 6 months and go back for surgery again. I was so happy to hear that I didn't have a clotting disorder, and was able to rest that worry.
Last night Kam and I went out for sushi to celebrate! Anyhow, besides my long story this blog is somewhat disinteresting so sorry about that! I hope you all have a great week! Enjoy some random pictures!

After working half a day on Saturday, Kam and I decided to be spontaneous and take a day trip to a smaller town in Mississippi. Kam and I packed up Ellison and drove an hour east to a town called Meridian. We stopped by a natural water fall (yes in Mississippi they have waterfalls...granted they are only about 50 feet high) that used to power a gristmill. We stayed there for a few minutes taking pictures and letting Ellie put her feet in the water. We then ventured out and found an old general store that has been in operation since the 1860's. In Meridian there is a section of town that houses an old carousel, we tried finding that, but didn't have any luck. We then went to the mall which was a very special treat. Ever since Sarah Jessica Parker announced her clothing line, I have wanted to shop at Steve and Barry's just to see what they have because I know the whole premise of the store is affordable clothing. Well, the closest store was in Louisiana and I knew that I may never get there. A couple of months ago, my sister in law and I were talking about the store and I decided to look again and found they have a store in Meridian!!! So, we stopped at the mall and I got a jean jacket from the Sarah Jessica Parker line for $9.64. Needless to say, I will be making another trip to Meridian when I have lost more weight.
On Sunday I got to conduct again because my counselors were out. One of my counselors was in Long Beach, CA attending AOTA (American Occupational Therapy Association) conference, and the other home sick with her child. I was also down 2 of my teachers, so Kam and his mother saved the day by taking some of the kids. We also finally took a picture of Ellison in her Easter dress, complete with the headband sent by my sister, who loves to spoil Ellison (keep it up Christy)! I hope you all had a great weekend to, I can't wait to read about it in your posts!

We had a crazy week last week. We went about as if it were a normal week, however on Friday we were hit by a crazy storm. A few co-workers and I decided to walk across the street from the hospital to a little burger joint (Backyard Burgers) for lunch. Little did we know the storm was going to be moving through at the same time! We were just sitting down to eat our lunch when we saw big black storm clouds moving in. Noticing the clouds, we decided to get some "to go" bags and take lunch back to the hospital. Well, we didn't make it in time, and the storm opened up. It rained hard, hailed and the wind was crazy! There were tree limbs falling a few feet away from where we were, and the stops lights hanging on wires were being blown back and forth. We waited in Backyard Burger for a while and when there seemed to be a lull in the storm, we decided to make a run for it. In transit, from Backyard Burgers to the hospital, I lost my cell phone. (The phone I just got 2 months ago and paid big bucks for).
We got back to the hospital and I called Kam and let him know the storm was coming and to take care of Ellison. About 15 minutes later, Kam called and said the storm had just passed by our house and he and Ellie were alright. He told me one neighbors chimney blew over, and the other neighbors tree branches broke, hitting our house and falling in the backyard. Fortunately, the house sustained no damage and we made it out fine. I wish I could say the same for some of our neighbors, they had shingles blown off their roof, and a house in the neighborhood had a tree fall through the roof. We never lost power, but about 90,000 people in the Jackson area did. We were really blessed.
On Friday night, Kam and I went and got new cell phones, and on Saturday spent the day reprogramming names and phone numbers into it. On Saturday Kam and I ran also errands, we bought a bike trailer for Ellison to ride in, so now we can ride our bikes again. We also went and played games with some friends, and had a good time doing that. On Sunday, Ellison started a new trick, she got up on all fours and started rocking back and forth, so it will only be a matter of time now before she begins crawling. Anyhow, I am glad to say we are all doing well, and staying busy!

Today we took Ellison for her six month follow up visit. We changed her to a new MD, which is also the same MD I use. It's nice that he is both an Internal Medicine doctor as well as a pediatrician...one stop shopping. We were able to get her visit in and get my blood draw during the same visit...very nice! The doctor said Ellison is doing well, he did say she was a little on the small side, 16th percentile for her height and weight and the 6th percentile for her head. I was a little concerned about her head size, but he said when babies are premature, they have to play catch up a little bit, he also said she may just have a little head. She is meeting all of her milestones. Her latest trick is sitting up by herself unsupported. Here comes the therapist side of me, so just bear with me. Ellison's trunk control is so good. She is able to sit up, and then reach for toys side to side as well as in front of her. Ellison can transfer her toy from hand to hand and hand eye coordination is improving as she is able to target to her mouth better. So, the fact that she is meeting her milestones makes me less concerned about her head size.
Ellison also did great with the shots, and only cried long enough for us to get the bottle to her mouth. She is a little fussy tonight, but expected because of the shots today. Ellison also celebrated an Easter again this Sunday with her Mema. Kam and I found the cutest little duck basket for her at Target, and Ellison just loves it. Ellison also got to play in the sand pile on Sunday for the first time. She loved trying to pick the sand up in handfuls and bring it to her mouth. The funny thing was, she was never able to get the sand to her mouth because it would slip out of her hands before she reacher her mouth.
In other great news, my student is gone! Can we say hallelujah! I am sure she is just as glad to be done as I am to have her gone. I know it's awful of me to say, but it was honestly 12 of the most trying weeks I have ever had since practicing Occupational Therapy. Anyhow, she is done and gone and work is getting back to normal. I just rotated onto the intensive care units and most of my patients are medicinally sedated/paralyzed and trached on the vent. I am doing a lot of passive range of motion right now, which makes for a boring day at times. There are other times when I am able to work with the higher functioning patients.
I am also glad to report that my month of conducting/sharing time is over. Gratefully I won't have to worry again for another 2 months! I am starting to worry that primary isn't much fun for the older kids and am trying to figure out how to engage the junior primary throughout all of primary. If any of you out there have any ideas, please let me know!
Kam is still plugging away at school. He will start studying for finals at the end of this month and finals will be during the first two weeks of May. We will be leaving for Utah shortly after Kam completes his finals for Ryan's wedding (my little brother). Kam and I are also thinking of taking a small trip during the summer somewhere in Mississippi, Alabama or Memphis, as well as a trip to visit Kam's parents in Washington D.C. That is all that is new our week. I hope all is going well with my many blogging buddies!