March & April 2012

March 2012
The month of March started fairly quiet for the Hales family.  Tristan was getting into as much mischief as possible and beginning to really enjoy eating solid food and Claire was on the mend from her infections from February.  About mid-March, Tristan got his first cold.  Believe…at 11 months that is almost a miracle but as is the norm…it spread around the family.  I was the next victim of the cold and then poor Claire.  Jake was gone when the plague, I mean, the cold struck so he was the only one not to get it….which was good because he had to go to the hospital and stay with Claire.  Claire’s cold turned into pneumonia which is just a part of what we will battle any time she gets sick. 
Tristan started walking…and life was forever changed…LOL!
Biggest news in March…Claire turned 2!!!  I seriously don’t think any of Claire’s doctors expected Claire to make it to her 2nd birthday and yet here she is.  We couldn’t be happier or more proud of the progress Claire is beginning to make.  We started Claire on an extended drug wean and hoped it would give her more alertness.
We also celebrated both Claire and Tristan’s birthdays with an open house and we had a GREAT turnout.  What love our family was shown.  We were blessed to have family and friends gather with us to celebrate the gift of life.

April 2012
Big news…Tristan turned 1! I can’t believe how fast the time went…seems just yesterday he was a tiny bundle and now he’s up running around.  Watching Tristan grow is amazing and he is so sweet to Claire that I just couldn’t ask for a better sibling to her.  Though sometimes tiring we take delight in all things Tristan…even his shenanigans. 
As for Claire, April was an eventful month.  Claire was having some serious issues breathing on the night of April 7, and her seizures were a bit out of control and we ended up calling 911.  Claire was taken to Salem Hospital and then transported to Doernbecher.  Claire spent less than 24 hours intubated, which was good, but she was still having some major airway issues.  Mom and Dad were great and brought Tristan to visit and our Easter dinner. We’ve just learned that celebrating holidays can be done from anywhere…even the ICU.  Claire was sent up to the intermediate care floor on the 8th and stayed there until discharge on April 17.  It was finally discovered that Claire had gigantic tonsils (I kept asking about this) and the decision was made to have them removed ASAP.  Claire had her tonsils, adenoids, and some scare tissue taken out of her throat on April, 12.  Claire spent 1 night post-op in the ICU then it was back upstairs.  Claire was in severe pain and it took a few hours to get caught up on the pain meds and get her comfortable.  Once pain management was under control…Claire was resting well and already breathing better.  Claire made a quicker recovery than was expected and after 4 days had her nasal trumpet (breathing device) removed and two days after that she went home! 

Meanwhile, my dad was awesome and stayed at the hospital with Claire one night and my mom kept Tristan, and Jake and I stayed at a hotel for our first night with no children in just over 2 years!  We had a great date and I didn’t fret too much.

Jake’s dad and step-mom came to visit from Arizona the last weekend of April.  We love getting to seem them and spend time with them.  On April 28, we went down to Eugene to meet up and eat with some other family.  Claire wasn’t having her best day ever and was having quite a few seizures.  While at the restaurant, Claire had a couple of seizures back to back and was turning blue (normal for her) so Jake took Claire out to the van to give her some oxygen.  While we finished boxing up leftovers, paying the bill, and using the restroom, things got bad quickly outside.  I got out of the bathroom to find and ambulance in the parking lot and Claire being put in the back.  Jake said by the time he got Claire outside she had stopped breathing all together and he could not find a pulse for 2 minutes.  My awesome hubby jumped right in with full CPR and asked a stranger to call 911.  Claire was rushed to the Eugene hospital and then transported to Doernbecher.  True to her own uniqueness…Claire went home from the whole ordeal the next day.
I will write more about this last experience in a different post…for now I’m just trying to get caught up on the events of our life.