MIRACLE

Oh, sweet little Bradyn, you are our MIRACLE!! We were not at all prepared for what was in store for us just over three and a half years ago when you were born. I very vividly remember the oh so long days in the NICU, right by your side day and night for over two months. I still can see them wheeling you away to surgery (twice), as Daddy and I cried and held each other tight in the hallway. I will never forget the heart wrenching lows we experienced, followed by the highest highs, which filled our hearts with hope, only to be brought back down again by more horrifying news. To say it was a roller coaster ride is an understatement! Few children have been through what you have. Most adults would not have survived what you did! Here you are, approaching your 4th birthday! Each day has brought a new day of struggles for both of us. You face it head on and I get my strength form you, knowing that if you can do it than I have absolutely no excuses. You amaze me daily with your strength and ability to make anyone smile. I still long for the little boy that we dreamed of. Making messes and getting into everything. Getting dirty and doing "guy" stuff with Daddy and Grandpa. Please forgive me, Bradyn, as I am still coming to terms for everything that will never happen. Please be patient with me as I am still coping with losing that little boy. Just know, my sweet Bradyn, how much I love the little boy that you ARE, JUST THE WAY YOU ARE!! We are so blessed by you and I can't express how much joy you have brought us.

Bradyn had the honor of being on the Children's Miracle Network telethon a couple weeks ago. It was so much fun and such a neat experience. We got to do a radio interview and a television interview with Andy Justice. Bradyn was a little fussy so our time got cut short, but it was still fun. We got to tell just a little bit of Bradyn's story to help raise money for the Children's Miracle Network, which gives BSA equipment to take care of babies in the NICU and kids in PICU, both of which we are pretty familiar with.

His shirt! Very appropriate!

I love this one. Looks like he is showing off his shirt!

Waiting to go on live TV. Yes, live TV... At bedtime... with a fussy toddler. You do the math!

Just before our radio interview.

Always smiling!

On the radio.

This is Boston. He is a seizure alert dog! Pretty cool!

Kisses from Boston

Miss West Texas, Perryton native Whitney Sparks, was there too! Bradyn really liked her, as you can tell!

"Rest" time with Daddy.

Bradyn and Olivia have grown quite fond of each other this summer!

Aren't they so cute?

We love our little pool. I am thinking we must get a bigger one next year.

Gracen swam with us last weekend. So much fun!

Bradyn and Grammy floating!

I know I have not shared that much of Bradyn's story on here before. I just felt like sharing some of what he (and we) have been through in his 3, almost 4, years (and this was just the tip of the iceberg). Hug your babies tight and don't take one moment for granted. When your children are tearing up the house and you feel like you can't ever keep it clean, be thankful. I would give anything for Bradyn to tear up our house. When they are talking a lot or being loud and you just want a moment of silence, be thankful. What I wouldn't give to hear Bradyn talk to me. We never in a million years could have imagined that this is the path God chose for us. It is our life, and not many people understand it (nor do I at times), but what I do know is that Bradyn is truly a MIRACLE!!!

Bradyn's 1st last day of school!

WOW! I can't belive today was Bradyn's last day of school! Seems like just a few weeks ago I was so nervous about sending him. Now I am nervous about him NOT being in school all summer. He has come so far and I don't want him to regress any. One of Bradyn's aides, Miss Cassie, is going to be keeping him some this summer. She is wonderful and really loves Bradyn and he loves her too. I am certain that this will help him stay on track all summer. I don't want him to get used to being with me all the time and then have to start all over agian when school starts.

In the mean time, we are really ready to sleep in. Bradyn is up several times a night and usually starts sleeping good just before time to get up. We have to wake him up and he is not happy about it. We are also ready for some pool time. We got ours up and it will be warm by next week I hope.

Bradyn was nice and cozy this morning before we had to wake him.

Bradyn was surprised to see Grandpa at school for his program!!

Miss Cassie siging and dancing with Bradyn

Mommy and Bradyn

I promise this time....

OK this time I mean it. I am going to stop being a lazy blogger and do a much better job keeping this thing up to date.

This spring has been a busy one with Dr. appointments. Bradyn has had a few check ups with his neurologist, neurosurgeon, dentist, and pediatrician. Other than some recurrent pneumonia, he has been really healthy this spring. It has been so nice to have him feeling well.

He is still loving school. He now rides the bus and loves that too. He often comes home with prizes for doing good at school. I could have never imagined him doing so well in school. What a blessing that is!!

Now we are gearing up for summer!! No big plans this year except for lots of swimming and fun! I have finally talked Jarrod into getting a small pool for the backyard!! I can't wait to play in it with Bradyn. He loves the water and it is great therapy for him.

Bradyn in his Easter best! We had a wonderful Easter with family!

Bradyn playing with Daddy! One of Bradyn's very favorite things to do is play on the bed before bedtime! This is his happiest time of day and my favorite too!

Bradyn still loves his swing! We have moved in to the backyard since our dogs are now staying in their pin full time. I love having a yard to play in.

This is what I found when I decided to clean out Bradyn's closet. A little ridiculous! It has been one of his favorite toys since he was only 4 months old. I kept all the old worn out ones. I decided we could keep the first one and let the rest go. Sorry Leap, we are out of room!


This is Bradyn's new big boy room! He has not slept in it yet, but we are hoping to make a transition soon. He still does not sleep much so I am not looking forward to shaking things up.

He loves his new bed!! To play on anyway!

This is Bradyn's new BFF Olivia! We have been waiting for her for a very long time and we love her very much!

Happy 100th day of school!

Today I got to go to Bradyn's school to help them celebrate the 100th day of school. We got to wear our PJ's for the special day! I was so happy to get to go to school with Bradyn to see for myself just how good he is doing. I was so amazed!!! He does so good!! He never once cried or fussed. He sat in his wheelchair like a big boy and sat in his tumble form chair for circle time and snack time. He was so happy! This is the biggest blessing to me to see him doing so well. I had been so nervous about sending him to school at 3 years, but it has been so good for him, and for me too. I spent the entire year from his 2nd to 3rd birthday preparing Bradyn and mostly myself for the transition to school. I never dreamed in such a short time that he would not only be adjusted, but actually enjoying it!! PRAISE GOD!

I told him that Grandpa was here to get this smile. Mean I know, but what a cute picture!
Bradyn got so excited when the months of the year song came on, and every song. At the start of each song he would get so happy and excited. Especially during the months song, he was so cute!

The Worst Blogger EVER!!!

So if there were an award for the worst blogger ever, I would win! There has been so much going on in the last few months I don't know where to start. I guess I will pick up where I left off. Bradyn was sick last time I updated. Well, he missed 2 whole weeks of school but he finally got over H1N1 and pneumonia! Once he finally kicked it, he was soooo happy and did great returning to school.

He has been doing so good in school. He has made it up to 2 and a half hours a day now!! He doesn't even cry when I drop him off AND he is not crying when I pick him up! This is a HUGE blessing for me. I am so happy that he is handling it so well!

We had a wonderful holiday season. We stayed in Perryton and spent both Thanksgiving and Christmas with our amazing families. Jarrod's family suffered a great loss on Thanksgiving day. His uncle Allen lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. He fought it for a very long 6 months.

Medically Bradyn has been keeping us very busy. He has not been sick so that is good, but it has been one thing after another since Thanksgiving. He has had trouble with his platelet count being very low, his blood sugar also being very low, his thyroid is "sluggish" (this is what the nurse said), and his most recent, a little trouble going weeee (and I don't mean on the swing). So he has had lab work done several times this last month and goes in next week to check his thyroid since starting his new med for that. They think most of this trouble is due to his seizure medication. It can be pretty harsh on his little body. I am hoping that we don't have to change meds because it can be really hard weaning him off of this one and getting the new one where it should be so he does not have any seizures. I guess we will deal with that when and if we have to. Oh, some great news... since he has had so much trouble with low blood sugar they started having us put flaxseed oil in his formula and he has chubbed up a bit. He now weighs a whopping 28 pounds and I am thinking I am going to have to find him a new winter wardrobe before winter is over!! At his 3rd birthday in October he was about 25 pounds (and was wearing mostly 24 month stuff) so he has really packed it on lately!

In spite of all this, Bradyn has had the best month of his entire life! He has been so happy and silly. He has been such a good little boy and is starting to entertain himself a little! He has been babbling a lot and really interacting with us! It is so fun to see him like this! He also had a very successful trip to the grocery store the other day! He rode in his wheelchair and did not cry or fuss the whole time. He was just happy and smiling and it was so cute! I was one proud momma! When people see us in public they ask how old he is and then say, "Oh, that is such a fun age". I usually just smile and agree, although I have not really been able to describe any age as "fun". Don't misunderstand me, Bradyn is the best thing on this earth and we love him more than anything. When he smiles I still smile too. When he laughs my heart melts like it is the first time I heard him laugh. This is the first time in Bradyn's life that I can say that we are having so much fun! I guess it is because he has been so happy and feeling so good. I thank God every night for days like today and pray that they continue each and every day of Bradyn's life!

PLEASE PRAY FOR BRADYN!!!

Bradyn has been a sick little boy for almost 2 weeks. It all started with his last seizure on the 16th. He was pretty tired for the next few days, and really not himself. Then on Wednesday, the 21st he got a fever and started coughing. He was worse the next day so I got him in with the Dr first thing Friday morning. He tested postive for H1N1. Since then he has been up and down several times, getting fever and feeling really bad at times then alright at times. Today we took him to get a chest xray because he was really sounding bad. Now he has pneumonia too:( We have been doing breathing treatments and he still got it. To top it all off, the nurse forgot to call in Bradyn's prescriptions so when Jarrod got to the pharmacy at 5:30 they didnt have anything for Bradyn. Of course the office closes at 5 so when I called I got the answering service. By this time it was 5:45 and our pharmacy closes at 6 (really hate small towns at times like these). The on call Dr just called us back at 7:45 and after I told him everything he said he was very concerned about Bradyn. OK, so I am a little scared now. God, please watch over Bradyn tonight and help his lungs clear up quickly.

Another Emergency:(, Bradyn turns 3!!, and the First Day of School

Well, if there are any readers left out there, this is for you! WOW what a busy few weeks. I had been preparing Bradyn, and myself, for school for quite some time. He had another birthday, the big 3!! We have also unfortunately had a couple of "emergencies" as well. On September 27 (one year to the day since his last seizure) Bradyn had a bad seuzire. It lasted about an hour this time, which is much shorter than last time. We spent a few days in Northwest Hospital in Amarillo and found no reason for the seizure, other than a viral infection (probably). We got home just in time to get ready for the big birthday party! It was so much fun and Bradyn really enjoyed his party this year. I cant believe that he is 3 years old already.

On the next Monday, Bradyn started going to school. I was so nervous about this. I got to go with him for the first week and he did pretty good. He is now in his third week and he is getting a little better each day. It is so hard to wake him up in the mornings because he is still not sleeping good. His teachers are amazing and he is slowly getting used to them and the other children.

This past weekend (cant figure out why he does it on the weekends) Bradyn had another seizure. It is the scariest thing, seeing him unresponsive. I will NEVER get used to seeing him that way, no matter how often it happens.

Wake up Bradyn, you are 3 years old today!!

Bradyn's cake (made by mommy)


Bradyn painting his pumpkin at the party

He LOVED the cake, or should I say icing, he is allergic to wheat, so no cake for him

More please!

Bradyn's bat handprint ppumpkin!

The kids at the party

First day of school, he was not this happy at school

Such a big boy!