Yes, We Are a Divided Household

But, guess who prevailed - GO SOONERS!

Friday, October 5, 2007

Nathan has lost his two bottom teeth! He still doesn't have his top front teeth, although one is coming through slowly. And the back teeth are slowly coming in also. We went to the dentist awhile back because we were concerned that none of his teeth were coming in (except for the few on the bottom that came in when he was very young). It is common for children who don't get oral stimulation or eat by mouth for their teeth to take a long time to come in. He said the only way to fix it would be surgery which is, of course, not an option! So, our speech therapist recommended a spin toothbrush and I've been using that for awhile and it apparently did the job by thinning out the gums and helping the teeth break through. The first bottom tooth he lost, was literally "lost". We just noticed it was gone. So either he swallowed it or it fell out somewhere. But the second one we have and will save it. Nate will be getting a visit from the tooth fairy! How cute!

We went to have an echocardiogram done this week to check his heart. This was merely a precaution to check for pulmonary hypertension. Some kids who have compromised respiratory problems can develop it and we want to make sure Nate has a healthy heart! No word on results yet.

He's been doing well and adjusting to having a brother. He's so patient and tolerates Owen's loud cries and screams. Sometimes, he even thinks it's funny! It's amazing the resemblance between the two of them. We are looking forward to the months to come when Owen gets more active and Nate can enjoy play time with him.

More pics of the boys will be coming soon.....

Jennifer

p.s. On a side note, SMA will be highlighted on the upcoming episode of "House", Tuesday, October 9th. Garrett Lerner, father of Zeke Lerner (Type 2, 7 years old), is a writer on the show 'House' and has written spinal muscular atrophy into an episode of the show that will air on Tuesday, October 9th (9 pm on Fox). In conjunction, the producers of 'House' have organized a publicity event on Monday October 8th in which the entire cast will participate and attempt to raise awareness for Families of SMA. Pretty cool, huh???

Pictures of Owen in his swing

Thursday, September 27, 2007

We went to the walk last Saturday and it was a great turnout. Kyle and Friends raised over $3,000.00! Nate had a good time, but got a little hot and tired, so we had to leave early. Plus he was up 4 1/2 hours the night before!! He can be quite the night owl sometimes. He likes to talk to his night nurses and keep them entertained!

Nate started school this week. The teacher will be coming to the house and then by spring, we will start taking him "to" school, once the sickness season ends. He loves his teacher and always enjoys his school time.

Owen is getting bigger and bigger! And stronger than ever! It's amazing and such a blessing.

We have been bad about picture taking, but hopefully we'll get some this week and post them.

Not much else going on....Just adjusting to life with two kids and everyone seems to be doing well. That's all we can ask for!

Thanks for checking in!!

Jennifer

Friday, September 21, 2007

Needless to say, we're tired, busy and our heads are spinning with the addition of a new little one! But we are so blessed and so happy that Owen is healthy! Praise the Lord! He is a little miracle and a blessing from God above! But, of course, our hearts and prayers still go to Nathan. Mixed emotions to say the least - so happy about Owen, but we continue to be affected daily by Nate's condition. But we will NEVER give up hope!!! Nathan is our living angel and we cannot express how much we love him!!!!!!! We "banked" Owen's umbilical cord blood in hopes that he would be SMA free. We know Owen will enrich Nate's life in many ways, but you never know, his cord blood stem sells may even help him, heal him, cure him! We pray for that day!

Tomorrow, we will attend the SMA Walk in Sand Springs, and hopefully will have some new pictures.

Thank all of you for your thoughts, comments, cards, gifts, and most of all prayers! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful group of family and friends!!!!

Jennifer

Owen is SMA FREE!!!

We received the call this morning from Dr. Cyrus' office letting us know that OWEN IS SMA FREE!!!!!!!!

Thank you for all your prayers and support!!!!!

Trey

SMA Charity Event

Hi Everyone. There will be a SMA Charity Event, Walk Away SMA, on Saturday, September 22, at 10:00 a.m. All proceeds will go to the Kyle and Friends organization which solely benefits FSMA, SMA Support, and local SMA needs. Of course, we will be participating in the walk. You can also participate in the walk or sponsor Nate.

You can get more information by going to http://www.kyleandfriends.org/ and clicking "Events".

Big Brother Nate and Little Brother Owen

The Whole Family

Owen the Angel

Owen and Daddy

Grandpa and Owen

Nate & Uncle Jeff

A successful first day at home...

Owen's first bath at home...


Nate & Owen on the couch...

Another shot of Nate & Owen...

Owen & Jen come home...

We brought Owen & Jen home late this afternoon and everyone is REALLY HAPPY to be back at home!!!



Thanks for checking in on us!

Trey

Nate & Owen

We took Nate to the hospital today to meet his little brother...

Owen & Mom

NATHAN IS A BIG BROTHER!

Owen Bennett Russell arrived Thursday afternoon at 3:55PM. He weighed in at 9 lbs. 2 ozs., is 21 inches long and has red hair just like his older brother! Here are a few pictures:

Moments like this make it all worthwhile...

More pictures of Nate & Owen on Friday!

Trey

Nate & the Catoosa Cheerleaders

Greetings from HOT, HOT Tulsa!

Here is a quick update and a few pictures since it has been a while since we posted! Nate is doing well...he has two upper teeth breaking through the gum line so he has been a little fussy off & on over the last week or so. His appointment with Dr. Carey went well and the culture came back with "rare/very few pseudomonas" which means that it is suppressed right now. He will probably always have some of it in his lungs and our best approach is to keep it suppressed.

Jen is hanging in there and in the next 7 to 8 days, Nate will be a big brother! If she does not go into labor before next Thursday, we'll do an inducement on August 23rd at 7:30AM. I really believe that Nate understands what is going on and that he does look forward to a baby around the house.

Earlier this summer, Nate became a sponsor for the Catoosa High School Varsity Cheerleaders. Last week, five members of the squad came over to get their pictures with him and Cassidy, Jenni's grand-daughter, made a poster for his room. Nate's picture will be in the 2007 Football Program and if he is doing well, we'll be able to go to one of the games and he will be introduced as an "Official Sponsor". As you can tell from the following pictures, Nate really enjoyed the having the cheerleaders around...

Group photo for the Program:

Check out his smile...

Nate & Cassidy:

Cassidy shows Nate his Thank You Poster:

Thanks for checkng in on Nate!

B-day Pictures (Cake)

B-day Pics (Opening Presents)

B-Day Pics (Aquarium)

Nathan is 4 YEARS OLD!!!!!!

What a blessing - 4 years with our Nate! He had such a great birthday yesterday. He loved the Aquarium and seemed to enjoy it much more than the previous visits. He seems to be at the perfect age to really take it all in and was much more interested in all the fish and exhibits. He also enjoyed opening presents more this year and tasting his homemade cake. He was so into it! It was the perfect day.

With each birthday Nathan has, we celebrate. We celebrate him beating the odds and we admire his diligent fight against the devastating disorder of SMA. Throughout the year, we enjoy every single day with Nathan. We realize how precious Life is and realize what a special and strong person Nathan is. Nathan is such a happy boy, which makes us happy. Sure, Nathan is different and has a horrible disorder, but we don't focus on that. We enjoy Life & Nathan and the fact that he has SMA is secondary.

The pictures will be coming. We have so many good ones to share!!!

Thanks for checking in on Nate and for all the birthday wishes!

Jen & Trey

The beauty of a hospital bed...

One of the great things about having a hospital bed for Nate is the ability to raise, lower, tilt and adjust it to suit Nate's needs. During his doctor's appointment this afternoon, we talked about putting him in different positions to see if some worked better for him in regards to his breathing. While he is in his stander, he is able to be off the BiPAP for longer periods of time than when he is laying down.

So tonight, we raised the head of the bed way up so we could get him in a reclined sitting position without the BiPAP for a while. He did really well and was off the BiPAP for about 15 minutes...

Nate and Daddy coming in after swinging outside

Nate and Miss Sue

Sue came to visit Nate and, as you can tell from the picture, they were both very happy to see each other again!!!

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Not much new around our house, which is a good thing sometimes. Nate has been enjoying the pool a lot, since the rain has finally stopped! He seems to be doing really well medically, and in great spirits, as always. I continue to get bigger and bigger and more uncomfortable. It has been an adjustment and unfortunately, I'm limited on how much I can handle Nate. So, mostly I wait for Trey to get home in the evenings, and then we will get Nate up and about (in the pool, in the swing, getting out of the house, etc.). The weekends are always full since Trey is home and we have nursing. Our nursing situation has improved some, but we still don't have coverage on Saturday nights. Hopefully before the baby comes, we can get that covered. We have tentatively scheduled an induction for Thursday, August 23rd. I originally didn't want to induce, but the more we thought about it, it really makes sense in our situation. We can make sure we have a nurse, Trey can actually be there for the birth (VERY IMPORTANT!!!), and we'll know Nate is taken care of. So, we're just counting the days (actually I'm counting hours and minutes) and looking forward to our new addition! I'm so happy and excited, especially for Nate to have a sibling!

Nate's 4th birthday is coming up very soon!!! We aren't having a big party this year since I'm in really no shape to plan anything right now! But, Nancy and Wayne are coming up and we will be going to the aquarium and opening presents that evening and letting Nate taste some b-day cake. I'm also hoping to get the Nelsons and the Gundys over soon for a swim play date. They are the other families with children with SMA. I can't believe he's going to be 4!!! What a big boy! We are so blessed!

We go see Dr. Carey the first week of August and we'll be sure to update after the appointment. And, of course, we'll update after his birthday with pictures!

Thanks for checking in!!!

Jennifer

Nate With His New "Blanket4SMA"

Nate Having Fun In the Tub