Saturday, December 31, 2016

An Ode to 2016

Spinal Fusion. 
New Van. Disneyland. Holes.
Hoopfest Champions. Fire Station No. 5. Palouse Falls.
School House Rock. Joshua Bell. The Holiday Bowl. Clarence.
 Beethoven's 5th. Kennewick High 20 Year Reunion.
Gymnastics. Chinook Middle School. Cross Country. Apollo.
    Pole Vault. Junie B. Jones. Gymnastics State Championship.
Track and Field. Nixon Library. Multnomah Falls. 
Emily and Guinness. Tula Carrier.
Happy Accidents. James the Goose.   
It's a Wonderful Life. 

2016

Each year, as I sit down to write an Ode to the year gone by, I am in awe. There is so much life that has been lived, things that one year ago I never would have dreamed of. 

A year ago I didn't know we would lose two pets, and add a new one to our family (today!). 

A year ago I didn't know that Elisabeth would have surgery to fuse her entire spine. 

A year ago I didn't know that three of my children would be transferring to new schools. 

A year ago I didn't know that I would finally see Joshua Bell perform in concert. 

A year ago I didn't know that Donald would be cast in his first play and fall in love with theater. 

A year ago I had no idea of any of it...but it all happened, life has continued to write its story.
And now we turn the page to 2017 and I wonder, what will this year bring?
  photo 20161231_112819_zpswgeytink.jpg

Our new goldendoodle, Apollo, who joined our family this morning!

 photo 20161231_112930_zpstblvtz2n.jpg

Goodbye, 2016!

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

It's Lorelai's Birthday!

TWELVE photo dc7f5368-bbc7-417a-93a3-775e1c6e9478_zps9tgy1u4y.jpg 
Words to describe Lorelai Leigh:

Disciplined. 
Dedicated. Strong. 
Determined. Brave. Focused. 
Accomplished. Intelligent.
Creative. Honest.
Wonderful.

  photo IMG_20161019_143331_zpso4tgszw5.jpg 

Happy 12th Birthday, Lorelai Leigh!
I love you!!!!

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

It's Alexandra's Birthday!

She is everything I imagined she would be. 

 photo 65ac72f5-4ac7-4b8f-b462-938a0b64ebf4_zpsxae11qdi.jpg

She is a dream come true

Happy 14th Birthday, 
Alexandra Louise!

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Elisabeth is Nine!!!

Oh, happy day! 
Isn't it fine?! 

My sweet girl,
Is turning nine!
 photo IMG-1473526303586-V_zpst9x5kgbr.jpg
She is my world.
 
Happy 9th Birthday, 
Elisabeth!


Monday, September 5, 2016

The First Day - 2016

Back-to-School!


Presenting...

  photo 20160830_072941_zpsvhr7tzoi.jpg

Elisabeth Elva
~3rd Grade~

 photo 20160830_072931_zpskkvng1pb.jpg  photo 20160830_072930_zpsyghs3scp.jpg


Presenting...

  photo 20160830_073307_zpskabpbjj8.jpg

Elsa Lelise
~3rd Grade~

 photo 20160830_073235_zpspq08vbwo.jpg  photo 20160830_073256_zpsgb7svwg6.jpg  photo 20160830_073301_zpszwnm0ofe.jpg


Presenting...

  photo 20160830_073038_zps5uu8lskk.jpg

Lorelai Leigh
~6th Grade~

  photo 20160830_073023_zpsncs7inik.jpg   photo 20160830_073053_zpsinyyz4wm.jpg  photo 20160830_073048_zpsrtgqknus.jpg


Presenting...

  photo 20160830_073002_zpspxvwjmdn.jpg

Alexandra Louise
~8th Grade~

  photo 20160830_072958_zpsdt5my5a8.jpg  photo 20160830_073007_zpsixe45sjb.jpg  photo 20160830_073016_zpsqkskkal9.jpg


Why this year is new and exciting...

After 8 years in dual language education, we made the decision to pull our children from the program. At this point, Alexandra and Lorelai are 100% fluent in Spanish and Elsa has a strong foundation on which to build.

In the last year we faced many issues in regards to the low income school the program was placed in and determined that it would be best for our children to be in a safer learning environment.

We have plans to have them tutored privately in Spanish so they don't lose their bilingual skills - that is something that is very important to me. I have distinct memories of daydreaming about motherhood as a child and in those daydreams my children were bilingual!

Alexandra and Lorelai are at a brand new middle school opening this year. It is fun for them to be a part of creating traditions that will be passed down to future generations. They are starting the first few months at a temporary location and will move to the new campus when it is finished in January.

Elsa was able to get transferred to the same school Elisabeth attends - which is also the school that I work at! And even better, she was placed in the same classroom as me!!! ( I am a one on one with a boy with cerebral palsy) It is so wonderful! We are together all day, eat side by side in the cafeteria, and play together on the playground (though I noticed that after the first two days Elsa was already running off to do her own thing - which makes me happy!)

So new schools, new experiences, new friends!
It is going to be the best year yet, I can just feel it!
Happy
Learning!

Saturday, September 3, 2016

A Back-to-School Tradition!

Apple Dipping.


  photo 20160829_145622_zpsdghqaya7.jpg  photo 20160829_150044_zpsaiznjxuk.jpg  photo 20160829_145955_zpsjamttnib.jpg   photo 20160829_152240_zpsbbgm6tkt.jpg 

 photo 20160829_145840_zpsyvxa9iws.jpg   photo 20160829_145947_zpsjjlupbs5.jpg   photo 20160829_182540_zpsgqwsavc5.jpg 

 A Sorenson Family tradition since 2008.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

A Story About a Spine: Part 7

The night I brought Elisabeth home (for the second time) was difficult. While I understood that she would be experiencing severe post operative pain, this seemed different...this was something more.

I watched as she thrashed about and sweat poured from her head.

Then I prayed.

And afterwards, the answer came as clear as day. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced. The words just popped into my head:

Side effects.

I looked at Elisabeth and observed. I noticed her hand reach up and rub her nose. All week in the hospital we had assumed she had been trying to get the oxygen off...but there was no oxygen now...  Wait! It was never the oxygen, she was itchy! And the thrashing - like a person trying to escape their body - suddenly I realized her entire body was itchy!

I googled Oxycodone.

Itchy. Sweating. Elevated heart rate. Restlessness. And a million other side effects that she was probably feeling but couldn't express.

I just KNEW I was right and made the decision right then and there to give her strictly Tylenol. Oxycodone only stays in the body for four hours, so I knew I'd know by morning if I was right.

And here she was the next morning:

 photo IMG_20160709_172921_zpsccuprop4.jpg 

I was overjoyed. 

Elisabeth was back!  

The torment she had endured the previous 10 days was lifted!

Of course I was a little frustrated, too. It was so obvious looking back on it. Then again, she had spent a week and a half in the hospital and not one nurse or doctor had thought it could be side effects. 

In reality, all the symptoms were being misinterpreted as signs of pain (the sweating, the elevated heart rate, etc.). So we would immediately give her more of the oxycodone, which unknowingly was making the situation ever worse! Oh, what a vicious cycle it was!

But in the end, a tender mercy
a direct answer to the prayer of a very tired and distraught mother.

How grateful I am. That moment was one I will never forget for as long as I live.

 photo 20160709_120748_zps4e9hfe1h.jpg
[Comfort at last.]

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

A Story About a Spine: Part 6

I smiled
 SO BIG
when I saw the new, updated sign on the garage door:

 photo 20160708_124014_zpsarjnlwpe.jpg

The entire family was outside waiting and Donald [carefully] scooped up Elisabeth from her carseat and carried her in the house.

 photo 20160708_123624_zpst6c6ujnh.jpg

They had 'For She's a Jolly Good Fellow' all cued up to play and as we walked in the door we all began to sing along. A joyful return for our special little queen.

 photo 20160708_123639_zpsfvbwincw.jpg

Elisabeth was once again returned to her royal throne [the couch!].

 photo 20160708_123642_zpsle2qei5x.jpg

 photo 20160708_123644_zpsdoof7wxz.jpg

Literally fifteen minutes after we arrived, Donald, Lorelai, and Elsa had to leave for Seattle; the regional track meet was that weekend and they were only waiting around long enough to greet us.

And just like last time, Lorelai sneaked a peek at Elisabeth's new back:

 photo 20160708_124906_zpsoo48f42a.jpg

Then they were off and it was Alexandra and I left at home to play nurse to Elisabeth.

At first things seemed relatively okay:

 photo IMG_20160708_170024_zpsohcib2gv.jpg

But things started going downhill quickly.

She started thrashing about, sweat was pouring from her head, she couldn't sleep.

'Think, think, think,' I told myself.

I knew there had to be a solution. There had to be something causing this, some variable that I was missing.

As afternoon turned into night she became increasingly worse. I was tired, I was worried. There was no where left to turn. I knew the local hospital wouldn't take her, they had said so themselves. And driving back to Spokane just wasn't an option that late at night. Plus, I had just spent a week back there and really, they hadn't solved the problem.

I was on my own. I needed to figure it out.

 photo IMG-1468039257191-V_zpszpb5qmed.jpg 
[To help ease her discomfort, Alexandra created a makeshift hospital 
bed by using a bean bag to elevate the mattress.]

Sunday, July 17, 2016

A Story About a Spine: Part 5

Searching for Answers

We arrived back at the hospital the night of July 3rd and it was around 5 am on the 4th of July when she finally fell asleep - after almost two days of being awake and miserable.

This was not a fun way to spend Independence Day...but I knew it was the card we were dealt so we had to just make the most of it. 

  I tied a red and white ribbon in her hair while she slept. It was perfect.

 photo IMG-1467645330433-V_zpscv3spyvo.jpg

On the 5th we had exciting news: Donald and the girls were coming to visit! When they arrived Elisabeth actually woke up, which was amazing because mostly she was just sleeping due to sedation. And oh, what a difference having them there made! She seemed so content, so happy.

  photo 20160705_151419_zpsk70ahavn.jpg

Daddy missed his little girl:

 photo 20160705_151528_zpsngibhfle.jpg

After spending some time with Lizzy, the big girls went down to the rec room and painted some posters to decorate her room:

 photo 20160705_174003_zpsteknis8t.jpg

Elisabeth's ROOM

 photo 20160705_180654_zpsyuuy5miv.jpg

Oh, what a difference a little bit of color makes! 
The doctors and nurses were all quite impressed.

 photo 20160705_153130_zpslkb7qlgl.jpg

The next few days we were in somewhat of a holding pattern. She would sleep and sleep. Every once in a while she would wake up, but mostly she would sleep. I did get her hair detangled and combed, so that was good.

 photo IMG_20160708_075538_zpstdbyrm5t.jpg

Also, Elisabeth had a few visitors while she was there of the canine variety:

  photo 20160707_175000_zps3je3n0ov.jpg

But if sisters and dogs weren't there.  
Or if I wasn't pestering her by trying to detangle hair, she slept:

  photo 20160707_082051_zpsizqmcics.jpg

Mostly I just took pictures of her.

On Wednesday afternoon they mentioned sending Elisabeth home in the morning. The problem I saw with that was that we had not resolved any of the issues, we had merely found a successful way to sedate her and I didn't feel that sending her home sedated was the best option. I suggested that we first let her wake up so we could gauge where exactly she was at. Everyone agreed and so on Thursday morning we stopped the sedation drugs.

It went as smoothly as we could hope. She woke up and seemed rather calm. By that night I thought, 'Yes, she is okay to take home' - though I was still haunted by what had happened the first time around.  

Why had she exhibited such strange behaviors? Why was she thrashing? Why couldn't she sleep? 

With still so many questions I agreed to take her home - a second time - on Friday.

 photo 20160708_095053_zpsi8vwdxmt.jpg 

Up next: Part 6, The Homecoming, Take Two!

A Story About a Spine, Part 4

Home, 
home, 
home!

When we arrived home there was a sign welcoming us along with a sparkling clean house. That is just one of the gazillion things that I love about my family - when I am gone things do not fall apart. They rise to the occasion! 
(Elsa even took charge of making sure my flower baskets were watered.)

 photo 20160702_140639_zpsoefoybkq.jpg

The girls were thrilled to have their little sister home again. They hadn't seen Elisabeth in the hospital, so there were a lot of stored up hugs and kisses.

I absolutely adore the picture below...especially how Lorelai is taking her first peek at Elisabeth's 'new' back.

  photo 20160702_140308_zpsi2vq8miw.jpg

And if you really want your heart to melt, look at these pictures:

 photo 20160702_141818_zpsxw60escw.jpg  photo 20160702_141811_zpsrrgq4n6u.jpg

When Lorelai went over to whisper hello, Elisabeth gently lifted her hand and placed it on Lorelai's face. It was as if she were trying to say, "Why, there you are, sissy! I have missed you!."

  photo 20160702_141759_zpsdhjuhltn.jpg

But then...things took a turn for the worse...

Elisabeth began thrashing and her hair was soaked in sweat. I kept thinking, "she's in pain, she's in pain". I religiously gave her the prescribed dose of oxycodone every four hours in hopes of bringing her relief, but it didn't make a difference. Throughout the afternoon and into the night she thrashed. At 3 in the morning I called the hospital and talked to a nurse who promised she would pass the message on to the doctor when he arrived. Come morning I waited and waited for a call, finally deciding at 9 am to call back. The physician instructed me to increase her dose by 1/3.

I did. And nothing improved. 

Elisabeth had been awake 24 hours and I was getting increasingly concerned. So I reached out to the local pediatrician who suggested giving her Benadryl in hopes that it would at least help her fall asleep.

Nope. Didn't work.

I called back to the hospital and at this point was a bit teary (I, too, had been awake well over 24 hours). "What do I do?" I asked. "She needs rest, her body needs rest."

The doctor told me to bring her back so that they could better manage her pain and evaluate the situation first hand. I scooped her up to put her in the car and discovered that the back of her shirt was soaked in blood. So we re-routed to the local emergency room. When I walked in they asked what was wrong and with a shaky voice I said, "She's falling apart." 

  photo 20160703_165322_zpsbcv9mrkg.jpg

The ER was able to bandage up her bloody incision and then I drove as fast as I could back to Spokane where they were awaiting our arrival.

  photo 20160703_200108_zpsdcnot0vu.jpg

I was so glad to be back in the safety of that hospital room.

 photo 20160703_201902_zpssvweq3zr.jpg

Elisabeth was a mess. Her back was bleeding, her stats were all abnormal, she was sweating and thrashing and still unable to sleep.

 photo 20160704_001725_zps3hg9tosv.jpg

They gave her a medication to sedate her, but even so, the nurse and I stood at her bedside until the wee hours of the morning restraining her so that she didn't hurt herself. Already, her body was getting bruised from the thrashing.

At 3 am I began feeling dizzy - it had been nearly two days since I had slept - so the nurses took over and I went to get a few hours of sleep. When I woke I was informed that she kept thrashing until 5 am. Even with medication to sedate her, she had been unable to relax until finally her body gave in to fatigue. She, too, had been awake for close to two days.

 photo 20160704_020327_zpsauys5bqc.jpg 

Up next: Part 5, Searching for Answers

Related Posts with Thumbnails