Happy Father's Day!

We had a wonderful day celebrating the men in our life. Sheryl had the family over for a wonderful lasagna dinner. Chase had a great time running all over Sheryls house and sharing his toys with Max (the dog). Chase also got to experience stairs for the first time. He was so proud of himself when he reached the top. I am glad we don't have stairs at our house. It sure would be exhausting following him up and down the stairs all day.

Dawson and I are going on a much needed vacation for a week. Nanna, Mammaw and Sheryl will be watching Chase for us. I am feeling a bit sad about leaving him for that long, but we really need the time away.

It has been 2 weeks since my mom's surgery. She is doing a lot better than she was the first week after the surgery. She can now do more things with her hands and has gotten out of the house quite a bit. She will have the pins in for another month and then rehab.

Chase (14 months) and Liam (15 months)

Things are better at the Brinkley household. I am so glad May is over! The swelling in my hand has gone down and hopefully soon will have my normal full range of motion back.

My mom ended up needing surgery on both wrists and this was done last Monday. She has pins in both arms and has been in excruciating pain. She needs help doing everything. Chase and I went down to Boca on Sunday for a few days to help out my parents. It lifted my moms spirits seeing Chase and Liam together. The boys are walking/running all over the place.

Everyday, my mom's pain seems to improve. She will have the pins in for 6 weeks and then will need to have therapy. Amanda has been a huge help by going over there everyday to help my mom do the most basic things. Please pray for her pain to subside and a speedy recovery.

What a great day this was. It was last weekend while my parents were here. We went to City Walk and ate at Margaritaville. Chase and my father loved all the great Buffet decorations all over the restaurant. I was starting to feel better and was so happy to get out of the house.

Now for the unfortunate news...
I'm still on antibiotics for the hand since the pharmacy wrote the wrong dose on the bottle. Fortunately, I reacted to the half prescribed dose or I would have needed hand surgery! GRRR. Another reason why I love electronic medical record!

Chase started throwing up on Friday and I thought it could have been bad milk or something. He was acting fine otherwise, but did throw up 4 times that day. I knew that something had been going around his daycare,b ut he was not there for 3 weeks while I was recooperating. Denial is a great thing. Unfortunately Sunday morning at 3:30 am I woke to Dawson vomiting and that continued for hours. He didn't get out of bed until 4:30 pm when I started barfing and he needed to take care of baby Chase. We are better today then yesterday, but still not totally normal.

WORST OF ALL...
I got a frantic call from my sister today that my mom broke both her wrists. I am not clear if it is wrists or lower arms, but definately both of them. The ortho doc didn't come into the hospital to see her (not life threatening and it is Memorial Day - GRRRR). He wanted them to splint her up and make an appt for tomorrow. Very frustrating. Chase and I will be heading down to Boca this Friday-Tuesday so my sister and I can tak team and help her.

That is it. This our three bad things...no more!!! JUNE HAS TO GET BETTER.

Pray for my mom!

Ali

Flesh Eating Bacteria!
Yep, that is what the doctors told me yesterday. Very scary. They also said that I am so lucky that I went to the hospital when I did because it could have been so much worse. Just imagine those gory pictures on the internet you find when you google it. Too disgusting. I am so thankful that I went to work that morning and showed it to the nurse and physician I work with. They told me that I needed to go to my doctor an get antibiotics. Boy were they right!!!

The great news is that the ID doc will discontinue my oral and IV antibiotics THIS MONDAY! That means this PICC line can finally come out! I will be free! My hand is still a little sore and stiff. My arm is peeling from the infection. The swelling has gone down, but I probably won't e back to my new normal for a couple weeks. The redness is gone and I have not taken any pain meds since Monday! Praise the Lord!

I plan to return to work on Wednesday and I am looking forward to normalcy. My parents leave Sunday and have been a tremendous help. Chase is just as cute as can be. He is having a wonderful time playing ball with Brewster, my parents border collie.

Thanks again for all your prayers and well wishes.

Yesterday, we had a bit of a scare. My hand started to swell and become sore over the weekend. I even had to start taking the Percocet again starting on Sunday. I made an appt to see the ortho hand doc to check out my hand and check to see if an abcess was forming. He didn't think there was an abcess and picked off my scab (ewwww). He suggested that I see the ID guy since I may need a different antibiotic. The ID doc saw me right away and he freaked me out. He was very concerned that I was developing compartment syndrome. This would mean hospitalization and hand surgery. He started me on Clinda (oral) three times daily for 7 days and extended my IV Rocephin for another 7 days. he said he was puzzled as to why this was happening. I did have a rash all over my trunk over the weekend (now gone). He was not sure what that was all about either.

I was concerned because Chase started getting what looked like zits on his face, ear and hand. I showed the ID guy and he of course told me to show my pediatrician. Most adult guys won't touch kids. He said he takes pustules very seriously in children and Chase needed to be seen right away! So I made an appt with Dawn Andrew, his pediatrician. Before I had Chase, I worked with her at the hospital. She was a hospitalist at APH. Well, Dr. Andrew made me feel so much better about my condition. She knew more than the ID guy!!! She told me the rash was from the strep and that my new antibiotic regimen should do the trick. She also told me that Chase did not have pustules and that it was likely bug bites! Phew!!!

I got my dressing on my PICC line changed today. They do it once per week. For all you non medical people out there, a PICC line is an IV access that is permanently on my arm until I am finished with IV antibiotics. It goes in my arm directly to my superior vena cava (heart). Scary. You have to be very careful and clean when dealing with the line. I am looking forward to getting this line OUT!!!

3 doctors appts in one day is more than I ever want to do again. I now have a deeper understanding of what my patients go through. It sucks!!!

Thanks for all your prayers, phonecalls, flowers, gifts and well wishes. Keep praying. I am feeling better today than yesterday. It doesn't feel like I have acid on my hand anymore and I have not taken Percocet yet today. I think this Clinda has really turned things around. Praise God! I will keep you updated. I go to ortho and ID docs again on Thursday.

First Haircut!

Yesterday, Mimi and I took Chase to get his first haircut! His hair was getting long and he was starting to sport a mullet so we had to get that taken care of right away. Chase was so good and did not cry at all. He actually liked having his hair combed.

Don't mind the shiner and bum lip. He has started walking and had some spills. He's tough, he's a boy!

I still have IV antibiotics for another 5 days. I can't wait to put this all behind me. I visited with the Infectious Disease Doctor yesterday and he made it very clear how sick I truly was. I was very close to having my arm sliced open in several places to drain". I am feeling better every day. Dawson and I are going to go on a date this Saturday for a late anniversary celebration. I am looking forward to that.

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and well wishes.

Correction: It was group A step. Dawson told me that they cultured my nose and yes that is what is was. I was really out of it in the hospital and somethings were not clear to me until talking about it later.

I AM FINALLY HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL!!! This was definitely that worst week of my life. It started last Tuesday when I noticed a very small blister on the top of my hand. I scratched it and clear fluid came out of the blister. It did not hurt at that time so I didn’t pay much attention to it.

When I woke up the next morning, half of my hand was swollen and it hurt. I joked with Dawson that I must have gotten a spider bite and I was going to die!!!! I went on to work that day and showed my hand and to the physician and nurse to get their opinion. By then, it was even worse than it was when I woke up. Dr. Weatherly told me that I should make an appt with my primary care physician because it looked like I needed antibiotics. I made the appointment for later that day. I was just concerned that I was not going to be able to go on the two trips I had planned over the next two weeks.

The pain started getting worse and worse. It was now moving up to my elbow. I couldn’t stand it anymore so I went home to wait for my appt. I cried the whole way home. By the time I reached my primary care physician’s office, my fever was 103.6. I was in so much pain. I couldn’t even rip the toilet paper off the roll with my bad hand! My primary care looked at the infected arm and thought I really needed to go to the emergency room to get IV antibiotics. Woah Nelly…this meant it was really something serious.

I drove myself to the ER and asked Dawson to get Chase and have his mom watch him that night. It all went down hill from there. The pain was becoming unbearable. I was begging for pain medication because the pain was like nothing I had ever experienced before. It was all happening so fast. I was getting really scared that I was going to lose my arm or something worse.

I think I was finally getting my IV pain killers when Dawson got to the ER. I know I really scared him because I couldn’t control my shaking and I was moaning from the pain. I had to be admitted to the hospital for IV antibiotics and to determine the source of the infection.

I had so many things done to me (MRI, chest Xrays, PICC line placement for long term IV antibiotics). We don’t really know what happened. I could have been bitten by a spider or just got some sort of infection. I was convinced it was a spider bite from our weekend stay at Ft. Wilderness. They cultured the surface of the site and it came back positive with Group A Step. I mention that the SURFACE showed that because they could not get anything out of the wound. We all have Staph and Strep on our skin at any given time, but don’t necessarily react to it. So who knows if it is really Group A Strep or a spider bite. Honestly, I don’t even care anymore, I just want to get better.

Dawson was such a source of strength for me. He really took wonderful care of me. He really meant what he said on our wedding day when he would “take me in sickness and in health”. The poor guy had to guide me to the bathroom so many times, got vomited on, and was there for ANYTHING I needed him to do for me. I was so loopy from the pain and the drugs that I was hallucinating, falling asleep while drinking water, or falling asleep on the toilet. Through it all, he was right there with me. I am so thankful to have him as a husband. It’s kinda ironic that we spent our 6th wedding anniversary in the hospital and he even made that special for me.

It has been so difficult being away from Chase this whole time. I know that he was in good hands at his Nanna and Mammaw’s house, but I wanted to see him, smell him and hold him. I woke up Sunday crying because I missed him so much. The nurses said it would be ok for me to visit with him downstairs. He was too young to be exposed to the germs upstairs in the hospital. We had WONDERFUL brief visit, but enough to lift my spirits.

My mom comes today to take care of Chase and me for the next 2 weeks. Chase will finally come home today. I hear he is more of a walker than a crawler. It will be one great “mother and child reunion”. I have 9 more days of home IV antibiotics and many follow-up doctors appts. I was supposed to be leaving for CABO tomorrow! It is so great to be out of the hospital, but I am not out of the woods yet…

Thank you to all that has helped me, called me and prayed for me.

I can't believe it has been a year since Chase was born. It has been such a wonderful year for the Brinkley family. I can't imagine my life any different! I truly love waking up each morning seeing his smiling face. It is so wonderful seeing Dawson's face light up every time he sees his little boy.

We had a birthday party on Saturday for the little man. Chase had a great time playing with his cake. He also went swimming in our pool. Poor little guy had blue lips before it was all said and done. At the end of the night Mimi and Gramps (my parents) watched him and Liam (Amanda's son) so the parents could go out.

Chase is growing up so fast. I feel so blessed that I can be home with him 5 days a week to watch him and play with him.

Love ali

So many new things happened over the last few weeks...

Chase has gone to the newly remodeled Lake Eola park and really LOVES the swing! He has an instant smile when you put him in it. He even cried when we took him out. While we were at the park, we fed the duckies and the swans. Chase just looked stunned at all the birds as they flew over our heads. It must ave been a little freaky to him.

Last week, when I picked up Chase at the YMCA daycare, I was told that he broke out of the infant area. He seemed to really enjoy hanging with the big kids. They suggested that he wear shoes just in case some of the other kids stepped on his little toes. It was time to get Chase some shoes. We brought him to the mall to get his first pair of Stride Rite shoes! He is getting to be a big boy. Afterward, we took him on the carosel in the mall. As you can see, he just loved it. It is so cool to watch his amazement with each new thing he does.

Last weekend, Chase and I had the opportunity to visit with one of my best friends, Kelly "Stout" Hutcheson and her sister Jen. It has been several years since we have gotten together. When we got together with Kelly and Jen, it was if we were back in high school. We had so much to talk about and enjoyed the afternoon laughing and catching up on our lives.

As you can see, Chase loves to brush his teeth. He was so interested in our Crest Spin Brush. We decided to get his very own Spidey spin Brush. He cries when we take it away...and that is after 10 minutes!!!

Happy 92nd Birthday to Mammaw!

Last weekend we were able to get together with family to celebrate Mammaw's special day. Dino and Taylor's birthdays were celebrated too.

Check out Chase sharing and playing with his cousin Bella. It was adorable watching them interact. Pretty soon they will be running all over the place with the older kids (Anthony, Michael, and Samantha).

Just wanted to make a quick post for you all to see the latest family gathering. Please keep Norman in your prayers as he continues his battle with cancer. It was so wonderful visiting with him. You should see how much Bella loves her grand daddy. She just sits so peacefully in his lap and snuggles him. So cute!!!

I recently saw a T-shirt that said "Pumping, it's hard work, but my baby is worth it!" Boy, do I wish I would have seen that months ago! I wouldn't wear it to the grocery store or gym, but would proudly wear it around the house. Maybe at a BBQ for laughs.

Well, it is with mixed emotions that I tell you all the I am HUTH (Hanging up the Horns). For all you non-pumpers out there, that means that I have retired my breastfeeding pump and have weaned myself. Chase will still be getting my milk til he is at least a year....Check out my freezer stash. We bought a deep freeze several months ago when my milk took over both our freezers. I just tapped into the deep freeze this week and I know it will last for months.

Saturday was the last time I pumped and I did not realize (at the time) that it would be my last. I feel like there should have been some sort of ceremony or something. I hear that your hormones go kinda out of wack when you wean so I hope Dawson doesn't find me too crazy over the next few weeks. It is great having all this extra time on my hands.

Chase is changing every day and his little personality is really shining through. He loves to walk around in his walker on the pool deck. The boy loves to be outside and have the wind go through his wispy hair. He has 6 teeth now. 4 on top and 2 on the bottom. His grinny smile is a sight to be seen! He is very active and crawling everywhere. He pulls up on furniture and I really think he will be taking a few steps soon.

Sorry for not updating this more often, but it it is hard to know where all my time goes....Oh yeah, it goes to Chase!