The day after I post about an article in "Cattails", the latest edition came in the mail. The cover article was about 3 triplets and their parents from the U.P. that came down to Marshfield Clinic because of their children's flat head syndrome. The kiddos on the cover are absolutely ADORABLE in their little camo helmets. Mason's neurologist and his orthotics dude are quoted in the article, which is so weird and ironic to me. I say to Chris "Do you think our story is cover-worthy?" And I wonder, will people find it as interesting as I did this story? I also wonder if this will reach other VCFS families that we can add to our ever expanding network of contacts. I have lots to say about Mr. Mason, but enough to be 2 full pages and two photos?
For some reason, I am oddly excited about this opportunity to share our experiences. For the most part, I have so many good things to say about the Marshfield staff. Do you think they'll "comp" some of our visits if I say enough good things?
Busy weekend...my cousin (Konkol side) is getting married in Milwaukee and we're going to spend the rest of our downtime up at the lake. Lots of driving but worth it to get some fishing time in. I hope you all have a great Memorial day weekend!
Here's a clip I received from the in-laws that is a great way to reflect about why Memorial day is a holiday in the first place: http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/index.php?c=pages&m=watch_short_video.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Our Claim to Fame
So I got the funkiest call on Monday. Mason's cardiologist called to get our permission to have a PR rep from Marshfield Clinic meet with us to do a story on Mason. They were looking for a family that has utilized different pediatric services through the Marshfield Clinic system. We fit that bill exactly! We've utilized Cardiology, GI, Genetics, Neurology, Immunology, ENT, Speech, Special Needs Clinic, Physical and Occupational Therapy and Physical Medicine. Oh, I forgot Orthotics. :)
They will do a story on Mason, his syndrome, how we've used services, etc. It will be a picture and story featured in their Cattails newsletter - do any of you get that? I know I do - I think it comes out quarterly.
I'm not sure exactly when it will be featured. We're meeting with the PR guy on Tuesday and the picture will be taken later.
What a great way to bring awareness to VCFS!!!
They will do a story on Mason, his syndrome, how we've used services, etc. It will be a picture and story featured in their Cattails newsletter - do any of you get that? I know I do - I think it comes out quarterly.
I'm not sure exactly when it will be featured. We're meeting with the PR guy on Tuesday and the picture will be taken later.
What a great way to bring awareness to VCFS!!!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Mason is spoiled!
I have lots of news to share from today but before I go into all that, I wanted to share Mason's newest skill with you all.
Even though Daddy would deny it, maybe Mason will be a basketball playah. He's got mad ball-handling skills!
So our day started at 9 am in Marshfield. Mason got some rockin' camo AFO's (Ankle Foot Orthotics). He had outgrown his old boring white ones and now has these:
(I know, lame picture.)
After that appointment we went to Physical Medicine. We were waiting for 20 minutes past our scheduled appointment time when the nurse came out and said "You guys need to go to X-ray, they are waiting for you there.) X-ray? No one told us about an x-ray today! Well it turns out the whole point of Dr. Meilahn's appointment was to check Mason's AFO's and to check his pelvic x-ray to make sure that Mason's hips are still doing okay and haven't become misformed. So off to x-ray we went, with Mason sleeping in the stroller. We somehow managed to keep him sleeping as we laid him on the x-ray table and undressed him around the waist.
We went back down to Physical Medicine and luckily she met with us right away. No issues with his hips right now. His AFO's fit great. We are going to increase his baclofen (muscle relaxer) just a bit to help with his tightness throughout the day. He's only going up a 1/2 tablet in the am.
We were then off to our 11:00 in the hospital. We checked in there and saw a good friend of ours. Shortly after chatting with Holly we were called back. My anxiety over the loaner kid kart was finally over. It's BLUE!
What's sweet about this is that the chair part comes off and connects to a racking system so it can be used as a high chair (shown here with Mason but without the tray that goes in front of him).
We are still pushing for insurance to get our own approved so we can return this loaner. In addition to getting this loaned out, they loaned us out a rifton chair as well that he can use at auntie Michelle's house to work on his grabbing. (No picture yet.)
So that was our day! Super busy but a great day! Mason was in a fantastic mood today and because of a late nap, is still up at 9 pm, laying under his high chair (which he scooted to) and is pulling off all the bibs that are hanging in the back. Stinker.
One other picture I have to post, just because I love it so much, is a picture of Mason and I on the John Deere garden tractor and Grampa and Gramma Mrdutt's farm. Mason loved riding on this, and if it was in view, would stretch and scream until we took him for a ride. Mommy didn't mind!
We're looking forward to another great weekend of working down on our land and getting our garden planted. We have another house showing on Sunday so we'll probably have to clean up this pig-sty at some point. For now, I'm going to spend the last few minutes of this day cuddling with my baby boy...
Even though Daddy would deny it, maybe Mason will be a basketball playah. He's got mad ball-handling skills!
So our day started at 9 am in Marshfield. Mason got some rockin' camo AFO's (Ankle Foot Orthotics). He had outgrown his old boring white ones and now has these:
(I know, lame picture.)
After that appointment we went to Physical Medicine. We were waiting for 20 minutes past our scheduled appointment time when the nurse came out and said "You guys need to go to X-ray, they are waiting for you there.) X-ray? No one told us about an x-ray today! Well it turns out the whole point of Dr. Meilahn's appointment was to check Mason's AFO's and to check his pelvic x-ray to make sure that Mason's hips are still doing okay and haven't become misformed. So off to x-ray we went, with Mason sleeping in the stroller. We somehow managed to keep him sleeping as we laid him on the x-ray table and undressed him around the waist.
We went back down to Physical Medicine and luckily she met with us right away. No issues with his hips right now. His AFO's fit great. We are going to increase his baclofen (muscle relaxer) just a bit to help with his tightness throughout the day. He's only going up a 1/2 tablet in the am.
We were then off to our 11:00 in the hospital. We checked in there and saw a good friend of ours. Shortly after chatting with Holly we were called back. My anxiety over the loaner kid kart was finally over. It's BLUE!
What's sweet about this is that the chair part comes off and connects to a racking system so it can be used as a high chair (shown here with Mason but without the tray that goes in front of him).
We are still pushing for insurance to get our own approved so we can return this loaner. In addition to getting this loaned out, they loaned us out a rifton chair as well that he can use at auntie Michelle's house to work on his grabbing. (No picture yet.)
So that was our day! Super busy but a great day! Mason was in a fantastic mood today and because of a late nap, is still up at 9 pm, laying under his high chair (which he scooted to) and is pulling off all the bibs that are hanging in the back. Stinker.
One other picture I have to post, just because I love it so much, is a picture of Mason and I on the John Deere garden tractor and Grampa and Gramma Mrdutt's farm. Mason loved riding on this, and if it was in view, would stretch and scream until we took him for a ride. Mommy didn't mind!
We're looking forward to another great weekend of working down on our land and getting our garden planted. We have another house showing on Sunday so we'll probably have to clean up this pig-sty at some point. For now, I'm going to spend the last few minutes of this day cuddling with my baby boy...
Monday, May 17, 2010
Not enough minutes in the day...
So a little birdie told me that I needed to update the blog. I know, I've been slacking in this department. We've been so busy that I haven't had time to post any updates!
Chris and I have been taking it easy at home because we've been busy with work. Chris especially...his work days seem to slowly increase with more meetings and all that blah blah blah. It can be frustrating at times when one of us isn't home until 8 or so because of a meeting, errands, or whatever else seems to consume our days lately. I'm hoping that once summer comes we will be able to relax things a bit.
We've been trying to keep our house tidy...we've had two people interested since we dropped the price. We had a walk-through last week (no call back) and another person likely coming to see the place this weekend. Its nice having interest but it doesn't work so well when I want a lazy night at home and it turns into a madhouse of cleaning. Now that the weather is getting so nice, we've been trying to take time to take walks and enjoy our gorgeous backyard. Since we put in the patio late last summer, we haven't had much of a chance to just hangout back there. I don't know...I'm not so sure I still want to sell! :)
Mason's therapies have continued...he now has PT and Speech weekly. The speech appointments are going well, but he doesn't seem that interested in eating when he's there. I think he's just getting accustomed to the place and scenery...so hopefully he gets more interested in showing his eating techniques to the therapists. This Wednesday is another hospital visit. Mason is getting his Camo AFO's! Nothing like rockin' out the shorts and camo braces this summer...that is going to be hot! :) He hasn't had any AFO's on for almost 2 months since he's grown out of the old ones so it will be nice to get those on him again. We also have an appointment with Physical Medicine. We need to talk with them about increasing his baclofen muscle relaxer because he's really gotten tight the last few months. If the baclofen doesn't cut it, we may need to reconsider the botox shots. But. Not. Yet. Lastly, we have an appointment to get a loaner Kid Kart sized for Mason. When they told me they could get us a loaner until insurance approved ours, I was SO super excited. What I didn't think of was...uh oh, what if the loaner Kid Kart is PINK? Nothing like cartin' around our little tyke in a PINK stroller. :) Cross your fingers that we get blue, or something generic like gray or black.
The big MRDUTT wedding is only 3 weeks away, which is just crazy. It seems like it took so long to get here and now its coming up FAST! I have yet to get my dress sized or Mason's tux sized. I also need to get to the tanning booth so people aren't blinded by my winter whiteness. I am so excited for their big day...so much love and planning went into it, I can't wait to see how it all plays out.
This weekend is looking to be gorgeous so we are going to go down to the "land" and work on our garden. I hope to get a few things planted. I'm excited to have a garden started this year...what Chris likes to call Garden 1.0. We have a tacky wire fence around it and its not even straight. Each year it will get nicer and cleaner, I'm sure. :) We also need to start cleaning out the woods of all the brush left from the wood cutting last year and have a big bonfire. We're thinking we'll pull up the camper and just hang down there for the day. I'm sure Mason would love that!
It's only Monday and I'm already praying for the weekend to come faster. Not enough minutes in the day.
I will try to post some pictures on Wednesday of Mason's new Kid Kart!!! Don't let me forget!!
Chris and I have been taking it easy at home because we've been busy with work. Chris especially...his work days seem to slowly increase with more meetings and all that blah blah blah. It can be frustrating at times when one of us isn't home until 8 or so because of a meeting, errands, or whatever else seems to consume our days lately. I'm hoping that once summer comes we will be able to relax things a bit.
We've been trying to keep our house tidy...we've had two people interested since we dropped the price. We had a walk-through last week (no call back) and another person likely coming to see the place this weekend. Its nice having interest but it doesn't work so well when I want a lazy night at home and it turns into a madhouse of cleaning. Now that the weather is getting so nice, we've been trying to take time to take walks and enjoy our gorgeous backyard. Since we put in the patio late last summer, we haven't had much of a chance to just hangout back there. I don't know...I'm not so sure I still want to sell! :)
Mason's therapies have continued...he now has PT and Speech weekly. The speech appointments are going well, but he doesn't seem that interested in eating when he's there. I think he's just getting accustomed to the place and scenery...so hopefully he gets more interested in showing his eating techniques to the therapists. This Wednesday is another hospital visit. Mason is getting his Camo AFO's! Nothing like rockin' out the shorts and camo braces this summer...that is going to be hot! :) He hasn't had any AFO's on for almost 2 months since he's grown out of the old ones so it will be nice to get those on him again. We also have an appointment with Physical Medicine. We need to talk with them about increasing his baclofen muscle relaxer because he's really gotten tight the last few months. If the baclofen doesn't cut it, we may need to reconsider the botox shots. But. Not. Yet. Lastly, we have an appointment to get a loaner Kid Kart sized for Mason. When they told me they could get us a loaner until insurance approved ours, I was SO super excited. What I didn't think of was...uh oh, what if the loaner Kid Kart is PINK? Nothing like cartin' around our little tyke in a PINK stroller. :) Cross your fingers that we get blue, or something generic like gray or black.
The big MRDUTT wedding is only 3 weeks away, which is just crazy. It seems like it took so long to get here and now its coming up FAST! I have yet to get my dress sized or Mason's tux sized. I also need to get to the tanning booth so people aren't blinded by my winter whiteness. I am so excited for their big day...so much love and planning went into it, I can't wait to see how it all plays out.
This weekend is looking to be gorgeous so we are going to go down to the "land" and work on our garden. I hope to get a few things planted. I'm excited to have a garden started this year...what Chris likes to call Garden 1.0. We have a tacky wire fence around it and its not even straight. Each year it will get nicer and cleaner, I'm sure. :) We also need to start cleaning out the woods of all the brush left from the wood cutting last year and have a big bonfire. We're thinking we'll pull up the camper and just hang down there for the day. I'm sure Mason would love that!
It's only Monday and I'm already praying for the weekend to come faster. Not enough minutes in the day.
I will try to post some pictures on Wednesday of Mason's new Kid Kart!!! Don't let me forget!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)