We are homefree...sort of... :)

Well at least we are back at the hotel as a family! Mateo was discharged tonight at 8:30. I did not think it was going to happen, when they told me this this morning. It was a rough morning, step by step, gradually moving him onto his back, proping him on a flat pillow, then moving his bed up a little at a time until he was sitting up. Then trying to get him out of bed, poor little guy. (keep in mind he pretty much has not moved anything but one arm (he didn't use his IV hand because it hurt him) for 3 days and any little movement hurts him, and then just the mention of moving him again scares him because he remembers how it hurt him last time). They also took the foley cathater out and took him off his morphine drip, and started giving him oral pain med with his tylenol. Then we had to get him to the toilet...he could barely stand on his own. Anyways...I could go on and on about the small baby steps he took all day getting used to moving again. But...He is doing better this evening and they said we could go home...so we have our instructions and we are at the hotel until Friday where we have a insicion check with the nurse and then we fly home that evening. It is nice that we get to go to bed tonight as a family and wake up as a family. My mom is flying home tomorrow morning. We are SOOOO THANKFUL that she was here! What a sacrifice...taking off work, paying for a ticket, and being available 24/7 to help us with Noah and packing bags/food back and forth to the hospital, bringing Noah for a few hours during the day and then being with Mateo when we needed a break or needed to run an errand in the hospital. She was so much help, but now she probably needs a vacation from her "vacation" :) Noah has kept her hopping...he is very active now and wants to be on the go all the time.

Well good night! I am going to go put my feet up!

Update 2? 3? :)

OK...I am sorry I didn't update yesterday ( I was exhausted and my back was hurting! How do these nurses do it day in and day out?)
Mateo is doing well. The first night and yesterday he really struggled with a bad headache, so we started giving him Tylenol on a schedule to "compliment" the Morphine drip. As yesterday went, he was complaining less and less and today nothing (about the bad headache--backache, bellyache, and iv-pain still but tolerable). He just keeps improving...during the day we have to roll him on his other side every 2 hours (every 4 during the night) And yesterday, it was a very upsetting and painful process, it would take him a few minutes to settle down. And today every time we turn him it is less painful and smoother for him. He is in better spirits today...and is doing well laying still. Soooo... tomorrow they will allow him to try to get up, we wonder how that will be for him. His incision look great (for an incision...) Here are some pictures that my mom has taken on her phone and later we can try to add ones off our camera...I have a really good one of a special dog that came to visit Mateo yesterday. So precious!

Noah is doing really well with Granny but he does miss us, so yesterday I went back to the hotel a little earlier to catch him before his bed time. We had special time before he slept. Daddy stays with Mateo in his room over night and then when I come early in the morning Daddy goes and gets some coffee and breakfast. Then Granny comes with Noah around lunch time. We spend time together (by this time Noah is ecstatic to see Daddy) as a family, and then Josh takes Noah back to the hotel to both take a long afternoon nap. Then Granny after helping me with Mateo, and goes back and meets Josh to switch care of Noah, and then Josh comes back to the hospital all scrubbed clean and somewhat rested :) And we start it again. Also (you will see in the pictures) Aunt Missy and Uncle John with Cousin Jackson come to visit for a couple of hours around lunch time too. We have been sharing a room this whole time and we have been in the spot closest to the door. It has been a little strange having lots of people and dr.s and nurses in and out for the people behind us but we kind of adjusted. But...now our roommates (a teenage boy)have been discharged this afternoon and we asked if we could move into their spot so we could have a little more privacy and a big beautiful window! And we did. So we are now settled and I am loving all the natural day light! I get here so early and leave after dark...so all I have seen in the last few days is florescent lighting...so this view is very cheerful! We are very thankful for the wonderful Doctors and Nurses here...we have had a few bumps, but overall we have been happy with the hospital here!
Here are some pictures...

Noah and Jackson hanging out...

This picture is out of order, but I can't for the life of me get it down further so read the description with the other picture of Mateo and Jackson please.

Noah eating breakfast ...blueberry pancakes!

Mateo and Mommy waiting for the shuttle to go to the hospital for the surgery.

Noah about to go for a stroller ride to the store...he is having a lot of fun walking up and down the halls with Granny pulling his lady bug toy he got for Christmas. You would think he owns the hotel by how proudly he walks.

Mateo just lights up when baby Jackson comes to visit...he is so sweet and precious to his newer cousin and loves holding, talking, and tickling him. (Jackson is almost 2 months old)

Mateo surrounded by a jungle of animals that keep arriving as gifts for him (the monkey came with us).

Granny sporting the "tickle monster" mits and the new book Mateo she and PaPaw gave Mateo as a gift. They both had fun reading it together.

He made it!

Hey everyone!

Mateo made it through! He is doing well...he is not very happy with how miserable he feels, but he is resting now. :) His biggest complaint when we first saw him was how hungry he was! :) I don't blame him though...Surgery was supposed to be at 11 but they didn't start until 1:30. And he was brought to his room from recovery at 5:30 pm. I would be very hungry and thirsty too!

Anyways...the doctor felt it went really well and was very glad they did the surgery. They found what they expected to find...and got it taken care of.

Praise God for his protection and peace during this procedure.

Now it is time to go to bed, sorry this is so short and to the point, but I am exhausted...Daddy is with Mateo tonight in his room and I will be relieving him early in the morning. Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes. We will try to keep updating this as we go.

Seattle Update - Day 1

A short update ... We made it to Seattle and kind of slept through the night (new place, excited boys, need we say more?). Today started by talking with Mateo's neurosurgeon about what will happen, what to expect, and the questions we had. He was very positive today...and said he showed Mateo's images to the other surgeons in their department and they all agreed and were surprised that he was in such good shape for this type of spinal chord condition and that this is the right first step. After we finished with the surgeon, we headed down to talk with the anesthesiolgist for more explaining, questions, and answers. Then back up to neurosurgery to talk more about what to expect before and after the surgery. Then to the lab for a basic blood draw, just incase he needs blood during the surgery. They all did a great job preparing us for tomorrow (It is very hard to imagine that spinal surgery can sound so simple.)

We are very thankful for Seattle Children's Hospital and everyone there. It is hard to explain how much we apprecitae all their efforts to care for Mateo. Everyone (and I mean everyone) has been so friendly, helpful, and cheerful and they just love Mateo (and he loves all of the positive attention!)

We spent some special time tonight with our family (Granny and Aunty) swimming and having a treat - pizza! Tomorrow is the big day. The surgery is scheduled for 11:15 - Seattle time (10:15am Alaska time) so if you think about it, please pray for Mateo, the surgeon, doctors, nurses, and us.

We will try to update tomorrow! Thanks in advance for your prayers!

2009 Christmas Photos 4

2009 Christmas Photos 3

2009 Christmas Photos 2

2009 Christmas Pictures 1

My sister Mindy's present to us...a 2 hour photo session!

Answered Prayers!!

Thank you all for your wonderful and supportive responses to our last update! You all were a big encouragement to us and it was good knowing so many people were praying for our family and our precious Mateo! God has answered our prayers!! It was so good to finally be at Seattle Children's Hospital and to actually be talking to the doctor who knows about Mateo's condition! We were so thankful for NEWS, any News! And as far as we are concerned this is great news!! So here is the scoop...( bare with us through the explanation so you can understand why this is good news)...

The first day: Mateo went in to get another MRI and a CT scan of his spine. The nurses were very nice and Mateo was being very brave...though we could tell he was nervous, the nurses were very impressed with his attitude. I guess it is pretty common for a lot of screaming and crying....our child? No...he was laughing and giggling (at some moments uncontrollably!) Thats our Mateo for you! Though we knew that he was doing this because of his nerves, we were still comforting him and being positive with him. He was scheduled to meet with the anesthesiologist first then get his MRI and then they would move him to the CT Scan and do that next. But...they decided that because he was a bright and compliant child, they would have him do the CT scan first before they put him under anesthesia. Two reasons...one they actually get a better picture if he is awake and can follow there orders of stretching arms..etc. and two...then he won't have to have as much anesthesia given him (twice as long). So we did it first and he did great!! Josh and I got to be in there with him and we were so proud of him. And as we walked back, all along the way there were people asking if it worked and our nurse said yes...and they were all impressed! (If it sounds like I am bragging a little...I am! I am so proud of my son and for all of your prayers! We knew God was with us (we had prayed this with Mateo) and that he was comforting and protecting Mateo! Then we went back to our room and he went under anesthesia for the MRI part. We were told that we could go get coffee and come back in 45 min. So we went up and got some food and when we got back he was done and in his room. He was still sleeping and slept maybe 20 mins more. He woke up, they took his IV out, gave him some juice and crackers (which he promptly downed and immediately asked for more- that's our son! :)) and then they sent us home.

The Second Day: We had to check in at 7:45am for our appt with Mateo's Neurosurgeon. We ended up waiting 45 mins...but we were ok with that, because we figured he might have been using that time to go over everything. Then Mateo said he needed to go potty...and so Josh took him (as they were leaving I told them to hurry incase the dr came) 20 seconds later the Dr. walked in :) Of course! So he asked me to tell him about everything leading up to this appt. while we waited for Mateo to come back and while he pulled up Mateo's MRI pictures and CT Scan. on the computer. It was amazing to finally get to see the Mateo's spine! The doctor was great at explaining things and showing us things on the pictures. He was also good at answering questions...not once did we feel rushed ( I have been very nervous about covering everything in a half hour appt!) So...Mateo's spinal cord is split, but there is no bone (as of now) in between the cords! There is just tissue. Which is amazing news! Mateo's cord is tethered, but it is tethered at the bottom, which is relatively simple to go in and snip it. If it had been tethered by the bone or cartilage in the area were it is split...the surgery would be much more difficult, complicated, and risky! When I say tethered, keep in mind a normal spinal cord is supposed to hang loose in the spinal column. So tethered means it is attached somewhere. This is a problem because as he grows and moves the cord will be stretched and cause pain and loss of neurological functions (walking, bladder and bowel function...) So Mateo is going to have this surgery at the beginning of January. Why do we think this is good news? Well, first of all, this type of spinal cord untethering surgery is fairly straightforward. And this Dr. does it 1-2 times a week (unlike the worst case scenario surgery to fix a split cord tethered by bone, 2 times a year). It is a small incision and Mateo will have to stay flat for 3 days and be in the hospital about 4 days total. After that he should be good for a while! As far as we know, no physical therapy, no special treatment afterward... For a little better basic explanation from the hospital click here.
So we are encouraged because after this surgery, there is a good chance that Mateo will be great! (of course he is already great!) We will just keep our eyes open for any major changes in his functions, and then he would get another MRI when and if that would happen. The Dr. also wants us to have a urodynamic test done on Mateo before the surgery to get a baseline of his bladder function (which we are so thankful for...from my research I felt it was very important to have this done and I couldn't get anyone up here to agree with me...so when he was trying to convince us that it was important...I was so relived! :)) We will do this the week before the surgery. There are still some unanswered questions about how all of this could effect him and what does this mean for him in the future, but they are questions that really no one knows, because it is such a rare condition and when it does happen each child "malforms" uniquely. So each child has unique challenges and so we will just have to wait and see. :) God knows! And He is taking care of Mateo and us as his family! We are thankful for Mateo's doctors and nurses! We are thankful that he can have it done soon! (Jan.) We are thankful for my sister Melissa and John, who live in Seattle and have let us stay with them and use their car as needed! We are thankful for my mom and sister Mindy who watched our house and dog Oliver, while we were gone. We are thankful for insurance and the Native hospital! We are thankful for my Uncle Rich who offered his $50 Companion fare so we could afford for Josh to fly down with us! We are thankful for Josh's family for their offer of upgrades (bummer we couldn't use) and any help we needed! We are thankful for all of your calls, email, and post showing your concern and love, for the offers of help, money, and meals! Thank you for loving our little ones, and taking such good care of us!

Praise God for listening and answering our prayers and for giving us such a support system!

Love
Maria, Josh, Mateo, and Noah
P.S.
My grandma is doing great after a triple heart bybass surgery (80 years old and counting :)!!) Praise God!
My Sister Melissa is recovering from her C-section and baby Jackson is doing great...he is almost 6 pounds now! It was a blessing to get to meet him and help them a little. :) I will try to get some pictures of the boys together! Their first cousin! Josh and I are now an Aunt and Uncle for the first time! :)
And we should be able to continue in our adoption! Yay!

Throwing in a few pics!

Here are some pictures from October...We do have more recent pictures but we have left our camera at Josh's parents house in Kenai. So this will have to due. :)

Mateo in his new "hoodie" Granny made for him! Cute, warm, and snuggley!

No, this is not his natural smile...but it seems to be hard to get one these days if you say "smile"...so now if I remember I use my sister Mindy's trick and have him say "monkey".

Our boys doing one of their favorite things! Isn't that just the funniest expression on Noah's face?

Our handsome boy in a kuspuk his Grandparents had made for him for his first birthday. This is us about to go to his Grandparents new church in Kenai and surprise them (they didn't know we were coming). :)

Some precious time with my grandparents...Mateo and Noah's Greatgrandparents! I love this picture!

Sleeping on the way home from Kenai. My two "michelin men".

Our handsom growing Mateo....he is almost 3.5 (at Christmas), which means he is almost 4! Which means he is almost 5! Which means he will be off to college soon!! Yikes! How does time pass so quickly?

I wish you all could hear Mateo's "belly laugh"! Maybe you could just imagine it from the next 2 pictures!

Noah feeding himself with a spoon for the first time. :) Not bad for the first time! (I am one of those parents who wait a little longer to let them start feeding themselves when they are actually capable of getting most of the food in their mouths...instead of everywhere else...but that is another topic...;)