goodbye gillian

well gillian is out of the house

A Great Fieldtrip!

Today we went on an exquisite fieldtrip! We were able to go through the new, unfinished Oquirrah Mt. Temple with Ammon's uncle Eric Jensen. He is the husband of Elisabether (mom's sister). He has been doing some special painting in the temple. He does special painting with stenciling and gold leafing on the ceilings and some panels in the temple. His work is really magnificent (Ammon used that word himself). We were all so impressed and so pleased to have this wonderful opportunity. Here is Eric with Ammon just before we started the tour.

Eric, Ammon, Jim and Kaitlin. We would have liked to take everybody with us, but Eric had to kind of sneak us in with the help of one of the superindendents of the job who ran the elevator for us.

Angel Moroni

The front east side of the temple.

Looking at the temple from the south entrance.

There was such beauty in the building. Marble walls surrounded the baptismal font. The chandeliers were really big and beautiful. The windows were unbelieveably beautiful . There are murals on the walls in two rooms and when we went into one of them, the sun was streaming into the room. Ammon gasped and said, "Am I in Heaven of what?!" We all felt like that.

Thank you, Eric for taking us through. It was a beautiful day for all of us.

My Talk

My Dad told me to copy the talk I gave onto the blog. So I have pasted It below


Be of Good Cheer
When Alma and his people lived in the land of Helam, the Lamanites surrounded them and persecuted them. Amulon, the wicked leader of the Lamanites caused Alma’s people to give half their food and goods to the Lamanites. It was a great burden to the people. They prayed to Heavenly Father asking for help.
In Mosiah 24:15 it says, “…Yea the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.”
Heavenly Father wants us to feel joy and be cheerful, even if we experience trials.
In Doctrine & Covenants 61:36 the Lord said, “And now verily I say unto you, and what I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children; for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you.” He also said in Doctrine & Covenants 68:6 “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you and will stand by you. . . .”
In both of these verses, Heavenly Father tells us that He is by our side and we should be not afraid.
The day I was supposed to get my tracheostomy last December, I was very sick and sad because I couldn’t breathe very well, but I was afraid to have any more tubes down my throat. The doctor told me I would feel better after the surgery and would be able to breathe better. I was still afraid but I made the decision to have the surgery.
When they came to take me down to the operating room, I stopped them and said, “Wait! We have to have a prayer first!” They backed away for a few minutes. I asked my Mom to say the prayer and she did. Then I said, “Ok, let’s do it.”
As soon as the surgery was over and I woke up, I felt so much better and could breathe so much easier that I felt very happy inside. I asked for a board to write on and the very first thing I wrote was, “Heavenly Father answered my prayers.”
Knowing He was by my side gave me peace to do what I needed to do.
In Proverbs 17:22 it says “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Maybe my cheerful heart has helped me get better--it’s been good medicine!
There are some things we can do to have a cheerful heart.
We can pray and remember that Jesus is by our side.
We can serve and help make others cheerful because a smile and kind word is contagious.
We can be grateful. If we can remember the things we have and express our gratitude, it makes us realize that we are blessed and loved. That always makes us cheerful.
I would like to end by telling you what I’m grateful for.
I’m grateful that Heavenly Father has been by my side my whole life.
I’m grateful for my family and how much they love and help me.
I am grateful for two aides at school that help me learn and be successful.
I’m grateful that I have been able to have nurses help take care of me at home and at school.
I’m grateful for friends. It cheers me up when kids want to spend time with me.
I’m grateful for my priesthood leaders, quorum members, and Sunday School teachers. It really cheered me up when they came to the hospital a few times last summer. I loved their visits!
I’m grateful I can pass the sacrament every Sunday. I like to serve however I can.
I’m grateful I can belong to this church. I always feel cheerful when I’m here.
My mom said I was born with a cheerful heart. I’m very grateful for that. I’ve learned that I can choose to be happy or sad. I choose to be happy because I know Jesus is with me. In Doctrine and
Covenants 68:6 it says, “Wherefore be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you and will stand by you, . . . . ” Knowing that, why would any of us not be cheerful?
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

The Talk

I gave a talk in church today. It was about being cheerful. It was great. I needed to be suctioned, but I did great. I spoke clearly, and I wasn't nervous.
Ammon

my first visit

Yesterday I went to the Draper Temple. It was fun. Then we went to the Gaileys house. It was fun too.

The temple was awsome! My favorite part was the baptisimal font. I hope I can go into the temple someday.

Ammon's Buddy

Here is Ammon with Todd Killian, the nurse that takes care of Ammon at night. Todd's wife is a teacher at Mt. Loafer and Ammon knew who she was. We owe a lot to Todd because he was the one that caught the cellulitis and told us to get Ammon to the hospital. (I would have waited to see the doctor on Monday rather than going to the ER on a Saturday night.) These two guys get along pretty well. Todd threatens to give Ammon a cold shower and Ammon threatens to get him back some way.
It has been wonderful to have Todd here because on the nights he is here, I use ear plugs and go to sleep. I can't hear Dad snore and I can't hear the alarms go off. We actually get some good sleep.
Anyway, here's Todd. On Saturday Ammon gets to go to the Draper Temple openhouse. We are so excited to go. Kaitlin, Ammon, Dad and Mom will all be going. Our friends, Craig & Sharon Gailey are going through with us. They work as ushers and guides there. Their new house is about four blocks from the temple. After the tour, we will go to their house for dinner. Gillian has already been through and loved it. We can't wait!!

A Little Set-Back

Ammon had a little set-back this past weekend. On Saturday night, as Todd was getting Ammon ready for bed (Todd is our night nurse), he called us in to look at Ammon's left leg. About 3" above his knee redness began and it was swollen twice it size all the way down to his very purple foot. Todd told us this looked like cellulitis and we needed to get him to a hospital right away. I really didn't want to go to another hospital and he had to convince me that it was very serious. So I decided to go to Mt. View Hospital in Payson and have them assess the issue. I figured they would send us to PCMC if they felt it was needed.
He does, indeed, have cellulitis. They gave us an option - admit him or put an IV in and have us come back every 8 hours for an antibiotic injection. I chose to go back every 8 hours, which proved to be harder than I thought - there isn't a whole lot of time in between those 8 hours, believe it or not.
We took the IV out at home last night after having been to see Dr. Valdez. He put him on a different, powerful oral antibiotic. Because Ammon doesn't have any feeling in his leg, he seemed to feel fine. He even insisted on going to church to pass the sacrament after having only about 5 hours of sleep. (I slept through most of the talks because I only got 4 hours!)
He missed school yesterday but has gone today. The leg looks better above the knee, but it's rock hard below the knee and the foot still goes a little purple. We have to keep a close watch on it because this is very dangerous for a normal, healthy person. We're hoping that the swelling goes down throughout the week and he's back to normal.
It seems like we take one giant leap forward and about 55 baby steps backward.
If there was to be a blessing in any of this, it is the fact that Todd was there to see the leg and to realize the dangerous situation. I probably would have waited until Monday to see the doctor due to my intense dislike of hospitals. I am positive (!) that Ammon has more than one guardian angel looking over him.

New Hope

Today Jim took Ammon to PCMC to meet with Dr. Smith, the ENT that performed the tracheostomy. The doctor did another endoscopy to look at the vocal cords and found that the one that works is working well. There is a little piece of tissue at the bottom but everything else looked good. They discovered that he could breathe well and talk just fine by blocking the tracheostomy today and so it was decided that on May 8th they will perform another surgery to remove that one small piece of tissue and take a closer look at the cords. If all is well, they will remove the trach tube and he will be able to breathe on his own normally.
That means no more ventilator. He will have to always be on a bi-pap, but that's really do-able. He can go somewhere overnight with that. We are trying hard not to be too excited because there is still a possibility it won't work and there's a possibility the sleep doctor will try to keep the trach in place just so we can have Ammon on a ventilator. I think we can win that battle.
At any rate, there is new hope in our household tonight and Ammon nearly jumped out of his wheelchair when he realized he might not have to be hooked up to the ventilator in the future.

OUR HEROES

Everybody has a hero - we have a lot of them. It dawned on us today that we have never included a photo of Dr. Valdez and his staff who are definitely on the top of our "hero" list.

Judy Humphries - she's been a friend for 13 years.

Sharon (Wride - her dad, Marion Wride served in the MTC while one of our boys was there)grew up in Benjamin and we've known her since she was a little kid. She knows all the Teicherts and even used to have a crush on my cousin.

And here is the hero of all heroes - Dr. Orlando Valdez. We met him when Ammon was just 2 months old. He has literally saved Ammon's life multiple times and these two guys get along really well. Thank you would never be enough to say to Dr. Valdez. He has been the doctor for our last six children and has been phenomenal. We aren't thinking about what will happen to Ammon when he has to leave this clinic - actually, we're hoping they will allow him to go there forever.

Thank you a million times over! What would we do without you?!

joke of the day

What's the difference between a rooster and a poodle?

Cockopoodledoo

joke of the day

whats the difference between a rooster and a poodle coockapoodledoo

School Days

Learning to play the ukelele. Mrs. Minson watching.

I love Mrs. Minson!

Mrs. Gordon and some of my classmates. Richard, kneeling by me, is the nurse. It was Mrs. Gordon's birthday today.

Two girls in my class.

Kaitlin is the girl on the right. She has Muscular Dystrophy.

Toby Tracheasaurus

Here I am all ready for my first day back to school. I am so excited to go back! The Passy-Muir Company sent me Toby Tracheasaurus - a dinosaur with a trach! He's cool. We now have to take pictures and a video to send to them so they can use it for their educational training.

GOING TO SCHOOL!

I (Mom) am making this post today. Yesterday we attended an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting with school personnel to get things settled concerning Ammon's return to school on Monday. A nurse has been hired to ride the bus to and from school and stay with Ammon all day long. The nurse, Richard Anderson, has worked with Ammon several times at our house so he knows what's going on. He went to the meeting with us. The educational issues were not discussed nor changed. The purpose of the meeting was to go over health issues. There were a lot of people at the meeting and we could sense some worry. The aides are very relieved that Richard will be there with Ammon and will do the suctioning when needed and will also do the cathing and feeding. The aides will work with him on his school work.
I wanted to make this post because I am so grateful for all the wonderful people that love and care for Ammon. We have been very blessed to have a fantastic team to work with concerning Ammon's educational needs. Many people that have special needs children aren't so lucky and I'm very aware of that. Ammon has had many aides through the years but one has stuck with him since 1st grade and that is Keri Minson. He loves her almost as much as he loves me and he has good reason to do so. Her entire family has embraced Ammon as "one of their own" and it has been a definite blessing to him. Thank you, Keri. We love you!
Annette Gebert has been with Ammon as another aide for the past year and a half. She is a gentle soul and has also been so good for Ammon. Thank you to Annette as well!
I don't know what we would have done without aides that have had the ability to love Ammon so much and have had the patience they have needed to help him learn and accomplish what he has so far.
Sharee Swenson is the Resource Teacher - the special ed teacher specifically. She has been fantastic as she has helped us work through the emotional issues and has helped us realize Ammon's potential. She is such a fun lady and so organized it's amazing. I wish she could move on to 7th grade and stay with Ammon.
Other key people attended the meeting, including Mrs. Gordon who has worked with Ammon and speech for several years. She is one of the most encouraging souls I've ever met - she continually encourages Ammon to strive and do better and sends notes home to him every week. Leca Hicken was there - she is the DSPD caseworker and we love her! She helps us come up with plans to serve Ammon at home and was instrumental in helping us get the lap top computer for Ammon's use. She visits Ammon at school or home. Jennifer Stoker is the school nurse and although she doesn't get to see Ammon very often because she has to go to several schools, we know she will always be there to answer questions. Mr. S. is the principal and we appreciate his insight. He has a son that has disabilities and he knows all the legal workings of issues we face. He is also practical but postivive. He has been a great principal.
Mrs. Turner is Ammon's teacher this year and we had never met her until yesterday. Ammon has only attended one full day of school and 5 half days of school the entire year. He knows Mrs. Turner but not well. I'm sure they will establish a good relationship in the remaining months of school.
We know that we are taking a risk by sending Ammon to school during cold weather. However, we also know that Ammon needs to have a life and shouldn't be isolated from social experiences. We will try this and see how it works. As the meeting drew to a close yesterday, Ammon said, "Oh, I'm so excited to be back to school on Monday!"
So here goes ---- we're crossing our fingers that he stays well and can finish out this school year with increased energy and excitement to be out of the house and around friends.

lost teeth

I went to the dentist and I lost five teeth, then I went to Shriners. The doctor said my spine was healing well and I don't have to wear a brace any more and it was exciting! That's the good news. That's all I have to say.
Joke of the day
What's the diffrence between an elephant and a Tyrannosaurus Rex?
One dismembers, the other remembers.

Handsome Dude

I clean up pretty good -- Here I was ready to go to church. Now I can't wear a tie because we can't button the shirt up over the trach. Today Gillian cut my hair and mom helped me with a shower. She didn't even drown me!

Joke of the day:

How do garbagemen break up with their girlfriends?

They just dump 'em.

GOING TO CHURCH

I've been to church the past two weeks. The first week I was kind of afraid because I thought I would have to be suctioned, but I got along just fine. I told Mom that I was a wuss at the end of church last week. This week I wasn't afraid and we got through it with no suctioning!
I went to Camilla Salcidos wedding reception with Mom and Dad last night. She looked gorgeous. So did Gillian. She was a bridesmaid.
Dad and I went to PCMC on Thursday and we saw the ENT, Dr. Smith. They put in a larger trach tube and it hurt a little bit but it's ok now. My machines seem to work better at night now.
On Wednesday I get to go see Dr. D'Astou and then I will go to the dentist right after and see Dr. Roth.

Here are a couple of jokes from my joke book.

A tutor who tooted the flute
Tutored two tooters to toot.
Said the two to the tutor,
"Is it easier to toot or
To tutor two tooters to toot?"

What's the difference between teachers and trains?
Trains say "Choo Choo!" and teachers say "Spit that gum out!"

Funny Video

New Friends

Today I had a nurse come and learn how to take care of me. His name was Richard and my friend, John also came with his mom. Two other nurses have been here. Their name are Marian and Todd. Todd comes at night and keeps the machines quiet so we can sleep. Mrs Gebert has started coming back To help me with school work.
Tomorrow I go back up to Shriners to fix wheelchairs. Ihope I get to see my friends up their.

A Funny Boy

Ammon has had a good week. We are slowly learning the tricks of the trade now as far as his care goes. He remembers the order of the machines and reminds us what to turn on next. He puts his own little "voice" on when he wants to talk and he is very helpful. His sense of humor has returned and we are really enjoying him again.
We have had a home-health company come up and it may be possible for us to get some home nursing care for Ammon so Jim and I can be gone together sometimes. We still haven't figured out the school issues but hopefully we'll have more information by next week.
Ammon's life is definitely more complicated now, but he has adjusted quite well. His voice is pretty croaky, but he can speak and we can hear him better now. We are hopeful that the vocal cords improve and his voice becomes even stronger.

Sign Language

Hangin with his favorite sisters!

"I"
"Love"

"You"

Ammon and I are hangin out this afternoon. Ammon has decided that he wants to learn sign language. http://http//commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm Since he got home, he has been using this website to learn certain things. He likes to sign "Merry Christmas". I am so happy to have this little guy home! It breaks my heart that he cant talk. Well, he can.. but hardly at all. I will miss the singing and the jokes.. and the random yells across the house saying, "Hey Gillian, I love you" every 5 minutes. However, it makes me happy to see that he is willing to learn sign language and that he stays so positive! We'll have to let you know how the sign language comes along. Anyway, we are happy to have you home Ammon!
-Gillian

A Snowy Ride Home

Ammon came home today, Dec. 22, 2008 after two surgical procedures including a tracheostomy. We were at PCMC for over two weeks with this last stay. We are happy to report that Ammon still has his sense of humor and still smiles and laughs. He was very excited to be coming home. Jim and I spent Sunday afternoon and night with him passing our "test" to see if we knew how to take care of all his needs. The only real trouble we seem to have is how to get the ventilator working properly. Below are some photos of people and happenings at the hospital the day he went home. We seem to attract musicians at hospitals. This is Ross Faison playing his "Irish" flute for us. He is the respiratory therapist that spent all day Saturday with us teaching us CPR and all other things related to the ventilator. The man in the background who is smiling is Dr. D'Fharti (sp?) who is the pulmonologist that is the one working with us. He was very thorough and very kind to all of us. I was impressed with his skill and knowledge.

Ammon missed Kaitlin almost more than anyone. He was really happy to see her for the few minutes she came up to leave a car for me to get to work on Monday.

The Salcidos came up Sunday afternoon and brought games and goodies. The kids played games with Ammon and they also sang some beautiful songs they know from the Children's Choir. It made all of us cry because they sounded angelic. What a treat!

Ross not only plays the flute, but he also plays the mandolin. We enjoyed his sense of humor very much. He taught Ammon a few silly songs about mucus (snot), etc., since that's what we are dealing with these days. Hey, we might as well laugh so he gave us some good reasons to laugh about our life now.

Within a half hour after getting home, driving through very slick and snowy conditions, a respiratory therapist from IHC showed up with a truck-load of equipment and spent the next hour setting it up and showing us how to work it. We now have tubing running all through the house and boxes and bags everywhere. It will take a few days to figure out where to put it all. The suction machine is on top of the small cabinet to the right. The equipment we need is now contained in the larger cabinet.


Here is Ammon hooked up to the ventilator. He only needs this for nighttime. He can breathe on his own but it kicks in when he doesn't breathe deeply enough. He has Restrictive Lung Disease - that means that his lungs haven't developed properly and so he doesn't breathe very deeply when he's asleep causing high levels of carbon dioxide in his system which can lead to spasms in the lungs and eventually death if not taken care of properly. We are uncertain about all of this because he has had this for 13 years and it's never been addressed. He has seemed to be relatively healthy and fine. He wasn't on a ventilator when he was in the PICU after the trach was placed and he wasn't on the ventilator for over a week on the regular surgical floor so we don't know why all of a sudden there is this big need to do all of this.

Ammon's voice is quite strong now during the day but he really looses the energy to project by evening. He is so happy that he can talk. When he is on the ventilator, he can't make any sound so he continues to write notes to us.

Hopefully this will become routine within a short time and we'll figure out how to take care of him without a sense of panic or worry. He is relatively happy and is tolerating all this invasive "stuff." If he can be happy, then we had better be happy too!

We are definitely happy to be home - safe and sound.

A Fantastic Day!

Ammon had a fantastic day today for several reasons. The Grizzlies Hockey team came to visit him and he thought that was cool. Mom went up to visit and to get some training on how to care for the trach and so he was happy to see her. He was especially happy to see Mom because she brought a fantastic gift! What you see here is a quilt that the BYU Purchasing/Travel Dep't made and then tied money all over the quilt. They brought it up to me last night and said the quilt was made for Ammon. The fabric has the life of a young Mormon boy - from a baby to being married in the temple. It is an absolutely awesome quilt!! We are so grateful for the thoughtful people that care so much for Ammon. Thank you, friends and co-workers!!

Here's Mom & Dad enjoying the gift with Ammon.

In this photo Ammon's joy shows because he discovered that he can talk!!! The doctors changed to a different trach tube hoping the new one would allow him to talk. During the day when they tried to help him, Ammon couldn't get a single sound out. While I was there, he found out that he could actually talk and the first thing he said was "Mommy, I love you!" We were all jumping up and down for joy. Ammon needs to have a voice. He has a lot to tell the world and a lot to teach us.

He still has a significant bacterial infection in his blood and so that may keep him in the hospital longer than we would like. It has improved a lot today. Jim and I have about 28 hours of training that we have to complete before we can bring him home. We did our first 2 hours tonight and will hopefully finish by Saturday night. They have told Ammon that he may be able to go home as early as Monday. He is also fighting an ear infection and may need a different antibiotic to clear it up. All in all, there is great hope for a return home and for a smoother road for this young man.

I felt like Christmas came early today with the wonderful quilt and with Ammon being able to speak again.

Mom

Tough Afternoon

Ammon had a fantastic morning. He slept very well last night without using the bi-pap machine. He sounded very clear all morning long but a little after noon, he started to shiver uncontrollably. We covered him in blankets that had been warmed. It took about 20 minutes to get him warmed up again. And then he got a fever that spiked almost immediately to 103 degrees. There had been no warning whatsoever that anything was wrong. The poor nurse was run ragged by the end of the day. The secretions got pretty prolific for want of a better word as well. He has had to be suctioned out several times an hour but it's nothing as bad as he had in August. We expected some secretions so I haven't been too worried about that.
The nurse cathed him shortly after all this started and the urine was the color of cranberry juice. Sure enough, he has a nasty UTI. When she cathed him before, it seemed ok. Boy, when this kid decides to so something, he really does it with a bang. They are treating him with a broad spectrum antibiotic until the results of the culture come back in about 48 hours. We don't know if that is what the fever was all about or not. It wasn't a very fun afternoon for Ammon but he has given thumbs up to everyone and continues to smile. Tonight his right side hurts. I don't know what from. Perhaps it is from the UTI (or kidney infection?). Hopefully the urologists will pay us a visit.
We hope we have a quiet night tonight and that he feels a little better by morning.

The Deed is Done - Whew!

This is Kim - the nurse that took care of Ammon today. She was very good at explaining the pros of trachs. She is an expert in their care and I'm glad she was the one that talked us through this. This was in the waiting area of the surgery center just before Ammon went in for the procedure. Dr. Marshall Smith (ENT) on the left and Dr. Tanner (anesthesiologist) on the right.
After the surgery Ammon was very alert, giving thumbs up and writing notes to us. He looks fantastic and is very relieved. He is breathing very, very well.

He is smiling because he said it is much, much easier to breathe. He is in a little pain but not a lot.

The big blue tube is the same as a nasal canula which sends oxygen straight into the trachea. Ammon will probably not need to use the bi-pap machine any more because if he needs any additional help breathing it can be done directly through the trach. He is sooo much quieter and seems to be so much more comfortable.

Dr. Smith brought out another photo of the throat after the surgery was done and said there was no way Ammon would have been able to go home without this surgery because it was still so swollen. He didn't know how Ammon had done as well as he has done for the past few days. I guess we really didn't have an option after all.

Before we left for the surgery, Ammon began to re-think his decision to do this. He told us he was very nervous and was fighting the tears. Just before they wheeled him out of the room he stopped us and asked if we could have a prayer first. He asked me to say it and I did. One of the first things he wrote on a piece of paper when he was awake after the surgery was "Heavenly Father answered my prayers."

He is a faithful, strong young man. I reminded him about the picture the Hortons gave him showing Jesus standing beside the surgeons. I told him that Jesus would be right there by him. I had no doubt about that statement at all.

He has finally fallen to sleep - they are giving him a small dose of morphine but everybody is elated with how well he has responded and how good he sounds. We will be grateful for the small miracles that have come our way.

A Jazz Visit!

Ammon received some surprise visitors this afternoon. This is Morris Almond and Mark McKan from the Jazz. Mark is one of the coaches and Morris is a player. They presented Ammon with a small basketball with their signatures on it. Morris was excited to know that Ammon had a blog and that he would be on the blog. He said, "Maybe I'll get famous now." We all laughed. They were very nice, very big gentlemen.

One More Time

Here is Ammon, smiling and resting before getting a tracheostomy. This may be the last time you will see his throat without a tube so we decided to take this picture. Dr. Smith came by after Jim left and during the conversation, Ammon finally said, "I've made my decision. If this surgery helps me feel better and will let me sing, then we're gonna do it." We said, "You're the boss." So it is going to be done. Dr. Smith was being very careful not to sway me one way or another but I could sense that he felt a trach would be the safest thing for Ammon as a long-term solution. The only other option we had was to continue with steroid medications and we didn't feel like that would be a good idea long-term. Jim and I will have to go through some training to learn how to suction the trach and take proper care of it but they have reassured me that it is much easier to take care of than the ng tube we used to have to do. I'm not too afraid of learning this new procedure but it one more thing to add to the care and I'm sure we will feel a little overwhelmed at first. Ammon knows it's going to hurt for a few days but he seemed positive about doing this.

TUBE'S OUT!

This morning the doctors extubated Ammon. That is a good sign. They immediately put him on the bi-pap machine and will monitor him throughout the day. He isn't out of the woods yet, but we are hoping the stretching procedure has worked. If the doctors hear any kind of strider breathing, they will go ahead and do the tracheotomy but if he sounds clear, perhaps he will be able to come home as early as Thursday.
Apparently Ammon did a little victory dance with shoulders and arms as soon as the tube was taken out. Jess said he seems to be in good spirits today so we remain hopeful that all this mess will settle down. I don't have any more details than that at this point.

Burning the Rubber

Well, it looks like we will be burning the rubber again between home and PCMC. Jim just left for the hospital with Ammon. They had a scheduled sleep study tonight but I told them he couldn't bring Ammon home tomorrow unless they do something to fix the mess he's in. As soon as we drop off the steroids, the same problem comes again. About 3 a.m. this morning I woke to insistent alarms. I rushed into his bedroom and realized that he wasn't breathing -- you know, the apnea kind that happens when you stop before you take another big breath. I roused him and rolled him over on the opposite side and he gasped and started breathing again. I asked him if he was ok and he gave me a thumbs up sign. So I went back to bed and we all went back to sleep. We have had several very good nights with the alarms only going off a few times. Last night was different. This morning when he woke up, he was panicking (sp?) because he couldn't breathe well enough. I quickly fixed his dose of steroids and got those going. The morning was awful but as the day wore on, he settled down and sounded a little better. Tomorrow he is scheduled to go on an even lower dose of steroids. We know that won't work.
So.....Jim called Dr. Valdez at home this morning and we talked to him. He thought that Jim would be able to have the sleep study people get a doctor to admit Ammon tomorrow morning. I don't know if he can get that pulled off but I told Jim he absolutely could not bring Ammon home until the ENTs do something to give Ammon some relief.
We have three options: a procedure that will stretch the opening that is being blocked and we opt for that one first; laser surgery to remove the granulation but that is scar tissue on top of scar tissue and there is no guarantee that this procedure will work any better than what's already going on; last and least favorable option is to get a tracheotomy. Those are nasty things but that may be where we end up. It isn't a permanent thing so there is hope that things could settle down and all could be normal once more.
Ammon was absolutely adamant that he have no more surgeries until this morning when he couldn't breathe. He said, "I don't want surgery, but it if it will help me feel better, then we had better get it done."
Just before he left, we had a neighbor come over and assist Jim in giving Ammon a blessing. Ammon said, "I will not go up there until I get a blessing and that's final!" So he asked simply that he wouldn't be afraid. That's all he wanted to hear in the blessing - one of comfort. That's what he got.
He hates the sleep studies. He said, "I was so embarrased the last time I had one and they put the net on my head!" He hates having the probes taken off, too, because it pulls his hair. I cut his hair quite short today so it wouldn't be so hard to get the probes off.
We'll update as we know more and see how things go.

Movie review

I watched a show on Nick called Merry Christmas, Drake and Josh. It's a great movie. Also there's three more movies in theaters called Bolt, HSM3, Cars2 and Bedtime Stories and maybe someone could take me to it.
Mrs. Gebert came and gave me some homework to do. She's really nice. So bye .