Thursday was left open so that Alix could spend the day in the bathroom. She had to drink some awful tasting stuff to clean out her system so that they could do the test accurately. She did pretty good. It was awful for her to choke it down. I kept bribing her with movies and no school. She managed to get it all down before she went to bed and said ‘Mom, why is my poo like pee?’ Poor thing! The rest of us spent the day doing school and chores and enjoying time at home together. I borrowed an apple peeler/corer/cutter from Camille and so I had the kids go out and pick tons of apples. We must have done close to 100 apples. I made an apple pie (best one yet) and Jaime made the crust (good crust maker). I also made 3 batches of apple butter (thanks Scott for helping me). We got 13 jars out of the deal. I was able to make 2 cup jars instead of 4 cup jars because I found canning jars for 10 cents each at a garage sale. It was a sweet deal. Anyway, apple butter anyone?? We had another set of missionaries over for dinner and that was a nice treat. Twice in one week. Who could ask for more?
Friday, September 19 was Alix’s procedure. Scott had taken the day off. I got up early and got everything ready. We woke Alix up. She didn’t look too good but we figured it was just from lack of nutrition. Scott gave her a blessing before we left and we were off by 7am. Alix was definitely not herself but we managed a happy ride to the hospital. After checking in and being escorted to the waiting room, Alix curled up on a chair and fell asleep. I had taken Keri with me because she is just not happy with bottles and the hospital said it would be ok. So I changed her and fed her and played with her while we waited and Alix slept. After about 30 minutes we were called back. Alix got up and got herself into the prep room and she didn’t look good at all. I asked her if she was going to throw up and she nodded her head yes and then spewed everywhere. I yelled ‘She’s throwing up, what can I use?’ They didn’t seem too concerned but told me there was a container on the back shelf I could use. At this point Keri starts crying (probably because my sudden yelling startled her) and I couldn’t find her pacifier. So Alix is throwing up, Keri is crying and I have 2 nurses watching me. After Alix said she was done, one of the nurses told me to put the hospital gown on Alix. I took 1 minute to run back to the waiting room and see if I had dropped the pacifier, no dice. I run back into the room and check the diaper bag again. Phew, found it! Keri is now happy and falls asleep, yay. I help Alix get cleaned up and clean up the chair she is sitting in. She still doesn’t look well but she assures me she is fine. By the time we talk to the doctor, (I really like Dr. Mow, her G.I specialist) and the anesthesiologist, Alix has fallen asleep again. They come to wheel her away and just let her sleep. After I get out to another waiting room Keri has woken up so I feed her and change her and play with her. I called Scott and asked him if he could bring a change of clothes for Alix so that she will have clean clothes to wear when they release her. About 45 minutes later he shows up with clothes and we decide it’s best that he take Keri home with him in case Alix has more problems after her procedure is done. So I go back in the waiting room and start to read but end up falling asleep. I slept for about 45 minutes. About 10 minutes after I woke up Dr. Mow comes out to tell me what the results were. He found another polyp in Alix’s intestines that was 2cm. He found a rather bumpy area in her intestines that could be the start of more polyps or just tissue so he took a biopsy of that so he could determine if he needs to keep a closer eye on that area. He removed the one polyp. He also said he was a bit concerned about Alix because she threw up again as soon as they got her into the O.R. I told him she did not drink a lot the day before and I thought she was just dehydrated. He just told me to keep a close eye on her (he is such a great doctor. He really gives me the impression that he cares!). About 15 minutes later they told me I could go back into the recovery room. Alix was up eating a Popsicle (this was our saving grace. She kept reminding us that when she came out of the procedure she would get a Popsicle, she remembered that from last time!). After her first one she had another one and then a box of apple juice. By this time she was ready to go and they said she could go. So after she was dressed and in the car I told her she could pick anywhere she wanted to go for lunch. She said she wanted to go to Gayle’s restaurant. She didn’t look very good so I assured her that if she wanted to go home first we could go somewhere later. But she insisted on going to Gayle’s. So we did. In the parking lot she didn’t want to get out of the car. I again told her we could go home first and go out later, but she really wanted to see Gayle and so she forced herself out of the car and into the restaurant. She was excited to see Gayle, but still a little out of it. She ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and gold fish crackers. As soon as she finished eating she perked right up and looked so much better. She even talked to Gayle in her raspy voice (they did an upper G.I and put a breathing tube down her throat, they said she might have a sore throat for a couple of days). By the time we left I realized that we had Alix back!! She was such a trooper through this whole thing. Everyone was. Scott had a fun day here with the kids. They did a few odd jobs around the house but mostly played and watched movies, every kids dream. As soon as I pulled in the driveway, Alix went upstairs to rest while the other kids and I went to the park for park day. It was fun and I think the kids enjoyed it. I know I did. It’s nice to talk with other moms while the kids are happily getting fresh air and exsercise. We came home and had an easy dinner of cereal!! Yep, that’s what we had. It was great! We got all the kids to bed early, it was going to be a busy day on Saturday. A few side notes. They had the news on in the waiting room and two things really caught my attention. First, that day was the birthday of the oldest man in the world. He turned 113 years old and is from Japan. Second, in 2009 Disneyland is giving free admission on your birthday. Something you might want to check out! :0)
Mmmm, applebutter! You’ve been quite busy!
I hope Alix is feeling better! And you are such an awesome mom; is there anything you can’t handle?? I’d love some apple butter. Do you think it would make the trip? ;-)