Madalyn's Check Up Week 2

Since Madalyn seems to be doing better, her doctor said that unless anything changes, she didn't need to see Madalyn this week; but just for us to bring in a urine sample for them to test. Her results came back normal, so they are going to do another test in two weeks. The doctor thought that the sickness seemed to be working it's way out of her body. She acts fine and her spots have almost all gone away. If she gets new ones they are nothing like what we started with. So, hopefully she is on her way to be completely well.  However, we are still keeping a watch on her and will have to be aware of these symptoms if they return for the next six months. We are so thankful it hasn't been any worse than it was for Madalyn.  Thank you for those of you who have been praying for her, we greatly appreciate it.

Names

As you may have read before that Madalyn's name was just a name that we both have always liked. It has the 'lyn at the end for my Mom, whose name is Lynn. Her middle name is Rae after her great grandpa, Papa Ray.

When deciding on names for this baby girl we went back and forth with the first name. We had two that we liked, but we were pretty set on the middle name, Ann, which is after my great aunt Ann, and Madalyn's great great aunt.  In October it will be two years that my aunt passed away after losing her battle to lymphoma after 7 years of fighting.  She was my grandmother's sister.  I was just as close to her as I was my grandmother and after I lost my grandmother I really hung onto Ann because I didn't have a grandmother anymore.  So, we finally decided on a name for this baby girl, "Alexis Ann McCormick" and she will be called "Alexis".  My grandmother and my aunt were as close as sisters could possibly be. I pray that my girls will be as close as they were and will love each other and get along. I know they won't get along all the time, but I do pray they have a close and loving relationship towards one another.

This is a picture of Ann and Madalyn. She came to see Madalyn when she was 2 weeks old. (April 2011)

My uncle Bobby and aunt Ann at our wedding. (June 2008)

24 Week Check Up

I was 24 weeks yesterday and I went for my 24 week check up this morning. I had to do my glucose test and I'm so thankful that I passed the one hour test this morning. I missed it by 1 point with Madalyn and had to do the 3 hour test, which wasn't fun at all. So, I was happy I passed. My doctor said everything was looking good and I was measuring right where I should be.  This little girl moves all the time...more than I remember Madalyn moving. So I think she will be able to keep up with Madalyn.  Madalyn asked me the other day when the baby in my tummy was going to come out. She thinks her sister is going to come out as big as her to play with...thankfully for me she won't..what a big baby that would be.  I have been feeling good lately and I've had energy; however by Thursday night I am normally worn out from the week and end up falling asleep early in a chair or on the couch.  I'm not really having any cravings. At times, certain things sound really good, but nothing where I'm like I got to have it now and eat it all the time.  So far, I have gained about 10 pounds.  I can still wear my regular shirts, but I am wearing my maternity pants now.  I have mostly been wearing dresses or skirts, but with all this rainy weather and cold weather we are having right now, it's too cool for skirts and dresses.

The bump has definitely popped out here lately.

Skytop Apple Picking

Since Madalyn got a good report on Thursday, we had planned to visit my parents in Greer this past weekend a few weeks ago, so we went on. We had planned to pick apples at Skytop Orchard on Saturday and had been talking about picking apples for about two weeks now, before Madalyn got sick.  So, I was glad she was well enough to go. It turned out to be a very pretty day.  We just picked apples this time.  They had pumpkins, but I thought it was too soon to get a pumpkin for Halloween. It would probably be rotten by Halloween time.  We had a great day and Madalyn had a blast! After having been kept up in the house for the past 8 days, she definitely had cabin fever.  Her doctor had said she could go about her normal activities as long as she felt like. And she was feeling like her normal, happy self on Saturday.

What variety did we pick? Golden Delicious...our favorite!

The best part about picking apples is eating them.  You can't see it, but she took a big bite out of this apple.

Our family of 3 1/2 :0)

The Orchard is so pretty set in the mountains.

Some of the other things you can do besides pick apples is see the animals. There is a pond with ducks and some sheep, goats, turkey, peacocks, chickens, roosters, etc.  We walked through the bamboo forest, and we found some new animals we had not seen before at the orchard.  There is also a hay ride, which we don't do because living on a farm, Madalyn can ride the tractor with her Daddy any time.  And even though we have our share of animals, Madalyn loves animals, so she liked seeing them.

a turkey

Probably...no not probably...It was Madalyn's favorite part of the trip...the SLIDE.

She found a really fast slide and that's the one she stayed on. She LOVED it as you can see, but it would really throw the kids off at the end. That didn't matter to her, the faster, the better.

We are so thankful for a great day and that Madalyn had so much fun.  Hopefully, she will continue to do well and this sickness will leave her soon, even though I know she doesn't look sick. 

Madalyn's Check Up Week 1

Thursday afternoon we took Madalyn to the doctor to have her blood pressure taken and her urine checked again for her HSP. Her blood pressure was good and she didn't have any protein in her urine. We were so pleased and thankful for this great report. Madalyn has acted like herself for the most part. Her spots are looking much better, however she does have more, which they are suppose to come and go.  We will go again next week and get things checked again.  We are praying for a quick healing from this sickness and that it doesn't spread to her stomach or kidneys.  It's hard to see your child acting "normal" and seemingly healthy, but at the same time very sick.  We greatly appreciate those that are praying for complete healing for her. Thank You!

The small red spots, all turn purple and look like bruises. Then they start to go away.

The Never Ending Doctor's Visit

Wednesday: I got a text from Kevin's mom that Madalyn and Hunter were playing and Hunter tried to help Madalyn up, but pulled her arm too hard, and it popped out of joint. So, this was at the end of the school day, and they came and picked me up at school and we went to the doctor to get it fixed.  This will be the 4th time this has happened to her. They said until she's 4 years, her ligaments will be loose but they should tighten up then.

Wednesday night I noticed that Madalyn had a good many bug bites. She has had bad reactions to them before; they get as big as quarters, hot, and hard. So I put some cream on them and band aids and put her to bed.

Thursday afternoon, I get another text, what's going on with Madalyn's legs? I said bug bites. When I got to Kevin's mom's house, and looked at Madalyn's legs, I was like that's not what she looked like this morning.

So, we thought maybe she was having a reaction to the band aids, the latex.  Thursday morning, at 2:00am, Madalyn woke up with vomiting and diarrhea.  (which could be related and could not be related to this)

Friday morning, Kevin's mom took Madalyn to the doctor to see what was going on with her legs.  They drew blood to test for this bruising condition as a possible reason for the spots. ( I would have taken her, but knowing I will have to be out with the baby, I'm trying to save as many days as I can, if possible). The blood work came back fine which was good.

Friday night, we went out to eat and Madalyn kept complaining about her knee hurting. But when I would ask her where it hurt she would point to her ankle.  When we got home, she had Kevin carry her inside because she couldn't walk. Inside the house, she was hoping around on one leg and wouldn't put any pressure on her left leg. I put her in the bath tub and realized her left ankle was very swollen and it was hot to touch.

This morning her ankle wasn't as swollen but she had more "spots". So for the third time this week we headed to the doctor.  Her pediatrician doctor opens the practice for a few hours on the weekends. As soon as she saw Madalyn and check out the spots and saw her ankle, she said that she had "HSP-Henoch-Schonlein Purpura".  Which is inflammation in the blood vessels.  That is what is causing the spots -which is her blood vessels bleeding under the skin and her joints to swell.  This can last anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 weeks before it clears up and there's nothing you can do for it really. I can give her medicine if her joints are swollen to help with the pain and I can put cream on the places because they itch.  

They did a protein test on her urine and did find a small amount of protein in her urine.  She has to drink lots of water. She will have to have her urine tested each week until this clears up. If she develops high protein levels in her urine, she will have to be hospitalized.

They also checked her blood pressure because this causes hyper-tension (high blood pressure) and if her blood pressure is up, she will have to be hospitalized. It was fine this morning.

I have to watch for blood in her urine or stools, stomach cramping, and headaches. With any of these symptoms I had to take her to the ER and call her doctor right away. 

They said once this clears up, that at it could come back within 6 months.  After that she shouldn't get it again. There's no reason as to why she has this or where it came from. You can get this from bacteria, a virus, after having a cold or upper respiratory infection, medicines, insect bites (which is probably where Madalyn got it from), vaccinations or exposure to chemicals or cold weather. 

We go back on Thursday afternoon to get Madalyn checked again.  Talk about in shock. I thought it was just a swollen ankle or something. But I'm sitting there trying to comprehend all that she's telling me and trying to keep it together, while texting Kevin, my mom and his mom about what's going on.  This reminds me of last September with Kevin...we went thinking he had a severe case of heart burn or an asthma attack and find out he has a heart infection.  Then on top that I'm almost 23 weeks pregnant and dealing with blood pressure issues of my own...and having this going on with Madalyn.  We are praying Madalyn gets well soon, and doesn't have any of these other severe symptoms  or has to be hospitalized.  What a week it has been and it's not over yet. This Mama can't take much more this week. Talk about my blood pressure raising!

Playing "I Spy" while waiting on the urine results. You wouldn't know she was sick; she's her normal happy self. 

Words to Warm

One morning this week, we all had this encouraging story in our boxes at school, about where Teachers came from.

On the sixth day, God created men and women.  On the seventh day, He rested.  Not so much to recuperate but rather to prepare Himself for the work He was going to do on the next day.  For it was on that day-the eighth day-that God created the first Teacher.

This Teacher, though taken from among men and women, had several significant modifications.  In general, God made the Teacher more durable than other men and women.   He made the Teacher tough...but gentle, too.  Into the Teacher God poured a generous amount of patience.  He gave the Teacher a heart slightly bigger than the average human heart.  And He gave the Teacher an abundant supply of hope.

When God finished creating the Teacher, He stepped back and admired the work of His hands.  And God saw that the Teacher was good.  Very good!  And God smiled, for when He looked at the Teacher, He saw into the future.  He was placing the future in the hands of the Teacher.

And because God loves Teachers so much, on the ninth day God created "snow days."

1st Day of Preschool 3K

Today was Madalyn's first day of preschool for K3.  She goes to preschool Monday-Thursday from 8:45 to 11:45, however her day began at 6:30 this morning, which is normal for us. She wasn't too excited this morning because she had rather be back in bed wearing her PJ's, which I don't blame her. :0) But she had a great first day and is looking forward to going back tomorrow.

First Day of Pre-K3

Madalyn and her teacher, Mrs. Renea