Another Surgery…

We heard back from Children’s Dental Center today.  The insurance gave their blessing for Dani’s next surgery.  Dani has been teething for over two years now and her teeth are not completely in yet.  When she smiles you can see parts of some teeth.  The dentist will be cauterizing her gum line to expose the teeth.  Since it is all of her teeth, Dani needs to be put under for this.  Dani is scheduled June 17^th for a physical and if everything goes as planned surgery on the 19^th.   Since Dani doesn’t have the best track record for surgery, extra precaution will be taken and she will have this done at Sanford Hospital.   We tried for Avera, but Sanford is our only option.  In the event Dani has to get hospitalized, her Avera doctor can still follow Dani.    So let’s hope our extra precautions are in vain and Dani can come home after surgery…

DANI’S MAKE A WISH TRIP

Her trip was wonderful.  The girls were impressed with the Limo ride they got!  On the flight down, she did great despite getting behind on her  feedings.  We got checked into Give Kids the World without a hitch.  Dan worked on getting Dani caught up on her feedings while the girls and I checked out GKTW.  We found the Ice Cream Palace, swimming pool, and train.  We opted to spend the afternoon at GKTW to rest up from our travels.

Monday

We went to SeaWorld.  The girls loved feeding the dolphins, even though Kaylee had to touch dead fish!  Towards the afternoon, Dani started fussing.  Dan brought her and Grandma Donna back to GKTW while the girls and I finished exploring Sea World.  Kaylee got selected for the Shamu show.  She got to meet the trainers and the whales.  It was a wonderful show!  Dan came back to SeaWorld and he and Kaylee went on some rides.  Beans and I don’t care too much for roller coasters! 

Tuesday

This was our day for Magic Kingdom.  We meet many characters here.  Dani has a pin for every character she saw!  Dani needed a break, so we went to the Wish Lounge.  She took her snooze and got her feeding and was ready to go again.  Grandma Donna and I took her to eat lunch with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eyeore.  Dan had the girls and they were riding the rides.  Dani lasted until the parade and made it known she wanted to go home.  Dan brought her and Grandma Donna back to GKTW.  It was nice to spend some time with the girls.  We even stayed for fireworks.

Wednesday

Since we had a big day the day before we decided to take it easy.  The girls went horseback riding at GKTW.  Mom and I brought the girls to the ocean.  The afternoon and evening we spent at Hollywood Studios.  Again, Dan and Kaylee went on the big rides while Beans and I watched.

Thursday

By this time, Beans, who never walks anywhere was tired.  She opted to stay at GKTW instead of Universal Studios.  Dan and Kaylee spent the morning on the big rides and I meet up with them in the afternoon.

Friday

We spent the day at Animal Kingdom.  Beans feeling braver, did some roller coasters and the Dinosaur ride.  Kaylee went on the Mt Everest ride twice by herself!  We called it an early night and started packing up for our trip back to SD.  Mayor Clayton of GKTW came to tuck the kids in bed that night.  There were many giggles from them and Dani even smiled at him!

Saturday

We made our way back to South Dakota.  We got home about 9 pm.

Sunday

Grandma Donna, Kaylee, Brianna, and I went back to Sisseton.  Dan and Dani recuperated at home.  Aunt Suzie threw a going away party for Uncle Chris.

Look at Dani’s smile…

Dani hasn’t thrown up her 4 PM feeding the last couple of days.  Hopefully, her Prevacid finally kicked back in and is helping her.  This week went by fast.  The girls are out of school and everyone is excited for our upcoming trip.  We fly to Florida on Sunday.  Look how excited Dani is…

Ok, I know, I know….it has been a long time since I updated…so here goes….

We think we figured out Dani’s throwing up business.  She usually would wait until her 4 pm feeding and meds and throw up.  We slowed her feedings down so it took us almost 2 hours to feed.  That still didn’t help.  So we started giving her the Prevacid again and it seemed to help, at first.  Now we may have pinned it down to Stew #2 that she gets worked up over.   There might be something in there that isn’t agreeing with her???  Who knows with Dani…

Dani is doing wonderful getting off the Valium.  This is still a work in progress, but it is wonderful to see her big blue eyes.  We have not seen any seizures in over 3 weeks.  Dani has had 1 storm that she had to get the Clonidine to stop.  Otherwise, when she gets upset or mad, she will turn blotchy but is able to regulate everything on her own. 

On May 18^th, we fly to FLORIDA.  We have everything finalized and the girls are excited.  A big THANK YOU for Amanda and Brian for taking care of Rex while we are gone.  Another THANK YOU for Grandma Donna for coming with us.  We know Dani may not last all day sight seeing, but it will give us time with Kaylee and Brianna!

DANI GIGGLED  – APRIL 28, 2008

For the first time in over TWO YEARS, Dani giggled.  When Dan carried her upstairs, she had many smiles for him.  When he got to the top of the stairs, Dani let out her giggle.  Dani’s smiles are bigger and happen more often.  It is like we are getting the “old Dani” back.  We can’t wait until she gets off the Valium completely to see what other changes she has in store for us.  Dan said it is nice to see that Dani’s intense program is paying off. 

DANI SMILES – MAY 3, 2008

It is wonderful to see Dani smiling again.  When she is really happy, she has the biggest smile that melts my heart.  I was frustrated with Dani’s throwing up and it taking 2 hours to feed when her program keeps her so busy to begin with.  Dan came home from work and was asking how Dani was doing.  The second she heard Daddy’s voice she smiled and it was her big ones where drool came out the sides of her mouth.  I said to Dan that she is happy to see you and Dan knelt down on the floor to say “Hi” and more smiles came from Dani.  Dani is becoming an “active” part of the family once again!   

Keep up the fantastic work Dani, you are such a hard worker and one day we will unlock your secrets and you will shine!!!