Alex's Adventures

Monday, May 30, 2022

End of the Year

As is always the case at this time of year, life has been CRAZY!

Two weeks ago Mimi and PopPop had a vow renewal ceremony. Both kids participated and it was nice day focused on family.

Besides our usual horseback riding craziness, we have had extra ballet rehearsals to prepare for our spring performance and Maddy's end of year festivities at school!

Health wise we are hanging in there. My knee is getting better, but still sore most evenings. Alex is struggling with some concerning GI issues and Moo is struggling with her usual joint pain and her eyes have gotten quite a bit worse so she got to choose some new glasses! Overall, we are doing pretty well though.

Thank you for all of you who lift us in prayer and support us.

We love you!

Ali

Saturday, May 14, 2022

Getting back to Normal

Just a quick update since not much is going on!

It has been a month since my knee surgery and I finally feel like I am getting back to some semblance of normal. It has definitely been a slower process than I had hoped. I saw my surgeon this week for my one month follow-up. Overall, he is happy with my recovery. I still have some swelling and bruising, but it is minimal. I have also developed some "catching or popping", but we are just watching it at this point. I am back to driving and am all set to start PT. Unfortunately I am still restricted on any other exercise for at least 6 more weeks. But I am happy to be back to getting around a little easier for sure!

Otherwise the kids are pretty much the same...We are finishing up our end of the year activities and spending lots of time at the barn. Both kids have been pretty stable health wise. Alex has some increasing GI issues that are painful and we are keeping an eye on. Mad's headaches are finally under control. Now we are just trying to get some more weight on her. She also had a nasty ear infection this week.

Maddy and Julia at Volunteer Appreciation

Maddy and Tammi

Maddy, Julia and Sarah

Maddy's First Belt Buckle

Summer Theater Auditions

With Mimi on Mother's Day

Riding Freddie for the first time

Ready for Field Day

My Horse Girl

Maddy and Brooke

Brookelyn, Brooke and Maddy

Julia, Maddy and Brookelyn

Maddy's BFF's

Maddy and Gabby

We are so grateful for our friends and family and all the ways they bless our life! Please continue to pray for the kids health and my recovery.

Ali

Saturday, April 30, 2022

Slow and Steady

I need to start with a huge THANK YOU to my Busy Moms Bible Study ( and Gail and Lisa)who have kept us fed since my surgery! Since standing for any length of time is difficult it was so helpful to not have to worry about cooking. Thank you to my prayer partners for keeping me in good spirits and not letting me get in a rut. And to Mimi and PopPop for driving Mad around when Bruce couldn't get away from work. This has definitely been a trying few weeks for me as I am fiercely independent! Not being able to get where I want when I want has been a challenge for sure.

As for my recovery...I am improving, but it is slower than I would like. The good news is that I am getting around a little more. I am pretty sore by the end of the day, but it is manageable. I am still trying not to overdue it. I go back to the surgeon on May 11th and we will discuss therapy at that point.

As for the kids there have been some ups and downs. Alex had an appointment with his nephrologist and had some labs that have continued to get worse so we are adjusting one of his meds. He is also having some significant colitis that is not uncommon when you have your colon removed. We are keeping a close eye on him. Maddy had a follow-up with her neurologist and while we have had some improvement, she continues to have migraines several times a week. We are doubling a medication to try and get better results. She is also having more trouble with her knees lately, but there isn't much we can do to help that. The most concerning at this point is she has lost a pretty considerable amount of weight. And with that she is losing strength which is hard because she is weak at baseline. It is making riding hard for her. It breaks my heart because she works SO hard, but when you don't have strength it is hard to make a 1500 pound animal do what you want! We are currently increasing her formula to try and get her going the right direction.

I don't have a lot of pictures because I have been mostly stuck home or sitting in a chair which is not a great way to get pictures! However, we did a few fun events. Last Saturday we attended the Victory Shootout and on Tuesday my bible study painted a Turquoise Table for Victory. (If you haven't read The Turquoise Table, you should!)