Built Thome Tough.

It’s 9:30 on a Saturday night.  The kids are finally sound asleep in their beds as I wait for Dan to come home from a 14 hour day of painting at our new house.  Balancing this “quick demo” with everything else in life is quiet the juggling act.  We have the bags underneath our eyes to prove it!

For all that follow us on Instagram, you’ve gotten a look at a little bit more of what has been going on in our lives lately.  Brody spent a few days in the hospital after undergoing some procedures to figure out some tummy troubles he was having on and off.  This was the first time either of our boys had to be put under anesthesia.  I tried SO hard to keep my cool, and when it was time to kiss him before they wheeled him back, I cried like a baby, as did he, which broke our hearts even more.  We always talk about how big is he getting, and in that moment, he was still our baby.  It took me a while to gather my tears and sit in the waiting room.  Turns out, after his procedures that the results were far more severe than his doctors has anticipated.  Hence the last-minute admittance to the hospital, and overall worry that came from mom and dad.

We went back into the recovery room as soon as he was out of his procedure.  The nurse tried to talk, to explain how he was (still asleep) and I couldn’t help but start crying all over again seeing sweet B with all of his IV’s and the breathing tubes in his nose.  I had to tell myself to knock it off, so that I wasn’t full of tears when he woke up.  (My word mom’s and dad’s – not fun, let me tell ya).  He woke up sweeter and sleepy-eyed as ever, and we just slowly chit chatted our way through the morning, waiting to be moved to our room.  We eventually were given a room to settle into later that night, and Brody was coming to the understanding that we would be sleeping over a few nights.

The menu was a saving grace.  Ordering in “room service” made Brody feel like king tut.  The kid was just googly-eyed over the thought of picking what ever he wanted out to eat.  He was, and still is taking steroids to heal everything, and they make him hungrier than a hippo! To top it off – having a game room right down the hall, with a giant air hockey table made being at the hospital a little more desirable in between treatments.

Thankfully, after a few days, biopsy results, blood work and plenty of medication through IV’s later, they have discovered that Brody has either Crohns or Colitis.  It’s really heartbreaking to know that he is so little, experiencing a disease that most do not encounter until way beyond adolescence.  At the same time, it is a huge relief that we caught the disease at the earliest of stages, which resulted in a quick recovery from his flare up, and hopefully an easier path (if there is one) to managing this.

Labeling whether he has Crohns or Colitis will not happen until he is a bit older, and his symptoms start to stand out more.  He understands most of what is going on. Although, from a parenting perspective we try to keep everything as upbeat and explain as little as we need to, so he is not to worry.  Our big guy has been such a trooper.  Braver than mom and dad combined.  He has been tossed into a world of scary things for youngin’ and has handled it so well.  Dan and I feel exceptionally lucky that although this is a chronic disease, and not curable, it is manageable.  We will do everything in our power to keep him feeling his best day in and day out.

With both our little guys have their own medical issues now it is surely a new way of balancing everyone.  We want nothing more than for our kids to feel their best, all day every day.  As parents, you never want to see your child in pain, to be frightened, or simply not themselves.  Between medicines, breathing treatments, eating for allergies, and just maintaining everyone’s health can some days just feel a bit overwhelming.  Not that I cannot handle it, just overwhelming in the sense of “how did we get here?” we did not see any of this coming, Brody had never complained of any type of pain.   Life has thrown us yet another curveball – and yet, we are home, we are healthy, we are truly blessed that everyone is doing good!

Brody and Owen – Sorry our gene’s have landed us in a pool of yuck sometimes.  But, as your mom and dad, and your biggest cheer leaders, we promise to always be right by your side, kissing away each boo boo and celebrating each and every moment.

Crohns, Colitis, Allergies, Chronic Asthma… Medicines, Breathing Treatments, Doctors Appointments – You can’t hold us back! Our boys were built Thome Tough!