lunch with daddy

the kids always have "lunch with daddy" on their school break bucket lists. they love the hospital! today daddy took us to see a mural made of patients' artwork. it was pretty amazing. love.

the cast is off

we were all pretty excited for mason to get his cast removed! well, except for madelyn who would be the only one missing out (she had to go to school). 

they removed the cast with four cuts and then used scissors to cut off the interior lining. mason was like a statue the whole time. i was surprised at how swollen his arm still was near his elbow. 

they gave us a washcloth to get his arm cleaned up, but he pulled away every time i touched his skin so i just let him have a go at it. 

then they took him for a few more x-rays and the other two boys for some snacks. matt and i were just left in the room with the empty cast.

the nifty saw/vacuum

the bone has healed perfectly. but what we didn't know is that his arm is still broken! he has to wait another three weeks before retuning to his activities. they take the cast off so early to keep him from losing mobility. he can't straighten his arm yet; i call it "barbie arm."

it was a little nerve wracking to drop him off at school with an unprotected arm. he still wasn't using it when he got off the bus in the afternoon. 

the doctor said that it could be a few weeks before he is back to normal and it might be painful for a little while. he isn't too sure about it yet, but we don't think that it will be long before he loses "barbie arm" posture. love.

125th anniversary gala

the hospital had their 125th anniversary this year and to celebrate they hosted a huge gala on the property. the theme was "a magical night seen through the eyes of a child." i think that this was the most fun we have had at a formal event! that is, once we got there!

it was raining and the umbrella escorts from the valet line had the cars waiting for an hour or more! matt wasn't having that and we went around the hospital another way to get in a shorter line. but it was worth the wait. everything was beautiful, the food was excellent, the entertainment completely inspiring and the company hysterical.

we were lucky to be guests of one of matt's doctors who purchased a whole table (we are talking $500 for matt and i to attend on our own!).

the chandeliers were lit slinkies.

during dinner we were entertained by a patient dance troupe and a piano prodigy. once the meal ended, the dance floor was hopping! seriously, it was packed and enthusiastic! our table was throwing cloth napkins at each other. it was almost the only way to get someone's attention because it was so loud in there.

once we were partied out, we got in the line, very long line, to reclaim our car. but they were prepared for this line - they had an impressive balloon artist to keep us entertained and lots of parting gifts (cookies, krispy cremes, etc.). we waited around 45 minutes and the line doubled in the time we waited.

i am so thankful to have been invited to the celebration. love.

akron children's hospital open house

after soccer we loaded up and headed downtown to an employee open house for a new building that was just completed at matt's hospital. the first activity was a photo booth with props. surprisingly, the kids were not into it - at all. but we gave it a whirl anyway. the volunteer had suggested that we might get a christmas card picture out of it, but i don't think so...

there was actually a lot for the kids to see and do, besides seeing the gorgeous building. we were even treated to a super yummy boxed lunch! we could choose veggie burgers, burgers, grilled chicken or pulled pork sliders and the box was filled with chips, a piece of fruit, a bottle of water and a frosted cookie. all wonderfully yummy! and a surprise that we would be fed so well.

they were really taken with the large bubble wand. manning was in total awe (he is our bubble boy). she wasn't quite far enough away for little hands not to pop them so it took a few tries for each different type she was trying to demonstrate. but she handled it really well and stayed positive.

manning was also very excited about all of the balloon bundles. 

the kids got a little crafty with some bug hats.

we were super excited about the opportunity to go up on the roof and see "air bear" up close! we see it all of the time on our way to the zoo and occasionally flying, but this was pretty awesome - even a little scary. the roof has no guard rails at all, just an open helipad, but the views were pretty great.

then we went downstairs to see the ambulances or "mobile intensive care units." the inside of one was done out in a space theme and the other was an underwater theme. the kids were only impressed by the decor and the dvd player.

it was pretty cool to see all these emergency vehicles up close and reminds us how fortunate we are that this is the only way our children have seen the insides.

the kids had already seen this new sculpture installation on facebook and thought it was neat to see it in person.

as if the kids needed any more reasons to love coming to visit matt at work! love.

christmas parties

matt works with several different specialties within the hospital so we are invited to several christmas parties.  as you can imagine, this gets quite expensive with babysitting.  we were thrilled when we learned that one of the parties was during the daytime and kids were invited.  the kids were also VERY excited.  madelyn even planned out her outfit the night before.

kids weren't only invited, but they were welcomed whole heartedly!  the host couple had capri-suns, gogurts, coloring books w/crayons, toys, etc.  the kids were just in heaven.

this department is newer to matt, so even he didn't know most of the people well or at all and it was still a very comfortable party.  everyone could not have been nicer.  i think it helped that the kids behaved excellently too!

that party started at 2pm and we left a little before 5pm.  we had to get back home to drop off the kids, pick up the babysitter (we had two cancel before finding this one - sort of a friend of a friend kind of find) and get ready for the second work christmas party of the day.

the second party had amazing catering - yummy!  actually, they both did.  we didn't get to talk to very many people though because everyone was glued to the t.v.s (including a huge projection screen in their media room) watching the ohio state game.  realizing that this was a really expensive way to watch the game, we headed home around halftime which still made for a pretty late night and we were beat.

it was a pretty nice day of work parties.  love.

friday night first

yes, that is a hospital bracelet mason is wearing.  yes, he is quite pleased about it.  and, yes, he is totally fine.  now for the story...

when we came back in from playing in the snow mason was a little withdrawn.  we all snuggled up on the couch to read some books (we had snack right before going out to play).  after a few minutes mason started crying out in pain.  he was having very sharp pain in his lower left abdomen.  he screamed when i pushed on it (and not when i pushed on other parts of his stomach).  he wasn't particularly warm but he was obviously in a lot of pain.  he could not stand-up or lay down.  he asked to go to his bed but could not stand-up to walk there and asked me to carry him.  it was coming in waves now like he was in labor.  he would start breathing heavy and grab his side while crying out for me.

of course, it was 5pm.  our kids just have a knack for having ailments right at 5pm on a friday.  mason isn't one to milk illnesses or injuries so i knew that he was seriously in pain.  i had called matt to see what he wanted me to do.  the weather wasn't great so i wasn't super excited about driving anywhere, but i was really starting to get worried about mason.  this had been going on for about 30 minutes.  he had also gotten a rash a few days ago that we hadn't been very worried about (we wrote it off as dry skin) and then this morning he had seemed very warm when i woke him up.  i was actually a little worried that he might be sick and unable to go to school for his concert (he was sick last year for the concert - actually, it was with a rash too).  we decided that i would take him up to matt's hospital after calling a neighbor to come and watch the other kids (it was sort of a there-are-no-groceries-and-they-haven't-had-dinner-good-luck exchange).  mason was in so much pain that i had to carry him to the car and he couldn't even climb up into his carseat - he tried and starting screaming in pain.  i was pretty upset by this point.  i had never seen anyone in so much pain before!  i did think to bring the ipad as a distraction for him while i was driving because i didn't want the extra stress of him crying while i was driving to the hospital.

after a very long 25 minute drive to the hospital, about 5-10 minutes before we got there i realized that he had either passed out or fallen asleep.  he had not complained a ton on the drive but he did keep having waves of pain.  matt met us in the parking garage and mason was able to walk, but he was limping and holding his side.  when he saw matt he broke out into a huge smile.  and that was when i started to think that i had been had.

the hospital was having its tree lighting tonight so there were carolers in costume, tons of trees and music as we made our way to the emergency room.  mason seemed to be doing better all of the time.  by the time we were in an exam room, the boy who would not even consider jumping at home, was skipping to the exam bed and climbed right up.  i, of course, was mortified that he was seeming to be fine and i was looking a little crazy.  i was thrilled that he appeared to be fine but feeling a little like i wanted to kill him.  it was like he had faked the whole thing to have a little alone time with mommy and daddy.  now, i know that he was legitimately in pain. and the doctor (one who reports to matt and that i will have to see at a christmas party next weekend) explained that the pain was probably very real and that some kids just have episodes like this that have no real explanation.  i was very grateful that he didn't make me feel like a complete moron - because i already did.

mason was on cloud nine on the way out holding matt and my hands and he had a super cool bracelet "with my name on it".  he even got a sugar cookie and punch as part of the tree lighting. sigh.

on the ride home i started thinking about we had probably totally ruined our neighbor's friday night, incurred some hospital bills and risked driving in rush hour in poor weather for absolutely. no. reason.  while i hope he never has to hurt like that again, i do hope that it happens a little so that matt can see how scary it was.  i was also thinking about my prayer before we left the house for God to take away the pain.  gee.  that was one prayer that was answered and i was a little sorry about. really, i am very happy that he is fine and didn't need emergency surgery or anything.  i just wish that another adult had witnessed it so that i didn't feel so silly.  love.