Connors Health Adventure

October 2011 I got the boys insurance via the state. Thank the Gods for that!!!
Connor had been having blood in his bowel movements since early July but we had no money and no insurance to get him fully checked. I did eventually take him(early August) to the urgent care cuz his poop was jelly like and nothing but red. They had me do a poop retrieval and checked for an infection...found none and charged us around $1000. Im sorry, quite ridiculous when they'd made other arrangements with us so screw 'em! I did all the work except looking through the microscope LOL.

Anywho, so mid-October we got approved and in November he was seen. They sent us to Primary Childrens to see a GI specialist. He felt Connor needed a scope so that was set up.

Couple weeks later it was done and the doctor believed he had Irritable Bowel Disease, specifically Crohns. However, there was another test to do to be sure it was that and not Ulcerative Colitis. Basically both fall under the IBD category just on different branches.
So we waited for the pathologists report. Came back December 7th to get results and they were inconclusive. They'd had 3 or more pathologists look and some saw crystals(indicates Crohns)while others had not. So the GI dr(whom I love) had us go do another CT scan to see if we could get a better reading since he'd been on meds for a bit.

Radiologist comes in while Connor is sitting up and says, " he's got rip-roarin' appendicitis!" LOL I had no clue what he said. I had to have him repeat it 3x before I understood rip-roarin'. It was his accent mostly but also its not a term you hear often LOL. I was in shock as was the doctor. Totally came out of left field at us. So we spent a couple hours getting stuff set up and figured out and he was admitted that night for an appendectomy. It was to be a procedure lasting around an hour. He was in there for a bit over 2. Because of all the inflammation from his disease and such they had to take out a bit of bowel and small intestine, it was just too damaged from the inflammation.

He was in the hospital for 5 days. I was right by his side the entire time. I missed my shower! LOL
We got him regulated on meds and he's doing fine for now. We even participated in the hospitals genetic research to figure out whey this disease, that is typically found in people who are in their early 20's, is being found in young kids a lot anymore. So we gave blood and in a couple of years when they get all the funding and such they need we'll even get a genetic readout of what we can be susceptible too. :)
Dan couldnt be in the hospital for long because he hates them and because he was freaked that his boy was there and battling a rotten disease of his own. Tore him apart.

You know, I wasnt pleased to have Dale in our lives and that feeling of "he shouldnt be here" was proven correct but he did help out for a while and I am grateful for those few months that he was helpful. And I am not talking anymore about him, he's not worth more than a paragraph LOL but he's a part of this story so it was only right he be mentioned.

Next Step

So, I talked about the chemo...did I mention that when his platelets started going down I had to give him injections, in the belly, to try and boost their production?
Ya, anyone who knows me understands needles scare the crap out of me yet here I was injecting my husband with stuff daily. I got pretty proficient at it but I dont wanna ever do that again if I can help it LOL.
The things we do for love, right??

So, we had already discussed leaving Las Vegas and moving to Utah simply because most of my support system was there and we had noone and no thing in Vegas worth sticking around for.

So, we made plans and in late September 2011 we made the harrowing journey to northern Utah. When I left Utah originally back in 1999 I never expected to go back. Had no desire to or any of that. But we talked about moving back to Texas and as much as we loved living there I knew we still would be without a real support system(I have one friend there and thats it). What my family needed, especially me and the boys, was support especially when Dan was gone. So, with Dans "bro" Dale in tow(totally against my desires) we were off.

Our journey began by the Uhaul breaking down on our way out of town and we had to turn around and go to a facility to swap trucks. So, Dale and a couple of workers had to take ALL our belongings out of the one truck and put it into the new one. Then off we went again.

Spent the night at my moms since we'd gotten on the road late(as I recall). Then we headed to our new home in the northern part of the state. Was going pretty ok(Dan was grouchy tho) til we hit Salt Lake, during rush hour I might add. Then my van broke down on the freeway. Oh joy! That meant we had to pull to the side of the road and put the van on the car puller and drive Dans beloved SVX. I LOATHE that car so Dale drove it and I drove his truck with the boys inside the SVX.
Well, I didnt realize the headlights werent on so Dan pulled the Uhaul off the road and bitched me out over our walkie talkies and then he bitched me out again cuz he got lost trying to get back onto the freeway. Then we couldnt find our way totally right after hitting Ogden and had to call my friend and then we finally pulled into our new parking lot around 9pm. What a hell of a day and hell of a trip...you'd think someone was trying to tell us it wasnt smart to move but once we got here, it felt right. My friend had food for us and other friends came to help us unload and all that good jazz.

Im surprised how at peace I am being back here. I wanted to leave it because it never ever felt homey to me. Texas actually did tho. However, being back here is now homey to me and the boys love it and love the seasons and I know we made the right choice. Its just very odd leaving an active LDS member and coming back an ex one LOL.

We actually got here on Dans birthday, did I mention that LOL. The next week was spent getting settled and unpacked and then getting the boys insurance.

And that will begin our next adventure in Utah.