Let me tell you a story about a girl named Michelle-

Once upon a time last Monday, this girl named Michelle had a doctor's appointment. Her kids were off track, but it didn't matter because her husband Mike had the day off of work because it was President's Day. He volunteered to stay with the kids so Michelle would not have to take them with her to said appointment. Mike was a little disappointed because Michelle was having an ultrasound that day, and Mike wanted to be there. Then, the phone rang. It was the doctor's office. They needed to cancel ALL the appointments for Monday, and would Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday work best for the replacement appointment. Wednesday was orthodontist appointments, and Thursday was the dreaded MRI, so it would have to be Tuesday. Michelle said that they were all inconvenient, but the nurse said too bad, nothing could be done. So, Tuesday came around and Michelle had to take the kids with her to the doctor's office. They were horrible, but Michelle wasn't surprised. The ultrasound had good news and bad news. The good news - the baby is growing well, has hair, and is six pounds three ounces (on Tuesday). The bad news - there is too much amniotic fluid. They like you to have 20 centimeters, or millimeters, or whatever they use to measure, and there is 29. Not really excessive, but bordering on a lot. The doctor is doing another ultrasound this Tuesday (February 26) and a non-stress test. They will re-measure the fluid level, and if it is increasing then an amniocentesis (I guess that's how it's spelled) will be scheduled to see how well the baby's lungs are developed. As soon as the lungs are developed enough the baby will make an appearance. That could be as soon as two weeks from now. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this part of the story unfolds. Stay tuned.

Now for the scary MRI day. Since Michelle and Aaron had to be to Primary Children's Hospital by 6:30am on Thursday, Michelle took all the kids (except Ben) to stay at Grandma's house on Wednesday night. Ben had school, and Mike had work, so they just got up at the regular time on Thursday and went about their regular days. Michelle, however, didn't want to get the rest of the kids up at 4:00am to get ready and leave so we opted to stay at Grandma's house. After all, her house is only 15 miles or so away from the hospital, and if we stayed there, the rest of the kids could wake up at their normal time and not be monsters for the rest of the day. Grandma had agreed to help us out and take care of the kids while Aaron and Michelle were gone for the day. Unfortunately, nobody slept very well that night. Michelle had to keep waking up to put the blankets back on Aaron because he would roll out of them every time he moved. Kim and Emma kept waking up in the night and talking to each other, so Michelle had to keep telling them to go back to sleep. Finally, 5:15am came around and Michelle and Aaron left for the hospital. It was snowing lightly and it was foggy. Michelle knew where to go, but hadn't been there for quite awhile. She turned too soon, and got a little bit lost. Once they arrived at the hospital, Michelle realized that they couldn't park on the north side of the hospital because her van was too tall to go into the parking terrace. She went to the south side and found a parking spot. By this time they were about ten minutes late, and Michelle was already a bit frazzled. A nurse ushered them back to a room where Aaron was weighed, measured, and had some warming pads put on his arms to make the veins more accessible. Then they put an IV into his arm so they could deliver the medication that would knock him out. The nurses explained to Michelle that they would give Aaron phenobarbital ( or something like that) to knock him out. It's a barbituate and would make him nauseous, and loopy and sleepy for about 24 hours. Then they gave him the medicine and he was out in about 30 seconds. They took him from Michelle and strapped him down onto this narrow table and started moving him into the giant machine. Then they ushered Michelle to the recovery room and left her. After about 30 minutes they brought Aaron to her. He smelled bad. Michelle could smell the medication coming through his skin. He was limp and pale and very lifeless looking. It make Michelle sad. Michelle thought how no child should have to go through these kinds of things. At the other end of the room a bed held a boy who was three and a half, a year older than Aaron. He had just gone through the same thing Aaron had. The difference between these two boys - the other boy had been through this test twice before. He was having an MRI this day to check on two cysts in his brain. These two cysts were giving the little boy migraines so painful that he could hardly do anything but sit in a darkened room. Michelle was very sad for this little boy, and for every other child she saw in the hospital that day. It made Michelle grateful that her children are healthy and strong. After the MRI Aaron slept for another hour and a half. Then the nurses started waking him up. Aaron was very disoriented and couldn't sit up by himself. His eyes were rolling around because his muscles were so weak from the medicine. After about 20 minutes the nurses gave Aaron some apple juice. He guzzled it down and asked for more. You see, Aaron hadn't had anything to eat or drink since about 8:30 on Wednesday night. Aaron didn't throw up so they put him in a wagon and told Michelle to take him home. He couldn't sit up or stand. He could only lay there in the cute red wagon. After about five minutes he threw up. All over himself, the blankets, his coat, and the wagon. The nurses said, " we've unhooked his IV so there is nothing we can do for him. Take him home and let him sleep it off. If he continues to throw up and is becoming dehydrated, take him to the emergency room and they can rehydrate him through an IV. Have a nice day." Well, they didn't say the have a nice day part, but that's what Michelle felt like they were saying. Michelle figured out how to get Aaron out to the car, in his car seat, and back up to Grandma's house without too much problem. They stayed at Grandma's house for a couple more hours. In that time, Aaron threw up four more times. Michelle finally decided to take him home, because he would fall asleep in the car. They all got their things together and loaded up. Sure enough, Aaron was asleep before they got to the end of Grandma's street. He slept in his car seat for another two and a half hours. The nurses at the hospital told Michelle that the effects of the medication would wear off within 24 hours. That was not true. Aaron was wobbly for the rest of the day, and he was mean. He was very combative. He threw things, he hit his sisters with toys, he bit, and he yelled. He had his balance back by the next morning, but he was mean and vicious until after nap time on Saturday. It was NOT pleasant. That I guess was the bad part of the whole ordeal. The good part is that Mike and Michelle found out that there is no medical reason for Aaron to have seizures. All tests came back normal. The doctors said that some kids just react that way when they get a temperature that rises to quickly. He should outgrow it by the time he's four. He just needs to be watched closely when he's sick. Hopefully there will be no more problems. So, for now, all the tests are over.

On a totally different note, Michelle finally got done with the super secret project she was doing for Mike for Valentine's Day. She made a book for him called "The Greatest Love Story Ever Told". It is a book about how Mike and Michelle met, their first date, first kiss, the engagement, pre-wedding trip to Wisconsin, and wedding. It includes the honeymoon, first place they lived, and why Michelle would do it all again. So much love packed into one little book. So much love packed into one life together.