Health Scare

When Blake last had pneumonia, in Dec/Jan, our pediatrician wondered if Blake might have asthma.  But because of the pneumonia, we needed to wait until his lungs were clear to re-test him.  Fast forward a few months and I finally decided to take him in again, as he's had this nagging cough for the past few months - mostly at bedtime but sometimes throughout the day as well.  It was so bad a few times, that we kept him home from school.  The cough had been going on for so long that I thought it warranted a trip to the doctor.  Dr. Radisic had him do a lung function test and due to his low numbers, referred him to the pediatric pulmonary specialist who he shares an office with.  He also said that he suspected that Blake had asthma.  Dr. R was willing to give Blake a puffer to trial until we saw Dr. Z. but I thought we could wait.  Our appointment was in two weeks.  Well, after a few nights and days of Blake hacking, I changed mind and decided we couldn't wait.  I was especially worried because I was going away for the weekend and Blake had a lacrosse tournament coming up and I didn't want Cal to be burdened with 3 kids and having to take Blake to the emerg!  Luckily, Dr. Z had a cancellation and we were able to get into him that week.  When Dr. Z's nurse did the lung function test, Blake scored 80%.  After 5 minutes of ventolin he scored 90%. Big improvement and a clear sign that he had asthma.  Dr. Z wanted to run a variety of tests - blood work for allergies and to check his immune system, urinalysis to check protein levels, a chest x-ray and a sinus x-ray.  It was a long afternoon of appointments and blood work and at the end of the day we found out he wanted Blake to do a sweat test, to rule out Cystic Fibrosis.  Apparently Blake has not had a clear chest x-ray in the past 3 years.  All 3 x-rays from the past 3 years (taken when he had pneumonia) showed the same black spot in the lower lobe of his right lung.  This was certainly alarming and raised a lot of questions for both myself and Dr.Z.  Always trying to find the positive, I mentioned that Blake had been screened for CF at birth, to which I was told the screening can often miss something.  I then said, "I'm sure not very many patients are diagnosed with CF at this age, aren't they mostly diagnosed in the first years of life?" To which I was told that no, in fact just a few weeks ago a 30 yo man was diagnosed.  And then Dr. Z remarked that CF patients are often tall and skinny ... yikes.  So I spent the next two weeks worrying (off and on) about the possibility of Blake having CF.  During those two weeks Blake was prescribed a twice daily does of a steroid and an inhaler for before and after strenuous exercise and for as needed.  I was very glad when Thursday June 16th arrived and we would have the sweat test results that afternoon.  The sweat test was painless, they stimulate sweat glands in your arm with electrodes and chemicals (to put it simply), then attach a coil to collect the sweat. That test was at the Stollery and then we were off to Dr. Z's office downtown.  To make the afternoon a little more fun, Blake and I took the LRT to the UofA, then back downtown and enjoyed a quick lunch in between appointments (my Mom watched the girls). When we got to Dr. Z's office, he had good news for us.  The immune system tests were excellent and although Dr. Z didn't have the sweat test results yet, he felt very strongly that Blake did not have CF because if he did, his immune system would be weakened.  He also told us that the allergy tests showed that he was allergic to dust, mold and pollen - which explained his sinus x-ray results, which weren't great.  He said that Spring will always be tough for Blake, much like a large majority of the rest of the world!!  Plugged sinus' during Spring!  Next Spring he will prescribe a med for the allergies to ease the discomfort of the sinus problems that come with those seasonal allergies.  For now, we're heading out of allergy season and Blake's sinus' should clear.  Finally the sweat test results were in and as expected, Blake's numbers were great!!! I was so happy to hear this. The next questions I had, had to do with the spot on the lung.  Dr. Z is a very funny, personable man and when I asked, "So about that spot on his lung ..." he interrupted me with, "The spot I wish I never would have told you about?" lol!!!  Yes, I brought that spot up a lot during the last 2 appointments!!  So what Dr. Z said was that considering his immune system was excellent, the sweat test came back negative and the spot has not changed in the past few years, he will keep an eye on it with follow up x-rays twice a year and concluded that it is likely scarring due to a previous pneumonia.  Also, after two weeks of the asthma medication, Blake's numbers were up to 100% which is the best news possible!!  So as it stands, Blake is on the asthma meds for the time being and will see Dr. Z again in October to re-evalute.  Blake has noticed a huge difference with the meds, noting that running during lacrosse is a lot easier and less painful (less coughing and less chest pain).  I've noticed that he is not coughing at night anymore.  All around good news :)  I'd prefer that he did not have asthma but as it is, we are grateful to have excellent medical care and medication to treat it!

Appt #1, 5 min of ventolin followed by a long afternoon of poking and prodding.  Of course, he took it like the champ he is!!

Appt #2 on June 16th, Dr. Z has rubber chickens in all his rooms ;) All smiles because the CF test was negative and his lungs are functioning at 100%!!

Other May highlights!

Oh my goodness, looking back every month I realize how full our days are and how truly blessed we are!!  I wanted to document some of the other highlights from our month of May :) One day, I'll be glad I did!!  So here are a few ...  

- Emerson's class collected recyclable materials over the past few months and put them to use this month, building robot's!  They then wrote a description of the robot and presented their robots to other classes and parents. 

I was able to leave work 1/2 hr early to catch her presentation.  I'm so glad I could make it, I was so proud of her :)  She  robot presentation was excellent and she was even recruited by Mme. Khair to assist the other students in presenting and translating their presentations from French to English for the students and parents who didn't speak french.  She's such a strong student and is so proud (as she should be!)!

- Mom, Lindsay and I went out for dinner and movie for Lindsay's birthday.  We had a great time and ate more sushi than we thought we could ;) Our evening together made us excited for our girls trip in July!!

- At the end of the month we celebrated the end of our Sunday school year with our finale and BBQ.  I love our Church community and friends and we always enjoy finale day!!  Students move from the pre-beginner's class to kid's praise when they move into grade 1 and recieve a cross pendant, so Reese Reese was presented with her pendant.  And when students move into grade 4, they recieve a special bible from the Church, so Blake was presented with his bible.  Sunday school will start again in September and all three kids will be in kid's praise!  For the past 5 years I've been volunteering in the pre-beginner's class so I guess I am also graduating to kid's praise ;)  I'm glad Sunday school break's for the summer months, as we would miss a lot with camping and vacation and I hate to miss.

- Blake started 3 on 3 this month and is excited to be playing with his cousin Colby and a few of his Saints teammates!

- The school staff hosted the annual volunteer drive-thru breakfast at school!  This is always a fun event and the parents really appreciate the recognition :)

Some of our awesome school staff, at the volunteer drive-thru breakfast!

The kids all decorate brown lunch bags, which are filled with cream, sugar, a stir stick and a muffin!

And now it is June and we are soooo close to Summer Vacation, we are getting excited!!!  

May long flood .. aka camping!!

A great time was had on May long weekend, albeit the weather!!  You just never know what the weather is going to be on May long but this year the forecast for a week straight pointed towards rain.  And not just showers, lots of rain!  I was almost contemplating suggesting foregoing the trip this year but I'm sure glad I didn't.  Just getting out of the city was a welcomed break.  The forecast turned out to be accurate, we did get a lot of rain.  So much rain that the kids had to put plastic bags in their rubber boots because within the first few hours of being at the campground, their boots were full of water and their socks were soaked!  My Mom recommended the plastic bags and it sure worked well!  We did get a lot of rain and it wasn't very warm but thankfully the fire ban was lifted and the fire kept us warm, when needed :)  And the tarps placed around and above the fire, also helped - Thanks to the guys for their handy tarp hanging skills!!  The kids still had a great weekend and we did too!  Poor Heidi was not at all keen on being outside and spent the majority of the 3 days in the trailer.  I'd open the door to check on her and she'd give me the stink eye, as if to say, "Are you kidding me??  I am not going out there."  I felt a little bad for her, she seemed cold and unhappy all weekend :(  But she made it through and hopefully she'll be happier on our warm, July camping trip!!  Our kids and the Streadwick kids ran the campground and in and out of our trailer and the Streadwick trailer.  The only casualty all weekend was a light above our dinette. Not sure the story there, but one of them was a little forceful with it!!  I had bought a bunch of dollar store crafts, which the girls spent a lot of time on!  The water was too rough and the weather too cold and rainy to take the boat out, which was disappointing but understandable!  And although it did rain a lot, it didn't rain all weekend!  The annual Saturday night appy night was delicious and the company was grand :)  We took a drive into Athabasca on Sunday, to escape the rain and have lunch.  The burgers and fries at the Burger Barn were delicious!!  Thanks to the Stecyk's, the Smith's, the Scott's and the Streadwicks for another great May long.  Fingers crossed for a sunnier weekend next year!!!

Girls trip to G.P.!!

On the 13th the Edmonton and Stony Plain Cameron ladies embarked on a road trip to Grande Prairie!!  The primary purpose for our visit was to meet Miss Aurora who was born at the beginning of April, to our niece Kourtney.  Of course we also were excited to visit many other relatives :)  We had a fabulous time! The kids had so much fun and loved playing with their cousins and meeting Aurora, who by the way, is the cutest baby ever!!  Kourtney is doing such a great job as a new mom :)  Here are a few pics from our road trip (which I hope is the first annual Cameron girls road trip!!):

Emerson, Kailey and Kerri loving on Aurora :)

So sweet, Em just loves babies!!

Kerri, Reese, Kourtney, Aurora and Kailey at the baby shower

Reese loves her new baby cousin!

So thankful we were able to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Alstad, they hold a special place in my heart.

 

Let's see how much we can fit into one weekend ...

This weekend Blake's team was in the Beaumont lacrosse tournament.  They had a great tourney and we got to spend some time with the Stony Plain Cameron's, as Colby and Blake's teams played each other :)  On Saturday evening Blake headed to his game with the Mauro family, while Reese, Cal, my Mom and my Dad, my sister and I headed to the DOW Centennial Centre in  Fort Saskatchewan for Emerson's year end dance recital. Em's group performed two numbers and rocked that stage!! They did so well!  Emerson really enjoyed herself and wanted to stay to watch the older kids :)  We left after the second act and Cal and I took the girls to Red Robin's for a late dinner, before picking Blake up at Matteo's house.  Blake had fun with the Mauro's and enjoyed their dinner at Mongoli Grill!  He was very excited to tell us about the goal he scored in his lacrosse game that afternoon!!  Mother's Day we were up and out the door very early for the last game of the lacrosse tournament.  Mom and Dad met us for the game and afterward we all met at Boston Pizza for a nice Mother's Day lunch!  The rest of the day was fairly low key ... I even snuck in a nap ;)  I hope all the Mother's out there in blog land had a wonderful Mother's Day!!  Thank you to all who support me in this journey, I couldn't do it without you!  

xo

~Tracy

Em's year end dance recital - so proud of her and how much she has learned this year!

Happy 9th Birthday, Blake!!

On May 5th, Blake turned 9.  I am so glad he is not in the double digits yet ... my momma heart wouldn't have been able to handle it!  So now I have an entire year to prepare for the big 10th birthday ;)  Blake had a very busy birthday.  We weren't sure when we would host his birthday party, between baseball, hockey, swimming lessons, dance practice and a dance recital, lacrosse and a lacrosse tournament and soccer ... we didn't have a lot of free time!!  Fortunately, we have early dismissal Thursday's!!  Reese doesn't have school on Thursday's and Blake and Emerson are out at 11:51 am AND Blake's birthday was on a Thursday, so it all worked out although we were sad that a few of our family and friends couldn't make it.  We had the party the afternoon of the 5th and it went well!  I was so worried we'd be rained out but thankfully we weren't.  We had the party at the park and I think it might have been one of the best parties to date!  The kids played on the playground, ate lunch and cake and finished the afternoon off with a baseball game!  All Blake wanted to do for his birthday party was play baseball, so I'm glad we were able to grant that wish :)  Below are a few pics from our morning before school and from the party:

Opening gifts from Mom and Dad and Em and Reese

Nuggies for his sisters ;) (Reese didn't have school that morning, hence the pj's!)

Ready for school :)

Party in the park - the handsome birthday boy!

Just a bunch of monkeys, hangin' out!

Cake time!!

Most of the party crew :)

Batter up!

Eating lunch on the fire truck ;)

3 cuties, Ava, Reese and Nathan

Blake requested either a Jays cake or a Cubs cake ... DQ didn't have a Jays cake so Cubs it was :)

Opening presents

Waiting for their turn to bat!

Grandpa playing bat catcher, while Dad pitches it in!!

Em also loves a good game of ball!

 After the party at the park, we headed home for a quick dinner and Grandma's famous carrot cake before Blake headed to lacrosse and Reese and I headed to school for a Mother's Day tea.  Lindsay and the boys, Mom and Dad and Blake's buddy Dante joined us!

Some downtime before lacrosse!)

Blake's request ... hot dogs!!!

Cutie patooties!!

The final cake of the day :)

 Happy 9th birthday to our boy!  Blake, you make your Dad and I so proud every single day.  We love the young man you are growing into - kind, thoughtful, caring, driven, smart, funny and athletic! You stand up for your friends and aren't afraid to do so.  You have a strong sense of right and wrong and always try to do the right thing. You are a strong student, a wonderful big brother and a great friend!  Love you to the moon and back, our (not so) little man!

 

Adious April!

Well, April has come and gone ... These are the highlights of our month and what we've been up to :)

~ Blake's spent a lot of his free time on the lacrosse field!  I'm not sure if it's called a field or not, I think maybe it's called a court?!  Hmmm ... I better figure that out ;)  He plays box lacrosse (indoors) so maybe it's called a box?!  lol!  That just sounds weird, so probably not a box.  Anyways, he is in his 2nd year of lacrosse and this year moved up to Novice lacrosse (equivalent to Atom hockey).  He's loving it and it is definitely more of a challenge this year, as he is a first year Novice player.  He's happy to be on the same team as some of his friends and teammates from last year and excited that two of his hockey buddies have joined the sport and are on his team!  We're looking forward to the start of the regular season in May!
~ Choir is wrapping up soon.  I think Blake is ready for it to be over, as he's worried about missing baseball or lacrosse for the performance's he committed to ;)  The choir sang at the open house this month.  I really enjoyed watching him but after the performance I had to confirm that he was enjoying himself, as he had a very serious look on his face the entire time.  When I asked him if he had fun, his reply was, "Of course!"  So funny!  Mr. serious was serious about his choir performance ;)  The girls also had a role during the Open House, as they were invited to volunteer in the kinder classroom, answering questions from next year's kindergarten students!  They were so cute and very happy to take on this important role :)
~ Ukrainian Dance will be wrapping up early in May.  Emerson had her 2nd performance at St. Michael's long term care.  She did fabulous in both dances and we loved watching her group and the other groups as well!
~ Reese's class had a TWOS field trip.  I took the afternoon off work to join them and had fun spending 1 on 1 time with Reese, visiting the various areas of the science centre and laughing with Reese! 
~ Cal was invited to attend the Hockey Edmonton banquet, where he and his fellow First Shift coaches were recognized.  It was a lovely evening with friends!  Lindsay and Jeremy babysat for us and the kids had a blast with their Aunt, Uncle and cousins!
~ Blake was invited to play shinny and had fun!  We are really trying to give him a few months break from hockey but he sure had fun being on the ice again!!
~ Baseball practices began and Blake was VERY excited to start!  He loves baseball and was extremely excited to be on the same team as 4 of his classmates. 
~ Cal ran in the First Responders 1/2 marathon.  His cheer squad caught him around the 1/2 way mark for high fives! It was a cold, rainy day but Cal rocked it!!
~ At the end of the month, our Parent Council hosted our 2nd Annual Pasta Dinner and Silent Auction.  It was  a very successful evening, which was celebrated after wards at Brewster's!  Our school community and parent council is so awesome, I'm proud to be a part of it!
~ My parents will soon be home from their vacation and we can't wait!!

Those are a few of the highlights of our April!!  We're looking forward to May and Blake's 9th birthday celebrations, May long weekend camping and hopefully a sunny, warm Spring :)

Talk to 'ya all soon!!

xoxo
Tracy