Owen Update...God is Great!

Update from Owen's Mom....

First and foremost, let me just say again how much we appreciate everyone's thoughts, prayers and support throughout this ordeal!!!! It has helped us so much to know people have been behind us and that we and Owen are so loved! For those of you who haven't heard, we got the most awesome news yesterday, that the mass they saw on the MRI was NOT a tumor as they suspected. The doctor has informed us that it appears to be 'white matter' and is calling it a 'lesion'. In fact, he corrected me when I asked him if the tumor was the reason why Owen was having the seizures. His response was "I'm almost 100% sure that the LESION is the cause of the seizures." As for what happens now we don't really know. He is going to meet with us this afternoon after we get the pathology results back to confirm his preliminary diagnosis. He said if it's white matter they have to determine why it's there and what, if anything, we need to do now. Matt and I both feel very strongly that it is no coincidence that this is the result, but rather that God's hand has been on Owen since this horrible ordeal started and that He has given us a miracle. I'm not sure where many of you are on your faith journeys, but ours has certainly been strengthened to a whole new level with this outcome!!! When we met with Dr. Leonard on Thursday, he was pretty positive that the image they were seeing was a tumor, and told us he had shown the film to 3 other doctors in hopes that one of them would disagree, but they were all in agreement that it did appear to be a tumor. One of the other neurosurgeons we spoke to on Monday before Owen went in for surgery said that based on the MRI and the growth he thought worst case scenario is that it would be a Level 2 Tumor. Honestly my best case scenario I was hoping for was a level 1 tumor, based on our meeting with Dr. Leonard on Thursday. He is a leading neurosurgeon and is very active in R&D, and the dr. we spoke with before O's surgery said he would discuss with us the possibility of saving some of the tumor if we approved so they could use it for research purposes. Of course we were ready to agree to that in order to find answers in hopes of sparing more families of having to go through this nightmare. Anyway, my point is this. Matt and I had everyone we know praying for us, and so many people passed that on to their friends and church families that we believe there were hundreds of people praying for Owen's health and healing, and we believe God answered those prayers. What a glorious day, and it was the BEST birthday present Matt could have ever asked for (yesterday was his b-day).
Anyway, I'll get off my religious soap box now, :), and let you know that Owen is doing well. He has been on morphene for the pain, so he was pretty much out of it all day yesterday. This morning he woke up for probably almost 2 hours and was very alert and in a better mood. He has been a trooper through all of this!!! We have discovered that through all of these MRI's and everything that he is quick to come out of sedation and is MAD when he wakes up. Normal routine coming out of surgery is for them to move the patient to a bed, roll them to recovery and once they move them to the ICU the parents are called back. They called us yesterday and asked us to come into recovery with him because he was fighting mad!! When the picked him up from the operating table to move him to his bed, he REFUSED to lie down, so they had to carry him, kicking and screaming, to the recovery room. The charge nurse in recovery told us when we got back there that they brought him in and put him on the bed to get all his lines hooked up and everything that he "Mopped the floor" with three of her nurses so they decided they better call us back! LOL SHe was laughing about it and actually said it's a very good thing for them to wake up and be active and alert like that. So we got to recovery and I sat on the bed and held him in my lap and he immediately calmed down and relaxed. They ended up rolling us to the PICU with me on the bed holding him. He's been doing great since then though. WE can tell that he is having some pain sometimes, but they are still giving him morphene. Once he starts eating they will switch him to Tylenol with codine for the pain. So far he hasn't had much interest in eating though. We wouldn't even touch the red popcicle they gave him. Today they will be removing the catheter, areterial line and the IV that is in his foot. He'll have one IV in his left hand still so they can administer meds, and they will be taking the bandage off of his head. They only had to shave a small section, so it won't be too noticable. He's moving out of PICU to a regular room today, and if he's eating, peeing and pooping ok they will let us bring him home tomorrow. There's barely any swelling at all. Amazing!

Thanks for all the support...Owen came home today.. :)

Prayer's for Owen

Got an email from my cousin, Lynetta and her little grandson Owen is having surgery Monday morning at 7:30 AM at Children's Hospital in St. Louis. An MRI found a tumor on his brain. She say they are all heartbroken but remain faithful he will have a healthy recovery. Owen is two yrs. old and will turn 3 on the 21st of this month.

Please keep him in your prayers.

Found this on the net...

Sticky fingers ' tangled hair, scattered crayons, everywhere.
Fancy artwork ' on the wall ' drawn by midgets ' three feet tall.
Tell me why ' and tell me how ' that was mine ' I want it NOW!
Fix my bike. Buy me gum. If you have it, I want some.
Dirty faces, grass-stained knees, learning words ' like pretty please.
Endless hugs & goofy wet kisses, learning respect with 'Mr.' & 'Mrs.'
Scraped-up hands, from falling down. Tender tugs - - on my night gown.
Need more paper ' for Santa's letter? I wasn't so bad ' but I've been better.
Watching a movie ' again and again ' Mommy, please ' put the tape back in.
Messy fingers ' hair gone wild ' all in the life ' of a precious child !!
By Debra S. Higginbotham

I am a slacker yesterday Jada Bird turned 5

Been a week of hell at work, had way too many blonde moments and that caused me more work. Hey it is the weekend now so YEAH! Yesterday was Jada's 5th birthday. She is a ray of sunshine, I know she can lift me up with just her smile. Don't you guys agree?
Next here are some links to some videos I finally uploaded. Like I said I am a slacker!

Golfing with Loser on her bday...you might be a redneck if....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1KzER5kbD8&feature=PlayList&p=5CA6D64496819D73&index=0&playnext=1

My visit with Grey...Hey Little man I will return...keep the Miller Lite cold. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwi3sobDMWk&feature=PlayList&p=8FBFA8345E7BF3D9&index=0&playnext=1

Sam...another ray of sunshine even though her and Jada are DOOOOOMED!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t46R9a2XJls

Tune in next week and I will have more from all of Jada Birds parties this weekend.

Later, Peace Out!

I remember...

I remember being at Mom and Dad's cause Loretta and Carrol were coming down. Dad was having a pretty decent day. He watched the Cub game and when Rett and Carrol got there he sat out on the porch with them. I remember Kim bringing him in saying that Grandpa is tired and wants to go lay down. Kim put him to bed. We continued to sit out on the porch visiting. Rett and Carrol headed home. Then shortly after that I headed home. I wasn't home but only a few minutes when I got the call. Dad wasn't breathing so I headed back. When I walked in Dad was on the floor and Mike and his wife were administering CPR. I knew when I walked in that he was gone. Mom gave me a phone and told me to call the others. I couldn't get a signal one on any cell phone and they were on the land line with 911. I wanted to throw the cell phones. The ambulances arrived, one from Cville and one from Sparta. The land line was open and I started calling. Next hours and minutes are a blur. One by one family members arrived. Dad had went in to rest and went peacefully. His fight was over. No more pain from the tumors, although he never complained of any pain at least to Mom or myself. No more radiation, no more chemo. This is the first year that I don't have Mom here to help me through this. 5 years and still hurts like hell. I went to the cemetery this morning. Kim, Candice and the girls went with me. I thank God for them every day, don't know what I would do without them. They make the really hard days, like today bearable. Love my Bird and Turtle, their smiles get me through. A double whammy today, cause it is also Renee's birthday. After we got back from Van, I ran over to Ivan's to check in. He was actually at Sparta so I missed him, but he was keeping busy working on his chimney. I am going to head back over tomorrow. On my way back from Ivan's, I took the scenic route as I call it. It is where I stay off the main roads, traveling down roads I have never been on. The best part is I have the music jamming and thinking of nothing but the music and the good times. The normal 20 minute ride home took about an hour, probably not smart seeing how gas prices are, but what the hell on this day I needed some QT with me myself and I and the music.

Sept. 6
Happy Birthday Renee.

And Dad, I can't believe it has been 5 years. I miss you so much. Love you, from your spoiled rotten brat.

Took some vacation days...

Made it through Mom's birthday, with alot of help from my family and friends. Got to thank my crazy neighbors and my Bird and Turtle, Lady Di for the phone call, Hooker for the text, JJ for the email. We cleaned up the grave site added my present to Mom, then Kim and the girls sang Happy Birthday, sounded beautiful. Then I played some of Mom's favorite songs. We then ventured to the park to eat. Then we went to Sweetbriar to see Mom's best friend Peggy. Her and Mom share the same birthday. Peggy says it best, she always says there is only one Betty, one in a million and she is right. Mom was simply the best. We had a great visit with Peggy then we went to see Aunt Clara Belle and the girls. A tough day ended up being no so tough after all.

Friday went with Brandy, Judy, Bill Jess, Emily and Jimmy to move Jimmy into SIU-C. It was a really good day. Only a few tears were shed. I still can't believe that Jimmy is in college. Seems like yesterday when Brandy was bringing the little red head over to Mom's now he is a freshman in college. The sky is the limit for him, he is so talented.

Saturday was Loser's party. And I was sick. WTF! Took some drugs early then said no more, I treated it with a few Miller Lites. Kim had a good time, everyone did. I was a good day to be around family and friends and have a few, especially when your drinking from Captain Jeremy Morgan's private stock. WAHOO!!!!

Sunday bonded with my couch and some more drugs. No wasn't a hang over the cold/allergies kicked my ass.

Monday...Golf Time! Still felt a little sick, but was determined to go golfing with the birthday girl. We went to the goat ranch. Greens sucked. Played in and out of the sprinklers. Beer was sliding. Weather was fabulous. Great Day!

Tuesday did nothing, ran to Ivan's to get fencing for Kim and that was it. Vacation over work on Wednesday. That sucks.

Enjoy the picks and videos, It was a great couple days.

OH WAIT I FORGOT THE BEST NEWS OF ALL....

Grey's paperwork has all the T's crossed and the I's dotted. He has been a Morgan from day one, it is just all official now. Welcome to the family, Little Man!

Mom's Present

Message for Mom

Plaque on bench at Sweetbriar
Tribute to Mom, from the people at Sweetbriar

Note for Mom

Mamma,
Even though it is only a few minutes passed midnight, I am missing you so bad on this day or night. It’s your birthday and ever since August began I have been dreading this. I knew it would be so hard. Every day this month has been a struggle so far. Trying to keep busy. Even one day decided to switch our beds around. Did OK tearing up my room, especially after my Ipod played An Eagle When She Flies. I have over 6,000 songs on there and it is set to randomly play all songs. I was dusting the candles you gave me and yeah I was tearing up, but when that song started, I don’t know, it normally kills me to hear it but this time it gave me a peaceful feeling. So thanks for still watching out for me. But when I started on breaking down your bed I had to call in the cavalry. Kim and Jada came over to help me. We got it done, thank God for Jada Bird and her smile. She smiles so much when she sees the picture of you and her which ended up being the last picture I took of you, just a few days before you got sick. I switched our beds around and that was about it. Still can’t do much else when I go into your room. Other than sitting in there and thinking and remembering, but I do that throughout my house. I am so grateful that you moved in with me. Yeah we had ups and downs, and I regret the downs. I hope that you knew how much you meant to me, no matter how damn hard headed I was and yeah I still am. I owe everything I have to you and Dad. You were the best and helped me so much. I am heading up to the cemetery today, yeah I have taken a few vacation days, knew I wouldn’t be much good to anybody today. Going to make sure your and Dad’s gravesite looks good. Taking the weedeater and all to get it cleaned up. I got the landscaping all done, just a few more things I want up there. So I will finish this conversation when I get up there. I love you and miss you. Thanks for everything. You are the BEST!!!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!
Love and Miss you like crazy!

Hey guys, check out this video of a great lady. The first song was played at Mom’s services and the first time I heard it way back when I thought of Mom.