Children's Miracle Network Radiothon!

Raidiothon with KXY Radio for Children's Miracle Network. Kannon and myself were helping raise money for OU Chilren's Hospital by telling KXY listeners all about Kannon and how much of a Miracle he is to us. Other families also took part in the week long event. In total we raised $105,350.29!

OMG.

So I had to share---because I want stuff like this to CHANGE. So this is a word to all moms, and nurses, and not to mention...Doctors out there. Kannon had his MRI today on his cervical and thoracic spine. After going through the whole spill on how special Kannon is...diet stipulations...medications details....seizures...he needs extra watching, etc, etc. They took us both to the MRI room, put Kannon under and let me kiss him goodbye. Then 2 hours later....COMPLETELY UNAWARE that they were going to FISH to get an IV...anyway...this is what I came back to....

right elbow.

left hand.

Inside of the left hand.

left elbow.

right foot.

left foot.

back of the right hand.

Inside of the right hand.

IF. YOU. CAN. ONLY. IMAGINE. HOW. ANGRY. I. WAS.

One Year Ago...

On November 7, 2010 we all lost someone very special. Our mom....Everyday is a battle still without her. We love and miss her so much and it's hard to fathom that it's already been one year. One WHOLE year. Her smile, her laugh, her comfort, her compassion, and her positivity all remain a memory to us. So I have posted some videos to help people remember our beautiful and sweet angel. We all love and miss you so much Mom. We know you're watching over us :)

Halloween Pictures!

Kannon had a blast trick-or-treating this year! By the time we made it to the third house he was already snoozin! So good thing we took him the day before to a Carnival the city was hosting, because he was awake for the entire thing! He also got to go to a carnival at J.D. McCardy Center that they put on for all the kids---he was the cutest puppy ever! I hope everyone else had a blast dressing up their kids like Zach and I did. Here are some pictures of our festivities! Happy Halloween everyone!

A Future with Hope

"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you." Jeremiah 29:11-12

I have always wondered, and sometimes even guessed what Kannon's future will be like. I think about all kinds of things any other parent typically thinks about their kids. What kind of school he will attend, what kind of friends he will have, or if he will be able to talk, walk, or even run someday. I even think about the bad things, and wonder if he's going to be bullied at all--and trust me, I can worry myself sick over that one. As a mom I want to do what any other mom would do and protect them from any harm. At the same time there is also a very fine line between protection and potential. I want Kannon to have all access to becoming the best at everything he does....As we know Kannon was in ICU for two weeks. I can't explain how scary it was to have Dr's and Nurses tell you so many things about what Kannon's future holds. Let's put it this way, nothing was left on a positive note. But I can share some advice... special needs, or not, child, or adult--one thing that needs to always remain first in your mind after having someone tell you something similar to that, is that there is only one person that knows anything about what the future holds, and that's the man upstairs. After leaving the hospital they started Kannon on a BiPAP machine for 10 hours (at night) and I can't begin to explain the drastic turn around he has had. He visited 3 people on Monday, all who listened to his lungs, and all of them had only one thing to rave about, and it was how well his lungs sounded. "This is the best he has ever sounded to me." Said his pediatrician. Kannon has tons more energy, his seizures have decreased to about 2 a day, he is trying to hold up his head again, and is even trying to stand up on his own! He is also gaining weight because he is not working so hard to breathe, therefore he isn't burning so many calories. So we are thrilled for what Kannon's future holds, we know that faith and encouragement are key. And despite what everyone else has told us...we believe that God is in control. He made Kannon to show and teach the world to believe in miracles, believe in the future, and to have hope. And Zach and I are blessed that He chose us to be a part of it. Thanks for the prayers everyone, they are working!

Kannon Update--ICU

Hey everyone! First of all I want to thank all of those who prayed their little hearts out for Kannon...a HUGE thanks! Please keep them coming! Kannon seems to be a little better today, but we aren't out of the clear just yet. This will be a short post, but it's easier for me to update everyone all at once rather than individually. Kannon got pneumonia and worse came to worse and landed him in ICU. The Dr. initially considered intubating him, but we tried something called vapotherm first. Which delivers 100% oxygen at a higher flow with warm humidity. Dr also said it would help Kannon expand his lungs and take in deeper/larger breaths. This morning things have started to look better. His chest x-ray looked better than the one from lastnight. However, the pneumonia is still in both lungs. The Dr is thinking Kannon will be there for at least 2 maybe 3 more days. Lastnight the Dr. thought things would get worse before better. But hopefully Kannon's progress today has proved him wrong. They have put him on two stong antibiotics which seem to be helping. They increased his seizure medication as well. This afternoon, Kannon started to get swollen all over so they are giving him albumin (a protein) and a diuretic to make him get rid of all the fluid through his unrine. He has yet to spike a fever (which is normal for Kannon, he never does!) So that's all I have at the moment. I will try and keep everyone updated. Don't forget to pray for him....such a little guy, but such a BIG fighter! Thanks everyone! Oh and his face looks red in the picture, because one of the antibiotics can cause them to turn red ("Red Man" the nurse calls it) so no need to be alarmed! :)

Angels Among Us

I have always been fascinated by angels. Some people might not believe in them, and some people do...but along our journey Zach and I have always had this "sixth sense" if you want to call it that...that someone is watching over us. We have had many quirky situations that have stunned and even surprised us...good surprises. For instance, I am going to share a story that I haven't shared with many, but to this day I dwell on how AMAZING God is for showing us his presence in another. I know that God appears in many different forms to those who believe. So that being said let me tell you my story. Kannon had just started his ketogenic diet. VERY strict, no sugar, all fat, and very regimented. There was no deviating from the diet. In fact everywhere he goes, he comes with a folder that lists all the things that in an unfortunate event of having to go to the hospital that they don't start injecting sugars in his body. He can't have chapsticks with any flavor (which I had just bought a whole package of Skittle flavors for him to keep in tune with tastes). He uses all natural tooth paste and given the event of needing any medications it all has to come in tablet form and crushed with water---no flavors. Flavor=Sugar and Sugar=Seizures just to be straight forward. We had been back from Houston for about 4 days (almost 2 weeks of being on the diet). Then I realized that Kannon's formula which we weigh and mix ourselves everyday was almost gone (It was a Friday afternoon). So I called to see if we are still supposed to be expecting our shipment to be in that day, and they told me that it couldn't be there until Monday. A whole weekend? Kannon can't just go back and forth on and off the diet, that's crazy. This isn't stuff you could just go buy...and I was so confused on what to do. So I called Kannon's dietician in Houston and explained the problem and she couldn't believe it was going to take that long to ship (but due to this formula not being very common I guess there were complications that took up precious time). So she told me that she would overnight some that they had in the hospital. So I was just praying it would get there in time of him needing some more. So we hung up the phone and I KID YOU NOT---someone banged on the door. I sat Kannon down which took a couple of seconds before making it to the door. Then, when I opened the door there was a package, and the delivery guy was already in the truck, driving off and waving at me. I'm instantly back tracking trying to remember what I ordered. I looked at the box and there was nothing on it to tell me where it came from. I opened it up and there it was--one can of Kannon's formula which would last me through the weekend! Talk about expedited shipping! God is GOOD :)