Well let's see - so much has happened since my last post! No, I am not pregnant... (I'll just get that out of the way right now since that is the conclusion most people jump to) LOL.

The first thing that has happened is I have enrolled back in college. This is something that I have personally wanted to do for quite a while and it was just exacerbated when I turned "30" back in March. It is as if something clicked and I knew it was now or never. I had to finish and wanted to finish. After much discussion with my husband and research on schools, I have enrolled in Western Governor's University which is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

They are not-for-profit which is very important to me (having worked in Financial Aid for a "for-profit" school in the past - no bueno), they are Regionally accredited (again, working for a Nationally accredited school and seeing the difference in how those types of degrees are perceived makes a difference), and they offer support and mentoring weekly or bi-weekly throughout the entire process. It's like having my own cheerleader and assistant all in one. My mentor calls each week and we talk and she asks how I am, and what my plans are for my studies for the week. Additionally, it is a competency based university. This means if I learn a topic sooner than the term end date, I can test out of it when I want to. If I take the pre-assessment at the beginning of a course and pass, and I know the material, I can schedule my final assessment right there and test out of the class. This will help me graduate much sooner than anticipated. I am already about to test out of my first class, Organizational Behavior and Leadership. I have been in it for three weeks but with my industry knowledge and consistent studying - I know the material. I have setup my own office in the guest room. I have my goals printed out in front of me on the wall and also a dry erase board with my goal dates and study schedule for my classes (those were added after the photo below).

I have the full support of not just my husband but my kids! Bradley loves that I am back in college and wants to help me in every way he can with the "difficult math" part (I really don't like algebra - at all). Jacob recognizes when I am in the office studying and only comes to get me if he really needs something (for the most part - sometimes he just needs a hug, which is fine with me)! It has been great so far and I am enjoying being back in school and working towards my degree.

The second thing that has happened is that I finally, reluctantly had to get all my wisdom teeth extracted on May 17th. It was expected but unexpected at the same time. I am in my fourth day of recovery and so far it hasn't been too horribly bad. Is there pain? Yes. I am not going to lie and say it is all rainbows and unicorns! For years (yes, years) I realized now in hindsight that I had been in constant pain every day with headaches that I just attributed to life and stress. With the two wisdom teeth now gone (I only had two that ever developed on my upper jaw, my lower ones never developed - yay) I realized that the pain may have been caused by them and the below cartoon illustrates perfectly why:

That's my wisdom teeth on both sides. They came in fine but they wanted to push into the second molars I had on BOTH sides. This was causing pain not so much in the tooth at first but in my upper jaw which I thought was - my head. I can't express the pressure that was removed from my sinus/ear/head area when the teeth were removed. It was strange but I guess I never thought that my wisdom teeth could have been causing so many issues when I had thought they grew in fine. 

The reason they had to be extracted all of a sudden was because my left upper wisdom did begin hurting last week - a lot. I made a dentist appointment for today actually, but by Saturday I woke up with a throbbing pain in my tooth and a severe headache. The pain was so bad all my anxiety and fear of the dentist went out the window! Hans had taken the kids to McDonald's for breakfast and I called him and told him I was taking his car and going to a dentist I had found in Altamonte Springs, FL to check me out and if necessary pull the tooth. I had called several Lake Mary dentists and none had any availability at that moment. I then called Dr. David Hazan, DMD and his secretary said he could see me right then. So, in the car I went for the 25 minute drive. When I got there, I was checked in and Dr. Hazan took a set of X-Rays which confirmed that I had a nice size chip in my top left wisdom tooth that had happened and that is what was causing the issue. On top of that, both wisdom teeth had to be pulled because of the above "illustration": Where I thought they came in fine, they only partially came in and part was still pushing against my other molars and (he said) was a great deal of the cause of my daily pain. Without hesitation, I called Hans and told him I was getting those teeth pulled. He was so worried and wanted to see if I needed him there but I was composed and told him I would be okay. 

(Don't worry this did not happen, LOL)

I laid back in the dentist chair and the honest to God worst part was the shot of Novocain. That needle hurt so bad and he jammed it right up against my jaw bone on both sides. After that kicked in I was okay other than well, the fear. I was composed until he announced it was time to remove them. I felt a lot of pressure but zero pain. Before I knew it he had the right one out. Then he went onto the left and again, a lot of pressure and before I knew it he was done. The whole process from Novocain to the second extraction took maybe 10 minutes. He then put a bunch of gauze on the areas and gave me some prescriptions for pain and antibiotics and sent me home. I rested a lot on Saturday and Sunday, and was back at work yesterday (and in a little pain). Today I woke up with a headache and facial/jaw pain but nothing that two Advil couldn't cure. I am still having to eat soft foods and soup which is the most annoying part! Other than that - I am so happy they're gone.

What else has happened? Oh! Bradley had Strabismus Eye Surgery on April 24th. The surgery took just under an hour and corrected an "eye crossing" problem with his left eye that he has had since he was 5. He always wore glasses since then and they had been working, but with his age and hormones and growing up so fast his eye muscles couldn't keep up anymore. Thus, the glasses stopped working and surgery was the only real option. The surgery was a huge success and the eyeglass prescription he has now is almost nonexistent. In fact, he can see almost perfect without glasses and when he has them off, his eye no longer turns at all. Praise the Lord. 

(Brad on his way to his 8th Grade Dance)

Also, speaking of my oldest - Bradley turned 14 on May 3rd! He has become such an amazing young man and is so smart. Recently at school he received the Silver Medal award for holding a consistent 3.50-3.74 GPA in his Pre-IB and Gifted program classes for his entire 8th grade year. We are so incredibly proud of him, how he is growing up, and all that he continues to accomplish. He loves his family, he cherishes his friends, and loves the Lord and our church we have been attending. He has a servant's heart and I know he will do great things in his life. I just have that "mommy instinct". It is also so hard to believe that he is starting high school in the Fall. Time flies...!

(Brad walking away after receiving his award)

That is all the updates I have for now. I will be posting more later! 

-Kim

Bradley is HOME!

I am writing to you this morning from the comfort of my sofa… which means that Bradley was discharged! YAY!

Following the surgery Bradley had not been able to really eat or keep any food down. Wednesday evening the doctor determined that Bradley’s lack of appetite and nausea was due to the morphine drip that he was on. So he made the wise decision to take him off of that and simply put him on oral Tylenol w/ Codeine, as this is what he was to be on when he comes home, anyway. Bradley wasn’t in a whole lot of pain anyway so he was fine with that. Plus, I know he wanted to eat, he was just scared because everytime he did he felt like he was going to be sick! L

So, that evening they made the switch. Within a few hours, Bradley polished off two small slices of pepperoni pizza, a corndog, and a cup of milk! The doctor said that if he can eat a good breakfast on Thursday morning and keep it down, then he can go home. Yesterday morning Brad had six “French toast” sticks, two slices of bacon, and a glass of milk – so the doctor bid us farewell and sent us on our way! We cleaned up at the Ronald McDonald house where we had been staying, and then we made the haul back to Lakeland – it took just over an hour, not too bad. We got home yesterday at about 1:30pm.

I just wanted to thank all of  you for your kind words, emails to Bradley, cards, and all around love and support. I know that is what has helped him to recover so nicely and he definitely enjoys each and every email & card he receives. He is sleeping right now but yesterday was able to have a couple friends over and laugh & giggle with them (while in bed of course), and that made my day. I know he will be just fine.  J

Thanks again & God bless each and every one of you,

The Reller Family

Surgery Day - Evening Edition

Well, surgery day has almost come and gone, and Bradley did GREAT. Thank the Lord!

We arrived at the hospital a bit early to look around, then decided at 1:30pm to see if it was OK to go ahead and check in. It was, so we went ahead and did that. Soon after, a nurse came and we all were able to go back with Brad for his pre-op physical and medical history review. Then, we met with his DR who advised how long the procedure would take and what we can expect. After meeting with him, we met with the anesthesiologist and two other nurses that were  going to be a part of the procedure. Bradley asked a lot of questions and they were all wonderful and answered them all to put his mind at ease. They gave him a dose of Tylenol to help with the "after surgery" headache he may get. The doc was ahead of schedule so at 3:00pm my sweet boy was wheeled back to the operating room and I kissed him goodbye.

I cannot tell you how slow the two hours he was in surgery went. I read a magazine and talked with Hans & played with Jacob. My mom & her friend Dean met us up here for the last half of the wait and that was by far the worst. I kept wondering, "shouldn't he be done?" and just before the two hour mark, one of the nurses came back to tell us that he did great and that the doctor was just finishing up and he would be moved to recovery. Shortly after he in fact was, and then once he was coherent they came out, told us what his room number would be, and that we can go wait for him up there and he would be there with us in about five minutes.

When I saw Bradley wheeled into the room, I was mixed with a sense of relief that he was here and alright, but also teared up a bit because I know that he was uncomfortable. The incision site that they showed me was far larger than I was told or had anticipated. I was initially told about 2" or so and my baby has about a 4-5" cut along the lower part of his tummy. Luckily, they did give him a morphine drip and he showed me how well he knows how to push that button! One click, and he is o-u-t. He has been asleep most of the evening. He woke up to see me & grandma (Hans & Jake had to leave for the night to sleep), and then our Pastor John & his wife Sharon came by, along with our good friend Kim's parents, Jack & Dianne. He was up for them, too. But after that he just went back to sleep.

Thank goodness he is alright. Sore and uncomfortable, yes. But he is here. Safe. Alive.

I am going to "sign off" for now and try to catch some rest before the nurse comes in and checks his vitals again. I'll try and update more tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for all the prayers and support, it really means the world to us.

God Bless,
The Rellers

Surgery Day - Morning Edition

Well, the day has finally arrived - Brad's day that he has his ureter reimplantation surgery. We got a call last Friday from the hospital and his surgery is scheduled to begin at 3:30pm, which is about three and a half hours from now. However, we have to be at the hospital at 2:00pm to check-in. At that point he will have a physical and then we will meet with the anesthesiologist and the doctor so they can tell us what to expect.

We are staying at the Ronald McDonald House in St. Petersburg, with is literally one block from All Children's Hospital. This way, we can both alternate staying with Bradley in the hospital, and staying with & entertaining Jacob while Brad has the surgery and recovers. We checked in here last night, and the people and the place is simply amazing. Last night Seminole United Methodist Church came here and prepared a ginormous Easter dinner for all the families staying here. There was more food and desserts than any of us could possibly eat in one (or two) sittings! There was turkey, ham, fried chicken, lasagna, and all the trimmings you could think of. Then for dessert they had cookies, pineapple upside down cake, banana pudding, brownies... the list goes on and on! The people here are so welcoming and we are thankful that there is a place like this to where we can be right by Bradley and still feel like we are at home.



This morning we took it pretty east. Actually, we took it realllllly easy. We decided that since we are so close to the water and are literally in downtown St. Petersburg, that we would break out Jacob's stroller and our walking shoes and just go and walk through downtown and explore the place. We came across spectacular condos that line the downtown sky, old brick taverns tucked away between homespun coffee houses and bistros, and then my favorite - we found a gelato shop. Oh my word. If it wasn't 9:00am, I would have ordered a chocolate hazelnut waffle cone of the fabulousness... and quickly! But, I was a good girl, had a sample and said I would "come back later" (which I definitely plan to before I leave!). We also went to the St. Pete Pier and watched the sunlight cascading over the Gulf of Mexico. There were crazy huge pelicans there and you could feed them (by purchasing fish from a little bait shop on the coastline), but we opted not to. There had to be at least 30 of the birds! They were harmless, but Bradley wanted nothing to do with them.

Right now we are back at the RMDH and Brad is next to me watching some music videos on YouTube, while I am updating this for all to read. He is taking this so well right now. He has moments of fear and worry, but they quickly pass when Hans & I assure him that he is in good hands - God's hands. For now, we are relaxing until two hours from now when we arrive for check-in and the chaos begins. I plan to update more tonight. Until then, please keep us in your thoughts & prayers.

God Bless,
The Rellers (Hans, Kim, Brad, & Jake)

Weigh In: Week Nine! (and other miscellaneous what-nots...)

Alright... to start things off, let's get right to the weigh in so that *everyone* knows how we are doing (everyone as in, all three people that read this, I think... haha).

I lost 1.6 more pounds this past week, putting my total weight loss at 13.8 pounds. Hans evened out and therefore he is still at losing an amazing 18.8 pounds!

I am so thrilled with my weight loss. I am 3.2 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight with Jacob, and 11.2 pounds from my "goal" weight. I am almost there! Victory is close... and I should be there by Summer - aka "bikini" season. :)

As far as the other happenings in the Reller household, they mainly include getting everything together for Bradley's surgery on April 5 (can we say endless sea of FMLA paperwork?!), finishing his Science fair project for this year ("Will Salt, Sugar, or Spices [aka Cinnamon] Affect Plant Growth?" - due 3/26), running to/from church, getting Jake a new "big boy" bed (thank goodness he loves it and therefore, transition was smooth as silk!) work, gym, eat, sleep, repeat. I feel like I barely have time to sit still, which is my "excuse" for the ridiculously late update here.

On a side note, my other project (thanks to this past week's MOPS meeting) is organizing my house. Mainly my kitchen at this point. So far I have purchased a utensil holder for the counter by my stove (somehow I think I may have been the only person on the planet who did not have one), and a holder that was put on the back of my pantry door to hold plastic bags, aluminum foil/saran wrap/wax paper and the like. I also found an amazing deal on a separate cabinet/pantry for my kitchen similar to this one, and the best part is I found it on Craigslist - for $10! The lady was moving and she wanted to get rid of it, so I happily took it off her hands! Now I have some place to put my fruits, bread, and other baking items other than on top of my counter and therefore, declutterizing! (Feel free to share the word with your friends, LOL).

Also, yesterday was my birthday, and therefore I now the ripe, old age of 26. Does it feel any different, you ask? Nope. In my mind I still feel like I am 20. Haha!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week - and maybe over the next couple days or so I will update periodically what is going on here and not everything. All at once. Once a week! :)

Til next time, I leave you with a picture of Jakers in his new bed, sleeping... Zzz Zzz Zzz Zzz...

 

My Brad-Monkey and the Case of the Uncooperative Right Kidney!

...Well really, it isn't so much "the right kidney" as it is the valve that connects the ureter from the bladder to the kidney.

Let me explain.

My oldest, my awesome, smart, wicked cool Brad-Monkey began having some pain when urinating last November. I figured he may have a urinary tract infection (since I have had one of those stinkin' little devils before), so I took him to the pediatrician who confirmed it. No big deal, was sent home with antibiotics and we were good to go for about two weeks or so.

Then, the UTI came back! Poor baby.

Back to the doctor we went, and this time more antibiotics ensued, but before we left, he set us up with an ultrasound at Lakeland Regional Medical Center as a precaution to make sure all plumbing works correctly, and that there is nothing wrong causing the UTI's and that this is all a fluke. OK no problem! End of November, ultrasound was done. UTI was gone and had stayed gone, so I thought this was all just a "waste of time". My boy was fiiiiineeee. Fine-O-fine.

Ultrasound results came back to his pediatrician - he has a duplicate collection chamber in his right kidney. Say what? I asked the pediatrician what this meant, he said usually nothing at all, just a medical fluke, only meant that he has two collection chambers for fluid in his kidney instead of one. We will go ahead and use this little guy as our guide for the next set of "explanations":

So, his pediatrician wanted us to follow up with a pediatric urologist - to be on the safe & clear side. Okay! So, next appointment set... We are now at February 2nd, 2010, because that is the soonest that I could get with this particular doctor that he referred us to. We saw him after he himself arrived an hour late to the appointment and he agreed that Brad did have a duplicate chamber, but he wanted to make sure that when the urine collects in his bladder and he urinates, that the fluid does not shoot back into - or "reflux" - into the kidney, causing infection. He then ordered what is called a "VCU" test. This was done on February 19th at St. Joseph's Hospital - and lets just say Brad was not happy. At. All. Catheter + 9 year old boy = not a fun experience. The test involved placing a catheter in, filling his bladder with "blue dye" and then taking many x-rays to see what the fluid did & went. Took all of a half hour, then a stop to Dairy Queen for my big guy and we were on our way home. Results would not be known until our next appointment with the urologist, which was yesterday...

*sigh*

The whole time I told myself "Brad is fineeee", he wasn't. As it turns out, the fluid does come back into his kidney and collects, due to a non-functioning valve in the right kidney's ureter that connects to his bladder. This is what has been causing the multiple UTI's. What threw me (and Bradley) back was when the doctor said that "Not to worry, we'll just do surgery and it will be corrected". What? Surgery? I had no idea that this was at that level of seriousness. Speaking of levels... the type severity of the reflux is scored in levels, or grades, measuring from Grade I (not serious, barely any reflux at all) to Grade 5 (major, severe reflux, ER type situation). Brad's severity measured between a 3 and 4. So, this is why he has to have surgery.

Talk about a wake-up "stop the presses, what just happened here" call.

To top it all off, the doctor said the "S" word (surgery) in front of my Brad-Monkey. My first born. He immediately began freaking out, crying, thinking he was going to die (he wasn't). The doctor was great with him when he saw his anxiety and answered all his questions ("Am I going to feel anything? Are you going to cut me open? How much? Where? Will I have a scar?What tools are you going to use?" Yes, he asked what tools the doctor was going to use. He's too smart for his own good.) When he was done with the questions, he just wanted to know where/when/how long, and wanted to talk to other people who have had surgery to find out how it works and what happens because honestly, Hans & I have never been "put under" for any type of procedure.

When I got through talking to the doctor today, asking the questions I didn't want to ask in front of Brad & scare him, this site basically sums up all that I learned about the procedure he is going to have done. http://www.ucsfchildrenshospital.org/education/ureteral_reimplant_surgery/index.html

And so it begins... yesterday and today I researched the different hospitals that we could have the surgery done at, and we settled on having the procedure done at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL. The new facility just opened January 9, so everything is brand-spankin' new. Each room has a 42" LCD TV, games/Disney Channel/Nickelodeon, phone, sleep area for the parents, and filtered internet on the TV for Brad. Plus, a 2nd floor rooftop play area & ICEE machines (yep, only the best, haha), video games, and a breakfast cart that comes around each morning that they can take whatever they want from, and however much that they want - donuts, eggs, bacon, toast, etc...! Here are some photos I found online:

  

The surgery is scheduled for Monday, April 5, 2010, time still unknown - they will call me the Friday before to let us know what time to be there. He will be in the hospital at least until Wednesday, maybe Thursday. Afterward, he will be out of school until the following Wednesday or Thursday. I have already applied for FMLA at work, and Hans has four weeks vacation saved (wow!), so he is taking off two weeks. 

I will definitely be keeping everyone posted, and ask that all of you add us to your prayers. We can use them! This is going to be a rough few weeks.

Thanks!

The Reller Family