Grant's Journey

This post needs to be prefaced with a few facts. #1. I am a geek. I will fully admit it. #2. I am a total germaphobe. Grant's needs have created this in me. I now fully embrace the title and take it upon myself to do this crazy experiments, and then share my findings with all of you. You're welcome. :) Ok, here is a little back story. I have been using essential oils for a few years now. It started as an attempt to help boost Grant's limited immune system and try to keep him out of the hospital. I started to use more and more when I saw the positive results that they had for our family. Over the last few years, I have developed a decent oils collection and am a total oils junkie. I have wanted to see if cleaning with essential oils would be a good option for our family, but I am INCREDIBLY hesitant to believe all the posts on Pinterest that give "recipes" for natural cleaners that use about 20 drops of oil to 8+ounces of water. I believe in the potency of oils...

Oops. Has it really been another 10 months without a blog update? Please accept my apologies and let me know if you would like to have access to our family blog that is updated more frequently! In the last month, I have been connected to a few new heart families who have told me that Grant's blog has been a source of comfort and inspiration to them. It has spurred me to remember that even though Grant is doing great, keeping a small update here and there is very important! This blog has continued to be kept as a means for medical updates throughout Grant's life, as I document the day to day stuff on our family blog. So, get ready for a little overview of the last 10 months! Grant is now 4 years old. Back at Christmas time, my mother in law got the boys matching outfits for church. Unfortunately, Grant picked up a nasty respiratory virus in November, and another in December. He had a cardiology check up in December and he was still fighting the residual effects of both virus...

Oh boy. We certainly have some catching up to do since my last post on Grant's blog was from February! Oops! We have had some big things happening around here... Mr. Grant turned three way back in March. He had a Curious George party with his grandparents and made us all laugh. Grant got a little brother in May. He wasn't really very pleased to have him here, but after a few weeks of refusing to acknowledge that baby Miles even existed, he had a change of heart. Grant asks daily when Miles will be big enough to play toys with Grant. We have really enjoyed summer. Grant has had many trips to the zoo, the pool, the park, playdates, and general summer fun. Kyle has been working tons of hours at work and going to school for his MBA in the evenings, so we thoroughly enjoyed the 8 weeks he had off this summer. School starts again next week and Grant and I will both be going through some serious withdrawal. Grant got to play with cousins and hammed it up for this little im...

Today marks the kick off of Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week which is held every year from February 7-14. In years past (see 2009 , 2010 , and 2011 ) I have shared some pictures and statistics about CHD's and their prevalence. This year, I have not taken the time yet for our typical CHD photo shoot, and I figure if you have been following Grant's blog this long, you are probably more aware than most about congenital heart defects. Instead, I will link to a few different blogs that are highlighting some families journey's with CHD's. These two blogs are sharing lots of stories this week. http://whenlifehandsyouabrokenheart.blogspot.com/ http://pinterest.com/ruth_h/the-faces-of-chd-congenital-heart-awareness-week-f/ In the heart community, we are sharing these stories to hopefully make a difference. If one more expecting mother can go into an ultrasound and hear the dreadful words, "There is something wrong with your babies heart..." and som...

If I had a scanner, I would scan in the sweet little ultrasound pictures we have of baby boy #2, but I don't and so this will be picture less. Sorry. The good news makes up for lack of pictures. Our fetal echo last weekend was fabulous. I knew we were in for good news when for the first time on an echo, I was able to identify normal cardiac anatomy. We have only ever seen echo's done on Grant's heart and they are so far from normal that I was really excited to see what an echo "should" look like! We could identify before Dr. Pinto came in with her official report (the tech's aren't allowed to share anything while they scan) that baby had all four normal sized chambers, all four valves were functioning as they should be without regurgitation, the great arteries were in correct placement, and the major veins returned in a the top of the right atrium. YEAH! We didn't even make it as far as the "bad news room" because Dr. Pinto could tell that we...

This little man is going to make one awesome big brother. Oh, you hadn't heard the news? I am sorry. Pregnancy has put blogging on the back burner!!! I realized this evening that I never shared our news on Grant's blog, so better late than never. I am due at the end of May and an ultrasound at 18 weeks showed that we are having another sweet little boy. I can't wait. I decided to share a little on here since the decision to add to our family after our first having such a rough road was truly scary. I know that many other heart families share this difficult decision and understand the fear and uncertainty that come with it. Kyle and I don't have any family history for heart defects. I was not taking any medications during my pregnancy with Grant. I truly believe that Grant needed to be a part of our family and the lessons he teaches us are just beginning. With that said, I still worry. We have one heart kiddo and that increases the likelihood that we may have another. H...

There have been a few big things going on over here... Grant crashing his Aunt Melissa's Engagement Photo Session a  few weeks back.. stinker! If you have ever lived in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, or Montana, you might have heard of a little thing called Pennies by the Inch. Here is what the press release has to say about it "Salt Lake City, UT – The average penny in circulation lasts about 25 years. However, a penny donated to Pennies by the Inch can last many lifetimes – representing thousands of children who receive life-saving treatment at Primary Children’s Medical Center each year. From September 15 to October 15 thousands of volunteers will go door-to-door asking friends and neighbors to donate to Pennies by the Inch, benefitting children at Primary Children’s Medical Center. Pennies by the Inch continues an 87-year tradition of providing medical care for children. Children once donated Birthday Pennies in a bank that resembled Primary Children’s Hospital....