This past Monday, September 5th was the 5 year anniversary of when Archie had his brain aneurysm. It is such a miracle that Archie survived and that he is alive today.
We definitely went through a journey during Archie's recovery. Almost a year of our lives was dedicated to his recovery due to all the complications that he encountered. Below are some of the highlights of that year:
- The coiling procedure that didn’t work
- A Craniotomy
- Severe vasospasms that lasted weeks, they even caused him to lose control over
parts of his boy like a stroke - weakness in his face, hands, legs, etc.
- An external shunt
- An internal shunt
- A trip to the hospital in October where infections were found on the shunt so it had to
be removed
- Another external shunt
- A couple more weeks in the hospital while the infection was cleared up
- Another internal shunt
- A trip to the hospital in June with an infection of some sort but no answers so they sent us home
- A trip to the hospital in July because of a staph infection so they pulled the internal shunt again but this time they had to leave a catheter in his head because it had grown attached to scarred tissue and to remove it would cause bleeding
- An external shunt that later was removed because Archie was processing the fluid correctly and no longer needed the shunt.
- A trip to the hospital in August because the catheter had staph on it so Archie had to have another craniotomy to remove the catheter micro surgically
- A PICC line with IV antibiotics that Archie had to carry with him 24/7
I thank God that Archie is alive and well. That event changed our lives forever but
it also made our relationship stronger. We now have a 21 month old little boy and another boy on the way. We appreciated all the prayers that were made on Archie's behalf and I can report that Archie is doing well.
My public announcement that I will say is that if anyone tells you that they have the worst headache they have ever had in their life to go ahead to the hospital to get them checked out. The worst thing you will have to deal with is a hospital bill but it might save someone's life.
Corbin Archie Stewart
Archie and I welcomed our baby boy, Corbin Archie Stewart on November 30, 2014 at 7:28 am. He was 8 lbs. 13 oz. and 20 inches long.
Corbin was born via c-section because he was breeched. I was trying multiple exercises and I even tried acupuncture to try to get him to flip without success. We tried to do an aversion 2 weeks before he was born. Which is were we went to the hospital and my OBGYN and her associate tried to flip the baby in my stomach without any luck. They tried to flip him twice and each time Corbin's heart rate dropped 50 beats so that was the end of that. I got an epidural for the aversion so I wasn't in too much pain, just a sore afterwards. Thankfully I had time to get used to the c-section idea. My pregnancy went well until the end when he didn't flip plus I had some serious cankles. Below is a picture the night before Corbin was born.
Corbin was born via c-section because he was breeched. I was trying multiple exercises and I even tried acupuncture to try to get him to flip without success. We tried to do an aversion 2 weeks before he was born. Which is were we went to the hospital and my OBGYN and her associate tried to flip the baby in my stomach without any luck. They tried to flip him twice and each time Corbin's heart rate dropped 50 beats so that was the end of that. I got an epidural for the aversion so I wasn't in too much pain, just a sore afterwards. Thankfully I had time to get used to the c-section idea. My pregnancy went well until the end when he didn't flip plus I had some serious cankles. Below is a picture the night before Corbin was born.
Sip & See
This weekend was a busy, wonderful weekend. Friday night my friend/co-hostess Schmidtzel came into town and we went to dinner and then shopping. Schmidtzel's birthday is next month and since I will not see her again before then we started her birthday celebration. Afterwards we went shopping and then spent the evening prepping the house.
Saturday morning I got up early and started prepping food. Midmorning Schmidtzel and I went to pick up the cake, pick up food and stopped at a store. When we got home we put the finishing touches on the house.
Schmidtzel, Andrea and myself were hosting the Sip and See for our friend Melissa. A Sip and See is a come and go event you have for a new mother so that friends and family can come meet the new baby and spend some times with the new mom. There was a great turnout for the event and we had a great time. We had a mimosa bar, food and cake.
After the shower Schmidtzel, my sister and I went to go get manicures and pedicures to relax and check out the Kendra Scott store. Afterwards Archie, Schmidtzel and I went out for dinner. Then Schmidtzel and I went home to craft because she fell in love with the wreath I made for the Sip & See and wanted to make wreaths for her daughters. We watched a movie and made two beautiful wreaths.
Saturday morning I got up early and started prepping food. Midmorning Schmidtzel and I went to pick up the cake, pick up food and stopped at a store. When we got home we put the finishing touches on the house.
Schmidtzel, Andrea and myself were hosting the Sip and See for our friend Melissa. A Sip and See is a come and go event you have for a new mother so that friends and family can come meet the new baby and spend some times with the new mom. There was a great turnout for the event and we had a great time. We had a mimosa bar, food and cake.
 |
| The wreath I made for the front door and a gift for Melissa |
 |
| The Mimosa Bar |
 |
| The Yummy Cake |
 |
| My best friends all in one place at the same time, a miracle! |
 |
| The super cute wreaths |
Sunday we got up, went to church and brunch. Then we went home and talked for a while before Schmidtzel headed on her road trip home. That night we had family dinner with my side of the family. Monday I had off for MLK day and was able to sleep in, workout, run errands, clean up the house and do laundry. It was a busy but wonderful weekend!
Happy Freaking 4th Anniversary
Thursday was Archie and I's 4th wedding anniversary. It did not start off very well. When I went to start my car, it would not start. So I went back inside to get Archie to help me jump my car. When I got inside I looked down my the necklace I was wearing was undone and the chain was hanging over my shoulder. My drop from my necklace was missing.
We got my car started but I didn't have time to search for the drop. I was very optimistic that it was somewhere in the house and that I would find it when I got home that night. I went to work and received beautiful flowers from Archie. Over lunch I went to Autozone and found out that my battery was bad but I did have a warranty so I was able to get my battery replaced at no charge.
That night we went to dinner at the Old Warsaw for dinner. I had been there before for a Girls Dinner but Archie had not ever been. We had a great dinner! After dinner we headed home and searched the house for the drop without any luck. I am so bummed! Happy freaking anniversary.
Two Years
Yesterday was the two year anniversary of the day Archie has his brain aneurym. Last month, in August we hit the one year anniversary of Archie's last visit to the hospital and last surgery. So there are a lot of anniversaries to celebrate in the Stewart household lately.
Yesterday I sent Archie a text that "I am thankful you are my husband and my best friend on the anniversary of his aneurysm". Archie is definitely my miracle from God. The fact that he is alive is amazing and such a blessing. I always say that God definitely had a plan-the aneuryms happened when it did and we did not have any animals or kids so that our lives could be focused on his recovery. The saying is that God won't give you anything you cannot handle. Well that was the true test during that 2011 year, below are the challenges Archie overcame:
- Brain aneurysm on 9/5/11
Yesterday I sent Archie a text that "I am thankful you are my husband and my best friend on the anniversary of his aneurysm". Archie is definitely my miracle from God. The fact that he is alive is amazing and such a blessing. I always say that God definitely had a plan-the aneuryms happened when it did and we did not have any animals or kids so that our lives could be focused on his recovery. The saying is that God won't give you anything you cannot handle. Well that was the true test during that 2011 year, below are the challenges Archie overcame:
- Brain aneurysm on 9/5/11
- The coiling procedure that didn’t work
- Craniotomy
- Severe vasospasms that lasted weeks- they even caused him to lose control over part of his body
like a stroke – weakness in his face, hands, legs, etc.
- External shunt
- Internal shunt
- A trip to the hospital October where infections were found on the shunt so it was removed
- Another external shunt
- A couple more weeks in the hospital while we got the infection cleared up
- Another internal shunt
- A trip to the hospital in June with an infection of some sort but no answers
- A trip to the hospital in July because of a staph infection so they pulled the internal shunt again
but this time he had to leave a catheter in his head because it had grown attached to scarred tissue
and to remove it would cause bleeding
- An external shunt that was later removed because he was processing the fluid correctly and there
was not a need for the shunt
- A trip to the hospital in August because the catheter has staph on it so Archie had another
craniotomy to remove the catheter micro surgically
It is humbling and a little crazy to think about everything we went through. I think about the "dark times" and am so thankful that Archie is alive and the same man that I met 10 years ago. Our parents, my sisters and friends were amazing through it being there to support Archie and I through it.
I did want to acknowledge the day. I know it is another anniversary that we will live with for the rest of our lives. Archie is an fantastic man who survived through so much. Happy Anniversary Archie!
Annual BAMM Weekend Trip
We planned our annual BAMM trip for over Labor Day Weekend. Bethany and I were supposed to leave on Thursday night after I got off work but unfortunately the plans early on Thursday night. Bethany's daughter developed a 72 hour virus and the doctor suggested that Bethany stay home since she had been exposed to the virus that is highly contagious. So I left Bethany in Dallas.
Thursday night I headed do to Melissa's house to crash so that I could be closer to our final destination and see her family. I had not met the baby before so I got to snuggle with a baby and see the other kids. I was a nice surprise for Friday morning. After we dropped the kids off, we ran a bunch of errands and ate lunch. We then headed to Katy to run a few more errands.
We made a stop at Babies R Us to get a gift and I became "that person" at checkout, I tried two credit cards and both or them got declined. I looked like the total white trash person trying to use credit cards with no money on them. I then paid cash for the gift when I got a text from one of my credit cards asking if I tried to complete a transaction at Babies R Us. Then the cashier was out of change so we held up the line for another 5 minutes. It was a crazy trip to the store. I then called the other credit card company and there was a fraud hold on that credit card as well. So the moral of the story is if you are traveling out of town (even if it is just 4 hours away) make sure to let your credit card companies otherwise you will be "that person."
We picked up the other Melissa and went to the Omni hotel for our weekend to begin. When we were a couple of blocks away there was a police escort bus parade. Then all of the buses turned into our hotel, it was the hotel where the OSU football team was staying. It was pretty exciting!
There was a sea of orange in the hotel all weekend long. It was great people watching and entertainment.
That night we went to Pappas Burgers for some yummy food. We had planned a surprise baby shower for Melissa since she was 7 months pregnant and this was the first time we were all together. We had the shower stuff in the car so after we got the table I used the excuse that I left my phone in the car while the other Melissa said she had to use the restroom. So I got the diaper cake and presents while Melissa got the cake. So we walked in and said "Surprise". Melissa was totally surprised for sure. Below is a picture of the diaper cake and sweet treats (just ignore the beer because that was for Melissa and I, not the pregnant mama).
Saturday morning we slept in a little and then went downstairs for breakfast. We were the only table in the restaurant that did not have orange on. It was great people watching. After breakfast we went to the pool. We pretty much had the pool to ourselves and we relaxed. I also may have had a couple of adult beverages by the pool.
We then went to the room for lunch of cheese, crackers and grapes. It was the perfect light lunch. We then lounged around the room, talked the afternoon away and even took naps. That night we went to dinner at Brennans. The food was absolutely fabulous! I will definitely have to visit Brennans sometime in the future for sure!
Thursday night I headed do to Melissa's house to crash so that I could be closer to our final destination and see her family. I had not met the baby before so I got to snuggle with a baby and see the other kids. I was a nice surprise for Friday morning. After we dropped the kids off, we ran a bunch of errands and ate lunch. We then headed to Katy to run a few more errands.
We made a stop at Babies R Us to get a gift and I became "that person" at checkout, I tried two credit cards and both or them got declined. I looked like the total white trash person trying to use credit cards with no money on them. I then paid cash for the gift when I got a text from one of my credit cards asking if I tried to complete a transaction at Babies R Us. Then the cashier was out of change so we held up the line for another 5 minutes. It was a crazy trip to the store. I then called the other credit card company and there was a fraud hold on that credit card as well. So the moral of the story is if you are traveling out of town (even if it is just 4 hours away) make sure to let your credit card companies otherwise you will be "that person."
We picked up the other Melissa and went to the Omni hotel for our weekend to begin. When we were a couple of blocks away there was a police escort bus parade. Then all of the buses turned into our hotel, it was the hotel where the OSU football team was staying. It was pretty exciting!
That night we went to Pappas Burgers for some yummy food. We had planned a surprise baby shower for Melissa since she was 7 months pregnant and this was the first time we were all together. We had the shower stuff in the car so after we got the table I used the excuse that I left my phone in the car while the other Melissa said she had to use the restroom. So I got the diaper cake and presents while Melissa got the cake. So we walked in and said "Surprise". Melissa was totally surprised for sure. Below is a picture of the diaper cake and sweet treats (just ignore the beer because that was for Melissa and I, not the pregnant mama).
Saturday morning we slept in a little and then went downstairs for breakfast. We were the only table in the restaurant that did not have orange on. It was great people watching. After breakfast we went to the pool. We pretty much had the pool to ourselves and we relaxed. I also may have had a couple of adult beverages by the pool.
That night we got back to the hotel and met some guys on the way in the door. There were four guys with 21 beer cups. Needless to say, they were entertaining and that led us to decide to hang out downstairs and people watch the OSU fans, free entertainment.
Sunday morning we slept in, packed up and then headed to brunch. We hit a diner in Katy called Snappys after the original brunch place we picked out was packed. Then we dropped Melissa off before heading to the other Melissa's house. I then hopped in my car and headed home. It was a wonderful weekend with the girls although we definitely missed Bethany, the BAMM weekend became AMM weekend this year.
Archie's Nemesis
When we bought our house four years ago I was excited because we had a big tree in our front yard. It was the tree that was planted when the house was built. Little did I know that the tree that I was excited about would become Archie's nemesis. Anytime a storm would come through or the wind blew a tree limb of some sort would end up in the yard. It went from a big beautiful tree to a broken, horrible looking tree. Over the years, Archie has tried a few different techniques to kill the tree from cutting out roots to cutting off limbs. Well he finally decided to get the a quote from an arborist to cut down the tree and grind the stump. Well when it came down to time to cut down the tree the arborist found this......
The tree was sick with a fungus. It would have eventually died so he was glad he got it taken down. My request with cutting down the tree was to replace the tree with another since that was the only tree on our property. Below is a picture of our cute new oak tree. Like my dad said, our house looks a lot younger now. I must say that I like our new tree!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)