tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26629718884162680762024-02-07T10:13:34.303-08:00Cmac's BlogThe blog about the random thoughts and adventures of my family and me. Since my wife and I are going to be new parents soon; I thought this would be a good way to share our (or maybe my) experiences through this adventure.C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-36569691142277182932008-12-10T18:47:00.000-08:002008-12-10T19:48:45.115-08:00Holidays are here againThe holidays are here again, and usually they just come and go without much memory. This Thanksgiving for our family was special for several reasons. This is the first Thanksgiving my wife and I have had as new parents, my wife got to come home for the first time in five months riding in a car, and we got to spend it at our house with the family. Shawnda got to spend time in the nursery with the C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-18079555385945371822008-09-15T12:21:00.000-07:002008-09-15T12:31:51.539-07:00Long time...A lot has happened over the post several weeks. My wife has been discharged from long-term care, to acute rehab. She is doing well, but since she has been in bed for so long, had to be discharged to another facility where she will be to get stronger. She is in very good spirits, and now has acquired a telephone. She is making her calling rounds, so you may be getting a call very soon out of C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-48272747394503934422008-08-13T21:49:00.000-07:002008-08-13T22:05:31.837-07:00Quick updateIt has been a while since I have been able to post an update, but believe me, a lot has happened since the last post. Probably the biggest, and in my opinion most exciting news is that my wife has been discharged from the neurosurgical unit at UAB. We have moved on to a long-term care facility to do rehab. The staff at the hospital has a very aggressive plan for getting my wife to the point C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-76620357700119436862008-08-03T22:05:00.000-07:002008-08-03T22:31:52.107-07:00All so fastIt's been a busy week, and a lot of things have happened. Many prayers have gone up on our family's behalf, and God has shown us the power in His word. On Friday, I got a rather strange phone call from my sister. We were both at the hospital that evening, and it was pretty late, so I thought she needed to relay some information from the doctors. What she told me is that my wife was saying "C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-84487554532751418472008-07-23T19:47:00.001-07:002008-07-23T23:57:39.567-07:00Step closerGOD IS SO GOOD!!! The past couple of weeks have been really exciting. My wife is more alert now, and able to move both hands. She continues to get stronger each day. There are pictures of both the girls in her room that she looks at constantly. I can't wait until she can tell me which one she thinks looks like her. The day won't be very far away because it was just announced that she is going to C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-44740266183745893292008-07-16T13:59:00.000-07:002008-07-16T14:40:49.921-07:00HealingThe last week has been very busy. We were blessed to be able to take Madison and Morgan home last Friday, and they are enjoying being back together. It is funny because they both turn the same way to sleep. Madison loves to smile now, and Morgan loves to pucker her little lips up as if she is kissing someone. The ride home was quite an adventure for all involved. We started out to our house whichC-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-63506281642330170092008-07-11T00:33:00.000-07:002008-07-11T00:56:24.967-07:00ExcitedThe babies are coming home later today. We were planning to stop by to visit mommy in the hospital, but had to change plans because of a small setback regarding the antibiotics my wife is on. This is still a very exciting day, and it is impossible to sleep. So far, I have managed to wash the car seat covers, install the bases in the car, and now I just need to pick up the babies. The girls C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-44526113656453923492008-07-06T10:48:00.000-07:002008-07-06T11:12:18.244-07:00Turn to GodI was at church today, and the minister was talking on how to deal with times of crisis. Although the topic was geared more toward economic crisis, it was evident that the principles could be applied to any type of crisis. There are a few things that stood out in his message to me.The minister stated that if we have faith, then we are not dependent on a worldly source to provide for us. He also C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-47981239256966781322008-07-02T23:31:00.000-07:002008-07-03T09:07:53.331-07:00Confined babiesWe spend all of our adult lives trying to get or stay free, but little babies just loved to be confined. In fact they love it so much that if you let them free, they get really irritated at you. I was visiting my babies yesterday, and being a new father; it took me a bit too long to get them changed. They are so used to the nurses who can get them changed, and swaddled in under 10 seconds. ItC-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-79141206674838152272008-07-02T23:01:00.000-07:002008-07-02T23:29:21.474-07:00Blessed dayA whole lot has been going on over the past few days. There are a few small things left to do before the babies come home this Friday. Well, I guess I should say baby. Our oldest daughter's heart rate dropped to 62 today for about 5 seconds. At the hospital we're at, they call it a "Brady", and babies can not go home without experiencing such an episode for five days. The good news is, it C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-38785054171927820642008-06-29T16:41:00.001-07:002008-06-29T16:54:59.691-07:00MiraculousI have seen and witnessed miracles, and I know that the devil will fight until the end. He is a very tenacious adversary, but God has prevailed. Our two new babies are going home soon, and so is Mommy. They are a sign of God's salvation, mercy and grace. It is miraculous that they are almost ready to leave the hospital. Both of them are no longer attached to any machines, and are going to be C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-90096572360118244262008-06-27T18:31:00.000-07:002008-06-28T15:12:09.771-07:00Faith not sightYesterday, the doctors performed another operation to correct another aneurysm that was discovered in my wife's brain. The aneurysm was about 6 mm from the previous one, and they fixed it by inserting coils into the vein. The doctor said that the operation was successful, but that she suffered a stroke, and the needed to do an additional hemi-craniotomy. The doctor told us that this was a very C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-50435714962368573292008-06-27T08:28:00.001-07:002008-06-27T08:46:43.143-07:00God's promiseToday the doctors came to say that they believed my wife had another seizure early in the morning. My mother-in-law arrived shortly after the doctors gave me the news. She was very calm, and said to me that everything was going to be alright. God would not have brought our family this far to let everything go now. I also spoke to my wife's uncle who reaffirmed what she said.I ran across this C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-45211862482277681612008-06-26T18:13:00.000-07:002008-06-26T18:14:04.606-07:00Looking upI spoke with the doctor who performed my wife’s craniotomy, and he is extremely optimistic on how she is recovering. They tried to shut the stints out last night to see how she was maintaining pressure without assistance. It was not getting extremely high, but they did turn them back on because the pressure was creeping into the 20’s. With very little assistance, the pressure was running C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-8326421995461936272008-06-24T15:25:00.000-07:002008-06-26T18:07:12.086-07:00The power of prayerMy wife was admitted into the NICU unit at around 1:00 a.m., June 20th. My mother in-law, had spoken to our aunt, to have her pick up my nephew so that they would be able to drive me to the hospital, since my wife had to take Lifesaver to the hospital. When we got there, my wife was already admitted, and one of the doctors explained the details of my wife's condition. After hearing the news, I C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-43347977789271648612008-06-24T10:10:00.000-07:002008-06-24T15:25:16.787-07:00Frightening dayMy wife made it to her 33 week OB visit on Wednesday of last week. Everything was fine at the visit. Her blood pressure was fine, or low enough to not raise alarm. Thursday, when I called to see how she was doing before I came home from work, she said that "Today is not a good day." I asked her what was wrong, and she said that she was not feeling well, but nothing unusual. I told her that I C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662971888416268076.post-55643861989144556822008-06-07T06:59:00.000-07:002008-06-08T11:57:27.110-07:00Microsoft TechEd 2008What better way to kick off a blogspot but by attending Microsoft TechEd North America 2008. This being my first TechEd event was quite an eye opener. Besides the fact that I did not pack for the beautiful Florida weather did not difuse my excitement about attending this event.C-Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04651013939639066636noreply@blogger.com0