Easter weekend

We have had a busy 5 days with my sister and her family in town! They got in late Thursday night. Friday we had a crawfish boil that was awesome. We got 2 sacks of crawfish and it was all gone! Great crawfish, great company and great weather. Saturday Nicki, me and the kids went to an Easter Egg Hunt at a church near our house. We met my friend Dee Ann and her two kids there. Not only did they have an Easter Egg Hunt, but a fun jump, games, tattoos and face painting! Kirsten did very well finding lots of eggs. The weather was kinda nasty and it started sprinkling, so we left after just a little bit. But she racked up! Saturday afternoon we braved the mall and got the kids pictures taken with the Easter Bunny. They came out pretty good. Sunday was Easter, so we went to church and then came home and started cooking our Easter lupper. We had ham, homemade mac and cheese, deviled eggs and crab dip. It was yummy! In the afternoon, Jeff and Tony put up some new ceiling fans in our guest rooms. It sure helps out having those fans back there! Monday we drove to the Blue Bell Ice Cream factory and took their tour. It was neat to see how they made all the yummy ice cream. There was even a free scoop at the end! Well worth the trip to Brenham. On the way home, we stopped and took our pictures in the bluebonnets. We found a giant field of them on the side of the interstate and had a photo session. It was really windy, so our hair was kinda crazy, but I think we got some good pictures. Today was a packing day for my sister. They left a little bit after lunchtime. We had a good visit and were glad that they came.

Here is a link to all the pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jeffery.mauldin/EasterWeekend?feat=directlink

2nd doctor's appointment

Today I saw my regular OB. It was a short appointment since I had just seen the High Risk OB yesterday. We got to listen to the heartbeat, which was nice and strong at 162 beats a minute! I have not gained any weight yet, which I guess is ok since she didn't mention anything about it. I'm sure the time will come when I will gain alot. That's pretty much all we did. Next appointment is scheduled for 4 weeks from now. I'm still feeling good.

We are getting ready for my sister to come into town for a few days. The whole family is coming, so that should be pretty fun. I'm hoping the weather cooperates and the rain doesn't spoil our plans. It will be good just to hang out though. I'll probably update later on after they leave and hopefully have lots of good pictures. I hope everyone has a great Easter!

12 week appointment with High Risk Doctor

Today I had my first appointment with my high risk doctor. I really like him. For starters, he is a former NICU nurse, so I think he will remember me pretty well! ;) We went straight into an ultrasound room and the tech immediately started the scan. They will record a DVD of the entire ultrasound for you for the low cost of $20. But she warned us since we're still kinda early, there wouldn't be much to see. We kinda said, ok, I guess we'll wait till the next time to get one (they have to know at the beginning of the scan so they can record it from the beginning). She took one look at the baby and said, Oh, this baby is too cute not to record this! I'll just let you have it and you just put it in your purse. We were like, Great! We'll take a free dvd. She scanned me for over 10 minutes, really looking and taking pictures along the way. It really looks like a baby now. A far difference from 4 weeks ago when it looked like a gummy bear. You can see fingers, the nose, heart, stomach, bladder, feet, arms, legs, etc. They look at the neck to see if the baby looks like it will have down's syndrome. The skin was thin, so that is a good sign. She also gave us her best guess as to what the sex was. Then the doctor came in and looked at the pictures. He said everything looks really good and he also gave us his best guess as to what the sex is. Funny thing is, they both said one thing, then during the process of the scan, they both changed their minds and said it was the other gender. So now we have an idea, but it could possibly change. But all in all, it was a great appointment and we got some great pictures. I will see him again in 6 weeks. I will see my regular OB tomorrow. Here are the pics we got today:









Foot:



Alien shot:








After looking at these, can you guess what the sex is? I'll give you a hint, the 6th picture is the one you need to scrutinize. Have fun!

4 years ago

So I was at work last night thinking, Wow, I think it's been 4 years since I had my tumor removed from my leg. It was April 5, 2005. I can't believe it's been that long since I've had cancer. Time really flies and a lot has happened since then. I found some old pictures to compare my leg then, after 1 year and today. Just thought it might be cool to compare. You may feel otherwise. :) But the nurse in me thinks it's kinda cool. And I found a picture from after surgery that was pretty healed and not too gross!

April 20, 2005



Leg after 1 year:




Leg today (sorry it's not the best, I took it myself)



So just a little nostalgia for you!

Tomorrow I have an appointment with my high risk OB Dr. Rowe. It will be the first meeting with him and I hear nothing but good things about him. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I'm assuming he's going to do another ultrasound (which I like!) and there is a possibilty we could find out the gender of the baby! That is, if the baby cooperates. He has an 80% success rate of being right at 12 weeks, which is what I will be tomorrow. Then on Thursday I have my appointment with my regular OB. We will post more pictures and news after these appointments.

Excitement at the hospital

I went to work on Sunday night at Clearlake Hospital and there was some drama going on. Early in the shift, the charge nurse came around and said that we were on lockdown. That means that the hospital was locked, no one in or out. There was a guy outside in the parking lot with a gun. Scary stuff! There was all kinds of rumors going on about what was happening, and of course it was dark so it was hard to see. Around 11 or 12 midnight, I heard gunshots outside. Many gunshots. I figured that the guy had done something and the police had shot him. I was right. Here is the article from the Chronicle about what happened. This guy was crazy!

Webster police shoot man wielding flashlight at hospital

A man who was shot by police outside a Webster hospital after threatening people and brandishing what officers thought might be a gun is undergoing treatment today for multiple wounds. Donna Hawkins, an assistant Harris County district attorney, today identified the man as Steven Moran. No further information about him was available. Investigators are trying to determine why Moran, who had been injured in a traffic accident before being taken to Clear Lake Regional Medical Center, threatened to shoot hospital staff members who tried to help him. He was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston after the shooting late Sunday. Police said he was wielding an object as if it were a weapon, but which turned out to be a small flashlight that he was holding in a two-handed grip as if it were a pistol. Staff members told officers that Moran was lying between two cars in the parking lot about 11 p.m. Sunday and that they couldn't help him because he was threatening to shoot anyone who came near, Webster police said. Police later learned that Moran's father had driven him to the hospital and left him in the car while he went inside to get help. The man apparently crawled out of the vehicle, but was unable to walk into the hospital. Officers secured the parking lot and tried to convince the man to put down the object he was holding and surrender. After negotiations failed, they moved in and fired at him when they thought he was about to shoot, officials said. Moran was treated there, then transferred to Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston in stable condition, officials said. As is routine in shootings involving police officers, the Harris County District Attorney's Office is investigating along with Webster police.

Anyway, that was lots of excitement for our little area.

So far so good

So I'm officially 10 weeks pregnant today and I am still feeling really good. No morning sickness to speak of and as long as I eat regularly, I'm fine. I figure this is God's way of saying, "Hey, I know you have been there,done that with the nausea and vomiting with chemo, so I will spare you having to do that again." Thank God for small blessings. The one thing I have been having are migraines more often (4-5 in the last week), but I can handle those and I would much rather a headache than feeling like I'm going to puke all the time.
I think I am getting a little bit of a belly now, but I am still wearing my regular clothes. I have been working a ton lately and scrubs are very forgiving! Hopefully I'll be able to wear those for awhile.

Jeff recently worked back room for this latest shuttle mission, so he has been a working fool as well. Now we'll be able to slow down a bit, but I'll continue to work as much as I can. I figure I need to work while I feel good, because towards the end, I know I won't feel like it.

Anyway, I just wanted to post a quick update and get some comments on the new blog look. Let me know what you think. I think it looks really nice and now that I know how to do it, I may change it up more often! (I actually got the idea from Erin and Nujoud's blogs. Thanks girls!)

LAURI IS 8 WEEKS PREGNANT!

Lauri and I are very happy to announce that she is 8 weeks pregnant, and everything has been progressing very well! Lauri and I found out about a month ago, and we have had two visits with our doctor so far. The first visit, at 6 weeks, showed a heartbeat on the ultrasound, but the pictures didn’t show much else. The doctor took some pictures again today with the ultrasound, and how things have grown. The Baby is still just 16 mm in length, but you can begin to see a head, arms, and legs.

The doctor says the heartbeat is very strong, and our risk of miscarriage with a strong heartbeat is low. Further, Lauri’s hormone levels look good too. Great news! Of course, anything can happen, but we pray for the best. Lauri is doing great, not feeling sick, just tired - which I argue is not really a "delta from nominal." Anyway, I scanned in the two best pics we got today, you can see the baby clearly; the head is on the left, with arms and legs sticking up.



We decided to press ahead with raising a family after much thought and discussion amongst ourselves and our team of doctors. It turned out to be an easy decision, but one that had to be measured against all the risks associated with Lauri’s health history, and projections of the future. In the end, we decided that raising a family was worth the risk, and our doctors agreed to support our plans. We could not ask for a better health care team. Our Oncologist has been supportive and helpful the entire way, making us aware of the dangers, but supporting us the whole time.

A good friend of ours once said, “Live each day like it was the first day of the rest of your life.” That’s what we have decided to do. Today is the first day of our family, which someday sooner than I think, will be a total of 3.