Tuesday, March 9, 2010

OK, OK, OK!!!

Ok, Ok, Ok!!! this is for you Kristy. She said "will you please post something new so that everytime I check your blog I see something besides Kevin in the hospital". I realized she's right.......how depressing!! It's been a long, long time since I posted so here is a great quote I found.

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

~Mark Twain~

There has been so much happen in our lives the past several months and when I get a chance (probably after Fair) I will try to do a better job of keeping everyone updated.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

A Scary Couple of Days

About 4:30 am Monday morning Kevin was at work (driving the train) when he began having severe chest pains. He called Tony on the radio and told him to come and get him, that he was really in pain. When Tony got there Kevin was sitting on the ground in aweful pain. A couple of other people had heard the call on the radio and come to get him also. He was taken to the office and the amulance was called. He was taken to the Emergency Room at the Mesquite Hospital. We spent about 4 hours in the ER while several proceedures were done. Blood tests, EKG's, and chest X-rays.
During this time one of the nurses came into the room. He pulled a gown from the closet and explained that kevin would be admitted one way or the other, either to the Mesquite hospital or if it was determined that this was indeed heart related he would be transported to St. George. (Mesquite does not have a cardio department and no facilities to treat a patient who is having heart problems.) He was eventually admitted to the Mesquite hospital and several tests were done. Keep in mind that Kevin had been on graveyard shifts and had not slept for several hours. And we all know what kind of sleep habits I have. I had not gone to bed until nearly 4 am myself (I know, I know, shame on me!!!) when I got the phone call at 4:45 am from Kasey (thanks Kasey) telling me what was going on, so I had not had what you would call adequate sleep either. If any of you have ever been in the hospital you know that sleep is definately not something you get ANY of while your there.
About 1 pm another blood test was done to show his blood enzyme levels. If the enzyme levels elevate it is an indicator that the problem is indeed heart related. The 1:00 pm test showed elevated levels. We were not informed of the elevation until around 5 pm at which time the nurse came in to do the usual blood pressure, pulse, temperature check and said "did the Dr. tell you the enzyme levels were elevated?" we told her that the Dr. had not come into the room at all since the initial visit when he was admitted. She explained that another blood test was scheduled at 10:00 pm. It would take approximately 1 hour to process the blood and if the levels were still elevated that Kevin would be transported to St. George (that would be 11:00 pm, driving to St. George following the ambulance that Kevin was in, with nearly no sleep). During this time I had been on the phone with a friend who was getting as frustrated as I was about the prolonging of getting him somewhere that he could be treated. He encouraged me to talk to the Dr. about moving Kevin sooner. I asked the nurse to get the Dr. and told the Dr. that we would like to have Kevin transported right then instead of waiting until the middle of the night again. He agreed to the transfer and the paperwork was started. The ambulance was contacted and around 7:30 pm we were on the road to the St. George hospital.
I was very impressed with the staff at St. George. I could not follow them through the doors of the Emergency Room so I had to walk around to the front of the hospital. I enetered the front doors and proceedeed into the ER where I walked from room to room looking for Kevin. I eventually asked one of the nurses where Kevin was and they explained that he was already in his room. His room had been prepared for him as we were on our way there. The nurse explained that an angiogram had been scheduled for first thing in the morning. Kevin was tucked in nicely and we were able to get a few quality hours of sleep. Early in the morning, Dr. Chander (the cardioligist) came into the room to explain the procedure and minutes later Kevin was on his way to surgery. I am happy to report that whatever this episode was, it was apparantly not a heart attack (WHAT A RELIEF!!!)
He has a follow up visit with our family Dr. on Monday and a follow up with the cardiologist at the end of the month. We will keep you posted on the ulitimate diagnosis.

I am overwhelmed with the response from concerned friend and family members. Thanks especially to Tony and Randy for getting to Kevin FAST! Thanks to Kasey for being presisitant and eventually getting thru to me on the phone, to Audrey and Brittany for driving to my house in the wee hours of the morning to make sure I was awake and able to drive myself to the hospital. Thanks to all of the EMT's and Paramedics who took great care of Kevin, to all of the nurses at Mesquite and St. George, Dr. Chander for having the inspiration to just get in there and find out what was going on inside Kevins heart. Thanks to Todd for the great advice and giving me the courage to get Kevin to St. George where he could be treated correctly.

Thanks for the phone calls, visits, text messages and emails from Jestin & Taryn, Deryck & Brittany, Kasey & Audrey Davis (and for bringing home Kevins truck), Juan Santos, Kristy Qualls, Mom and Dad Waters, Mom and Dad Laycock, Todd Robison, Sheri Fraughton, Tucker Fraughton (for taking time on his way home to visit at the hospital), Donna Serneck, Brenda Ashby, Bishop Terril, Jeff Adams, Danielle Terril, Dave Waters, Jolene Tanner, Ronda Chambers, Danila Macdonald, Kristine Young, Annette Jones, Angie Southwick, Uncle Jack Waters, Vicki Cooper, Esther Lee, Becca Houston, Dave Sharp, Kevin Willard, Gina Marshall, Tony & Sheila King, Randy Postma, Steve Hunt, Kevin Salazar, Kayleen Canfield, Alisha Cooper, Doug Barlow, Dave Cook, Roger Marquez, and Frank Valone, thanks to Chase Fredericks and Peyton Anderson for visiting Kevin at the hospital and for Chase helping Deryck give kevin a blessing (ultimately the real healing step). I know there is the possibility that I have forgotten someone, If so I appoligize from the bottom of my heart and know that you are as much appreciated as the rest.

As you can see we are definately not lacking in love and friendship. I cannot tell you how overwhelmed and humbled I am to have so many friends and family that are concerned about our family and especially for Kevin. We are greatful for you all and want you to know how much we love you.

Monday, August 3, 2009

A Statement to Ponder

I heard a statement today that was not only profound but also makes alot of sense.
"In this world, in it's current state, with all of the future decisions that we will surely be forced to make, remember two things;
1- never make a decision out of fear and
2- never make a decision with contention."
As I thought about that, I realized that if I will try to pray before making ANY decisions, I stand a far better chance of making the RIGHT ones.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Our Fabulous Family Vacation!

Where do I start? I have so much catching up to do.
This past weekend we were able to work it out so that our entire family could meet up in Salt Lake for a very memorable (and much needed) vacation. Deryck and Brittany had already planned on being in Park City for the week because Brittany's sister played in a soft ball tournament there. and Jestin, Taryn and Blayke rode up with Kevin and I. We left on Saturday and decided that we were going to make this a very laid back trip. We got to Cedar City and decided to stop and spend the night there. I didn't get any pictures in Cedar City but we went swimming at the hotel and had a great time.
Sunday morning we got up and decided to take a route that we don't usually take. We would head around through Delta, Utah. We haven't been there in many years. This is where the real adventure began. Kevin got on a road that he thought was the old highway to Delta. Shortly after getting on "said road" it turned to dirt.
Now if any of you know Kevin you also know that it is not easy to tell him that you don't think he's on the right road. He was determined that he WAS on the right road. Well needless to say after an hour of driving 80 miles an hour on dirt (YEP you heard me right, 80 miles an hour) we finally saw life in a small town with a population of 3, I know this because all three of the towns folk were up on the roof of the only home (single wide tralier) in the beautiful town of Lund, Utah, working on the air conditioner. I never even knew there was a Lund, Utah. This is where Kevin finally admitted that yes indeed he must have gotten on the wrong road so you guessed it, we turned around and did another hours worth of driving (YEP at 80 miles an hour on dirt) to get back where we began. We eventually got to Delta. Taryn called her cousin Ashley Leavitt who now lives in Delta. Ashley along with her adorable baby Vance were able to meet us at the park in town for a very nice, but short, visit.
After our adventures in finally getting to Delta we headed to Springville where we decided to spend the night. We made arrangements to go up Hobble Creek Canyon on Monday and spend the day on the Ranch where Kevin and his Dad used to work. This is the home that Kevin and I lived in many years ago up Hobble Creek Canyon in Springville. The Ranch used to belong to Kevins Brother -In -Laws family, which is who Kevin and Dad worked for. They sold the ranch a few years back and now Kevins Neice and her Husband Bradene and Zack work up on the ranch for the new owner. Here are some pictures of the new home that the new owner built. It is unbelievable.
This is a picture of a huge pond and a bridge that Kevin and his Dad built while working on the ranch years ago. The second picture is a smaller pond up a bit higher. I really, really miss the beauty and the wildlife on the Ranch (but I can honestly say that I don't miss living in the snow in the winter.) As we headed back down the mountain this is what we saw. After a very enjoyable day on the Ranch we headed to Lehi where we decided to spend the night and go swimming at the hotel. We had stopped at Parkers Drive In in American Fork for dinner. Parkers is a memory from my past. They serve all of their hamburgers with pink sauce....MMMMMMM!! My kids talk about Parkers all the time and make it a point to eat there whenever we are up that way. Once we got our food we headed to the park in town and let Blayke play. It was so nice to not feel rushed to get anywhere and be able to enjoy one anothers company.
Tuesday morning we got up early and headed to Salt Lake to meet my Sister and the kids for breakfast.
After breakfast we headed for Park City to spend the day with Deryck and Brittany. Everyone except me (the big weenie that is scared of heights) rode the Alpine slide. It is the actual ski slope there. You ride the lift to the top of the mountain and slide down a great big concrete slide on sleds. They had a blast! I know that Taryn got pictures so I will try to get some from her to post because again I didn't have my camera. She is so good to remember her camera and take awesome pictures.
Tuesday night was Jacobs big night. Jacob was sealed to his parents in the Salt Lake Temple. Kevin and I were honored to be a part of this awesome event.
Wednesday we went to the Hogle Zoo. Kristy, Makaylee and jacob were able to go with us. We had a great time but believe it or not I didn't have my camera. I'm sure Taryn will post pictures of the zoo so you can check out pictures from her blog. Wednesday evening we headd back down to American Fork where I grew up to have a BBQ with my family. It was another fun filled day with lots of good food and plenty of catching up with everyone.
Every since my sister Kristy told me about the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house I have had a strong desire to attend it with my entire family. We were finally able to attend the open house on Thursday morning. I guess I was so caught up in my emotions of the event that I completely forgot to grab my camera for a family picture. After, Deryck and Brittany headed back to Park City and the rest of us headed home. This was an incredible end to an amazing family vacation. I am so greatful for the amazing family that I have and thank my Heavenly Father daily for having each of them in my life.
Thanks everyone for making my dream come true!!!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

One day at a time

One day at a time - this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone: and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering.
-Ida Scott Taylor

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Sleep over at Blayke's!

Kevin and I went to Vegas last Wednesday and ended up having a sleep over at Blayke's house. I can't wait until he's old enough to understand what a "sleep over" is. Oh what fun we will have when his Mommy and Daddy will let him stay up late and party with Grandpa and Grandma!
Here is Blayke on Thursday morning having his breakfast (yogurt).......or maybe I should say wearing his breakfast! It was SO DANG CUTE, Grandma couldn't resist grabbing the camera and snapping a picture. His hair is growing so fast and guess what? YEP! its curly just like his daddy's was.
I cannot believe he is going to be 1 in July! It doesn't seem possible that nearly a whole year has passed. Blayke, Grandpa and Grandma LOVE YOU very much!

I couldn't resist posting these cute pictures of Blayke with his VERY BEST FRIENDS!

(Mommy and Daddy)

Here are some pictures from Memorial Day and our visit to Haylee and Rodger.

Haylee would have been 2 years old on June 18.
Haylee, Grandpa and Grandma LOVE YOU and MISS YOU very much!

Rodger, we LOVE YOU and MISS YOU very much!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

More Pics

Here are some of the the pics that I was not able to post last time.
Makaylee's Graduation

This was so cute, the teacher had each child come up and introduced them (just like a real graduation). She then asked each child what they wanted to be when they grow up. Guess what Makaylee said? She said "When I grow up I want to be a MOMMY!" It was so stinking cute!

Night of "Rock Band" (check out some of these faces!!!!!)

This Girl is SERIOUS about her "Rock Band"!

These guys got pretty CREATIVE with their microphone!

Did I mention I LOVE ROCK BAND!!!!!