What's Up With The Wheelers: November Memories

Oh man, I have MUCH to do and am pretty sure I am just procrasti-blogging. But hey, I'm on a roll! Just gonna keep it going. Blogging may not be my only priority or even my top priority, but it's still a priority. Besides, I'm cozily snuggled on the couch next to our dog on a snowy February afternoon. Sounds way better than cleaning out the kitchen cupboards.

So random November. It snowed a little! The kids went outside. Next time they should wear shoes. By the way, Annika's feet are getting really long. Brooklyn, Talia, Annika and I all basically wear the same size shoe.

Out for a Sunday walk with the kids. Time to ride the Momma train!

While there are moments when I feel like I am doing a decent job of parenting, there are many others when I am, I mean the tooth fairy, is clearly dropping the ball!

Also, gotta beware of that Panther.

Clever Eila turned ten in November. It's fun having her and Talia as birthday buddies.

Heavy heavy hangover, what's in the box?

Looks like another ferocious feline, crafted by Annika in her sewing class.

It looks like Violet is trying to decide whether she can trust the new cat.

Other fun moments--my friend Melanie invited me to join her for a fancy dinner at the Grand America Hotel honoring the Tabernacle Choir.

Can't quite explain this one. Eli has such long lashes that we were testing to see if they look any different with mascara.

Here's a joyful moment--beautifully created cards from Brooklyn! I reread mine just this morning. I keep it in my dresser drawer so that I run across it often. Thank you, Buttermilk!

I bought my first pair of Hokas in November and thought they would be great for running. Sadly, they were not. They hurt so badly that I took them off mid-run and ran the two miles home in my socks! At least the leaves were pretty.

On November 12th Annika had a regular cardiology appointment where they discussed inserting a CardioMEMS device that lives in your pulmonary artery and provides daily pressure measurements. It was fun to see what a device looks like and have the chance to hold one. They are tiny!

The hope was that CardioMEMS readings would allow us safely postpone transplant as long as possible. Obviously that didn't work out. Annika had her third cardiac arrest a week later and was admitted to Primary Children's where plans were made for her to be listed for transplant as status 1A. (I blogged about it here.)

I'm grateful to my friend Sonja for running with me during this crazy time I definitely needing grounding as our lives were flipped upside down in a moment.

But hey, back to the hospital, they were able to get Annika's CardioMEMS installed while she was there. (Pretty certain installation isn't the correct word, but it feels like it should be considering it's a pressure gauge) A representative from Abbott flew all the way out from Denver to scrub in for her surgery and explain the equipment to us. Annika's CardioMEMS certainly didn't extend the time before transplant, but it has been helpful in monitoring the health of her shared heart since

During the initial appointment they told us all about how tiny CardioMEMS is. Yes, the sensor is small, but the accompanying "pillow" is massive!

We felt grateful that Annika's pressure readings were stable enough for her to be released from the hospital for a week before coming back to wait for a heart. Still, it was kind of a strange time. We did our best to make special memories, but everything was shrouded by all that was coming next. We thought about sending Annika to school on Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving Break, but it felt strange having to explain to all of her classmates that she wouldn't be back until springtime. Plus, I wasn't sure if her teachers would be comfortable having her in class knowing that her heart had stopped just a few days earlier.

So instead we did the next best thing and invited her friend Wren over for a play date.

We also begged the hospital to let us out in time for Annika to attend Eila's Harry Potter birthday party. We made it in the nick of time, arriving just as the train was about to depart Platform 9 3/4 for Hogwarts!

Owl post, anyone?

The trolley cart treats were delicious! And so creative. Callie, you amaze me!

Our birthday girl Eila was sure a happy witch!

Always considerate, Callie recognized the November birthdays of two of Eila's friends as well.

Butterbeer, anyone?

Before you can play Quidditch, you have to have a broom!

Once outside, we had to escape the Whomping Pillow.

Gorgeous snitches! Also, everyone enjoyed decorating their own wands.

Beware the whomping pillow!

Anders has magic Harry Potter hair--just blonde.

Inside it was time for potion making.

Whoa, Harry Potter meets Elfaba! Totally wicked.

The party was amazing, but also a little sad because Annika wasn't feeling well. She couldn't jump on the trampoline or keep up with the other kids. Eventually she snuggled with Pickles for some puppy love. Even though this was hard, it also felt clear that she really needed an upgraded heart.

That night it was a similar story. We went out for an amazing dinner at Chile Tepin, but Annika had a really hard time walking the quarter block from the car to the restaurant. Happy memory, but also a little sad. Annika's reading over my shoulder right now and says, "It felt like I was walking a mile!"

So, we took stock and spent our time doing the things we love most with the people we love most. Enter oodles of pie with the Wheeler family! Thanks for having us over, Justin and Brianna. :)

Thanks for coming down to visit with us Grandma Susie and Grandpa Charles! They brought this beautiful lighted rose from Great-Grandma Hansen that kept Annika company the whole time she was at the hospital.

Few will be surprised that Annika wanted to spend time at SeaQuest during her final days at home pre-transplant. We made sure to pet all the animals, even the sharks.

Anyone up for a Stingray Splash?

Gifted at Parseltongue.

I'm not quite sure if she was feeding the koi fish, or if the koi were feeding on her. They seemed to enjoy her painted nails.

Either way, she left a very happy gal, especially when I treated her to sushi at the end.

Last but not least, thanks to Talia and Eli for setting aside extra time to be with Annika over these days. One evening we all went to the Luminaria display at Thanksgiving Point. Since Annika would be in the hospital over Christmas, this was the perfect chance to experience lots of lights.

They brought a wagon to help pull Annika up the hills, but she was feeling better this evening and did a fair amount of walking as well. And dancing! Lights like these make everyone feel like dancing.