Kameron

Scary Stuff

What is up with Johnson kids being hospitalized for weird things and spending days in the hospital while doctors try to figure out what is up with them? So.Not.Cool. No more kids in the hospital!!

Last Sunday Kameron woke up with a fever and was feeling sick. I wasn't too concerned since both Reilly and Tyler had been sick and were just getting over nasty colds and horrid sore throats. Ailey and Bryn were both sniffling so I just assumed Kameron was the next in line to get whatever was going around. We let him stay home from church and he pretty much slept all day. He felt like eating something on Sunday night but just threw it up and continued running a low-grade fever and sleeping. Monday morning he was still running a fever and not feeling well. At 11am I went into his room and checked on him. He was complaining of a stomach ache. I questioned him further, prodded around, and found out that it was only hurting on his lower right side. Not good. I googled appendicitis and he had all the symptoms. I called our pediatrician and he wanted to see Kam right away.

We drove immediately to Dr. Morgan's office where he checked him out and felt that it could be appendicitis and wanted him to go immediately to the hospital for an ultrasound. Luckily the hospital is connected to his doctor's office building so we didn't have to go too far. Kameron wasn't thrilled about having to ride in a wheelchair.

We spent most of the day in a room in the ER, getting tests run, and an ultrasound and CT scan done. He had all the markers of a severe infection but oddly his appendix looked great. He was admitted and a urologist was called in to check his right kidney which was not looking great.

He was given a room up on the pediatric oncology floor which was a sobering experience. VERY SOBERING. It is also the sub-specialty floor and a much less germy place for Kameron. Still. Sobering.

The only real bright spot (to Kameron) was that there was an XBOX in his room (which we don't own) so Kam got to play all the video games he wanted. Thank goodness I got a Kindle Fire for my birthday and that was my bright spot...I read a bunch of books.

The girls coming to visit were a huge help. Every time they would visit, Kameron would look so much better by the time they would leave. Laughter truly is the best medicine.

This had us all laughing for quite awhile. The couch/bed is abnormally large. My mom is tall and her feet were dangling like Edith Ann. Imagine what a short person would look like? ;)

Lots of hugs and kisses helped too!

Kameron was diagnosed with pyelonephritis which is a nasty kidney infection. He was on major IV antibiotics and tons of fluids. The odd part was that he never had any of the symptoms that would go with a UTI. Many more tests were run and it looked like the infection was localized to his right kidney and ureter. He was a very sick kid there for awhile. I was a very worried Mom and Tyler was a very stoic dad.

Eventually...after about 24 long hours...he stopped running a fever, and his white blood cell levels dropped, and he started looking better. He ended up having a VCG done which was not pleasant. It is basically an x-ray of the bladder, urethra, and kidneys with a dye contrast. The test helps to determine if the flow of urine is normal. Turns out Kameron's wasn't. His ureter on the right side was so horribly swollen that the urine couldn't flow down the tube and was very clearly flowing back up into his kidney causing his infection.

The thought is now that this is a secondary infection caused by the surgery on his arm and that the infection somehow settled into his kidney. Grrr. Not cool. 

After 3 days he was able to be detached from his IV and would only have to hook up for his antibiotics a few times a day. Boy was he excited about that!!

He also ended up having a horrible GURD attack in the middle of the night. Probably due to him eating solid foods for the first time after about 3 days and the strong meds he was one. It scared the heck out of his mother and nurse. He was clutching his chest and screaming with chest pains. This from a kid who has a very high pain threshold and only took Tylenol for pain the entire time he was in the hospital (his choice) when morphine and other big time pain meds were available. Needless to say that was one of the worst moments of my life. Thank goodness he got that under control and only ended up having one more minor incident. My nerves were shot after that!

So after 4 long days the boy was FINALLY given his walking papers!! Woohoo. All next week though is going to be multiple doctors visits including a visit to a pediatric urologist while we try to get over this hump and hope that things clear up and start looking good and staying that way. Wish us luck and keep him in your prayers. As we walked out of the hospital overjoyed to be taking our child home, my heart was breaking for the parents and kids up on that floor that weren't so lucky. 

 View of the sky from Kameron's hospital room.

I am thankful for modern medicine and good doctors and nurses. I am thankful for promptings of the Spirit that helped me to know that things were more serious than they appeared. I am thankful for priesthood blessings. I am thankful for family that dropped what they were doing to be there for us. I am thankful for a sister who works at the hospital and made sure that her nephew got top notch care. I am thankful for my mom who gave Ailey a super and special fun birthday when her parents couldn't. I am thankful for friends who were a constant support. I am thankful for prayer. We are truly counting our blessings.

  Happy Day!!

The blasted cast is off!! The lake is calling and he must go...now if only the weather would cooperate. It's been rainy and in the 50's for days. Boo. Bring back the heat and the sun...Kameron is ready for some FUN!!

On one of our last lovely days Kameron headed to the doctor's office to get the pins removed from his wrist and to get a shorter cast put on...or so he thought.

Warning!! The next pictures are gross. No doubt about it. So if you are squeamish don't look. It makes me want to faint just looking at them myself. But document I must. The doctor pulled those pins out with a type of pliers and no pain medication what so ever. Kameron was a rockstar. I would've been on the floor in a dead faint. No joke.

The happy news was that things looked so fantastic that no shorter cast was necessary. He just needs to wear a splint for another 2 weeks or so and no rough sports. The good news is that he can shower again. Cheers all around!!

Happy Father's Day 

Yesterday we had a great time celebrating Tyler...or as we like to call him when he gets all full of himself (and on Father's Day)..."The Grand Poohba." He's a fantastic dad and deserves to be celebrated to the hilt and so we did. We tried to fulfill all of his odd food and activity requests.

After church we packed up our Sunday dinner and headed to our favorite park. We found our favorite knoll where we like to picnic and set up camp for the evening. The day was beautiful and it was so fun just to kick back and relax.

After we ate the kids ran off to amuse themselves and to play frisbee. Tyler and I got to hang out together alone for a bit. We decided that we need to do a date night picnic sometime soon..a little sushi...no kids...sounds delightful!!

All too soon they were back for our family croquet tournament. The Grand Poohba holds the record as the big winner each and every time we play. It is our goal in life to bring the old man down. So many Utah family reunions have given him superior skills. I am sure he would kill us all at horseshoes too. Utah Mormons and their wholesome recreational activities!!

Game faces on!!

Mother against daughters... Let the Games Begin!!

This is some serious business!! All must play. Young, old, disabled we don't care. (Stacey, the portable croquet set you gave Tyler all those years ago has really come in handy. We love it!!)

The tournament ended ONCE AGAIN with The Grand Poohba winning every round!! But still it was quite successful for our first family tournament of the year. Only three people cried and I was only accused of cheating by two of my children. What? Not me. Unthinkable!!

Then it was back to our picnic for dessert. In case you didn't know... the Grand Poohba has a great penchant for puddin'. The man LOVES pudding!! His particular favorite is tapioca. Costco happens to carry a very decadent Chocolate Tapioca Pudding...unfortunately you have to squeeze it out in a very revolting way into the containers. See below.

Tyler poops at parties??

In case you are the 1% of people who we haven't forced to watch this on Youtube...you are in luck! Here is the link. I warn you that our family finds this hysterical. It tells you a little something about us. Ty and I watched this in our car in the Costco parking lot. I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard and Tyler was flailing around while laughing; people thought we needed medical assistance. So here you go. All of our kids have this entire thing memorized. Including Bryn... Yeah, we're classy like that. :)

German misunderstands the meaning of "party pooper"...

Dog Pile on the Old Man

Then it was time to go...

It was pretty much the perfect day!!

We love you Poohba!!

Proud

Last night was Kameron's 6th Grade Promotion and what a night it was!! It was exciting to see him reach this milestone and it is bittersweet because I know, from experience, how fast middle school flies by...you blink and they are in high school.

Kam's Promotion Night was just spectacular. Kudos to all the parents!! Two parents complied 100s of pictures and made the best PowerPoint video that I have ever seen. All the parents submitted pictures of the kids at school or school activities and then a picture of their child as a baby, a 1st grader, and a sixth grader. So cool. So many great pictures that just melted my heart with outstanding music that had Bryn dancing in the aisle. There were so many pictures of Kameron throughout his elementary school years with all his buddies. I teared up thinking about how fast it has all gone by. Our kids go to the most amazing elementary school and Kameron has had the privilege of going there his entire elementary career. Such a blessing.

Here's Kameron receiving his certificate with his teacher and principal. The young man sitting in the chair is the high school senior who received the college scholarship that our school hands out each year to a former student. This particular kid is in our ward and is just outstanding. We loved cheering Travis on as well.

The elementary school choir was there performing and so it was neat to have Ailey participating in Kameron's big night. They sang May Peace Be Always With You. It was so fun to hear Ailey's sweet little voice singing as she looked lovingly at her big brother. (She is not looking forward to being the only one at the elementary school next year. She has really appreciated having her big brother looking out for her all these years and so have I.)

Ailey and her cutie friend Jordyn who was also in the choir and also had a sister graduating that night. Her sister was Kameron's crush for years!! We always referred to her sister as "zee little red haired girl." Ha ha!

Kam's adoring sisters!! They were so proud. They cheered and clapped their little hearts out for their brother. Kam couldn't ask for a cuter bunch of cheerleaders!! :)

Kameron has the BEST PACK of friends in the world!! I love each one of these awesome boys. They have all grown up together...most of them even went to preschool together. They have all played sports together for years . What a huge blessing it is for your child to have such awesome, good, kind, supportive friends!! These boys will conquer the world. I can't wait to see what they all accomplish.

Every single one of these boys will melt your heart. They sure did for all of us mothers who were lined up to take take these pictures!! Every single one of these boys is an outstanding individual. Watch out middle school!!

I had to include this as proof of the 6th grade broken arm curse...here's Reilly singing a solo at her 6th grade promotion, with her broken arm that she got rollerskating with the student council. She got her regular cast on the next day. Her best friend at the time, Noelle, also had a broken arm. There was girl in Kam's class with a broken arm as well. 6th grade with all the growth that occurs must make your wrists very susceptible to snapping. Crazy.

After that we went out to celebrate...

Proud Dad

Proud Mom

Congratulations Kamers we sure love you!!

Still Spinning...But in a Good Way

I turned 41!!

This week while still crazy busy has also been fun because it included my birthday!! Birthdays are always delightful and this one was no different. Thanks to one and all for all the great phone calls, texts, FB messages, cards, gifts, treats, flowers, and visits. I really am blessed to have so many lovely people in my life. Truly.

Big shout out to my primary class who exclaimed with true horror that there was no way in the world that I could be as old as 41 and that I "looked 29" (I appreciated that!)  Yes, for their love and support of the elderly they all got double treats on Sunday!!

My birthday hit midweek but lucky for me Tyler showed up with these babies and food from my favorite place so I didn't have to cook at all that day. Woohoo. Ballet for both girls ended for the year...another HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

We celebrated on Saturday and had fun bumming around downtown. We had lunch at PF Changs which was perfect and ran into Angie and Dallin and family double perfect. (Poor Reilly had to work on my day of fun though...the toils of being a working woman.)

We headed over to Riverfront Park for some fun and carousel rides. The weather was absolute perfection. I even got my favorite horse (the one I would always make a run for as a little girl) the black and gray warhorse!! That never happens.

I ate vast quantities of Cotton Candy (my favorite candy of all time!!) 

We went to the River Park Square and I picked out a pair of new shoes from Nordstrom and wore them out of the store just like I used to do when I was a little girl. We wandered around town all day doing all the things I love to do and the kids were great sports and real troopers. It was gorgeous to walk around and enjoy our fair city.

We enjoyed spending some quality time at the Davenport Hotel. I love that place!! So beautiful and rich with history.

After that we all headed home to meet up with Reilly, who was finally off work, to have some birthday cake... My very favorite Salted Caramel Cake from Sweet Frostings! Delicious. It was a great celebration and a good way to kick off being forty-one. :)

Other happenings...

Friday was the elementary school Field Day and Picnic. Bryn and I met Tyler at the school with Taco Bell in hand. The kids were thrilled to have some junky fast food and to have lunch with Tyler. Bryn, in particular, loved having lunch with Kameron and his best friend Jonathon. She was in heaven. They were so cute with her and chased her around the field and pushed her on the swings. Then it was time for Ailey's lunch and she got to run around with Ailey and her pack of squealers. She had a fantastic time. I stayed for a bit but Moms aren't that exciting to have come to school (old news)...but Dads definitely are...so I left and had a blissful hour to read my book.

Also, Friday was the end of the year Piano Recital for Reilly and Ailey. They did a great job!! All the after school activities are over and I, for one, am THRILLED!! (not counting swim lessons...)

Waiting for the recital to begin

Reilly played the same piece that she did for her adjudications...Reverie by Tchaikovsky

Ailey played Beethoven's Ode to Joy

Both girls did a great job!! I am used to Reilly being a good performer... be it singing, dancing, playing the piano... but this year Ailey has really come into her own and has become a fantastic little performer. It has been so fun to watch her confidence blossom!!

The girls and their lovely piano teacher...my good friend Jodi!! :)

My girls just love Jodi and they confide in her about all kinds of things and tell her all about their lives. I not only appreciate the music that she is teaching them but all the wise counsel and love she also gives them. That is worth way more than what I pay her each month for their piano lessons.

The first round of swim lessons for Brynnie ended. She did so well!! Don't you love the matching pink cover-ups? These girls make me smile with how much they love one another. While sitting waiting to take their turns at swim lessons they are usually holding hands. So cute.

Sunday was a nice day to relax!! We had to leave church early to run Reilly downtown. Her Symphonic Choir was singing at Graduation. But after that it was relaxing on the deck, BBQing, having a bonfire, and sipping Brazilian Limeades. Not a bad way to end a busy week.