If you remember, I mentioned back in early November that the the ECS roof was leaking.  After much work tracking down the landlord... well, actually, a representative for the landlord because the landlord, a very nice lady, is in a nursing home and no longer able to manage her own affairs... we finally know what is going to be done to fix the problem - NOTHING!  Early December we received a rather nasty letter for the representative saying they weren't going to fix the roof and btw please be out of the building by the end of the month - ALL RIGHTY then :/

Before we received the letter we had done a little looking to see what might be available just in case they decided not to repair the roof.  To be honest, we thought we would have more time to find a new location if the decision was made to not make the costly repairs, but alas - no.  We stepped up our search, which only revealed that - the business properties available were either WAY too small for our needs or W~A~Y too expensive for our budget.  We then expanded our search to include housing.  With this expansion we found an apartment... an apartment where the landlord is willing to allow us to run a business from the apartment.  The landlord is also willing to have an outdoor socket installed for our electric sign board.  The landlord is willing to remove an old a/c unit so that we can have our brand new a/c unit installed.  A landlord who is quick to respond to questions.  We signed a least this week

Now we are into the contact all the various companies to get utilities switched over, sign boards & a/c units moved, etc.  Then there is the small fact that the apartment, while it will meet our needs, does not have very much storage.  This means sorting, pitching, downsizing.  I thank the LORD for a wonderful secretary who is spending much of her time making calls, writing letters to students & landlords, sorting & packing the office, and brainstorming to find ways to make the transition be as easy as possible.  WHEW!

Now that we have enough of the details sorted out we are finally able to tell our students what is going on.   Please pray that they will be accepting of the move and not bail out on us.   I think the new apartment will be a good change.  It is a 1st floor apartment so no steep stairs to climb.  We will have parking available.  It is still close to the station, just on the other side.  It is not smack dab in the middle of downtown where the summer festivals close the streets, so we will be able to still have classes during festival time.

AND now... back to packing

AND Christmas events

And moving...

Tis' the season!

On 11/30 we decorated our house.

This is our 3rd Christmas in our house, but the 2nd Christmas all together.  I think we are all holding a collective breath that Joshy will stay well and out of the hospital again this year!!  Having had 2 hospital stays in the past few weeks has everyone on edge.

We also decorated ECS.  The last week of Nov. we had the students make bells, which were used to make a garland down the stairway.  They also made an ornament for the tree.  They will take their crafts home after their respective last class before Christmas break.

There have also been crafts and activities going on at church.  On Dec. 1st the children made an advent paper chain craft with scriptures to read each day.  On Dec. 8th we made angels.  These will go on the cookie trays we will make next week (15th), trays that will be delivered to the neighbors near the church.

December 21st will be a full day with the Sunday school Christmas party from 10~1 and the ECS outreach event at our house from 7:30~

December 22nd is the all church Christmas party, complete with a pot luck lunch, gift exchange, a congregational talent show, & mime show.

Yes, Tis' the season for lots of activities.  But more importantly, Tis' the season to remember the REASON for CHRISTmas - that being JESUS!  In all the busyness of the season take time to remember why we celebrate!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

There were some moments in time, when I wasn't sure the Thanksgiving Dinner was going to happen.  In the last month; Joshua has been hospitalized twice, Jerry & Bekah both spent time sick in bed with a cold, I have been fighting the same cold bug, there have also been a couple ER runs, and on Friday before the big dinner, Josh had over 50 seizures - seizures that just would not stop even with emergency meds.   Because of the illness in the family, Joshua was not able to go for respite care, there was just too much chance he would take a virus onto the ward.   It also wasn't a good idea for him to have respite care on the inpatient ward, either - just too many sick kiddos right now.  Just a lot of uncertainty all the way around...

We had planned to have the dinner at the camp like we did 3 years ago... THREE YEARS AGO... our last normal Thanksgiving outreach event!   Three years is a long time.  In three years one forgets the finer points of pulling together a big event.  I digress... this year's event did not have the huge response previous years have had.  With only 20 people signed up, and in light of all the other quirks, we decided to switch locations from the camp to our house.  In the long run, this was the best decision we could have made.  It took some extra work - doors between rooms had to come down, doors between Joshua's room and the kitchen had to be put back up so that his room could be sealed off during the party, floors, walls, & doorways had to be disinfected afterward... that sort of thing.  However, it will still a good choice and easier overall.

Pulling everything together this year was more like pulling teeth than falling off a log, but with great helpers, it did indeed fall into place!  Izzy was around in the morning - he took Jerry to ECS to bring tables, took down doors, & helped with the potatoes.  Robin came down and helped with everything.  She also took on the task of disinfecting the living area after the party.  Kei, our secretary, came mid afternoon bringing a few items I had forgotten and helped with the last minute things.  Jerry helped throughout the day.  Bekah kept Josh out of trouble and helped with the dinner rolls.  Kei helped once she returned home for a 3 day homeschool event she went to with friends.

Food, food & more food...

The Menu: Turkey, green bean casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, corn, lettuce salad, carrot salad, rabbit salad, deviled eggs, homemade dinner rolls, cranberry sauce, & pumpkin pie.

Let the good times roll

Just a quick note to say -

• Joshua is home and doing well.  He came home Monday and is back to his happy, mischievous self, except that he has a nasty, lingering cough... but alas, the cough is NOT slowing him down any!
• I now have the cold that everyone has been passing around.
• Thanksgiving Dinner plans are still a go.  I should know the numbers this evening.  Then shopping list can be finalized... speaking of which Turkeys MUST be gotten out!
• Not sure about Josh being in short stay this weekend.  He has a check up tomorrow at which time we will get the details worked out.  Hopeful that if he cannot be on the regular respite ward, that the doctor will agree to having him be in respite on the inpatient floor.
• Kei leaves tomorrow morning for 2 nights/3 days at a homeschool conference.  She is going with her best friend's family.

Prayers would be appreciated.

Rough week around here.

• Josh had a checkup at the cancer center Tuesday.  Levels relating to his Aplastic Anemia were on course.  Other blood levels were out of whack.  CO2 was back up to nearly the same level it had been when Josh was hospitalized  at the end of October & his infection indicator was elevated.  Dr. Watanabe wanted to have Josh admitted, but because the problem areas were not really AA related, he said the local hosp. would be fine.
• Talked with the doctor at the local hospital.  He felt that for the time being we could monitor things at home.  Monitoring at home has it's good and bad points and a lot of second guessing.
• From Tuesday Joshy's stats stayed pretty stable, BUT he started sleeping 20+ hours a day :/
• Josh was started on an antibiotic on Tuesday.  We wanted to give it a chance to kick in, however with all the sleeping and additional coughing, by Friday a trip to the hospital was needed.
• Joshy is now in room 408 at the local hospital with pneumonia.
• As usual, Joshy's situation is cause for much head scratching... his CO2 levels are now too low and his O2 was too high which is causing other issues.  The infection indicator that has been elevated to 1.5 on Tues is now up to 5.5.  Platelets took a nose dive.  Other AA related levels are staying fairly stable.

There are other things besides Joshy news...

• The ECS roof is still leaking.  We do have an estimate.  We have contacted a person who can contact a relative of the landlord.  (The landlord is elderly and in a nursing home.)  However, it is going to cost a small fortune to do even minimal repairs on the roof.   If I were the landlord, I would have a hard time putting that amount of money into an old, earthquake damaged building.  We have no idea where this leaves us.
• A property between home & ECS caught my eye last week - before we knew about the roof.  We called about it, however, the property is tied up in legal matters which make it un-rentable.

Upcoming events

• Kei will be going to a homeschool gathering with friends next week.  She will leave Thur after lunch and return sometime Sat. afternoon.
• The 23rd is our Thanksgiving Dinner outreach event.  We have nearly 20 people signed up.   The menu is planned & turkeys are biding their time in our freezer.
• Josh is scheduled to go into short stay the 23rd & 24th... however... he cannot go into short stay if he or a member of the family is ill.  Actually he may still be in the hospital.  Don't really want him to still be hospitalized, but, because he is sick, he will not be able to go to short stay.  Still being hospitalized might be the easiest solution.  BIG time mixed emotions on this point.
• Bekah is currently down with the cold bug that has invaded our home & as of last night, the bug is attempting to work me over.

WHIMPER!

Which came 1st - the chicken or the egg?

Or maybe...

the high CO2 levels or the extra seizures?

Or would that be...

the sky high seizure med levels or the high CO2 levels or the seizures?

Seizures can cause high CO2 levels... AND... High CO2 levels can cause seizures... AND... High seizure med levels can cause more seizures... WHICH... can cause high CO2 levels.

Then again it could be...

Which came 1st - the chicken or the egg...er... I mean...

the cough or the seizures?

Is the cough because of the cold or because of the seizures or the high CO2 levels?

There has been much head scratching the past few days.  Seizures are crazy.  CO2 levels are still out of whack.  Coughing & choking have been thrown in for good measure.

Josh had a checkup at the cancer center today.  Dr. Watanabe wanted to admit Josh because his levels, not only CO2, are so out of whack.  He agreed that because the offending levels are not really levels effected by his Aplastic Anemia that we could go to the local hospital.  This afternoon, I went and talked to Josh's doctor at the local hospital.  Dr. Kinoshita feels that Josh is better off at home with some extra monitoring.  If anything comes up we will high tail it to the ER.

All I really know is that I am tired of guessing!

ADD

Jerry had a nasty cold over the weekend.  He is on the mend, but still feeling a little rough around the edges.  The girls & I now have slight colds as well.   Question is did Jerry start this round of colds or did Joshy?

THEN

It was discovered that the ECS roof is leaking again, in the teacher's room this time.  The Realtor who had the lease on the building has closed.  The owner is in a nursing home.  We are trying to track down someone to report the problem to.  We are waiting and praying that the buckets will work well until someone gets back to us.   The building is old, we are not sure the owner/owner's family will want to do much in the way of repairs.  And in the mean time we have nice wet craft supplies to sort, salvage, and pitch.

ALSO

It has been raining most of the past week.  Today there was snow mixed with the rain.  The few times the clouds have cleared enough to catch a quick glimpse of the nearby mountains have shown then will a VERY good snow cover.

Joshua is an enigma.  It was funny, on Sunday as his doctor & I discussed options, going home, staying in, etc... the doctor mentioned that the way Joshua's brain functions is a little strange.  I say, "A little?"  Doc laughed and say, "No, a lot!"  Joshy always has handled things in his own way.  Sure makes life challenging

Coming home was contingent on keeping a close eye on Joshy's stats.  If his SpO2 drops (and stays) below 95 or his temp starts being whonky or anything else unusual happens I need to get him back to the hospital.

SO... Joshy, in his personal way of attempting to drive mama over the edge handling things, has been making me question an ER run each night home.  Normal Joshy means that his body temp drops upward to a degree when he falls asleep,  personally I think his brain just has a hard time going from wakefulness to sleep.  After the temp drops it will level out and then start to go back up.  (Chan & I figured this quirk out last winter.)  True to form his temp has dropped each night, however, because I am also monitoring his SpO2, I have discovered that these numbers have dropped some as well.  Sunday night he had one time when his SpO2 stats were fluctuating between 88 & 97.  Things leveled out fairly quickly - much more quickly than my heart rate as I contemplated an ER run :/   Last night, he had one episode that dropped his levels down to 81!!   The numbers just kept dropping for 2-3 minutes.   I really think he had an apnea episode.  I adjusted him, shifted pillows, attempted to not panic.   Finally, within about 10 minutes, his levels settled in right at 95.  Let me tell you, I was giving serious consideration to paying the ER a visit!   It also took longer for his body temp to stabilize and start it's upward climb.    I probably should have taken him to be checked today, but he he woke up & has remained a SUPER HAPPY CAMPER all day.  His morning stats were 99 and temp was picture perfect.  There is just something about dragging a seemingly healthy child to the hospital - a place FULL of germs - that I just couldn't bring myself to do.   I am keeping notes and will be talking to his doctor on Thursday at his appointment... provided we can avoid an ER run.  Oh the joy of having an enigma!!

The past couple of days have been spent trying to get life back into normal mode...whatever that is.   When there is an enigma in the house, normal takes on a totally different look.   Today was catch up from last week, in the school department.  Both girls also had dental appointment - at different times.  The girls also have headaches - wondering if it is the change of season or the change of their teeth as they have their braces adjusted.  Needless to say, school was more of a challenge than usual.

By the end of the afternoon, I was in need of an escape, so I biked over to the park and walked around.  The colors are really just starting, but I love fall and seeing God's handiwork as he paints the trees!!

  It was beautifully refreshing.   Now I just praying that this refreshment of soul will carry over onto my enigma and he will sleep peacefully without feeling the need to cause his mama to consider a trip to the ER!!

Hmmm... lets see if I can put the past few days into perspective.

TUESDAY Joshy spent the day like this.   (In the morning, he was cold.  A check of his temp showed him at 31.8C/89F.  Checked his SpO2 and it was in the upper 80's with an occasional low 90's.  Those numbers earned us a trip to the front of the line of waiting patients, as well as, immediate hook up to O2, and an xray & CT on the way to the ward.)

He wasn't at all interested in his new wheels!

WEDNESDAY included a special 2hr class an hour drive from home + a special class at the preschool where I teach + my regular classes.  On the Joshy front, he spent the day (with daddy) on an off O2, but pretty much simply sleeping.

THURSDAY I had a checkup followed by more hospital time with Joshy.  He started to slow a slight interest in being awake, but he had no energy to actually sit up and play.

FRIDAY some shuffling around to cover classes and be with Joshy at the hospital.  Joshy was off O2, but still not very active.

SATURDAY Joshy actually tried to sit up and play.  He couldn't balance well, but with some support he started playing.  We decided to go ahead and give  him his birthday gifts.

Jerry & Kei spent were with Joshy while Bekah & I ran around picking up things and getting birthday things around.  After our mini party, the girls & I went home.  We successfully installed the new door while Joshy spent the time becoming more playful.

SUNDAY Joshy was awake, happy, & playing from before 6am.

PTL - Joshy's regular doctor was the doctor on duty.  He knows Joshy.  He knows what we can handle at home.  He saw Joshy doing so much better and knowing it was Joshy's birthday he reluctantly agreed that Joshy could come home.  Lab results are still not looking very good.  Joshy need to be monitored more strictly than ever, but, LORD willing, we will not need to head back to the hospital before his regular check up on Thursday.  So Thankful that Chan's friend gave her an SpO2 monitor and that she left it here.  Because of that simple little monitor Joshy is home!   If his stats or temp drops we will be back in the hospital - period.

So, wearing his new birthday outfit...

He got to try out his new wheels!

All I can say on the new wheels is LOOK OUT!!!!

Now on to a 2nd birthday celebration!

Don't have time to blog, but for anyone who still reads this & isn't connected through facebook, wanted to let them know that Joshy is in the hospital.

Tuesday morning his body temp was 31.8C / 89F and his spo2 levels were upper 80's low 90's.  *Note - Going to the hospital with these stats gets one moved to the top of the list to be seen.  These stats also earn you instant hook up to O2 & a trip to the pediatric ward, via the xray department, where the nurses had a bed set with heating blankets and a heated IV.

Blood gasses show that his CO2 levels are elevated, but other labs are fairly stable.  His WBC's & platelets dropped considerably, which with his levels being low anyway, scared me.  Thankfully, these numbers seem to be stabilizing.  Tests also show that one of his seizure meds is way out of whack.

Joshy's temp has stabolized & he has come off the O2, but CO2 levels are slow to come down.  Yesterday (Fri) was the first day he really seemed to want to play.  He wants to play, but he doesn't have the energy to balance himself AND play for any length of time.  He has also developed a cough, so breathing treatments have been added.   Looks like he will be in the hospital a few (several?) more days.

We had planned a family get-a-way this weekend for Joshy's birthday.  This twist means our get-a-way will be spent in the hospital.  Two years ago, Joshy also spend his birthday (11/3) in the hospital and 2 weeks later was transferred to the Cancer Center where his aplastic anemia was confirmed and treatment started all of which turned into a 4 month stay.

Just a quick update:

1. Kei's fever is gone, but she still has a lingering headache.
2. Joshua seems to be over his unusual sleeping longer hours phase.  I really do think he might have been fighting a bug.
3. Tokyo - we made the call yesterday to NOT make the trip.  At that point the typhoon was being forecast to hit Tokyo about the time we would be traveling.
4. Short Stay - we didn't get a 100% "NO" about Josh going, but because we are not going to Tokyo we decided not to put him in short stay.
5. Typhoons -  The 1st typhoon down graded from "Very Strong" to "Strong"  It has also slowed down and is now moving much more slowly.  The 2nd typhoon, is now graded as "Violent", but it is turning and seems to be staying out to sea.  The typhoons will be joining company in the next day or two, but this meeting appears to be moving out, away from land.

Thanks for the prayers!