Trip to Iowa City

Savannah and her doting boyfriends!


Savannah and her new friend Weston!


Weston and Savannah (in her blue burrito wrap!)

We had a great trip to Iowa City. It was a little bit hectic at times but we were lucky enough to have wonderful friends to stay with, Shane and Jason and their two beautiful boys, Weston and Devon. For those of you who don't know I used to babysit Weston and Devon during dental school, before I had children of my own. My fun experiences with them made me want a son even more when Chris and I found out we were expecting our first baby! Anyway, Shane and Jason have a big house in Coralville and welcomed us (and all our stuff) into their home with open arms. Seriously, you would think we were moving in with all the gear two kids requires. Shane is practically a gourmet chef and we ate well while we were there. Jason works from home so we got to see him quite a bit too. And of course Jack had a blast playing with Weston and Devon. Shane takes great pictures and here a few she captured.



Shane caught a couple of giggly close ups of Jack... what a ham!


Breakfast with friends!


Jack had a blast with other boys to play with!

Landon, Weston, Owen, Devon and Jack..... just hangin with the boys!

On Monday night we had deposition prep with our lawyers. It went well but I began to get very nervous about all the things that the defense lawyers could ask me the following morning. Lots of people have asked us what exactly a deposition is, and I didn't know either until a few months ago. A deposition is basically your testimony under oath, and it is a time for the lawyers of the defendants to ask you questions in order to determine how you might testify at trial. There is a court reporter present and they audiotape and videotape everything. This deposition is for the civil lawsuit against our former babysitter and her husband for monetary damages for Jack. This is separate from the other lawsuit for the insurance money from American Family that still has not been paid to Jack.

On Tuesday morning we arrived early for the deposition and I was so nervous. I just kept repeating my lawyers instructions in my head. It was so painful to see Travis, Tami's husband. I just cried as they started the deposition and asked him where he lived and who he lived with. As he announced his son's names and ages I just couldn't help breaking down and thinking of those two boys without their mother every day since last April and this poor man without his wife. The tragedy of the entire situation just hits me so hard sometimes and it is so difficult to grasp what has actually happened to our families. Travis cried during one part of his deposition and it was just terrible to see his pain and emotion at his memory of that terrible day, April 21, 2008. I was so glad when his testimony was over and I could get mine over with.

On a lighter note, I had gotten a spray tan on Monday evening in Iowa City. I had bought them a long time ago and they were going to expire so I figured I better use one when I was in town. So knowing that Chris and the kids are waiting for me in the car, I rush into Tan World and get sprayed. Well, I made the dumb mistake of forgetting to put on the barrier cream to protect my hands from turning orange. I was in such a hurry. It was terrible! My hands looked horrible, like one of those little people from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory! Shane and Jason teased me that I would have to sit on my hands during the deposition to prevent the lawyers from seeing my "skin condition." That was my plan. Well, I totally forgot that you have raise your right hand before they start the depo and have you repeat that you "swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,and nothing but the truth, so help you God." My gosh, if you could have seen the look on those lawyers faces as they stared at my orange hands. I would have laughed but I was too nervous!

Anyway, my deposition went smoothly and the lawyers were very kind in their questioning. Apparently they thought we had been through enough, which we really appreciated. It was difficult to relive everything all over again through my testimony and to discuss how Jack's injury has changed our lives and our decisions. Chris did a great job in his depo as well. Our lawyers said we did a good job. They did a drop a bomb on us that the trial would be on March 22, lasting a full week. There will be testimony from doctors and social workers and Jack's therapists. We were surprised because we didn't know it would be so soon and we would have liked some more notice. It is difficult for me to arrange time off work and to give family notice, and to arrange family to watch the kids so we can be in court. Two months may seem like plenty of time, but really it will be here before we know it. Part of me would like to delay it until next fall after Jack's therapy in Baltimore and after our two weddings, but the other part of me will be so glad it is over and done with.

On Tuesday night Shane and Jason hosted our other friend Emily and her two boys, Owen and Landon, for dinner. Jack was in heaven with all these boys to play with. It was so fun watching him interact with them and the boys were very kind and they knew to be gentle with him since he is younger. We had a Mexican feast complete with delicious margaritas. I forgot to mention that Amy came to Shane and Jason's house to see the kids when we were at our depositions. She is doing really well, liking school at Iowa and she is liking her job at Mondo's. I didn't even really get to see her, so Amy if you are reading this, I miss you and I love you little sister!

Wednesday Jack had two appointment at UIHC. He had new skull x-rays made and had an appointment with the pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Menezes. Jack was an angel for the radiographs. You know, some children might cry and fuss. But not Jack. I laid him down on the big table and made his little Pablo doll (thanks Kris!) dance for him as the techs velcroed Jack to the table and secured his little head with foam. He just laid there and listened to me sing to him. Then once the techs were finished we all have to leave the room and watch through the window while they beep the radiation. Jack could hear me so I told him it was time for him to sing mommy a song. So he sang to me as the continued to move the equipment for other views for more x-rays. What a good, brave boy! I saw the x-rays as soon as they popped up on the screen and to me they pretty much looked the same as his last reconstructive CT scan. Chris and I prepared ourselves for bad news because that is often what we seem to get.

The appointment with Dr. Menezes went very well. He arrived with a resident and was smiling and seemed happy to see Jack. He said the great news that.... "JACK IS BUILDING NEW BONE!!!" I just sat there dumbfounded, wondering when the bad news was coming. Dr. Menezes sat down and pulled up Jack's images side by side, from a year ago and then from today and showed us two areas where Jack's skull was "bridging" new bone. I was amazed and so happy! He explained that wearing the helmet was giving support to the bone flap that had been replaced 3 months after Jack's injury. It had resorbed quite a bit and now seems to not only be stable but with the support and gentle pressure from the helmet it has encourage new bone growth. Dr. Menezes asked Chris and me if Jack was wearing the helmet 24 hours a day. We just looked at each other. Basically we get exhausted trying to make our two year old wear an eye patch all waking hours, a hand splint, an ankle foot orthotic, and a helmet. My God, I feel so bad for the poor kid. Every time he is frustrated he rips the eye patch off and tears off his helmet to try to show us that he is in charge, not us!! We felt silly explaining that to Dr. Menezes so we just said no, he is not wearing it 24 hours a day, but we will do that if that is what it takes. So basically since Wednesday, Jack has worn the helmet for everything except his hair cut on Friday night and for baths. He has tolerated it to bed better than we thought he would. Anyway, Chris and I are so thankful and we are very hopeful that with good compliance wearing the helmet that Jack's bone growth will continue. Dr. Menezes did burst my bubble a bit when I asked if this could progress to the point that Jack would not need rib grafting in the future. He said, no, Jack will definitely need surgery at age 4-6 depending on his skull growth, but that it could mean the difference between one surgery or two. And that is HUGE. So even though I would of course prefer that Jack have no more surgery at all, if we can avoid a second surgery that would be wonderful.

Chris and I prayed many prayers in Thanksgiving to God for his blessings upon our family. We truly believe in the power of prayer and we know that God has a special plan for Jack. He is an amazing child and we love him to bits. We are so proud of how far he has come.

Better go, Chris and I are going to film Jack for his DVD application to the Kennedy Kreiger Institute in Baltimore. I sent his written application on Thursday and now they are just waiting on his DVD for the doctors and therapists to view. We are hopeful he will officially be accepted into the program and we can set a firm date so we can make travel arrangements and figure out my work schedule. I hope they don't fire me with all this work I am going to need to miss. More updates soon!