This University!

So today while I was eating my lunch, I sat outside the UL (Undergraduate Library) and "people watched." I always think it's fun to watch the masses of people walk through The Pit and the lower quad - there are so many interesting people to see! In the 15 minutes I was sitting there I saw all kinds of people - of all ethnicities, religions, backgrounds. I saw a blind girl, a handicapped man, old people, young people (even Middle schoolers - they seem to be invading our campus today). I even saw a girl with five different sets of stripes - her knee socks, her leggings, her skirt, her shirt, and her jacket all in different kinds of stripes... not to mention her polka-dotted shoes. Last night, Amanda and I went out to dinner on Franklin Street and saw all kinds of different people there as well! (We jokingly said that Franklin St. is probably the closest thing you can get to NYC in the South.) I can't help but remind myself that God created all these wonderful things and people! He created us in His own image! We were all wonderfully and fearfully made!

I've been praying for some time now for a revolution - that all people of God could unite together and bring about a change in our fallen world. I hope that you will join me in praying for a rejuvenated fire for Christ - if any generation was ever capable of it, it is this one! I see so many people on fire for God, and I pray that this fire spreads to the people at this university, in this town, in this state, and people all over the nation! I believe it can happen and I know God will use us in His own special way to see to it!

On a (sad) side note, please pray for my Aunt (dad's sister). She is not doing well and is in the hospital. Things are not looking good for her recovery, but I'd rather not give too much detail, it's a sticky, personal, and sad situation. So please pray for peace for her and my family in this difficult time. (When will this plague leave my family alone?)

On a (HAPPY) side note, please pray for my friend Patrice and her husband Matt during the birth of their second precious son! She is in labor right now as far as I can tell from her blog. Their first son, Gabe, was stillborn, but I know he is in Heaven watching over his sweet baby brother coming into the world today! You can follow her blog here.

God Bless!

My Friends Are Prettier Than Yours

A spoof off Amanda's photo album from Roman...
My Friends Are Prettier Than Yours Part I:

I love these girls! I hope our silliness brightens your day! Happy Monday!

This Is Our Story... The Beginning Chapters

Parker and I have been dating for five and half years and so many people ask, “How can you date someone for that long?” We hear that question all the time. Well, trust me, if we had started dating at a later stage in our lives, we would have already been married – but nope, not us, we started dating at the ripe ol’ age of 14 and 16. (We’ve talked about it and agree that we will advise our children not to date so young.) Our theory is that you should date to marry – I think that “dating around,” just for fun, teaches divorce – when things get tough, just break up, find someone new, and start over again. Not to mention, it gives away pieces of your life/experiences to other people, which you may or may not like in the future. Pieces that you can’t get back to give/share with your true love. I am NOT saying that I think you should marry your first boy/girlfriend, but you should date people that you would want to marry. Clearly, I’m no expert on marriage or dating, but these are my thoughts, feel free to disagree!

So, the beginning of our story… On the night before I started my freshmen year of high school, Parker said to me, “We should go get ice cream to celebrate your first day of high school.” So I said, “Yeah we should!” A minute later, he replies, “Yeah, that’s what I said… do you want to?” So of course I had to ask my parents (being 14 and all), and since the Morgans went to our church and my parents knew the family, they said ok. The next night, Parker came to get me and asked my dad what time he needed to have me home (it was like 6:30 pm). My dad jokingly said, “Um… I think 7 o’clock would be good.” So, Parker, nervous from meeting my dad, says, “Yes sir, we’ll be back by 7.” My mom interrupts to ask what we are going to do for half an hour and Parker replies, “I don’t know, drive around the block and talk I guess.” Then my dad tells him that he was just kidding and we go on our merry way to get ice cream. Cute story huh? Note: Now, both my parents love Parker probably more than they love me… I’m not even kidding :-)

Well, little did we know that we would one day be planning a life together! Through the last five and half years, both of us have had some tough times. During the first couple of months of our courtship, Parker’s Papa died. I went to his visitation in Roanoke Rapids with some church friends, and I think it was then that I realized that I cared for him more than I thought. Later that year, my mom fell and broke her shoulder, arm, and leg (she was sober, haha!). The next year, Parker’s Granny died and he graduated and moved to college. The following year, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time. In Year 4 I graduated, moved away to college, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time, and my Granddaddy Mark died unexpectedly. Some people pick on us and say that we are bad luck for each other – all these bad things started happening when we started dating, but I prefer to see it as God put us in each other’s lives right before he knew that we were going to need each other.

Here's my family one Christmas at my Grandma's:


His family is my family and mine is his. Weston asks me all the time, “Are you guys ever going to get married?” or “Why do you love him so much?” or “Sis, are you engaged yet?” While I don’t think he quite understands the significance of what he’s asking, I think that he asks because he loves Parker so much – Parker is his friend and his mentor and he loves hanging out with him. Parker went to see him in the hospital every day that he was there until he transferred to Chapel Hill, and then he came on the weekend... I think it’s safe to say that Parker loves him too! Here’s a picture of them playing monopoly with Nurse Kevin at the hospital:


Here are the boys at the beach... Weston was 5 years old in this picture! (Wow!)


Through the years, Parker has become my best friend. We’ve grown in our faith so much, just like we’ve matured from 14/16 year olds to 20/22 year olds. Sure, we have a LONG way to go, and I like to think that we’re just getting started! I know that God has great plans for us and our family! One day, we will get engaged and we will get married. Believe me, when that day comes, the whole world will know about it! I can’t wait!

*Going Home!*

Weston, Mom, and Dad are on the way home! The doctors gave him the "All Clear" this morning and sent him on his way! He has a no-fat diet for 2 weeks, but other than that, life can go back to normal - school, basketball, baseball! Praise the Lord! I give all glory to God!

Thank you all for your prayers and encouraging words! We love you!

No update to give on my Grandma today, but I will let you know.

I hope you continue reading my blog now that Weston is better. I actually started my blog to share my thoughts on God, life, and other things - serious and silly, it just happened to be a convenient way to update people on Weston. If you have a blog, let me know and I'll add you to "My Blog List" (on the right) - if I haven't already! Please feel free to send me a comment if you feel led to - I love getting comments. Other than that, have a good day!!

God Bless!
-Laura

Can I have half an Oreo?

Hi ya'll!

Sorry for not updating you yesterday I was exhausted when we left the hospital. But anyways...

Weston is doing much better. If it wasn't for his enzyme levels and being on a no fat diet he would be normal... well normal for Weston haha. He is bored out of his mind and can't wait to eat: O'Cools chicken tenders, pizza, gummy bears, oreos (hence the title), and pop tarts. Haha! His amylase is back to normal levels and his lipase went down a little bit, but it's still in the 900s. The doctors here don't seem to be too concerned about it though. We're hoping to go home tomorrow!

No change for my Grandma Sue though, so please keep her in your prayers.

I also have a "Weston-ism" to share with you! The other day when the nurse was checking him in at UNC she was asking him a long list of questions and this is what happened:

Nurse: Do you have any problems with vision, hearing, or speech?
Weston: Well I don't really like to talk in front of a lot of people, like on a stage or something, I get kinda nervous.
Me and Mom: HAHAHAHAHA, no he doesn't have any problems.

This is what Weston's up to now:
Haha! Hope ya'll have a good Sunday!

I Will Praise You in this Storm!

Disclaimer: I am exhausted!

Weston is feeling okay, but his Lipase level shot up to 900 today! (UGH! - it was at like 150) The doctors are meeting together to decide what plan of action to take and they will be talking to us around 11 am. I'll let you know what they say.

Grandma is not doing well. They get her sugar level normal and it drops again within half an hour to an hour. The doctors still don't know why this is happening.

Dad is feeling better and may be coming to Chapel Hill this afternoon depending on how this morning goes.

My Mom is exhausted and has a horrible cough - I'm making her go to my apartment to rest when I get out of class at 2 pm.

I am exhausted and totally behind in my classes - I went to bed around 11 pm because I was falling asleep reading for a paper and woke up this morning at 6 to write the paper. Still have some reading to do for my last class today so I'll have to post more later. But hey - I got 7 hours of sleep last night and it was AMAZING.

Thanks for the prayers! I apologize that I am unable to update you personally or thank you personally for the prayers, I hope you understand and accept this blog as your update and thank you! I love you all! Have a good Friday (the 13th... ugh)!

Life is a Mess!

Weston is getting transported to UNC today around 1 pm! He's doing much better today compared to yesterday. He even ate some cheerios, crackers, and 2 french fries! Yay! One of his numbers went up a few points and the other went down a few, but basically they didn't change much. I can't wait to see him and my mom!

I wish I could see my dad too... but HE is at home in bed with an upset stomach and he was throwing up all night! (Nice timing huh?) Hopefully he'll be feeling better tomorrow and can come to Chapel Hill! Geez though!

My Grandma Sue was taken back to the hospital last night after she passed out. They can't get a hold of her blood sugar - it goes up and down and up and down. It was unstable all night. Pray for her! She has Alzheimer's and is very confused right now. :(

When all this gets over I plan to 1) Praise God, 2) Celebrate my birthday, and 3) Write a post dedicated to Parker because he has been SO wonderful the last few weeks!

One last thing... Carolina won last night! It was AMAZING! We rushed Franklin St. (but don't worry, I was not anywhere near fire)! This morning after a few hours of sleep, I woke up feeling like a bus hit me. Note to self: Do not speed walk/run/walk a mile at 11 pm - screaming, yelling, singing, and leaping the whole time - and then scream, yell, sing, and dance around with 10,000 other people, just to turn around and walk back to your apartment in the wee morning hours.

On second thought, Note to self: Do it all over again if you get the chance - because it was AWESOME and TOTALLY WORTH IT!

"Bless Your Heart"

Update to post: Grandma went home, it wasn't a stroke Thank God! Her blood sugar was just super low, but they got it back up and sent her home! God is good! However, Weston started throwing up today! Geez. Poor kid. They gave him Zofran for his nausea. As always, I'll keep you updated.

---------

So my Dad once told me that he heard a comedian joke about how in the South, people say "Bless Your Heart" for just about anything. You pulled an all nighter studying for an exam? Bless your heart. You sneezed so hard that snot came out your nose? Bless your heart. Someone in your family died? Bless your heart. You said something really, really stupid and embarrassed yourself? Bless your heart.

Well how about if your brother is in the hospital in Greenville with Pancreatitis and while he feels better, his counts are too high. The pediatricians have done all they know to do so decide its best to transfer him to UNC Hospitals. You're waiting on a bed to open so that you can pay for the outrageous bill of transporting him from hospital A to hospital B. All the while... your Grandma (mom's mom) is rushed to the ER in Greenville and they think she may have had a stroke. What do you say to that?

Bless my heart. There... I'm saying it to myself.

That's right folks, my Grandma Sue was taken to the hospital this morning because they thought she had had another stroke. Last update I heard was that her sugar levels are down really low. This happened last year around this time and her sugar levels had dropped down to like 22 and she was unconscious. To put it in perspective, average levels are between 80 and 110. It was a rough road, but the doctors were able to get her levels back up. I pray that she will be okay! I'll keep you updated.

As for Weston, his counts went down a little bit today! But hey, I'll take it! Praise God! We are still waiting on a bed to open up at UNC.

Life is a mess right now! Bless my heart.

Carolina better beat dook tonight.

Tuesday Update

Hola amigos!

Weston's Lipase level went down today (Praise God!), but his Amylase level went up a little bit. Both are still a little high. Dad said that Weston's been drinking Ensure like their ain't no tomorrow which is awesome because it shows his appetite is coming back and his pain level has gone down. He didn't have any pain medicine all night and all morning! He also walked to the playroom and played Wii for TWO HOURS today! They had to kick him out so other kids could come in. Ha! I'm so thrilled that his energy level is back up and he seems to be feeling better. Now, if we could just get those counts down!!!

We are waiting on a bed to open up at UNC. UNC has a fellowship for GI Pediatricians where as Greenville (Eastern, NC for that matter) only has one GI Pediatrician. So I'll keep you updated on that.

For now, we just praise God that he's mentally and physically feeling better! Keep praying that his counts go down so he can try solid foods!

Love each and every one of you! God Bless!

Update...

Weston's scan results showed no change from before, which is good, I think. His enzyme levels both went up today (so frustrating!). They did a CBC (Complete Blood Count, I think) and everything was normal.

Because Greenville only has one GI Pediatrician, they may be transferring Weston to UNC - depending on whether they have a bed available and what their specialists think is best.

Weston is doing okay, he's been up walking around more and is still on soupy liquids.

Please pray for him and our family. I for one am low in spirits today! I'm ready for my brother to get better and go home - I'm tired of playing this waiting game and not knowing anything. I believe that God will make him better in His time, but I am impatient and worried nonetheless.

I try to take comfort in this passage from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and our momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal"


And in the song "Praise You in this Storm" by Casting Crowns... you can listen to it on my blog.

Thanks for the prayers.

Sunday Hospital Day # 7

Today Weston's amylase enzyme went down, but his lipase enzyme went up. He got to have thicker fluids today - he had some Ensure and Creamy Chicken Soup. Needless to say, he wasn't exactly excited about the mush he got to eat today. BUT, it is better than having a feeding tube! Tomorrow he is going to have a MRCP (a scan of his pancreas) to see if there are any abnormalities that could be causing the delay in his pancreas getting back to normal.

He sat up in the chair today and walked around in the hall a couple times. They also took him off Dilaudid (pain medicine) and have put him on Tylenol. Both enzyme levels are about 100 pts higher than they are supposed to be, but keep praying that they'll go down! God is good and we know he is healing Weston each day!

I'll keep you updated!

Saturday Update

Hi fellow prayer warriors!

We need you to pray for Weston's counts to go back down! Dr. Poley is concerned that the counts went back up today, so if they go up again tomorrow, they will take him off the clear fluids and feed him through the IV or a feeding tube through his nose - and we don't want that!! So please pray that God will take a way the pain and inflammation in his pancreas and his counts will go back down!

Also, please pray for my friend Erin in Madagascar! 23 people were killed in a protest at the capital. If you remember, last week, there was another uprising and several people were killed. You can read the article here. Also, you can follow Erin's blog while she's in Madagascar here.

One last thing - thanks for all the Happy Birthday wishes in text, calls, and post on facebook! I love you all!

Laura

Hosptial Day #6

Hello friends!

Unfortunately, Weston's counts went back up today, so he is just sticking with clear liquids again. He's pretty disappointed, but maybe tomorrow he can have real food! He's really tired today, but he's doing okay. He says he wants to thank everyone who is praying for him!

Here are the pictures I promised of Weston's special visitors yesterday!

This is when his best friend, Jonathan came. Jonathan is winning his battle with leukemia, Praise God! He is a sweet young man and we enjoyed his visit!


This one is of Chris, one of Weston's baseball buddies for a long, long time! He is a great friend and we were glad to see him!


Then our cousins Brad & Amanda brought Walker to come hang out! He is so cute and brings such joy into the room!


Thanks for the prayers!!!

Hopsital Day #5 - On the way to getting better!

Today was a good day! Weston started having clear fluids - he had some yummy beef broth and a sprite for lunch and even better chicken broth and a sprite for dinner! He also sucked on a lollipop this afternoon! And to work off all those calories, he walked to the scale down the hall to weigh! He was in good spirits today and was back to his typical "Weston-isms."

Tonight, he kept the nurse on her toes, that's for sure! She asked him if he was "always this funny" and he said, "I have my funny nights and my normal nights." HA!

He also had some special visitors today and we got some great pictures, but for some reason, blogger won't let me upload them so I guess you'll have to wait till tomorrow!

We appreciate all the prayers and pray that Weston continues to get better!

Tomorrow's agenda? Hopefully good lab results showing that today's clear liquids weren't too much for his pancreas to handle. If so, then we might be moving up to some better food & more exercise! I'll keep you updated!

Hospital Day #4

Weston's enzyme levels went down again today (yay!), but they didn't go down very much (boo!). He is still above the level he needs to be and Dr. Poley doesn't want to try clear liquids until he is at normal levels so no clear liquids today - just IV fluids (yum yum...). Weston went most of the morning without pain medicine which is great! They are going to try and get him to walk this afternoon so pray that that doesn't cause him pain.

And since my birthday is supposed to be this Saturday (in two days on Feb. 7th)... I am hereby changing my birthday to February 12th (next Thursday) a relaxing day, hopefully Weston will be all better, we can eat dinner as a family, Carolina will have beat dook the night before, I will be caught up on all my school work, I will have gotten the awesome camera I want... so February 12th is now my 20th birthday. Just kidding.... kind of.

Thanks for the prayers, I will keep you updated!

Also, I came back to Chapel Hill yesterday because I had to teach my precious (ha) 7th graders. It was worthwhile though... even though my favorite student that I tutor was in the nurse's office all afternoon after being tackled in flag football during gym class. I have some funny quotes to share with you, spoken by our country's future leaders...

(I changed the names)

Me: What is the name of the collection of Confucius' teachings that his disciples recorded?
Johnny: OH OH I KNOW MS. CASE!!!
Me: Ok, Johnny what is it?
Johnny: THE AZTECS!
Me (inside my head): HAHAHAHAHAHA ... HAHAHAHA
Me (spoken): No, the Aztecs is a group in Central Mexico. Does someone want to help Johnny out?
Matthew: Johnny, it's called the Analects you idiot!

They are so nice to each other. Oh how I love 7th grade.

------

Ester: Would that be Confucius or Lao Tzu?
Luke: Or would it be Gandhi? (I have no idea why he would ask this because we were not even talking about Gandhi)
Peter: Wait, who's Gandhi again?
Sam: Some Indian dude.

HAHA!

Wednesday Hospital Day #3

The GI doctor (Dr. Poley) FINALLY came today around 2:00 pm. He was pleased with Weston's progress, but would like to wait until his enzyme levels and WBC go down a bit more (which they did a great deal from yesterday to today) before giving him clear liquids. So hopefully he will continue the same progress tomorrow! He hasn't thrown up today though, which is fantastic!

This morning he got a bath and some playstation time before going back to sleep again for the whole afternoon. I can tell that he's doing better, even though I can see that he still has a long way to go.

So if his levels go down to where they need to be tomorrow then he will hopefully try some clear liquids. If that goes well, maybe more food?? They will be watching him like a hawk to make sure he doesn't relapse.

Sleeping away!

Teddy after his bath (haha)!

Yes, he did cut his eyes at me... I'm okay with that though!

Grandma also went to the school today to pick up a special delivery!

His classmates all made him Get Well Soon Cards! He really liked them & so did we!

Here are some favorites:
A rapper guy saying "Come on man, come back to school. Your going to make me cry" HAHA!

An AWESOME drawing of Garfield! Weston said this girl can draw anything!

This card was cut out in the shape of a baseball bat and ball. On the inside it said, "You hit it. Home run! Off of my head!" hahahaha

This was a sweet one. It says "Hey Weston I'm sorry (about) what happened because my cousin had that but he was okay just leave it to God I'm not saying don't push, push Weston. Push with God" Sweet!

How cute is that drawing? I love the wink!

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers! Keep 'em coming!

Also, Special Shoutout to Beaty on his birthday! Happy Birthday Beaty Bass!

Tuesday Night Update on Weston

Still no GI doctor and boy is my mom about to go off on someone (So am I)! Apparently this GI doctor (if he exists) is the only children's GI doctor for the area. We have been told that he is coming tomorrow (but, we were also told that he was coming yesterday... and today... and this afternoon...)

However, we DID get to have a great, long talk with the pediatrician on call tonight. He was fantastic! He said Weston has improved on paper and we can tell a slight improvement from yesterday to today. Because of this improvement, he said we can afford to be more patient with this GI doctor. If Weston was not improving/getting worse, then he could be transferred to a different location where there was a GI doctor on staff. He also said that Weston might can try food in the next 24 hours IF (that was a huge IF) there is some more improvement - but the doctors would have to discuss it first. Weston is still having a lot of pain and is still on pain meds.

The doctor has ordered the same "check up" tests for tomorrow morning to let us know where his WBC and enzyme levels stand. Apparently, the #1 cause of pancreatitis is alcolol abuse (yeah, we KNOW it was Superbowl Sunday and all when he got sick... and we've picked on him a little about it (smile!)). The #1 cause for it in children is injury/trauma ie. car accident, hitting the handlebars on a bike, etc. Since Weston hasn't had trauma (or alcohol!), we're not sure what the cause is, but the doctor said just about anything can cause it and hopefully the GI doctor can help determine a cause. He also said they probably wouldn't do another scan of the pancreas unless things started getting worse.

We had A LOT of visitors today, which I know means a lot to him. He got a little worn out though late this afternoon/tonight from the steady stream of visitors so the nurses asked that everyone restrict their visits to 30 minutes or less.

Please keep praying for him and our family! We appreciate the words of encouragement and sweet prayers! We need all the uplifting we can get!

Also, if anyone knows anyone who had pancreatitis - esp. as a child - let us know what you know about it!

Love to you all,
Laura

Hospital Day #2

Hi fellow prayer warriors!

Still waiting for the GI doctor to come.

His white blood count (WBC) has gone down and his enzyme levels have gone down, but they are still really high. He has slept most of the day, but he did wake up for a few minutes to play playstation (smile). He threw up once today and he is still having pain. This morning when the doctor was feeling of his stomach, he was in quite a bit of pain on his right side. Still no food, drink, ice... still lots of sleeping, sleeping, sleeping.

The hospital teacher came today and enrolled him in "hospital school." She will come for an hour each day to work with him on his schoolwork if he feels up to it. If not, he's still "at school" so he doesn't get counted absent. That way he won't be stacking up absences at school. (He's already missed 8 days from having walking pneumonia the last two weeks.)

Please keep praying! Love to you all...
Laura

Wish I had an update....

So, I wish I could tell you that the doctors have figured everything out and Weston's on his way to getting better...

But all I have to update you on is that he slept all day and I'm still scared to death. Apparently there are 3 other kids in the Children's Hospital that have pancreatitis right now (which we found out from Parker's mom's awesome connections). The GI doctor still hasn't come yet, but he has seen Weston's charts and heard the Pediatrician's plan and agrees. They are running more tests in the morning and will have them back by the time the GI doctor comes in to talk to us.

For now, Weston can't have any food, drink, ice, (anything but IV fluids and pain medicine), which is supposed to give his pancreas a rest which will hopefully cause the swelling to go down which will hopefully make his white blood count go down and his enzymes get back to normal (I do not know medical terminology).

Before we left (me, Dad, and Parker - Mom's staying there tonight), he was awake for a few minutes, but he went back to sleep soon after. He's mostly just complained about having pain in his stomach.

Thanks for the prayers - the calls, the texts, the comments. Please keep praying!!!

Update on Weston

Hey everyone!

I'm back in Greenville at the hospital with my family. Weston is still the same. The Pediatrician didn't say anything that hasn't already been said. I forgot to say in the post earlier that his white blood count is 22000 (which is super high). Anyways, the pediatrician has only seen 2 cases ever in all his years of medical practice of pancreatitis, so he is unfamiliar with it. He has decided to consult a GI doctor who will be coming in later today to run some tests.

He's sleeping now and has only thrown up once since I've been here. Please keep praying and spread the prayer chain!

Pray for Weston!!

Hey fellow prayer folks!

My mom called early this morning to tell me that they had taken Weston to the ER because he had been throwing up all night and couldn't stop. They admitted him into the hospital for 3-4 days (at least?) on the account of it being an inflammed pancreas (probably from the antibiotics he has been on over the last 2 weeks from having whooping cough/walking pneumonia/bad, bad cold/virus). He is on morphine/IVs -- I don't know the whole medical spill -- they are waiting for the pediatrician to come talk to them now. That's all I know to tell you right now except he still hasn't stopped throwing up and pancreatis is rare in children.

So PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!

I'm on my way back to Greenville as soon as I finish posting. Check back here for updates.

God is good and I trust him! Please pray for Weston.