Monster Jam & My Trip to Florida

I’m writing this post from 28,000 feet en route from Atlanta to Naples, Florida, where I am going to visit my good friend, Alana. Mom and are are taking a little vacation to Orlando, beginning tomorrow. Since Alana moved away we see precious little of each other, so I tagged an extra day to the beginning of my trip in order to make an overnight stop in Naples to spend some time with her.  I will be meeting her sweet baby for the first time – he is already over a year old!

This week I’m going to attempt to sort of get “caught up” from February’s events. Before we head into April. There are a few things I wanted to highlight before the moment for sharing slips away. It was a very eventful month for our family – but in a good way this time! I’ve already shared about the trip Rob and I went on, but there were a few more that were also fun! 

In February Rob and Mark went to the Monster Jam in Atlanta. Always monster truck fans! They flew down and met up with Pop for the day, then returned home the next morning. We do have a monster jam here in Raleigh, but our arena is very small and it’s hardly worth going to if you want to see anything particularly spectacular. Always a fun time!

Pop and Mark in Atlanta

Also, Rob was able to attend the SuperBowl! He and a friend got tickets and they were able to stay with his friend’s family in Dallas.

New Record!

73 days! New record for days out of the hospital! The last record was 58 days, and it seems as if he's still going strong. He's doing so well, in fact, that the new record sort of snuck up on me. Very thankful, though!

 It was a beautiful day on the Hill!

Wednesday March 23 I took Brett to clinic for a routine scheduled visit with his nutritionist, pulmonologist, and gastroenterologist. It was a good visit - although he didn't gain any weight, at least he didn't lose, and that's a small victory in and of itself.

We talked about adding more salt to his diet now that the weather is warmer and he will be sweating more. The GI doc increased his Prilosec dose in hopes of making him feel better in his tummy and maybe eat more. She also prescribed a substance called a "binder" that is supposed to help his stool not burn his bottom so bad. It was complicated the way she described it - as well as gross - so I'll leave it at that. She took a culture on his bottom to test it for strep. Also his stool will be tested again for c. diff., even though there's no real reason to suspect he has that again. I guess since he's had c. diff once now, they will test almost every time for that in order to catch it and treat it before it begins causing him to lose weight. His last culture was negative.

No changes on his feed - still tube fed for 20 hours a day, while eating and drinking whatever he can on top of that. Still over 2000 calories a day for our little guy and no weight gain. Frustrating.

The good news is that he is healthy right now, with no lung infection. He is not scheduled to go back for four weeks - yay, with a weight check in 2 weeks on infusion day, April 8. 

The beautiful daytime weather turned into a hailstorm that evening!

Brett's pulmonologist decreased his Flovent dose from 110 mcg to 44 mcg. (This is the dose Mark takes for managing his mild asthma). Oh and he started on Zyrtec this week to hopefully help with his eczema that is under control only when I use the heavy steroid ointment. His eyes are all eczema-looking, so maybe it's allergies. Nobody really knows, but it's not a bad idea since the pollen season is again upon us.

No changes on his feed - still tube fed for 20 hours a day, while eating and drinking whatever he can on top of that. Still over 2000 calories a day for our little guy and no weight gain. Frustrating.

The good news is that he is healthy right now, with no lung infection. He is not scheduled to go back for four weeks - yay, with a weight check in 2 weeks on infusion day, April 8.

Keystone Day 3

Bridge to the village

Ok, so day #3. We slept in again, and took our boots down to get adjusted again once the guy said he'd be coming in at 11. Then we had lunch while we waited on the adjustments. But in between that we had to make a stop at the little grocery store for BENADRYL because what I haven't said yet is that for the past few days I'd been enduring an itchy skin rash. Over Thursday evening and Friday morning, however, it spread like wildfire from head to toe and the itch was extremely intense!! It was as if the itch was actually under my skin, so rubbing/scratching the skin still didn't even bring temporary relief. 

The village

I took the Benadryl right away to get it in my system ASAP. After lunch Rob went to ski some more challenging runs that I wasn't going to do anyway while I took the shuttle up to the medical center and saw a doctor. I will spare you the photos of the rash. At this point it was visible on my ears and on my forehead, but the worst parts were my torso, back, and feet. It looked horrible and I thought for sure my skin would be scarred. The doctor told me to keep on taking the Benadryl and the steroids would make me more comfortable in about 24 hours. After dealing with all that, I had no desire to do any more skiing, so we relaxed for the remainder of the day. 

But we enjoyed our last day of rest and had great food that night!

I had Alaskan halibut

And Rob tried elk for the first time

As promised, the steroids did their job and the itch completely stopped. By the time we made it home late Saturday night the spots were almost gone. Amazing. I took the pills, tapering off for 7 days. The doctor there chalked it up to uticaria, but one doctor here at home said it could've been a virus since it came on slowly and not suddenly like an allergy would. I pray it never happens again.

They adjusted our boots one more time before we left the next day. The adjustments have to be made a tiny little bit at a time, so this is evidently a common thing, having to go back to the shop again. But they are devoted to getting it right at Surefoot, as many times as it takes. So, most of our time there ended up being spent right in the boot shop. And I didn't even get a picture of it!! But I think it will be worth it next time we go skiing. The shop is franchised and the boots are guaranteed so we don't have to pay for adjustments, ever. Another skiier told us that the warming bags they sell are great. You put the boots the bag and plug in the bag, and it heats your boots all night. In the morning, the hard plastic and foam becomes soft and pliable, and your foot supposedly slides right in comfortably. We hope to try again next season!

Goodbye, Colorado!

Keystone Day 2

There was a Surefoot store there in the village, so we decided to have the custom boots made. WOW what a painful experience that was! First of all, our feet were already hurting pretty bad because of the run we had just done on rental boots. It's interesting how these are custom made.

First they measure your foot all kinds of different ways with different high-tech machines that record how you put pressure on your foot. Then they make an orthotic (corrective shoe inserts) for your foot. For mine they had to build up the insoles since I have such a high arch. 

This is the guy putting tape on Rob's feet and getting them ready for the boots. His face sort of says it all.

Here he is getting my feet ready for the boot. There was significant padding already put around my bunions, that's why my sock is poking out so much on the side.

Then they put the boots on you with tubes connected that go inside the boot shell (but outside where your foot is).

After that you have to stand on the swivel pedestal contraption. The handlebars are not just there to keep balance. At several different points you have to pull down really hard for 30 seconds or so. It hurts really bad, so you're actually having to add to your own pain.

The way the boots come is just a shell. Not much padding - this is so they can put the padding where you need it for your particular foot. The squeeze bottle in the middle of my feet is actually liquid foam. It shoots up through the tubes and into the boot. This is where it gets tight and painful. It molds around your calf, ankle, and toes. And this is where you have to push down until it "sets" and gets hard. You have to stand there for several minutes with that painful pressure.

This whole process took a few hours. We had lunch, then hit the slopes again. We knew the boots had to be broken in and therefore would still be pretty tight, and might need more adjustments, but they were SO tight and painful that I was having to stop every few minutes to try and relieve the pain. We were still only on a green slope! But the even the green slopes are obviously a lot steeper out in Colorado compared to the slopes in West Virginia. You are forced to ski a lot more athletically - there is no just being lazy or sitting back a bit (the way I like to do!)

By that time the sun had set and we were night skiing. I kept trying to make it, although I was crying the whole time and my feet were in terrible pain. Rob said he could hear me the whole time even though we weren't skiing very closely. He kept asking me if I could make it, and I really wanted to. I tried to. But I didn't know if I could make it, because I didn't really know how far it was. We finally stopped at a phone and I just collapsed while Rob called the ski patrol. I was just crying and crying. It hurt, but I also felt bad.

When the ski patrol girl got there she helped me get the boots off. It was tough to do. But we got it done, and the she skied me down to the bottom pulling me on a sled! She told me to cover my face as much as possible because the snow kicks up high. She was right about that! I had goggles but had to try to cover my face with my coat. She was going pretty fast and it still took awhile, so at that point I knew there is no way I could've made it. I was so glad we called!

I walked back to the lodge in sock feet. I didn't care how cold it was, I was just glad to have those boots off! Rob's feet were hurting pretty badly as well. We got into the hot tub for awhile. It was neat because snow was falling fairly heavily from the black sky while we were in soaking in the tub. When we felt ready, we went down to the village for dinner. The guy that fit us happened to be in the same restaurant so we told him about our problems. He said it should not have been that bad, and told us to bring the boots into the shop the next day. The dinner was at a restaurant called Kickapoo, and it was great food. Certainly hit the spot after all that ordeal! Although it wasn't funny at all at the time, I can't tell the story to anyone without laughing!

Even if I can't ski in them, I will still look great because these are some really pretty ski boots! Hopefully I'll be able to sport them next winter.

Keystone Day 1

Despite the inspiration, fun, education, and updates on what's happening in the company, it can be a tiring few days attending Seminar. The schedule is physically demanding and mentally taxing. That's why if Mom and Dad are able to stay a few extra days, we take advantage of it and go somewhere else for a few days to recuperate!

Ahhh, Colorado

This year we chose to go to Keystone Ski Resort. We had general session at Chick-fil-A Wednesday morning, had lunch, then brought our luggage down and rode a shuttle to the San Antonio airport. After a 2 hour flight to Denver and a 2 hour shuttle van ride, we made it to Keystone about 8:30pm. We slept in the next day (I think I talked to my mom around 10am and said we were heading to breakfast), got our rental boots and skis, then set off to conquer the mountain.

Just kidding. After only one run down the mountain on the green slopes (a 3 1/2 mile run), our rental boots were killing us! There was a Surefoot store there in the village, so we decided to have custom ski boots made in because we were thinking that they would instantly feel better and we'd be able to ski more comfortably. We had another think coming. Check in tomorrow for details on that "adventure"...

This was about the best photo I got from the top of the mountain since it was snowing that day

Happy 90th Birthday, Truett!

One last highlight of Seminar I will share is that this year Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, turned 90. What a wonderful life! He is quite a remarkable man, and has made such a difference in the lives of others. After all, can you imagine a world without Chick-fil-A?  :)

Truett and Jeanette with Rob and Dick (Rob's dad)

At seminar they had a birthday party for him, where several veteran operators got on stage and told him how much they appreciated what he had done for them over the years. Then we sang "Happy Birthday" and let all the balloons drop! The music began, and many danced to songs they played from each decade.

 Several weeks later on March 10, there was a black tie event to celebrate his 90 years of life. Rob and his dad were able to attend this celebration in Atlanta. Entertainment included Diana DeGarmo, Jeff Foxworthy and Michael W. Smith! Definitely a good time celebrating!

Chick-fil-A Seminar - Tim Hawkins

Almost all our other free time we had during Seminar we spent at EXPO, where we can visit vendors as well as corporate departments to discuss what is happening now as well as new innovations. For example, we can see/taste new products being tested, look at new packaging, new uniforms, and even buy things at the company store. There are places to sit everywhere so EXPO has really become the place to hang out in the last several years.

One booth at EXPO is sponsored by Chick-fil-A Wellness. They have an assessment you can do where they check several benchmarks and give you the information they have collected on you, as well as your "body age." Rob and I both did the assessment for the first time this year. They checked resting heart rate, height/weight/BMI/body fat %. I am currently having these values monitored at home (by my personal trainer and my doctor), so none of these were a surprise for me. There was a sit-and-reach, and a blood test for cholesterol and blood sugar levels. According to Chick-fil-A Wellness, my body turned out to be 41 years old. That's not stellar since I'm only 37! So my goal is to improve that body age when I get tested next year.  I'm already working on that!

As for entertainment, we watched Jason Castro from season 7 American Idol. Remember him?  He was really good. The Flying Aces were also there, and they did all kinds of fancy tricks on the trampoline. The Northpoint iBand was also there. The highlight of the entertainment, however, was a Tim Hawkins concert. He is so hilarious and our cheeks hurt just from laughing so hard! It's funnier when he tailors his jokes to us as a company. This year he had yet another new Chick-fil-A song to share. We love having Tim at Seminar!

Yes, we were sitting behind Truett & Jeannette!

St. Patrick's Day - Five Fun Facts

"Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me." - St. Patrick

Five Fun Facts about St. Patrick and St. Patrick's Day from ABC News. I especially like #4, how St. Patrick used a shamrock to explain and symbolize the Trinity.

As we prepare to honor the patron saint of Ireland by donning green and drinking too much, it feels only fitting to pull the curtain back a bit on March 17. So without further ado, here are five things you probably didn't know about St. Patrick's Day. Eire go brach!

1. St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland, was born in the year 387 at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton. Which is in Scotland. Making Ireland's patron saint ... Scottish. As a teenager, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and enslaved as a shepherd for several years. He attributed his ability to persevere to his faith in God.

2. His birth name was actually Maewyn Succat -- it wasn't until he was in the Church that it was changed to Patricius, or Patrick.

3. Green may be the national color of Ireland, but the color most associated with St. Patrick is blue. The Order of St. Patrick was established in 1783 as the senior order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Ireland. The color associated with the honor needed to differentiate it from the Order of the Garter (dark blue) and the Order of the Thistle (green). So they went with a lovely shade of sky blue.

4. Patrick used a three-leafed shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to pagan Irish, forever linking the shamrock with him and the Irish in the popular imagination. He would tie shamrocks to his robes, which is why we wear green today. (The shamrock was also important in Celtic mythology because of its three leaves -- a sacred number to the Celts.)

5. The very first St. Patrick's Day parade was held in the U.S. The Irish have been celebrating the feast of St. Patrick since the ninth century, but the first recorded parade anywhere was in Boston in 1737. The parade was not Catholic in nature, though, because the majority of Irish immigrants to the colonies were Protestant. Ireland did not have a parade of its own until 1931, in Dublin. Even today, 18 out of the 20 largest St. Patrick's Day parades are in the States -- New York's is the largest.

We truly enjoyed attending the 41st annual Chick-fil-A Operator Seminar, which was held this year in San Antonio, Texas. It was Rob's 12th year in attendance!  It was my 11th because I skipped in 2009.

It was held in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in downtown San Antonio - a great location with plenty of restaurants and shops nearby on the Riverwalk. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt.

The convention center with the Tower in the background

San Antonio Riverwalk

Our keynote speaker was Patrick Lencioni, who is always great to listen to and shares content that is very applicable to not only business, but also to any other realm in which you are a leader and developing other leaders - such as at home. Of course Dan Cathy spoke as well as a few other Chick-fil-A corporate leaders. Always good material!

The view looking back from the 3rd row

Many hours were spent in the convention center at general session and "breakouts" in which various speakers presented additional ideas and information. We also attend an annual Atlantic Region meeting where awards are presented for "top of the region" in many different areas of the business.

Brett's Update

On February 11, Brett had his monthly IVIG (Immunoglobulin infused intravenously). Although it takes most of our day, it is an outpatient procedure. I left the house at 8:30am and got home at 5:30pm.

UNC's pediatric infusion room

Since Brett no longer has a central IV access, he had to get a PIV (peripheral intravenous access) put in just for the infusion and then have it taken out as soon as the infusion was over. Not a fun thing, but still better than having a line that is inevitably going to get infected. We hated that the port had to come out - we hoped it would last him years, but now that it's over and done, we're glad he doesn't have access so his body can sort of take a rest from having so much "hardware" inside.

Brett has gotten very used to this room!

Gantt and Brett both had a cold or some sort of virus affecting them that week, runny noses and coughs - it started over the weekend of the 12th, and I was getting concerned because of the frequency and severity of Brett's coughs. At this time in his life, Brett doesn't cough at all when he is at baseline. I contacted his doctor when the weekend was over and the cough wasn't really getting much better. He called in some oral antibiotics, Omnicef, that Brett would take for 10 days just in case the virus were to kick up the bacteria that is always in his lungs. We did this in hopes that he wouldn't develop a bacterial infection in his lungs.

He thinks it is a playground!

As the week progressed, the cough (for both boys) improved. was Brett's last scheduled clinic visit was on Friday, February 18th. He saw his GI doc and his pulmonary doc. Everyone thought his lungs sounded great. His cough was gone, and he seemed to have dodged a pulmonary infection. Brett's did lose weight, but we chalked it up to fighting an illness, plus having been on antibiotics that usually create extra loose stool. He is still desperate need of weight gain and growth. He has grown a little taller, but he needs to pack on some serious pounds. Please keep praying for that - we are doing all we can to help facilitate that growth, but his body's got to do it on it's own.

Mr. Alan plays his guitar and sings for the kids

This week my "angel mother" and "darling dad" are taking care of the children while we are away. And as you well know, caring for these three can be a joy, but it is never a walk in the park! Well, When our first general session began for Chick-fil-A Seminar, I noticed that I had just missed a call from Brett's doctor. I was concerned because it seems not much good can be going on when your doctor calls you from home on a Sunday night. But, it wasn't an emergency - just that the stool samples we got in clinic on Friday the 18th came back and had shown that Brett has c. diff, and rather than explain all that, I just decided to link it to an explanation if you aren't familiar with it and want to read about it. Mom had been concerned about him having very frequent and loose stools, so that made sense because that's what happens when you have a c. diff infection. This is Brett's first one. Thankfully it is no emergency, and he called in a prescription for Flagyl, the medicine they use to treat this bacteria overgrowth. Hope it settles down soon.

Greetings from San Antonio!

The Alamo

Wow! It's been a long time since my last blog post. Life has been waaaaaay too busy for me back at home, trying to get ready for this trip we're on, getting all the appointments done before we left, and making final selections on the house. I tallied that I spent a total of about 10 hours on house-related tasks the week before last. And that's not even counting the hours Rob spent on it. However, it's of course going to be worth it because the house will be exactly the way we want it to be. It ought to be ready very soon. Both twins got a cough/cold, and I started getting cough and cold so I was trying to rest whenever possible. Needless to say, blogging had to take a back seat.

Rob and I were able to come to San Antonio one day before Chick-fil-A's Operator seminar 2011 began. We enjoyed walking the Riverwalk, having lunch and dinner at leisure - without worrying about squirmy children and eating quickly, throwing things on the floor, etc. It's so nice to take a vacation (even if it is considered "work") and me not have think about packing lunches and making dinner (except maybe which restaurant to choose), have people cook for me, serve me, clean up after me, not have to facilitate homework, do errands, drive to various appointments and activities, and be able to go to bed whenever I want!

We stayed at a hotel called Mokara, where we had a private balcony that overlooked the Riverwalk. It became quite busy on a Saturday night. It was great. Rob researched and found the hotel and got us this particular room all on his own. He did a great job!

View from our balcony at Mokara Hotel

We ate at the oldest restaurant on the Riverwalk, called Casa Rio, and it was so excellent. It was authentic Mexican and the food was delicious.

The package we purchased at the hotel included breakfast in our room and some spa services. We enjoyed our facials at the spa the next morning. (I got strawberry and chocolate facial!)

 The Spaaaaaaah

After that, we loaded up everything and went 4 blocks down the road to check in to the hotel where we are staying for our Chick-fil-A seminar. We went through Chick-fil-A EXPO for most of the afternoon, which is a place where the home office staff set up booths to show us the newest developments in their departments. Many of our vendors have a booth also. Of course we always run into many familiar faces, friends, and my blog-stalkers. (Y'all know who you are --- check it every day and never write a comment! Oh well, I'm glad you're reading it anyway.) Some of these folks we've known almost 20 years. It's good to see folks we usually only see once a year, and the many friends we've made along the way.

A few shots from EXPO.

Cool cow motorcycle

Cow Guitar autographed by Darius Rucker - enter to win