Alyson's Bike Accident

Alyson began summer vacation half a day early this year.  On Thursday she wrecked her bike and suffered a bruised knee (the one she hurt two months ago on the school playground) and had some really bad lacerations.  Before we left for the ER, the bathroom floor was mostly covered in blood and a hurting and scared little girl was begging us not to take her to see a doctor.  Kris and I knew we just had to.  We couldn't fix her wounds on our own and expect her to make a full recovery.  Plus, all that blood!  It was scary for us to see her bleeding so badly.

While Gina, a neighborhood friend watched Kourtney, Ellary and Keegan for us, Kris and I rushed Alyson to the ER.  After a few hours of waiting she finally got to see a doctor who called in a pediatric specialist to evaluate her.  Three doctors later they sedated Alyson and tried to fix her wounds.  After a few repairs, the doctors determined there was just too much to do and that it was too invasive to be done safely in the ER, so they moved Alyson to the operating room and she underwent general anesthesia.

This was the point, around 2:30 am, that Kris and I really felt helpless.  Alyson's injuries weren't life threatening, but she had never gone under general anesthesia before.  We had never had a child in an operating room, and all we could do was hope and pray that Alyson's doctors would be able to fix her wounds so she could make a full recovery.

An hour later Alyson was moved to the recovery room where she slept there until about 4:30am.  Then she was moved to the pediatric floor.  Alyson hardly made a peep she was so out of it, and we took this as a good sign that she wasn't in very much pain.  Kris and I were so thankful to have her safe and sound in that unit and to know that the surgery had gone well.

I stayed with Alyson and got some rest in a recliner near her bed while Kris went home around 5:15am to relieve some good friends who had taken Gina's place to watch Kourtney, Ellary and Keegan overnight.  Kris cancelled his 6:50 am flight to Minneapolis for an accounting conference and also cancelled his hotel accommodations.  Thankfully, neither one charged Kris anything for the cancellations.  He got Kourtney off to the last day of school, a half day, and then Ellary and Keegan to another friend's house.  Then he returned to the hospital around 9:00 am.  At this point he'd been up for 27 hours.

Alyson eventually woke up around 8:00 am.  She was groggy and sore, but she was safe, and that was all we could really hope for.  The two requirements for her to get to go home were that she had to be able to get up and around and hold down food.  Well, she got up and used the bathroom, but her breakfast just wouldn't settle in her tummy the first time she ate.  She made another trip to the bathroom just for all her food to come back up.  An hour later she tried to eat again, and this time it seemed as if it would stay there.

Alyson was discharged around 11:30 am and given specific instructions that she couldn't run, jump, swim or play on any toys for at least two weeks.  She threw up again on the way home.  Out went our camping trip (we're supposed to be at Sleeping Bear Dunes right now).  Out went the first couple days of tennis lessons, which will be coming up here in a week.  And out went a 5K she was training for.  But the important thing is that refraining from participating in these activities for two short weeks, will help insure that she gets to do these things the rest of the summer after that.  The rest of the day was filled with rest and sleep.  I picked Ellary and Keegan up around 4:30 pm and Kourtney came home from the Wille's around 5:00 pm.

We are so grateful for everyone who helped our family get through this scary experience.  Your prayers and offers to help take Kourtney, Ellary and Keegan for us were blessings that we really needed.  So, thank you for your support.  And we thank Heavenly Father for protecting Alyson from getting hurt any worse and helping Kris and me through this scary time.

Alyson is healing well.  She's doing everything her doctors told her to do.  She's taking her medicine and not overexeting herself, and we can see the difference it's making in her recovery.  And staying pretty much for the most part quiet in the house is not something easy for a nine year old girl to do.  While waiting in the ER for a doctor to see Alyson, she expressed that her primary concern was if she was going to be able to run.  Well, she will be, just not now.  She will have to find another 5K to train for and remember just how lucky she is that it wasn't worse.

FHE at the MSU Rose Garden

Last Monday, June 4th, we packed a picnic dinner and took a bike ride to the MSU flower gardens to see the roses in bloom.  The bike ride marked Ellary's second trip on bike downtown.  The grand total round trip...about 6 miles!

 A little bright but it was the best we could do to prop it up and get a family shot!

 Ellary wanted her photo taken with nearly all the rose bushes.

 And Keegan was acting a little goofy.  We're lucky to have taken this picture with his tongue actually in his mouth and his eyes looking at the camera.  What a funny boy!

The girls collected rose pedals from off the ground.  They smelled so wonderful!

 Then we read the scriptures together and rode our bikes to the MSU Dairy Store.  The kiddos were excited to get ice cream especially Ellary if you can't tell!

 On our bike ride to the gardens, we discovered this incredable tree with outstretched limbs.  We decided to take pictures by it too when we were riding our bikes back home.  Some of the pictures turned out really nicely, while others were a little too dark.  It was already nearly 8 o'clock when we stopped at the tree.

 Two of our four little monkey's!

Kris did a good job of getting the girlies into the tree.  And then he joined them!

Keegan was too scared to sit in the tree without crying.  You can't blame him, so this picture was taken at the base of the tree.

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I was a little rickety getting into the tree, a little frount heavy as you can see, so I opted to take most of the pictures! 

We had a great time...hopefully we will remember to visit the MSU Rose Garden again next year!

The Kohl's Michigan Mile

 This year marked the fourth time that our family has participated in the Kohl's Michigan Mile since we moved to the Lansing area.  This year's race was also the first Michigan Mile for Ellary and Keegan to participate in too.  We had a fun Saturday morning together as a family, and I think I can truly say now that we are indeed a running family.

 Alyson's age bracket went first.  She average a 7:45 minute mile...I have to say averaged because the race technically, according to the running watch was only 0.82 miles.  She ran her little heart out!

 Kourtney did well also.  She was glad to have Kris run along beside her.  Good job, Koco!

 We had about half an hour of down time between Kourtney's race and Ellary's kids fun run around the Cooley Law Stadium Field.  Here Kris is chilling with Ellary.

 And here they are at the beginning of Ellary's race and at the end.  She's watched her sisters receive medals for the past three years and was most happy about receiving one of her own when she finished.

 And little Keegan was escorted around the outfield by his two biggest sisters.  He was very happy to be old enough to participate.

 But most of all, Keegan was excited to show us the water and granola bar he got after the race.  He couldn't stop talking about his medal too.  Yeah, for Keegan!

And here the kids are after the race was all said and done.  What a fun Saturday morning!