It’s Been A While

So it has been a while since my last post to this blog. It looks like that is 163 days or 23 wks and 2 days. I have had some people encourage me to start up the old blog again. I do think it is a good way to get some thoughts, feelings and frustrations out. Just a reminder this blog really does not have much of a filter and I am not too focused on spelling or sentence structure in this blog. So, once again I apologize in advance for any errors. Also this blog is a read at your own risk.

Tessa was born on 5/29/10 at St Lukes Boise. My wife had an appointment with Kr. K earlier in the week. Dr. K was actually out for the appointment and the Dr. that was available mentioned that my wife may require steroids to mature Tessa’s lungs to prep her for delivery. We thought that it was just a casual suggestion, but the next day we got a call from Dr. K saying that Tessa would be coming on Saturday. So we got steroids on Tuesday and Thursday night’s. We both took Friday off and cleaned the house that you would not believe and Saturday was the 29th.

A c section is kinda a strange process. Well for both of our babies we never experienced “labor”. I am happy that I have never experienced driving to the Dr at 90 mph because you are having a baby. That just does not sound fun. However, the process was a bit different this time. We went in around 8:00am and we knew that we would have a baby by 11:00am since our delivery time was like 10:00am. We had a small bag, a lot less then we had with SGO. The new item that we had was a cord blood kit to bank Tessa’s cord blood. Cord blood is cells that are found in the umbilical cord of each child and they hold lots of stem cells. My wife got prepped and was a champ the whole time. It was like a count down for a launch or flight. You always had the feeling like something was going to happen. They took my wife to the OR at around 10:15am and I was put into a chair outside the OR while they got her prepped. The whole medical team came and went into the room. I stayed in the chair outside of the room for what felt like hours, but I think it was only 5 min. Finally someone came out and got me. I was waked into the room and my wife had blue drape all over her except her face. She was in steady small tears when I entered. I think we both really needed to be around each other. Tessa came out about 7 min later and I think her birth was around 10:45ish which was close to when SGO was born.

My wife was not able to see Tessa all that much since she was on the table. She got a quick glimpse of Tessa when she was first pulled out. Tessa kinda looked around the room like, what’s going on. My wife told me to go and check on Tessa so that is just what I did. Tessa looked great! She had a bit of a larger head for the size of her body, maybe I was expecting something a bit more extreme, but I thought she looked great for what the Dr. had prepared us for. I turned around to tell my wife about Tessa and I saw her stomach on top of her stomach. YIKES!!!! I held it together. Tessa was out. I had predicted June 12 for a delivery so I was off by an official two weeks.

Face to Face with Tessa

So I hope that I did this correct, I am still getting this Word Press blog down.  There should be a photo that you all should be able to see of Tessa.  The photo was done on the 10, which was this last Monday.

Today I had lunch with an old friend from college.  He is also one of my account reps with a local media outlet.  He is a very good guy and it was nice to have time to talk to a friend.  We did not talk about any business, we just talked about life.  I did mention to my friend that actually works in web media that I am not able to have my blog report to Google.  He had mentioned that I may need to post some tags to my blog to get it to report.  So, I am going to attempt to figure out how one is able to do tags.  With hope that will allow folks to find this blog with more ease.

There also should be a poll attached to this blog.  Well I think there should be.  The poll is on when folks will think Tessa will come.  I thought it would be fun to see what everyone thinks.

I did get my open enrollment forms today for medical coverage through my work.  I had to laugh when I read that “No changes to your medical, dental, or vision coverage!”  So I guess I am still stuck with that 1 million lifetime cap.  But I do know that my letter that I did was given to the President of the University today.  So, who knows…maybe there will be some change.

Sorry that this post is not too organized.  Just some random thoughts.

Mothers Day Gift

So Sunday was Mothers Day and I did not get my wife anything.  I know I am a bad person….But SGO had made a nice photo with a frame for my wife while she was at school.  I do believe that our Dr. appointment was my wife’s mothers day gift. 

So today would be a big appointment.  We meet with both Dr. K and Dr. (. at the same time.  Dr. (. started to explain in detail what we were looking at.  Which was a very good thing.  It sounds like the bulk of Tessa’s water is on the back side of her brain.  This is not to say that things have improved on the front side, there is still a lot of water there.  But, it looks like the back side is where the brain in the thinnest.  The back side of your brain processes vision, the front side is used for cognitive. 

If you do not know my wife, well then you do not know that she is a talker.  One would say that my wife likes to talk.  So when the appointment started my wife promptly told the tech that Tessa was breached.  Well guess what Tessa is now not breached.  She did the night time mombo in the last two weeks and turned her self around.  That is a good thing.  She will be more ready to come out this way.  Also, this shows that we are having as much of a normal pregnancy as possible.  She is doing all the right things.

The big news is that Tessa’s head did not grow this week.  Well it did grow, but it did not double or triple as it has in past appointments.  So when we first started down this road the Dr.’s said that she will get worst, maybe get better, or it will get stable.  We believe that this appointment showed that for this week that Tessa did indeed stabilize.  This is also a very good thing. 

We are 29 weeks along and Tessa’s head is 35 so she is still larger and will require surgery, but she is doing better.  We will only know how “normal” she will be once she gets her and once she starts to develop.

One cool thing is they turned on the 3d camera and we were able to see Tessa’s face.  I will do my best to post an image for you all to see.  It was very cool to see my little gal face to face.

So more news, we will see someone in Dr K’s office in another two weeks, we hope that Tessa is still stable…If she is then we expect to deliver in 4 to 6 weeks.  So that would be between June 7 to the 21. 

I think it was the best Mothers Day gift my wife could have, we left with smiles, and not tears, I kept thinking Go Tessa Go…She is on the way place your bets, I say June 12, and I will have you know I was only a day off on my estimate for SGO.

Tessa’s First Show

Well the Arena in Boise had a very special event for the last 15 or so days.  We had a tour rehersal that had about 14 trucks and 10 busses.  It was a large show, but not the largest show that I have seen.  I still think my reccord was a 22 truck show in my very early years of production at the Arena back in 98, which turned out to be around a 23 hr day.

The tour was with James Taylor & Carole King who did a private dress rehersal to about 12o of Carole King’s friends.  Carole King has property in Stanley Idaho so she has a large group of friends locally.

I was able to invite my wife and so Tessa came along with my wife since well she is in my wifes belly.  But, I do believe that the James Taylor & Carole King was one of the best events that I have ever seen.  I was very happy to know that Tessa got to hear one of the best acts that have been around.  The sound quality was among the best that I have been around.  The only sound quality that I have been around that has been better has beeen better was the Boston Pops.

I thought it was very fitting to hear “You got a Friend” which could easily be a theme song of a father.

When you’re down and troubled and you need a helping hand
and nothing, whoa, nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there
to brighten up even your darkest nights.

You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am
I’ll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call and I’ll be there, yeah, yeah,
you’ve got a friend.

It was very nice to have a date with my wife and be apart of something so very special.  I do appriciate that my wife attended with me, I know that she is not the biggest JT fan but it was very special that my wife was willing to attend with me.

Special Prayer

So my wife, SGO and I went to second service on Sunday this last week.  A side note should I be capitalizing My Wife.  I kinda feel bad that SGO and I are both capitalized but, then my wife is not.  But, it was different to go to second service.  We usually attend the first service at our church.  both My Wif e and I feel like it gives us more time on Sunday afternoon to spend as a family.  But our church leadership had wanted to do some special prayer for my wife and Tessa.

We had three guys that were church elders and I think four ladies there to support my wife.  I thought it was smart to have some ladies there.  It is always a good idea to have some other ladies around for accountability if you are a woman alone in a room with a bunch of dudes.  Thats why double dates are so important.

It is kinda like baptism and communion.  These things are key elements in a christian faith.  But in the long run these things do not matter at all.  One will not get to heaven and say well I got baptized or I was super good at taking communion.  These acts are outword expressions of what is going on inside.

Some quick personal rules on finding a good church.  If a church requires baptism to be “saved”, then run away.  Churches lean on a passage in Acts that shows a group of folks being baptized after the death of Christ.  However, at this point in time the HS had not been delivered to folks.  One always needs to remember that the only way that one is saved is through Christ.  Baptism  does not matter.  Communion, once again we are instructed to take communion.  However, these acts do not change a person in any way.  The act of communion is just an act.  It does not forgive of an individuals sins.  The final quick rule is on windows.  So, why do I bring up windows.  Well if a church does not have windows, then I believe that they have something to hide.  I always think of masonic lodges when I think of a place with no windows.  These places are just brick buildings and you have to wonder why they do not have a window, what are they hiding.

So, special prayer is a good thing, but I do think once again it is an outword sign of something that is going on inside of you.  I do think that is was a very good thing.  It allowed me to feel like we were officially giving things over.

We did have an appointment with our regular OB on Monday with Dr. C.  However, Dr. C. was out of the office.  It was frustrating to have an appointment where we were not able to see our normal Dr.  So we have two appointments scheduled for next week.  We will meet with Dr. (. and Dr. K on Monday and then meet with Dr. C. on Friday.  So, I expect a hard week.

Misc Stuff

Not too much to update on.  The main thing that has been going on is attempting to figure out how to be the best advocate for Tessa Hope.  My wife and I have really spent some time looking at the Comprehensive Lifetime Benefit Limit that is attached to one’s medical coverage.  I would encourage all folks to attempt to figure out what their specific Comprehensive Lifetime Benefit Limit is.  My medical coverage for my family has a Comprehensive Lifetime Benefit Limit of 1 million.

Some very interesting data that I have found on this subject follows…

Lifetime benefit limits are typically set by insurance companies to keep premiums low; however, with the soaring costs of health care, a $1 million cap can quickly max out as evidenced by stories from many families.

• A family who thought they were dealing with a minor ear infection in their 20-month old toddler instead discovered “a virus had attacked the little girl’s heart, damaging it beyond repair.   [She] needed a transplant.  Within three weeks…[she] had exhausted the $1 million lifetime maximum on her health insurance.”  http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-07-14-insurance-caps_N.htm
• Another family thought their $1 million cap was plenty until their son was diagnosed with leukemia.  “His treatment called for 10 doses of a chemotherapy drug that cost $10,000 per dose. A 56-day stay in an intensive care unit cost about $400,000. [He] reached his $1 million lifetime maximum in less than a year.” http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-07-14-insurance-caps_N.htm

A 2007 survey conducted by the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust found the following:

• Only 1% of employer-offered group plans — the largest health insurance segment — had caps as low as $1 million last year, and 22% had caps of less than $2 million. http://www.kff.org/insurance/7672/upload/76723.pdf
• The study shows a greater percentage of employer-offered group plans are providing lifetime caps of at least $2 million, and the percentage that offers caps below $2 million has declined slightly, but medical costs for employer-sponsored health plans should increase 9.9 and 9.6% this year and next, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute. http://www.kff.org/insurance/7672/upload/76723.pdf

In addition:

• A coverage cap of $1 million in the 1970s would have had to grow to more than $10 million today to keep pace with rising costs. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25644309/ns/health-health_care/
• “‘Low lifetime maximums are found more often in small-employer group plans, said [Jerry] Flanagan [health care policy director for California-based Consumer Watchdog], noting that those businesses generally have less insurance buying power. He said employers often give their workers a choice on plans or premiums but not on lifetime maximums.’” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25644309/ns/health-health_care/
• “‘The nature of caps is that over time it becomes easier and easier to hit (them) because the cost of health care services keeps going up,’ said Mike Thompson, a health care and employee benefits expert with [PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute]. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25644309/ns/health-health_care/

So I have actually written an open letter with the help of my great wife that I plan on sending onto my employer to see if I am able to be an agent of change.  The letter is currently on my bosses desk.  I have a great boss.  She is a great person to work for and I have a great work relationship with her.  But, also have a great personal relationship with my boss as well.  I asked her to review the letter so that she is in the loop.  I never think it is a good idea to have anything out there that may surprize your boss.  Also, I did ask her to see if it would be anything that may make such a controversy that would get me canned.  I will post the letter once she has reviewed it.

One cool thing to report.  The other night SGO said I Love You Daddy.  It was very cool to hear.  My wife attempted to have SGO say I Love You Mommy but she protested and continued to say I Love you Daddy.

Going to the Dr. is getting very hard

So, we had an appointment with Dr. K  on Friday.  Appointments are getting very hard.  I believe we are 29 weeks along now.  It is hard to remember…They start the ultrasound and Tessa looks as “normal” as other babies.  She is growing good wand is about 2 lb 10 oz right now.  The tech went to look at the Brain and there is still a lot of water.  I have hope that at one of these appointments that water will just be gone.  But it is hard to keep that hope alive with reality. 

My wife and I are still able to recognize brain matter, which is a good thing.  The brain looks black with bright white where the skull is and then a little gray matter between the black and the white skull.  The gray is the brain but when one looks at the images it just looks black.  I no longer like the color black. 

So the following is the official report that Dr. K sent to Dr. (…  Severe hydrocephalus worse today, with the head size now 5 weeks larger than dates (5 weeks ahead so where the rest of the body is at).  Head measurements are accelerating, Dr. ( office called for update, advised we would forward disc of images and report.  Couple still hopeful, and aware from previous discussions of possible early delivery for ex utero management. 

Both my wife and I actually thought for a bit that the appointment was not going as bad as the above describes.  At our last appointment Tessa’s head had doubled 2 weeks in 2 weeks and this appointment we only grew 1 week in 2 weeks.  So we were encouraged until Dr. K gave us his report. 

The office has scheduled an appointment with both Dr. K and Dr. ( on May 10 at 1:00pm.  So I assume that this appointment we will be discussing delivery time lines.  So that will be a big appointment.  I hope it is not as hard as all of our other appointments.

My wife went to Reno this weekend.  She has a good friend who has a little one that is turning 1.  She took the SGO and went with her Mom on the trip.  I thought that my wife could use some time to celebrate being a Mom with her friend and her friends little one.

I stayed at home and did my best to make the house as clean as possible so she would have a nice place to return too.  I kept busy with getting Tessa’s room ready.  It looks nice.  I made some sun tea for my wife as well.  I also got to watch some NHL which was very nice.