Milkshakes

Sam has alot of get well cards taped up on the wall!  

When you have a sore mouth and don't feel like eating, they really encourage you to eat.  Anything.  Even if the only thing that doesn't hurt going down is a milkshake.  So today's goal was to drink three rather large milkshakes.  It was taking forever with a straw, so I finally found that if we got it really frozen good, I could use a spoon and get Sam to get more into his mouth, and it goes faster a little faster.

Sam is continuing to progress.  His eyes are still red, but his vision is still good and unaffected.  When he isn't eating and watching a movie, he's sleeping.  His fever has a tendency to come back, so he must have regular schedule of Children's Tylenol to keep it under control.

Tonight I noticed that he's starting to get a little dirty, so I asked him about taking a bath and he was up for it.  He really enjoyed the break from sitting in the bed and getting his sores immersed in clean warm water.  He loved it.  Afterwards he went right to his bed and fell immediately asleep.  Feels so good to be fresh!

The Doctors have said that if he continues to progress as well in the next 24 hours as he has in the past couple of days, that he should be able to go home tomorrow.  Granted he won't be playing and still a very sick little boy, but he'll be able to be monitored and recover at home without being at one of the most specialized hospitals in the Inter-mountain West.

The pediatrician reassured us that the cause of the SJS was his reaction to the Walking Pnemonia..  Cathi asked whether he could get it again and he reassured us, that while it is possible, that in the years of experience he has had with patients with Stephens Johnson Syndrome, that NONE of them had a reoccurence.  He said that it didn't mean it couldn't happen, but that the likelihood was even more remote than getting it the first time.  Also, we know what symptoms to look for with SJS, so it wouldn't take so long to get the proper treatment should something like this happen again, however remote.

Sam watching Home Alone with Cathi.  She nodded off for
a nap.  

This afternoon we watched one of Sam's favorite movies.  It melted my heart to watch same smile and laugh when it got to his favorite part in the movie.  The bad guys are in the house and one of them has a tarantula on his face and he screams like a girl.  Then it walks across his chest and his partner tries to kill it with a crowbar and misses and ends up pounding his partner in crime in the chest.  Same laughed aloud and it was so fun to see!  Cathi came in about 1pm and enjoyed just cuddling with him in the bed while I spoon fed him his milkshake which was done one a very frequent schedule.

Today's visitors included: Grandpa and Grandma Low, Eric and my Dad.

Major steps in the right direction

Last night Sam slept fairly well.  The nurse was kind enough to keep many of the waking events combined instead of in many separate instances throughout the night.  Some progress is that this morning Sam's lips looked much better.  However he still was having a hard time not screaming while he pees.  The nurses suggested adding Morphine on top of his Oxycodene meds to help with the pain.  I suggested that instead, we simply schedule him to urinate about an hour after each Oxycodene administration.

That seemed to work better and in fact, this evening, the pain has practically disappeared in that area.   He just stands there while I hold this little container for him to pee into (which the staff want him to use so they can know exactly how much he is peeing).  He just continues to watch his movie and doesn't even whine.  I've never been so glad to hold a pee bucket for someone.

This morning the attending Dr suggested we consider trying the feeding tube again, even after yesterday's ordeal with it.  I informed the Dr about my little agreement with Sam and he said, "How many of these chocolate milks do you think he will need to satisfy his daily requirement?"  I did a quick calculation in my head and I knew he had me on this.  I blurted out "Six".  He looked at me with a smirk and said,  "Wow, you're right."  That does sound like a huge mountain to climb considering he hadn't even had a single carton in a full day, and we had to go through six?!  Here's the nutrition label for just one individual serving carton.

This morning we really tried to get a headstart on this goal and when I left at 11:30 he had gone through 1 and was 1/4 into another.  I told Cathi of the goal and challenged her to really try to hit at least 5 and then we could argue our case with the Dr.  After spending nearly 6 hours at work I called and he had only finished another one.  So we were at about 2 1/2 milks at that point.

I convinced Cathi to let me take the night shift tonight.  So I was on a mission with Sam,  Two full chocolate milks, hopefully more.  We watched Bugs Life and "Turner and Hooch", which he loved.  Who doesn't love big dogs.

Sam is now feeling much better.  Less in pain,
and much more responsive.  Still far from
being completely normal.  He's still got
a long way to go. 

Throughout the evening we worked on sips of chocolate milk and after a little whining here and there, we rediscussed the options and explained the whole feeding tube in detail with him, encouraging him to take that route, because it really would be easier.  But after yesterday's traumatic incident, he wouldn't even reconsider.  Even though he was so sick of that stuff, he said he wanted more.  Right now we're done for the night and he's finally asleep after having fully completed 4 cartons.  Short of the goal of 6, but a major step in the right direction anyway.  I'm gonna definitely try to defend little Sam's case for not having another nurse attempt to stick that thing up his nose and down his throat only to have it tickle his throat and never successfully make that trip into his stomach.  If I could be guaranteed that the procedure would be successful and that it would take less than 5 minutes.  I'd say let's go for it, but they can't guarantee it.  So as long as Sam shows the determination to really try and make such big improvements in his caloric intake,  I say, let's give the boy a say!

Some of Sam's visitors today included:  Grandma and Grandpa Low, Grandma Gridley and Russ, Kris, Lindsey, Summer and Ryan Sampson, Sister Woodrow (his Primary President), and neighbors Erika and Wyatt Dangel. Not sure who else might have come during the day when I was at work.  Lots of supportive phone calls and kind acts for the kids at home.

Everyone has been so wonderful asking for what they can do to help and stepping up to transport and watch after the other Gridley kids and providing meals.  Sure is nice to have such wonderful family and friends!

I'm so thankful for all the prayers for our Sam.  I'm sure they are a major reason for why it was such a great day today and why he was able to make sure fantastic progress!  Thank you!

Update on Sam - He's cracking me up!

Today has been quite a struggle for Sam and I.  But this post has a happy ending, so bear with me.

Sam has had to endure many visits from Dr's and Nurses that have been making him drink yucky medicine and putting sometimes stinging drops in his eyes.  But the one that topped it off was today I had to hold him on my lap while the nurses and techs worked on getting a feeding tube inside his nose and down into his stomach.  The problem is that Sam would not condone that.  While we could hold him down, we could NOT make him swallow which is one of the simple little actions that allow the nurse to continue pushing the feeding tube down the right tunnel.  He wouldn't drink anything which would include swallowing.  We tried the other nose. and after about 15-20 minutes of this battle with this kid, we gave up.  Afterwards, he slept like a baby, he was completely exhausted.  (So was I)

We moved him away from Morphine and he is now on a scheduled dosage of Oxycodone taken orally.  He hates the taste of it.  He also has extreme pain when urinating.  He has slept all day and now at 10:30pm is awake and alert and watching Stuart Little.  He went to the bathroom about 30 minutes ago and I was pleased with the perceived reduced pain level by correlating pain with decibel level of his screams.

Tonight we watched the ending of Toy Story 3, and he cracked me up a couple times.  He said "Immodest!"  I was facing away from the TV and was tickling his leg which he loves.  At first I didn't understand what he said, nor why.  I said "Immodest?"  He responded, "Yeah, the barbie was wearing some sexy thing".  She was wearing a bikini getting some sun.  At least the kid has some morals huh?  

Another moment of laughing, was after his most recent dose of Oxycodone, he cried out "Drink! Chocolate Milk!".  So I gave him some and he took a couple swallows of it.  I asked him to have more and he shook his index finger side to side and said, 'Not too much Dad'.  I had a heart to heart with him about all the visitors that keep visiting him (even though he's normally so incoherent when they get here), and how he can show love back to them by doing his part to get strong again.  And that meant he had to get some chocolate milk or something in his stomach.  He agreed that he needed to show his thanks by accepting drinks more bravely even though they may not feel good going in his very sore mouth.  He took several swallows of that chocolate milk people!  And he did it for you!

Here is his little sign saying I Love you!  Tonight before deciding to watch Stuart Little we did some channel surfing where he was in complete control by voice activate me switching to the next channel by him saying "uh-huh" or "uh-uh"  After doing the complete round of channels (10 of which were baseball), he decided to just rewatch Stuart Little.

His visitors of the day included: Grandpa Low, Grandma Gridley and Aunt Elayna, and Aunt Michele.  He was practically unconscious for most of it, so sorry folks if he isn't the most responsive patient to visit.  He'll be a much better boy to visit after a couple of days and the pain is less severe.

He's getting spoiled rotten by everyone who visits him, from hospital staff and family who come by.  Let's just say he won't have a short supply of toys or things to play with for quite some time.  He sure is a loved little kid.

Sam's scary case of Steven Johnson's Syndrome

I'm adding Sam's story here so our family is aware of what has gone on this past week, and also that we can look back and remember this moment and reflect on the miracles Heavenly Father gives us!

Some background:

On Tuesday Sam started to have a little fever, but he wasn't about to let that slow him down.  He often kept playing and was able to get around, and didn't complain much.  But late Friday evening his fever had continued even more (102.7°F), and Saturday morning was really achy and crying that his eyes and head hurt.  I immediately thought the worst.  And remembered sad stories of parents who lost their children within a week to Meningitis, I thought I better get him in quick as he showed many of the same symptoms (minus the vomiting).

I took him in on Saturday morning to see the Dr.  They took a flu culture which came back negative and decided that whatever he had, would be best treated with Amoxycilin, an antibiotic.

I gave him a dose of that on Saturday afternoon.  By very early Sunday morning I got up and noticed that he had very large lesions on his lips and on his gums.  He also at this point started vomiting.  That freaked me out and I took him to the 24 hr pediatric center.  They took a Strep culture which also came back negative.  The Dr. listened to him breath and said he could have pnemonia, either that or a severe case of oral herpes(cold sores).  He gave me a couple of additional prescriptions of antibiotics to replace the Amoxycilin.

This morning Cathi called me at work and said that his condition has worsened even more and that he was  unresponsive and fought her terribly when offered medicine.  She again took him to the Dr this morning and after a group of them at the clinic discussed what their ideas were, they mentioned "Steven Johnson's Syndrome" and that we should take him to the Primary Children's Medical center immediately.  They called ahead for us and they immediately accepted him.

They put him on oxygen to help him breath and gave him some pain reliever to bring his fever down.  (Which at this time is normal). After several Dr's observed him the agreed that he has Steven Johnson's Syndrome(SJS).  Which they believe was caused by a severe reaction to his initial sickness of a Mycoplasma infection (walking pnemonia).  They don't believe it was necessarily a reaction to the Amoxycilin mainly because the reaction to an antibiotic reportedly takes several days to a week, whereas the dramatic sores in Sam's case appeared less than 12 hours afterwards.  Either way, the Dr's are putting him on Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) which is the current treamtent for SJS, as well as other prescriptions to battle the original problem of the mycoplasma infection which is really affecting his mucous membranes and clogging up his lungs.

Sam getting some Oxygen to help him breathe.
His poor lips and eyes must really hurt.
What a tough kid!

 His poor eyes and lips have taken a beating.  He is unable to talk or eat.  He is being fed through a feeding tube because his throat and mouth hurt so much.  His main trouble is with his eyes, inside and around his lips, and lungs.  When I left the hospital the optomologist really helped by giving him some drops to relieve the pain and swelling.  He appears to be in much less pain and discomfort than he was going through earlier.  He was able to rest, and later open his eyes to watch a movie. The team of Drs mentioned that he would need to stay in the hospital for observation and IVIG treatments at the least until Thursday or Friday, possibly longer, so he has a little road ahead of him.

Don't worry:  While SJS is relatively rare, the folks at Primary Childrens mentioned that they have seen it more often.  Cathi told me the Dr's told her that the two different causes of SJS (viral and drug induced) are both dramatically different from each other and that the viral caused version is much less dramatic (which if you google SJS, the pictures can give you nightmares.  The sores on his body (other than on his lips and eyes, are random lesions that cover less than 1% of his body.  SJS is not contagious and nobody else in our family has any signs of any kind of illness.

 Dad and I gave him a Priesthood blessing this evening.  If you could also keep him in your prayers.  This sweet little boy could use them.

Oh, and Happy Birthday Austin, sorry your birthday kinda took the limelight this year.

Review of "Redemption" - a movie about the story of John Baptiste

Me and "John Baptiste" after watching the film

Last night I took Cathi, Jacob and Jonas along with my good friend Josh, and his wife Sabrina out on a group date.  We went to the LDS Film Festival where we saw Redemption.  


I took it upon myself to study the different accounts online of the story before hand.  The movie not only met my hopes and expectations, but surpassed them!  I was also a little worried that the film might stretch the story out too long to make a full feature film, but there were no parts in the movie where I looked at my watch wondering how much longer.  The actors were ALL very good and portrayed the characters in a very convincing way.

The panoramic views and angles of many of the shots were very well chosen and really did a great job portraying the beauty and lonely expanse of Antelope Island.  There were many scenes that made the story come alive for me.  I would have to say that this is one of the best films I've seen in the past year.

White Rock Bay

I was surprised that there was no mention of Brigham Young's role in this story.   After spending three months in jail, Brigham Young piped up:

"What I would do with him came to me quickly, after I heard of the circumstances... If it were left to me, I would make him a fugitive and a vagabond upon the earth.  This would be my sentence." - Brigham Young's Office Journal, January 27, 1862,  LDS Church Archives, 341-42.

 Really Brother Brigham?  Even though he couldn't legally be the one to pass judgement, certainly his recommendation made it to the ears of the executors of the law.

Ever been thirsty or hungry?  Try living on a desert island
surrounded by super salty water.  

That doesn't sound like justice, but rather vengeance. What would the dead say?  Especially when they're facing their own judges with the following doctrine ringing in their ears:

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” 

The character, John Baptiste, in the movie made a statement that I agree with completely.  When our loved ones die and are placed in the ground, "The soul is not in the ground".  When Jesus was in the tomb his body was not there, what happened to his body at that time did not have any influence on the fact that he was busy doing His Father's work.

Brigham Young could have taken this situation and shown great leadership and at the same time taught a great lesson about the basic doctrine about the separation of the spirit and body after death, as well as reminded the "saints" about forgiveness.  One of the biggest messages I got from the film is that those we might deem as being wicked and bad, might not be as much as we can expect or wish.  Nor are the "Saints" as righteous and good as we can expect or wish.  Good and evil is NOT black and white.  Before we pass judgement, perhaps we should defer to the only one who can properly do so.  


I would highly recommend this movie to help get your own thoughts churning in your own head.  It'll change you.

Redemption - film about the story of John Baptiste

So a while back when I was studying Fremont Island, I came across this story about a grave robber who was sent to Fremont Island as a prison.  Here's another version of the story with more details (and sources). And this version which is the most detailed I've found so far, which includes alot of background on Baptiste.

When I spent the night on Fremont Island, I thought about this man.  I don't have the full story, but based on the only information available which may be more fiction that fact, it seems the punishment was far more harsh than the crime.

Don't get me wrong.  I love Fremont Island.  At first the environment seemed so harsh, and so unnatural to this world.  I mean the fact that I didn't see a single tree on the island and that it was literally covered in huge orb-weaver spiders gave me the willies.  However, if I had enough money to buy the island from the owners, I'd do it in a heartbeat.  There is a fantastic mystery and romance about the island that interests me greatly.

Today I just found out that an LDS filmmaker has actually put this story to film and it is going to be shown at a film festival this week!  I just bought four tickets to see it this Saturday evening.  I am so excited!  Having swam to Fremont Island and spending the night there for one night, I feel an indescribable bond that makes me fanatical about the island.

GSL Tech Team Meeting

This morning I met at the Utah State Building on North Temple for a GSL Tech team meeting.  Here's my notes:

Overheard conversation about the results of the red dye study. Researcher was explaining that it was observed that the affects of the selenium contaminated water was concentrated near and about one mile away from shore there was enough vertical turbulence that it was disseminating and not an issue.  But that the red dye was mostly staying right around the shoreline.

This is interesting given that swimming along the shoreline rather than heading perpendicular, may result in greater risk of swimming in contaminated water.

Laura Ault led the discussion.

Intros....

*  Laura Vernon - update of GSL Comprehensive Management plan draft given to attorneys to review and some modifications.  Draft available very soon, after which a 45 day comment period.  Will email out notification ice it's available online. Near the end of that 45 day period about 5 meetings will be scheduled for folks to come in person to talk about.

*  Wally Gwynn - dikes and causeways on the GSL
Uses: transportation or restricting water flow.  There are 9 dikes or causeways in the GSL.  90 miles worth.

In 1969 the north antelope causeway was built.  Flooded on 1984-1989.

Willard bay dike is 15.6 miles long and is there to create freshwater recreation area.  The dike there is about 4220  so it's high enough to reduce risk of overflowing should the lake rise.

US magnesium started in 1972.
Behrens trench 21 mile underwater trench transports the concentrated brine through gravity.  Takes about seven to ten days to get from the west to the east side by the Promontory mountains.  It was designed that way so it wouldn't mix much.  Its an engineering marvel.

The first 11 miles is the greatest elevation drop.  Loses about 20% through mixing.  It dissolves just a little with the water.

The pumps on the west at the south end of the Hogup mountains takes water from the north arm.  GSLM has permits to use the land right around the pumps and in the contract has agreed to provide the lake water to reach  the pumps should it get high enough to run the pumps again.

Morrison Knudsen won contract in 1954 to build the causeway for the railroad at 53 million dollars.

Salinity between south and north between 18 - 28% on the north and 7 - 22% on south.

In 80s Utah breached the causeway to reduce lake levels and it cost $3.5 million.  It really caused the south and north water levels to level out. 


BREAK


I left at this point as I was already beyond the point where I needed to be to work, but Wally's historical slide show and discussion was VERY interesting!