A mind of his own...

Well, here is the latest update on Ezra. Ezra has been on Peritoneal Dialysis to try and assist his kidneys, get the fluid off and get the toxins out of his body. Ezra was doing well on the Dialysis until it started leaking around the catheter going into his Peritoneum. When that happened they had to reduce the amount of Dialysis fluid that they were putting into his Peritoneum. When they reduced the fluid that they were putting in his B.U.N started to rise. The BUN rising meant that the toxins in his blood were not being removed, so the Dialysis was not doing what they had hoped. With the rising B.U.N that could make it even harder for his blood to clot and make it harder for him to fight off all the infections that he has.
Dr. Colaizy (who is the doctor on staff right now) talked to us about the situation and told us that they felt it was very important that we start Ezra on the Hemo Filtration Dialysis. They will put a catheter into his body that will take the blood out filter it and put it back in. I know that isn’t a very good description but that is the best I can do. Two of the worries that come with this are of course infection, and trying to maintain a good blood pressure. There are many other worries or risks but I’m not going to list those right now. The surgery will take place tomorrow, so we will keep you all updated on how it goes.
8/26/08


Today was a fabulous day! Beau and I got to the hospital expecting that Ezra would be going into surgery today. Well, Ezra did not agree with that. Around midnight last night Ezra started peeing! And he is STILL peeing! What does this mean? It means that his B.U.N has gone down a tiny bit and his Creatnine has gone down as well. This is FABULOUS news. So the doctors wanted to give him some more time before doing the Hemo Filtration. The Doctors have a good plan set up and so we will just follow that for however long we need to. It’s funny because they have all said that Ezra has a mind of his own. He will do things when he is ready to…they can’t push him. That’s our boy…STRONG! Dr. Colaizy came into the room today and one of the first things she said was “Ezra had a lot of people praying for him last night.” VERY TRUE and we are thankful to all of you for that. Ezra is not out of the woods of course but today is a day for celebration. I’ve come to notice that you really need to enjoy these good days because when the bad ones come you need to be able to remember and hold on to the good ones. Yes, I am just now figuring that out. Granted Beau and I are both still guarded because this is so UP and DOWN…but still we are extremely happy that for today Ezra is peeing.
8/27/08

And SOOOOOOO...

And so we have quite the update. On 8/16/08 Ezra stopped urinating. What is wrong with that???? Well, it means he gets puffier and he is not able to rid his body of the toxins. SO...we, meaning the doctors and Beau and I decided that Peritoneal Dialysis. It is a temporary Dialysis treatment until his kidneys start kickin in and working how they are supposed to.

The day of the surgery to place the catheter the Doctors switched Ezra over to a conventional Ventilator. Meaning not as high powered as the Oscillator that he is on. The reason for this was because when it was time to take him into the O.R. it would be easier to manuever with the smaller ventilator. I'm sure there were other reasons but i am sure I forgot them. Sorry. Anyways, his surgery was set for 6 p.m. on 8/17 and Ezra was doing really great on the Conventional Ventilator so we decided we would go over the Hunter's for dinner at 3:30. Right after Beau and I left Ezra started to have a Pulmonary Hemmorage. In other words blood started to come up his Tracheal Tube (the tube that is pushing air into his lungs). They were able to get this under control but what that meant is that he was too fragile to take to the O.R.. SO the O.R. came to him.
Meanwhile at the Hunter's (totally oblivious to what is going on with our little Ezra because I left the damn cell phone in the car on accident) Tucker and Tilly were having a great time spending time with Mom and Dad and their little cousing Nik Nak and Auntie. Tucker and Tilly really are champs! For all the stress and unbalance in their lives right now they have been truly amazing. Beau and I are truly blessed to be their parents.




After about 3 1/2 hrs or so in surgery they were able to place the Catheter exactly where they wanted it. Ezra is doing well on it and we pray that he continues to do well and that we can avoid infection. They are keeping him pretty heavily sedated and comfortable right now. Just one more hurdle to overcome. We love this little guy and are so thankful for him in our lives.

Hello Again...

Well, some good news and bad news today. We will start with the good news. Ezra gets his labs drawn on Monday and Thursday to see how his liver is doing. Well, yesterday they tested Ezra's PT and Platelets and his PT came back 18 and Platelets came back at 60. On Monday they were pretty much the same. On Wednesday Ezra stopped urinating and they thought maybe it was because he now has a Fungal infection. His blood pressure was pretty low as well. The Kidney Doctors came and took a look at him. They thought that maybe because of all of the Dietretics that they were giving him it just kind of pooped his kidneys out. Well Thursday they put him on Dopamine to try to get his blood pressure up. The Dopamine did raise his blood pressure and because of that he is now urinating again. FABULOUS! Also on Thursday Ezra coughed up a bit of blood. I was WORRIED...but there hasn't really been any more. SO they checked his clotting factors again just to make sure that wasn't the cause for the bleed. SO today we got the clotting factors back and his PT is now 16 PTT is 45 and Platelets are 79! YAY! At least Beau and I are happy about that. I'm sure the Doctors have to be as well. SO I think I included the bad news with this long and totally not gramatically correct paragraph. So yes, Ezra is fighting another infection but it is "treatable". So here are a few pictures of the past couple of days. I think I am going to do the next post about Tilly and Tucker because they are such champs and have been amazing through all of this.

p.s. Just a note. Ezra has not had Platlets since Saturday the 9th of August. Awesome because he used to be needing platelets like every other day. Also he has not had any FFP or Cryo for a very long time. He is also still very very swollen but as he heals and is able to fight off these infections he will start looking better.

Our Beautiful Ann

I don’t really know how to put into words how it is I feel about Ann. All I can say is that just saying that I loved her is not enough. My love for her went way beyond that. I felt like not only did I have a mother in law who was amazing in every way but I also had a friend. I thought that maybe the best way to do this is to write down some of my fondest memories of Ann. So here are just a few.
* Ann loved her grandbabies. Her life revolved around them. When we would visit her in Price or she would come out to Iowa she would always insist on bathing them. She loved that one on one time with them. Those bath times usually lasted a good hour in the tub.
* When we would go to visit her in the summer time she would take the kids out into the hills to look for treasure or just to go on a nature hike. Tucker and Tilly loved to go on adventures with her.
* Ann was always thinking of others. She was so generous with her time and love and anything else she could give to help somebody out. When she was here right after Ezra was born she scoured my house. Cleaned everything and even reorganized my kitchen for me. I remember I came home one night from the hospital after being with Ezra and she was limping around. I told her to just sit down and relax. She told me..”No, I need to do this, I need to help out in any way that I can right now.”. That is how she was every minute of every day of her life.
* Ann was the best mother in law anyone could have ever asked for. Every time that we were together I felt nothing but love from her. She used to go through these home magazines with me and tell me what she thought would look good in my house or maybe what she was thinking of doing to hers. I know that may seem like a silly memory but to me I cherished those times together. I felt like we were such good friends.
* Whenever I would get my hair done and it was a different color or length she would always tell me how it looked beautiful on me even when it really didn’t. Even when my husband was standing right behind her laughing at me.
* I felt a closeness with Ann that I never thought I would have with any other woman besides my mom. There were several times where I called her mom and then quickly corrected myself. She would look at me with her beautiful big eyes and smile and say, “I don’t care if you call me mom, I like it.” I wish I would have done that more.
* Now I know this is going to be a surprise to some of you but Beau and I would some times have a bit of a disagreement in front of her and she would just stand there quietly and then when it was over and Beau left to cool down she would get this big smile again and in a very sweet and loving voice try to explain why Beau was saying what he said or doing what he was doing. It made me feel good because it made me feel like she didn’t want me upset with her baby but she also didn’t want to see me upset.
* When I was pregnant with Tucker and still working in Salt Lake Ann would come up from Price and we would go to the Olive Garden for lunch. She loved their salad and breadsticks. She would always tell me it was so “nutritious” .
* When Ann was here last she stayed at the house with us. We don’t have an extra bed but we did have a single mattress. Ann put that in the kids room between their two beds and laid with them every night. One night we came home and she was curled up in a little ball at the end of the mattress and Tucker and Tilly were all sprawled out on her mattress. I know she didn’t get one good nights sleep but I know that it didn’t matter to her. As long as she could be close to her precious babies.
Those are just a few of the many many memories that I have of my beautiful mother in law. I wish everyone could have known her because their lives surely would have been blessed if they had. I love her and I know one day I will see her again. I wish I could have given her one more big hug and told her how much I really did love her. I hope she knows that now. She will be greatly missed. I love you Ann.

Below is a copy of her Obituary.
Ann Ross "Grannie Annie" PRICE- Our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, friend, and teacher was taken from us too soon in an unfortunate car accident on August 4, 2008. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her. Ann was born on October 14, 1950 in Taos, New Mexico to Cleotilde Vigil and Amadeo Romero. She graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1968 and later earned her Associates of Science degree from the College of Eastern Utah. On September 6, 1970, she married Ronald G. Ross in Elko, Nevada, their marriage was later solemnized in the Manti LDS Temple on December 7, 1994. Ron and Ann moved to Price in 1974 and raised their family of four sons. While residing in Price she was employed for 25 years in the coal mining industry. Her family was the absolute love of her life, especially her 14 grandchildren who affectionately called her "Grannie Annie". Ann was a caring person who had a positive influence on the lives of those she touched. She never suppressed a generous thought or deed; she was a peacemaker and a woman of unique strength and character. Should each of us be able to tear out a page from Grannie Annie's Book of Life and incorporate the wisdom contained therein, we would all be a better and more loving people. Ann you are so dear, so sweet, so beautiful, so precious to us. You are truly an elect lady and we are going to miss you more than words can express. May God be abundant in his blessings upon you. Ann is survived by her loving husband, Ron Ross, Price; four sons and one step-daughter: Don (Lara) Ross, Grand Junction, CO; Ron (Julianne) Ross, Sandy, UT; Scott Ross, Denver, CO; Beau (Sarah) Ross, Coralville, IA; Kari (Reed) Smith, Springville, UT; grandchildren: Noah, Sophia, Avabelle, Lola, Eliza, Isaac, Tucker, Tilly, Ezra, Trevyn, Daryk, Danyelle, Mytchell, Mckenzy, great-granddaughter, Ryan Rae, and one more on the way. She also leaves behind four brothers and three sisters, Ben Valencia, George Gonzales, Tom and Tim Romero, Orlinda Petersen, Lillian Taylor and Irene Leyba, and many other extended family members. Funeral services Saturday, August 9, 2008, 2 p.m., Price Fifth LDS Ward, 545 E. 400 N. Family will receive friends at Mitchell Funeral Home, 233 E. Main Street in Price Friday evening from 6-8 p.m. and at the church Saturday one hour prior to the service. Interment, Cliffview Cemetery, Price. Arrangements entrusted to Mitchell Funeral Home.