Back to school!

I am finally going back to school tonight. I ended up taking 4 weeks off for my surgery and Scott's illness, it will be nice to get back. I miss my friends and giving facial treatments! I apologize to those of you who had to cancel or reschedule your appointments to do my absence, but I am back now, so let's get you in! I'm dying to do wonderful things for your skin!

Everything is great here. Everyone is feeling good, we had a good birthday party for Macey and Heidi on Saturday, and I am 29 now! I feel too young to be 29 and have 5 children. I know that 29 is young, but in a year I will be 30, and that is weird.

I cannot believe how good I feel with these hormone pellets. I haven't felt this "balanced" in a long time. No headaches, hot flashes, night sweats, and let me tell you, those testosterone pellets really make a difference! I will spare you any details, but I will say that Scott is a happy man. :)

Here are some pictures of the girls' birthdays, Thanksgiving, and the birthday party. Enjoy looking at all the cute faces!

Happy Birthday Heidi!

I cannot believe that you are 5! It seems like yesterday that you were born, my only full-term, natural delivery. You were so little, 6 lbs 9 oz, with a full head of black hair. The nurses loved your hair so much, they fought over who got to give you your baths! You are such a sweet, smart, helpful little girl. I love your kisses, your back-pats, and the way you tell me at least 10 times a day that you love me. You are my buddy, my little Heidi-Bug. Daddy and I love you so much!

We have a diagnosis!

Finally! We now know what Scott has been battling. He has Haemophilus Influenzae, which is a very rare bacterial infection that everyone is vaccinated for as infants (the Hib vaccine). It is often fatal, and probably would have been for Scott if he hadn't been vaccinated for it when he was a baby. Just another reason why you need to get your kids vaccinated! Luckily, they have had Scott on antibiotics that treat this infection for 5 days now. He is feeling so much better, and his oxygen saturations are starting to climb. The bottoms of both of his lungs are all crinkled up because he hasn't been able to take deep breaths for several weeks, so he just needs to work on taking deep breaths, and then everything will be good. I am so happy to know that he is going to be okay. Thank you a million times to everyone who has kept Scott in your thoughts and prayers, we appreciate you all so much. I can't wait to have my Scotty back home!

Scott

Well, there really isn't much to update. His oxygen levels are still low. Yesterday they had him on 3 liters of oxygen, and his sats were around 92-93%. Today they had to bump him up to 6 liters, and his sats are staying around 87-88%. His pulse is around 100-110, which is still high but better than 130. We are still waiting for his bloodwork to come back. The test for Valley Fever should be back tomorrow. The doctor told us today though that most people who get Valley Fever don't get so sick so fast. So we feel like we are back at square one. If he isn't doing better tomorrow, they are going to biopsy his lungs. He is not looking forward to that, but it sure would be nice to have some idea of what he is fighting. The doctor also said that most patients with pneumonia, even patients that are in their 70's, if they even require hospitalization, are in and out of the hospital within 2 days. It just doesn't make any sense that a 30-year-old healthy man is having such a hard time keeping his oxygen levels up.

We have had so many people helping us and showing their love and support through all of this. My sister Summer and her family drove here from San Diego to stay with the kids, so I have been able to be with Scott all weekend. His mom and my mom have also been helping with the kids and the house. We have also had so many phone calls and some visits from Scott's friends and family, we feel really blessed to have such awesome people in our lives. Scott's friend Joe came by this morning and brought doughnuts and visited for a while. Thanks Joe, it was so nice to see you, and you made Scott's day.

I will get back on when we get a more clear answer to what is going on. Thanks again to everybody who has offered their services in any way. We couldn't do this without you!

Happy Birthday Macey!

Seven years ago today you came into our lives, 6 weeks early and a tiny 4 lbs. 14 oz. You just couldn't wait to get started on all the fun things that life had in store for you. You are such a sweet girl, Daddy and I love you and appreciate you so much. You made us parents, and we will love you forever and ever. Happy Birthday sweet Macey, you are the best!

Update on Scott

Well, Scott ended up in the ICU last night in Pinetop. His oxygen was really low, and his pulse was really high. His blood pressure was all over the place. When they did his chest x-ray and CAT scan last night, they saw something in his lungs that they couldn't identify. They did another chest x-ray this morning, and whatever he has in his lungs had increased dramatically. The doctor was very concerned because they couldn't identify what was going on and why it was getting so much worse so fast. He told us that there was a chance that Scott would have to be put on a ventilator by tonight or tomorrow if things got any worse. So they ended up airlifting him back down to the valley where there are more specialists. I got the kids and luggage loaded up and we drove home. He is still in ICU, but he is feeling a lot better. They were able to lower the amount of oxygen that they were giving him. They did another chest x-ray, and nothing had changed, which was good since it had gotten worse in such a short amount of time through the night. They still aren't sure exactly what is going on, they have to wait for several blood tests to come back, which could take several days. They decided to treat him for Valley Fever, in case that is what he has. He feels so much better, the high altitude was not good for him. I am just hanging out with him in his hospital room, enjoying some quiet time. Once we get some more answers I will update again.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that everyone had a great Turkey Day! We are in Pinetop for the weekend, and it is so beautiful. It snowed all day today, and Macey and Heidi were having the time of their lives making snow angels and catching snowflakes on their tongues. They would go play for a while, come in and warm up in front of the fire and take a warm bath, and then repeat the process. They did that all day. Marley, Ryan and Jenna enjoyed watching the snow fall from the window, but they weren't too interested in going out in it, which was fine with me because I am a huge wimp when it comes to cold weather.

Today I am thankful for so many things. My amazing husband, first of all. Not only is today Thanksgiving, but it is also the 10 year anniversary of the day we met. I never in a million years would have imagined that in 10 years from that night, we would have 5 kids! I am also so very thankful for my kids. Every one of them brings something different to my life, they are each so sweet and precious. I am so thankful that at Heidi's appointment with the surgeon yesterday, he didn't feel a mass. He ordered an ultrasound just to make sure, but the fact that he didn't feel anything is a very good thing and means that if there is something, it's not a tumor like our pediatrician was worried about.

But in true Jacobs fashion, there has to be some sort of health issue. This time it's my 2 men. Poor little Ryan's eardrum perforated a couple of days ago, so he is not feeling really well. And the day after my surgery, Scott got a cough that has progressively gotten worse over the last couple of weeks. He went to the doctor several days ago and they told him that he has bronchitis and viral pneumonia. They gave him several medications, but he has kept getting sicker and sicker. Today he started getting a fever and having a really hard time breathing, so we took him to the E.R., and his oxygen saturations were at 79%. They did a bunch of tests, an x-ray, and a CAT scan, but they still aren't sure what exactly is going on. They are thinking either pneumonia, a bacterial infection in his lungs, or valley fever. They admitted him into the hospital until they can figure out what is going on and get his oxygen saturations back up. He is on 12 liters of oxygen just to get him into the 90's. So we are stuck up here in Pinetop until they figure out what is going on, and then hopefully they will transfer him to a Phoenix hospital so that we can go home. Poor Scotty, he is so so sick. I have NEVER heard anyone cough harder than he has for the last couple of weeks.

We got some adorable pictures of Macey and Heidi playing in the snow, so I will upload those when we get home. I hope that everyone has a fabulous and relaxing weekend!