Sun and Fun

Leaving frigid DC behind, we flew down to the west coast of Florida on Thursday for a couple of days. We're staying at the Hilton in Longboat Key, a narrow strip of land with the Gulf of Mexico on one side and Sarasota Bay on the other. This part of Florida is a retirement community for the most part, so Jack is the youngest visitor by 69 years and 7 months. It's like going to a Grandma Convention--everywhere you turn, another septuagenarian is cooing at Jack. The hotel is right on the beach and our corner room has balconies overlooking the bay to the east and the Gulf to the west.

Temperatures are in the high 60s, and so we've spent our time in the heated-but-still-rather cool pool, walking on the beach, playing games, and driving up and down the island. Jack's new inflatable dinghy gave him the chance to float around the pool; however, he seemed more interested in eating the dinghy than experiencing the fun of swimming.

With no email and limited phone calls, we've really taken the opportunity to unwind and enjoy being a family without the pressure of work.

Inauguration Central (from Arlington)

I write this upon just returning home from a failed bike trip into DC. My mom really want to go to the festivities but we eventually decided (lots of "I'm going... no, I'm not going... I'm going...") that it wasn't a smart idea given the incredible number of closures and walking/standing that would be required. Around 9:00 this morning, we turned on the TV and saw all of the excitement on the Mall and decided (once again) "okay, we're all going!" About 10 minutes later, my sense of reason kicked in and I said that I would stay home as it would probably border on child abuse -- or at least be very irresponsible -- to take a 5-month old with all of the crowds and the cold weather. The news has been reporting that it will likely take HOURS just to get onto a platform for a metro station after the events. The majority of the most centrally-located metro stations (central to the Mall) are closed for security purposes so we'd have quite a trek just to get to a station... and then we'd have to wait hours to board a train home. On top of this, no strollers are allowed. Ultimately, we decided that my mom would stay here with Jack and that Mick & I would cycle downtown.

Well, I made it about three miles and then had to turn back. I am in no shape to be doing a 15-mile round trip bike ride (uphill on the way home) when I haven't been on a bike since getting pregnant last year and need to be in much better shape to attempt something like this. It's a bit of a bummer as I'd love to see this with Mick (by "see" I mean just be in the middle of the millions of people on the Mall; I doubt I'd even get a glimpse of a jumbo-tron). But, it's also special to be here with my mom & with Jack: three generations of us witnessing one of the most positive historical events of our lifetimes!

I've sent Mick with the regular camera and a video camera and my cell phone (though I doubt there will be coverage). He'll post more later with news of how his part of the day went. Until then, we'll be watching from the warmth of our living room -- and will celebrate tonight with some New York Strip steaks and champagne.

City Upon a Hill

DC is abuzz with preparations for the Obama Inaugural. To get a close up view of the parade route and inauguration site, Mary, Kelly, and I took a short drive around the city. Here is a photo of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill, complete with banners, flags, and seating for VIPs. The President-Elect will emerge from inside the Capitol (through the red semi-circle above) at approximately 11:30am tomorrow, take the oath of office, and deliver his inauguration speech to the masses gathered below.

We went from the White House to the Capitol, back along Constitution Avenue (past the Lincoln Memorial where yesterday's concert was held), and across Arlington Memorial bridge, before returning home.

Given that DC is expecting 2-3 million visitors in the next 48 hours, opportunities to "see anything" on the day itself will be extremely limited--the bridges from Virginia to DC are now closed, many metro train stations are "exit-only", and security will restrict the public to designated areas around the Mall.

My office, which is 2 blocks from the White House, is closed tomorrow. As such, Kelly and I may cycle from our house to the Mall (about 5 miles each way), if only to say "we were part of it". Mary would love to go, but the logistics could prove insurmountable.

Otherwise, I am feeling a lot better--am eating and drinking without pain, and have refrained from caffeine and alcohol, per doctor's orders. I will get my biopsy results back this week and thus expect to learn what caused this presumed virus and how I'll prevent it from coming back.

Ulcers

Mick had his endoscopy today & the doctor found several esophageal ulcers. I saw a few pictures of the ulcers and they look pretty nasty. The number of ulcers suggests a viral or bacterial infection; a biopsy was taken to help identify the cause of the ulcers and we should have the results in the next two weeks.

Mick is doing okay. He's actually feeling much better than he was just a week ago. He just ate an egg and some soup broth and hopes to be able to eat a bit more this evening. We were told to focus on soft foods and liquids for the next few weeks (which, frankly, is the most he can handle anyway).

We are relieved to know what the problem is and to begin to be able to take some actions to correct it. Thanks for keeping Mick in your thoughts.

Jack's First Christmas

Although things have been crazy around here these last few days, I did finally move our holiday photos onto Snapfish. They are in our group room and may be found here.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Quick update:

Saw the GI specialist today. He reviewed Mick's records from the ER and asked about his symptoms. The doc seemed perplexed by the fact that solids (mostly scrambled eggs) are easier to swallow than liquids. He said that if the problem were solely esophageal inflammation, the pain level wouldn't be this severe. So there may be something else causing the problem. He did give Mick an additional rx that will hopefully make it a bit easier for Mick to consume liquids.

The doctor wanted Mick to get in for an upper GI endoscopy asap; we have scheduled it for Thursday morning. They will put a tube with a camera on it down Mick's throat so they can see what's happening inside the esophagus. After days of me telling Mick "I'm fine, I don't need the help - I can manage it all on my own," I finally gave in and asked my mom to come out for a week. She will fly out tomorrow afternoon and will be able to watch Jack on Thursday when I take Mick to the hospital for the procedure. He'll need to be sedated so it will be good to have someone here to take care of Jack.

Mick is sleeping now and has been for the past hour and a half. I think that, prior to this week, I've maybe seen Mick take a grand total of three naps in the last eight years. So whatever is wrong is really taking its toll. Mick has a good point though: the lack of food/water over the past six days is probably contributing to his fatigue.

We'll post again after Thursday's procedure. It's unlikely they will have a definitive answer for us at that point, but at least we're on the road to getting to the bottom of this. We also should hear back from Mick's general doctor tomorrow about the results of his blood tests. Hopefully everything is back to normal on that front.

Thanks for all of your thoughts. We appreciate them!

Update

Monday evening now. Had a pretty good day. Saw my doctor this morning, who laid to rest some of the fears that surfaced at the ER--without an endoscopy, no-one knows the real situation with my esophagitis.

He outlined some of the potential causes and recommended a bland menu of food and drink items to consume for the time being. That's ok with me, as I can't face consuming much anyway. Case in point: today, I've had a waffle, an egg, and about 5 ounces of water. The thimble of gatorade I knocked back this evening felt like a party in my mouth.

Other than general pain, the biggest issue is the tiredness. I've taken a nap the last two afternoons and am pretty much knackered by 8pm.

Off to the specialist tomorrow for a check-in, with an endoscopy to be scheduled (in my mind) ASAP.

Kelly has been wonderful; if anyone deserves unlimited flowers, it's her.

Food

Everyone who knows us knows how much Mick & I love food. We are true "foodies," and few things make us happier that trying a new restaurant, pairing food & wine, or spending a weekend looking through cookbooks and trying new recipes (I'm just the sous-chef & eater... Mick does the hard work of cooking!). In fact, Jack's pre-birth name of Amuse Bouche was my homage to our love of food.

Because of this, the last few days have been extremely hard for us. Mick woke up on Thursday morning with a burning pain in his chest. He was unable to swallow liquids at all. By Friday, when it hadn't improved, I asked him to schedule time with his doctor. He secured an appointment for Monday. By Friday evening, Mick was at wit's end: totally fatigued, feverish, and still unable to eat and drink. We met him at the Urgent Care center after work on Friday and they sent him directly to the ER. Thanks to the generous help of our friend, Mike, we were able to leave Jack at home while we sat in the emergency room, waiting to be seen. (It is times like these that I really hate being so far from family; thankfully we have so many wonderful friends here who have offered to help us out!) Mick finally was seen by the ER doctor around 11 pm Friday night. We didn't leave until 5:00 am Saturday.

After numerous tests (EKG, blood tests, x-ray, CT scan, etc.) the ER doc diagnosed Mick with esophagitis and told us it was the most extreme case she has ever seen. She made sure we knew how critical it was that Mick be seen asap this week by his doctor & then referred to a GI specialist. She is concerned about all of the scar tissue that has apparently built up in his esophagus and also about an enzyme count that came back from one of his blood tests (normal level is 300 - Mick's is elevated to 3,800).

It is horrible to watch Mick go through this. I so rarely see him sick; this doesn't even compare to those few times he's had the flu. It looks as if it takes all of his energy to move off the couch. He winces and is in "excruciating" (his word) pain any time he swallows a liquid, including saliva. He is able to eat tiny amounts of food, so he had a scrambled egg this morning and will eat some jello to keep hydrated.

We see his doctor tomorrow afternoon. We are both anxious to get some additional tests as the severity of this condition can range from easily treatable to very serious. It is some consolation to us that Andy had something similar a few years ago and has had a pretty good recovery post surgery.

At this point, we are just trying to take things one day (or, for me, one hour) at a time. Mick, as usual, is the rock in this, telling me not to worry and trying to keep a brave face for me and Jack. I, as usual, am worried sick.

My mom pointed out that we should relish the fact that we have this weekend to just stay huddled up together at home without rushing to do our normal weekend chores. So I am trying to keep that in mind. One exciting thing we are looking forward to: we are going to start Jack on solids later today! As Mick commented, this is an interesting coincidence: as Jack starts on foods, Mick is off foods.

Anyway, I will keep this updated with the latest on Mick's health. For now, please keep him in your thoughts. Although he would never admit it, he is struggling.

That's Soooo Funny!

The holidays were a great time for Jack and I to hang out; we walked around the house at 4am, watched soccer together on the TV, and generally put as much as we could into our mouths. Jack loves jokes; here's a picture of him reacting to my punchline of "Must have been a big club?"....Yeah, there's about 30 of us!'"