Tuesday's Tonsil sTories --

Dr. Marky, once again has accurately diagnosed himself with...

this may come as a surprise.....

Strep throat ! Ugh !

Started yesterday with an 0915 phone call from the school.

I had just dropped him off 15 minutes earlier and was pumping my fist....all the kids gone to school...and ive gotta day off ! Yahoo, the possiblities were overflowing ! Especially with the new "Pirates" movie out !...(Johnny Depp---oh yeah)

"Marky's here in the office, he says he just threw up."

And that was "that".

The positive strep test at Dr. Stampfl's today is the LAST STRAW !

I'm plotting the demise of those offending tonsils!

Will probably hire the same mercenary that whacked Sam's tonsils years ago.

NINE times this school year, those derelict tonsils have harbored that repeat offender, "Strep". . That's once a stinking month !

Oh, the wonders of a non-existent immune system!

"The GobStopper Maneuver"

Last night Marky casually said..."Mom, I saved my own life today."

I wasnt really paying attention, you know, the multi-tasking zone you get in after working a 12 hour day, then coming home to a house-full of....well, just a ..."house full of" ! ! !

He says, " I was suckin on one of those Willy Wonka Gobstoppers and I breathed in and it got stuck in my wind pipe "

At THAT point, my ears perked up ! Now he had my attention !

I tried to calmly say, "What'd you do?"

He said, "well, I couldn't talk or breathe, so I just walked over to the drinking fountain and tried to take a swallow."

"Then, I grabbed myself under my ribs and shoved my fists upward and...POP ! The thing shot straight out ! "

My eyes were popping outa my head !!!

I raised my voice to him and said, "Marky, we just got you through this life threatening disease, and you lived ! You better not die NOW from a little half inch piece of candy ! !"

I guess all that time spent in the hospital watching their "Health Channel" episodes on CPR and lifesaving techniques paid off for Marky !

He was pretty proud of himself for saving himself !

Glad he paid attention to the TV and remembered the "Gobstopper remover maneuver" !

I YAM YAM --

Translated means:

I am Sam !

What else could it possibly mean !

For those of you who arent in geographical proximity to us, Sam is still mostly using his "Verbal Approximation" skills!

He refers to himself as "Yam"...simple and very original.

Tonight as the 3 boys and i knelt for prayer, I sarcastically, (I know, that's not my nature!), asked Sam if he wanted to say the prayer.

He said, "Yeah".

So the other two guys and I looked at each other and shrugged, "this is gonna be good" !

Just then, Sam launched into the most beautiful, fervent prayer i've ever heard.

It was a sincere and VERY verbal demonstration of love and communication from an earthly angel to his Father above.

It lasted a good couple of minutes. I could've listened forever !

We were taught, spiritually, from an angel tonight what prayers are meant to be.

We couldnt understand a word.

If Sam could speak (our language, not his), I wonder if we would be spiritually on a level to grasp, or even deserve to know what he knows ?

Think about that for a second or two..

I whisper in Sam's ear every night as I lay him in his bed, "Thank you for coming to me, Sam."

I realize what a gift he is.

What gifts EACH of our children are.

I'm going to try harder to deserve my gifts.

Goodnite, everybody.

"Half Inch of Butter"-Day---

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day.

It's a "mixed feeling's" kind of day for alot of people. I get that.

I decided to try to make it just what it was intended to be, just honor your Momma, the end !

I started the day calling my beloved Mother in Phoenix and thanking her for bringing me into this world...and for accepting her role and magnifying her role at that!

I went out for an early morning walk before anyone even got up at my house. I love the early dawn hours when its peaceful and quiet.

I came home and made scrambled eggs for Sammy, gluten free pancakes for Marky. Scott and James still slumbered at that point.

Then, I got BACK in bed, so Marky ( he insisted!) could bring me breakfast in bed !

It was "gourmet" Raisin Bran Crunch ! Then two pieces of toast arrived with at least a half inch of butter !

Oh man was I pampered !

Life is good !

Hope all of you had a "Half inch of butter" kind of day, too !

You deserve it !

Love, Netti

Saturday the 7th of May--

The other day Scotty came to me, very solemly and concerned.

This week in his health class the subject of male/female reproduction is the topic ! .....

I can hear you all laughing ! Me too !

He said, "Mom, can you write me an excuse to get out of class on Friday?"

I said, "How come?"

He said, "Well, yesterday they talked about the female reproductive system and I got all clammy and sweaty and i thought i was gonna throw up ! I had to ask the teacher for a hall pass, and then I just waited around outside till I thought they were done. "

Then he said, "And today they're talking about the male end of things, And tomorrow is the "talk" about.. you know !"

He said, "I remember back in Jr. High when they did the maturation talk, but that was with all the guys in one room and the girls in another!, now we're all together in the same room !"

He said, " I dont mind talking about the "bee's", but I dont like hearing about how they "Pollinate" !"

Chuckle, chuckle !

Hi to all of Marky's friends !

We are home from Cincinnati !

Marky managed to emerge victorious !

The specialist reported that his colon is working well. No blockages or kinks noted. !

Hurray for that news ! Doesnt explain where his pain is coming from, however.

The Dr.s answer to that is ...."to approach his pain from a psychological standpoint now."

He said Mark had been through so much trauma, that likely, any pain sends Marky's young brain into panic that thinks , "OH NO !, There's that pain back, I'm gonna almost die again!".

This is apparently common in a lot of chronic illness kids, and adults i'm sure.

So we'll go that route, for now. And go back to the accupuncture guy and see where that gets us.

HOWEVER ----The JEEP is UNCOVERED and the "Captain" is back in command at his base-camp !

There have been steady droves of "would-be" recruits looking for a chance to enlist in Marky's corp of soldiers !

All is well in Marky's world !

A huge shout-out to my sweet niece, Erin, for all of her love and service while we were in Cincinnati. She drove down from Columbus (2 hr. drive) and stayed 5 days with us to shepherd us around.

Marky loved spending time with his cousin that he doesnt see nearly enough.

The Saturday before we flew back home, Erin's husband, Ben, even drove down from Columbus to hang out w/ us for the day ! We went to the Zoo and, of course, McDonald's...(gluten free Angus Burgers arent all that bad..just order em between two giant leaves of lettuce).

Ben was great with Marky. I know Mark really was missing his Dad and brothers by then, so Ben stepped up and filled in the cracks !

Thanks also to all of you for your prayers and love and donations that helped get us there...and back !

Love you all, Markysmom

Thursday report from "Battlefield: Cincinnati Children's Hosp--

What a magnificent hospital !

We flew in Tuesday and got to stay at the Ronald McDonald House just across the street from the Hospital.

It's the 3rd largest RMH in the country. It's like Disneyland here for these kids. They role out the red-carpet and take care of everything for these families who are here from out of town. It's all charity and volunteers. Unbelievable spirit of love as soon as you walk in the front door.

This hospital is #1 in the country for GI /Colo-rectal disorders. We are in the best hands here.

Marky spent all day yesterday and today "prepping" for the scopes he just had.

First off the bat, they shoved an Naso-gastric tube down his nose----after the THIRD TRY ! Not so fun.

Then they ran the "clean-out" stuff straight into his stomach, so he wouldnt have to drink 2 gallons of it.

I'm pretty sure he wouldve rather tried to drink 50 gallons than sit around with an NG tube for a day and a half!

After that the IV came. THEN the colonic-irrigation tactics several times throughout the night and this morning.

He maintained his dignity and amazingly tolerated it all with his never-ending courage and valor !

What a "Giant Warrior" he is !

Nothing "Little" about him !

His courage is "Giant".

His spirit is "Giant".

His will is "Giant".

The GI Dr here just came out after the scope's and reported that it all went well. The scope maneuvered throught the entire colon with ease, which is re-assuring.

Now they leave in the rubber tubing threaded thru the entire colon over nite.

This special tubing has sensors all through it that will monitor how well his colon "moves" and sloshes stuff thru.

His word's : "THERE'S A SNAKE IN MY BUTT !"

Tomorrow AM, they come back and have him eat, then monitor the colon as it processes.

Should take several hours, then they will un-thread it out, and we bust outa there. !

I appreciate all the prayers and concern coming from all over the country for our sweet "warrior" .

The Lord knows him, and I believe his band of angel's are near.

Love, Lynette

(posted at his request:))

hello all blogers marky reporting in I have STREP THROAT AGAIN!! not fun AT ALL! we are still going 2 ohio tomorrow!

but I did hike to Delicate Arch last week! and i went 2 dead horse point it was 6,000 ft high i looked of the edge i got light headed well thats it good by

Hi to All of Marky's "Angels"!

Today's the day before our trip to Cincinnati !

We're excited to go and get some answers--hopefully !

Yes -----Marky will be taking his cell phone if you want to leave txts for him !

Of course, I'm freaking out with the stress of it all !

My niece in Ohio will be ushering us and coordinating all the details...thank goodness for her !

She's been handling the Ronald McDonald House reservations for us ,too !

She gave me some very sound and wise advice this morning :

Netti--- just drink two Diet-Coke's and put the rest in the Lord's hands !

Love that niece of mine !

Also---------

Some of "Marky's Friends" have generously and anonymously donated into his Charitable account to help with the Cincinnati trip !

Thank you thank you thank you !

You are SO appreciated and Loved for your kindness !

We are hopefully staying at the Ronald McDonald house the night we fly in, Tues. Marky's looking forward to that. Looks like an amazing place according to their web-site.

Wed. morning we check in at the hospital.

Cincinnati Children's Hosp. is the largest children's hospital in the country. They've got the best of the best. According to our GI guy here at PCMC.

I am prayerfully hopeful that some answers will be found to help our sweet "little warrior".

Wednesday the 20th of April...

The big boys have gone to Moab !

Mark, Scott and his best bud, Eric, with James have hit the trail
for a few days !

Left behind is Sam and Mom !

Im using my "time-off" from work to go to Cincinnati next week, so its just a "Guy" trip this week !

Marky was so excited to go to Moab. His plans are to hike to the Delicate Arch ! We'll see how that goes.! He of ALL people could DO IT ! It's James that I worry about, keeping up !

Marky's climbed more mountains than any of us put together in this last two years !

Go Marky !

Wednesday April 13th--

Flight plans are in place for our trip to Cincinnati !

Just Mark and Mom are going....tooooo pricey to take anyone else !

Marky has a "favorite" cousin that lives in Columbus (i think) Ohio.

She has graciously offered to meet us at the airport and haul us to the hospital !

She's also going to hang out with us while we're there and make sure those "Ohioan's" show us a good time ! Ha Ha

Can't see how spending 3 days in a hospital, gettin a scope shoved.....anywhere...could be a good time !

My "favorite" brother also lives in Ohio, about 4 hrs away. He may make the trek to come see us, as well ! He only travels to places if there is a good IKEA store nearby ! He likes the Swedish Meatball special at the deli/cafe thingy !

Marky and Sam are done with this round of Strep.

The Dr. is suggesting that we have Markys tonsils taken out in the future..to combat the recurring strep.!

That's kindof down the list of must-do's right now !

Sammy had HIS tonsils and adenoid's out when he was 6 mo. old to help with his pulmonary hypertension and small airway associated with Down's Guys.

That was SUPPOSED to reduce HIS strep occurences..... Of course, Sam is the exception to every rule and expectation !

Redundancy is SO boring, anyway.....is that how you spell redundancy? .....I dont think i've ever used that word in a sentence in my LIFE !

Love to all Marky's friends !

Friday the 8th of April-- Hi to all of Marky's friends.

We're going to Cincinnati !

There's a specialist there that does some kind of "Scope" on the colon to look for weird stuff that doesnt belong there.

Marky's Primary Children's Doc recommended we go.

I will "GO and DO" anything to help find relief for Marky's undiagnosible pain.

We will go at the end of April...the last week.

Of course, insurance will only pay 50%. And i'm hoping for good weather in the next two weeks so we can have a yard sale to pay for the travel expenses !

Marky and Sam have had Strep throat all this week to boot.

Just another average week at the Jeanes home !

On a lighter, much more deserving note:

Read down 3 posts ago for a beautiful tribute to Marky.

Cathy Wallace has done it again with her creativity and love for dear Marky.

I, as always, continue to be amazed and inspired by our dear son's courage and determination.

He IS like that Jeep! Goes anywhere, climbs any mountain, thwarts any obstacle !.. Over and over.

Also, to all of Marky's true friends:

I apologize for taking so long to update the blog.

A very mean spirited person has used Marky's blog to Attack our family personally.

Many mean, hateful comments were left by this person on Markys blog.

How someone could justify using Marky's blog in this manner is beyond comprehension and defines this person in no other way but evil.

I will attempt to pursue the situation in other ways, rather than using a defenseless, innocent child's blog.

Sorry all of Marky's friends..... I messed up my blogging settings and all the sentences are running together ! My friend is going to try to fix in a few min.s ! I'm a computer dummy, incase you havent guessed already !

Here's a darling poem Cathy Wallace wrote--

Marky's Jeep

Whether he's awake or he's asleep,

Marky's dreaming of his jeep.

During times of war or quiet peace,

It's feats of bravery never cease.

See that mountain over there?

Others might just stop and stare.

But, to Marky's jeep, it's just a hill.

He can climb it standing still !

See that river running fast?

Some might need a boat and mast,

But, Marky's jeep can plow on through,

He'll drive up shore, right on cue !

See that canyon deep and wide?

Looks like trouble ! Run and Hide ?

No ! Marky's jeep goes up and down,

Soon he'll be pulling into town !

There's no stopping this machine,

Persistence like you've never seen !

So when life's incline seems too steep,

Consider a ride in Marky's jeep !

Love ya, Cathy

this is Captain Mark Jeanes reporting for duty!

sam is doing a bit beter today he keeps trying to throw up but there is nothing left in his tummy!

he has not ate for 3 days.

I am geting ready 2 uncover the jeep for real this time!

ps sam is not watching buety and the beast!

flash.......

marky and sam throwing up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is marky reporting in .

sam in room on rocking chair watching beuty and the beast