New Photos

There are a few new photos in the Photo Album. Lexi, Who's Been in the Pool, and The Pool all have new pictures. Check out some of the other albums if you haven't already.

WHO LET THE DOG OUT?? OR IS IT WHO LET THE CAT IN??

The other morning at 0300 we were awakened by the very mournful cries of ZAZU wanting to come into the house. He has been banned from our house until he gets used to the fact that Lexi is Queen. So far there have been hisses through our sliding door and a growl from Lexi. We have to make sure the coast is clear of Zazu before Lexi can go outside in order to avoid an attack.

Our days seems to be filled with making sure Lexi does her business before she is allowed upstairs in the rest of her castle. The song by the Baha Men seemed to come to mind over and over again "Who let the Dogs Out? Surprisingly enough she is getting the "hang" of it. We are conditioning her to ring a bell to tell us she has to go to the bathroom. So far Pavlov's dogs are apparently are a bit smarter then Lexi...it will just take a lot of time and consistency.

Kourtney has come alive over the last few days. She is giggling more then usual especially when Lexi is on her bed with her. Her dressing changes are a lot smoother and her skin is improving daily. She also has her new faster wheelchair. She even managed to beat Shae on her bike . . . which caused Shae to became very upset. Kourtney laughed so hard at Shae during her defeat that it intensified Shae's anger. Todd and I shook our heads wondering where this behaviour comes from (Todd of course).

The Kujawa's are doing well. It is amazing what a white ball of fluff can do. Lexi has brought so much joy to all of us. Her master though is Todd. She listens to him and gets very excited when he walks in a room (I know how she feels). It is neat to see how she respects him and is so willing to please him. Shaelyn is our consistent pooper scooper. She is always willing to get her shovel to scoop it up. Thanks Shae. Kourtney calms Lexi down and so far Lexi hasn't even attempted to bite her. I am the one who fills in the gaps with her and enjoys playing with her.

Todd has just finished up a change house for our pool visitors. It looks very modern. We will post some pictures to the blog in the next couple of days.

Life is good . . . the Kujawa's are loving summer!!!

Lexi, a big vein, and increased retic count

We drove all the way to Falkland, BC to pick up the newest member of our family, Lexi (short for Celexa, an anti depressant medication). A female purebread bichon frise puppy. She was welcomed with open arms to all of us, except of course ZAZU (he has been banned from overnights since he pooped on Kourtney's bed . . . YUCK). The lady that sold Lexi to us had her sleeping in a kennel and going potty outside before we got there. So far so good . . . she has pooped and peed outside. She lets us know by giving us a little dance. She slept quietly in her kennel last night . . . not a peep or poop out of her. The anticipation and arrival of this puppy has been the best anti depressant for all of us so . . . thus the name.

Kourtney and I had to leave Lexi on Wednesday to go to the hospital for more appointments and another iron infusion. Good news . . . her skin is getting better so much now that there was a nice big vein on her arm to start the IV in. They got it started on the first try and the iron infused over the next 4 hours. Her hemoglobin is low again. What I have learned is that iron is actually stored in the skin so when there is chronic skin loss, the iron stores are also lost, therefore creating a low hemoglobin (her skin was really bad before our trip to Florida). The good news is her Red Blood Cells (her retic count) is higher than they have been which means she is capable of making these Red Blood Cells, they just need more iron. The hematologist is now considering starting Kourtney on EPO which will help with RBC production. (EPO is what athletes use when they "blood dope").

Kourtney's skin continues to improve. We have finally have found a combo of dressings that not only protect the skin but help with healing. We call it the horizonal-vertical method. If you are interested I will explain (I am talking about dressings, for you with the overactive imaginations).

So far our summer has been full with lots of pool parties, a fun visit with cousins from Edmonton and the Jonas Brothers concert. Although we will not be going anywhere far we have lots of fun plans this summer.

Thanks to all my friends and family for all the birthday well wishes. Todd and the girls brought in a birthday cake for me into work today, and I have received many wonderful cards and gifts . . . thank-you everyone. Tomorrow, Todd and I are taking off to Harrison for the night. Mona and Bev will be taking care of the 3 girls (Lexi included). We are now on day 4 with the puppy and it is going very well. She sleeps in her kennel at night and is very quiet. She loves playing with the girls and will take her rest time sitting with Kourtney. Very cute.

A Burnt Bag of Popcorn

Today we had the pleasure of hosting Shaelyn's grade 2 class at our house (just the girls). Hosting 12 eight year olds seemed like a daunting task so I called on the expertise of my mom in law to help with crowd control. The girls all walked with us from school to our house. Before we took off the pool cover I sat all the kids down and gave them the rules of the pool. The girls played for a long time in the pool but soon the hunger pangs began to settle in and it was time for an after school snack, or should I say an after school buffet feast.

All the children brought a treat to share. There was everything from donuts, fruit, chips, and one mom even bought all the girls Slurpees.The food was gobbled down surprisingly fast. Then they went swimming again. One little girl had lost her invitation and wanted to come but she didn't have her bathing suit, so she needed to go home to get it. She came about an hour late and brought with her a bag of half burnt, half popped microwave popcorn. She jumped in the water (and nearly drowned - Bev and I to the rescue. I jumped in with my clothes on), and was unaware of what a commotion her bag of popcorn caused. Despite the many leftovers from the buffet, this bag of popcorn became the most popular item on the table. Like bees to honey, and flies to sticky paper these girls inhaled pungent smelling popcorn like they hadn't eaten for a week. The odour still resides in my nasal cavity and I am bit sickened by the smell.

As odd as this sounds there is a sense of reality that hit home to me. I am not referring to the gluttony these kids displayed, although it was fascinating to see the consumption that occurred. (My own child would score high on this list). I thought about how in life we are attracted to the sweetness of what life offers. The more we stuff ourselves with material goods the more we think we will be happy, but what we don't realize is what sustains us is that half-popped, scorched bag of popcorn. To be able to find the sweetness of life through our struggles makes us genuine, credible and likable. I have learned this over the past year, especially through the vulnerability of this blog. I was afraid to show my true feelings but by doing so it has opened me up to many new relationships that I thought I would never have. As difficult as the struggle has been our lives, we have acquired a "new taste" that we would have never developed if we didn't have these struggles. I don't know where we would be but being scorched on life's journey has opened ourselves up to many new opportunities.

Yesterday I was thankful for that little girl's contribution to the party. She helped bring perspective to what people really crave in life, a simple gift from the heart.

How's Kourtney Doing???

I was talking with my friend Shirley today. Her son Mason has a severe seizure disorder. Her life is on a constant roundabout and recently has taken a huge U turn. Mason has just recently been diagnosed with autism, her husband is facing unemployment, selling/buying a house, and to add to this flurry, her step dad passed away suddenly. We talked for about an hour and then she asked me, "How's Kourtney doing?" My answer was a cautious, "good", knowing that in an hour Kourtney was going to be home and I would have to endure the complaint of the day. Shirley understood that the word "good" is relative and continued to ask me what makes her good. I attempted to answer her questions regarding Kourtney's emotional improvement, but still I did not feel I was really answering her question. What makes Kourtney good?

I decided to google the words wellness and health according the World Health Organization.

Health is generally defined as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" according to the World Health Organization (WHO). [1][2].

I believe that I can say Kourtney is doing good because she has achieved a sense of "well being" despite her skin disorder. Although Kourtney's skin is not doing great, her pain is not as excruciating as it was. A decrease in pain factors into every aspect of her life. If I look at pictures of her from one year ago, it is very difficult for me to say she is doing well today. But everyday is an improvement and every dressing change gets easier and more tolerable for all of us. My perspective for Kourtney's " wellness" had to change, and that helps Kourtney face her days better.

Being a dialysis nurse for 13 years has helped me understand that wellness is also a frame of mind, and people with chronic illness cope the best when they stay well mentally. So my answer to Shirley's question should have been ... Kourtney is well.

Then she came home......

Kourtney was in the house before Shaelyn and I got home from Shaelyn's school. Shae was happy, happy, happy, (most likely because we are going to Costco for supper). As soon as we walked in the house Kourtney was in tears calling for me. Here we go again . . . I noticed that there were a few items thrown on the floor. Our cat, Zazu, was beside himself meowing like he needed to protect her but didn't know what to do. I then tried to pry out why she was upset and finally she spilled out what was bothering her. We then chatted . . . amazing how getting things off your chest helps . . . instead of sulking, Kourtney picked up her book and started reading it and switched into my happy studious little girl. WOW - how different from a few months ago when the only thing she could do was watch TV and fall asleep before the show ended. ZAZU decided after all that he needed to drown his sorrows in Shaelyn's fishbowl.

Kourtney's eyes are a lot happier these days and she is not consumed so much with the bath dragon. She is swimming in our pool and loves sitting in the sun and is even sporting a tanned face.

The rest of us are doing well and loving the hot spell. We are having fun in our warm pool and enjoying having our friends and family come over.