Thursday, June 16, 2011

WOW~~I have been busy!!

Thought I would be able to get to this more often but I guess with everything going on the last few months, I have been busy!! Jacob finally graduated!  Kirstie is working and going to be taking a summer class.  Today is my baby boys 16th birthday!  Time sure does fly!!  Seems like just yesterday he was born. Since it is his birthday, I guess I will give you a little background on his life the last 16 years.  Bransen was born with craniosynostosis.  Not normally a really bad birth defect, one surgery and done but not Bransen...hehehe  I can laugh about it now because it is pretty much over, other than a little facial deformity and hearing impairment.  He is 230 pounds and 6ft 3ins tall.  He has definitely made up for the 30 pound 5 year old he was!!  He had his first surgery at 6 weeks for his craniosynostosis.  Everything went fine.  He had a second surgery for craniosynostosis at 7 months old.  He had his third surgery for the craniosynostosis at 5 years old.  Yea what was supposed to be one and done was never ending, not to mention several other hospitalizations and other surgeries for eye tubes and ear tubes...Crazy!!  He was a trooper though, Bransen never stopped loving life and making us laugh, even today.  Doctors argued over what kind of syndrome he may have but agreed to disagree and say that he is just an anomally...isn't that something? We learned to live with that diagnosis but I still wonder today if there is more there.  Anyways, back to Bransen.  His surgery at 5 years old ended up getting infected and to make a very, very, long story short...we spent the next two years in and out the hospital with the doctors here saying they couldn't fix his problem.  We ended up in Dallas, TX with him and after another four surgeries, tissue expansion, reconstruction etc...He is pretty much fixed!!  He still has a small spot of skull missing and the other few issues mentioned above but we think he has more than made up for it.  He is a happy teenager who does get angry because he can not do some things due to the lack of skull.  His worse aggravation is he cant play high school football but that is life.  I don't think he understands that it could hurt him bad or worse, kill him.  So that is a quick rundown on Bransens first years of life and the 16 year old boy he is today!  He definitely makes us laugh!!  I will leave you with one of his jokes that he told my sister in law when she went to New Orleans!!  He said, Aunt Cheryl...do not go on Bourbon Street and flash anyone, they do not want to see boobs from people who have to unbutton their pants to show them...hehehe!!  Will try an be back soon!!  Have a blessed day!  Love and Best Stitches :)