Dr. Lopez (rough draft)

Several months ago, while Brannon was on his Trauma rotation at Harbor, he had a very special patient who became dear to his heart.   "Morena" Lopez was 2 years old and had severe congenital bi-lateral hip dysplasia.  Usually hip dysplasia is treated early with casts, harnesses, or traction but if severe, is operated around 1 year old.  (Brannon, of course there are probably a lot of holes in this as I can't remember all medical jargon that spills out of your kissable lips).  However, this sweet little hispanic girl's primary care doctor was to put it mildly - incompetent (I'm only guessing) and it went misdiagnosed until the family insisted that her limp wasn't going away and he finally sent her to Harbor.  Surgery of this magnitude is hard on a two year old and as with all surgeries, there are many risks.  Brannon (in Spanish) explained to the family that the surgery was still optional, weighing the risks, however LIFE changing, typically these surgeries have amazingly fantastic results.  Still, the family was hesitant but sent their tiny tender child into surgery, leaving Brannon with the plea, "She is in your hands now, please take care of her."

I can't remember if she had an open reduction or an osteotomy, I'm sure Brannon will correct me but anyhow, one hip is operated on, the patient then recovered for 3 month and the second hip is then operated on.  The poor girl and her family had to take a bus at 5am to be on-time for surgery that morning.  The initial surgery went well (Let me explain that an attending Dr. did most of this surgery while Brannon assisted, he then took over her care post-operatively).  However Brannon received a page a few days later that her blood counts were high.  The weeks that followed were full of infections, followed by rounds of antibiotics, infections, antibiotics, etc.  I could tell that Brannon's shoulders were just heavy with concern for this small patient who just as well could have been his daughter.  He checked on her everyday, even when he had a day off, he would call to check in with whoever was on-call.  Our kids included "the little girl in the hospital" in all of their prayers.  The sweet mama of the little girl stayed with her day and night, even though she had a large family to care for.  Brannon wondered when she ever showered because she was always at her bedside.  

The day that she left the hospital was her 6 week post-op mark.  "Morena" did finally recover and eventually had her second surgery which was free from infection.  Brannon had already switched to another rotation at a different hospital and wasn't able to see her or her family again.  

  .     .    .     .    A couple weeks ago we went out to dinner (see pics at the very bottom)  with some of the ortho clinic staff.  We carpooled with Jaime and Mondona (below) and they started talking about Dr. Lopez.  They asked me if I'd heard of Dr. Lopez. -No, who's he?  They explained that in clinic, patients started to mention a Dr. Lopez.  The residents and P.A.s were confused, there was no Dr. Lopez that worked there.  Finally, one of the patients pointed him out in the hallway- "That's Dr. Lopez."  Well, who do you think it was?  It was Brannon.   .  .  . So the staff questioned Brannon about it, he had no idea.

Days later, Dr. Chris (Mellano) noticed that Dr. Orton's badge had flipped over and on the back was a sticky note with a name on it.  Brannon told him about the little girl and that he had written her name on the sticky note so that he could periodically check on how she was doing.  "Morena" Lopez.   Chris's lightbulb went off and the mystery was solved.  All this time, the patients had been looking at Brannon's flipped over badge and thought Dr. Orton had (A STICKY NOTE- mind you) with his own name on it- hence Dr. Lopez.  (You can make out said sticky note in the picture above).

I'm not exactly sure what I wish to convey with this story, only that I love Brannon with all of my being.  He is such a dear and sensitive man in ways that never fail to surprise and touch my heart.  I truly believe that Heavenly Father made him up special, that one.  I couldn't ask for a more tender father to my children and husband to a sometimes crazy me.  After a sobering week like this one, I just want you to know Brannon that I feel so honored to share my life with you for this small period of time on earth.

 P.S. You are silly.

 It was Moustache day at work: 1) Sometimes you guys have way too much fun at work 2) Brannon, did you really feel the need for a prop?

 On Trauma: Jaime, Brannon, Chris, Lockey, ?, Amandeep, then Melissa, Mondana and Jen.

Angie, me and a classic Brannon at Umami Burger

Practice makes perfect

 Ballet, jazz, and tap are in full swing at our house.  She EVEN let me put her hair in a bun!!!  (Wha?!?!?!) but did make me put this "special" ribbon in a bow to top it off.  Be prepared for a dance recital in June.

Sweet pie

 My sweet pie!  Oooooooooh, I could just eat her up!  And nibble on every little roll!  Mayan is 7 months  old.  She is sitting on her own with occasional falls.  She is using her two little teeth to much on everything.  I don't know how much longer I'll be able to feed her babyfood or breastfeed- this girl is excited about food and watches us unceasingly.  She rolls all around but hasn't shown any interest in crawling yet.  Girl found her voice!  And loves to yell and fake laugh.   We are all soaking her up and there are many a fights for her attention.  Mayan adores her Dad and follows him around the room with her eyes the moment he gets home from work.  She continues to be a champion sleeper and a dream of a baby.

Picnic in Paris

 One of the kids' favorite dinners is a picnic in Paris.  Usually, its when Brannon is working late and I don't have a whole lot of gusto to make dinner.  We have baguettes, prosciutto, cheese, pistachios, fresh fruit and some sparking juice.  Then we turn on the Pandora channel "French Cafe" and pretend we are sitting on the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower and talk about all things french.  Nana joined us for the magnifique spread.

Still haven't given up on the chore chart . . .

 My darling sister came to celebrate her and my mom's respective birthdays.  Well, the really exciting thing was that we found a place near my place that she could get an ultrasound and find out the gender of her baby (she would have had to wait a few WEEKS in Idaho).  Since Darren wasn't here, they decided that we'd have fun and see the baby but put the sex of the baby in an envelope and she could take it home to open it with him.  THANKS HEAVENS she caved and we all Skyped together for the big reveal .  .  .  .

  .  .  . patiently waiting for Darren to get home from his class .  .  .

 It's a BOY!!!!!!!  Congratulations Richelle and Darren!  I cannot wait to be an Aunt for the first time (everybody else has had all the fun!)  I can't wait to coo over him, spoil him and then give him back so I can have a good night's rest! ;) haha

 Well, what is a birthday in LA without a visit to Bottega Louie?

I am so blessed to have such wonderful women in my family.  We shopped for baby clothes, ate good food, and just enjoyed being together.  I want both of you back, asap!

 The best cupcake ever (second to Cupcake Jones in Portland), chocolate with runny gooey caramel inside and a macaron to top it off!

Mommy/daughter date

Belize and I have been in serious need of a date lately.  We had hot cocoa at Treat and went shopping at Trader Joe's for dinner supplies.  This girl is a kick in the pants.  She is vivacious, spunky, animated, and super sweet to boot.  She definitely knows her mind and is not afraid to speak up.  She's quick to make friends and quick to forgive.  She knows she is one of Heavenly Father's special daughters and always tries to choose the right.  She notices when I need help with the other kids and makes special efforts to include Rio even when she's with her own friends.  Belize continues to love everything that is school, primary, soccer, dance and family adventures.

  .  .  . and she's been rockin these sassy red boots almost everyday.  Also, she apparently got my oversized tongue. I love my Belize!  She is WONDERFUL!  But you don't have to take my word for it, I keep meaning to post her report cards:

Developmental Kindergarten- Miss Polselli
1st Trimester: "Belize is such a delight to have in class.  She has a spunky, fun attitude that makes everyone around her smile!  Socially, she is usually the leader of the pack and she has made many friends here in DK. Academically, Belize is at or above grade level in all standards.  Keep working on proper grip and the writing will continue to soar!  Great job, Belize!"

2nd Trimester:  "Belize has shown tremendous growth this past trimester.  She is reading away and loves to do so!  She is writing independently and doing wonderful with all her phonemic awareness.  We continue to work on her pencil grip and handwriting but she has come a long way so far!  Belize can now recognize all of her numbers and is counting very high! :)  Socially, Belize has many friends and her friendships grow stronger everyday.  You are amazing, Belize!"

Palm Springs Raincheck

 AKA the hot mama weekend getaway that didn't happen.   

These are my guuuuurls! Angie, Tara, Kristen, and Jessica.  (Kelci was busy cruising (can't remember if it was Hawaii or Mexico).  The girls that see my best, my worst, my tears, my joys.  These girls see me when I haven't showered for days (sorry bout that), they love my kids, they listen to my bad days and my successful ones, heck, they see me more than my husband.  They are more dear to me than words can express, I wouldn't be able to do "this" without them.

So to celebrate our friendships and Jessica's birthday, we planned a little night away to Palm Springs.  HOWEVER, 2 broken toes, one feverish baby (mine) and birthday mommy guilt later, we took a raincheck.  We still needed to celebrate Jess's birthday though so we took advantage of planned babysitters (do dads REALLY count as sitters?) and spent the afternoon/evening laughing and enjoying eachother's company, delicious food, antiques, Thai massages and cheesecake!

I am so lucky to have such gorgeous friends, inside and out these ladies are BEAUTIFUL!  Love you!

"The errand of angels is given to women,

And this is a gift that, as sisters, we claim:

To do what-so-ever is gentle and human,

To cheer and to bless in humanity's name"

Oh man! I am really stinking at the blogging right now. I am stunk, I mean, stuck. Once a month, really has it come to that? Did I mention I printed out a chore chart (for myself, not the kids) and my house has been clean for a week? I MEAN, SPICK SPAN I JUST SPRING CLEANED MY HOUSE ONCE A YEAR clean. However, after patting myself on the back each evening, a meltdown occurred today. Co-incidence? The verdict is still out. I'm still going to continue with the chart this week but goodluck with ever finding enough time to blog. Soooooooo, let's take a poll:

Cleaning vs. Blogging

Go.

(P.S. Did you know I really HATE cleaning? I loathe it, and I like to think not even like a normal person loathes it, I don't even get really happy when my house is clean? I swear ALL of my friends get that! Why can't IIIIIIIIIIIII)

If you choose blogging then I SWEAR I will become a professional blogger.

Okay okay. Realistically. Professional blogger- no. Professional cleaner- no. That's right folks, all that's left is mediocrity. That sounds so sad. But I do promise I will generally clean and blog more frequently- deal? Deal.

This was a very confusing post. I am not in my right mind. Too. much. cleaning.

Good night.

My happy girl.  Mayan is content to be pulled and prodded by siblings, ignored to complete chores and content to be loved.  When she feels love she scrunches up her little body and lights up like a Christmas tree.  She can roll over now, is on the verge of sitting and got her first teeny tiny tooth!  She LOVES baby food and finishes whole containers in one sitting.  I think I need to start buying those messy crackers that she can have at because I feel so guilty eating in front of her- her eyes staring longingly.  My friends ask if she ever makes noises because she's quite mellow but she likes to save those for changing time when we get our time to "chat" and when I've ignored her for too long for folding laundry.  Mayan is happiest when she is being held or toted around.  Her eyes are a beautiful light brown and she's starting to get little golden hairs underneath the dark ones.

Our friend Alli left her bow at our house so we had to have some fun with it.  Can't ever say I didn't put in her a big bow- Angie! ;)

Her first taste of food (except for the Nilla wafer she sneakily stole from my hand).

Happy Valentine's Day!

 We glued a chocolate heart to the end of Belize's wand and Belize signed the back with her name for her classmates.

My lovely valentine

That slow motion moment in a movie where a man, in the midst of conversation in a crowd or while wrestling with his children, looks up and catches eyes with the love of his life.  Their gaze locks in that split second. He smiles and the audience inaudibly exhales.  She knows she's married the man of her dreams.  In all her life there will be no one she loves like she loves him.

Now speed up to real life.  Forget the movies.  I get to have those endearing moments on a regular basis.  They happen so fast that its easy to miss them, but when I catch them, I can't help but hold my breath.  I married the man of my dreams.  I am realizing that in the busyness of life, with everything that pulls my attention other directions that I need to recognize and enjoy the beauty of these moments.

I am so in love with you.

 Deeply madly.

Slow motion.

I'm glad we choose eachother, may we never recover. ;)

The haircut/ 3 piggies in a blanket