They're Back!

Well, it has officially been confirmed. Mackenzie's seizures are back. I took her for her EEG last Thursday and it definitely showed that she is having the irregular brain waves in the right front portion of the brain (I'm not very technical) that are causing her the have the Absence or Partial seizures again.
When Mackenzie was in the second grade, her teacher noticed she was having these strange spells where she would just stare off. These would only last for a few seconds but were long enough to cause concern. The teacher contacted the school nurse who in turned called me with the concerns. I took her to our family doctor who referred us to a neurologist. Before we got her to the specialist, Kenzie had a grand mal seizure. After 2 ambulance rides, lots of testing and 16 hours in the emergency rooms of two different hospitals, the diagnosis of seizure disorder (epilepsy) was reached. After 2 years of medications, blood tests and disgnostic testing, in June of 2008, Kenzie was discharged from the neurologist's care, only to return if needed. Well, that lasted less than a year.
Earlier this year, we began noticing Mackenzie doing the staring off thing again. Not long after we began noticing this, the school nurse again called as they were concerned about the amount of time Kenzie was spending in the office with headaches and dizziness. This time, we bypassed the family doctor and went straight to the neurologist. The whole process has started again. The doctor visits, medication, blood test, EEG's and the continual monitoring of Mackenzie to make sure she isn't in any situations that could cause harm to her if she were to have any type of seizure.
Mackenzie isn't too thrilled with this whole regimine again but she's a trooper with it all.
Kenzie and I have talked about this whole seizure thing being back and even though it can be frustrating at times, it's all good.
As we sit in the waiting room at the Neurologist's office and watch as other families bring their children in in wheelchairs, with walkers or who are crippled, hearing or visually impared, we are reminded how fortunate we are that this is all that we have to work through.

Teal Tuesday!!!

Tuesday September 15th, 2009 is "National Ovarian Cancer

Awareness Day."

Think TEAL

Talk TEAL

Wear TEAL

Save Lives!

Approximately 87% of women diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer are 45 or older.
68% are 55 or older.
32% are 54 or younger.
13% are 45 or younger.
From a recent study the average age at death from ovarian cancer is 71.

Some of the Symptoms Include.....

• Bloating
• Pelvic or abdominal pain
• Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly
• Urinary symptoms(urgency or frequency)

September 14th-20th is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Week. Lets spread the word and help find a cure for this "silent killer."

Wear TEAL in memory of our Mom and Grandma, Arlene Waters!

MOM

I have started this posting at least a dozen times but for some reason, it has been pretty difficult to write. Maybe it's because everytime I sit and think about the things I want to share, all of the emotions I experienced over the past 7 weeks come flooding back and it's pretty hard to see through the tears. I am going to attempt to share just a snapshot of this experience.
By now, most everyone knows that our mother and grandmother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer on June 16, 2009. Before we could even come to grips with the cancer diagnosis, she was gone.

Carcinosarcoma, the type of cancer mom had is a very agressive cancer that there is no cure for because very little is known about it.
It was so heartbreaking to watch as this disease so quickly took over mom's body in every way.
I was so very lucky to be able to talk to my mom or be with her everyday from the day she was diagnosed until the day Heavenly Father called her home.
Mom spent 24 days as a patient at University Medical Center here in Las Vegas where she was cared for by the most wonderful healthcare givers. I word it that way because everyone from the doctors and nurses right down to those who transported her back and forth for her diagnostic testing need to be included. Everyone was so patient and kind not only with mom but all of us who came and went and spent many long hours at the hospital. A thank you just doesn't seem to be gratitude enough for all these people did for us.
During the 24 days, even though the circumstances could have been better, there were lots of good memories shared and made. There was lots of tears but also lots of laughter.
As dad and I sat with mom one afternoon, we were discussing (dad and I discussed, mom just listened) the roller coaster ride we seemed to be on with mom. Some days, the ride was filled with lots of up and a few downs, others days, there were more downs than ups and then there was the occasional straight away that seemed to be followed by the hard turn that seemed to say hang on because now you don't know which way you'll be going next.
I think one of the hardest days was the 22nd of July. There were some test and medical procedures that were scheduled to be done. One of which we were told would be extremely painful for mom. We couldn't stand the thoughts of mom having to endure any more pain. Dad did some talking with some nurses and doctors, then finally with the oncologist. The oncologist very sweetly told us that if he was in our place, he could stop any further testing and treatment and just keep mom comfortable because her time with us was going to be short. Any further testing and diagnosis wasn't going to matter at this point. With that being said, dad cancelled all testing and made arrangements for mom to go into hospice.
On July24, mom was transferred to Nathan Adelson Hospice. Coincidentially, this is the same facility, mom's sister Jeanette was at when Heavenly Father called her home too.
Once again, mom and all of us were blessed to have another wonderful group of caregivers. It takes a special type of person to be able to work in this type of enviornment and these people were truly special.
And again, mom's room was filled with tears and laughter and special memories were made.
On July 26th, 2009 at 4:34 p.m. mom quietly and peacefully went home to her Heavenly Father.
I am so grateful that I was with her when she left this earth. One night at the hospital Tami, dad and I were talking about the late nights spent with mom. I finally confessed that I spent so many late nights with mom because I didn't want her to be alone when she left this earth. Tami admitted she felt the same way. I'm glad I can say that mom wasn't alone.
A funeral service was held on July 30 in Henderson, Nevada and another one in Rigby, Idaho. Mom was buried in the Grant Central Cemetary in Grant, Idaho. This is the same cemetary where her parents, brothers, sister and other family members are buried.
While we are very sad that mom is no longer with us here on this earth, we are so grateful that Heavenly Father loved her enough to not let her suffer with this cancer for a long period of time.
I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and that we can be together forever as families and I will be able to be with my mom again. I am grateful to her for the life she lead and for the true example of a daughter of God that she exemplified.
Oh, and I am even more grateful that my mom
is a very forgiving person and that she loves me unconditionally! Love you the most Mom!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JORDAN

You had a birthday, shout Hooray!

Jordan celebrated birthday number 19 on June 19th. She celebrated her special day by working then going to dinner and a movie with her boyfriend. Besides that, she got a new puppy. This is Pebbles. She is a 3 month old black and tan bloodhound.

She also got this ring. No, there's no announcements being made, it's a right hand ring. This is a ring that was Jordan's grandma-great's. She got it when she graduated from high school. It needed a little work done on it so, for her birthday, we took it to the jewelers and got it fixed and made pretty again.

Next year, she won't be a teenager any more. It's hard to believe sometimes how fast the children grow up. Where has the time gone? Looking back, it really does seem not very long ago that we were just celebrating Jordan's first birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese. Now if we can survive the last 3 going through the teenage years!

Happy Birthday Jordan Sydney Gainey!!!!

The End of the 2008/2009 School Year!

Another school year has come to an end and I am just a little slow getting this post done. The way I look at it, the new school year hasn't started so I'm still ok. It was a good year and the kids had some achievements I'd like to share with you.

This is Zack demonstrating what award he received. His is one we are so proud of. In case you haven't been able to tell, it has to do with the game Rock, Paper, Scissors. Zack was the Rock, Paper Scissors Champion of the 700 building at Foothill High School. This is one award they don't give certificates for, instead, he received this fine looking t-shirt . We are so glad to see that the time we sent him to school was well spent. When we received his report card, it was obvious he must have spent most of his free time preparing for this competition.

Mackenzie received a gold medal for reading. Each teacher also selects one student from the class who has shown the most improvement through out the school year. This award is appropriately named "The Most Improved". Mackenzie was the recipient of this award from her teacher. When Mackenzie got home later that afternoon, she had one more award she received after the award ceremony. She also made the A/B Honor Roll and received a certificate for this too.
You can see how surprised she was!

Mackenzie will begin the 5th grade next year. After 19 years, the Gainey Family will finally be graduating from John Dooley Elementary School.

Whitney just finished the 7th grade. Only one more year of Junior High for her.

Whitney received recognition for Outstanding Effort in the P.E class she was a Student Aid for. She also received a certificate and recognition for being on the A/B Honor Roll.

School has been out for almost a month now and the summertime boredom is beginning to set in now. The challenge of finding things to keep the kids busy and the fighting to a minimum has begun. Only 56 more days before school starts!!!!:)

OUR WONDERFUL GRANDMA!!!!!

This is our Grandma Waters. After a long battle with Alzheimers and dementia, Heavenly Father decided she had fought long enough and last Friday morning with her oldest son, my dad at her side, he called her home. She passed away just one month to the day from celebrating her 92nd birthday and 54 days from celebrating her 75th wedding anniversery with Grandpa. It was with mixed emotions that we said good-bye to her. We are sad that she is no longer here with us on this earth but are so glad she is all better and no longer fighting this darn disease. Grandma was an amazing woman. She was a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great gramdmother. She raised 7 children - 6 sons and 1 daughter. She had 30 grandchildren, 61 great-grandchildren and 40 great-great grandchildren. What a legacy she leaves behind.
We will miss her sloppy joes and potatoe salad at every family gathering, the piano (as she pronounced it pie-ano) again and again (grandmas pronunciation a-gain and a-gain) and her beautiful red hair. Did I mention, her favorite color was red?! Grandma's earthy body has been laid to rest at the Basalt Cemetary in Idaho. She is buried next to her sons, David and Gaylan and will be waiting for Grandpa as he will be buried next to her when his time here on this earth is complete. And whether she likes it or not, her earthly body has found a permanent home. She will not be moving from this location.
For those who are wondering, I was on my best behavior at the funeral. Well, ok, there was the rigamortis comment while we were at the mortuary (another one of those you had to be there moments) but that was it. And for some reason, as the family spent the final moments with Grandma, I kept getting poked and looks from my sister, husband and kids.

Grandma, We Love You Forever.

Fun times at the fair

Baseball Season!!!

It is officially another baseball season. Zack is playing on the Junior Varsity team at Foothill this year and was named one of the captains. They played Boulder City High School yesterday, Zack hit a in the park GRANDSLAM!!!! It was pretty amazing. It was a pretty close game but Foothill ended up winning 19-0. If they keep playing like this they should have a pretty good season!