The girl has spoken

I was working on Áine's "All About Me" poster for school with the help of big sister, Ciara. There are various sections to put photos and words and wonderful things that make up Miss Áine Clare. Under the heading "I help others by..." I suggested that we write something to the effect of Áine being a hard worker and persevering. With a look only a tween, and this tween in particular can deliver, Ciara said, "She's not that sophisticated, Mom. How about we write 'making people laugh'". And so it was written. How could I doubt the wisdom of Ciara? I think the picture below only proves her point about a clear lack of sophistication on the part of her 8 year old sister. Thank you once again, Ciara, for your clarity on all things sibling.

A tired, but happy, act of rebellion

Brendan emptied the contents of every carefully sorted bucket of toys in his room.

The boy, no matter how cute, is out of his ever-loving mind if he thinks anyone other than his own cute self is cleaning all this.

My Beautiful Boy

Looking more like himself...

He's home!

In a miraculous turn of events, Brendan was released from the hospital today. He is very tired and rather weak but has been cleared to return to school mid-week next week and can return to swimming and physical activity after the 28th.

He's such a brave boy.

Thank you to my dear friends for the supportive texts, emails, and phone messages. It's amazing how much they heal a hurting heart.

Yet another update

Tues 9/15/09 4:45pm

UCLA won't take Brendan. :o(

They are trying to get him moved to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

Update from below

Tues 9/15/09

Brendan is being transferred to UCLA Medical Center.

Prayers for Brendan

John took Brendan to the pediatrician's office this morning to see the doctor on call as ours is on sabbatical for September. Brendan was experiencing coughing and a fever over the weekend. Very early Monday morning he fell several times trying to get to the bathroom and kept saying "ow" which is a 10 on the pain scale in Brendan-ese for those who know his history. Shortly after the doctor entered the room, she called me and expressed concern over possible pneumonia but this was secondary to her concerns over what she called some serious neurological challenges. While we were on the phone, Brendan attempted to stand and fell to the floor, hurt his arm, and split his lip and banged his face and lip. She called me back and said she was sending for an ambulance to take him to the hospital.

Long story not so short, after a lumbar puncture it has been determined that Brendan has meningitis. The early indicators are that it is not bacterial which is good, but the docs can't confirm that until the cultures come back in the next 24-48 hours. I have been talking with the docs via phone on and off all day and Brendan has been admitted for at least overnight and at most 3-4 days. His length of recovery depends on a return to his typical neurological level among other things.

The doctors have said that he is in significant pain and is on a morphine drip. He is also being treated for pneumonia.

Áine’s annual appointment with her neurosurgeon and her 72 hour telemetry testing have to be postponed while we get Brendan through these illnesses and started on a road to recovery. Ciara was devastated to hear the news about her beloved Bubba and this coming so closely on the heels of the summer we had with Áine has made for a challenging time for my sweet girl.

In the mean time, the Madigan Clan thanks those who read this blog for their prayers, positive thoughts, and all that good stuff and hopes that you will understand if our emails, texts, and phone calls are sparse while we focus on the health of our kidlets.

"While we try to teach our children all about life,Our children teach us what life is all about." ~ anon.