What a scare we had! My son, Garrett, had been sick for about 4 weeks. His symptoms looked like a sinus infection, walking pneumonia, or allergies. The doctors could not figure out what was wrong with him. He was treated with a z-pack for walking pneumonia (didn't help). He was treated for allergies (didn't work). After 4 weeks, they decided to test him for the "weird stuff" as the doctor put it. They tested for tuberculosis (negative), pertussis (negative - yes, whooping cough. I found out that the pertussis vaccine only lasts 4-5 years, so take your kids and get them a booster!). Then they tested for histoplasmosis (histo-what?!!!) I had never heard of this before. It turns out this test came back positive. It is a type of yeast you get this from bird and bat droppings. Garrett got it in his lungs. He had gone into a hay loft here on our new property and pulled out some old hay (God only knows how long it had been there). He must have been exposed to a massive dose of the histoplasma, because young people in his good physical condition and health usually don't get it that bad. We found out on Wednesday, July 26th that he has this histo-thingy, and the doctor ordered a chest CT scan for Friday. He had had 2 chest x-rays that showed nodules on his lungs, which turned out to be the histo, and they needed a CT scan to see if these nodules were calcifying, which would mean the histo was running its course and didn't need to be treated medically. We had the CT done at 2 pm, was told we would get the results on Monday, and we went home. I hadn't been home long when the doctor called me and told me that in fact the histo was not calcifying, but more disturbing than that was that he had a huge amount of fluid around his heart (they were not expecting that at all). We had to get him to the hospital immediately. So we through some clothing into bags and drove to Children's Hospital in Cincinnati.

One little jag off the story here: If your child is ever seriously ill, I would recommend this hospital above any other. The care Garrett received there was outstanding. The way they treated me with respect and deference as a parent was phenomenal. The way the staff worked together was amazing.

Garrett's blood pressure began to drop steadily around 10 pm and they called in a cardiologist, who did an echocardiogram. Based on this, they decided they needed to remove the fluid around his heart immediately. So off to the ICU we went, where they stuck a needle in his chest (he was anesthetized), and pulled out an enormous amount of fluid. His vital signs began to normalize immediately. He was in ICU for 3 1/2 days and then returned to a regular room for 2 more days. We have been home a week now, and I am still afraid to leave him alone for very long. He's pretty weak, and can't move around a lot or the histo gets stirred up and he coughs a lot, and sometimes develops a temperature. He gets another echo done this Friday, and if that one shows no more fluid I will rest a lot easier.

The good news is that he should have no long-term effects from the histo. The bad news is that he has to take a liquid anti-fungal medicine twice a day for 4-6 weeks, and they don't anticipate him returning to 100% for 2-3 months. I am so thankful for all the prayers and concern from everyone. Some of Garrett's friends even mowed our yard for us. It's at times like these that you realize how many people care about you, and I am eternally grateful to everyone for their help and prayers.

Ahhh! I love summer! We have been busy here on the farm. Most of you probably know that we moved last fall. We wanted to buy a place with a little more acreage (we had 3 acres, now 15). We now have 3 cows, 5 cats and 2 dogs. Sometime this weekend we are going to pick up 2 nubian wethers (male neutered goats) to help clear some brush on our property. The little buggers love the stuff. I had 2 nubian wethers when I was a teenager. What fun they were! One accidentally hung himself (not a good memory), but the other one was like a big dog. We had so much fun with Cinnamon. The kids (mine ha ha) have already picked out names for the new goats: Jacque and Pierre.

We had some critter that was making a mess in our barns, and were killing kittens. We finally figured out it was raccoons. Someone brought a live trap by and caught one of them. I think there may be more roaming around out there, the little varmints! I figured out that it was coons when they started eating the cat food. They could actually unscrew a lid! Amazing. I have to screw it on very tightly so they can't get it open. The first time I did this, I went out to the barn to feed the worthless, non-mouse catching cats, and there were coon paw prints all over the container that held the cat food. It was kinda cute, actually. And I have seen coon prints in the bottom of the cats' watering bowl.

We had to redo the landscaping around our house this year. The lady who lived here before had the entire length of the front of the house planted with hostas. Brother! A little hosta goes a long way for me. I pulled all of them out. The rest of the landscaping was full of wandering jew and some other viny thing. I actually found bushes buried in all that wandering jew. What a mess. Now it actually looks presentable, and gives the house more curb appeal. As soon as I figure out how to upload pics, I will post them.

Also on our list of projects this summer was putting in a pond. We have a natural indentation in the back; our own little "valley", if you will. Nice place for a pond, right? Well, turns out it is full of springs and is wet all the time. The contractors had to come out and put a gigantic trench down through it so the dirt can dry out enough to dig it. I guess it will be worth the wait, but it is frustrating when we thought it would be dug right away. I keep telling myself that patience is a virtue, but darn it, I want my pond NOW!!!!

We had a little tragedy at our house this summer. Our beloved dog Jett was hit by a car. We were so upset. Jett was miss pet personality. No more pets without invisible fence collars. I just can't take that. It's so upsetting when something happens to them. I know it seems silly, but I cried and cried over that dog.

We went to look at puppies at a breeder's that I know. She breeds several different kinds of dogs, but I am interested in getting a chihuahua. We picked one out of a litter that was born just 3 weeks ago. I want to get a female, and we are going to name her Chiquita Maria Consuela Romano. Ha ha! She is black with a little brown on her face and chest and legs, and a little white patch in between her front legs. She should reach 4-7 pounds full grown.

Wow. What a week this has been. One of my uncles died on Wednesday, April 19th. At the visitation on Friday, I found out that another of my uncles has colon cancer. While driving home from the visitation, I found out that the mother of a friend of mine died. As if that wasn't enough, on the following Monday, the daughter (16 years old) of a good friend of mine was in a terrible car accident (she is going to be okay). Aren't things supposed to come in three's?!! It makes me wonder if there is going to be a four incident string, or if there are 2 three-incident strings coming! It's like waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. I drove over to see the car my friend's daughter was driving, and, by looking at the car, one couldn't imagine that anyone survived the crash. The emergency team had to cut her out of the car. It is every parent's worst nightmare. Tori had had her license just 30 days. I am thinking of having my son go look at the car. He is 17. Although he is a pretty good driver, he is still inexperienced. Inexperience contributed to Tori's accident. The up side is that, since she had had her licence only 30 days, no passengers under 18 could ride with her. She was on her way to school when the accident occurred, and if her younger brother had been with her, he would have died.

Tonight my friends came over to play Bunko. Instead of playing, we drank a little wine, listened to music, and just connected. There is nothing like death and dying to make you realize how short your time on earth can be. It's nice to know that I have friends that really care about me, that share in my life and all its ups and downs, and let me share in theirs. What a blessing that is! We talked about people we knew who had died, and the events that lead up to their death. It's amazing how similar some of the events can be. It's also theraputic to talk about it. People we love are never forgotten when we sit and talk about the good times we had with them. It shows how much they meant to us. We can realize immortality through memories. I just hope that the memories I am creating with those I know will be positive, loving ones.