Pumpkin Patch

A fun day at the Live Oak Canyon Pumpkin Patch with mom, dad and Brady. He loves the petty zoo, haystack wall, and of course the actual pumpkin patch.

Thank you

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and well wishes for Jack. The surgery went well and now time will tell if the procedure has worked or not. I will keep you updated, but in the mean time, please continue to keep Nicki, Russ and Jack in your prayers.

Playing with stickers

I was being silly with some stickers and stuck one on my face, Brady decided to follow my lead and this is the result.

Vista Point Lookout

After the carnival we took a quick trip up the hill to Vista Point Lookout. It wasn't as clear of a day so you couldn't see all of the valley, but the view was still pretty.

Before the balloon popped!

Harvest Carnival

On Saturday we took Brady to the Harvest Carnival instead of the pumpkin patch and I'm guessing that was a good choice. There were games, food, music, ponies, a puppet show, jumpers for kids of all ages, balloon animals and more. Brady had a blast. The two areas he did not want to leave were the duck plucking pond and the fishing pond. The old ladies were in love with him and he made several people laugh as he would be running along and then just stop and start busting a move to the music. He was jamming hard :-). He had so much fun. He even ate a whole hot dog, I was pretty impressed with that. However, for as much as that boy loves to say horse, loves his toy horses, the real thing, not so much. We tried to get him to ride a mini pony and he wanted nothing to do with that. He was completely content to sit on the sidelines and watch the ponies go in circles. The saddest part of the day for him was when he fell on his balloon animal dog and popped half of it...it popped right on him and freaked him out. Then about five minutes later the rest of the balloon deflated he was so sad and confused. He couldn't figure out where his poor little doggy went. The night ended well though as we went to burgers and beers where you have a TV at each booth and he got to watch cartoons while the rest of us watched the State game. A busy day for the little man...

Mustard on the forehead. He dove right in for it.

Self Portrait...

Brady decided to become a photographer this weekend. He was sitting in his car seat and figured out how to turn the camera on and off and then he progressed to figuring out how to take photos of himself. He would put the camera right in front of his face, nose, eyes and then start snapping. During the flash (which is very bright and long) he would shake his head. It was hilarious. He'd laugh and laugh...not the best photos, but pretty darn funny.

Sprinklers...

Grandma Lehman bought Brady some rubber boots and we thought we'd try them out on the sprinklers. He wasn't too sure what to think about it. After they shut off he kept trying to figure out where they went. Too funny.

Message about Jack...

Below is a message from my sister with the most recent information about Jack. Please keep all of them in your thoughts and prayers and send positive thoughts to them.

Dear Family,I am sure you all have heard about Jack's recent health issues and have seen the "sock hands." I just wanted to give you all an update on what we have learned. Jack has been diagnosed with a very rare liver disease called Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Choleostasis (PFIC for short). It is genetic and our next kids run the chance of getting it as well. We don't understand much about it ourselves, but basically his body cannot handle the bilirubin in his system and he reacts with debilitating itching--thus the socks.

He has been on medication since late July for it (which interestingly comes from Bear bile acid). However, he has not responded to it. The specialists have now referred us to a surgeon. The procedure that he will do is also rare since it is for these specific patients. We have had a hard time finding someone qualified to do it with any sort of experience, who is also covered by our insurance. We do have a surgery date for October 28. He will have to be hospitalized for five days and will have a bag attached to his side for the rest of his life. The bag is called a biliary diversion and will collect the excess bilirubin from his system. We are supposed to be meeting with a "stomatherapist" to explain the bag, how it works, how to change it, pitfalls, etc... The main concern of the surgeon, however, is that the surgery will not work and he will still itch. If this is the case, we have to consider a liver transplant. Hopefully this will work...

In the meantime, Jack does not sleep or eat or play like a regular 17 month old. It has been nothing short of hell for us. Russ has not been able to work since he stays home with Jack to make sure he does not rip his skin off. We have been able to get through this through the help of our friends and family. Grandma and Grandpa Lehman take him at night on the weekends so we can get a little rest. Jen & Troy, Sarah & Paul, and lots of other great cousins, aunts & uncles, have helped with visits, dinners, and a great monitor system :). Friends have sent us meals, work has helped financially, and the community has him in their thoughts and prayers. We have realized through this all that we are so very blessed! This situation really could be so much worse. Jack will be ok. He will have his own sort of "normal" life hopefully very soon. He will always be fortunate to have caring and supportive family around to help him through the battles yet to come. We are learning how to cope with this in a positive way, but we (I) still have breakdowns and lots of tears.

I just wanted you all to know the story--not for sympathy or a pity party, but maybe a plea for some positive thoughts/prayers for Jack. We are trying to stay strong for him, but sometimes "it takes a village." Also, its often hard for me to talk about this, so I am guilty of avoiding those situations. Because of that, you may not know what's going on. Sorry! I know we all have our own battles and I hope that you get the same sort of support we have seen so far. If you have any questions, feel free to email me or Russ (nicki_lehman@hotmail.com or russhelsel@hotmail.com) or my sisters or parents. They should have the most up-to-date information. Thanks and I hope to see you all soon or at least hear from you! Take care. ~ Love Nicki, Russ, & Jack