Surgery

Hello Everyone! This morning Peter had surgery to have ear tubes implanted. He did pretty well through the whole thing. We were at the surgery center by 6:45am. We played in the lobby until they called us back to the pre-op room. When we got in there, we had to put a little teeny gown on Peter. (It was really cute) The nurse said we could pull him around in a wagon in the hall until surgery time. He was getting cranky because he wasn't able to eat or drink anything. So I put him in the wagon and pulled him around for awhile. He liked it a lot...but eventually he tired of it and wanted to roam elsewhere. We followed him around in the halls. There was another little boy named Blake who was a little bit younger than Peter having the same procedure done and his mommy was pulling him around in a wagon. Well, we were standing in the hallway and a nurse came and wheeled Blake and his wagon through the swinging double doors to the operating room and then Peter REFUSED to get back in the wagon. I know that he didn't have a clue what was going on, but he sure knew something was different and that Blake's mommy didn't go with him through the doors. :( Eventually the nurse came and took Peter from me and he sure was upset but he got quiet pretty quick from the gaseous anesthesia. Within 15 minutes the procedure itself was done, he was put into Recovery Room 1 until he woke up and was in Recovery Room 2 waiting with tears for his mommy and daddy. (The nurses said that all kids Peter's age cry because it is a side effect of the gas) Our nurse brought Peter a big sippee cup of apple juice and before we left he was eating handfuls of Goldfish crackers. The surgeon told us that Peter's right ear was much worse then his left ear and that he drained a lot of "gunk" from it. He gave us a prescription for an ear infection antibiotic which isn't typical but Peter's ears were bad enough that it is necessary for the next 10 days. We also have to administer drops in his ears twice a day for 10 days. The three of us then went to McDonald's to eat breakfast around 9am and then we picked up the prescriptions. We are glad that this little hurdle has been jumped and we are looking forward to a good listening boy! When we got home, Peter pushed some buttons on his musical toys and he kept turning his head side-to-side...we can already tell that he is hearing better! Next week we are off to Rochester-Mayo for Ben to have some tests done regarding his nocturnal seizures. I believe they have computers for family use there (and I am staying with Ben's parents so I can always use theirs) so I will keep updating the blog so you can follow the Gergen Family Medical Dramas of 2007. Have a great day!

Wedding Weekend & Peter's Return Home

This past weekend, Ben and I were in a wedding up in Minneapolis. The bride and groom (Luke and Melissa) are friends of ours from our church here in Mankato. They were in our wedding as well 2 1/2 years ago. It was a fun-filled weekend. We were able to see a lot of our college friends that we no longer get to see very often due to careers, distance and babies. The weather was nice, the ceremony was beautiful and the food was delicious. A great time was had by all! Peter was up in East Grand Forks with Grandpa Punky and Grandma Berta. He did really well with them this past week, except he got a little crabby at times because he is working on pushing some teeth out. They handled it like pros though and kept him comfortable. They drove to St. Cloud yesterday (Sunday) and we met them after the gift opening to get Peter. He was excited to see us, but he definitely showed his attachment to Grandpa and Grandma. :) When we got back to our house in Mankato, Peter ran around a lot to check things out. He loved being back in his room. He ran from his room to the living room a whole bunch of times out of excitement. He played with a lot of his toys that he hasn't seen in over 2 weeks! (As you can see, he loves his Mr. Potato Head glasses) It was nice to get some normalcy back into our lives after returning home. And today we are back to the grind, ready to finally start the New Year! Tomorrow (Tuesday) Peter has surgery to get tubes placed in his ears to help his recurring ear infections and hearing issues. We are a little nervous, yet excited to get over this hurdle so that he starts feeling better and is able to communicate with us better. Keep him in your prayers. I'll try to post again later in the week after surgery. Bye for now!

Christmas & New Year's!

Ben, Peter and I had a great Christmas and New Year's! We were up in EGF from December 22nd until yesterday, January 1st. (Peter is staying up there with my parents until January 7th as Ben and I are in a wedding next weekend so they have to take care of him for us!) We took over a 100 pictures in the last couple of weeks but I've provided just a few of the highlights...
From Santa Clause, Peter got a Little People Farm with all kinds of animals and people figurines to go with it. It makes a bunch of animal noises. He also got a pink piggy bank with big plastic coins from Santa. It counts and makes songs. He loves it! On Christmas Eve afternoon we went over to my grandparent's house (Peter's great-grandparents) and we opened some presents. Peter got a train, teddy bear and a shape sorter. He likes the shape sorter the best. :) Peter and Bella took a picture with Great Grandpa Bob and Great Grandma Ione. Later in the evening on Christmas Eve, we fondue'd (if you don't know what that is, ask someone and they will tell you) at my parents place with my aunt from Chicago, Becky and Brad, Amy and Bella. We opened our family presents after that. Brad, Amy and Grandpa Punky and Grandma Berta spoiled Peter rotten! Peter's Godmother "Auntie" Haley was in town so we got to spend a lot of time with her and her fiancee Jacob. We went out together a few times. Ben and my brother Brad played in a poker tournament one night. There were 60 guys and it lasted around 4 hours and Ben made it to the last table! I won $20 playing Bingo that night. Peter woke up on December 30th with a new tooth...7 total now. We were going to drive back to Mankato on New Year's Eve because Ben was supposed to work on New Year's Day at Menards, but the weather from Grand Forks down to St. Cloud was horrible so Ben had to call in to work and tell them he couldn't make it. We went out to eat with my sister-in-law Amy and a bunch of her family to the Bar/Restaurant that my brother Brad manages. We had lobster and walleye. Then we saw a live comedian and waited with family and friends for the ball to drop to welcome 2007! Ben and I have been together for 4 New Year's now and this one was the first one where we were both in the same town, in the same place at the same time when the clock turned over so we finally got to kiss at midnight. It was great...yes a picture for that too! We experienced so much more fun and excitement over the past 2 weeks, but there isn't enough time in the day to explain it all here. We hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday season! We sure did!
FYI: Peter is going to be getting tubes in his ears on January 9th. He will be put to sleep for it and it should all turn out ok, but please keep him (and us) in your prayers during this time. Also, Ben will be having some tests done at Mayo Clinic of Rochester during the week of January 15th so please keep him in your prayers for that as we hope to find some answers regarding his nocturnal seizures. Hopefully God will reveal some of His mysteries to us through the wonderful doctors there. Thanks and have a healthy and happy 2007! (We sure are trying!)