Hi my name is Wendy and I live in central WI. I am married to a wonderful man named Kevin for 11 yrs now. I have three beautiful miracle children Parker Alex, McKinlea Elizabeth and Easton Isaac. Kevin and I also have 2 angles which we lost to miscarriage. I am a sahm as of now. I used to be a wahm doing daycare till our last baby Easton ended up very sick. Easton was flown to Marshfeild WI on January 22nd of 2004 he was 7 weeks old. He had viral phnemonia. Doctors could hear a murmor in his heart even through all the gunk in his lungs so they did a ultra sound of his heart and discovered that he has a hole in his heart called ASD (Atrial Septal Defect) . Here is a link on what ASD is all about http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/heart-encyclopedia/anomalies/asd.htm . He was in the hospital for 3 weeks being two weeks on the ventilator. The doctors said it is a good thing we ventalated him because he was ready to just give up. Those words to this day are still so strong in my head it is like the doctor is saying them. Easton is right now is looking at having surgery to repair that hole when he is 3. With todays science it will be a day surgery. They will go up through the main vein in the leg to the heart and open up a umbrella looking thing to patch the hole. He will go home that same day. Still either way it is a surgery and stressful for a parent to go through. Winters with him are a constant worry. Watching the booger noses and his breathing hopeing and praying he doesn't get sick and end up in the hospital once again. His little heart just can't keep up with the phnemonia.

We just moved to our new house the last week of July 2005!!!! Finally out of the 14X70 trailer that we had lived in for 10 yrs and into a brand new 1800 sq ft house!!!! Things were starting to look up for us. A new life a new beggining. The three kids were all healthy. On August 12th I was home unpacking boxes ( the toiletry's to be exact) when my world once again came crashing down on me. The phone rang, I ran to answer it and on the other line I hear is this Wendy La_ _ _ _ I say yes it is. I knew it was the hospital because of caller ID. The voice on the other line said I am blah blah blah( can't rember his name and for his protection I would not say) I am the chaplian here at (he said our local hospital's name ) Is your Son Parker La_ _ _ _ I said yes and he said we have your son here. He was involved in a car accident. He was with your mother Deborah McM_ _ _ _ _ _ by now I am crying and asking what is wrong with him they said they could not tell me but they wanted me to know they were going to be flying him to St. Paul MN. I said what is wrong with my son they would not answer me. I asked were my mother was and she was taken t a local hospital. I said were do I go to St. Paul or to our local hospital. He told me to stay home. I knew it was bad because of Easton they just don't fly anybody out unless it is bad. I call my step mom and I am screaming so bad she could not hear me or understand me at all. She said honey I am on my way there. I than called my husband at work and yelled at him to get to the hospital NOW Parker was in a accident and you need to go now. My husbans was WHAT PArker was in a accident he must of asked me that like 3 times. I than called 3 of my good friends I could only get a hold of 1 at that time. By now my step mom was there and the hospital called and asked if I knew if Parker had had his tetnis shot. I was like if it is part of baby shots than yes. I once again asked what is wrong with my son and he siad he couldn't tell me. I said I am not waiting at home any more. I threw some clothes in a suitcase for me and kev and was throwing bags of diapers down the hall for the little ones. Trying to find stuff was hard because we were still all packed. I got to the hospital in time to see the helicopter leave. My husband got to see him but not me. My dad drove me and my husband the 2 hour drive to the hospital. What a long drive. Sad thing is it was less than two years ago we did almost the same thing but with our youngest. My dad driving me and my husband to a hospital 2 hrs away because our child was very sick. I kept thinking about that when we drove that long drive. You see my mom made a left turn from a straight lane verses a left turn lane in which the car she was driving was struck by a Straight Truck ( caring 4 different farm chemicals) setting up a chain reaction crash involving a semi truck which was caring a VERY heavy load it was a overnight express truck. Parker sustained the most serious injuries of the three people in the vehicle. On that Friday afternoon and into the evening the prognosis was very grim. Parker was medflighted from the scene to our home town hospital which was 4 min away and then on to Regions Hospital in St. Paul. He was in critical care for about 4~5 days I really don't remeber how long it is a blur. He had severe brain trama in which they put a pressure monitor in, Parker also sustained a broken rib, broken scapula and some small fractures to the pelvic bone in two spots a lacerated spleen which was considered a grade 3, a pretrachial hemmorage, a colapsed lung and he severally stretch the ligaments on the first two vertibraes right under your head near the brain stem which is why he was put in a halo, he had a huge laceration right above his eye brow which took 2hrs for plastic surgeons to stich up . The nerves above that eye were damaged and he cannot raise that eyebrow they may come back or may not. He also had bit his toungue very severe. I think I remebered it all. He was in intense rehab for three weeks which included phyisical therapy, speech therapy, ocupational therapy, theraputic therapy , physcology each one for a hour. We spent a total of a month in the hospital. He has done way better than Dr. every expected. Because he was struck on the right side he had at first little to no movement on his left side. Which he started moving his left leg but not arm and the doc's thought he would maybe not ever use that arm well he proved them wrong by one day giving them a thumbs up with that hand!!! He has a little brisk reaction on his left side today but they feel it will improve. He cognativly is functioning at a 5yr old level and he is 7yrs old. School is going good. They have been so awesome they hired a aid to be with him all day for safety. They did a penny harvest to raise money for us to help with our finaces. He is listed as a Learning Disability and a tramatic brain injury student on his school papers. For being a new student they have been so good about learning all they can to make his transition to school awesome. He missed about two weeks of school. He seems to making friends but not really a one that he play's with all the time like a good buddy. I hope that happens soon. Parker has adjusted well to his accident and the new school. What a way to start a new school huh?? Pictures of his accident can be seen here. http://www.dropshots.com/wendylea75 You will have to scroll threw and find them. There are some of the car. Some of him at the hospital, some getting his halo off and so forth.

Once again God has answered prayers. It is the worst feeling in the world sitting beside your childs hospital bed not knowing if they are going to make it through the night or day. Nobody should have to go through what My husban and I have been through.

As for our Daughter McKinlea well she is upset because she dosn't have a hospital so we have now convinced her that her peditrician is her hospital. She is happy with that.

So there ya go what a way to start a blog huh??

~ Wendy