Gabrielle's First Canoe Trip

July 24, 2010
Stones River
Murfreesboro, TN

Fluid Spewing

One of the hardest things that Ashley and I are having trouble with is regulating Gabrielle's body temperature this summer. On Wednesday nights our church, Providence Baptist Fellowship, meets outside at a park. We have dinner and a devotion. There are also activities for the children and students. During this time Gabrielle also received her dinner bolus feed through her G-tube.

With the Summer Time Heat and Humidity it has been difficult for Ashley and I to keep Gabrielle cool enough while outside. We have used battery operated fans and give her water to drink also. This does not only apply to Wednesday night but to all day everyday this summer. However, last night was really bad. Gabrielle was burning up and profusely sweating. After her dinner feeding she began to spew. At first it was just a little so we got the fans out and gave her some more water. Then the spewing got worse. She spewed all over Ashley so I took her and started heading to the truck to cool her down with the AC. By the time we made it the the truck my entire left side had been spewed on. After a few minutes in the truck with the AC and some more water Gabrielle was a good as new, just a little tired though.

Was this embarrassing? Not really, it was more frustrating. Ashley and I have come to the point that we accept thing for what they are and the fluid spewing is just part of it. With CF Gabrielle is more intolerant to heat and will dehydrate easier.

Later.

Pediatrician Visit

Gabrielle was not feeling well on Monday, July 21st, and was unable to keep her lunch feeding down. She also had a slight fever return. Ashley called the pediatrician's office and we were scheduled go into the office on Tuesday, July 20th.

Gabrielle was acting fine on Tuesday but did register a slight fever, 100.5 when we checked into the pediatrician's office. After talking with the doctor it was determined that this was a continuation of the issues that began last Tuesday. We were instructed to continue to watch Gabrielle closely and to call if the fever returned or if she could not keep her feedings down.

Fun Times.

THE DAY 07/14/10

Rewind to July 13th at 5pm, Ashley and Gabrielle wake up from a nap and Gabrielle is running a fever of 102.8. We allow her to skip her dinner feeding, go ahead with her continuous night feeding. At 2:30am she wakes up attempting to throw-up so we turn off her night feed, vent her, and take her temperature again and it was still hoovering around the same. We decided to forgo the rest of her night feed and let her come finish the night with us in our bed. We had to get up around 6:30 so we could get ready for Gabrielle's monthly CF Clinic appointment. By this time her fever had reduced to 101.6 and she was acting like her normal self.

We were thankful that Gabrielle had her monthly CF Clinic appointment already scheduled for 8am on July 14th. This saved us the frustration of calling the clinic. By the time we arrived a the clinic Gabriellle's fever had reduced below 101.0. The Clinic did not seem concerned about her illness other than saying it was not related to her CF. Finally an illness not related to CF!!!

The clinic visit went great. Gabrielle's weight was up to the 67th percentile, length was up to the 61st percentile, and weight for length was up to the 77th percentile. This is the best stats she has ever had.

During the visit we talked about Gabrielle's MicKey button and it was decided it needed to be changed. Halfway through our clinic visit we left and went to the surgery office to get a new MicKey. The nurse decided we could increase the size and decrease the length. Gabrielle went from a 14Fr 2.0cm to a 16Fr 1.7cm MicKey button. While this was uncomfortable for Gabrielle it made Ashley and I happy since it will be easier to give her enzymes through her MicKey.

After the MicKey button was replaced we returned to the CF Clinic to finish our visit. It was decided the only change we would make this month would be an increase in her enzymes prior to her bolus feeds during the day. Gabrielle had blood drawn for her yearly blood work.

Ashley took Gabrielle home and I returned to work. Ashley and Gabrielle also stayed home from church that night. On my way home from church, around 7:30pm, Ashley called me because Gabrielle had thrown up her dinner feed and her fever had returned to 103.0. Ashley called the on-call pulmonary doctor and we were advised to head to the ER to rule out an urinary tract infection.

The ER Staff and VCH were wonderful. Once we told them Gabrielle had CF the kept us isolated from the General Population and moved us to a room as quickly as possible. By this time Gabrielle's fever had spiked up to 104.0. The ER doctor concurred with the pulmonary doctor that we needed to rule out a urinary tract infection. So the wait began for the orders to be entered and the nurses to come and catheterize Gabrielle to get a urine sample. After over an hours wait the nurses finally can to catheterize her only to find out that they could not. That meant we had to wait for Gabrielle to urinate on her own, which she had already done during the first hour long wait. The nurses attached a collection bag to Gabrielle around 10:15pm and the wait began. After about 30 min Ashely and I decided to start giving Gabrielle some pedialyte through her G-tube. We did this every 20-30 minutes until Gabrielle urinated. Gabrielle finally urinate around 11:15 pm. The test were run and showed no signs of a urinary tract infection. We were discharged and returned home around 1:00am.

What an exciting day!!!

Part 1 - The Beginnings

After being married for a little over two years, Ashley and I decided it was time to start our family in the spring of 2006. Within a few months God had blessed us with a pregnancy. We were so excited just as any other couple would be. A doctor's visit was scheduled for August 7, 2006 to confirm the pregnancy and we started making plans on how to tell the new grandparents. The doctor's visit went great and the pregnancy was confirmed. We stopped by the store that night and purchase stuffed monkeys and other baby stuff to give to the new grandparents. For my parents the plan was to give them the items as part of their anniversary gift. The rest of my family would be with us also. We were going to St. Augustine, Florida for my sisters graduation as a physical therapist. Ashley's parents would receive a small gift from us when we got home from St. Augustine. They would have just thought we got them a souvenir from our trip. That night we lost the pregnancy.

A second trip to the doctor's office the next day confirmed this. Instead of telling the new grandparents the exciting news, we were telling our parents about the loss. This was a time of great sadness for us, however God used this time to draw Ashley and I closer together and closer to Himself.

Over the next couple years Ashley and I continued to try and conceive. During this time we began to learn how to depend on God for His direction and timing for our family. If it were not for the prayers, support, examples, and accountability of our family and friends we may not of begun to learn how to depend on God for everything in our lives. This time period of learning to lean on God has proven extremely beneficial to us.


After almost 2 years of trying to conceive Ashley and I were referred to a fertility clinic. Our first appointment was on December 5, 2007.