a guy and a bee
a collection of random thoughts and ideas from me, her, and sometimes us
Category Archives: life
Tuesday: BBA
Progress today. He is being weaned off the dopamine and his bilirubin treatment is complete. His blood sugar still will not cooperate and his platelet count is still quite low, most likely requiring another transfusion. He had an ultrasound of his liver this morning to assess for issues (which could potentially explain his platelet issue). Hematologist is being consulted to discuss his platelet count. Endocrinologist is being consulted to evaluate the function of his pancreas (which could provide answers on his blood sugar).
He is much more active today and quacking like a duck, both signs that he may be feeling a little better. He is continuing to excrete fluid and had two stools which means his body is starting to process out all the gunk in it.
Off to see BBB now. Will update on him late this afternoon.
The last four days.
For those of you used to our blog, we are taking a turn . . .
The twins arrived on Thursday, July 2, 2015 – at 36 weeks and 3 days. They had been doing well up until Thursday, but at a routine pre-natal appointment, the doctor had significant concern for aggressive onset pre-eclampsia, kidney issues, and concern for the twins movement (they were very much out of space). BP was sent to the hospital for testing and it was decided quite quickly that it was time to get the twins out.
Baby A (BBA) arrived at 2:53pm weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce and measuring 18.5 inches long. Baby B (BBB) followed at 2:54pm weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces and measuring 18 inches long. There was immediate concern for BBA due to several factors including muconium in his lungs impeding his ability to breath, exceedingly high blood pressure, and undocumentably low blood sugar. BBB initially appeared to be ok, but his blood sugar quickly dropped. Both were taken to the NICU.
BBA was transferred to John’s Hopkins NICU at 4:00am on Friday when it was determined that his health needed additional specialty care. BBB remained (and remains) at Howard County General Hospital’s NICU for care.
Now to individual updates on what has happened with each since Friday . . .
BBA: On Friday, BBA was placed on a ventilator at 100% oxygen (normal is 21%), his blood sugar continued to be astronomically low, his blood pressure was too high, he was retaining all liquids (and not excreting), and his platelet level was very low. He received a feeding tube to begin to provide nutrients. Over the course of the next four days (Friday through Monday), he had many steps forward and back, but he was taken off the ventilator and breathing tube, which was inserted when the ventilator was off, the feeding tube was removed, his blood sugar was remaining more stable, and he was excreting which was significantly reducing the amount of fluid on his person. He, therefore, was using less energy to breathe and his blood pressure was going down, signaling less stress on his heart. He was still receiving platelets and they were repeating his eccocardiogram to reassess concern for his right ventricle. He will remain in the NICU until he can come off of all of the machines and eat consistently; he could potentially start taking “real food” by the end of the week.
BBB: While seemingly fine at birth, shortly after BBB’s blood sugar also plummeted, granting him a direct pass to the NICU as well (and a look at his brother). BBB has had a difficult time keeping his blood sugar up and consistent and as a direct result, cannot maintain his body temperature – he is using so much energy on blood sugar issues that his temperature keeps dropping. He was placed on an IV and after two attempts to wean him off of it over the next four days, as of Monday he was IV free and being tested to see if he could maintain a consistent body temperature and blood sugar level while in an isolette for 12 hours before being moved to a crib. He will need to stay in the crib in open air for 24-36 hours without any dips in blood sugar or temperature before consideration of discharge (so not before Wednesday).
We want to thank everyone for all of their support and offers to help. We are doing ok now – just trying to spend time with the boys and @littlepund who is a bit confused by all of this. We will keep everyone updated via our blog and let you all know how you can help. Generally we are spending mornings with BBA, afternoons with BBB, and evenings with @littlepund. We will post updates throughout the day as we get them.
Thank you.
ZP, BP, @littlepund, BBA, and BBB
A long year . . .
It has been a long, amazing year that has taken us far from our blog for many a reason. And yet, in the past few weeks, we have both been saying that we should get back here. So, here we are. Highlights from the last year in one sentence recaps.
Ravens superbowl win – 1.3.13
A triumph for a long-time Baltimore fan, a tragedy for a long-time Steelers fan, and a truly bittersweet day for reasons that will not be detailed here.
Chicago – 5.13
Zack drove to meet me in Chicago for Memorial Day weekend (only people who know him really well will understand how that sums up so much!).
Toronto – 6.13
Continuation of our quest to see the Orioles in as many stadiums as possible and a perfect long weekend completely outside of our comfort zones. Plus, slowly it turns . . .
New addition – 8.13
The greatest thing that has ever happened to us arrived on 8.15.13. Still going strong, six months later!
Sad end to the season – 9.13
After last season, it was hard to see the Orioles not advance to the playoffs; rest assured, we are counting down the days to the 2014 season – 35 as of today!
Elon’s 125 – 11.13
I know what quasquicentennial means, do you?
Sad end to two seasons – 12.13
And again, after last season, it was hard to see Baltimore not make it to the playoffs but thrilling to see the Steelers try to one-up them.
Not prolific, but a recap no less. Now, on to 2014. We will try our best to do better.
when to leap?
you have been in your first job out of college for six years. you have succeeded in that job – been promoted several times and given amazing opportunities to show the knowledge and skills you have gained. you have mastered the subject area for which you are responsible. and at the end of the day, you wish there was something more to learn. for those of you who read this, this is bee seeking advice . . . when is it time to take a leap of faith and try something new?
when you like your job, but you also wonder if there is something else out there to do. when you need a new challenge but do not know if you should seek it somewhere else or ask for a new opportunity where you are. when is it that you know you need to go down a new path and how do you decide what that new path might be?
sometimes it hurts
if you ask me
how i’m doing
i would say, “i’m doing just fine.”
i would lie and say that you’re not on my mind.
(gavin degraw)
some of the most complicated relationships in life originate from ones family. i am certainly no exception. and even with the most challenging relationships, i would be hard-pressed to ever say that those people are not on my mind. the mistakes we have all made. the really good memories. and the things that will never be forgiven. over the past week, however, i have come to find the depths of complicated relationships and the true challenge in seeing the world in black and white.
as noted previously, i am honest and loyal to a fault. i care much more than i should and think everything should be fair. setting aside half of the fairness argument today, in my opinion, withholding information and/or asking people you “care about” to purposefully lie to people they care about on your behalf is wrong. especially the person who you know wants to respect your wishes and be loyal to you and also needs to be completely honest to others. it is truly not fair. it hurts. it leads to tears and devastation and a complete crisis of conscience. which is more important . . . loyalty to the person who asked you to withhold information or being honest with the person you have been asked to lie to?
i made a purposeful choice a handful of years ago that i was not going to take sides in an argument that was tearing people apart. now i feel like i am back in the middle and needing to make a choice. i do not like it. i am really sad. and i really love my husband for the ice cream and shoulder and reassurance that at the end of the day there is no way i am going to be alone. maybe if the world did not need to be so clear – black and white – and did not have to be fair all the time to me, this would be easier.
sometimes it lasts in love and sometimes it hurts instead. (adele)
black and white.
I am honest to a fault and see the world in black and white. The gray area frustrates me. Right and wrong are so clearly evident. And yet, recently I have seen so many examples of people who seemingly have no moral compass at all. Those who, literally, drive on the wrong side of the road with no care for on-coming traffic. Those who ride the train in the morning without a ticket and see no difference between their action and stealing. Those who are lazy and unproductive simply because they have been able to get away with it.
As noted previously, I often sit and wonder where life will take me. I do so from the lens of working really hard to get to where I want to be. And I seemingly do so with others thinking I am “on a high horse” trying to make you feel small. Well, that is not my intention. I intend to live by a set of rules that clearly dictate, at least to me, what is in fact right and wrong, black and white, fair and unfair, and, most importantly, true and honest.
Maybe everyone can think as simply as me today. No middle ground, just two sides.
saturday in DC
a few weeks ago after baseball promotions came out for all of the local teams, my buddy and i circled the april 14th bobblehead night for strasburg of the nationals. everyone who follows baseball knows that he is a flame thrower and has really brought the fans to the stadium. well, as time went on, he found out that he couldn’t make it so bee said she would go with me. she’s really gotten interested in baseball the last few years now that we have a partial season ticket package to the orioles and i think it makes her happy to see me doing something i enjoy.
since the game didn’t start until 4:05, we decided to do something else we enjoy, check out some great art and with one of my favorite artist’s having a special display at the national gallery of art, we made the trip down earlier in the day. not to mention, we had to get to the stadium early to ensure we got one of these prized bobbleheads. so anyway, we got down there and checked out the Picasso drawings exhibit. the detail and intricacies of his works are incredible and something i really appreciate about his work. the variety of this collection was also large and spanned several decades. there were many different techniques and not just the usual cubism or blue period drawings that one might expect. the detail on some portions of the work versus the other pieces make you 
wonder what he was thinking or if he was working on his early skills. unfortunately, i didn’t take any pictures in exhibit to post and one guy got yelled 
at for being on his phone so i didn’t want to be that guy. as we finished with the Picasso drawings, we walked through some of the Degas, Monet, and some Rodin. we didn’t get much time after that to move through many of the other exhibits and there were a ton of people checking out the japanese scrolls exhibit, but we didn’t want to wait or really have time. after we left, we stopped by potbelly for a quick bit to eat and then headed over to Nationals Park to take in a ball game. ps… you can see a full size version of the thinker at the BMA and you won’t have to leave baltimore.
this was bee’s first trip to nationals park and my first one of the season. i made a couple trips down last year to see the orioles play as well as one game against the 
braves when her dad was in town. once we got there and got our tickets, we waited in line for about 20-30 minutes. we probably could have gone in earlier via the centerfield gate, but didn’t want walk around. plus we were calming down from almost blowing through a red light that i never really saw. those stoplights on the right and not in front of me get me every time. that’s neither here nor there but needless to say, we had a good time after not getting in an accident. we got to see edwin jackson pitch a great complete game. hopefully he signs with the orioles next year. we 
liked the open air feel of the stadium and the different food selections they have. we got some nachos and a couple free sodas. after the game ended, we went over to bee’s father’s favorite pizza place in rockville. when we called him about it, he recited the phone number exactly even though he now lives in nebraska. giuseppe’s makes a really tasty pizza and has a great crust. it’s more doughy then any other local pizzas that i have had. we left full, happy, and with a burnt roof of my mouth. all in all, we had a great day. enjoyed several of our favorite things to do and even ate some pizza.
wondering . . .
As I am sure it is apparent, ZP and I are young. We graduated from a college we loved with drive and passion and a vision of the jobs we wanted. And we got them. We have worked hard. Fast forward six years and I have found myself wondering . . . is this what I want to be doing and what is the next step?
This one is really hard for me for a handful of reasons.
- I am loyal. I committed to being in my job and I work hard to meet and exceed the expectations set of me. When I consider moving on, my biggest worry is letting people down and not following through on the commitment I have made.
- I am a planner. I like structure and consistency. I like knowing what to expect, good or bad, and being prepared for that.
- I am scared. What if the next step I take is the wrong one?
- I am rooted in tradition. Eons ago, people took a job and made it a career. They stayed where they were for decades. They made the best of their situation. They kept their head down. They excelled. And they saw a difference between working to live and living to work.
Side note: I thought I had that last one down until recently. For all the challenges in life, recently I have found that it has been far easier to work harder at what I am doing then to figure out my next move.
I wish I was more spontaneous. I wish I was less scared. I wish I knew what I really wanted to do in life (other than sit on a beach all day).
I am far from ready to take a leap of faith and I have no real idea if now is the time to take advantage of a fork in the road. I love the work that I do and the people that it affects. I just wonder . . .
opening day!
as you probably know, i am a big orioles and baseball fan and with the 20th anniversary of camden yards coming up, my wife got us opening day tickets for christmas (or was it my birthday…). anyway, i’ve been to opening several times as a kid and my buddy dan and i went last year. this year, it was bee, myself, my dad, and dan and his dad. well, needless to say, we had a great time.
with all the new renovations to the stadium, we got down to the stadium early around 1230/1245 to take in the events. first we talked around the stadium on the outside to see the brooks robinson statue since we hadn’t been down that way since it was installed. with all the crazy people at pickles we stayed on the other side and took it in from afar. as we got into the eutaw street gate, we saw the new gino’s stand and the patio area above centerfield. we made our way from there to right field and watched some batting practice and then went over to left field and took in some more BP. i just missed a ball by a split second. guess i should have had my glove on instead of keeping it in our bag. haha.
our seats were in section 13, which is different than our partial ticket plan but still under cover. and boy was it windy under there. there was probably at 10 degree difference from the sun to the shade because of the winds that were 
whipping through the stadium friday. many of the renovations to the stadium looked nice and well done. can’t decide yet if i am fan of the new lower wall in right field. it’s kind of like when they moved home plate so they could add more seats to the stadium. guess we’ll see how it plays as t he year goes on. as the festivities went along and all the players got introduced, it was great to see markakis and wieters be presented with their well deserved gold glove awards. nick should probably have 2 or 3 by now, but you can’t argue giving him one for having an error-less season and playing more than 150 games in RF. the new rules in voting for gold gloves as probably helped make this possible finally.
the game turned out to be a great one too and arrieta pitched a gem. i knew the orioles would win. they have one of the top 3 win/loss records on opening day in all of major league baseball. i’m pretty sure the only boo’ing on the day was when kevin gregg was introduced. poor guy. then again, they might have boo’d troy patton too for letting up a 2 RBI home run in the 9th in. 
no one boo’d the caped crusader, er, field trespasser though as the baltimore police laid a nice tackle on him. we also missed it because we were in the concourse at the time when a police officer came running by us and down the tunnel.
all in all, it was a great time at the yard and a fun way to spend the day with some family, friends, and new comers to opening day in baltimore, aka a statewide holiday!
“do i feel lucky? well, do ya?”
well that’s what i am thinking and i don’t have a. 44 magnum in face like the guy in dirty harry. yes, me and millions of other people went to the local gas stations and convenience stores and bought a mega million tickets. the biggest jackpot ever! over half a billion dollars! a couple of us from work all threw in a few bucks each today as well earlier in the week (as well as the extra tickets i picked up for myself on the way home).
not sure what i would do with all that money but i’m sure i would buy a piece of the orioles and ravens. haha. so here’s to hoping that tomorrow, we wake up rich in more than one day. guess we will find out.
what would you do with all that money anyway? do you play the lotto or do you not like it?
hey there
a guy and a bee 