Matters of Abby's Heart:: 6 Week Post-Op

August 26th Abby had her 6 week post-op appointment with Dr B. She had the normal tests-an EKG & an Echo. Then Dr B. came in to talk about the test results. It was all great news! The fluid around her heart was gone! The patch looked amazing! She was cleared of all her restrictions! And she has almost gained a full pound since surgery (24.4 lbs)! The pulmonary valve is still showing some narrowing but Dr B is confident she will out grow it. He also said her scare looked amazing! We have been working to make her very proud of her "boo-boo". We tell her constantly that she is a heart warrior and that that boo-boo is something she should be very proud of. Whenever people ask her how her boo-boo is doing she immediately lift up her shirt to show them her scar! Abby doesn't have to go back to see Dr B for 3 months!

Ben The Kindergartner

I really don't know how its possible that we have a kindergartner in our house. It feels like just the other day we were dropping him off for his first day at MDO and how he off to kindergarten! A few days before school started Ben got to go in for a sneak-peek and meet his teacher, check out his classroom and drop off his school supplies. He was so excited! The visit finished with popsicles in the cafeteria! Which might have been his favorite part!

And then the day was upon us...Ben was off to Leawood Elementary to start kindergarten! He woke up ready to go! We got the Overbrook Road crew together for some pictures before we headed up to school. Ben was practically running down the sidewalk to get into school. I'm not going to lie I got a little chocked up as he ran through the front doors of his new school. It really hit me. We have a kindergartner. No more special days with GG or Grandma since he will be in school all day. No more sleeping in and having lazy days in our jammies playing cars. No more Ben accompanying me to Target or Costco. But instead he would be going to school everyday feeding that little brain of his with more info than I could every imagine. He would be learning how to read. How to add & subtract. How to speak Spanish. While I am so very excited for this new chapter for him it made me fully aware just how fast the years go by. Ben made his way to his classroom and hung his backpack up and promptly went to his seat. He was so excited! We said our goodbyes and I turned around as we walked out the door and he shot me a huge smile and gave me a big wave and that was it he was officially a kindergartner! I couldn't wait until pickup so I could hear how his first day was-he came out of school so happy! He said he had the best day and couldn't go back to school tomorrow!

1st Trip to The Dentist

It was time for Abby & Will to take their first trip to the dentist before school started. So we added them appointments to Ben's appointment. Ben rocked his visit as usual! He's doing a great job keeping his pearly whites clean and was cavity free! Will was so excited to go next! He jumped right up into the seat and put his sun glasses on! Will's teeth checked out great too! When it came time for Abby's turn she was less than thrilled. She was pretty much in tears the whole exam. But the good news is that her teeth look perfect too. Hoping that our next visit goes a bit smoother! 

Ben The Ring-Bear

Ben had the great honor of being asked to be the ring-bear in Vince's cousin Monica's wedding in early August in Vail. We had the highest hopes that all 5 of us would be going to the wedding and making a family vacation out of it before school started. But after our little scare with Abby we decided it wold be best is I stayed back in KC with Abby & Will and Vince & Ben went to Vail. To say I was completely bummed was an understatement. I so wanted to be there as Monica & Jimmy tied the knot and started their happily ever after! Luckily our family knew how bummed I was and sent me a ton of pictures from the wedding & the trip! Despite some rather gloomy weather the boys had a great trip and Ben was so excited to hang out with his cousins for a few days! He was so proud and rocked his ring-bear responsibilities.

Ben The Bike Rider

Just a few days before school started we were outside playing on the driveway. Ben looked at us at said "Daddy...I'm ready for you to take my training wheels off". And so Vince took them off! And Ben got on his bike and rode down the driveway! Just like that he was off-no turning back! I remember my Dad teaching me to ride my bike and I certainly didn't just get on and go like Ben did! Vince & I were so proud! Abby & Will loved cheering him on! The look of joy and accomplishment on his face is one I will ever forget! Go Benny Go!

Rupp Family Reunion 2016

Every 10 years the Rupp's have a big family reunion. And this year was the year for it! It is always a super fun jam packed weekend full of family & fun! Last time it was held Vince & I were still newlyweds with no kids and this time we had 3 kids in tow! The kids had a BLAST hanging out with all their cousins and Vince & I had a blast hanging out with all the extended family we don't get to see often enough! A huge thank you to everyone who made the weekend happen and planned so much fun for everyone! Hard to imagine next time we will have a 15 year old and 2 12 year olds!

Matters of Abby Heart:: A Little Scare

17 days after surgery we had a little post surgery scare. We noticed when Abby got upset and was crying that a bulge was protruding out of her chest in-between the bottom of her zipper line scar and her chest tube scar. Vince & I both thought it was concerning and took a video and sent it to his sister. She immediately called us and said we needed to call Children's Mercy-she thought it looked like a post surgery hernia but wasn't sure and said we needed to call asap. So we called and waited for the on-call doctor to call us back. So we waited. And then waited some more. After almost 2 hours we called back and waited some more. And then called back again and waited. Finally at 11pm we gave up and went to bed to "try to sleep". To say we were upset that after 3 calls we had not received a call back was an understatement. But we decided to see how the night went and if she got up at all we would just take her down to CMH. Luckily she slept all night but the second she woke up I called again and expressed how upset I was that this was my fourth call in 12 hours. Less than 5 minutes later we got a call back from a cardio nurse practitioner who first apologized for the "call back issues" last night and then asked me to send her a video and pictures of what was going on. Minutes later she called back and said "not to freak you out but I need you to come downtown NOW and pack a bag for all of you". Vince had just gotten to his office and turned right around and came home. I called his mom and she was at the house 5 minutes later. I threw together a bag for us and we were out the door. We were at CMH less than 30 minutes later and rushed into radiology for x-rays and then sent straight to Cardio. We saw the NP and after looking at the x-rays and looking at Abby she said that her worst fear that one of her twist tie wires holding her sternum had broken was not the case. That has a huge relief because if that had been the case she would have been back in the OR to get it fixed. She was still concerned though and wanted Abby's surgeon to look at her. He was currently in surgery but we were told he'd be out any minute. Well we waited & waited & waited & then waited some more. We were minutes away from getting admitted back into CMH when he got out of surgery and came and looked at Abby. He said unfortunately Abby was one of the unlucky 300 kids who develops a post-heart-surgery hernia. He says he maybe sees it once a year at the hospital. And Abby was his unlucky kid of the year. He then handed us his card and said that if in 6 weeks it hasn't healed itself he will personally go in and fix it himself. Then he told us we could go home! Since I am way behind with the blog I am happy to say that her hernia has totally healed on it own and will not require and further treatment! Yay!