We ask your forgiveness...

I previously failed to post pictures of Kiera's many travels since Kiera got sick and interrupted my blogging life. Also...I didn't want to get found out. We are supposed to keep her away from large crowds and dusty environments, but we couldn't help taking her to the state fair the Thursday prior to her pneumonia hospitalization. She did great at the fair, and we really wanted her to see the LIVE farm animals instead of just the ones in her books. She was a real trooper and did well even though we discovered after returning home that her tank was malfunctioning and only delivering 1 liter O2 instead of the 3-6 we thought she was getting. We had treated the minor de-sat's as environmental or monitor malfunction and gave a neb while there, but all in all, she did surprisingly well (a didn't touch much). Here is a pic with a goat and one at the horse pavilion. She was more interested in watching her brothers' antics.




I am using the blog today as a forum to confess our sins involving Kiera's many travels to her pulmonologist who inadvertently found out about our trip to the fair from the PICU nurse we ran into while there. What he doesn't know, is that in addition to her busy week attending the foods show, the fair, and a church family fun night (which I believe is ACTUALLY where she got sick from playing on the floor), we have actually been taking her many other unapproved places, any one of which could be the culprit for this last virus contraction. However, since he told us early on that it is better to ask forgiveness than permission...we now humbly beg his forgiveness. Here is the photographic evidence of our indiscretions:

We started with fun locations close to home in New Mexico in order to expand her world. Developmentally, these experiences have been so enriching for Kiera.


The Rio Grande Petting Zoo...She signed, "Kitty." It was SOOOO cute!


Carlsbad Caverns, NM...More wildlife experience digging through bat guano.


We want Kiera to experience her parents' heritage, so we took her to our old stomping grounds. Daddy remembers fondly trips to Utah to visit his grandma and other relatives, and, of course, I can't imagine a world without nuclear waste from Hanford Nuclear plant in Washington state where I spent my childhood.

Utah Arches National Park...a bit dusty, but overall, an enlightening experience for her.

Since she's on a vent, it is a "closed circuit" as I am often told, so I figure the fallout from this waste storage site would be inconsequential to her...and, well, it's too late for me. I drank the water growing up. One must also consider that this baby has had more x-rays in two years than Wonder Woman has received in glances from Superman.


Of course, the real test is international travel. Did you know you can get Apria Healthcare services in other languages?


I told her not to "pet" the lepers at this leper colony in India, but we had our Purell with us, so I suppose it was okay. Those silly 2yr olds! You can't tell them anything!


The walk at the Great Wall in China was a doozy, especially with the stroller weighed down with a good 40 pounds of additional equipment. I was so proud of Jerry. But, in our defense, we did get Kiera an Avian Bird Flu Shot before we went.


Okay, Mount Everest was admittedly a bad idea so we just took a picture at Base Camp, and went directly home. We did sell some of her O2 to some fellow hikers for the rest of the trip. These are memories that will last a lifetime.


So again, for these and our many other transgressions...we are truly repentant. It's time to move forward though, and forget the past.

Therese