There's a first time for everything

Hello all! I know it has been a few months since my last post and I have several things to tell you all about but will try not to take up much of your time.

First and most important Gabrielle has started Kindergarten!!! I can't believe it, I really can't. I can remember the day she was born like it was last Friday, how can she possibly be in "big school" already? So lets see what I can tell you about. We have gotten to meet her teacher, Ms Krouse, a few times so far this year and I absolutely love her! She is very sweet and enthusiastic and the biggest thing is that Gabrielle loves her too!! Second to Ms Krouse my most favorite person at the school so far has to be the school nurse, Ms Millette. She has made this transition into elementary school a breeze and has helped Gabrielle be more comfortable. She has trained her co-workers to take top notch care of Gabrielle and I couldn't be happier. Gabrielle has been doing great on all of her class work and homework. Every afternoon when she gets home, she and Bart sit down and do her homework and review her sight words. Then in the evenings once I am home sometimes she will try to read books with us a bedtime. Right at this very moment as I type that is what I am hearing in the background... it makes my heart sing! Yesterday she got to participate in the PBIS school party because she got straight A's in conduct since starting school. The only downfall with starting school is that with a new school comes new germs and unfortunately she has had strep throat pretty much since she started school. Yesterday, I took her to see a ENT in Baton Rouge. She looked at Gabrielle's tonsils and said that she didn't think they were currently infected but that they were abnormally large. Dr. Scallan suspects they have been large since birth and that with each strep infection they get larger. She asked me several questions like does Gabrielle snore and does she gag when trying to eat. She does gag quite often even when not eating, sometimes she will look up at something high up and gag. The doctor said that the removal of her tonsils and adenoids will do nothing but benefit her both from reduced infections to eating better. She is scheduled for surgery October 26th... so there goes our surgery/procedure free year. We are hopeful and praying for a quick recovery so that she can be out trick or treating on Saturday night.

Gabrielle's first day of Kindergarten

Just an update on the rest of us Himels. I, Selena, am doing just fine health wise and have started a new position at the pharmacy where I work. Next summer I will hit my 10 year anniversary with the company I work for and still love it just as much as the day I started working for them. Avery is becoming a big girl herself. She has moved up to the 2 year class at daycare and is potty training. It was a rough start but with lots of help from her sweet teacher Ms Kasyn she is getting there. Lastly would be Bart and he and I will both be needing your prayers coming up. For quite some time now Bart has had issues with his back both his thoracic and lumbar. He has been diagnosed with degenerative spinal osteoarthritis in his spinal column. His lumbar area has continued a steady decline and is to the point where it requires surgery. On October 15th he will go in for surgery to repair a disc that is bulging into the space that is reserved for the nerves in your spine. Lately the pressure has been off in his spinal column also causing headaches and nausea. The plan for surgery is the remove the problematic disc and replace it with an artificial disc and to also room for it to fit correctly in the space where it should go. The disc itself will be held in place by 2 rods and some screws. The recovery will be anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks. Please pray that he gets no infections and recovery isn't as painful as we are anticipating. I'm not handling the thought of this surgery as well as I would like. With Gabrielle's surgeries I have always seemed to be able to prepare myself to handle them. I always know that I have to be strong for her. Bart is my back bone, my crutch the one in my life that I have turned to for the last 15 years. He is my strength, he is the major provider for our family and I can't imagine what he is about to go through. I love him with all my heart and he is my best friend. Please pray for my heart to acceptance and that everything is going to come out ok in the end. I know he is going to be in good hands during the surgery.

Bart and his sweet girls all decked out for the LSU game

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I almost forgot! Along with Gabrielle's list of first things happening to her... she also got to take her first trip to a beach with myself, her nanny Kate and Avery. And while we were there she lost her first tooth!!! And then a week later lost her second tooth. She let Ms. Krouse pull it during lunch one day at school. Then she was absent the next day due to strep throat and when Bart went to go pick up the tooth from Ms. Krouse she had written the tooth fairy a letter. Apparently there was a lot of excitement with the pulling of the tooth and it was an early dismissal day so the tooth had been safely put away in Ms. Krouse's lunch bag and then the bag didn't get brought to school Friday. The note to the tooth fairy explained it all and apologized (so cute!). The following week we got the tooth under the pillow and found out that Gabrielle's tooth fairy's name is Maribelle Molar :)

Gabby and Avery at the beach in Biloxi, MS

Nanny Kate taking the girls out to the water for the first time

As always we appreciate your continued prayers for our sweet Gabrielle and our entire family. Thank you all and god bless!

The Graduate

I know it has been quite some time since I blogged & for that I apologize. But honestly and thankfully there has little news to report. I didn't think that there would ever be a day of calmness, of relaxation, of not worrying constantly about the up coming surgery. In March, Gabrielle turned five years old. In five years this will be our first "surgery-free" year (oh god I hope I didn't just jinx us-fingers crossed) that is truly one of our biggest milestones. 

Today we hit another milestone, Pre-K graduation. 

I remember days when I was pregnant with Gabrielle worrying that she wouldn't survive long enough for us to celebrate milestones like 5 year birthdays and Pre-K graduations. I know look back on that and wonder why those thoughts even crossed my mind. She is the most incredible little girl. She fears  things in life that any typical 5 year old girl does... bugs, dirt, and loud noises. But then accomplishes things that I have feared for her by leaps and bounds... surgeries, school, and making friends. This fall she will start Kindergarten at Lake Elementary. Just our next "normal" milestone and can't wait to boohoo as I drop her off in carline and drive away. I'm just beyond thankful that God picked Bart and myself to join this beautiful creature on her journey through this scary world. He hand picked us to guide her, care for her and love her. 

Recently Gabby just battled off her first UTI of the year. That's actually great considering that it is June so of the children that have OEIS battle the, constantly. I have to brag on her too, she was incredible at the ER. it's the first time that she hasn't cried about going to the hospital. She handled triage like a pro & watched Frozen like she was sitting on her own couch at home. The only tears that fell that night were when they catherized her and gave her a shot of rocephin. Thankful for the little things. Thank you to everyone that continues to pray for Gabby and follows her story. We appreciate it beyond belief and know that is why remains healthy and doing well. Love to you all!! 

8 simple words

I read some words today on another persons blog that spoke volumes to me.


Carrie Cariello, author of the book What Color is Monday?, was speaking about her autistic son when she wrote them.

True, Gabrielle is not autistic. But yet having a special needs child I have learned, gives you similar views even though the afflication may not be exactly the same. The world today is changing, everyday changing. Sadly it seems more for the bad than for the better. While our hearts and minds become more accepting to more different things, there are still a mass at large that judge simply on appearance... That person looks different. They don't communicate well. The don't make eye contact. They smell... the list could go on and on really.

Don't look at yourself and say you never do that because I know that is what some of you are doing.

You do it.

I do it.

Heck, even Gabrielle does it.

Yes, even with a special needs child that has physical limitations I catch myself looking at other adults and children and judging on appearance. One thing that I may do that some of you don't do is that I give it a second thought which is... would I want someone to talk or think about Gabrielle that way?

Next time you see someone that is different try not to stare, point, or whisper. Remember (especially if you have a child with you) they learn from you and watch and imitate what you do. If you point- they will point. If you giggle- they will giggle also. If you stare- they are going to stare too. We can not change the past, what has happened then is done and should be left there. However, with our current actions and thoughts we can change our future and what future people do. I am not being judgmental or lecturing you. I want you to know, if you want to know something please just ask us. I enjoy sharing Gabrielle's story because I hope one day to help some other family that may have been where I was almost 5 years ago now. I challenge you- I challenge myself to change the way you think and perceive things and people. I can tell you that I myself am one of the most judgmental people I know. I constantly worry about what someone else is thinking... having Gabrielle in my life is helping me move past those thoughts and broaden my perception of people.

Gabrielle is different.

Gabrielle has a colostomy.

Gabrielle will never use a bathroom in the typical way.

Gabrielle will always be shorter and smaller.

Gabrielle will always walk with a little gait to her step.

I did nothing intentionaly wrong when I was pregnant with her. I took my vitamins. I kept my weight down. I didn't have gestational diabetes. I received exception prenatal care from both my regular OB and my maternal fetal specialist. I could not control what happened to her when she was growing in my womb. We do not have all the answers as to what went wrong. Actually, we have very few answers. Questions will always uncontrollably linger. The biggest question being the smallest word... Why?

I will end my blog today exactly where I began, with the words that spoke to me from Carrie's blog... 8 simple words.

"She's exactly the way she's supposed to be."

And she is exactly that... So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

Gabrielle is strong willed.

Gabrielle is brilliant.

Gabrielle is exceptional.

Gabrielle is loved beyond belief.

Gabrielle is perfect.

Gabrielle's family will take on the world right by her side. We will change perceptions one mind at a time because we know personally that the person you see is exactly the way she was supposed to be. Take a minute to get to know her and she will win you over with one bat of her big brown eyes. We invite into our story, our life, our world.

As for Gabrielle's health, she has been doing really well. She also is doing well in school and gearing up for the end of a great pre-k year. We have a mardi gras parade coming up at daycare, Gabrielle
& Avery's birthdays, and lots of other exciting things!

As always we thank you for taking time to follow and pray for our family and especially for Gabrielle. I'm going to steal another one of my favorite quotes from another one of my favorite blogs:
To God be the Glory!

Good Bye 2014, Hello 2015

What a great year 2014 was for our family. We have gotten to just relax and enjoy having Gabrielle. She only had the one small procedure in August for the cystogram to check the function of her bladder and the results were exactly what we wanted to hear. I remember being told back in May 2013 by another OEIS parent that it seemed like everything led up to that one big bladder closure surgery and then after that you didn't know what to do with yourself. From the moment that we found out Gabrielle was going to be born with OEIS, Bart and I have felt constant worry and what-ifs. The last (almost) 5 years have been a roller coaster with ups and downs and thankfully we were prepared for most of them. This year has been so different, I still constantly worry... almost more. 2014 has been such a relaxed year just like that mom told me it would be, like you hurry up and there are procedures after procedures and then... nothing. Trust me I am by no means complaining but it is an awkward feeling for me. I try to not to be an overprotective mom or a hovering mom. I want Gabrielle to be curious and ambitious and not to let her uniqueness hold her back. I know most of you look at her and think how does she handle everything she has been through but truly she is an incredibly lucky child. She has had it much easier than so many of the other children with the same condition. I think that is why I worry all the time. I am in a holding pattern waiting for the other shoe to drop... thankfully it has not! She is currently fighting another bladder infection. They are very typical in children with her condition. The doctors explained to us in the weeks after she was born years ago that since her bladder was on the outside of her body it now naturally would always have bacteria on it, there is no way of getting rid of it. Since the bladder has been closed surgically last year it is now the perfect dark warm moist breeding ground for that bacteria to overgrow from time to time. The bacteria that Gabrielle always test positive for is E-Coli. A few days after that her stool also became watery so we are now having her stool cultured to make sure that she also doesn't an overgrowth of E-Coli in her intestines also. Hopefully we will hear back from those test results tomorrow. So far the only abnormality they saw was blood in the stool but that is normal for people with colostomies. All in all other than the bladder infection and a runny nose she seems to be doing  great.

Gabrielle started taking baton lessons this year at daycare. She seems to like the classes and they also got to participate in the Gonzales Christmas parade. She had a blast! We spent Thanksgiving in Ruston with my family and had a wonderful time seeing that side of the family. Christmas was insane... I swear Toys R Us backed up a truck and unloaded in my house. She and Avery have had a blast playing with all their new toys. There have been a few scuffles over the toys but they end quickly. We have had family in our house since Christmas... grandmothers from both sides of the family spoiling the girls rotten. We also had family over for Christmas dinner. Yesterday we took the girls bowling and for ice cream for their New Year celebration. I think they both had a great time... Gabby got 1 strike and 1 spare and she even won one of the games we bowled. As always thank you for following our story and I am so thankful that for now the story is boring and just plain everyday life. I have never felt so blessed as I have this year... just getting to enjoy watching my special little girl be just that... a little girl.