2005 April 24-29 Hospitalized with Diverticulitis: I'll be back slowly, but with an update on the quads and their mom very soon.
Becky |
2005 April 22 Chatter: I have not heard from my brother in two days about Liz and the quads so I'm worried, but optimistically convinced that no news is good news.
This morning I had a second nerve block injection, and either I am expecting too much or these are just not working. Back pain is such nuisance. The option is open for a third injection, but I am inclined at this point to pass on it.
Just for fun I tried
Your Linguistic Profile:
55% General American English
25% Dixie
10% Yankee
5% Midwestern
5% Upper Midwestern
I guess my southern/Texas roots show through, probably tempered by the fact that I read so much and communicate with som many people all over the world. My Texas neighbors might look askance at that Yankee 10%, however. One question stymied me, however: when I was in school an "easy class" was a "snap course" which fitted nowhere in the suggested answers.
2005 April 20 Dixon Quads Update: The quads are one week old today. I have been reluctant to update until I knew for sure that Liz was on the mend, and tonight "Grandpa" Raymond sends the following message:
Liz got transfered today from ICU back to a regular room in the postpartum area, Room xxx. She is pumping morphine every ten minutes, very sore, and very dopey. Perhaps tomorrow will be a better day for her.
The pathology report on the colon section removed proved rather conclusively Dr. Riegel's theory of what caused her colon problem. Madison, I believe was the baby who spent most of her womb time in Liz's lower left belly area. She spent the last weeks of the pregnancy pressing Liz's descending colon against her pelvis. Blood flow was cut off, and a great deal of her pain attributed to her kidney infection was likely coming from this situation. The colon exposed during the C-section appeared normal, but, up higher from the incision was the impacted area. The delivery of the quads relieved the load against the colon. Once flow returned, the deteriorated, dead tissue had developed three holes in the colon big enough to stick a finger through. These holes sent feces drifting throughout her abdomen. It is hoped that no further infection shows up after this surgery. Meanwhile, she has some three months to live with a colostomy.
Heart surgery is planned for tomorrow morning at 7am to close a hole between Candice's heart and lung. A test will be performed tomorrow on Hudson which may reveal that he will need the same surgery. The other two girls have made fairly good progress these last few days.
A week ago we were concerned about how Liz and Donny would be able to raise quads. Now we are just so grateful to have them and praying hard for Liz and the babies to get well and be healthy. Everything else will be a piece of cake!
2005 April 17 Quads Update: the good news is that the quads, all 4 tiny miracles, are doing very well, taking milk and breathing well, though still in neonatal ICU and on ventilators more for insurance than necessity.
The bad news is that Liz is not doing well. She had surgery today for a massive infection and is currently in ICU herself. The cause of the infection is still undetermined, and they are running tests and watching her very carefully. Fortunately the quads are part of a "breast milk pool" so they are not going to be deprived of nourishment while Liz recovers. If you pray, please include Liz Dixon in your prayers. (Late update: Doctors had to remove a portion of Liz's colon.)
Spring: the weather has been so text book perfect that we got a lot of yard work done this weekend, including pruning deadwood from trees and adding colorful impatiens and coleus to the garden. 10 days ago we put out strawberries outside the kitchen window. (photo taken after just 3 days) and are daily wowed by their vigorous growth. I wouldn't be surprised if we see blossoms in the next couple of weeks. My own contribution to all this outdoor industry was primarily supervisory since I had a nerve block earlier in the week to treat an injury I received in physical therapy for my pre-existing back problem. Even so, I am feeling pretty good now and am almost able to do a full day's work for the first time in a couple of years! It may be a long while before I catch up with the huge backlog of work, and email, but any progress is welcome.
Book Review: Freakonomics Terrible title, excellent book. It's worth reading for pure enjoyment but there is one chapter especially important to Realtors® and their clients. "The Ku Klux Klan and Real Estate Agents" really hits the nail on the head about the difference between real estate agents working for themselves (selling their own property) and working for clients. I expect that agents in general are going to hate it, but it really nails the use/abuse of information in representing someone else. It also covers a list of key words in property marketing that should be a useful lesson to any agent/broker who really cares about marketing. Real estate comprises only a few pages of the total book, but the whole book is crammed with interesting data and anecdotes that I find fascinating, and maybe you will too.
Excerpt:
Ten Common Real Estate Ad Terms
Fantastic
Granite
Spacious
State-of-the-art
!
Corian
Charming
Maple
Great Neighborhood
Gourmet
A "fantastic" house is surely fantastic enough to warrant a high price, isn't it? What about a "charming" and "spacious" house in a "great neighborhood"? No, no, no and no. Here's the breakdown:
Five Terms Correlated to a Higher Sales Price
Granite
State-of-the-art
Corian
Maple
Gourmet
Five Terms Correlated to a Lower Sales Price
Fantastic
Spacious
!
Charming
Great Neighborhood
Three of the five terms correlated with a higher sales price are physical descriptions of the house itself" granite, Corian and maple. As information goes such terms are specific and straightforward--and therefore pretty useful. If you like granite you might like the house; but even if you don't, "granite" certainly doesn't connote a fixer-upper. Nor does "gourmet" or "state-of-the-art," both of which seem to tell a buyer that a house is, on some level, truly fantastic.
...
If you study the words in the ad for the real estate agent's own home, meanwhile, you'll see that she indeed emphasizes descriptive terms (especially "new," "granite," "maple," and "move-in condition") and avoids empty adjectives (including "wonderful," "immaculate," and the telltale "!").
Becky |
2005 April 13 Four Birthdays!: I'm officially the great-aunt to Quads! One day before Logan Dixon's first birthday his mom gave birth to QUADRUPLETS, Hudson, Madison, Samantha, and Candace (one boy and three girls). We'll bring pictures as soon as we have them. What we know right now is that all appear to be healthy, and Mom is getting some well-earned sleep. The babies each weighed in at well over a pound and a half, which increases their chances of survival. Gestation was one day short of 27 weeks, but at a total birth weight of nearly 8 pounds it is a miracle that Liz was able to carry them this long. We were hoping for another week, but surprisingly none of the babies is of significantly larger or smaller size than the others.
Multiple Birth Factoid: Multiples have a somewhat higher chance as preemies than single births simply because they have had to compete for nutrition from the moment of conception.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that this is still a tense time for the entire family, but especially for the new Mom and Dad, Liz and Donny Dixon. We are really proud of Liz for standing by the force of her convictions and for the long and difficult struggle to deliver these beautiful children.
If you would like to contribute to the Dixon Quads Fund visit their web site at DixonQuads.com.
UPDATE: note from the quads Grampa:
Thanx for mentioning the quads' birth on IRED. Today was a major milestone. The next 48 hours will be quite critical for the babies. (One of the smaller ones has veins to small to locate for IV insertion, so the umbilical will have to do for now.)
Perhaps we'll get in a bit of cake for Logan tomorrow.
This all still seems so surreal!
Raymond
Update 2: WFAA Channel 8 Dallas presents Quads Against All Odds video link / text link on the evening newscast.
By JEFF BRADY / WFAA-TV
The Dixon family broke new ground at Presbyterian Hospital of Plano on Wednesday with four new additions at once. How to help
They're the first set of quadruplets in the hospital's history - and though the premature babies have a long way to go before doctors release them from intensive care, they are already winning the hearts of those who meet them.
"Hudson is the boy, and then the girls are Madison, Candice and Samantha," said mother Liz Dixon.
"They were born at 2:13, 2:14, 2:15, and 2:16," said father Donny Dixon.
The children were born by Caesarian section thirteen weeks early, and all conceived naturally.
"Not only no fertility drugs, but also they were actually on birth control pills, trying not to get pregnant," said obstetrician Dr. Chris Riegel.
Their combined weight, about 6.5 pounds, is less than most single newborns. The hospital had to summon extra staff to handle the delivery and help run the neonatal ICU.
"We definitely can see how God has worked in this," Liz said.
The Dixons' first son had kidney trouble, and needed special attention too.
"The medical bills just skyrocketed," Donny said. "We ended up in some debt - quite a bit of debt, actually - and moved in with her parents, so we don't actually even have a home to go home to."
Still thankful for their new offspring despite the challenges ahead, the Dixons will stay at the hospital for at least another eight weeks. Consider it time enough to get used to one miracle after another.
ed note: The WFAA math is a bit off. Madison weighed in at 2 lb 1 oz, Hudson at 2 lb and Candace and Samantha at 1 lb 14 oz each, which totals 7 lb 13 oz or nearly 8 pounds!
FYI: Logan's "kidney problem" was a bit more than a problem in that one of his kidneys did not develop. It was thought that they would have to surgically remove the under-developed kidney, but it simply dissolved and he is now healthy and one of the most engaging (and biggest) one-year-olds I ever saw. This young family is no stranger to miracles.
Spring: the weather has been so text book perfect that we got a lot of yard work done this weekend, including pruning deadwood from trees and adding colorful impatiens and coleus to the garden. 10 days ago we put out strawberries outside the kitchen window. (photo taken after just 3 days) and are daily wowed by their vigorous growth. I wouldn't be surprised if we see blossoms in the next couple of weeks. My own contribution to all this outdoor industry was primarily supervisory since I had a nerve block earlier in the week to treat an injury I received in physical therapy for my pre-existing back problem. Even so, I am feeling pretty good now and am almost able to do a full day's work for the first time in a couple of years! It may be a long while before I catch up with the huge backlog of work, and email, but any progress is welcome.
