Jake starts Pre-K

We are finally starting to get back some normalcy in our lives and the first starts with Jake starting Pre-K.  He was so excited to start Pre-K he could hardly stand it!  I think that he is even more excited about getting to eat the cafeteria lunch and being surprised with what he gets served that day!  

We're finally here!

His smile makes things all better

Ayden is sitting down, too, thinking that he is going to stay

Jake and his teacher, Mrs. Brewer

This first day of Pre-K for Jake was a hard mommy day for me.  Thanks to Danielle, for listening to that rough mommy day I had!  When I dropped Jake off, I realized that I was so scared to leave Jake because I would not be there to watch out for him.  This is where my faith had to step in.  I had to have faith that Jake would be watched by his teachers and staff at his school.  Of course, I had to coach Jake with when someone gets too close to your ear, tell them to watch out, etc.  Just to see that huge smile on Jake's face, made things so much easier for me!  It definitely made that faith come alive.

Jake had a great first day, overall!  Jake has always loved school so I did not think that I would have any trouble with him, but Ayden, on the other hand, surprised me.  He was screaming through the entire school all the way out to the car when we said good-bye to Jake.  Ayden wanted to stay so bad and even sat at the table with Jake when we dropped him off.  I had decided not to put Ayden in Pre-school this year, but after this temper tantrum that he had, made me think otherwise.  It actually broke my heart that maybe he feels that he is missing out on fun stuff, too.  So mommy found him a pre-school that I hope he enjoys.  He is now happily saying that he is going to go to baby school since Jake is going to big boy school.  We shall see how his first day goes next week.  Stay tuned for that update :)!  


Overall, life has been extremely good considering the circumstances and recovery of Jake.  I could not have asked for a better spirited child regardless of what he has gone through!  I can honestly say that Jake's positive attitude has made things so much easier on Joel and me.  I am still having those days of paranoia as far as how active Jake is being while recovering.  I still get feelings of anger,  and occasionally cry because of the grieving that I am still going through.  It has not been easy for me to this day to absorb, but I truly feel that it is going to take time, my time.  It has gotten easier, but the pain is still there deep in my heart.  I'm trying!  One of our dear friends heard something at church and felt that he needed to share it with me in order to help me heal and get an answer to my why's.  He said that sometimes there are friends who God takes out of your life, because you lean on them more than you lean on Him.  I thought that it was a great and important message for me to hear.  So if you hear of a message and thinks that it will help me in some way, I would love to hear them!  Life has moved on and is continuing to be busy.  However, please continue to say prayers for Jake.  Please pray that his graft is intact and is healing the way it should, that he is watched over while at school, that no infection occurs, and that he regains his hearing when this is all said and done.  We are still left in limbo on what lies in the future for Jake....so any and all prayers will be so ever appreciated and heartfelt!  It means so much that you check on our family through our blog..........


Lots of love,
Joel, Annette, Jake, and Ayden

Post-op Appointment with ENT

More pictures, Mommy!

Today was the day for Jake's Post-op appointment with the ENT.  We knew that the doctor was going to have to take out the sponge that was in Jake's ear.  The doctor stated that it was probably not going to be fun for Jake.  Geez!  Here we go again with not knowing what to expect.  Before we left to the appointment I had explained to Jake that we were going to see the doctor so that he could take the sponge out of his ear.  I told him that he would have to sit really still so the doctor could be really fast and that it was going to tickle.  So we get to the ENT office and as we are waiting for the doctor Jake starts looking at the posters in the office and starts to ask us how the doctor fixed his ear and what he fixed.  It looked so cute watching daddy explaining what the pictures were and what the doctor fixed.  Such a brave boy!  So then we moved into the room next door so that the doctor could remove the sponge.  The doctor also decided to remove the tube that was in his other ear since we were already removing things from his ear. See, when this incident occurred, Jake had tubes in both ears.  So the tube that was in the injured ear is long gone and lost.  Kind of creepy thinking about where it went!  Anyhow, the doctor took out the sponge just like that and Jake did not even flinch!  Yes, he did it, what a champ!  I was so excited!  All morning long I was asking and praying that Jake wouldn't feel any pain.  The doctor stated that he has never seen a child do so well like Jake did!  Amazing!  So that part was over, another hurdle, that we were again not wanting to face.

Getting ready to take out sponge

Sponge (top), tube (bottom)

We have to continue to use a plug during bath time, and we cannot submerge his head in any water for another 6 to 8 weeks.  It will be a long recovery, but I am so grateful that I can hug on Jake, love on him, see him run and play and most of all laugh!  We will go back to see the doctor in 3 to 4 weeks.  Please continue to say prayers that Jake's ear heals with no pain, no infection, and that his hearing is regained, so that we will not have to go through another surgery!  I have added a picture of what his incision looks like today.  Every time we see his ear it is a constant reminder of what Jake is having to go through.  It has been a BIG challenge not to get angry every time!  Since I have been writing about Jake's blog I have realized that I need to start focusing on my heart healing, as well.  This has not been an easy situation for Joel nor I.  I just wish I knew where to start!  Jake's spirit has not suffered and that is what keeps us going!  We will all heal, with time.  Again thanks for all the thoughts and continued prayers for our family!  Jake is a true champ in our eyes.

Incision behind ear

Lets not forget the little brother, Ayden, who has been a champ through all this too!

The day is here for Jake's surgery

Of course, Joel and I stayed up till all hours of the night avoiding going to bed.  We knew that when we went to bed, we would soon wake up and get ready to take Jake to his surgery.  That may have backfired on us as we are exhausted now, but everyone deals with things in their own way right :)!  Well, needless to say, it was inevitable for this day to come.  It is here....today, the day that we have been dreading since we heard the word "possible surgery."  Want it or not it was going to happen!  So we get up and Jake happens to wake up earlier than he normally does, what are the chances?  We've now got to occupy a 4 year old to not want to eat or drink anything until his surgery at 11:10am?  I banned the entire house of eating or drinking anything until he left to surgery.  Let me just tell you this, it is possible, because he did it!  Amazingly he never really asked for anything, and I thank my in-laws for being here that made this possible!

He was playing, giggling, and having all kinds of fun!  Meanwhile, I am watching him with my eyes flooding with tears already and we hadn't even gotten to the surgery center yet!  Geez, this is going to be a tough day, I say to myself as I try to get myself ready.  On the way to the surgery center he got some toys and made an angel, and says, "look mommy an angel!"  I said, "wow," and he said, "remember when I made an angel in the snow?"  "Yes, I remember Jake!"  At that moment, I knew that he was surrounded with angels and that he was protected!  It was pretty awesome, it was exactly what I needed!  Earlier in the morning, my cousin called me who recently lost her 15 year old daughter, Alexis, out of nowhere with an illness that she got.  Well, my cousin called me crying and told me that she told her daughter Alexis to be with Jake through this.  She also told me that she told Alexis to let me know that she was with Jake and I believe that when he made an angel out of toys, that was it!

Mommy, enough kisses!

Silly Juice with smiley face in his left ear

We get to the surgery center and it is time, just like that!  Wow, Jake is a champ!  He is one of the bravest kids I know!  He goes back to surgery with his Captain America doll and his Halloween Garfield movie playing on the dvd player.  Life is good on silly juice!  Let me tell you, I was about to ask for a shot of that silly juice myself, because my anxiety was through the roof!  Of course, I cried the tears that I had been holding back since I woke up that morning and my most AWESOME husband comes to my rescue with, "he's going to be fine, Annette, we've got to believe that he's going to be fine."  I don't know what I would do without my husband, he truly is amazing!  So the tick of the clock starts as the countdown starts for a 3 hour surgery.  It was probably the longest 3 hours of my life.  It felt like a lifetime, but we managed through it!  "Mr. and Mrs. Garcia, the doctor is ready to talk to you!"  Joel and I could not run over there fast enough!  "He did great!"  What a relief!  The doctor stated that he fixed the hole with the skin graft, which he believes will be successful!  He also stated that he did not touch the bones, because during a reflex test the bones were functioning the way they should.  The doctors gut was telling him not to touch them, to leave them alone, and see how Jake's body tries to mend them back together!  Another relief!  This journey is still not quite over yet, but the surgery was over and it was a great moment for us!  It is now time to see Jake!  Jake was quite, but awake!  He slurped on his popsicle that was given to him and was ready to go home.  We got home and he bounced back to himself, which was so great to see.

Came out showing Gig'em :)

Let's go  home!

I'm so happy to be home!

  He has truly amazed me in this journey and I believe that all the support and prayers is what has given him the strength and courageousness to endure this experience that he has had to go through!  We will continue to take this journey day by day and continue to have faith that god is here with us every step of the way!  I pray for a quick and speedy recovery and that Jake continues to be pain-free and able to swim, something that he is been wanting to do, sooner than we expected!  Lots of love to everyone!
Jake, Ayden, Annette, and Joel

It has been a long day!

Preparation for surgery with the Child Life Specialist

Today was the test to see how really prepared I was for what we were about to be facing tomorrow with Jake's surgery.  We had an appointment with the Child Life Specialist.  Michelle met us at the front of the surgery center and helped to prepare Jake and ease my heart!  Jake was all smiles as he typically is, which made it much easier for me to get through.  Jake got a checklist of exactly what was going to be happening.  She took us to the pre-op rooms and showed Jake and let him experience what his visit would be like.  He was able to wear a doctor's hat, and smell the bubbled gum scented gas mask that they were going to put him to sleep with.  Michelle also wrapped Jake's Rhino Build-a-bear with the dressings that Jake would wake up to so Jake would know exactly what was going to be on his head.  Ayden even wanted his Monkey Build-a-bear to have the same dressings!  Overall, I think this tour was harder for me than it was for Jake!  At the end, Jake and Ayden, got a popsicle for being such good troopers through all this.  When it was all said and done I got in the car and immediately started to become flooded with anxiety, fear, helplessness, anger, and all the emotions that come with this situation.  I found myself driving us straight to church!  I took the boys to the noon mass and met a dear friend of mine who has helped me keep the faith that all will go well and that god is keeping an eye on Jake!  Church has always been a quiet haven and place I have went to since college just to take a breath, regroup, and pray for things that were out of my control.  I am so thankful that I can go there at any given time and feel the peace that I need to get through the trials that we are put through.  Needless, to say, I left church with a little more strength than I had before I got there!  It is so easy to get sidetracked and focus on the negative and anger that I have, but I have got to stay focused and keep FAITH that Jake will be okay and get through this, that we will all get through this!