Candace's Photography Blog Has Moved... The Banks Bunch blog is still here....

I have decided that it would be best to move my photography blog to a new site...I will continue to post family updates at this blog.

Please visit my photography site at:

http://candacejbanks.blogspot.com

Blessings,
Candace

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Corbin's HOME!!!

just wanted to put a quick update on the blog...

corbin got to come home yesterday afternoon!!! and he's doing GREAT!!! he's getting his appetite back (hooray!!!)...our next hurdle is getting him to take his medicine (it tastes yucky & he cries every time we give it to him--which is 3 times a day)...

thank you again for your prayers!! i can't begin to tell you how fabulous it is to have the family all under one roof again!!!

blessings,
candace

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Update on Corbin--2-12-09

well, we're still up here at the hospital...today's day 5 and this room is starting to feel like a 2nd home...ha, ha!

corbin's doing better..he still has a fever, however, the fever spikes are getting fewer and fewer...he's still refusing to eat or drink...and in order to be released from the hospital, he has to both be fever free for 24 hours and has to eat and drink enough to sustain himself...so we're still here for at least another day or two...

he's had 2 visits from saydee--a sweet yellow labrador therapy dog who we know from brendan's school...that has been a big treat for him! and today he's scheduled to go on a wagon ride through the hospital...he's received a few balloons and stuffed animals and lots of notes (you can log onto hendrick's website and send corbin an email & they'll bring it to us...here's the link: http://www.ehendrick.org/emailapatient/index.htm)--i read every single note he gets to him and then we hang it on the wall...he's also gotten a few pictures (which he LOVES)--both hand-made and also poster-type ones...he's so visual and loves to see the spider-man, veggie tales, and iron man hanging on the wall!

as of last night, his breathing treatments are prn (as needed)...and so that's another good thing. he loves the treatments & seems to respond well to them.

so, how do i think he's doing? i think he's getting better, but is still a pretty sick kiddo...like kelly said to me "he doesn't care at all that he has an iv in his arm--if his was feeling good, that thing would be driving him crazy & he'd be fussing about it"... the fact that he's refusing even the things he loves (like icecream) also tells us that he's not feeling good.

it's hard for me to believe that i did it, but i let kelly stay with corbin last night so that i could go home and get some rest (as well as have some time with brendan)...i'm feeling better today which is good. i've been having muscle spasms in my neck & back which cause me to have a bad headache...so that's been challenging...

thank you, thank you, thank you for all your prayers and well wishes. thank you for the notes you have sent to us through the hospital, the phone calls, etc. i will keep you posted on corbin's progress.

blessings,
candace
p.s...we heard the nurses say a few minutes ago that the children's wing is over-flowing and they're having a hard time getting enough nurses to cover...there's a lot of sick kiddos right now with rsv, pneumonia, and even the rotto virus has started up...yuck!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Update on Corbin--Tuesday, February 10, 2009

well, it's tuesday & we're still in the hospital...corbin is still very sick...we still can't get his temperature to stay down. it was a really rough night last night and both of us are exhausted...so we're going to keep him on phenergan all day to hopefully knock him out so he'll rest and let his body heal. they did more labs and another chest xray this morning...and the doctor, after looking at the 3 progressive xrays says that the pneumonia is only in the right lung and that it looks like it might be aspiration pneumonia (which means that while he was intubated during the tonsillectomy or right after something (spit, fluid, food, etc) went down into his lung)...and the antibiotic he's on is the one they give for that type of pneumonia...at the same time, she's still not convinced that it's not viral pneumonia (he's not really responding to the antibiotics like he should (the fever's not staying down))...but it also could be that they need to increase the amt of antibiotics--which they will do if his fever doesn't stay down today. she's supposed to come by at lunch and check on him again. so how do i think he's doing? he seems a little better today, but then again, last night when brendan came up to the hospital, he got out of bed (for the 1st time in 3 days) and actually played with his brother...so i thought we were turning a corner...but then last night was so rough so it's hard to tell...pneumonia is such a common thing--it's not like it's a rare thing--and it doesn't all mean bad things (brendan had pneumonia a couple years ago and it was no biggie at all)...but i just read on the mayo site that it's the #1 cause of death in children--that's kinda scary... i'm chosing to believe that the GREAT PHYSICIAN can & will heal corbin.

thank you again for all the prayers lifted up on our behalf.

blessings,
candace

Monday, February 9, 2009

Minus 4 Tonsils & 2 Adenoids...and Corbin's in the hospital...

it's 140am and what i should be doing is cuddling up next to my precious little 4 year old, corbin...what i should be doing is resting--more specifically, sleeping--next to my sweet little boy...what i should be doing is taking advantage of the time that i have to let my body unwind while the room is dark and quiet--no breathing treatments for at least another hour and fever shouldn't begin to spike for at least another 30 minutes to an hour (if it follows the pattern it's established over the last 24 hours)....

but it's 140am and what i should be doing and what i'm actually doing are worlds apart...because it's 140am and i can't sleep...partially because i'm anxious...partially because i'm afraid to try to sleep (b/c i'll probably be woken up as soon as sleep finally overtakes me(if i'm lucky))...a huge part of it is because i didn't want to take my sleeping pill so that i would be fully aware of any need that corbin has...but i'm hoping that it's mostly b/c i'm just not at peace inside myself...and that once i release all the many thoughts and emotions bottled up inside me and share that the LORD will in turn grant me peaceful rest...

after begging the last couple of years to have brendan's tonsils removed, our (my) wish was finally granted & on december 30, 2007, he had his tonsils removed, adenoids removed (again--yes, they can grow back) and his turbinates (in his nose) worked on (i believe it's called something like "partial reduction of the inferior turbinates" or something like that)...the surgery went great...the only set back was that b/c of brendan's adhd (which we we'd suspected he had, but hadn't gotten a diagnosis), the narcotics wired & agitated him instead of bringing him comfort so we were only able to give him tylenol & eventually ibuprofen for pain...which meant he didn't rest hardly at all...but all thing come to an end and about 8 days after the surgery, he turned the corner and started getting better...

then, on january 6th, i had surgery...and without going into all the details, i'll just say that my gyn was pretty sure i have endemetriosis (which is what is causing the very heavy painful periods)...and he wanted to go ahead and remove my uterus to eliviate the problem...but my insurance said they wouldn't pay for the hysterectomy until i had 4 other procedures done 1st (seriously--what kind of backward heathcare is that!?!)...anywho, after discussing it, kelly and i decided that maybe the tricare doctor (meaning a doctor who works for tricare who was the responsible for denying the hysterectomy until the other 4 procedures were done 1st) was right...

some time during the 2nd week in january, corbin stopped eating...and this is VERY unusual for him--he's always been such a great eater...so i started being concerned about him, but since that was his only symptom, i didn't pursue it further...

then, on january 21st we received a call from the developmental specialist that we've been waiting 4 months to get brendan into at 445pm saying that they had an appt available the next morning (in lubbock)--and could we be there?? (if we said no, i'd have to take brendan by myself to the specialist---which i didn't want to do b/c i really felt that both kelly and i needed to be there--b/c kelly would be tdy at the time of the original appt)...so off we went to lubbock...and we finally have a diagnosis for brendan (i'll have to post that later)

by january 26th, i'd had enough speculations about corbin's lack of appetite and took him to the pedi...his tonsils were almost touching and he had strep throat--with NO symptoms!!!!--very very scary!!...and as it turned out, he'd been stopping breathing (obstructive sleep apnea) while sleeping...and, yes, by this time, i was feeling like a horrible mother b/c i didn't realize that the noise he was making in his sleep was due to him stopping breathing...ugh! and since we knew that kelly would be leaving soon for his tdy, i felt like if the tonsils needed to be taken out, we needed to get it done asap so that i wouldn't have to worry about it while he was gone...

so this past friday, february 6th, corbin got his tonsils taken out...and within minutes of him being brought to us out of surgery, he started barking like a seal which got the nurses attention and before we knew it, the anesthesiologist was ordering a breathing treatment...ok, no biggie...we get home, but that little motherly instinct just had me watching him closely...the next day, saturday, he started running fever...it was 102.5 at 2pm and so i gave him tylenol and called the on-call dr (the post-op paperwork says to call if fever gets over 102)...by 330pm, his temperature had rose to 103.5 and so i took him to the emergency room...and after being in there for about 3 hours with no iv or fever reducing agents, his fever spiked to 107.6 (yep, you read that right...the nurse checked it twice...and although my children both run high fevers (104.5) all the time with viruses, 107.6 seemed way out of control)...so he got admitted into the hospital...with what they were pretty sure was pneumonia...they tested for the flu and other things (one being a reaction to the anesthesia)...all came back negative--including a regular white blood count...and so as of this morning, we were told that he has bilateral pneumonia...that although they are treating him with antibiotics, more than likely he has viral pneumonia (which is not caused from the surgery intubation)...viral (vs bacterial) pneumonia can't be healed with antibiotics--it just has to run it's course...which of course can make it more dangerous...anywho, it's now been over 24 hours since he was admitted and started on 2 heavy antibiotics as well as fluid iv and he doesn't really seem to be getting better...at times he seems worse and at times he seems about the same...even with tylenol and ibuprofen, his temp never goes all the way down and about 3 hours after the last dose, his temp starts to rise again...he's doing two different breathing treatments as well as some percussion respiratory therapy every 4 hours...they'll repeat chest xrays and labs in the morning (which will be here within a matter of hours...it's now 3am (i've had to stop writing several times to take care of corbin))...

so that's the scoop on us...i appreciate the prayers that have been lifted up on our behalf...especially for little corbin...i can tell you that they are felt--if in no other way, this precious child has not complained even once about pain...he has been the most perfect patient--he's not trying to run down the hall--he's resting fairly well...as so as far as hospital experiences go, this one ranks at the top...ha, ha...

thanks for listening, for praying, for the phone calls & emails...for being the hands and feet of jesus to us...


blessings to you and yours...
candace

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Corbin's Ducks Happy Birthday, Jesus Party--December 2008

Corbin's MDO class had a Happy Birthday, Jesus! Party...here's a few pictures from the party...

Blessings,
Candace




MRM (Mothers Reaching Mothers)--December 2008

ever wonder what happens when mommies get away from the husband & kiddos??

we revert back to our high school days...all i can say is jazz hands, baby!!!

blessings,
candace
p.s...this is one of the ministries at pdbc that i'm involved in...it's a total blast!!




Brendan's OT--November 2008

here's a look at some of the things that little b gets to do at occupational therapy...

blessings,
candace
p.s...although he got to go to OT for 6 weeks and got the initial diagnosis as sensory integration disorder, our insurance does not pay for sid treatment...so as of right now, brendan doesn't get to go...but maybe since we have a new diagnosis...?!?...we shall see...

And some people say it ain't beautiful in west Texas...

this picture isn't anything special...we were driving from abilene to austin...so the picture is blurry, i know, but it really was such a pretty day that i had to take a picture...and, as often, this scripture came to mind when i opened it...

blessings,
candace

Mommy & Brendan

here's some goofy pictures of me & brendan back in november...i just love that my kiddos will make silly faces!!!...guess i need to have corbin do this with me now! :)

blessings,
candace

Corbin's Ducks at the Zoo--September 2008

another delinquent post...

corbin goes to mother's day out (sonshine place) at our church...he's in the ducks class this year...back in september '08, they went to the zoo for a fieldtrip...here's a few pics from that day...

blessings,
candace
p.s... (corbin WAS NOT in the mood to be at the zoo that day and even less in the mood to have his picture taken...which is why he's pouting in all the pics...oh well!!...just more ammo for me to heckle him about when he gets older, right? ha, ha!




miss jana (far left adult) likes to have a picture made every year with the kiddos pretending to be a flamingo (you can't see the flamingos, but they're standing right in front of the exhibit)...and this is miss sheri's (far right adult) 1st year to both teach with jana and to experience the "flamingo stance"...corbin (who's right in front of miss sheri) was not amused...










I want my blother...


i did a really dumb thing the other day...i bought the pg rated children's movie "two brothers" the other day (hey, it was cheap ($2.50) and i thought it might keep corbin happy while he is recovering from his surgery tomorrow)...anywho, went ahead and watched it...wait, let me back up, brendan and i sat down to watch it while corbin was napping...i truly thought it was a sweet little movie about 2 tiger cub brothers that got separeted and then reunited...anywho...brendan, my very very very very very creative and imaginative child, quickly saw the resemblance to our family (there was a daddy, a mommy, and two brothers...like him and corbin...and he even said "that one's corbin and that one's me"...and believe it or not, he could tell which was which (even though they look exactly the same minus eye color))...anywho, shortly after the sweet, playful, loving relationship of the two brothers is established, some people kill the daddy (oh no--i should've stopped the movie right there) and the mommy takes just one of the cubs with her and leaves the other (and brendan knew that it was his "character" that got left behind)....he immediately screams "don't leave me, mommy!!!" and then proceeds to cry...and i don't mean a little tear or two...it was big-time weaping...and continued on & on and on!!! i honestly have never seen him this upset!! so what do i do?? i comfort him, tell him it's going to be ok, that the brothers will see each other again--here, let me fast fwd the dvd and get to that part--and all to no avail...so...about 15 minutes later--with huge tears still flowing, he finally says "i want my blother!!" and so i told him he could go wake up corbin...brendan procedes to go to corbin (who's sound asleep in his bed) and crawl into bed with him---and still the tears don't stop...we hug and love on each other and this continues on & on for another 20 minutes...so i sit them down on the couch to turn on another (happier) movie---thinking it would make everything better...which, after another 20 minutes or so, brendan did finally stop crying...however, an hour later, they were still wrapped in eachother's arms on the couch...so, me, being a photographer, just had to get a few pictures...the picture really doesn't do justice for both how sweet it was and also how incredibly red brendan's eyes were...

i have to say that with all the fighting that goes on between these two, there is no question in my mind that there is a lot of love also...what a sweet blessing and treat for me to see!! thank you, JESUS!!

blessings to you,
candace

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Colorado City State Park-- October 2008

this is one of those "i'm soooo behind" posts...

we went camping at colorado city state park the weekend of october 24, 2008...it was a really fun time, but we definitely decided we didn't like that state park as the one in abilene (which is great for us b/c abilene is much closer!!)...anywho, here's a few pics from that weekend...

blessings,
candace