From Raytheon to Rincon Research

Troy switched jobs in July. He had finished his master's degree the previous December and after five years at Raytheon, he was starting to itch for a change. We were sort of hoping to move away from Tucson and looked at different options, including Finland. However, Troy's friend (thank you Lars) emailed Troy about an opening at Rincon Research Corporation and Troy applied to it. He wasn't that interested in the job before the interview, but figured that it wouldn't hurt to interview and brush up on his interview skills.

Well, he came home from the interview and really wanted to the job. Fortunately, Rincon liked him as well and he got the job. Troy had really enjoyed his job and the people at Raytheon so he was nervous to leave. What if he would end up hating this new company and his job?

Over the past eight months, it has been clear that it was a right choice for Troy. 

Some of the perks of a smaller (150sh peole vs thousands) are free water and soda at the office, green bagels on St. Patrick's Day, random doughnut days,  amazing Christmas party and fun company outings.

And after Troy's hospitalization, the biggest blessing of all, so far, is the fact that our insurance covers everything.  No co-pay or deductibles. I cannot believe it, but I am grateful for it.

Posing at our first Rincon Christmas party. We are already looking forward to this years' party because it is about the only time that we get to dress up and eat fancy, delicious food. 

I love this man but the black curly hair was kind of creepy!

I think I could pull off this new look...

Okay, maybe I should say that the biggest blessing is that Troy loves his job and the people he works with.  Because we all know that working at a job that you don't enjoy can really suck the life out of you and an unhappy husband could really suck the life out of me--and if I'm not happy--well let's not even go there;)

Blessings amidst challenges

We are still on a survival mode.  It might be as long as six to 12 months before Troy is back to 100%. 

However, we are so blessed. And while I am not trying to portray a falsely (or annoyingly) positive attitude and cheerfulness, I am grateful for many things. 

I rarely get a full night sleep in a row. I do not have a little baby in the house, but there is something that is waking up the kids consistently. Except for last night, I had a beautiful 8 hours of sleep that was only broken by Saku climbing into our bed at some point. And since he just silently climbed between Troy and I, I was awake for mere seconds and back to my deep sleep. Oh it feels so good to sleep enough to feel rested.  So when I stirred at 6 am this morning, I was ready to get up for the day. 

I was able to run four times this week so far and after today's run, my weekly total will be 26 miles. I love how my body is responding to the training and feel quite hardcore. 

Lili sent a wonderful meal via Jason for Troy while he was buying his time in the emergency department. Lili's cooking  has the magic to make anyone feel better. 

On Sunday, I was able to drop off the kids to Brian and Alia's.  Saku loves loves love Cameron's toys and Cameron. Eerika was little outnumbered by the boys. One day she will appreciate the ratio and the attention she might get ;)

Beautiful Alia and cute kids

Out of the five days that Troy was at the hospital, the kids spent time at Camille's house on three days. Since Birch and Camille live only few miles away from the hospital and the kids do extremely well there, it was the perfect place to take the kids. I was able to visit Troy while the kids played happily. And on Tuesday, I even went to hang out there while we waited for Troy to get discharged and the kids just couldn't take anymore of the hospital. Simple thank you doesn't quite do the job to describe my gratitude for Birch and Camille's love and friendship for our family. 

Saku was in Heaven as he played big boy things with Trevor. 

Children getting muddy-it was cold and windy and they didn't care one bit. 

Yesterday Camry brought us dinner. When she asked if she could help us in any way, I asked if she could do dinner one day. I felt slightly selfish to add one more thing to her plate while I could really just cook dinner for us.  But it really was a huge help to just pop the pizza roll into the oven and eat it. Troy is now home; however, he is really too exhausted to do anything around the house. So I have to do pretty much everything on my own. I realize that there are many women who do things on regular basis, but it has a lot more energy out of me, so I was grateful for the little break. 

Last night was also the first night that Troy had somehow regular appetite so he enjoyed the pizza roll and brownies. I was happy to have my baby's appetite returning. 

Delicious pizza roll, thanks by sweet Camry. 

I also made some brownies. It was Friday night after all, and we had survived another week of Troy's sickness. Eerika and I had few bites BEFORE dinner:) That is just how the Grossarth girls do it.

Another sweet blessing was on Wednesday when Lindsay brought us dinner. She drove an hour to our house and brought some delicious soup, salad with homemade salad dressing, bread and the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had. And she has a 8 week old baby at home. AND she is going to medical school. Yes quite the amazing woman she is. 

Yes, I feel quite humbled to know such amazing people.

Lunch Dates

Last week before Troy was admitted to the hospital, the kids and I had some fun lunch dates.

On Monday, I was crazy enough to take both the kids by myself to Sweet Tomatoes. We haven't eaten out too much this year in the name of frugality, but I really wanted their salad bar so we went there. I was hoping that Troy could meet us there as it is less than 1 mile away from his office. However, he had a pressing deadline and couldn't leave work, so I just had to wing it.

And for once in a life time, my kids were great. There was no craziness, no crying, no whining, no inappropriate loudness and embarrassing messes. Saku followed me nicely each time we went to get food from the buffet and the kids and I enjoyed a meal. I didn't eat as much as I normally would but it might have not been a bad deal. 

Thanks for a fun lunch date Mr. Saku

To make a regular day a little more fun, I decided to take the kids to the park and have a picnic.  Peanut butter and honey sandwiches, string cheese and juice was a hit. Plus Saku found some older boys to play with, which made him happy. 

Can you believe Eerika is old enough to sit and eat an sandwich?

While Troy was sick, it was hard to get motivated to cook dinner when he was either not hungry or he wasn't home due to hospitalization. However, the kids appreciated and enjoyed a simple spaghetti dinner.  

No idea why he is posing like this but it looks cute.

Eerika loves spaghetti and likes to try to feed herself. 

I love food and eating and it is fun to see the kids enjoy food as well. 

Troy in room 19

I think I am an empathic and caring person and I think I carry that personality trait to my profession as a nurse, but I know I will be much more empathic and have a greater understanding of the realities of being a patient and patient's family member after these past days.

Troy has been at the hospital since Thursday night. He spent 12+ hrs in the ED waiting for a room because it was more difficult to find a room that had negative pressure in it. This was necessary for the precautions for TB. We are pretty sure that he has Valley Fever, but the doctors have not ruled out TB all together. Tomorrow Troy gets to have a bronchoscopy and that should give a more definitive answer.  

Troy hasn't been feeling well for the past week and a half. He would have high fevers 103 or 102 and then they would go away. He was fatigued and barely had any appetite, but other than the fevers, it was nothing too major. Then he developed a cough, so he finally went to the urgent care. The diagnosis was  "nasal pharyngitis" due to dry air. Cough medicine and nasal decongestant was prescribed. The only "help" from the medicine was the crazy dreams and hallucinations that the cough syrup gave Troy.

The next day, he went to work and started having chest pains. Nothing helped it so he went back to Urgent Care. He said the magic word of "chest pain" and was seen immediately. No heart attack. Chest X ray was clear and doctor said that he probably had torn some cartilage from the forceful coughing. It was supposedly very painful. So he was prescribed some ibuprofen. 

The pain was excruciating for the next 12+ hrs. No tylenol or ibuprofen would touch it. We weren't sure what to do. It felt sort of weird to go to ED or back to urgent care for pain meds, but it seemed to be the only option when the urgent care called us back and informed that he had a cavity lesion on his left lung. It was most likely Valley Fever and we were advised to go to the ED.

So we drove to UMC ED and Troy was checked in quickly. The doctor initially seemed to blow us off as if we had already gotten the care that we needed. I was frustrated because his pain was so bad and they still kept only talking about the ibuprofen. The Valley Fever didn't even seem to raise any flags for her. Fortunately, Troy's heart rate was up and that seemed to alarm her so she decided to do a test for a blood clot. I say fortunately because I don't think we would have gotten the attention and testing needed if his heart rate would have been normal. Blood test for a clot came positive so they wanted to do a CT scan, which ended up showing the cavity lesion which is seen in Valley Fever and TB. 

Friday was miserable. Antibiotics and antifungals were running. Morphine was given and tons of blood test were ordered. Troy was still in lot of pain and very exhausted. His breathing was labored and everything took so much effort.  It was hard to see him like that. 

Saturday, he felt better and thanks to awesome nurses who came him as pain meds every 4 hrs (almost to the minute), he was a happy man. However, a simple facetime for 30 minutes would still wear him out and he would nap a lot. He was barely eating because it would take too much energy out of him. 

Today he showered and ate more than before. His breathing is much better. He also gave a doctor a piece of his mind when she was checking her iphone while rounding on Troy. My red rage is back and I am happy to see him returning. 

How are we doing? Eerika hasn't noticed really anything. Saku is more moody and sad at times. Today he told me that he was mad because isi left. He said that he  "didn't want to facetime or call, but wanted to meet him".  This just proves how perceptive and sensitive kids are to changes. Tonight he told Troy that he wants to see Troy at his house, not at the hospital.  He really misses his best friend isi but honestly, he has been so good. He has been excited about playing with different friends and I am grateful for that. 

I am doing fine. I am tired, more so emotionally than physically. It is exhausting to be the support person during times like this.  I feel very grateful for many things. First of all, there has been so much support from people around us. I love to know that my kids are in good hands when I'm at the hospital. It is nice to not have to cook dinner or eat chicken nuggets again for dinner. I'm grateful for my medical knowledge and the ability to ask right questions and find the answers to them. I am grateful for the priesthood and prayers. I am grateful for this man in room 19 who I love more than anything. 

Saku was scared of the IV machine and isi wearing a mask. We called it a super hero mask but he was still didn't want to stay too long. 

Saku did enjoy the elevator buttons at the hospital.

And Eerika liked the french frys from the cafeteria.

Eerika can't go and visit him because she won't keep a mask on. Saku was with Troy for 10 minutes or so. It will be nice once the TB isolation is over and we can spend more time as a family. 

Lazy night after an emotionally draining week

Saku:  "you are nice. You take good care of me" as we walk downstairs to get one last sip of drink before going to bed. 

Saku: "äiti, can you help? the trains are frustrating me"

Saku: "there are more nightmares"

Saku: "Eerika's kisses are not nice"

me: "why not?"

Saku: "they are wet"

Me: "Saku, you are going to Trevor's house today"

Saku: "YES! Trevor is a boy big and Saku is a big boy"

Saku: "who is Eerika going to play with?" as in she isn't a big boy and can't play with Trevor

Saku: "I want to make a deal." at 3 am when he wants some apple juice. No deal was made at that time.

No words from Eerika but she is starting to imitate animal sounds. While she isn't consistent with them, she has made the sounds for dog (though it is a silent bark like Saku's was at this age), cat, owl and a cow. And she sometimes pinches her nose to let you know that she is stinky. And she is so much fun...if she isn't scratching you!

Today Troy got his first dose of morphine. He is hospitalized to figure out why he has an abscess in his lung. He has been sick for a week and I am tired. I miss him. I really miss him. 

The book-mobile came today but we were too busy to go to the ED to enjoy it.

Also Camille watched the kids while I was with Troy at the hospital and Eerika didn't cry at all. That is a first. Eerika was perfectly content while Camille held her even when I was there. I love it.

I signed up to run the Utah Valley Marathon in June. I should be running right now as the kids are asleep but I am emotionally too drained. I know it is sort of pathetic but I just needed to write down things and take a night off from doing anything. 

Madera Canyon Adventure

At times I tend to be selfish abou Troy's free time and want him to concentrate on me, help with the kids or do things around the house.  So for once, I decided to give him a morning of "do your thing" and I took the kids to Madera Canyon for a "hike" on Saturday morning. He was planning on working on a new exciting project so we left a happy isi home and headed for our adventure. 

We packed a lunch with us and since I am a food lover, we started our hike with a picnic. Then we started hiking. Mostly the kids just loved playing in the water, throwing rocks, playing in the dirt and running around. It was a great morning. The sun was shining but it wasn't too hot. There were plenty of people enjoying the beautiful day but it didn't feel crowded.

Saku grabbing himself-gotta love boys!

. 

Yes, I am that irresponsible mom who lets her kids suck on rocks. I have tried to stop the habit of eating rocks but I rather concentrate my efforts on something else since it seems pointless anyways. Judge if you want but don't scold me about it. 

Brave girl trying to climb up the rock

Sibling picture on a bridge

Eerika enjoying a rare treat of Capri Sun. 

Is there anything better than playing in the water?

Saku was in heaven as he was allowed to throw rocks.

Unfortunately, Troy wasn't feeling good and our absence didn't equal productive time for him. It was frustrating for both of us. Gone are the days when you could just be sick and it wouldn't affect so many people and so many things. I really did enjoy our fun morning and while I was feeling pretty tired by the time we returned home, I want to remember that there is nothing better than spending time with our kids outdoors. Even today, Saku mentioned going to the forest and playing in the water in his prayer. He did also say "thank you for isi staying home", which shows that sometimes he likes to narrate things that happen and just puts "thank you" in front of the sentence so he can use it in his prayer.

Wild wild girl

Eerika was in the silliest mood tonight. Troy got home after 6 pm so the kids and I had already eaten. I had put the in the PJs and we were hiding as Troy walked in. Troy brought each one of us a treat. Eerika got a lollipop, Saku a jolly rancher and I got a sour twizzler. 

Troy ended up eating dinner upstairs in Saku's room while Eerika begged more of his soup and Saku played with trains. Maybe it was the excitement of having isi home,  maybe it was the sugar rush from the treats or maybe it was over-exhaustion since Eerika only napped for an hour or so today, but the girl was rowdy and wild and adorable. 

I won't even try to describe the silliness that we witnessed, but I hope I can remember the pure joy that she seemed to feel as she played with us tonight. 

Look at the "apple cheeks" on both of them.

Sharing some potato soup

falling back over and over again.

silly climber

And how cute are her star pyjamas from GapKids. They are 12-18 months but clearly fit her perfectly now. I'm glad I didn't keep saving them for the summer. Though summer seems to be here already as it got 77 in the house as I opened our windows today.