Helluva Coupla Days

So I know Jen usually does these things but there are things the out of towners need to know. As most of you know, this pregnancy has not been easy on Jen. On Sunday night she had really, really bad, sharp pain in her lower right abdomen. After failing to wish the pain away, (she's one tough woman!) we decided it was time to take her to the ER. They admitted her and started doing some testing. FOR THE RECORD, THE BABY IS OK. It turns out that she had a pretty bad Crohn's attack. It was the worst I had ever seen it. Apparently it can be stress induced as well as other factors (I think having half our house torn apart for over two weeks now counts). The doctors have her hopped up on morphine for the pain and have increased her meds to clear up her bowels. There is still more testing to be done, but she has gotten a lot better. They are waiting for a stool sample to test, but I'm wondering how that's going to happen on a clear liquid diet. Anyway, we are not sure when she is being discharged from the hospital, hopefully Wednesday, maybe Thursday. The silver lining is that they are checking the baby's heartbeat twice a day, so that's pretty cool to hear.

Things are looking much better, but it's been a crazy couple of weeks. I know the stress I'm under and cannot imagine what it's like being pregnant on top of all this. If anyone would like to call her to check in, please do. She's starting to go crazy from boredom.

In other news, regarding the plumbing issues, the ditch has been filled in and they finished the concrete work today. There is still a big hole in the upstairs bathroom, but the carpet people are hopefully coming on Saturday for the downstairs (provided the concrete is set). So, for the STL people, if you can make it, on Sunday we are having a "Put my friggin house back together" party. We haven't set a time yet, but we'll let you know.

That's about all for now. I'm sure Jen will post more (medical) details later this week.
-Matt

Refugees

So, thanks to the wonderful generosity of family and friends, we have had a clean, stench-free place to stay with running water the last few days! Thursday night, Steve and Barb took all of us in, with the hope that it would have been our only night away from home. Regretfully, there was no good pipe yet to be found, so digging continued. Since then we have been staying with my folks with the exception of Saturday night when we stayed at Sam and Susan's. Lynn and Mike had generously offered their home for the Halloween party, since we could not accommodate. It was great to get away for the night and see everyone. Definitely a big stress reliever!! I hadn't really realized how edgy I had become by that point... So, I guess thanks are also in order for putting up with me!! But with all hope, tonight will be our last night away from home... The outdoor excavating and connection of the plumbing work should be complete tomorrow. We still won't have a floor, but it's a step in the right direction. I'm going to wrap this up since the fumes are starting to get to me...

Here are some random pics of the progress as well as one of the puppy playgroup that is just too cute!

Too Good to be True

Well, the plumbers began the replacement of the stack yesterday and unfortunately, things haven't been going too smoothly... They originally predicted that solid pipe for a new connection should be accessed within 5 feet of the stack, however, now more than 25 feet has been dug in the basement floor with no end in sight. So, we have a lovely trench that goes from the stack in the family room through the wall into the guest room and finally into the storage room. It is anticipated that digging will continue outside the house (through our new landscaping wall!) potentially to the street. What gets even more complicated is that the pipe is buried about 8 feet underground outside... This may require additional equipment (and additional funds) to complete... Needless to say, the stress isn't helping my current condition and lack of plumbing is taking its toll as well...