un-FREAKING-believable

You have got to read this article! I want to go find this couple and.... talk to them about this....

www.mydesert.com/.../Opening-statements-in-trial-for-Cabazon-couple-accused-in-diabetic-daughter-s-death

News on the block

Okay, let's do some updating.

Jim and I are now working at West Valley Hospital in the I.C.U. and I occasionally work in the E.R. at Arizona Regional Medical Center. Our hospital system is venturing into computer charting and Jim and I are heading the project. We are the pros on our unit as we have used this computer charting system at 2 other facilities. This has been quite an undertaking so far. The new system will go in to effect this June.

I was formally matched with a young adult to be a mentor/community advisor to, but unfortunately, it has not worked out well. Which was pretty disappointing to me, but it happens. So they are trying to match me up with another young girl to be a mentor to. I am excited about the prospect. I hope this one works out.

Dani is working at Cracker Barrel as a cashier and really enjoys it. We are hoping she and Casey get into a nursing program soon.

James is looking down the barrel of 8th grade graduation. Not a lot going on with him right now as he is taking a break from all of his sports and activities for awhile. He is still quite a character and never ceases to amaze me with just how goofy he can be.

John is doing well. He has an insulin pump and a continuous glucose monitor. He dropped his A1C from 13.2 to 6.0 in 6 months. You can read all about his journey on his caringbridge site. The link is at the bottom of this page. John is excelling in school and is as happy go lucky as ever. He is making friends and having sleep overs at home. We have not felt comfortable enough to let him stay with anyone other than my mom yet. I'm not sure if that day will ever come, but it definitely won't be soon.

Mary is loving Kindergarten and is at the top of her class. She is reading way above her grade level, but she hates math. So we've got a little work to do on that. She is very smart and does well, she just doesn't like it. Her kindergarten class just went on a field trip to the zoo and I went along as a chaperon. That was quite a challenge. I don't picture needing to do that again soon.

So that's pretty much it for right now. You can check out our pictures and what John's been up to by checking out the links posted below.

Hope all is well with all of you!

Seems about time for an update

If you have not been following the caringbridge site, John is doing well and is back in school. He is getting caught up on his work and staying on top of his grades. His teacher is very good at helping him. And all the staff are super supportive.

John will be starting football next week. Mary will be starting ballet next week. And James has started Tae Kwon Do training. Sports along with school stuff, work, and doctor appointments leaves little time for good housekeeping.

We have not been matched with any kids or young adults yet. I know that the right match will come along.

Well, it's been a long week and I'm so tired. Off to bed!

Long time no post

So we've been very busy around our house here lately. The most recent big thing is that John just spent some time in Children's Hospital in Phoenix. We now know that John has type 1 diabetes. As you can imagine this was devastating news to all of us. But we have no choice other than to accept it and move on. There are so many other things that could be wrong, that diabetes, although life altering, seems very manageable. I have created a website for John that we started when he was admitted to the hospital. It is called caring bridge and it is a website that was created for children with illnesses so they can stay connected with the outside while hospitalized and ill. John's site is www.caringbridge.org/visit/johnmcconkey Read all the journal entries and it will catch you up.

In other current news, Jim and I finally received fingerprint clearance and will be able to begin our work with the foster children. We could have put it off, due to everything we've had going on here, but I don't want to do that. My view on helping these kids has not changed a bit. So I've got a potential girl that I am going to meet with. Jim is going to take a little more time since he is still dealing with the loss of Alan and the new diagnosis for John. Nobody faults him for that.

Dani and Casey did not make it into a nursing program this fall. Dani is working at Cracker Barrel and Casey is working at WalMart. We will wait and see what next semester brings us.

Mary is loving school. She is still excited to go every day. James is getting along well with his teachers and classmates. John was doing great and has been out since he was admitted to the hospital. We are trying to catch up on his work that he has missed so far.

Jim and I are still working in Mesa at Arizona Regional Medical Center.

That's pretty much it for now. Check out the caringbridge site and I'll try to do a better job keeping everything posted.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

BACK TO SCHOOL!! BACK TO SCHOOL!! Well, we are off to school today. It's 10:15 am and the school has not called here yet!! Woo Hoo!! Mary is off to kindergarten, John is off to 4th grade, and James is big man on campus in his last year of jr. high. I've put the morning pictures on my dropshots site. Will add some this evening after school.

Back to School

Tonight is open house for school. James is in 8th grade, John is in 4th and Mary is off to Kindergarten. We'll go tonight and find out who their teachers are, where their classrooms are, and how many school supplies we don't have yet. School starts Thursday the 6th!

Just an update

So Dani and Casey hiked the Grand Canyon and lived to tell about it. Sounds like they did well and had a great time. Jim and the kids and I all went up to see the Grand Canyon. We are planning on making a hiking trip ourselves this fall. Except for John and Mary. We will leave them home with Grandma.

I recently changed my email address. Want to make sure everyone has it. It's icucathy@live.com

Keep checking for updates!!