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The story of our precious little girl's 17 months of life with Trisomy 18 (July 4, 2010 - December 15, 2011) and of us, re-learning to live "after Lilly."
"I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made ...." Psalm 139:14

Sunday, May 19, 2013

A peep! and spider bite update

Several people have asked how the chicks were and also how Frank's spider bite is.  The quick answer is the chicks are bigger and the spider bite is getting better!

As best the doctors could tell, Frank was bitten by a brown recluse spider.  The bite was painless - he was not aware of it until later.  He did not even show me until the next day when the bite looked like a growing blood blister.  But then it started oozing and the flesh was dying.  I've been looking at symptoms online and am so very thankful his mama insisted he go to the emergency room.  All the sites I looked at warned that if the person that was bit felt extremely weak and tired, to call 911!  (He could barely keep his eyes open.)  I also learned that the brown recluse has venom that is more powerful than a rattlesnake, though not as bad since the person getting bitten receives a smaller dose.  Still, the spider's venom is enough that a child under 7 can die from its bite.  Yikes!  Well we know what to look for in the future.

The chicks are really growing fast!  And as they grow, we're starting see their personalities emerge which is fun. 


We currently have them in an area on an enclosed porch:


One chick in particular is able to get out at times.  I named him "Houdini."  (And ended up having to read Hunter a book about the magician Houdini who could escape being locked in all kinds of things.)  Tabby named another "Friendly" because it tends to be the only one to run up to her when she comes to check them or take care of their food and water.  Two chicks have been growing at a much slower rate than all the others.  Hunter calls them the "Trisomy 18 chicks."



Here's our daredevil chick -climbed to the top of the ladder to read the "not a step" sign:





Tabby loves taking pictures of birds out the window of the room she sits in to do her schoolwork.  We get so many different birds visiting at the same times.  Here are a male and female house finch:


American goldfinch:

 Eastern bluebird feeding it's babies:


 Well that's enough of our "feathered friends" for today!  Happy Pentecost!  (See Acts 2)

5 comments:

  1. That spider bite sounds scary! Glad Frank is doing better. Love seeing the chick & bird photos!

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  2. I had not heard about Frank's spider bite. The Brown Recluse spider is pretty scary. They hide in dark, warm places. Always check shoes when left outside. The bite will take a while to heal completely. The skin does die and gets pretty nasty looking before it starts to look better. Glad to hear he is on the mend.

    The chicks are all too cute! I always enjoy reading your blog.

    Ronna Pernell

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  3. Tell Tabby I really like her bird photos. LOVEc

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  4. I am catching up and BOY have you all been busy!! Scary about the spider bite! YIKES!
    Love the bird photos.
    And love the inventive names for the chicks. :)

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