Lydia's Fundraising

Guess who is fundraising at the ripe old age of 3?  Lydia!  Valley View United Methodist Early Learning Center is raising money for new playground equipment.  Do you know where Lydia's favorite place is?  Playing outside!  Please consider helping her reach a sky high, or at least a playground slide high, fundraising goal!

Please visit needsyoursupport.org and enter the group ID 104660 and select KS.  Once you select Go! you should see Lydia's name and can order from there.  If you select pick up, I believe the items will be delivered to school and I will get them to you.  There are a variety of items including cookie dough, pizzas, soft pretzels, nuts, popcorn and even kitchen gadgets.

Thanks for considering a tasty donation to Valley View United Methodist Early Learning Center.

Love, Lydia...she asked me to send this on her behalf. ;-)

August 2015

We were supposed to take Lydia home on oxygen on August 2, 2015.

I saved this quote on August 7, 2015 and just ran across it today.

Lydia got her trach on August 11, 2015.

I have never felt more alone than I did those 10 days in that PICU room.

I have never cried more than I did those 10 days in that PICU room.

Had we taken her home she may have died from aspiration, CO2 poisoning, asphyxiation.

I cannot re-read these blogs posts or look at her pictures from that time and not cry.

http://lydiaroseriggs.blogspot.com/2015/08/sunday-came-and-went.html

http://lydiaroseriggs.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-scariest-word-in-picu.html

http://lydiaroseriggs.blogspot.com/2015/08/tracheostomy.html

http://lydiaroseriggs.blogspot.com/2015/08/surgery-3-in-8-weeks-time.html

http://lydiaroseriggs.blogspot.com/2015/08/those-cheeks.html

Annual Friends Picnic in the Park

Every year we seem to pick one of the hottest Sundays to spend time with the Summers Family and have a picnic at the park.  Yesterday was no exception.  Lydia, Karson and Conley had a great time exploring all the playgrounds at Black Hoof Park.  We didn't make it to the water yesterday since we needed to get home for the remainder of the Chiefs game.  

Run for Little Hearts June 1, 2019

Our daughter, Lydia Rose, was born with 22q11 and a Congenital Heart Defect which has required 2 open heart surgeries.  She has fought and triumphed over 8 surgeries total in just over 3 years.  Currently things are pretty normal for Lydia, except for the g-tube which she still requires for nutrition.  Our family was shown support from the CHD Babies and CHD Families organizations while hospitalized and have given back to the organizations via this 5k for 3 years. 

Please consider joining Team Love4Lydia as a RACE SUPPORTER or making a donation to CMH CHD Research Fund and Family Inpatient Fund.  You may also join as a virtual runner.  Run for Little Hearts is a fun family event to raise awareness and funds for the #1 birth defect, Congenital Heart Defects!  This will be Team Love4Lydia's 4th year participating.  We won the biggest team award in 2016 and raised the most money for the fundraiser in 2017.  Don't you want to be a part of that?!

Registration includes an entry bib, a super soft T-shirt, an awesome finishers medal, free food from local food truck vendors, a petting zoo, face painting, Chiefs player appearance, and soon to be announced carnival and circus inspired fun!

Please join our team, Love4Lydia, as a RACE SUPPORTER! Click the link, then Join this team, and select RACE SUPPORTER or donate.

https://www.eventbrite.com/teams/2174967/

We appreciate your love and support of Lydia and our family!

Daniel, Kinsley & Lydia Riggs 

It's Flu Shot Season!

Get your flu shot instead of the flu!

Potty Charts are Dumb

I'm not sure why potty charts exist.  Maybe to make me think I have some say in the matter.  Lydia has had a potty chart up since she turned 3.  She's gotten many sticker and a few rewards over the past 2.5 months.  Nothing is clicking with her though.  Perhaps she's being stubborn but prefer to think she's just not ready.  She's been on a bit of a delayed schedule with everything she's been through and maybe this is another part of that.  My hope is that she's potty trained by 3.5 years old.  That would be an awesome birthday and Christmas for me!

Anyway.  So far on the potty chart she has earned a new movie, a new toy, a sleepover at Mama & Papa's house, and a trip to Deanna Rose Farmstead.  We went this Saturday morning and she is still the same goat whisperer from last summer.  She does not let them take control, she controls the goat.  Lydia grabs their face and pushes the goat away as she determines the milk limits of each goat she feeds and pushes on to the next lucky goat.