LFG

“Talking about the significance of the passage of time, right? The significance of the passage of time so when you think about it there is great significance to the passage of time in terms of what we need to do to lay these wires what we need to do to create these jobs and there is such great significance to the passage of time when we think about a day in the life of our children.”
Brilliantly stated by Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States.

Been silently following this for months, and I've been a good boy, but I can't take it any more...
 
Hey Faith! Did you know Grandma is going to make you use cheap paper plates and spray perfume in your toilet water?
 

 

PRAISE THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!!!! CANCER AND THE LESIONS ARE GONE!!!! we still have to continue with chemo to kill it dead but all I can say FAITH DEFIES THE ODDS AND PROVES THERE IS POWER IN PRAYERS! THANKS BE TO GOD!!!!!!!

Warning, This is going to be a long post. 
Also Trigger Alert
We took Faith to Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday for some regular follow up visits, a BAHA hearing aid fitting as well as Pre-Op surgery clearance. The surgery is for her eyes due to strabismus with esotropia (which means her eyes are crossed but only one eye turns in at a time, not both at once)
So I’ll start from the top.
She was fitted for her hearing aid and as you seen in the previous post, it went well. 
What we did learn is that Faith should only need this type of hearing aid and not a permanent one that’s implanted behind her ear. As she grows her hearing should get better as her ear canals widen. So good news. She also got a CT scan of her ears to make sure there is nothing physically affecting her hearing such as blockages or fluid or wax....we are waiting for the results on this.
We saw her cardiologist who was very pleased that her heart has remained stable. She still has the small vsd (hole in her heart) but this is not causing any issues or affecting her in any way other than when she gets sick she has a harder time getting over the colds. So Faith graduated to one year visits!! He was very pleased that Faith has exceeded his expectations! So yay! Good news!
We saw her eye doctor who measured her eyes once more to make sure the surgery was necessary and would be effective. Yes to both of those. Even though the inner muscle pulls her eyes inwards alternately, her vision itself is fine. So she can have her hey surgery! Yay! Good news!
Okay so there’s all the good news.
While we were down there Faith needed to have a screening abdominal ultrasound to check her kidneys. Children with Trisomy 18 are at higher risk of developing Wilms Tumor which is a type of kidney cancer. 
We received these results on Friday 
The ultrasound showed multiple lesions on her left kidney (nephroblastomas) as well as a 2.2cm mass (the size of a ping pong ball). It also showed she has gallstones too.
So an ultrasound is like looking at a black and white tv through a fish bowl. This does not give the drs a full view of how much her left kidney is affected.
So we are going down for an MRI to look at her left kidney and get a better idea of what’s going on. 
Then they are going to try and do a biopsy while she is having her eye surgery.
Then once we get a better idea of what’s going on she may be receiving some “soft” chemotherapy which is the lightest stuff they can give her, easy on her heart as well as her immune system.
Or
She will receive “soft “ chemo and possibly have an operation to remove a part of or her whole kidney. This is depending on the MRI results as well as the biopsy.
We need to move fast. We are going to wage war. These lesions and this mass are ticking time bombs. It is not a matter of “if” it will turn to cancer, it is a matter of when and how bad, but remember, at this moment, it is not cancer, yet.
The chemo will act as a weed killer in a sense, by killing these nephroblastomas (the weeds) before they grow into a bigger problem and spread. 
This will be a week by week and at times a day by day process. 
This is not going to be something that is going away quickly, it’s going to take time and patience, but most of all...it’s going to take prayer.
So what I’m asking of all of you is to do what you’ve been doing all along.... pray.
If Faith has taught us anything it’s that when we come together as one, United, there is Power in Prayer and she is proof of this!
I don’t want you to feel sad.
I don’t want you to feel bad.
I don’t want you to feel sorry.
I want you to feel strong 
I want you to feel the strength of the Holy Spirit coursing through your veins as you pray.
I want you to feel the power and the hope of Jesus Christ in your heart.
She is not just my Faith, she is OUR FAITH!
We are going to keep moving forward, we are not giving up! And Faith is going to keep doing what she’s always done, Defy the Odds and Prove that there really is Power in Prayer cause that’s how she rolls! 
So pray folks and pray hard, put your hearts into it cause this little girl is living off of YOUR PRAYERS and YOUR LOVE! 
Thank you for all your support and your faith in Faith❤️

Thank you, to everyone who has followed along with Faith Marie’s journey to reach a year old!! The majority of us learned what Trisomy 18 is. We also learned that “Trisomy 18 is a Diagnosis, Not a Prognosis.” We have no idea what the future holds, we will go day by day. Everything is in God’s Hands, His plans & His time. 🙏🏻💜🙏🏻

The very first onesie shirt I bought when I found out we were going to be grandparents to a peanut!! She is finally able to wear it!!
 

For anyone that doesn't know, a tipper is a stand alone piece of equipment that the tractor trailers back onto to dump their loads in the landfill. Most dump the trailer after the truck uncouples, but some will lift the entire truck and trailer

When that deck is in the down position, it is normally angled from back to front, so the trucks have to back slightly uphill. The big blue wall the truck is backed into is called the backstop, and the way I read that story the employee was pinched between the truck and the backstop. It's doubtful the truck was in neutral with the brakes off and just rolled into him. This is just a very sad, scary story, and another sad example that I shared with all of my operators at lunch today.
We see 130-160 trucks per day, and several times per day we will interact with these trucks with either a man on the ground, or a piece of heavy machinery. Trucks can get stuck and have to be pushed or pulled, spotters will be on the ground, trash can get hung in the chute in the tipper...
The cardinal rule is always make contact with the driver before doing anything around, or to, their truck. Landfills are busy places, trucks and equipment never stop moving. Many drivers get paid by the load, not by the hour, so everyone is in a hurry. We deal with a lot of weight and a lot of horsepower, so very few accidents are small. Almost every accident results in significant damage to equipment, and my fear is always what would happen if it ever involved a man on the ground.
This is what would happen. It's so sad. It's a preventable accident, and if a driver was in fact driving the truck when it ran into that man, he will have to live with that for the rest of his life. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, and my biggest fear is having to call one of my employees' wives one day and tell her daddy isn't coming home
 

For anyone that doesn't know, a tipper is a stand alone piece of equipment that the tractor trailers back onto to dump their loads in the landfill. Most dump the trailer after the truck uncouples, but some will lift the entire truck and trailer

When that deck is in the down position, it is normally angled from back to front, so the trucks have to back slightly uphill. The big blue wall the truck is backed into is called the backstop, and the way I read that story the employee was pinched between the truck and the backstop. It's doubtful the truck was in neutral with the brakes off and just rolled into him. This is just a very sad, scary story, and another sad example that I shared with all of my operators at lunch today.
We see 130-160 trucks per day, and several times per day we will interact with these trucks with either a man on the ground, or a piece of heavy machinery. Trucks can get stuck and have to be pushed or pulled, spotters will be on the ground, trash can get hung in the chute in the tipper...
The cardinal rule is always make contact with the driver before doing anything around, or to, their truck. Landfills are busy places, trucks and equipment never stop moving. Many drivers get paid by the load, not by the hour, so everyone is in a hurry. We deal with a lot of weight and a lot of horsepower, so very few accidents are small. Almost every accident results in significant damage to equipment, and my fear is always what would happen if it ever involved a man on the ground.
This is what would happen. It's so sad. It's a preventable accident, and if a driver was in fact driving the truck when it ran into that man, he will have to live with that for the rest of his life. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, and my biggest fear is having to call one of my employees' wives one day and tell her daddy isn't coming home
 

80% of our trash comes in on tipper trucks, we have two of them

For anyone that doesn't know, a tipper is a stand alone piece of equipment that the tractor trailers back onto to dump their loads in the landfill. Most dump the trailer after the truck uncouples, but some will lift the entire truck and trailer

When that deck is in the down position, it is normally angled from back to front, so the trucks have to back slightly uphill. The big blue wall the truck is backed into is called the backstop, and the way I read that story the employee was pinched between the truck and the backstop. It's doubtful the truck was in neutral with the brakes off and just rolled into him. This is just a very sad, scary story, and another sad example that I shared with all of my operators at lunch today.
We see 130-160 trucks per day, and several times per day we will interact with these trucks with either a man on the ground, or a piece of heavy machinery. Trucks can get stuck and have to be pushed or pulled, spotters will be on the ground, trash can get hung in the chute in the tipper...
The cardinal rule is always make contact with the driver before doing anything around, or to, their truck. Landfills are busy places, trucks and equipment never stop moving. Many drivers get paid by the load, not by the hour, so everyone is in a hurry. We deal with a lot of weight and a lot of horsepower, so very few accidents are small. Almost every accident results in significant damage to equipment, and my fear is always what would happen if it ever involved a man on the ground.
This is what would happen. It's so sad. It's a preventable accident, and if a driver was in fact driving the truck when it ran into that man, he will have to live with that for the rest of his life. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, and my biggest fear is having to call one of my employees' wives one day and tell her daddy isn't coming home
 

For anyone that doesn't know, a tipper is a stand alone piece of equipment that the tractor trailers back onto to dump their loads in the landfill. Most dump the trailer after the truck uncouples, but some will lift the entire truck and trailer

When that deck is in the down position, it is normally angled from back to front, so the trucks have to back slightly uphill. The big blue wall the truck is backed into is called the backstop, and the way I read that story the employee was pinched between the truck and the backstop. It's doubtful the truck was in neutral with the brakes off and just rolled into him. This is just a very sad, scary story, and another sad example that I shared with all of my operators at lunch today.
We see 130-160 trucks per day, and several times per day we will interact with these trucks with either a man on the ground, or a piece of heavy machinery. Trucks can get stuck and have to be pushed or pulled, spotters will be on the ground, trash can get hung in the chute in the tipper...
The cardinal rule is always make contact with the driver before doing anything around, or to, their truck. Landfills are busy places, trucks and equipment never stop moving. Many drivers get paid by the load, not by the hour, so everyone is in a hurry. We deal with a lot of weight and a lot of horsepower, so very few accidents are small. Almost every accident results in significant damage to equipment, and my fear is always what would happen if it ever involved a man on the ground.
This is what would happen. It's so sad. It's a preventable accident, and if a driver was in fact driving the truck when it ran into that man, he will have to live with that for the rest of his life. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, and my biggest fear is having to call one of my employees' wives one day and tell her daddy isn't coming home
 

For anyone that doesn't know, a tipper is a stand alone piece of equipment that the tractor trailers back onto to dump their loads in the landfill. Most dump the trailer after the truck uncouples, but some will lift the entire truck and trailer

When that deck is in the down position, it is normally angled from back to front, so the trucks have to back slightly uphill. The big blue wall the truck is backed into is called the backstop, and the way I read that story the employee was pinched between the truck and the backstop. It's doubtful the truck was in neutral with the brakes off and just rolled into him. This is just a very sad, scary story, and another sad example that I shared with all of my operators at lunch today.
We see 130-160 trucks per day, and several times per day we will interact with these trucks with either a man on the ground, or a piece of heavy machinery. Trucks can get stuck and have to be pushed or pulled, spotters will be on the ground, trash can get hung in the chute in the tipper...
The cardinal rule is always make contact with the driver before doing anything around, or to, their truck. Landfills are busy places, trucks and equipment never stop moving. Many drivers get paid by the load, not by the hour, so everyone is in a hurry. We deal with a lot of weight and a lot of horsepower, so very few accidents are small. Almost every accident results in significant damage to equipment, and my fear is always what would happen if it ever involved a man on the ground.
This is what would happen. It's so sad. It's a preventable accident, and if a driver was in fact driving the truck when it ran into that man, he will have to live with that for the rest of his life. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, and my biggest fear is having to call one of my employees' wives one day and tell her daddy isn't coming home
 

For anyone that doesn't know, a tipper is a stand alone piece of equipment that the tractor trailers back onto to dump their loads in the landfill. Most dump the trailer after the truck uncouples, but some will lift the entire truck and trailer

When that deck is in the down position, it is normally angled from back to front, so the trucks have to back slightly uphill. The big blue wall the truck is backed into is called the backstop, and the way I read that story the employee was pinched between the truck and the backstop. It's doubtful the truck was in neutral with the brakes off and just rolled into him. This is just a very sad, scary story, and another sad example that I shared with all of my operators at lunch today.
We see 130-160 trucks per day, and several times per day we will interact with these trucks with either a man on the ground, or a piece of heavy machinery. Trucks can get stuck and have to be pushed or pulled, spotters will be on the ground, trash can get hung in the chute in the tipper...
The cardinal rule is always make contact with the driver before doing anything around, or to, their truck. Landfills are busy places, trucks and equipment never stop moving. Many drivers get paid by the load, not by the hour, so everyone is in a hurry. We deal with a lot of weight and a lot of horsepower, so very few accidents are small. Almost every accident results in significant damage to equipment, and my fear is always what would happen if it ever involved a man on the ground.
This is what would happen. It's so sad. It's a preventable accident, and if a driver was in fact driving the truck when it ran into that man, he will have to live with that for the rest of his life. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, and my biggest fear is having to call one of my employees' wives one day and tell her daddy isn't coming home
 

For anyone that doesn't know, a tipper is a stand alone piece of equipment that the tractor trailers back onto to dump their loads in the landfill. Most dump the trailer after the truck uncouples, but some will lift the entire truck and trailer

When that deck is in the down position, it is normally angled from back to front, so the trucks have to back slightly uphill. The big blue wall the truck is backed into is called the backstop, and the way I read that story the employee was pinched between the truck and the backstop. It's doubtful the truck was in neutral with the brakes off and just rolled into him. This is just a very sad, scary story, and another sad example that I shared with all of my operators at lunch today.
We see 130-160 trucks per day, and several times per day we will interact with these trucks with either a man on the ground, or a piece of heavy machinery. Trucks can get stuck and have to be pushed or pulled, spotters will be on the ground, trash can get hung in the chute in the tipper...
The cardinal rule is always make contact with the driver before doing anything around, or to, their truck. Landfills are busy places, trucks and equipment never stop moving. Many drivers get paid by the load, not by the hour, so everyone is in a hurry. We deal with a lot of weight and a lot of horsepower, so very few accidents are small. Almost every accident results in significant damage to equipment, and my fear is always what would happen if it ever involved a man on the ground.
This is what would happen. It's so sad. It's a preventable accident, and if a driver was in fact driving the truck when it ran into that man, he will have to live with that for the rest of his life. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, and my biggest fear is having to call one of my employees' wives one day and tell her daddy isn't coming home
 

Crushed on the tipper? Man, that's awful...
Does anyone know if they have a tipper operator that works for the landfill, or if the drivers operate the tipper themselves? I'm trying to figure out a scenario where someone would be between the truck and the back of the tipper. That's a horrible accident that someone else probably has to live with

Here is the article that was about Faith and the Daisy Award winner Nikole Kessler. This was when Faith Marie was 3 months old. Yes, I’m late with it.
**********************************************************************
We are truly privileged to congratulate our most recent DAISY Foundation winner: Nikole Kessler, RN, of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at PH DuBois. Nikole helped to care for infant Faith Marie Spicher, who was born with Trisomy 18. Many babies born with this chromosomal condition do not live beyond their first few days or weeks of life. Faith, however, grew strong enough in the NICU that she was able to be discharged and go home with her parents. This week, Faith turned 3 months old. We are honored to share the beautiful words of Faith’s mother, Brandi, who describes the experience and how Nikole went above and beyond in caring for Faith during her time in the NICU: 
“Faith Marie Spicher was born on Jan. 15, 2019. She was diagnosed with Trisomy 18, incompatible with life. We knew that Faith would be cared for at the NICU after she was born due to her diagnosis. What we didn’t know was how much she would be loved and cared for by the staff.
Faith was placed on a ventilator by Jan. 17, 2019, due to episodes of apnea, and had more wires, tubes and monitors than could be imagined. It was hard to deal with; it was difficult to see our baby going through so much. But what wasn’t difficult to see was the compassion and love she received from the nurses and also the huge impact that this small life had on them as well as us. We will never forget the NICU nurses and all the memories we had with them. They will always be a part of our family and we are forever grateful for them. 
Nikole Kessler cared for Faith through the best times and hardest times. She laughed with us, celebrated with us and even cried with us. She was able to look past all the wires and tubes and only saw Faith. You could see a connection growing between the two. She not only took care of Faith as a nurse, she cared for Faith as if she were her own. She wasn’t afraid of Faith’s condition, as a matter of fact she took it on as a challenge; Faith would beat the odds and be her “feisty spice.” She made sure that Faith received the best care and all the snuggles she could give. 
Nikole walked with us hand in hand through Faith’s entire journey in the NICU. On Jan. 19, 2019, Deryk and I had to make a heartbreaking decision to discontinue the ventilator. We couldn’t have our baby live on a vent for the rest of her days. Nikole stayed with us, even off duty, through that difficult time. She took a turn holding her and cried right with us as we thought Faith’s time here on Earth was over. Nikole even handmade a wooden plaque for this day, “Too Beautiful for Earth, Faith.” As the minutes turned to hours and Faith amazed us all with desire to live, breathing on her own, Nikole shared in our tears as they turned from heartache to tears of joy and hope. 
The following day, Nikole checked on Faith as soon as she came into the NICU to make sure she made it through the night. She kept us updated through her entire shift and shared in our joy and relief as she continued to report that Faith’s vitals were stable and she was not having any episodes of apnea. 
Nikole made sure we didn’t miss any special moments. She carried the camera in her pocket and was quick to capture every significant second – the first time we fed our baby through her og tube, her first outfit, first bath. She filled two photo books and ran the printer out of paper just so we had every memory of the beginning and, what we thought, would be the end of Faith’s life. 
Nikole continued to be there for Faith even on her days off of work. She made the trip into the hospital and spent hours with Faith just to hold her.
Finally, the day came when Deryk and I were able to take Faith home and Nikole was there to do her discharge. There wasn’t a dry eye in the NICU, especially Nikole’s. She even escorted Faith out of the hospital just so she could soak up every last moment with her. 
To this day, Nikole continues to be a part of Faith’s life, keeping up with her and all of her firsts and celebrating with us every time Faith defies the odds. Nikole is more than the NICU nurse that cared for our baby, she is part of our family and we know Nikole will forever be a part of her life as long as Faith is with us on this earth.”
Please join us in thanking Nikole. We are so proud of her heartfelt dedication to caring for our littlest patients! Follow the link to read the very touching words Brandi wrote about the other members of Faith’s NICU nursing team as she said she wanted to recognize each person that was there fighting for Faith, caring for her and, most of all, loving her! http://bit.ly/Baby-Faiths-Story
 

Here is my new leading man for this season, I just moved him to his own pen with 5 girls last weekend. He is my best rooster of last year, and has the best shape and color of any 8 month old I've ever bred. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he throws this year
The color in his saddle and shoulders will keep coming in, he's still young. His shoulders will eventually be a deep copper, with only a black triangle at the tips of his wings, and those copper feathers coming in behind his saddle will get long, draping down over his haunches. He has a long, broad back, wide shoulders, and the most full breast of any rooster I've had yet. He's a beefy boy, and what I have been breeding for. I've been using heavy bodied hens to get a larger rooster, and I'm so proud of this one. I think your daughter's Captain is very similar. I'm very happy wiith the direction the genetics are heading, and I'm hoping that they produce many more of these larger birds this year. I'm looking forward to a great season at the farm. My waiting list for chicks is already booked through March 20th
 
 
 
 

Been silently following this for months, and I've been a good boy, but I can't take it any more...
 
Hey Faith! Did you know Grandma is going to make you use cheap paper plates and spray perfume in your toilet water?
 

 

Been silently following this for months, and I've been a good boy, but I can't take it any more...
 
Hey Faith! Did you know Grandma is going to make you use cheap paper plates and spray perfume in your toilet water?
 

 

Been silently following this for months, and I've been a good boy, but I can't take it any more...
 
Hey Faith! Did you know Grandma is going to make you use cheap paper plates and spray perfume in your toilet water?
 

 

$695,000?
One week across the scales...

$695,000?
One week across the scales...

SEE VIDEO REPORT ;        https://www.wearecentralpa.com/news/dep-approves-report-detailing-cause-of-2017-landfill-collapse/1754814918