MadDog Wrestling Academy

University Of Illinois Wrestling Camp
http://fightingillini.collegesports.com/camps/m-wrestl-camp.html

Duane Goldman's - Indiana Wrestling Camp
http://leaguelineup.com/plainfieldwc/files/Summer_Camp.pdf

Northern Illinois University Camp
http://www3.niu.edu/athletics/camps/wrestling/index.html

Northwestern Illinois Unversity Camp
http://nusports.collegesports.com/camps/nw-camps-wrestl.html

Augustana Wrestling Camp
http://www.augustana.edu/athletics/wrestling/camp.php

University of Michigan
http://umichwrestlingcamps.com/

J. Robinson Intensive Camps
http://umichwrestlingcamps.com/

Cyclone Wrestling Camps
http://umichwrestlingcamps.com/

Brian Smith's Tiger Style
http://tigerstylewrestling.com/

Gene Mills
http://genemills.com/

Bruce Baumgartner's World Class Camps
http://brucebaumgartner.com/

Weber-Dresser Camps
http://weberdressercamps.com/

Camp of Champs
http://campofchamps.org/

Jessie Reyes National Champ Camp
http://www.reyesnationalchampcamp.com/

Hello everyone ...happy almost summer!!! I just wanted to let you all know that Zach is doing very well, and was given the green light to go ahead and be 100% boy again. His scar has healed beautifully, and the chemical meningitis is gone. He is still puffy from the steroids, but when your that cute...it just adds to your "bubbliness"--I know ..I know...hahaha....anyway--we're are all happy and good. The only major downfall for dad was that Zach will NOT be able to engage in any contact sports (aka==football and WRESTLING)!!! Yea--daddy had a hard time adjusting to that one, but he's ok and we of course just want to keep our little dude safe. Zach will go back to Children's for round two of all those "fun" tests on the 4th and 5th of August. At that time we will find out if he will need spinal surgery for his tethered cord. If so, Dr. Alden already has it set up that Zach will go in immediately following the results for surgery. This will give him a couple of weeks to heal before starting Kindergarten in the fall. Sadly--his behaviors are all back in full force, and his impulsiveness and obsessive-compulsiveness has worsened, so it's been a little trying- but we're hanging in there. We are taking him to see his beloved Cavaliers tonight in Oswego, so that will give him a happy boost. Well, that's all for now...hope everyone is healthy, happy, and drinking their milk. Take care all and keep smiling !!! love always-tam.

Good Evening everyone !!! Well, we are home and keeping our fingers crossed that we don't have any set-backs. Zach is doing well, but still very nauseated. Well, here's the story.... Friday was surgery and instead of having to be tortured watching them roll your child away, I was asked by the doctors to actually stay in the O.R. until Zach was fully asleep. So, I put on the nuclear reactor suit (the full oversized white jumpsuit that made me look and feel like an oompa-loompa) and I walked my son into surgery. I kept my cool until he started to fight the mask that was putting him to sleep...Niagara Falls would be jealous of my waterfall...anyway, I left the O.R. broken-hearted and scared sh&@-less, but I knew he was in good hands. We did not know whether or not he would require a breathing machine, so we didn't know what to expect when he came out. God was really looking out for him because not only did he not require any extra help with his breathing issues, but he also didn't have to be taken to the PICU (pediatric ICU) due to not being placed on a breathing machine or vent. When Dave and I first saw him, daddy was really taken aback. I was actually in much better shape seeing him without any big tubes/hoses going down his throat. He originally had three I.V.'s going when we first saw him (one of them was actually an "A-line" set-up in case Zach required any blood), but they took out the A-line one before he left recovery. He stayed in a 24-hour constant care unit on his floor for the next 1 1/2 days. By Saturday night, they decided that he was stable enough to be moved into a regular room. Zach was heavily sedated thru Saturday, and was experiencing major vomiting issues. He couldn't keep any juice down and was not at all interested in food. It was really a sad moment when he decided to give a popsicle a try...enjoyed eating it, but it decided to go visit the neighbors and "exited" his system rather abruptly. He didn't feel like even trying popsicles after that. His vomit ailment continued thru Sunday night, and we were all starting to get a little worried. Low and behold ... here comes Monday, and it was a new (and much improved) day!!! Zach's yuck-ness died out, and he became interested in trying to move about for the first time in days. (he had been terrified of exposing his head and being upright too much)...well, some physical therapists came by and helped encourage him out of bed. We got him moving and even walking in no time. It was so cute to see this little guy walking the hallway with his I.V. pole following--therapists, and exclaiming to anyone he passed "look at me, I can walk... I'm doing it." He then proceeded to eat, "clean himself out", and drink juice (we had two I.V. mishaps..one fell out Sunday night, had to redo it....and then it fell out again Monday night--thankfully they decided to leave it out this time because he was drinking finally on his own)...and since he was easily moving around, one of the nurses was already discussing releasing him last night. I said no--too soon. So we decided to see what happens today. Day started out fine, Zach already knew that he was probably going home, so he was very cooperative and good--but he also had the bed-bug jitters...he couldn't stand being in bed anymore and wanted to wander the halls looking for his doctor to tell him that he's better and he wants to go home. Got hime ready, packed up, and BOOM!!! my baby boy threw-up again....he got all upset and started whining about not staying any longer, and then the doctors assistant came by....I told her about what happened, and she was very nervous about releasing him. She wanted to see him stay another day originally, but with him getting sick again, that seemed to take the cake--until she heard Zach begging to go home, and I helped encourage it instead of staying strong and thinking only of his health and safety. Well, she eventually gave in ...and we were on our way within the hour. But God wanted to remind me about what matters most---and it wasn't our wanton desire to be home....yep, you guessed it---Zach got real sick in the car, and decided that his blue SpongeBob shirt would look better "tie-dyed"...yes, gross-I know...but do you really want me to be fully descriptive??? So, anyway==he's home, mom's very nervous, and dad's relieved to be done with driving back and forth to Chicago for awhile. He still seems to have an extremely sensitive stomach, and has even complained of headaches--but otherwise, you wouldn't even really know what this small child has been thru in the last 5 days by looking at him, and watching how he acts (until he turns around). Surgery result?? SUCCESSFUL!!! The doctors did have to remove an extra membrane that was blocking the flow of the spinal fluid, and the doctor is not sure why that was even there, but otherwise ==exactly as expected..... At this point, here's what we know...in three months Zach will have to go back for several tests again to see if there was any improvement in the tethered cord (the brain surgery might help to relieve the area to which it is "tied" by helping the syrinxes shrink down and let go of some of the pressure in his back)...and in two weeks we will return to the neurosurgeon to evaluate post-op. One concern we all have is that Zach started the "jitterbug"...he jumps/jerks/twitches involuntarily in his sleep, and continues doing it for the first 15-20 minutes after he falls asleep. Dr. Alden, Dave, and I are hoping it just effects of the anesthesia, and it should be winding down soon. All in all, we have no complaints. Children's is awesome, the medical personnel rocks and everyone took great care of our baby boy. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers...it helped our son immensely and we couldn't be more pleased with the results...his speech has already showed signs of improvement as has his intellectual speaking...so, we'll see. Josh and Elisabeth have to stay with relatives because Zach has to keep a very low low low profile for the rest of the week at least, and I really miss them desperately...so, for now we are just having some really great one-on-time with our baby boy. We will be sending some pix--so look out for them. Thanks all again--gotta go and cuddle with my boy...good-night.....love always-dave and tam.

Hello everyone...this will probably be the last email until after Zach's surgery, but this is the latest info we have received. Zach's surgery is officially scheduled for 06 May, 2005. He does still have to undergo the sleep study to determine whether or not he has "central sleep apnea", and that is 02 May- 03 May (just overnight at hospital)...then we're back on Friday for the big kahuna. But I did find out that if in fact he does have the apnea in his brain, the doctors will have to connect him to a "bi-pass breathing machine" to insure that he is constantly breathing evenly. He will also have to stay hooked up to this for much of the duration of his hospital stay...this might also prolong the stay, so my back will get more practice with cot bedding...hehe... As far as the tethered cord surgery, the main neurosurgeon head looked at Zach's case and does also see a tethered cord, but he wants to hold off on surgery for a few months to see if the brain surgery will at all help correct the tethered cord (no idea how, so please don't ask me). But I have yet to discuss this with the doctors, so I'll keep you posted. (the idea right now is to re-test Zach with a sedated MRI and another Urodynamics study in 3 months.....but mom is already shaking her head as a "no-way in hell" shake....that poor little boy needs a break...hey, I made a rhyme..I'm a poet, and I didn't even know it--get it??? haha...ok, anyway, we will of course keep you all posted, but that's all there is for now until after the surgery ....notice I'm writing this in green????? (orginal e-mail was green) well, in honor of our boy, Dave and I are taking him to see his beloved Cavaliers next weekend in DeKalb at NIU (my alma mater)....HE IS SOOOO EXCITED!!! So, if you're a drum corp fan, come see the reigning World Champion Cavaliers practice for their new show "My Kind of Town" (small plug for the boys)...and yes Jeff, I will be helping in the cook truck with my buddy Merry. Other family news==== Dave is the very proud Godfather of Joe and Colleen's baby boy, born 04/15/05 -6lbs 2oz -19" long..he is gorgeous and yummy!! And our big boy Josh got his first homerun at baseball practice yesterday!! We also just found out that Josh will be part of the gifted program at school starting next year...it's so surreal yet wonderful to balance out something so difficult and worrisome with something so happy and good...well, hopefully Josh is on his way to a scholarship to ease the pain of college for us (hehehehe)...ok-I'm done now. You all take care and keep praying for our beloved baby boy!! Thank you all so dearly---love always--tam.

Good Morning everyone !!! Well, since I'm able to write you all, I guess you can easily figure out that we're home. Yesterday ended up being a lot easier than expected. We took Zach to Children's for a possible tonsil/adenoid removal.....to quickly fill you in, originally the surgery was absolute.....then upon the ENT doctors research into Zach's medical history, he decided to put a few scopes into Zach's throat to see if it was really necessary to surgically remove the t/a. Upon scoping him, the doctor was able to completely check his airway and discovered that it is completely clear, and the tonsils/adenoids are not the culprit to Zach's very unusual breathing patterns. So, we were able to leave the hospital yesterday afternoon. I'm totally thrilled that Zach was spared a surgery, but on the same hand..I'm upset that we still don't have resolution to his breathing. Interestingly, Dr. Holinger (ENT doc) came by to check on Zach in recovery and did hear the unusual breathing for himself, and was baffled that it wasn't Zach's adenoids that was causing the loud breathing. The nurses also noted that they also heard the breathing, and even saw Zach go pale with the white lips I always talk about. I guess this issue isn't finished, but at least we now know that his airway is in fact clear to proceed now with the brain surgery. Zach is now set-up to have another sleep study done..this time it's to check for possible central sleep apnea stemming from the brain -- haha...get it?? brain..stemming...oh, my dad should be so proud.... Anyway, this is for Dr. Alden (neurosurgeon), and I guess this will dictate how he will proceed with the Chiari Malformation surgery (we're all freaked out about Zach and the breathing issues). The sleep study is scheduled for 02 May, 2005....and the brain surgery will be later that week (probably the 5th or 6th of May). The tethered cord surgery will then follow when Zach is healthy enough to handle another major surgery. So, that's it for naw...Dave and I are happy, yet sad, confused, relieved (somewhat), tired, impatient, needing a vacation, a few backrubs, feet would be nice too....oh--sorry I'm getting carried away..we're home with our baby boy and that's the best "therapy" ever....so until all hell breaks loose in a few weeks, we're going to enjoy the "downtime".....we're here if anyone wants to talk, write, massage, baby us, feed us grapes....you get the picture. Thanks for helping keep our boy "safe" ...all your prayers are the best medicine ever !!! Ok- we have to go and watch Josh play baseball now...have a great weekend!!! love always-Dave and Tami. kristi--thanks for all your help...you really helped me get thru yesterday mush easier than I thought I would...you rock !!!