Category Archives: Health

7 Quick Takes: An Update on Daniel, Hot Weather, and Interesting Posts This Week

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Update on Daniel. Everything went as well as things could go today. We had to be at UCD Medical Center at 6:15 am and though we were a bit late (the main hospital is a maze), it worked out fine. The Child Life therapists met us at the the desk while we were checking in and took us back. They entertained Daniel while we got him measured and weighed and then while they were taking blood pressure/pulse ox/hooking him up to monitors. He got to pick out two toys to play with and that kept him entertained until the Versed (which he took by syringe with no problem) kicked in. Our anesthesiology resident was lovely (and a former autism therapist before she went to medical school) and our audiologist (who I had met the day before) was great. I had a 2 hour wait while he was in the test and then we got the news that they did find something: mild hearing loss in Daniel. (More later.) They let Daniel sleep the anesthesia off instead of rousing him and while we were waiting, I talked to his nurse about his knitting/crocheting/quilting projects. (The conversation got started because the nurse was telling me about the pillows one of the nurses and her daughter make for all the kids to take home. Daniel’s has Sesame Street characters on it.) Daniel woke up and had some juice while we waited for anesthesiology to clear him to go home. He is now (Thursday night) his normal bearish self. As far as these things go, this was an absolutely painless experience.

— 2 —

So, about that hearing loss… I was suspecting that he wasn’t hearing things totally and this was actually a relief because it means that my suspicions were correct. Yeah, it’s not ideal that he has the mild hearing loss (something that was probably present at birth and missed on his newborn hearing screening) but he qualifies for hearing aids and between insurance, Medi-Cal, and California Childrens’ Services, we can get them paid for. It’s also one more puzzle piece in place for the medical mystery that is Daniel. It isn’t ideal but very little in my life is at the moment and I’ll settle for “we know what’s going on” rather than all of the “we have no freaking clue why this is the case” that I usually get. This will probably also affect his speech therapy because he’ll probably be able to understand the things his teachers and speech therapist are trying to do with him.

— 3 —

The next steps. The next step is an ENT appointment to look at this from a medical perspective and then we’ll meet with her for a hearing aid appointment where they’ll give us a boatload of information and do ear molds (so we can mold the hearing aids to his ears). I also really like this particular audiologist — she’s a warmer person than the other one we’ve had through UCD and she’s got other autistic patients who have hearing aids so it’s not like this is new for her.

— 4 —

All is well again. Wipeout is back this week. All is well with the world. At least they just pre-empted ABC shows for the NBA Finals instead of CBS ones — that would have been just brutal.

— 5 —

Orphans. Do you see these three cherubs?

First row: Brett and Iris.
Second row: Kaia.

BrettIrisKaia

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her. Kaia has a family committed to her who will be traveling to her country to meet her on July 26th! Click on their names to see their Reece’s Rainbow pages.

— 6 —

Blog posts of note. This week, I wrote about my experience with the Promise Walk this year, 10 things I live for, and five of my favorite passages of Scripture.

— 7 —

Hot hot hot! It was 97F today and will be 100F or higher for the next 5-6 days. This would be lovely if I didn’t have to be out in it. However, we’ve got the parish picnic tomorrow so I’ve got to deal with at least an hour of it in addition to whatever time I spend out doing errands and at Daniel’s WIC appointment tomorrow. I’m thinking that it would be great if Jon were called to a church in Alaska…

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: June 24, 2013

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY June 24, 2013

Outside my window… cloudy. It apparently rained this morning and I’m hoping for more.

I am thinking… about Daniel’s one-on-one ABA therapy which will be starting in 15 minutes.

I am thankful… for a wonderful weekend with my parents, getting to have coffee with my friend (as well as maid-of-honor and Daniel’s godmother) Rebecca, and a wonderful time at the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia yesterday.

In the kitchen… marinating some turkey breast for my dinner tonight.

I am wearing… a blue t-shirt and black sweats.

I am creating… blog posts.

I am going… to enjoy any quiet mornings I have this week.

I am wondering… what time Daniel’s pre-op is on Wednesday — I need to call and find out.

I am reading… Between Heaven and Mirth by Fr. James Martin, S.J. I finished Maphead this past Friday and read Killer Honeymoon by G.A. McKevvett on the drive to and from San Jose.

I am hoping… I don’t have to participate too much in Daniel’s therapy today.

I am looking forward to… seeing what a couple “creative” parishioners come up with for the church picnic on Friday. Last year, they built a fully-functional fountain in our church parking lot out of a recirculating pump, PVC pipe, some Rubbermaid containers, and pool toys. They also transformed our fellowship hall into a four-star restaurant every Valentine’s Day for the last two years.

I am learning various ABA techniques.

Around the house… next question!

I am pondering… too many things. It’s why I blog — to clean out my brain.

A favorite quote for today… “I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it. ” — Garrison Keillor

One of my favorite things… Lipton Pure Leaf Raspberry Tea.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Morning Prayer tomorrow, ABA therapy every afternoon this week, Daniel’s pre-op on Wednesday, Daniel’s sedated ABR on Thursday, WIC appointment on Friday, and church picnic on Friday night.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

Promise Walk 2013: The Good, the Bad, and the Hopeful

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I’m home from the Promise Walk. I want to get all my thoughts down now so I can do something on it during the announcements in church next week so I guess I’ll do my normal method of post-mortem on this event.

The Good
[+] A good weekend with my parents.
[+] Getting to have coffee with Rebecca.
[+] Perfect weather — it was cloudy which meant that the morning was cool.
[+] Excellent speakers. The mission family was one who had lost a baby at 35 weeks. The doctor who came to speak was excellent. He referenced the Downton Abbey episode where Sybil dies of eclampsia and talked about the changes in the last 100 years.
[+] A chance to go walk on the creek trail where we used to walk in high school and where my parents found their Maine Coon cat.
[+] A decent shirt this year.

The Bad
[+] Being woefully out of shape due to being sick for so long.
[+] Blisters from my shoes.
[+] My legs and back are killing me.
[+] Poison oak along the trail.
[+] The kid who crashed his bike into the back of my leg… and didn’t apologize. (His mom did but he didn’t.)

The Hopeful
[+] Raising almost $20,000 which can fund a study on preeclampsia.

7 Quick Takes: How Many Controversial Things Can I Say This Week, Promise Walk Sponsorships, and Grumping About Basketball

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

o.O I will readily admit that I had never pondered the theological powers of Superman before. The questions posed by Cari’s oldest son sound like the question from teaching Confirmation about whether or not God could create a boulder so big that He couldn’t lift it Himself. For the record, I’m with Lotus — Jesus is stronger than Superman.

— 2 —

The “Why I Am Not Homeschooling Daniel” post series. Post #1 started some good discussion and brought a few trolls to the blog. Post #2 served as some kind of explanation. Post #3 was all about my reasons for not homeschooling him. I’m also inviting people to email and tell me succinctly (75 words or less) what decision you made (public/private/parochial/homeschool) and why you made it so that we can crowdsource some ideas for Bonnie. Email me by Wednesday of next week (the email address is jen @ this domain) and I’ll print all the things that fit. **UPDATE** Someone just emailed me to tell me that Elena rebutted what I had to say to her. In the interest of fairness, I’m linking the rebuttal here. I still stand by everything I said 100% but I also would rather let y’all see what she has to say and let you draw your own conclusions.

— 3 —

More obsessing about food. Actually, it isn’t really obsessing as much as it’s reporting that if I eat in such a fashion as to not irritate the ulcers (which may have healed by now), my IBS symptoms go away. If I eat one thing on the forbidden list, I return to IBS hell. I haven’t had any Coke in almost a month and I still miss it even though I’ve found some alternatives that have less of a carb load and aren’t going to corrode my insides. I haven’t checked to see if I have celiac issues yet, mostly because I’m already having to limit my diet and I’m trying not to do too much at once. I’ll be with my parents this weekend and they have a scale so I’ll see if I’ve actually lost any weight at that point.

— 4 —

Orphans. Do you see these three adorable munchkins?

First row: Brett and Iris.
Second row: Kaia.

BrettIrisKaia

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her. Kaia has a family committed to her who will be traveling to her country at the end of July to meet her on July 26th! Click on their names to see their Reece’s Rainbow pages.

— 5 —

Hmph. Wipeout! was pre-empted by some stupid basketball game. NBA basketball is overrated and I say this even coming from a city that just fought tooth-and-claw to keep their team.

— 6 —

*facepalm* Could I ask a favor of the Catholic blogosphere? Could you please actually *READ* a news story in its entirety and not look for random soundbites to use as evidence that Obama is Satan? The FULL TEXT of the quote that everyone got so flipped out about yesterday is…

If towns remain divided ?? if Catholics have their schools and buildings, and Protestants have theirs, if we can’t see ourselves in one another, if fear or resentment are allowed to harden ?? that too encourages division. It discourages cooperation. (Source)

The word “theirs” in the phrase “Protestants have theirs” replaces “their schools and buildings”. He is referring to the fact that in most places, Catholics and Protestants live in separate neighborhoods divided by “peace lines” — barricades made of bricks, steel, and barbed wire. (I actually saw these in Belfast when I was there in 1998.) He is not calling for an end to Catholic education in general in either Northern Ireland or in the USA — he is calling for Catholics to integrate with Protestants for the purposes of working for peace the same way whites had to integrate with blacks in this country 50 years ago. Mining articles like that for soundbites is juvenile and shows an inability to play well with others, so can y’all please behave in a Christ-like fashion? I refrained from mining stories for Romney soundbites during the last election and I know y’all can do the same regarding Obama.

— 7 —

Promise Walk for Preeclampsia. Wanna sponsor me in the Promise Walk this weekend? Preeclampsia affects 1 in 8 pregnancies in some fashion and 1/5 of affected women lose their babies because the only cure is to deliver the baby, regardless of how premature they are. I’m blessed in that I had a doctor who caught it in time and got me transferred to the BIG hospital in Great Falls where my awesome high-risk specialist could do an emergency c-section and where there was a Level III NICU for Daniel. If you can’t sponsor me, please at least keep me and the other participants in prayer on Sunday morning.

Daniel and I at the 2012 Promise Walk.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

Five Favorites: Miscellanea (VII)

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Five Favorites

One

The Promise Walk for Preeclampsia. I’m walking on Sunday the 23rd in the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia in San Jose this weekend. I’m a HELLP Syndrome survivor (HELLP Syndrome being a nasty variant of preeclampsia) and Daniel was born at 29.5 weeks because they had to perform an emergency c-section to save both of our lives. I’m all in favor of other mamas not ending up with their lives threatened by preeclampsia or losing their babies because doctors have to deliver the baby to save the mother. If you’d like to sponsor me, click here.

Two

Trader Joe’s “Hold the Cone” Ice Cream Cones. Think of these as mini Drumsticks. I inhaled a box of them yesterday, 7/8 of it in one sitting. Can we just say that I was menstrual and leave it at that?

The empty box.

Three

Subway. They have a nutritional app on their website where you can effectively build your sandwich and it will tell you the calories and nutritional information. This is great if you’re having to enter everything you’re eating on a site like FitDay because you’re trying to keep your calories down below a certain level. Of course, it might actually help if I owned a scale so I could see if there has been any weight lost but I figure that I’ll end up seeing my doctor soon for something anyway and will find out if I’m doing any good at that point.

Four

Mani-Pedis. I got a pedicure last Friday and my pedicurist talked me into letting her do gel nails on my hands. This is me we’re talking about so my toenails are a light sparkly pink and my fingernails are a slightly lighter pink. My nail diva is awesome and did some freehand designs on my big toes, my thumbnails, and my ring fingers. I am blown away at how pretty my nails look. I know the polishes and gels are OPI but I have no idea what the numbers or names of each of the shades are.

Five

Last week’s episode of “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me”. They had Buzz Aldrin on as their “Not My Job” guest and he had to answer three questions on “mooning”. I learned more about it than I think I intended to… EVER. Their “Bluff the Listener” game was on cats and it was fun to listen to while I typed this and obsessed about the fact that my Internet is down. 🙂 Oh yes… I also loved when they were doing the “Listener Limerick Challenge” and Faith asked the pastor who called in if she cursed. (The answer: yes.)

Go love up Hallie and the others.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: June 18, 2013

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY June 18, 2013

Outside my window… dark. It was kind of warm yesterday (it’s past midnight here) and I think we’re supposed to warm up this weekend.

I am thinking… snarky thoughts at the moment about the person whose blog entry I am ripping apart and I am trying to remind myself to be charitable. I am unfortunately failing at this.

I am thankful… for a nice getaway on Saturday night and getting to go hang out with my parents this weekend.

In the kitchen… grilled chicken and turkey. I’m trying not to thinking about the box of Trader Joe’s Hold the Cone! Ice Cream Cones I just inhaled, 7/8 of it in one sitting.

I am wearing… holey navy maternity shirt and my super comfy light blue striped pj pants.

I am creating… a series of posts on why I am not homeschooling Daniel.

I am going… slowly crazy 1 2 3 4 5 6 switch! Crazy going slowly am I 6 5 4 3 2 1 switch!

I am wondering… if/when my stupid ulcers will go the duck away!!!

I am reading… Maphead by Ken Jennings and Agony of the Leaves by Laura Childs when my NOOK needs re-charging (meaning that I have to put Maphead on hold).

I am hoping… I can get all my writing done tonight and do so without being a snarky wench in the homeschooling entry.

I am looking forward to… the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia on Sunday. You *KNOW* you want to sponsor me.

Around the house… I am probably doing a mountain of laundry tomorrow and must re-appropriate the laundry basket from Daniel.

I am pondering… various moves on Words With Friends.

One of my favorite things… playing on the swings with Daniel. I can’t wait until he can sit on a regular swing and pump his legs so I can swing too!!!

A few plans for the rest of the week: height/weight/iron check at the clinic on Wednesday, WIC on Thursday (dreading this), massage on Friday, heading to San Jose on Friday, and coffee with mi amiga Rebecca on Saturday.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook