Daniel has his sedated ABR tomorrow. I’d really appreciate prayers that the test goes well, that we not have anesthesia issues, and that we actually find *something* to work with.
Updates will be at Daniel’s Adventures in Medicine.
Category Archives: Health
The Simple Woman’s Daybook: June 24, 2013
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
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
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.
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.
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.
Orphans. Do you see these three adorable munchkins?
First row: Brett and Iris.
Second row: Kaia.
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.
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.
*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.
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.
For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.
Five Favorites: Miscellanea (VII)
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.
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?
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.
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.
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
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
7 Quick Takes: Fundraising, Baseball, and Eating Issues
Kym’s Hysterical (not) Hysterectomy. My friend Kym DuPont was diagnosed with stage 1 uterine cancer a few months ago. They tried hormone therapy which ultimately didn’t work. The only cure at this point is a hysterectomy which she has to pay for out of pocket because she is uninsured. (Obamacare doesn’t kick in for people like her until 2014.) Surgery + anesthesia + everything else will be ~$60000 so she has a YouCaring.Com page up for it. If you can spare a few bucks head over there.
Promise Walk. Is this a good enough reason to sponsor me in the Promise Walk?
That’s Jon and I at Daniel’s baptism when he was 4 days old. My little hand is on the bottom and Jon’s hand is on top. For those who don’t know the backstory, I developed HELLP Syndrome and they had to do a really quick ambulance transfer from my tiny town in Montana to the hospital in Great Falls that had a NICU and where my perinatologist was based. I was in surgery within 45 minutes to 1 hour after arriving and they delivered Daniel by emergency c-section at 29.5 weeks gestation. He was 14 1/4 inches long and weighed 1 lb 15 oz. at birth. Additionally, I had a 30% placental abruption that they discovered upon opening me up and was bleeding severely. (I just barely missed ICU admission because the HELLP Syndrome started resolving itself with the delivery of Daniel.) As a way of dealing with what I went through, I got involved with the Promise Walk in 2011. Preeclampsia is a condition that affects 1 in 8 pregnancies and we still don’t know the cause so I want to ask that you please consider supporting me (even $5) in this effort.
Orphans. Do you see these three adorable kidlets?
First row: Brett and Iris.
Second row: Kaia.
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 and spend some time with her as well as complete paperwork. Click on their names to see their Reece’s Rainbow pages.
Progress on the Whole Change of Diet. It’s been a hard week. Daniel is on summer break from preschool and is in “destructive toddler” mode. This makes it really hard to make food because I can’t leave him alone and he currently isn’t allowed in the kitchen. I’m trying to avoid processed foods as much as possible but it’s pretty hard because those are the convenient foods when you have little ones like Daniel. I’m also now finding out how many calories I was usually eating — a packet of gummy worms is 110 calories per serving… and a serving is 5-7 gummy worms, making the entire package around 770-800 calories! My head has become a calorie computer and it’s to the point where I could get really OCD about this whole thing. I don’t own a scale for a reason — I’d be completely obsessive about my weight and could easily cross over into eating disorder mode.
Baseball! *sighs* The Giants dropped two of their three games against the Pirates. Their effort yesterday was pretty good considering they were without Angel Pagan, the Panda, Marco Scutaro, one of their pitchers, and Bruce Bochy — 12-8 was not the worst they could have done. They shut the Pirates out today which helped. I believe they’re on their way to Atlanta now.
Entry in the works. I’ve been pondering a blog post on why I don’t homeschool Daniel in response to the annoying twits I occasionally encounter in the blogosphere who act like public schools are going to turn children into Communists and godless heathen or who can’t *BEAR* to be away from their children and not share in all their learning adventures. (Gag me with a freaking spoon.) I’m being judicious about it because I know so many moms who homeschool their kids and are lovely, well-rounded people like priest’s wife, Sara, Cari, Dwija, and Kelly. I’m also trying not to write it only because I’ve been stuck in a house with a four year old who has been having communication tantrums for 4 days and I’m counting down the minutes until summer school starts. (Autism is a freaking joy on occasion.)
Mani-pedi time. My pedicurist talked me into getting a mani-pedi tomorrow instead of just a pedicure so I’ll be doing that tomorrow morning. I have my hands in so much stuff that’s either gross or corrosive so I usually wouldn’t do it but I figured it’s worth a shot. After the week I’ve had, I’m looking forward to it.
For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.