Category Archives: Daniel

7 Quick Takes: Hysterical Hysterectomy Prep

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

The cleanse. Daniel and I survived the cleanse with most of the layers of the skin of my hands intact. (Picture rotavirus on steroids and the cleaning of hands involved. That was my weekend.) Thank God for nitrile gloves! (Kiddo is not potty-trained.)

— 2 —

Hysterectomy Take #1. So, surgery is on Tuesday the 8th at 7:15 a.m. PDT. I’m guessing it will be 1.5-2 hours but I could be wrong. We’re trying to figure out who is taking me to the hospital and when my parents will switch off because someone (my mommy) needs to feed my child and get him on the bus. A woman from church might be sitting with me and keeping vigil until Mom gets back to the hospital unless Dad wants to bite the bullet and endure several hours of girl stuff. I won’t make him paint my nails though… except that he’s an engineer so they might look better than they do when I paint them! (Just kidding… nail polish isn’t allowed in surgery.)

— 3 —

Hysterectomy Take #2. Since I’ll be in the hospital all day Tuesday and possibly into the rest of the week (depending on if there are complications), Mom is having to learn how to do Daniel’s tube feeds and give him his Metamucil and Miralax. She is doing really well at placing the feeding peg and will probably have the art of tube feeding mastered by this weekend. She started dosing Daniel with the Miralax and Metamucil today, and she is also doing that well. I think she’ll be OK.

— 4 —

Hysterectomy Take #3. Daniel’s school schedule just changed and he’s getting home an hour later. This is good in that it gives me an extra hour to work and do errands, but it also means that I have one less hour to squeeze in all of Daniel’s wonderful feeds and fluids unless I want to send stuff to school with him. (The answer to that is “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” because while I trust Daniel’s teacher to follow my instructions to the letter, the school nurse doesn’t have the sense God gave geese and does not understand the words “DON’T TOUCH THE [EXPLETIVE] FEEDING TUBE IF IT COMES OUT!”) So… once I’m not about to have surgery, we’ll figure out another dosing schedule.

— 5 —

Hysterectomy Take #4. I went back to work at the college this week because I need something to do with my life and they need an Office and Business tutor. I already put in 6 hours this week, and I’ll have two hours on Monday of next week before I’m off for four days for surgery and recovery. I’ve told them that if all goes well, I will be back on Monday the 14th scooting around on an office chair. If there are complications, it might be a few days (or weeks). I think I’ve ensured that EVERYONE will be praying for me. I’ve also told my drop-in students that their instructors have these amazing things called OFFICE HOURS and that they should take FULL advantage of them.

I was also told by one of my students today that I am annoyingly cheerful. Mission accomplished! #squadgoals #maryFREAKINGsunshine

— 6 —

Hysterectomy Take #5. As much as I have been begging for a hysterectomy for 5 years, I’m getting surprisingly emotional about it. It’s either my uterus realizing that its days are numbered and flooding me with extra hormones, or it’s the fact that it’s a hard realization that one’s childbearing years are being cut short a little earlier than expected. I definitely have been TTA for the last 10 years (since we realized that something wasn’t right with Daniel and that my chances of reoccurrence of the HELLP Syndrome are astronomically higher than normal), but that doesn’t mean this is a happy thing in the slightest.

— 7 —

Hysterectomy Take #6. So… please keep me in prayer. I don’t think Quick Takes will happen next week (or maybe I’ll throw something up in between naps), but I’ll be back the week after.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

7 Quick Takes: Endless Doctor’s Appointments Edition

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7 Quick Takes

I was remarking to my priest today that I haven’t had a day free of doctor’s appointments since Saturday. Here they all are.

— 1 —

Urgent Care. I got home on Sunday to find that Mom recommended a trip to Urgent Care for Daniel to make sure he didn’t have pneumonia. His class has been living out Tom Lehrer’s song about friendship with a cold, so my precious sweetling was coughing to the point of vomiting.

The Urgent Care doctor’s verdict: it’s a virus. He probably shouldn’t be around immunosuppressed people… like his mommy. Oh well.

— 2 —

Gynecology. Monday was my pre-op appointment before my hysterectomy in October. I was dreading it because I thought there was going to be a thorough exam done. There wasn’t. Instead, it was my gynecologist telling me that he was going to take out everything but my ovaries, when the surgery would be, and how long I would be in the hospital. I then had to sign a bunch of paperwork stating that I knew that this surgery was going to be irreversible and would make me sterile. (The human race never ceases to make laugh.)

— 3 —

Family Medicine. My GP likes to see me every so often to make sure that nothing she has prescribed caused me to sprout a third leg. She is OK with my bloodwork as my diabetes is controlled with medication. I was apologizing that my diet is craptastic, and she replied that I have just a little bit on my plate (a little, you say?) and once Daniel requires less care, we can tweak my diet. OK then! Pass the gummy bears! (Not the sugar-free ones! Those are only for colonoscopy prep.)

— 4 —

Behavior Therapy. No new changes. We’re dropping down to once every week vs. twice a week. We also saw him earlier, so the drive home only took an hour instead of the normal two to three that it takes us at rush hour.

— 5 —

Occupational Therapy. Oh hai, therapy consult! It was an hour of Daniel trying to avoid working well with one of the occupational therapists at the local hospital. She won: he did what she wanted and ended up having some fun. We’ll be working with her to get his startle reflex to calm down.

— 6 —

Radiology. While emailing Daniel’s teacher, I discovered that Daniel’s pediatrician had put in the x-ray request and wanted it done before his appointment this morning, so we went straight from Occupational Therapy to the Lab/Imaging department at Skagit Regional Health’s outpatient clinic building. After two pictures were taken of Daniel’s tummy, we headed to his school to drop him off.

— 7 —

Pediatrics. D’s quarterly ADHD appointment wasn’t until 9:40, so we got to sleep in this morning. Woo. The x-ray apparently showed that my wee bairn’s bowels are full, so we’ll be doing a nice 3-day cleanse this weekend! I am SO excited!!!!! (Yeah, no. I’m totally wishing it was my worst enemies changing those training pants instead of me. Purgatory, here I come! #sinner #pettymamaproblems #jenstopcomingupwithhashtags) In other news, his pediatrician does believe Daniel has ADHD… as does everyone who has to spend any time with him on a regular basis.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: September 17, 2019

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For Today…

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… dark. We’ve been having a lot of rain lately. We even had a serious thunder and lightning storm a week and a half ago.

I am thinking… about the Advent devotional book I’m putting together for church. I’m trying to put together the instruction sheet and ask letter.

I am thankful… for the overpayment of a bill 5-6 years ago that was sent to me this week. It is helping out.

One of my favorite things… sleep.

I am wearing… my jammies as it is 12:30 a.m.

I am creating… devotion examples for the ask letter.

I am reading… Nailed It by Anne Kennedy.

I am hoping… to be productive this week.

I am learning… about bullet journals and what spreads work for me.

In my kitchen… scampi linguine.

In the school room… Daniel is loving school being back in session.

Post Script… the rules for posting about a death on social media.

Shared Quote… “It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people.” –Neil Gaiman, Good Omens

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Language Acquisition Edition

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Interesting… Apparently, we communicate information at roughly the same rate across languages. Once my brain has a rest from therapy with Daniel today, I will have to think through this regarding the languages I speak. #polyglotproblems

— 2 —

First day of school. I didn’t get any cute First Day of School pics, partly because my spawn is not cooperative and partly because we were having the usual issues with transportation on that day where Daniel’s bus didn’t show up. It was slightly better this morning, so I’m hoping that we’ll have it figured out tomorrow morning.

— 3 —

*snickers* If you have a kiddo on the spectrum and you don’t follow “Autism with a side of fries” on Facebook, I really recommend subscribing.

An answer to those who ask if we've tried essential oils to cure our kiddos on the spectrum.

— 4 —

I’m getting spayed. The surgery scheduler for my OB/GYN’s office called. I’m scheduled for my hysterectomy on 10/8. I’m positively giddy about being done with my period and feeling like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck every month. Not having to worry about getting pregnant and possibly dying is also going to be nice.

— 5 —

A heads-up for homeschoolers. If you want your kids to do a language for homeschooling, consider looking at Duolingo. I’ve been using it to learn Spanish and Arabic and to review my French, and I really like it. I know a lot of you do Latin, and they just rolled out their Latin course. Bonus: it’s also free.

— 6 —

Prayer request. If you could please pray for a special intention regarding Daniel’s behavioral therapy, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

— 7 —

Some music. I’ve liked “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas since childhood, but I finally saw the video of it a few weeks ago and was impressed that they include a violin in it.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

7 Quick Takes: Choosing to Find Joy Edition

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Prayer request. My friend Bekah had her son Declan at 28 weeks due to preeclampsia. She and Declan are doing OK, but Mr. D is going to be in the NICU for a bit. Prayers would be appreciated.

Please and thank you! 😀

— 2 —

So I was thinking… I was looking over some entries from 13 years ago, and I used to be a more whiny and negative person than I am today. Granted, there was a lot that wasn’t going well at the time, but a lot of stuff used to derail my day pretty easily. This changed a lot with my pregnancy with Daniel.

— 3 —

Sickness. It was hard a lot of the time. I didn’t know when I got pneumonia in October 2008 that I was pregnant at the time, and that definitely would have changed the treatment I sought for it. Thankfully, none of what I took hurt Daniel that we know of. I also got some pretty serious colds, and I was very much limited in what I could take.

— 4 —

Something about Mary. I started thinking about the Virgin Mary that December when it was -20F for weeks at a time, and I would be driving into work with gloves on with socks over them, trying to keep my hands warm and to keep them from aching. It struck me one day how hard her last few months of pregnancy must have been, especially the journey to Bethlehem.

— 5 —

Daniel’s birth. The traumatic experience of Daniel’s birth and the shock it gave me in so many ways changed how I approached each day. That first week, I was so shell-shocked that it seemed like things were getting worse by the day, but my little creature held on. Despite everything getting thrown at him, he was able to persevere through. One of the nurses told me to start finding those little joys in each day because we were in for a marathon with him. Her advice proved helpful as it gave me something on which I could focus to hold onto hope that he would eventually make it home, given that it took a month before I could even form the words to pray, and I had to work through A LOT of anger.

— 6 —

10 years later… I have held onto that practice of seeking out the joy in every day, even when we went through Daniel’s epic hospitalization 8 1/2 years ago, and that joy was sometimes that he didn’t die that day. It has stayed with me through more hospitalizations, Daniel’s autism diagnosis, the end of my marriage, and the divorce process that took two years. Even on the worst days, I choose to seek out some small joy in something. I don’t know that I would have survived if I could not do this.

— 7 —

New music. I heard this song last night and thought I’d share.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

7 Quick Takes: Daniel in Hospital Edition

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7 Quick Takes

Just a warning: lots of mentions of poop. Skip it if it is going to make you queasy.

— 1 —

Backstory. Daniel puked up a feed on Monday afternoon, and I decided to withhold his evening feed to give his stomach a rest. Well… he couldn’t keep anything down on Tuesday, and he started puking up stuff that looked like coffee. After a Google search on what it might be, I made the decision to take him to the ER. It turns out (after an x-ray and bloodwork) that his lower G-I was completely impacted with poop, and nothing was getting through. We made the decision with our ER doctor to admit him for hydration and to see if they could get him pooping again.

— 2 —

Wednesday. They tried various things and he puked up everything they gave him through the tube… so they ended up taking him down to the OR and manually disimpacting him under anesthesia. (I’m not going to describe how. You can Google it.) The good news: he came out of anesthesia well, and I need to find out what they gave him to get that outcome because he has been crankier than cranky the previous two times he was under anesthesia.

— 3 —

Last night. He’s been on a continuous drip of GoLytely, which is the stuff they give you to clean you out before a colonoscopy. I slept for a good chunk of the day because I was up until 5 a.m. with people coming in and out of the room to change his training pants and also change blankets and sheets. Thankfully, the nausea is gone.

— 4 —

Today. My priest woke me up at 10:30 a.m. to anoint Daniel and me. (I had been dead to the world yesterday when he stopped by, so I told him he was allowed to wake me up if I was asleep when he came by.) It has been a day of changing training pants and sheets, and unfortunately, the nurses were having to do it all as I accidentally took my night meds this morning and took a decent nap this afternoon.

— 5 —

Tonight. We’re letting him get up and walk around a bit as long as he holds on to his IV pole. We are currently waiting for his CNA to be available to take him out on the floor for a walk and maybe stimulate him to poop. Once kiddo is asleep tonight, they’re going to figure out a way for me to get a shower. Mom has been bringing me clothes and I thankfully do have clothes to leave in tomorrow.

— 6 —

An interesting discovery. When they disimpacted him on Wednesday, the blockage that they were able to get out without cutting him open had a bunch of his ADHD meds in it… UNDISOLVED!!! This explains the really severe behavior issues we have had as of late.

— 7 —

Prayer request. Please pray that the walking tonight causes him to start to pass the rest of the solid blockage. As much as this is an easy hospital stay thus far, I’m almost out of clean clothes and I am going to feel guilty if I have to make Mom do my laundry to get more. I live only a mile from the hospital, but my car died its final death on Monday, so I would have to borrow Mom’s car to get home and shower or do laundry.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: July 21, 2019

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For Today… July 21, 2019

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… sunny and in the 80’s. It’s also humid, which is not making me feel good. I don’t do heat well.

I am thinking… about my Camp NaNoWriMo piece. I’m around 3,000 words behind, so I think my character is going to have a long conversation or write a long letter.

I am thankful… for the opportunity to help with VBS for the last two weeks. I was washing dishes for it, and it was fun though exhausting!

Me in dishwashing clothes.

One of my favorite things… calm and quiet. It’s in short supply in these parts with Daniel.

I am wearing… my “All Together Now” shirt from Old Navy and jeans capris.

I am creating… my my Camp NaNoWriMo piece.

I am reading… Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Sir Terry Pratchet. I’m just a few pages in but very much enjoying it.

I finished Inspired by Rachel Held Evans on our 3 (!!!!) hour drive home from Seattle last Tuesday. It was wonderful though bittersweet as it is her last book with her passing on May 4.

I am hoping… the intensive ABA therapy with Daniel works. We are really struggling here.

I am learning… that my sleep deprivation is at a point where my body is just dropping into sleep at night, regardless of my plans to get some writing done.

In my kitchen… Cherry Delicious, a cherry cobbler recipe where the crust is made with cake mix and butter. I made two pans of it for coffee hour this morning, and I think I had one serving left of the gluten-free pan. (It was as good as the regular one, though the crust wasn’t as soft.)

In the school room… Daniel has ESY this week and then he’s off until the first week of September.

Post Script… an excellent guide to tipping.

Shared Quote… “What I love about the Bible is that the story isn’t over. There are still prophets in our midst. There are still dragons and beasts. It might not look like it, but the Resistance is winning. The light is breaking through.
So listen to the weirdos. Listen to the voices crying from the wilderness. They are pointing us to a new King and a better kingdom.” – Rachel Held Evans, Inspired

A moment from my day…

Hosted by The Simple Woman.