Super-Hero Joins the Ranks

No, not those ranks. The ranks of "patient of surgery". Two weeks ago he had an MRI on his shoulder. It's been bothering him for some time now. He's done physical therapy like it was a religion and still no improvement. Yesterday I called the dr.'s office to find out more about his treatment options. The interpreter that showed up I don't think did a very thorough job and left him wondering about things. I called expecting to find some answers, but found out instead that he had an appointment today. She told me they didn't have an interpreter scheduled - the agency never called back with someone for the job. So instead of cancelling the appointment, I asked my mom to watch the kids so I could go in. I haven't interpreted in a long time and medical interpreting can be tricky with all the jargon and words that I don't know the signs for. But I'm so glad I did.

Turns out the doctor he had before this (at the same office) told him he didn't have any tears on his shoulder and that it could be corrected by a manipulation (while he was under anesthesia). I didn't understand this type of treatment and felt the interpreter did a poor job with her translation. Turns out he DOES have a tear and also a bone spur. The doctor explained there was no way to correct this other than surgery and intense physical therapy everyday for three weeks following the surgery. Super-Hero was pretty stunned. He'll have to take a week off from work and we don't have enough phsyical therapy visits left on our insurance to cover all the therapy.

We scheduled the surgery for May 21st.

You Haven't Sold Anything Yet??

This is what I hear every night from Super-Hero. I bought this amazing serger and he's fidgeting because I haven't made a bazillion dollars from my sewing. I check my etsy store everyday and lots of people are a-lookin' but no one is a-buyin'. Go check out my etsy store and tell your friends! Someone must need to buy something cute!

A Kid's Perspective

This is the funniest compilation of pictures. The kids borrowed my camera and took all these pictures. I love all the blurry pictures, the duplicate pictures of a Beaver poster and the numerous pictures of a GameBoy the boys want me to sell on eBay. Apparently they needed several shots of the items and they even wrote what the price would be.

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It's Not AVM!

I finally got a call from the Physician's Assistant about Holland's MRI. It is not AVM, but has to do with enlarged blood vessels. To be 100% sure that it is benign, they have to do another MRI-type imaging test. Which means we get to go back to Emanuel and have more anesthesia. It's kind of weird because I'm glad it's not something that has to be surgically corrected. But many problems related to this condition are issues Holland is dealing with. This would have been a tidy way to label everything that was wrong.

So for now we just wait to schedule an MRI and see a specialist about his headaches.

MRI Results

We got tentative results back from the MRI last Friday. The radiologist determined there could be something called AVM (arteriovenous malformations) on the left side of his head. I am still waiting to hear from the surgeon who did his tethered cord surgery for a definite diagnosis. But from what I've been researching, this is when arteries and veins are tangled up and interfere with circulation. They can form on the brain or spinal cord so it's not really surprising that he has spina bifida and tethered cord if he does in fact have AVM. There is more information about it here. But many of the symptoms he has and the problems he's been diagnosed with seemed to be explained by this condition. His headaches are not getting any better and Tylenol with Codeine only puts him to sleep. We barely get any school done and I basically just want to quit the rest of the year and read all day. Who cares about studying history or doing math when faced with a problem like this?

Now Pay Attention

Have you ever wondered what happens when a mom doesn't feel good and decides to lay down for a short rest? Here's what happens: bowls of cat food get moved around - there's a trail down the hallway to Egypt's room; the family room becomes a tornado touchdown point and I end up purchasing something on ebay. How does that work? Well, you have a curious and ambitious 8 year-old who's been eyeing Lego Star Wars parts on ebay and decides to bid and buy something.

When I checked email this afternoon I saw an email that read "Congratulations on your ebay purchase". I couldn't believe that he actually did this. I told him he'd be purchasing those items and then when they arrived, I would post and sell them on ebay and he would not get any of his money back.

Just a head's up for all you parents not paying attention (didn't think that was possible, did ya?). They're sneaky and quick and it'll cost ya!

My Big Purchase

I actually did it. I bought the serger I've been drooling over. It's the biggest purchase I've made in awhile. Hospital bills don't count as purchases. I've been struggling with the Huskylock and the threads that keep coming off the looper. It is so frustrating to be serging something and getting to the end of a seam only to find that somewhere along the way the thread came out and you've cut the entire length of your seam off. I was getting really into sewing all these outfits after I donated that dress and ruffle pants to Romania's school auction. I put a few things back up on my etsy site here. This serger will make everything look professional and take half the time. I had the dealer demo several of the stitches just so I could make sure I was making the right decision. Anyone who sews, knows how much work it is to make a ruffle or gather something. This machine actually does it! Two to one gathering is done just like a regular seam. This is going to be so fast - now I just have to see if anyone's going to buy all my creations!

Included with the price of the machine was a 3-year warranty (which is good in my house since things seem to break a week after they get here) and $300 worth of extra feet attachments. When I pulled it out of the box tonight, there was a sample piece of fabric attached to the footplate and 4 pieces of thread that had been cut off. I could see that the stitch was perfect and all I had to do was tie my four spools of thread on and away I went! Now off to cut a pair of pants and a dress to sew!

Update on MRI

Today Holland had his MRI. Egypt spent the night at my parent's house and I dropped Romania at the bus stop this morning so it was just the two of us. He couldn't have anything to eat, only clear liquids, so he was pretty cranky all morning. We just took it easy and didn't do school. He played the Wii, played with the cats and Legos until it was time to leave. I'm always amazed at how well he handles being in the hospital. The intake nurse was very nice and the anesthesiologist Dr. Wong came in beforehand to answer any questions. The whole procedure took about 45 minutes and he came out of it beautifully. He was still a bit cranky he couldn't eat right away, but I took him out for Sprite and some McDonald's french fries later. The hardest thing for him is to be "still" and he was told not to do any activity tonight other than sitting on the couch and doing quiet activities. We find out next week what all the headaches mean, but the nurse said that headaches are common to spinal cord issues.

Two For One MRI's

Stranger things have happened, but we seem to have had our share of trips to the hospital and emergency room (see yesterday's post!) Both Super-Hero dad and Holland are having MRI's this week. Super-Hero goes in today to have them look at his shoulder. He's been having pain for quite some time and like any normal man, he waits until he can't move it at all and THEN he goes to the doctor. At first, the orthopedic doctor sent him to do Physical Therapy. He went probably 15 times total and did his exercises religiously twice a day. Things were not improving and he thought were even getting worse. So they scheduled an MRI today to figure out what's going on. He probably got hurt landscaping our backyard and then scar tissue formed over whatever didn't heal properly.

Which brings us to MRI #2. With all of Holland's medical issues, little things like headaches were getting pushed to the side. But after his "holy moley" ear infection cleared up and they didn't go away, the pediatrician said it's time to check out his brain. Is there some Guiness Book record that we have broken for the most ailments to one person? I'm kinda thinking we're close if we haven't already beaten it. I'm not even trying to predict the outcome of this one. Because we have to go back and see the surgeon that did his tethered cord surgery. He's been having bowel problems and tingling in his feet and legs. Both are symptoms of scar tissue forming over the cord that was cut.

Another Trip to the ER

I think we are on a first-name basis with doctors at two different hospitals. Romania finally ended up in the ER on Monday night from a dog bite. I guess it was his turn to be in the hospital. Holland and Egypt have had their fair share of injuries, illnesses and mishaps. He was playing next door with the neighbor's son, doing boy things - running around with nerf guns. He tried to pet their Pomeranian and she didn't see him and freaked and bit him on the face. So at 5.45 I left for the emergency room. I was just putting dinner on the table. Super-Hero had just walked in the door when I was walking out. Pure chaos - which is completely normal at our house.

He did amazingly well. They put a topical numbing liquid on his lip, he had several x-rays of his face done to make sure no teeth fragments were left in and then he got three stitches. He was treated to dinner at McDonald's and then we picked up an antibiotic. And unlike all those television programs on emergency rooms, this was snail-slow. We were there almost three hours. Nothing is fast about the ER (except maybe the bill). I let us all sleep in this morning and then drove him to school. He was so proud of his stitches and showed all his classmates. He doesn't know that come Saturday when he has them taken out it's gonna hurt worse because it won't be numb. Looking forward to Saturday.

He Is Risen!

He Is Risen, Indeed!

I always loved saying that in church on Easter Sunday. For some reason we didn't do that today and every time someone on stage said it, I answered with that phrase. We had our service over at the high school auditorium. Egypt stayed in her Sunday School class across the street at the church and the boys came in with me. I have to say, they did pretty well with sitting through the service. Romania really likes the singing. Here's a quick picture of the three of them right after church (before they had a chance to get dirty or rip off their clothes and change!) I made Egypt's dress and hat over the past three days. I only found the fabric on Wednesdsay morning and didn't even start sewing until Thursday evening. I was also able to throw together a hat with some leftover fabric. Now, if I can just convince Super-Hero that I neeeeed that expensive serger. I could totally sell this on etsy in my store!

Back At The Hospital

So it's been pretty stressful around here lately. Holland has been having trouble behaviorally, emotionally and phsyically. On Friday, I took him back to the gastroenterologist up at Emanuel. He started having accidents again which is what first put us up there with the diagnosis of spina bifida with tethered cord. We are completely gluten-free and he's taking Miralax twice a day. There should be no problems with this, but there is. On Thursday I called the doctor's office at 5 p.m. not even expecting them to answer the phone. Not only did they answer, they had a cancellation on Friday at 2.30. We answered a bunch of questions, he felt his tummy, checked his reflexes and sent us up to the main hospital for an x-ray. He suspected that he was backed up and would need a good "cleaning". He also suspects (although this is not his area of expertise, he does have an understanding of what complications come with tethered cord) that scar tissue has formed over the area on his cord that was cut to release the pressure. He has been having tingling in his legs and feet, which to him indicates pressure building up on the spine again. I will be calling our surgeon next week to go back and see her. I don't know how else besides surgery that they would even be able to say for sure that scar tissue has formed. They couldn't even 100% diagnose the tethered cord until she did the surgery.

Last night we did a "cleaning". Although the taste of this was better than the magnesium citrate drink (fizzy, salty, cherry drink), the results were about the same. He had two major episodes that required a shower and a complete change of clothes. He kept apologizing and I kept telling him it wasn't his fault. I totally expected this since I had given him 6X the normal dose of Miralax. On a positive note, I did notice that his mood had improved. He was laughing and cracking some jokes. We are going to our pediatrician on Monday to discuss the daily headaches he's been getting.

Never A Dull Moment

We've had our round of ups and downs this week - emotionally and behaviorally. Some days Holland has coped better than I had expected and other days, I just wanted to turn and run. Yesterday after our homeschool co-op, I had offered for my nephew to come over while my sister went to one of her jobs. Holland was so excited - he had all these plans. They ended up playing well together - if you discount all the yelling by Egypt because she was left out. After about an hour we had to leave to pick up Romania from the bus stop. Holland even had a plan for that. He wanted his cousin to duck down in the back seat and jump up and scare Romania. I didn't really like that plan. Usually when he gets home from school, Romania is so tired that he just wants to sit on the couch and watch TV. I didn't think he'd react well to being scared from behind.

Turned out that when the bus arrived, the two boys were by a tree behind the bus and my nephew just walked up to Romania and said "hi". I was relieved there were no scare tactics involved. The boys played well together but then when my sister called to say she would pick him up in a few minutes, Holland fell apart. It was like he hadn't been playing for the last two hours. It's all that emotional up and down that is drowning me.

This morning we had another little snafu. A few days ago I went to Target to get a few things for the kid's easter baskets. I found two little Lego sets for the boys that Holland ending up finding. It's probably that I need to get better at hiding. But because he's 10, I don't work that hard at burying stuff, just covered up out of the way. He kept asking what they were for and finally after failing at being vague and him accepting it, I just said they were for Easter and to drop it. Well, this morning I am sitting at the sewing machine trying to work on Egypt's dress and he's at the top of the stairs and says, "Mom, I need to tell you something." I knew right away that he had done something that would need forgiveness. He told me he couldn't help himself and that he and Romania opened the Lego sets. I was so angry. Not only had he been defiant about the Legos, he had coerced his brother into his tangled web. He kept saying at least he told me. And yes, I'm thankful that he's remorseful. But come Sunday, the only person opening an Easter basket will be Egypt.

Spring Has Sprung!

Today was such a beautiful day! Even though the sun was out this morning and it was chilly, it warmed up so nicely. Made me want to garden! We just didn't have time today, but hopefully this next week, we'll be able to get some plants in the garden. Holland has been given several starter plants and my kitchen area has become a regular greenhouse. I'm trying not to get annoyed at the mess - the cats have knocked over some of the plants and we come home to dirt all over the floor. But last weekend we were able to get some flower seeds and some carrots in the ground. He has a way of distracting me when I'm trying to get something done. He bugs me until I find myself somehow involved in his plans. Not sure how that happens. Maybe it's just easier than putting him off.

We also had an amazing number of birds visit our feeders today. We have suet, black oil sunflower seeds and thistle on our deck and finally today, we had 4 woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, Scrub Jays, Juncos and my personal favorite, the Purple House Finch. They are the most amazing birds with this firey red crown and nape (why it's called a "purple" finch is beyond me). But the kids are learning all the names of the birds and I love it when one of them yells "there's a chickadee at the feeder!" What's even more fun is that they are finally coming to the feeder we have attached to the window. It's a clear plastic feeder with suction cups and they perch on the edge of the little house and we can watch them close up. They aren't disturbed by the big mean Scrub Jays. I got a couple pictures of the woodpeckers that ate the suet, but they didn't turn out very well since I had to take them through the window.

The other fun thing about spring is that Holland is learning how to mow the lawn. I was getting the biggest laugh out of watching him. Super-hero was getting frustrated because Holland couldn't steer in a straight line. My neighbor was over chatting and we were watching him push this big lawn mower that probably weighs more than he does. Super-hero is yelling over the noise of the mower to "go this way!" and Holland just keeps pushing it and swaying back over what he just mowed. I don't even care that the lines weren't straight, but when you're married to an engineer, you can just imagine how much it bugs him not to see these perfectly straight lines in the grass. But who cares? My 10 year-old wants to mow the lawn. Happy momma.