Being with Abby throughout the day is pretty funny because she provides running commentary, sometimes reflecting what's on tv and sometimes just from her own head. She thinks the lawyers are nice becuase first, they're in your state, and second, if you don't win money you don't have to pay them. That's so nice! Then she decided she was glad she had her leg problem instead of the problem people who have Dulcolax have. I mean, it doesn't make you go, it just makes you go easier.
Out of the blue she'll comment about what's going on, too. She has to have some surgery, so she's on a loop, saying, "It won't hurt, right? I'll just be asleep? It'll just be like this (pretends to be asleep)?" I reassure her. Then, "I'll just feel them moving my legs, right? Nothing bad?" I reassure her that she won't feel that. "They won't need my blood again today, right?" I tell her I don't think so, but I don't know for sure. But that they probably will in the morning and each morning she's here. Then we're back to surgery, "Will the medicine they use hurt?" I reassure her that it just goes through her IV that she already has in. It's a big loop, but keeps me looped in to what she's think and what she's worried about.
Right now we're just hanging out, but we'll be here at least another night. They're going to do a bone biopsy to make sure it's infection and rule out all the other "scary stuff," as the orthopedic doctor said. His saying that made it more scary, not less. She's next up on the surgery docket. She's so thirsty but can't have anything. I feel bad, but she's handling it well other than a bout here and there.
The head orthopedic doc came in to see us about 30 minutes ago. Considering we were supposed to see the physician's assistant today and now we're consulting with the head honcho, I don't like it. I was doing fine before he came in, and now I'm close to losing it. But if I lose it, I know Abby will worry more, so I won't! We should have the preliminary results of the biopsy pretty quick after the surgery, but then a couple of days for the pathology report.
For anyone reading this who sends me texts... my phone is almost out of battery. I'm hoping to get it charged this afternoon, so if I don't respond, know that I'll get them later and appreciate your thoughts and well wishes!
I'll update more when I know more...
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Back again
In the interest of time, sanity and the sleep I need, I'm going to keep this quick. Basically, we went to Abby's primary care doc, who conferred with Children's Hospital docs, who sent us to Children's ER. We got here around 1, triage around 2, room around 2:45, hospital check in around 10:30. Nurses, nurse practitioners, care providers came to see us. Xray of hip, xray of tibia, MRI. Two collapsed veins trying to draw blood/place the IV, Abby beside herself, screaming that she doesn't want to do it anymore.
Now we've been admitted. They think it's a bone infection. MRI showed something but was somewhat inconclusive. Bloodwork showed definite infection, and the infection markers are growing quickly. Orthopedic doc and radiologist need to get on the same page, which they'll do tomorrow. Several things were mentioned, nothing definite... Hospital tonight, and maybe 2-3 more days (don't tell Abby... she freaked out about the one night). IV antibiotics from now until, well, Christmas, literally. Chance of surgery.
So, we just don't know. Hopefully tomorrow will spread some light, show us the fix, and let us go on our merry way.
I didn't really want to be back here this quickly.
Now we've been admitted. They think it's a bone infection. MRI showed something but was somewhat inconclusive. Bloodwork showed definite infection, and the infection markers are growing quickly. Orthopedic doc and radiologist need to get on the same page, which they'll do tomorrow. Several things were mentioned, nothing definite... Hospital tonight, and maybe 2-3 more days (don't tell Abby... she freaked out about the one night). IV antibiotics from now until, well, Christmas, literally. Chance of surgery.
So, we just don't know. Hopefully tomorrow will spread some light, show us the fix, and let us go on our merry way.
I didn't really want to be back here this quickly.
At a complete and total loss
Abby's leg has left me completely baffled. Last weekend it got so bad that we ended up at Children's Hospital ER (we're getting used to that place!) because she just could not manage the pain at night. She wakes up screaming at least two, sometimes three times at night. Pain in her leg, just above her knee. She rubs it, she paces, she howls, I give her medicine. Twenty-five minutes later she sleeps and I lay there awake and wonder. Three hours later she starts tossing and turning, up and down, half asleep, and then she's up again, in pain again.
Then there was last night. Same start... Bed at 8, up at 11:30 with leg pain. She fell asleep again at midnight in my bed, and then at 12:30 it all went crazy. She sat up, cried, and then immediately threw up over and over. Yuck. She took a shower, we cleaned up, and then she layed back down. I worried that I had given her too much medication without enough to eat, but then I took her temperature. 103.5. Well, two weeks of leg pain, no fever, and now this.
We'll call the doctor again today. We'll go to an orthopedic doctor tomorrow. Someday we'll figure out what this is. Or it will go away. Hopefully it will be soon.
Then there was last night. Same start... Bed at 8, up at 11:30 with leg pain. She fell asleep again at midnight in my bed, and then at 12:30 it all went crazy. She sat up, cried, and then immediately threw up over and over. Yuck. She took a shower, we cleaned up, and then she layed back down. I worried that I had given her too much medication without enough to eat, but then I took her temperature. 103.5. Well, two weeks of leg pain, no fever, and now this.
We'll call the doctor again today. We'll go to an orthopedic doctor tomorrow. Someday we'll figure out what this is. Or it will go away. Hopefully it will be soon.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Abby
Abby has been a conundrum lately. Not really a roller coaster, so to speak, but kind of. More of a roller coaster for me than for her!
Third grade has really been her year. There's the gifted/talented thing I mentioned before (or the not gifted/talented as the case may be), and she's getting additional testing. I don't really know what this means, other than the gifted/talented teacher asked me if they could do more verbal testing and I said yes. She also had really good test scores on nationwide tests they just did (she scored better than 96% of the other third graders in the nation) and continues to bring home 100% tests that she takes in class. And fortunately, it's not just all academic success. She also was asked to join the Jackson Ambassador program where students from school, along with the counselor, do various school and community service projects. And I'm also very happy with her friends, all of them really good kids. Am I bragging? Probably. I'm just really proud of the things she has been accomplishing consistently this year.
Tonight Abby is out on a date. With Dave. It's something that Dave and I had talked about before but things kept coming up. We figure if Dave shows her how she should be treated on a date when she's too young to actually date, then when she's old enough she'll accept nothing but the best. We'll see how that turns out! So Friday night, Dave called her asd asked her out. Since then, whenever we say she has a date with Daddy, She gets really embarassed and protests, "It's not a date!" Even today while we were getting ready, she didn't want to do her hair or put on nice clothes. Eventually I told her it's for her, it's just for fun, and she said she'd do her hair and put on nicer clothes, if I just stopped calling it a date. Ok, I give. Then when Dave showed up at the door with flowers in front of the whole neighborhood, I thought she was going to crawl under the couch! But she survived, and I'm hoping they're having a great time right now, eating at Maggiano's and going to Barnes and Noble.
And then there's her leg. This is the craziest thing going on now. Last Wednesday she started saying her let hurt. It was also right when Ava got sick, so I just dismissed it as a pulled muscle and gave her medicine and it seemed fine. But then I had to keep giving her medicine, to the point where she'd wake up at night crying, or she'd cry at school, when the medicine would wear off. I watched her when she didn't know and she'd limp or rub it, so I'm pretty sure it hurts bad and isn't added much for the attention factor. I took her to the doctor on Thursday and they took xrays. Her bones looked fine, which is good, but it could be a tendon or any number of other things. If it still hurts this upcoming week, I'll bring her back to the doctor. So far, I give her medicine roughly every five hours, and I can tell nearly to the minute when it's going to wear off and start hurting again, and like clockwork she's crying, whether she's watching a movie, playing outside or sleeping. It's kind of scary because it's not something that anyone can point to and say "this is what's wrong with her." And it's also making her crabby. Even when she has medicine, I can just tell she's not herself. She's laying down and sleeping, and the other day she took a shower when I wasn't home because she thought the heat would help it. I feel bad for her when she says, "I just want this leg to be gone!" and get frustrated at the lack of sleep going on in our house. Hopefully this week it will either go away or we'll figure it out.
So that's everything Abby. My 8-year-old puzzle!
Third grade has really been her year. There's the gifted/talented thing I mentioned before (or the not gifted/talented as the case may be), and she's getting additional testing. I don't really know what this means, other than the gifted/talented teacher asked me if they could do more verbal testing and I said yes. She also had really good test scores on nationwide tests they just did (she scored better than 96% of the other third graders in the nation) and continues to bring home 100% tests that she takes in class. And fortunately, it's not just all academic success. She also was asked to join the Jackson Ambassador program where students from school, along with the counselor, do various school and community service projects. And I'm also very happy with her friends, all of them really good kids. Am I bragging? Probably. I'm just really proud of the things she has been accomplishing consistently this year.
Tonight Abby is out on a date. With Dave. It's something that Dave and I had talked about before but things kept coming up. We figure if Dave shows her how she should be treated on a date when she's too young to actually date, then when she's old enough she'll accept nothing but the best. We'll see how that turns out! So Friday night, Dave called her asd asked her out. Since then, whenever we say she has a date with Daddy, She gets really embarassed and protests, "It's not a date!" Even today while we were getting ready, she didn't want to do her hair or put on nice clothes. Eventually I told her it's for her, it's just for fun, and she said she'd do her hair and put on nicer clothes, if I just stopped calling it a date. Ok, I give. Then when Dave showed up at the door with flowers in front of the whole neighborhood, I thought she was going to crawl under the couch! But she survived, and I'm hoping they're having a great time right now, eating at Maggiano's and going to Barnes and Noble.
And then there's her leg. This is the craziest thing going on now. Last Wednesday she started saying her let hurt. It was also right when Ava got sick, so I just dismissed it as a pulled muscle and gave her medicine and it seemed fine. But then I had to keep giving her medicine, to the point where she'd wake up at night crying, or she'd cry at school, when the medicine would wear off. I watched her when she didn't know and she'd limp or rub it, so I'm pretty sure it hurts bad and isn't added much for the attention factor. I took her to the doctor on Thursday and they took xrays. Her bones looked fine, which is good, but it could be a tendon or any number of other things. If it still hurts this upcoming week, I'll bring her back to the doctor. So far, I give her medicine roughly every five hours, and I can tell nearly to the minute when it's going to wear off and start hurting again, and like clockwork she's crying, whether she's watching a movie, playing outside or sleeping. It's kind of scary because it's not something that anyone can point to and say "this is what's wrong with her." And it's also making her crabby. Even when she has medicine, I can just tell she's not herself. She's laying down and sleeping, and the other day she took a shower when I wasn't home because she thought the heat would help it. I feel bad for her when she says, "I just want this leg to be gone!" and get frustrated at the lack of sleep going on in our house. Hopefully this week it will either go away or we'll figure it out.
So that's everything Abby. My 8-year-old puzzle!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da
Oh my goodness! Stop the world, I just need a day. Maybe two. Please??
Last week started innocently enough. Monday was Max's dress-up day for school. Tuesday was dress up day and parade for Abby and Nolan's school. Nothing major, just a little extra costume planning.
Then Dave had training Wednesday-Friday so I didn't see him at all, and the kids had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off school. Wednesday we went to Flabbergast during the day (a place with blow-up bounce house things) and Stonefire Pizza for dinner (Chuck E. Cheese on steroids).
Thursday was supposed to be my friend Laura watching the kids and a job interview, but when I woke up and Ava was sick and Abby had a sore leg, I canceled the interview and instead it was Ava to the doctor. Max missed his regularly scheduled Y class.
Friday was a kidney function test for me in the morning and then a follow-up test for Ava in the afternoon, which of course led to Children's Hospital, and surgery. Max missed his regularly scheduled Y class, as well as the new Y class that started.
Then home Saturday night. Abby was supposed to have volleyball Saturday morning for the first time, but Dave skipped it since the kids were still sleeping.
Sunday morning I had church, where I had to read the names of the people who died in the past year in our parish (for All Soul's Day tomorrow). I forgot how emotional it is to listen to the names being read, with the music in the background, but when I was up there reading it, looking out on the grieving faces of their loved ones, it was tough to get through. Then it was off to the nursing home to bring communion. Then, of course, Halloween festivities!
Dave left today for work, comes home Thursday. Today was also my rescheduled job interview. It went well, but I'll know for sure in a couple of weeks. Do I want to go back full-time? Should I ask Direct Supply? Should I skip it? Should Dave stay home and I'll go to work? Then tonight I was supposed to be teaching church class, but then they called and said it was just a group activity... no class time. Yeah! I stayed home instead.
I also got 10 phone calls today and couldn't handle any more. One was from daycare... they don't think they have room for Ava anymore just one day a week. Great. They asked if I could change my day of daycare. Ummm, unless I want her to be in daycare while I'm at home, and then home by herself when I'm at work, I don't think so. She asked if she wanted her to go look at the schedule again. Well, sure. I still haven't heard back. Not sure if that's good or bad.
With all this stuff, I forgot to sign Max up for his new Y classes starting tomorrow. I don't know if I should or if I should skip it. Most weeks I'm looking for stuff to do with him. This week? It would be nice just to hang out a little. And Nolan and Abby have Y classes tomorrow after school. And I hope it's back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Stop the world, I wanna get off!!
Last week started innocently enough. Monday was Max's dress-up day for school. Tuesday was dress up day and parade for Abby and Nolan's school. Nothing major, just a little extra costume planning.
Then Dave had training Wednesday-Friday so I didn't see him at all, and the kids had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off school. Wednesday we went to Flabbergast during the day (a place with blow-up bounce house things) and Stonefire Pizza for dinner (Chuck E. Cheese on steroids).
Thursday was supposed to be my friend Laura watching the kids and a job interview, but when I woke up and Ava was sick and Abby had a sore leg, I canceled the interview and instead it was Ava to the doctor. Max missed his regularly scheduled Y class.
Friday was a kidney function test for me in the morning and then a follow-up test for Ava in the afternoon, which of course led to Children's Hospital, and surgery. Max missed his regularly scheduled Y class, as well as the new Y class that started.
Then home Saturday night. Abby was supposed to have volleyball Saturday morning for the first time, but Dave skipped it since the kids were still sleeping.
Sunday morning I had church, where I had to read the names of the people who died in the past year in our parish (for All Soul's Day tomorrow). I forgot how emotional it is to listen to the names being read, with the music in the background, but when I was up there reading it, looking out on the grieving faces of their loved ones, it was tough to get through. Then it was off to the nursing home to bring communion. Then, of course, Halloween festivities!
Dave left today for work, comes home Thursday. Today was also my rescheduled job interview. It went well, but I'll know for sure in a couple of weeks. Do I want to go back full-time? Should I ask Direct Supply? Should I skip it? Should Dave stay home and I'll go to work? Then tonight I was supposed to be teaching church class, but then they called and said it was just a group activity... no class time. Yeah! I stayed home instead.
I also got 10 phone calls today and couldn't handle any more. One was from daycare... they don't think they have room for Ava anymore just one day a week. Great. They asked if I could change my day of daycare. Ummm, unless I want her to be in daycare while I'm at home, and then home by herself when I'm at work, I don't think so. She asked if she wanted her to go look at the schedule again. Well, sure. I still haven't heard back. Not sure if that's good or bad.
With all this stuff, I forgot to sign Max up for his new Y classes starting tomorrow. I don't know if I should or if I should skip it. Most weeks I'm looking for stuff to do with him. This week? It would be nice just to hang out a little. And Nolan and Abby have Y classes tomorrow after school. And I hope it's back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Stop the world, I wanna get off!!
