Thursday, July 30, 2009

All is Good here....

Tomorrow is Friday> YAY! Weekend : ) Steff's knee is healing very nice. It looks good and seems to be doing better than before surgery. This is good. She did, however, have a bit of an episode on Tuesday night. Her right leg did the spasm thing, where the leg has a mind of it's own, jerking and moving around. It is hard to imagine, until you've seen it happen. It is the strangest thing I have EVER seen! It woke her up several times through the night. She didn't call out for us, just said that "maybe this is bad, but I'm getting used to it, so I don't freak out anymore" ~ I explained that I still need to be called, so I can observe and document. At least it was confined to the one leg, of course, the one she just had surgery on.... go figure. BUT she's a LONG way from Feb 2, 2009! She worked today, then went out to eat Thai again. Found out tonight, they do NOT put MSG in their food, but we'll play it by ear and observe. She works all weekend at both stores. She's happy. : ) She's been chatting with a really nice guy ~ I'm hoping he asks her out for a date real soon. It would be healthy for her to go out and have fun. He seems like a very nice kid (BUT it's hard to judge these days!) HA
Me? I've been at Square D for 30 years today. YEP, thirty years. I got to pick my anniversary award from a book, it arrived last weekend. I picked a Trek bike, it's really nice. I'm changing that HARD seat out though, right away! LOL I really thought I would only be at Square D until I got the boys raised, but how can you walk away from the benefits and vacation. Besides, I would have to work somewhere, hours are good, people are good and I have a TON of vacation. : ) and now, a bike. Ha!
Have a good and happy weekend everyone! Life is Good.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

And... Life Is Good.

Steffanee worked on Sunday, crutches and all. She came off the crutches on Monday. She's doing very well. No pain meds. LOL and very little Ibuprofen. She works quite a few hours this week at both stores, so we'll see how that goes. All is well so far. Not much going on, and I'm glad. Life is Good. : )

Friday, July 24, 2009

BACK to GARDASIL Adverse Effects...

Okay, bear with me, those of you that really don't want to hear it. Here is an article that one of the Gardasil moms emailed me a link to read. I wonder what kind of seizure like reactions they are, I wonder if by any chance they would be similar to the seizure like episodes that Steffanee experiences. I have an email posted, hope to get more details. But, just had to share what I read. It's all about being informed.
Here is the Article I received:
Some of us here at Eco Child’s Play have been skeptical of this vaccine, myself included. We have chosen to minimally vaccinate and hold off on some vaccinations for my young sons, under the care of their holistic pediatrician. But I also have a 13-year-old stepdaughter, who will most definitely not be getting this vaccination.
Because there are far too many questions for the FDA and Merck first, especially now that these freakish reactions have been added to the list of precautions.
There is not measurable thimerosol in the Gardasil vaccine. As you might know, thimerosol has been removed from the required vaccines on the Childhood Immunization Schedule because that preservative is 50% mercury. Mercury is a known neurotoxin. Now, since the mercury isn’t causing the brain to make a “seizure-like reaction”, what the heck is?
If my child does not have epilepsy, a very serious disorder in its own right, why should she have a seizure after receiving a vaccination?
Doesn’t a seizure signal something serious happening in the brain? Could this lead to other problems?
Might we want to investigate Gardasil further before requiring it for our girls?
Currently, there are far too many questions about this vaccination. I hope for everyone’s sake that it does not become mandatory before it can be studied: independently, fully, and long-term.
Image: Wikimedia Commons

Seizure like reactions. Interesting. We labeled hers Seizure like Episodes. Again, interesting.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

I spoke too soon : (

Okay, so it wasn't such an easy day. : ( The nauseated feeling and the passing out continued until about an hour ago, along with vomiting and a lot of dry heaves. Bummer! She took her last pain pill this morning at 11. We switched to IB's ~ because her knee isn't hurting too bad. She has thrown up every single thing in her stomach! Bile and all. She's a trooper though, so I really can't complain. EXCEPT she's hungry and wants to know if she can eat supper. I asked her what she would like to throw up and I'll fix it. She has had 10-12 saltines and has held them down. I'm thinking, 7 up and saltines should be it. She vomited like this on Vicodin, so they gave her Darvocet (sp) this time. A girl with a sensitve system I guess. Tomorrow is a new day. We'll start fresh, she gets to shower tomorrow. Hope for her sake that breakfast stays where it belongs.

AND..it went well...

Surgery went well. Dr. A says her knee looked beautiful, which makes it difficult to understand why she has so much pain in it. He did say the back side of her knee cap is soft, and sometimes that can cause pain. So he cleaned it up and did the lateral release, thinking that may help. Time will tell. He can hit the spots that cause the pain, and almost make her come off the table, so there's no doubt that there is pain. Again, Time will tell. So far, she's been an easy patient. : ) I keep her on the pain meds around the clock. Why have pain?? Remember, I'm the one that says knock me out and wake me up when I'm completely healed. : ) She had company last night for a while ~ she remained on the couch. I was okay with that, besides it let me go downstairs and do other things. : ) Sadie stayed with us during surgery, we had lunch and hung for a while. Sadie then HAPPILY did the sauna for 15 minutes, showered and headed out. She makes me smile. Steff kept asking "Why would she do the sauna?" I laughed ~ Because it's a healthy thing to do. She just didn't get it! LOL
We removed the ace and bandages this morning, all looks good. She's a funny kid. She was dying to take it off yesterday to look at it. SO, naturally we had to do it first thing this morning. She did get nauseated and passed out as we did it. Not sure what that was all about, but she's okay now. Sleeping, as a matter of fact. The incision looks good, we cleaned it as directed and put band aids on it. Large ones. She gets to shower tomorrow. I plan to work (UGH) tomorrow, short day. Then she can shower when I get home. She starts putting weight on her foot today, partial.
Aaliyah is here. She was wanting to go home to her mom, but decided to stay with Steff and I for a couple of days. : ) She's easy and keeps Steffanee smiling. She spends 2 weeks with dad and 2 weeks with mom. Somewhere in there, we end up with her often, which is just enough for all of us! : ) When they lived out of state we had her ALL summer. So this works well!
That's about all I know. I'm chilling and enjoying the day off. Aaliyah and I slept in the living room floor, to be close to Steff, so I'm tired, but moving. Need to get off here and keep moving! Have a good day ~ Is it May or July?? Weather sucks for July--- when you like the water!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Tomorrow is the day for knee surgery

Hey! Good week so far. : ) Steff worked today. She is used to 4-5 hour shifts, today she had to work 8 hours. She was drained, looked very tired and her voice sounded tired. She came home, changed clothes and headed out. I was surprised ~ she DOES have surgery in the morning. Her thinking....I won't be able to get out and about for a while, so I'm going out. My way of thinking.... stay home and get a good night of rest so she would be ready for surgery. Guess who won? And really, it's not who won. She's a good kid (so far), stays home a lot, it's very hard to argue about one night. As she always says, I AM almost 18. Dave's home. He came home to be with us for the surgery. I'm not scared about the surgery, and neither is she, but I do hope it fixes whatever is going on with her knee. Dr. A said he would rather have 50 torn ACLs come in his office than one teenager with knee problems. Removing the plica didn't fix it, I am really hoping doing this lateral release does. It's a gamble, he made that clear. Only fixes a certain percentage.
So, that's what's going on in this household. I'm off work Wed and Thurs. I signed off on Friday, but if things are going well, I might save that day for later.
GET THIS> Okay, she worked yesterday and today at Wet Seal putting merchandise out. On Thursday, day after surgery, they have an employee day> I think she said 50% off for them. SO, she is planning on me taking her and getting some school clothes. I'm all about the bargains, but PLEASE! I'm sure she will be in some pain. I told her we would see. I did call about renting a wheel chair from Kilgore's ~ $15. a week. B/C Wallflowers (band)are playing downtown next Wednesday. I really would like to go, and who knows, she might want to get out, even if it's in a wheelchair. : )
I'm outa here> have a good day folks! And hope this surgery does the job!! : )

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Sunday...............after camp

Friday was a good day for all of us. Steff called that evening to say she was the "jumping queen". I smiled, but wondered just how good that was on her knee. She said it was sore, but she was excited about winning the jump competition. Dave brought home Buckingham's (a Friday night routine!) We chilled, then hit the sack.
Saturday, I slept in late! Worked in the yard, then received a text from one of Steff's friends from camp that Steff wasn't doing too well and she wanted to give me a heads up. : ( So, I tried calling her, the coach, anyone number I had, to figure out what was going on. No answers. I guess they were in a competition and the coach was busy taking care of Steff. Coach called about 30 minutes later. Yes, Steff had an episode, but not a big one. Sounded like Coach had it all under control. She had just left Steff in her room to take a much needed nap. They had worked really hard all morning and it was wearing on Steff, until finally, I'm guessing her body pretty much had all it could take. (Knee situation prob made things worse.) I called Dave and wanted to head to the lake. Not to Tan Tar A, but just to the lake, so we would be 15 minutes away, instead of 2 hours. I didn't need to see her, hover over her, but I felt better just being close enough to get there. Jeff & Char went with us, it was a good change of pace. We went out to eat, and spent the night at Nancy & CL's house at the lake. We laughed a lot. Steff called and was doing good, so we were all happy. ; ) I was worried that when she went to bed, it would start over. VERY VERY happy to say I was worried for nothing. Not only did I want to be close to Steff, but I didn't want the other cheerleaders to have to take care of her or worry about her. Coach had all that under control, and I am very thankful for that! She had a plan and put it in place. Sounded like she removed Steff from the situation, iced her knee and held her through the rough time. All in all sounds like camp was fun for all of them.
I need to go down and set the bath up for Steff, the Epsom salt bath, so she can get to bed. She works tomorrow at her new job 1-5. Surgery on Wednesday. Which means I am off work on Wednesday and Thursday. I'm planning to ask Sadie girl to stay with her on Friday, since she's had the nursing classes. : ) and since she's a good friend. Have I ever mentioned that nursing is NOT my calling???? So send your positive vibes to me so I can try to be a better nurse, mom, whatever. Keep her in your prayers ~ and enjoy your week! : ) One month - school starts. UGH

Friday, July 17, 2009

Off To Cheer Camp ~ TanTarA

The girls packed up and left this morning around 7. Guess my car was full. Two girls spent the night, then they were to pick up 2 more at the school. The 3 girls from here were very tired, but jumped right up this morning. I know they are excited about camp. I smiled last night, listening to their plans & excitement.
Steff reminded me that this would be her last one. : ) That was while we were out shopping. Yep, AGAIN. We went to Platos Closet. Okay, I'm all about a bargain, but oh my gosh!! That place was completely overwhelming for me. My arms got tired from sorting through the shirts. WOW. They do have a ton of bargains. Best buy of the trip.....$100. jeans for Steff for......$18.00. She also picked out an American Eagle Sweatshirt..... $10, looked like new. So she was a happy camper. Of course, we couldn't get those things in the wash fast enough. : ) lol She was overwhelmed too, but said she would make trips back in there to pick through their jeans. AND they had a ton in her size. This is good news!
Back to camp. They will be home Sunday evening. Hope her little body holds out and then some! I hope they have as much FUN as they were planning last night!! Have a good weekend!!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Steff's doing good!

Hey It's Monday! Guess anyone left reading the blog realizes that NO post usually means good news. : ) This blogging thing is my way to vent, obviously. Steff had a VERY busy weekend, she ran every single night and is working tonight. She has done very well with her water and the sauna. I just knew on Saturday evening we were going to be up all night. She looked exhausted and 'bad' through the eyes. Nope, once she went to bed, didn't hear from her til the next morning. YAY! She was tired again on Sunday, but went to a concert with Sadie at the Blue Note. She LOVED it. Her first one at the Blue Note. Have a feeling it won't be her last. She was all hyped up when she came home. Glad she's enjoying her summer! She works late tonight and tomorrow night. She leaves for Cheer Camp on Friday AM I think. In my car, I think. : ) She likes to drive my car! Well, there's the update. Life Is Good! Hope everyone else is enjoying their summer! Catch you later.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Middle of the week. : )

Today is Wednesday!! Since I'm back to work ~ THAT means something! 2 days left.
Steff is doing good again. She's been doing the Epsom baths, drinking plenty of water, no soda, taking her vitamins and Zinc. We probably will know this weekend if it is actually making a difference. BUT since she had them 2 nights in a row, I'm convinced that it does make the difference. I explained to her over and over, it's about taking care of your body. Hers has always been a little sensitive and we've always have had to pay close attention to her rest, diet and moods. That part is nothing new. It's just a matter of staying on top of it. Yes, it's easy to forget, especially when she is doing very well. She seems to deny that she is a bit .... not fragile, but close. So, things are in check at this point.
She also asked me to call Dr. P and ask for a mild pill for the anxiety that she gets. (He had suggested this while she was in the hospital) I called today and they put her on a very low dose for the anxiety. We'll see. If it helps her to keep some control when her body gets out of control, I'm all for it. So, that's where we are. She starts the sauna tonight, with some MAJOR bribing from her dad. : ) You gotta love the man! He is a man of few words, but when he talks to her, she listens. Well, usually. She IS 17. Hope all is well with all of you! Tomorrow is a new day!
By the way.......She got the job at Wet Seal in the Mall. Two jobs~ she better be taking care of herself!! : )

Monday, July 6, 2009

Monday July 6....

Well! Nights like Friday and Saturday Do get me down. She tries to act like it didn't happen, but my brain is on overload going.........WHAT CAN I DO?? In the meantime, I received an email from a friend that suggested maybe she is allergic to the Thai food. Not a bad suggestion! She complained of a headache about 2 hours after she ate it, then Friday night, we all know what happened. Not sure if that is it, but worth thinking about and paying attention to.
On the What can I do? I insisted she take the Epsom Salt bath, drink plenty of water, and I started her back on the multi vitamin (which she should have been taking anyway!!) and the zinc. She says the Sauna makes her feel closed in and she hates the smell. Well!! That was a good investment! Dave and I will use it. She did go to sleep last night and slept all night without any thing going on. I am so glad! When these things happen, my brain kicks into: diluting the body and getting the bad junk out. Not sure if that's THE answer, but it's mine! : ) Time will tell. We scrapped a bit yesterday, she doesn't think I know what I'm talking about. Maybe I don't, but something was working when we were doing all this stuff. So, she caved, with the help of Katy and Sandra. It helps for her to hear the same train of thought from other areas.
She started Cheer practice today and is really excited about camp. That's where the leverage came into play.....: ). She has to be doing well, or she's not going. Simple as that.
Work was okay today. She was on my mind all day. Each time my phone rang ~ THANKS Phil ~ I freaked, thinking something was going on with her. I had just started to relax, then here we go again. BUT thinking positive, maybe it was the Thai food. OR maybe not doing the detoxing. Who knows?? All I do know today is, life is good and I hope and pray it stays that way. : )

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Yep...

Another sleepness night. I'll leave it at that.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Not Good News.............

Today is July 4th. It's raining a LOT! Not a good swim day, but it's only 7 AM. Long night. Steff and I had a GREAT day yesterday. We had Thai lunch with Char, then we all went walking downtown, hit Cool Stuff and Envy (Steff's favorite place to shop!) and yes, I bought her a shirt to wear for the Fourth. She works today 1-5, I think. After all the shopping, she came home, rested, then went to the movies with friends. Sounds like a mellow day to me.

As I was getting ready to head down to bed, I saw her shiver and shake all through her body. I laughed and asked what that was all about. Her eyes rolled back and she seemed to have a difficult time focusing, then her head and neck did that "jerking thing", I asked if she was okay. She then went on to explain that she gets something like a chill run through her spine and it makes her whole body shake. We talked about it, and I thought she was okay, then I headed to bed. I had just fallen asleep when Dave woke me to listen to her> she was crying out about how bad it hurt. ugh. I ran up, and sure enough, here we go again. Her little body was jerking to the max. and she had her hands over her ears. She seemed to be asleep. Dave and I both were with her. She didn't want to talk at ALL. So he went on to bed and I layed down with her. Once she got settled back down to sleep, her body twitched all night long. Bummer. I really thought this was over. So, Dave and I were trying to evaluate the situation. My brain goes to the detox, his to the stress. She didn't seem stressed to me at all, but maybe she's not sharing everything. I haven't been able to get her into the sauna, she relates it to being sick. I was thinking maybe the foot detox, but it's Independence Day, so that won't happen. She has Cheer Camp in 2 weeks. She will have to be fine to go or she won't be going. I know she's going to be mad, but life goes on. I cannot send her off ~ not knowing if she'll be okay. I plan to call that case worker today, the one that called me from BCBS. I really don't know what to do. We didn't establish a Dr. that could figure out what is going on. I hope we can get a grip on it right away. All those fears and the sadness came flowing back to me last night. I REALLY don't want her to go through this again or any more! Send her your prayers and hope that this doesn't continue. That's where I am.
Enjoy your Fourth ~ rain and all. : (

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Not sure if it's good or bad news.....

Hey! I took Steff to the OB GYN today after her ultra sound on her female parts. Seems that the cyst has burst, but has not completely drained. She still has pain, but not as intense as it was. Dr. B said if she still has pain in a month to call and they will schedule an appointment to go through her belly button to check things out. Dr. B said that the skin of her uterus (TOO MUCH INFO??) might be growing over her ovary. Well. I couldn't ask any questions, b/c I was sitting my butt in the waiting room. Yes, the girl is an adult now, handling things on her own. AND that's fine, she IS almost 18. HOWEVER, I'm not too sure she knows what kind of questions to ask yet. So, that was our day. Good news ~ I think. If not, and you have knowledge of this, please share. Again, I'm writing it how she explained it to me. : )

I am starting to feel like Doctor Crazy with her. Running her to 2 DRs. in one week, scheduling surgery for her knee and wisdom teeth. She had these things going on, I promise. I really would rather skip all this Dr. stuff. But, it is happening and I am trying to take care of it. I have said many times, I want her healthy!! It's not like I'm searching for something to blog about!! LOL : )

Everything else is good. Dave is working full weeks. I'm still working, but not full weeks b/c of the appointments. I do return to work after the appointment, which I NEVER did before. I would take the entire day and hang out in the pool. SO~ it's not that I love my job, it just pays much better than laying at the pool. : )
We're dog sitting for Josh and Emily. Maddie is with us for 8 days. AGH!!! No, really, she's a good dog. She minds really good. Ball crazy though. They went to San Diego for a wedding and made a vacation out of it. Hope they are having fun!!
Happy Fourth of July! Enjoy the day! Steff's all proud that she gets to work and get paid time and a half. : ) To be 17 again........... .........................