Monday, July 25, 2011

Have a heart.

This is the time of year when the kids are away on vacation, visiting various family members for a few weeks. No matter how many times it happens, I still miss them terribly. Can't-breathe, cry-at-everything, sleep-in-their-rooms kind of miss them. I know that this time is the perfect opportunity to get my "To Do" list whittled down (and I'm doing that, I promise) but my heart just isn't in it. It's a thousand miles away right now.








Thursday, July 7, 2011

Ouch!

Theron has been getting allergy shots for a little while now, and we're past the initial period where we just wait and see how he tolerates a single dose. Oh, no. Now his dosage increases with every visit, which means they're just filling the syringe a little more each time. Considering how badly this stuff burns, I wasn't surprised that Theron actually cried this time. It did, however, break my heart. He's been so stoic, even when getting injections in, or very close to, already bruised skin. (Two shots, twice per week, in the backs of his upper arms only gives them so much room to work with.)

Today was his breaking point and I can't say that I blame him. He had at least three of the nurses in tears, too. He's always been so good about his shots and has invited every nurse out for ice cream at least once (and two he tried to move in with, oy vey). I think his breakdown was so unexpected that it caught them off guard. It certainly did for me. Maybe it's easier for them to ignore when they know the kid will scream and cry and fight them. Who knows?

There's a catch 22 in all of this, which is that the kids leave in one week to visit their father. This is the first year that we've had to try and coordinate a doctor, let alone a specialist, while they're up there. (My insurance will only cover emergencies while they're up there and their father has a very high deductible since he rarely gets ill and the kids have never needed medical attention while visiting.) Their step-mother gave me the name of an allergist up there, which turned out to be the only immunology office in the entire town. Oh, but the allergist that she knew of had retired and left the practice to someone else. Someone who still has not called me back.

Obviously, I don't trust my child's life to someone who can't pick up the phone, or even ask one of a dozen or so people who work with him to do it. Factor in that Theron's actually having reactions now, no matter how minor,and it's a no-brainer. Luckily, his father and I are in complete agreement. So, for the three weeks that the kids are visiting their father, Theron gets a break from his shots. We may have to back up a dose or two, but I'll take that over the alternative any day.

Monday, May 23, 2011

What a week!

Park! Field Day! Mud Mania! It's been a whirlwind of a week, but here are some pictures from the park:







Field Day injury and Mud Mania pictures to follow!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

'Tis the season for the wheezin'!

So, it's allergy season again. This year, we decided to celebrate by getting Theron tested for specific allergies. About 6 weeks ago, I flat-out asked his doctor to do the damn test since autistic children are known to have far more food and environmental sensitivities than the average child. Lo and behold, the blood test came back "high positive". That's the point where my stomach sank.

Per the blood test, my boy was showing reactions to:
Milk
Wheat
Peanut
Soybean
Codfish
Egg White
Cat Dander
Dust Mites (listed as Derm Farinae)
Cockroach
Dog Dander
Mold Spores (listed as Alternaria Tenuis)
Per the grid test he had done on Monday, he showed reactions to:

Tree Pollens: Eastern 8 Mix
Eastern Oak Mix
Elm Mix
Maple/Box Elder mix
Hickory/Pecan Mix

Grasses: GS 7 Grass Mix
Bermuda
Bahia

Weeds: Ragweed Mix
Cocklebur
Rough Pigweed
Lamb's Quarter
Dog Fennel

Inhalants: Mite Mix

Epidermals: Cat Epithelium

Fungi: Alternaria
Aspergillus Mix

Foods: Peanut
Soybean
Fish Mix

So, the allergist put him on Zyrtec (which he'd been on before the testing) and Singulair and we follow up in 6 weeks to begin immunotherapy shots. Right now the main restrictions are environmental; he can't go outside on days when the pollen levels are high, we have to damp-dust every day, and he can't be around perfumes or smoke. Because his allergies affect his asthma, he has a standing prescription for Albuterol and can't use most soaps, perfumes or lotions. We use castile soap for him, or Dove Sensitive in a pinch. We use single source oils (Vitamin E, Jojoba or Olive) after his showers and DermaSmooth when his eczema acts up.

All of this has been relayed to the kids' father, aunt, grandmother and former stepmother, so here's hoping that they're able to keep up with the routine. I realize that it's a lot to handle if you're not used to it, but once you get the first major cleaning done, the rest is just maintenance.

In the meantime, I'm requesting a blood test for gluten and casein allergies, as per the allergists recommendation. Heaven help us if any of that comes back as reactive. He adores milk and pasta!

Friday, February 4, 2011

It's love.

Jilly Bean, our little rex bunny, is one of the most uplifting parts of our family's day. She's sweet, silly and happy, with a personality all her own. She never fails to make us all smile.






Well, today I decided to put a belled, breakaway cat collar on her in order to keep track of her whereabouts. (She has full run of the livingroom but can get into the back of the house since she's small enough to squeeze through the bars of the hall gate.) Oh, she did NOT appreciate that one bit! After being fitted with the collar, I set her down and she was a flurry of hopping and kicking (a bun's way of showing annoyance) and scratching at the collar. So, like the good bunny mama that I am, I took pictures. With my phone. Because that's how I roll.




"Not cool, ma. Not. Cool."




She got over it pretty quickly and went to check out her toys. Then I went and rearranged stuff, which always catches her interest. After a little while, I realized that the collar doesn't do anything but get the cats and dogs worked up, so Jeff and I took it off. After quite a while spent primping (probably to counteract the abject humiliation we'd subjected her to), she stretched,




And then settled into a fuzzyhoverbun and promptly fell asleep.




D'awwww! (Yes, bunnies sleep with their eyes open. Freaky.)

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Oh, brother.

So, tomorrow begins a new chapter for Erilyn. She's decided to go back to brick & mortar schools and we got a hardship transfer approved so that she can attend Theron's school. Now, this is amazing for her as well as us but we have no idea how Theron will be able to handle knowing she's there and not being able to play with her. It's made worse by the fact that she's such a great sister and actually likes to help out and spend time with him. I guess we'll just see how it goes.

She has the choice of attending Strings, Chorus or General Music and she's choosing GM in order to keep her experience low key. Hey, I can't complain about that. The kid has enough going on, you know?

My only concerns are going to be Spanish. She took French for 3 years and Spanish for a half year and is coming into this pretty late in the game. I want her to be ready for 6th grade but I know she'll struggle with Spanish due to both the lack of experience and the fact that she prefers French anyway. Another "wait and see" thing, I guess.

I'm excited but I still feel like I'm holding my breath. After all of the bullying and administrative issues on top of her medical issues, I can't help but hope for the best while preparing for the worst. I know that some things will be a non-issue (the AP at this school HATES bullying and the school has won so many awards that they're running out of room to display them all) but some things are totally out of our control. Those are what scare me the most.

A parent never stops worrying, right?