Wednesday, November 17, 2010
The Death of a Minivan
I ran some more errands after that. When I got back to my van it wouldn't start. It would not even crank a little. So I was going to have to jump it. However, the van was parked very close to the car in front of it. I couldn't walk to the front and reach the hood release latch. So I'd have to push it out of the parking stall, up hill, to get access to the battery to jump it. The person who parked on my left side had parked so close that there was no way I would be able to push the van with the door open to steer it and push it at the same time. Ugg! I sat there and said a little prayer and when I was done the lady parked in front of me got in her car and drove off. I quickly put my van in neutral and rolled forward. I finally was able to get it jumped and drove straight back to the auto shop where I very politely asked them if they checked the battery they didn't know so they checked it again "It has a charge now but that doesn't mean it will hold a charge for long. The battery is 4 years old, probably time for a new one for $100. Oh, and by the way your tire looks low let me fill it. "
I returned home stressed out and depressed and tried to get some house work done. When my husband came home an hour later he discovered the van had a totally flat tire. Me and my husband spent over an hour on our hands and knees trying to change the tire. Remember the rusty lug nuts?
We got the tire patched and a new battery, but, it looks like we will probably need a new vehicle. I messed up my bad knee and did something to my shoulder trying to help get the tire changed. I guess I am getting to be as old as the minivan. Should we replace me when I get too expensive to repair?
Saturday, November 13, 2010
update on Jimmy
Jimmy has seizures, lots of them, all the time. It's one of the many fun side effects of having a brain tumor and brain radiation treatments. (radiation, the gift that keeps on giving) He has been having between 4-8 seizures a day. We have been trying every medication in the book to try to stop the seizures he is currently on 3 different medications for his seizures. He is also going through precocious puberty and the doctors think the increase in hormones may be contributing to the seizures, so now Jimmy will be taking Lupron injections to stop the puberty.
A few weeks ago Jimmy started a new medication to try to stop his seizures. the day after he started the medication he also began complaining of a tummy ache, so he has been throwing up every other day for a couple of weeks, he even felt too sick to go trick-or-treating. At first I thought he had a stomach bug but three weeks later he is still sick. So now I am thinking it is his new medication. However his seizures have also decreased to only 2 a day; So would he rather feel sick all the time or have seizures? Ugg.
Jimmy is scheduled to stay in the hospital for 4 days do a VEEG to see if they might be able to do surgery and remove the part of his brain that is causing the seizures. So do I hope they can do surgery and remove part of his brain or do I hope thay say that they can't?
Sunday, October 10, 2010
It's all good
One night My husband asked Jimmy "if they could do an operation to make your eyes work would you do it" I cringed: there is nothing we can do to make Jimmy's eyes better I don't want to get his hopes up. But, Jim's answer surprised me, he said "no, then I would not be who I am."
I remember sitting in the hospital alone while I was waiting for Jimmy to wake up from sedation after one of his daily radiation treatments, I had LOTS of time to think. I was thinking about my little brother who is deaf and what an incredible young man I thought he was. I thought his struggles with his deafness probably had a large part in moulding his character and making him such an amazing individual. I hoped that Jimmy would turn out to be of such strong character; maybe Jimmy's "visual impairment" would help build his character in a similar manner. If I had a choice to have my son with perfect vision but unhappy and of poor character or have him be visually impaired but, happy and of strong character what would I choose?
Well it's not my choice. But, it seems to me that in the end if we go through life with the right attitude the trials help to make us better in ways that we otherwise wouldn't have been. Life builds us in unexpected ways. In the end I guess "it's all good" after all.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Siezures
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Pity Party!
I'm having a pity party: I'm going do nothing but sit around and feel sorry for myself. You can come and sit around feeling pathetic with me. We can sit in a circle and tell about how rough we all have it. We can listen to each others woes and complaints. I can picture it now in my mind, first someone will tell of their chronic pain and their spouse out of work, then another will tell of the impending death of a spouse fighting cancer, another mom will express the agony of their child's death and then when it comes my time to complain I'll feel rather small and ungrateful complaining about the health problems of a my son, whom I still have with me, or the job my husband still has, or my relatively healthy body. So I'll just smile meekly and offer everyone a cookie.
See, I feel better already.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
One more day
Friday, June 11, 2010
woot shirt - will work for money
Sunday, May 16, 2010
hospital visits and pity parties
We began the long drive to Primary Children's Hospital when Jimmy asked me "Why do I have to go to all these Doctors? I never get to enjoy life, I never get to have any fun. my life would be better if I had never been born." While I do allow myself an occasional pity party I don't want him to have one. Jimmy is usually so cheerful and upbeat it kind of broke my heart to see him so down. So I began talking to him about how lucky we were to live somewhere where we had a good hospital to go to. We talked about all the wonderful things he had in his life, and how lucky he was to have all these doctors who cared for him. We talked about how many people loved him and about the fun things we got to do at the hospital. While I was cheering him up I found I had I cheered myself up as well. Sometimes when you help someone else look at the bright side you are really helping yourself.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Colored Easter Eggs
"no way"
"Ewwww gross"
"only if we don't have to eat 'em"
and my favorite:
"what are we gonna use 'em for, target practice?"
I guess my kids are spoiled by their nice, fresh eggs.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Dr. Appointments and more Dr. Appointments
So he wanted to know when his Dr. appointment was going to be that day. I told him we didn't have Dr. appointments for the rest of the week, boy was he disappointed, he had to spend an entire day at school.
We still don't know what's causing his problems so he won't be sad for too long, we have more appointments next week.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thankful
Thursday, March 18, 2010
had a bad year this week
We had parent teacher conference on Thursday evening where Jimmy's teachers told me he was having severe memory issues since about Christmas. His resource teacher mentioned placing him in another program in another school because they weren't able to help him here. Something like this would have been nice to know earlier. Then on Friday they sent Jimmy home from school because his right eye was hurting a lot. The pain gradually went away. I took him to his pediatrician who could not find anything wrong and called his ophthalmologist's office "is there any change in vision in that eye?" "No, he is still BLIND" Then on Sunday he had 3 seizures. His seizures had gradually been increasing but he has never had three in one day before. On Monday I called his neurologist, his neuropsychologist, and his oncologist. Monday afternoon he came home from school telling me his whole face hurt kind of like his eye was hurting before. After the Doctors all talked amongst themselves for a couple of days. I got a call yesterday morning telling me they wanted to do an MRI today. Jimmy was already in school so I had to check him out during his St. Patrick's Day activities and tell him "we get to go have an MRI." Yeah, he was pretty upset. I brought a drink for him to drink in the car on the way to the hospital (his IVs go better if he is well hydrated) and he had a seizure and spilled the drink all over himself. We got to the hospital and waited 30 minutes for the IV team to get there and it took 4 tries another 45 minutes of poking around in his veins to get the IV in, not fun. By then we had missed his time slot on the MRI machine we had an appointment for, it was either come back later or use the other machine. So we used the other machine. The radiologist has asked us in the past to always use the same machine for him, so we hope he will be able to read them alright. Of course by the time we got his MRI done the radiologist had gone home so we will have to wait for the morning to find out if his brain tumor is back.
So now I can't sleep.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Guilty Pleasure
My hubby had talked me into going on a 3 or 4 day Cruise and we found this 8 day cruise for the same price, The bargain hunter in me could not pass up that deal.
Yes, I did think about the kids everyday, and yes, I did worry about them, and about Grandma and Grandpa who were at home watching them, But I really really enjoyed it anyway.
A couple of days before we left I kinda tripp-fell down a stair and sprained my ankle, I was afraid I had broken it. I was so worried that I would not be able to walk on our vacation but I was able to go without crutches for the entire cruise, Ok, my ankle did swell a lot and it hurt but, hey I was walking.
I don't know It may just be a coincidence but as soon as we got back home and relieved my parents of babysitting duty, they took a quick 2 day trip to St. George, a city 5 hours south of where we live. When they came home they announced that they had purchased a home there and were moving in a couple of weeks. Hummmm... do you think they were trying to tell me something?
Don't you Just love the ace bandage?
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Boken Dreams
A few days ago Jimmy told me what he wants for Christmas next year, He wants sight, he wants to see. He told me that he has to ask for it for Christmas instead of his birthday because Santa Claus is magic and could get it for him. So... do I tell him the truth about Santa, or let him ask and be disappointed when he still can't see, or shall I hope he forgets before Christmas, after all Christmas is a long time off.
Yesterday I was talking to Jimmy about what he wanted to be when he grows up. He used to want to be a brain surgeon, or a helicopter pilot, now he wants to be a stay-at-home dad. When I asked why he has changed what he wants to do. He told be he can't work because he is blind. He'll just have to marry a wife who wants to work, because he can't do anything.
It's heart breaking to see your young child realize he will never attain his dreams because of limitations that are beyond his control. How does a parent walk that fine line between not wanting to destroy his dreams and accepting reality. The truth is that unless science can find a way to re-grow or repair his optic nerves he will never be able to drive a car (another one of his dreams) or be a helicopter pilot or a brain surgeon. I guess it is the same for all of us, in everyone's life there comes a day when you realize that your dreams will not be fulfilled and you're forced to confront reality. What did I tell Jimmy? I pointed out that his uncle's deafness has not stopped him from doing what he wanted to do, I reminded him about all the blind people he knows who have good jobs. I told him not to use the fact that he can't see as well as other people as an excuse, and we never know what the future will bring.
After all everyone has limitations, and the worst limitations we have are often those we put on ourselves.
Friday, January 1, 2010
christmas this year
Sometimes I think I would like to "skip" Christmas. Just until Dec. 26th though, I don't like the stress of Christmas, and some of the memories associated with it, but I'll keep doing it for my kids and hubby, as part of my gift to them. someday years from now when my kids are grown and my bad memories are distant and layered with new memories then I can "skip" Christmas but, by then I hope I won't want to anymore.