Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Tortillas!
I was getting ready to take a nap with Jonathan (what a wonderful thing a scheduled nap is!) when Ian asked if we could make tortillas. I told him that I was getting ready to get Jonathan settled into his nap and couldn't right then.
He said, "We can do it, Mom! All by ourselves!"
So, what could I say to that? I gave Abigail the recipe and told her that she was in charge. I knew I'd be back down before the resting stage of the recipe was over so they wouldn't be operating the stove without me.
I came back down, twenty minutes later, after my power nap to find an almost perfect bowl of resting dough. I had them add just a little bit of water then they got to rolling, stretching and browning.
After they finished browning them all and having a little snack, they asked if they could make them into chips to have nachos for dinner.
I know who is making the tortillas from now on! Though, I don't think we make quite as much of a mess when we do it together.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
Pneumonia, Athsma, Viruses- oh my!
We are
usually a very healthy family. We try to
take good care of our bodies so we don’t get sick, and if we do get sick we try
to take extra good care to promote healing.
We were recently wiped out by a virus.
It started
on a Wednesday. I thought that I was
just experiencing some early seasonal allergies. Itchy eyes, runny nose, and sneezes
galore. Typically, I would up my vitamin
C intake and get some marrow broth out of the freezer. Well, we were visiting my grandmother and the
sneezes were one right after another. I
ended up taking a Benedryl … which I don’t handle very well. My Tommy told me that after I took it, my
grandmother asked me how much she needed to pay the Chinese delivery man and
instead of giving her the total, I handed her a JoAnn’s gift card. Yeah, I wasn’t coherent for about twelve
hours.
When I woke
up from my Benedryl induced stupor on Thursday, the allergy-like symptoms had
been replaced with a deep cough and wheezing.
I’ve never wheezed before in my life.
By the time that my Tommy got home from work it was so hard to breathe
that I could only speak one word at a time with several deep breaths and coughs
in between. My Tommy took me to our
local Emergency Room. Many people would
tell me that we should go elsewhere.
I’ve always supported our community hospital and defended it when others
criticized it.
My Tommy and
our babies went to hang out at my grandmother’s and I was treated very quickly. Soon, after breathing treatments and
steroids, I was feeling like maybe I wouldn’t die. Now,
taking steroids isn’t something I did lightly.
However, it was so hard to breathe that I took them gladly.
After a
chest x-ray, Ct Scan, and EKG (my pulse varied between 135 and 167) they decided
to admit me. I was still feeling quite
poorly, but so very much better than I had been and it was so hard to allow
them to keep me when all I wanted was to be at home snuggled down with my
family.
My pulse had
come down to 114, which while better was still high, so they wanted to do an
Echocardiogram. The gentleman that came
to my room to do the Echo was great. The
nursing staff was amazing. They were
kind, thorough, careful, patient, and caring. The Respiratory Technicians that came to give
me my breathing treatments were excellent.
I was so very pleased with our little community hospital. I didn’t want to be there, but was so
thankful that while I had to be there I was being taken care of by such great
people.
Just to rule
out a clot in my lung, my doctor wanted to run a CV Scan. By this late point in Friday, I had already
spoken on the phone with my family. I
could hear coughing in the background.
To me, it just seemed like we had a virus that hit me harder than I’ve
ever been hit before. I told the nurse
that I really didn’t want to go through with the test without talking to my
doctor first. She very kindly said that
was fine and called my doctor. When the
doctor came to my room, I told her that I really wasn’t comfortable with subjecting
my body to more radiation for a just-in-case-scenario. I told her that some of my children were
starting to get sick and I really felt like it was just a virus.
She then
told me that, actually the Ct Scan showed that I had Pneumonia and the reason
they wanted to do the CV Scan was because it would definitely rule out a blood
clot, which they were concerned about because many miscarriages can be a sign
of a clotting condition. She told me
that the CV Scan used far less radiation than the chest x-ray and Ct Scan they
had already done. Now, I don’t want to
accuse her of something that she did not intentionally do or say, but I really
thought she said that the level up radiation went up from CV Scan, Ct Scan, then
chest x-ray. I really thought that the
Ct Scan held the most radiation and briefly considered that she was just
telling me what she thought I wanted to hear so I would consent to the
test. In the end, I think that I may
have just misunderstood what she was saying or maybe she accidentally said the
wrong thing. She gave me no other reason
to think she would lie to me.
Just after
the doctor left, my Tommy brought Abigail to visit me. She has Athsma that is flared by respiratory
infection or stress. When she came to
sit by me I could see that her finger tips were purple, even though she had
been using her inhaler. Daddy
immediately took her downstairs to the ER for her own breathing treatment.
I called to
let my mom and grandmother know that Tommy was taking her down. While on the phone I heard Emily coughing
pretty hard. They said she wasn’t
wheezing at all though, so she just sat to rest some. This was about 5:00 pm on Friday.
The
transporter came to take me to nuclear medicine. He was also very kind. When we got down there and I talked to the
technician, I told her that I just wasn’t comfortable doing the test as I
really didn’t feel that it was needed and didn’t want to expose myself to more
radiation for no reason. Especially
since I would have to breathe some in and be injected with some, which would expose
anyone I came into contact with for three days.
I felt badly for making the technician stay to do my test and that the
transporter had to come back to me, but they both were so very gracious and
reassuring that the decision was mine.
What I
really wanted was to be sitting in the ER with my Abigailie, holding her hand
while she received her breathing treatment.
I started to silently cry, whishing I could be with my babies.
A while
later some very kind friends came by to visit (on Connie’s birthday, no
less!). They even brought me a
Chick-Fil-A salad and lemonade. While
they were there my Mom called and I asked her how Emily was doing and she said
just fine.
Curtis went
down to the ER to see if Abigail wanted anything from Chick-Fil-A and while he
was down there, my grandmother called to say that Emily was really wheezing
badly. Connie so kindly went to sit with
Abigail in the ER while Curtis and Tommy went to pick Emily up to bring her in
to be treated. My grandmother called
again to say that Emily was working so hard to breathe that she threw up.
I felt
absolutely helpless. I sat there in my
hospital bed praying and trying not to cry.
Between my friends’ cell phones and our cell phone we were communicating
often. Connie and Curtis sat with our
girls in their prospective ER rooms while Tommy came up to tell me that they
wanted to transport Abigail. The thought
was not one I had ever entertained. I
asked why and he said that he thought it was because they needed to admit her
and there weren’t enough rooms. My nurse
quickly assured me that if they admitted her, she would be on my floor and they
might not know in the ER that they just had a patient leave so he quickly went
to call the ER to let them know that a room was indeed available.
My nurse
called down to the ER to see what was going on and tried to explain that it was
hard enough for me to breathe and the added stress was making it harder so we
could really use some details upstairs.
My Tommy had
the girls’ doctor call me to explain that Abigail needed constant neb which
they did not do constant neb at that hospital for pediatrics. The doctor told me that they wanted to
transport her to either Children’s In DC or University of MD in Baltimore. I asked if we chose University of Maryland if
Emily and I could go with her. He said
he would look into it.
My nurse
very efficiently and immediately called my doctor who refused to discharge
me. The whole time, through talking,
listening, and waiting I was constantly praying. As soon as my nurse told me that my doctor
wouldn’t discharge me until my treatment for Pneumonia was complete, I told him
that I wanted the form to sign so I could leave against medical advice. He swiftly got it for me and quickly
unconnected me from my heart monitor and IV.
When I got
down to the ER the girls were in two separate rooms, on either side of the
ER. Each girl had one of our friends
sitting with them and Tommy had been going back and forth between each girl and
me. After giving hugs to each of my baby
girls, I asked the doctor if both girls could move into Emily’s room since
there were two oxygen hook ups. He said
it was fine with him and that he would talk to the nurse. He also told me that the transport for
Abigail to Children’s was 90 minutes away and that one of Emily’s lungs was
clear and he thought that it would only take one more breathing treatment
before she would be able to leave.
He refused
to agree that their condition was any way related to mine. In his mind, I had pneumonia (for the first
time, never having any other breathing problems ever), Emily was having an
athsma attack (for the first time, never having any other breathing problems
ever), and Abigail was having a severe athsma attack- all at the same time …
with no correlation to each other.
The girls
were doing ok, even though they kept asking about each other and just wanted to
be together. I knew they would be able
to relax more and ultimately breathe better if they could at least see that the
other one was OK. Also, when I sign any
consent form, I write “I will or will not provide consent for any treatment
after receiving explanation what the treatment is, unless it is a dire
emergency and critical life saving action is needed, which I provide consent
for now.” Since I was not the one to
sign the girls in, this was not on the consent form, however as their parent, I
still wanted full knowledge of any treatment or procedure and wanted the
ability to exercise my parental rights in regards to my girls’ care. I never allow any medication to be given
without checking to make sure it was truly intended for my child. ERs are busy places with many faces. Mistakes happen and I want to always do my
part to protect my children.
I overheard
the doctor asking someone at the nurses’ station if we could move the girls
together, so I stepped out of the room to hear the response. The nurse treated the doctor with utter
disrespect and rudeness by scoffing at him and stating that it would never
happen. The doctor, who remained polite,
said that there was indeed a second oxygen hook up and it was fine with him if
it was fine with the nurses.
The disrespectful
man that the doctor was speaking with said that since the girls had the same
last name they couldn’t share a room because the nurses might mix treatment up.
I piped up
and said that I would be there to make sure that didn’t happened. He turned to me with the most disgusted look
and with condescending arrogance said, “Absolutely not. You
are not qualified to do that.” Seething
audacity dripped from every word he slowly spoke as if I was trying to hurt my
children and I couldn’t possibly have any idea what was best for them, while he
on the other hand knew everything there was to know about everything.
I was in
such shock that I merely stared at him a moment, not allowing the words I
wanted to speak come out. I asked to
speak with someone over him before my Tommy turned me around and took me to
Emily’s room.
The doctor
came in to profusely apologize for the way the man spoke to me. He told me that he knew it would be more
“convenient” if the girls were together, which I interrupted him to tell him
that mere convenience had nothing to do with it. The ambulance was on the way to transport
Abigail to Children’s and my only concern at that point was getting Emily ready
to leave to go with us, as there was no way she was staying in that hospital
while her sister left to go to another one so I told the doctor not to worry
about the other man.
The doctor
mentioned running a chest X-ray on Emily.
I said, in no uncertain terms, that he would not be running a chest
X-ray on Emily, that if she needed an X-ray it would be done at
Children’s. The doctor told me that he
still had to finish treating her. I said
that she would complete her breathing treatments until Abigail was being
transported, then whether she was discharged or not she was going with us to
Children’s. He said that if he wanted to
transport Emily, it couldn’t happen until the ambulance took Abigail there and
came back for Emily, but he didn’t think Emily would need to be transported as
she was almost completely clear with the last breathing treatment. I again said, “Emily will continue her
nebulizer treatments here, however, she will not be treated in any other manner
while here. Any other treatment or
diagnostic she may need will happen at Children’s.”
The doctor
still didn’t seem to understand and said that he didn’t think she would need to
go to Children’s. I said, “You aren’t
understanding. She is going to
Children’s. I will not leave her here
while her sister goes to Children’s.
Whether she has completed treatment or not, she is leaving.”
Still not
really in agreement, showing bafflement, and complete incomprehension the
doctor left the room. I went to Abigail’s
room and after sitting a moment I started to cry. Connie prayed with me and kept reassuring me
that God was in control. What is funny,
is that when I was on my way down from my room I thought to myself that this
was God’s way of teaching me that I can’t always control everything that
happens to my children. After Connie
prayed I felt better, but was certain that even though I can’t control what
happens to my children, I am still responsible for them and charged with making
sure the best care for them possible is received.
It was now
about 1:30 am. I called my brother to
see if there was any way that his ambulance could transport Emily with a
nebulizer. He could not, but offered to
help in any other way. The doctor came
in and listened to Emily’s chest and said that she was all clear and would be
able to be discharged. I told him thank
you and asked that the discharge happen quickly as the ambulance was ten
minutes out.
I called my
cousin and asked him to listen to the other children to see if any of them were
wheezing. He said that Ian and Katherine
may be wheezing a little, but he wasn’t used to listening to a child’s chest so
wasn’t sure. Not wanting to take any chances,
we arranged for my baby brother to come get our truck from the hospital and
pick the other kids up, to meet us at Children’s. Ever available Connie and Curtis drove Tommy
and Emily to Children’s while I rode in the ambulance with Abigail.
While I was
on the phone with my brother, some sort of nurse manager came in to apologize
for the rude man’s actions. I told her
thank you but I had other things to worry about and finished my phone call.
God’s timing
was absolutely perfect. Emily was
discharged just in time so that they could follow us in the ambulance.
When we
arrived at Children’s, they rolled Abigail to her room where they took her
vitals and asked some questions. Tommy,
simultaneously, was taking Emily through triage. When they brought Emily back, not only did
they allow her to share a room with Abigail, not only did they let them share a
bed- but they encouraged them to do so.
The entire
atmosphere was calmer, more nurturing, and so very much more hopeful.
The doctors,
nurses, and respiratory therapist were patient about seeing both girls at once
and very careful to thoroughly examine each child.
Shortly thereafter,
my brother and sister in law arrived with the other children. Daddy listened to them and decided they were
just coughing and didn’t need to be seen but had me come out and do a Mommy
exam as well. They sounded great
compared to the other two. Emily was
doing much better herself, and discharged .
The doctors
agreed that it was a virus that caused the breathing trouble. I felt awful for exposing my family and our
friends to such a nasty virus, but even though a few have been effected by it they
are all healing nicely.
My mom and
grandmother arrived and took Emily, Katherine, Jonathan, and Ian out to
breakfast since it was now after 6:00 am.
They
admitted Abigail into a spacious room where she was cared for by sweet, tender
staff. My mother and grandmother went
shopping to get the kids a change of clothes and some other items. They came back with j anything we could have
possibly needed then went home so Tommy could bring the healthy kids to
them. Abigail received care throughout
the day, that night, and the whole of the next day. Tommy had brought Jonathan up to see us. Just before leaving to take him home, we
asked the nurse if there was any chance Abigail would be able to go home that
night since she had been meeting her goals of only needing a breathing
treatment every four hours instead of two, and not needing oxygen in
between. She said that since she still
needed oxygen when she was sleeping, she didn’t think we would leave that
night.
Tommy took
Jonathan home around 7:00 pm and before he arrived home the nurse said that
Abigail was indeed going to be released.
So, Daddy turned around and came to get us.
God really
blessed us with friends and family who went above and beyond to help out while
we were there. His timing was perfect
and His peace was sweet.
I'm so thankful that my babies were
so well cared for by my mother and grandmother when I couldn't be there.
My arms and heart ached for them but, I knew they were OK. My grandmother
told me that Jonathan would stand by the window, shrugging his shoulders and
say, "Momma?" One time my cousin heard Jonathan crying, then he
heard a dial tone. He found Jonathan with the phone trying to call
Momma. It breaks my heart, but I am so very thankful that we are all back
together again and all of my babies are healthy!
Parents, I urge you to
take your responsibility for your children’s health care very seriously. The doctors and nurses may have gone to
school, however you know your own child.
You are their best advocate. Any
“caregiver” who offers an attitude of arrogance and feels like they are the
only one that knows the right way to care for your child, in my opinion, is a
caregiver to flee. In my mind there is
nobody more dangerous to my child than somebody who doesn’t respect the important
role of the parents in the care of their children. Not to mention, they are providing a
service. One you are paying for … and
not cheaply. An account of our ER visit
will be given to the hospital board of directors and a letter will be submitted
to our local newspaper. I will never
take any of my children to that hospital again.
It is very sad that one bad apple has to spoil the pot, but I would not
feel comfortable with that man having anything to do with my children’s care
again.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
God Even Cares About Kitchen Gloves
Have you ever bought something, knew that you brought it home with you, yet couldn't find it? A few weeks ago I bought a pair of kitchen gloves. I knew I did. I simply couldn't find them anywhere. I kept looking in all of my usual hiding spots and kiddo drop spots. No gloves.
I kept stretching my old pair of gloves day by day while I searched for the missing gloves. Yesterday I decided that the next time I go shopping I would simply have to buy a new pair. I don't plan on shopping until Friday. Last night, I used my old pair of gloves to their demise.
This morning I said to God, 'I know it is silly, but would You please help me find my gloves?"
This evening it was storming so Daddy said that I could put the children to sleep in our bed. After snuggles, prayers, stories, and songs lead to droopy eyes and slow breathing I tried to move our bed away from the wall a little so we weren't blocking the air vent. Guess what I found in between our bed and the wall?
That's right. The kitchen gloves, still in the bag from the store. How they ended up there, I have no clue. God is so good, He cares about me so much that made a pair of kitchen gloves important to Him. How awesome is He and the amazing love He has for us?
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
German Chocolate Cake
It appears that I share my affection for German chocolate cake with Momma Lou. Yesterday after a church fellowship meal our pastor's wife asked if we wanted to take the left over German chocolate cake home. Of course, I inwardly blushed, then asked if Curtis told her to offer it to me. She said that he did not, then I had to tell her why I asked! I should have just not asked!
Well, this afternoon we picked Momma Lou up and as soon as she got in the truck she asked if it was somebody's birthday and pointed at the cake that was sitting on the floor board between her and myself.
"No, it was left over from a church dinner. I thought we could have some when we got back to your apartment." I said.
"Oh, that does sound good." Momma Lou said never taking her eyes off of the cake. "It is chocolate, isn't it? Looks like chocolate."
"Yes, it is German chocolate. Do you like German chocolate, Momma Lou?"
"Oh, yes, I do. I sure do. I like anything chocolate." Momma Lou said, still looking at the cake, having inched a bit closer to it. "You say it is left overs?"
"Yes, ma'am, from a church dinner yesterday." I said as I was driving down the street.
"It sure does look good." Momma Lou hunched over a little gaining closer proximity to the cake. "You know, I sure bet it would smell good too."
"It does, and it tastes good! We'll have some when we get back to your apartment."
"Oh, doesn't that sound nice." Momma Lou leaned forward a little bit more. "You know, I bet it tastes as good as it looks."
"It does, Momma Lou. I think you will like it."
"I bet it smells good, too. Anything chocolate smells good." Momma Lou lifted the lid to smell the chocolate, then she picked the whole plate up and said, "Oh, it does smell good. I bet it tastes good, too. Oh, I just can't ... I have to ..." then she grabbed a hunk of cake to smell, touch, and taste for real.
"Hey, Momma Lou, there are some spoons right there."
"Thank you, hun."
"Momma Lou, I'm sorry, but I have to stop and take a picture of you. Is that OK?"
"This cake is really good." Momma Lou mumbled through a bite of cake.
"Oh, is it good." Momma Lou seemed to be in a bit of a dream land.
"You're taking a picture!? Oh, this cake is good. Sure is good cake."
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Home Again, Home Again ...
Well, after a five month sabbatical we are back online. So, how do I plan on diving back in after our break? With as few words as possible.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)