still more health stuff

It's hard to believe it was only Wednesday that I wrote last. My ultrasound Thursday went really well, in that I got a phone call from the doctor at the hospital not five minutes after coming home telling me to come in to the emergency to see him and/or the surgeon to discuss the results. Now, I know you don't get phone calls (especially that quickly) if the news is particularly good, so in we all went, Hubby dropped me off and I began the long wait for someone to see me.

The surgeon was paged and paged and paged. (Bear in mind that I had fasted for the ultrasound and didn't have time to eat anything when I got home) The regular doctor came, apologized for the wait, but there were no rooms to consult in, and there were more tests he had to order. Shortly after that I went in for x-rays, and then they drew more blood. Hours and hours and hours went by (Hubby made it in to wait the last bit with me. He had to wait for friends to come watch the kids), and I finally saw the resident and her student. They hijacked a room, did a quick consult and assessment, then left me to talk with the surgeon. Hubby and I waited and waited.

She came in, did her own assessment, and we then found out that the duct to my gallbladder was blocked by a stone, so the fluids couldn't get out. As a result, my little organ was now 6 times bigger than it should be. I was admitted that afternoon, and waited for a drain to be put in. It was more risky to try to remove the gallbladder in that state than to put in the drain. So, the drain was put in yesterday afternoon, and will likely stay in for two weeks or so.

I'll go in for an appointment this week when they will see if the stone has dislodged, I will see both the surgeon and the other doc the following week, and hopefully the whole thing will be over, done with, and out by the end of July. Sure beats waiting until the end of July to consult with a surgeon.

The kids have really been troopers. It's frustrating for me, since with this thing in, I can't pick up the kids, give them bear hugs, get down on the floor, really do much of anything. But I am home, I can read stories, give little hugs, tiny snuggles, and lots of kisses. I just have to focus on what I CAN do.

Hubby picked up an air mattress (what an air mattress! Wow, I love it!) and so I slept on it last night since he had to get up with everyone. It worked out really well. At first he said he and the Girl would sleep in the living room, but I like this much better. At least we're in the same room. And the boys think the air mattress is pretty cool too. They wanted to sleep on it too.

the last few days...

It feels like its been a long while since writing. So much has happened and not happened at the same time. Another Gall bladder attack sent me to emergency Friday. They sent me home with the orders to control the pain with meds and if it gets worse, come back. On to percocet and T4s. Saturday morning, I started getting really, REALLY cold. I could not stop shaking, my teeth were chattering, my legs were even shaking. I had a hot shower, but that didn't warm me up, so we had communal nap time on the futons. I got into warm jammies, robe, and under a layer or two of blankets, and started snuggling a couple of warm heaters, and I finally started to feel a somewhat normal temperature again. Then I started to really warm up.

An hour or so later, the process started to repeat itself, but instead of letting it get that far, as soon as I started feeling really cold, I just bundled up again, this time in my room, plugged the kids into Backyardigans, and started to warm up. This happened again Saturday night and Sunday night, but not since then. Since then my body temp has been going up and down like a yoyo. As high as 38.8, then down to almost normal, then back up. It seems worse in the late afternoon and evenings.

When I saw the doctor yesterday for my follow0up from the Pancreatitis, I told his all of my sympptoms (which are more than I detailing here, but you really don't need THAT much information!) and happily he did not dismiss them out of hand. He seemed concerned. The blood work I had done Friday morning was fine. Everything was normal, but the tenderness, the shakes and fever, those all were cause for concern. There was nothing serious enough to admit me to the hospital, but he wanted the bases all covered.

He gave me a form for more blood work (which I was able to do right away) and an appointment for an ultrasound first thing tomorrow morning. He said to keep monitoring the temp, and (of course) come back to the hospital if the pain comes back, if there's another gall bladder attack, if the fever breaks 40 for more than an hour, if the shakes come back.... all that fun stuff.

Oh, and I called the surgeon to book a consultation? They can't fit me in until July 27th. Jeepers.

But, the Girl has now broken the code for climbing stairs. She actually gets going pretty good. Then she wants to sit and turn around and comes crashing down. So Hubby figured out a way to get the baby gate to stay on the bottom of the steps to go upstairs. They really didn't have them well thought out when they designed them...

My boys are.... well.... my boys. The Boy got into my purse at nap time yesterday. He emptied a vial of sample perfume I'd forgotten was there. He wanted his hands and head to smell nice. Then he ate two sleeves of PEZ I had stashed in there, too. No wonder he was wired for the rest of the afternoon!

Boy2 is very nearly potty trained. He peed on the floor in front of the toilet today. He must have been holding it for a while too, because there was an awful lot of it on the floor, but that's one step closer, right?

For all of their foibles and frustrations though, they really are wonderful kids. Yesterday afternoon, after the purse thing and everyone was up from naps, I had just had it and needed a rest, so the Boy sat and read Calvin and Hobbes (it is so cute listening to the chuckles from him at a really funny illustration), Boy2 nestled into the crook of my legs and read his deep sea fish book, and the Girl crawled around, nomming books and toys, going back and forth between the boys as though checking up on them. They really are wonderful and thoughtful.

They may break their own necks trying to do acrobatics on the living room floor, or playing "gingerbread man game", or a tech-less "angry birds". But they are such sweethearts that I love very much and am so grateful, everyday, that they are in my life. Non-stop hugs and kisses.

potty training and training wheels

Half the battle is won! Boy2 hasn't pooped in his diaper for about a week now. He tells me when, and we rush to the toilet. The problem is that it's easier to tell when you need a bowel movement than when your bladder needs to be emptied, so as soon as our washing machine get repaired tonight (hopefully) he'll be back in underwear and we'll get the other half of the battle complete.

This morning, laying in bed, drifting between wake and sleep, we heard a little voice. "Ma! Ma! Ma!" pause.... "Da! Da! Ma! Ma!" I rolled over, Hubby rolled over, we looked at each other, smiled, and Hubby went and got the Girl out of her bed and brought her to ours. She is always so happy! And motoring. She definitely doesn't stay in one spot very long unless she's sleeping.

Last night we had my brothers and sister-in-law over for dinner. This morning, the Boy looked at me and said "When are my uncles coming over again?" After not seeing really any relatives last year, he is really enjoying having extended family around. And seeing his little cousin always makes him happy. "My new cousin?" "Well, he's still a baby, and he's your newest cousin, but he's been around for a few months already..."

I am getting excited, though. I have a pattern and fabric. I'm going to attempt pajamas for the boys. John Deer fabric, summer jammies. I think it will be fun. This will be my first real attempt at clothing. I tried to make a skirt for myself, but I need more practice with sewing zippers and hemming before it is wear worthy.

The boys are playing outside right now. The Boy just ran in and said "Mom! Boy2's legs are growing! He can reach the peddles! Come see!" I guess he's on his bike and trying to ride it. Feet tounch for about half the time. When they are all the way down, he still can't reach :) Good try, though!

darn!

Our washing machine isn't working. Hubby did his best to fix it, and it worked for a bit, but now it doesn't spin. So, of course, yesterday morning we woke up to two beds wet. Laundromats are wonderful. I wouldn't want to have to use one all of the time, simply because the kids generate so much laundry and we'd spend a small fortune on laundry in a week alone. But it was a grand adventure yesterday. We only used the washing machines since the dryer is still working, but what with running around doing errands yesterday afternoon, we didn't get the sheets back on the beds before bedtime last night. The Boy was very insistent that we put his sheet on before he lay down. his exact words? "Put my sheet on my darned bed!"

Hubby, the Boy, and I had our eyes checked yesterday afternoon. It had been two and a half years for Hubby and I, and it's recommended to have it done before Kindergarten. Prescriptions changed a little for Hubby and I, and the Boy left very disappointed that he doesn't need glasses. Boy2 was disappointed he didn't even get an exam.

Sitting here, the boys were play fighting. I looked up to see the Boy holding Boy2 by the head. As I said, "not the head, not the neck," Hubby came in and showed proper technique for holds and fighting. Ah, my Hubby! If they are going to fight, they may as well do it right:)

The Girl is clapping her hands. She is also pulling herself to standing with far more frequency and success. When I go into her room to get her went she's crying, I frequently find her sitting up, or trying to crawl to the side of the crib. And she's so happy so much of the time!

fun updates!

The Girl tried to clap her hands this morning. They connected, but no the palms, so there was no sound, but she was smiling, chuckling, and hitting her hands together. It was so cute! And she is crawling around like a busy bee, too. Every once in a while, the Boy or Boy2 will ask me to move her, and I'll just remind them that I could move her, but she'll just move right back. She likes being in on the action :)

I do have to remind the Boy that she's getting bigger and doesn't need him sitting behind her for support anymore. Just like I have to remind Boy2 that even though she is getting bigger and moving around, doesn't mean she's big enough to play rough with yet.

It's been a good week. Made a batch or two of cookies, made bread last week, picked up a plant or two, planted them, and the seeds I had. We got in basil, chives, oregano, and marjoram. I've never grown herbs before. I hope they work!

As we wait for our grass to grow in the back yard, I realize that I won't really be getting a garden in this year. I may be able to get planter boxes and do a few things like lettuce and carrots, but not what I had originally hoped. But that's alright. With planters there are fewer weeds to look after.

The other day, Boy2 was playing with his little dino buddies and he had one of them singing to the other. "I've got the devil on my shoulder!" When I told Hubby about this (I thought it was cute) he said that maybe it wasn't the best song to let our little boy listen to. It's one of the songs Hubby sometime youtubes for the boys to watch with him. The odd thing is that it's been a while since they'd seen it.

The Boy, being done preschool, was bugging me to phone the mom of one of his friends to have a playdate. So they came over yesterday. It was so cute! This little girl is just as fond of the Boy as he is of her. They hug, they hold hands, they are practically inseparable. What made it even more amusing is that Boy2 likes her alot as well, and she has a younger sister that just turned 2. So when little sis saw the Boy and big sis holding hands, she wanted to hold Boy2's hand. Only Boy2 was oblivious to this and was following the Boy and big sis around, wanting to play too.

I've been very lucky with my health lately too. I saw our family doctor last week and she ordered some blood work to see how my liver levels were. They are still a bit high, but I'm feeling fine. My eyes are still clear, my skin isn't yellowing. I don't really understand why everything seems wonky, but I'm happy that I feel fine.

I also noticed, since coming home, that I lost a pant size. My pants no longer fit me, so I had to get some new ones. They are a bit snug, but they don't fall down when I walk, so that's a plus! I wouldn't recommend going into the hospital with pancreatitis as a weight loss program, but it is nice to have a bit of a smaller waist line.

reflections

Just a few thoughts this evening...

The Boy had his last day of preschool today. In three months, he'll be five and starting kindergarten. I'm not sad over this fact. My Boy is getting older and will do fine in his new class. I'm just wondering where the last five years went. Every day he surprises me with something new, and his questions are always so well thought out, I can see how he's trying to piece the world into something he can comprehend. He asks what words mean, I sometimes feel like a thesaurus trying to use words he understands to describe words he doesn't. He is so subjective. When someone is hurt, he hurts too.

My sensitive Boy will learn to guard himself and his feelings. I almost mourn for that day. Not every person he comes into contact with will understand him, or where he is coming from. As a parent, I want to protect that, but I know that to do that would stunt his growth. He will learn and adapt.

As it is, his brother does his best to aggravate him (well, he gives as good as he gets. It is definitely a two-way street there). They get at each other in ways that boggle my mind. They are especially tuned to grate on each other. I guess that's the way all siblings work. They are born knowing which buttons to push.

But Boy2 seems to be a pro. Every little thing, and it goes both ways, leads to a fight or a tantrum. But they play well together too. The Boy dragged his sleeping bag down, and Boy2 brought down his denim blanket and they were pretending to go camping. The Boy asked Boy2 to sing lullabies to him. "Can you sing me Twinkle Twinkle?" "Sure!" was the response.

Of course, in the midst of this cooperation, the Girl crawls up and starts pulling on their pillows and blankets. "Mommy? Can you put baby in the exersaucer? I don't want her pulling on my sleeping bag." I guess the novelty of having little sis move around on her own is gone in favour of preserving the play space.

That Girl really is moving around now. In just the week that I've been home, she's started crawling around. First it was just getting up to sitting from being on her tummy, and then it was two or three little crawl-like movements before she landed back onto her tummy. This afternoon, she was crawling from the futon, over to the shoes and boots (not the cleanest toys for her to play with...) and then to the stereo where she started pulling on the speakers. Hello, mobility!

more updates

It's feeling good to write again.

Here's the update, for those who may have missed it: I was in the hospital for 8 1/2 days last week (I was admitted May 12, and I got out May 20). I'd had some gallbladder issues and was in the hospital in Stony Plain the Friday previous, had an ultrasound on the following Monday, went in for an ERCP Wednesday, and went to emergency around 3 am Thursday. The ERCP had caused acute pancreatitis, so I was in there until the pain was gone and the food would stay down. It looked like I was going to go home Wed, May 18th, but the night before I had a repeat attack, so they had to keep me longer.

I'm doing fine now. I go for follow-up in a couple of weeks, and we'll see about the gallbladder then.

Now, on to the more important things: the kids!

The radio station we listen most to has added "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen into their rotation this weekend, and the Boy absolutely LOVES it! Every time it starts playing, he gets a bit of a crazy smile on his face and he just twinkles as he sings along. In the van, at home, doesn't matter. He and his brother were in the basement playing and Hubby turned on the radio just in time to hear it start. I asked if he was going to call the Boy up, and he said no. Sure enough, not five seconds later, we heard the thump, thump thump of feet on the stairs on their way up to sing and dance to this song.

Boy2 won't be out done, though. He goes right in there and sings and plays along too. And, OH! the temper tantrums that Boy2 has had lately! He's tired, and we're just getting back into a routine after me coming home, so I understand that part. But my good heavens! Anything could be a reason to fly off the handle. He disagrees with his brother over something, they both want the same toy, he doesn't want to do something (like eat his dinner), it seems as though almost everything is worth a fight for this child. Then he goes and does something like he did this afternoon and nap for only 45 minutes. That is not long enough for that child.

My little Girl is kinda crawling now. If she doesn't think about it, she can go about three or four spaces before she stops and slides on her tummy. She is moving around, though. She can get from laying down to sitting up now, no problem at all. And she;s pulling herself to standing holding onto the futon too, more and more. Her character is developing in leaps and bounds, it's really wonderful to watch. She gets into the cupboards and plays with the dishes, finds all sorts of interesting things on the floor to stuff into her mouth (like coins her brothers drop), and now is on the bottle (that's what happens when Mamma is stuck in the hospital. She seems to like it now, though).

Going to sign off, for right now, though. I should probably check in to bed, since my body is still trying to get back up to speed. This is what I get for doing nothing but lay in bed for a week :)