Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Better Settled

Where has the month gone?  The last few weeks have been so jam packed with this and that that they literally flew by.  I. finished her school year off fantastically and impressed all (and her momma to tears) with her perseverance and refusal to give up.  It was nice to see the positive side of that character trait instead of experiencing the challenging side of it raising her. 

V. and I snuck in a daytime movie before the follow up mammogram/ultrasound and thankfully, not only did the impromptu daytime date turn out nicely so did the testing.  All clear!

My back is doing great after my three shock wave therapy treatments and I'm so happy about that.  I had about two weeks of respite from any migraines and finger bumps but they have returned this past week.  Almost every day I get a migraine though a minor one compared to the old days but still enough to sometimes need to take medication for it.  It's accompanied by swollen glands, a drippy nose and just feeling run down.  Frustrating and trying to figure out the next step to stop it.

D. is amazing just like his sister.  He's memorized an entire book...Little Blue Truck Leads the Way.  It's not a short book and has a lot of verses but he can say them just by looking at the pictures.  His vocabulary and pronunciation is great for his age (especially a boy from what I see) and I think it's because of his learning style.  Every time he asks something and I answer or even if I just answer, he's always recited back exactly what I've said word for word, slowly like he's really digesting it.  Obviously he has been digesting it because he's not even three yet and today he said, "I saw the engine of a car because it was open.  I've never seen the engine of a car before."  I can tell that he's not only going to be a smart kid, he's going to be a feeling kid and wear his feelings on his sleeve.  The good thing is that he allows me to comfort him with snuggling, talking, and singing and that helps him get through it and back to his happy self.  This is still a struggle with I. and it's hard for me not to take it personally or harden my heart when I go to her to hug her and she pushes me away and says no.

More stuff to post about but need to head to bed now.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Not Settled Yet

I was hoping that this post would be more settled down and calmer than my last one.  I guess in some ways it is but in other ways, definitely not.  What is interesting is that the same topic that has settled down is a similar topic to what has become unsettled.  What a riddle.

After months of agonizing back pain and three decades of nagging chronic back pain, I am thankfully pain free thanks to a treatment called shock wave therapy.  Sounds scary but it's not.  I've always done chiropractic care for maintenance but after this last horrendous back injury, I was still in lingering burning pain after my adjustments plus many PT appointments.  I was really concerned about summer time activities with the kiddos that involved any kind of walking since that seemed to be a huge problem for my back.   Well, three treatments of this new treatment which took about three minutes a pop and not only have I been able to hoof it around with D. in a stroller at both LEGOLAND and Wild Animal Park, my everyday back pain is gone.  No tightness, no twinges, no aches, no pain!  That is such a huge thing in my daily life.

My mystery skin rash and migraines have settled down quite a bit though not completely.  The skin part of it is under control and not flaring up terribly but it's still there.  I can live with that.  The migraine part is puzzling but seems to be down to one a week.  I guess I can live with that as well.

A few weeks ago I had to get my annual checkup and a mammogram done.  The last thing I said to my mom who was babysitting D. was, "I really wish I didn't have to get this mammogram done since this year has not been a good health news year."  So why was I surprised when I got a call saying I needed to go to the hospital for a second mammogram and ultrasound?  Worse was that when I reexamined the area, I do feel something in there and so did V.  Logistically, things worked out pretty well in that D. was already going to my parents house for a day/night so that V. and I could attend an important school event for I. and that day is when the first opening was for my appointments.  So I didn't have to tell my parents which I didn't want to do because they have so much depressing things going on to worry about.  I want them to enjoy D. and their time with him which is special because usually I. is there and as the oldest and a female, she commands a lot of attention! 

So I'm tense to say the least.  Trying not to "go there" which is hard when I look at my kids and think how young they are and what if?  It's also hard to be nonchalant when I was telling I. tonight about how V. would pick her up from school and take her to eat before coming to pick up Mommy at the hospital.  She's a very smart kid and very perceptive so I really had to feel what I was saying and not even try to fake it.  There's no sense in giving her something to worry about when she tends to be a worrier anyways.  I will be praying hard that everything is okay and that I. will do fantastic in her school event tomorrow morning.  Here's to praying for a great day tomorrow!