149 posts tagged “health issues”

Cody had surgery to remove his adenoids on Monday.  Everything went very smoothly though we were there longer than I expected.  He stayed home from school yesterday but went the 1/2 day they had left today.  His throat is a bit sore but not too bad.  Hopefully, this will relieve his constant stuffiness and snorting! 

My baby girl turns 7 today and for her birthday she got strep throat!  Poor thing.  She was complaining of a bad sore throat when I picked her up from school yesterday.  Tylenol has helped with the pain and now we've got some antibiotics so she should be better soon.  Thankfully, her big party isn't until Saturday.

We had a family dinner tonight with a special Banana Coconut Cake that was a recipe of my Little Grandma's.  We'd never tried it before but it was quite good! 

Lily & coconut banana cake.jpg

Lily opens Nintendo DS.jpg

Littlest Pet Shop game.jpg

Tinker Bell game.jpg

Jace wanted to use some of his own money to get her a present so bought her this cute, stuffed dog.

Stuffed dog from Jace.jpg

Lily blows out candle.jpg

Below 0 windchill:

1. Last week the temperatures was in the 50's.  Today, it's -5.  Along with the cold came Jace's croup which he thought he was getting over.  It's his first episode since April so it's definitely getting further between attacks.
2. Ray spent all of Sunday spraying the trim so carpet could be installed.  I went yesterday to help remove all the masking and paper.  The residual from the paint sprayer goes a long ways and ended up on a lot of the walls.  The more paper I removed, the more I started crying.  I spent so much time painting that house and there were entire walls and closets that needed redone.  I finally just had to leave!  Turned out that it didn't take as long as I thought it would to fix so it did get done yesterday.
3. To add to my Monday, we got a call from the utility company that since our geothermal heat pump meter wasn't connected last month, our bill was $490!!!!!!!!  They called back 10 minutes later to give us a $150 credit.  That didn't make me feel too much better.

Tropical heatwave:

1. Lily's room is carpeted!  Aside from hanging the light and door, her room is basically finished.  Today, they'll install the carpet in the guest bedroom and master bedroom.
2. My computer has been fixed!  We upgraded to Office 2007 so now I have Outlook back.  I have sure been missing my email addys and calendar!  Thank goodness all the information was still there.
3. My baby is turning 7 this week!  I'm not sure if that's good or bad but we'll have a good time.
4. I just love our church here.  The people are ridiculously kind and I like it!!

What's the worst vacation you've ever taken?

Growing up, we took a vacation every Labor Day weekend to the Black Hills in South Dakota.  On one of those trips, I got the stomach flu plus an asthma episode.  My friend, Michelle, came with who also has asthma and she ended up with the same thing.  We spent the weekend together on the floor in the bathroom thinking we were going to die!

When we got to the vet to see Butterscotch yesterday morning, he was in very rough shape.  I started crying immediately.  So much for being the strong mom.  They had him covered up with a towel to keep him warm and he didn't open his eyes.  I finally asked if I could pick him up and they said that was fine..  It seemed as if he was trying to purr but it came out very labored.  We all gave him lots of love.  After about 15 minutes, Butterscotch started having a seizure so I had Ray run get the tech.  She had me put him down and she tried to hold him still.  It didn't last long.  He still had a faint pulse but she said she thought he was on his way out.  Within a few more minutes, he was gone.

We're all very heartbroken.  Though we only had him about 2 months, he quickly worked his way into our heart and was so lovable.  I'm thankful that we were there to comfort him when he died so that he wasn't alone.  We had a little burial service this morning.  We wrapped him in a baby blanket that he liked laying on in the garage. 

Cody was being very strong until bedtime and then he broke down.  Lily has her moments but mainly wants to know when we can get another cat.  Jace has had a very hard time.  He's so tender hearted. 

It's kind of bizarre that I hesitated to buy too much for the cat because I was always afraid something would happen to it.  We just seem to have such bad luck with strays.  I think the next time we see a stray, we should probably tell it to run for it's life!

Some of our happy moments with Butterscotch:

Butterscotch scarf

Lily & kitty

Butterscotch close up

Butterscotch even went to school for Lily's Show & Tell a few weeks ago.

Will we get another cat?  Well, I think we determined that it can work to have a garage kitty.  We all really enjoyed spending time with him and even bought him a heated house (though our garage floor at the new house is heated).  I think we should wait until we're moved and then look in the spring for a brand-new kitten that needs a home.  Then, we can make sure it gets all it's vaccinations on schedule.

We have a very sick kitty.  I went into see him around 3 and he didn’t come out of his house until I took him out.  (Totally out of character).  His eyes kept rolling back in his head and he was very lethargic.  I took him straight to the vet and had to wait 2 ½ hrs because of other emergencies.  Poor baby just laid his head on my shoulder the whole time.  He has a fever and either an infection or acute leukemia.  He has had all his vaccines but it’s possible to be born with leukemia or he might have had it before getting the vaccine.  We’re hoping it’s the first.  They kept him for fluids, antibiotics, and an anti-inflammatory for the fever.  Bandit died at the vets alone on a Friday night so I really don’t want that to happen to Butterscotch.  If he’s not going to make it, I want him to be in my arms.  He’s such a good-natured cat.  I have such awful luck with strays!!

Butterscotch is not improved this morning.  The vet now thinks it’s a type of viral infection which had a long name.  They can recover with supportive care but it doesn’t look promising.  If he doesn’t show some improvement during the day, he thinks we should probably put him down.  Seriously, we have the worst luck with strays.  I think the next time we see one, we should tell it to run for it’s life!!

Lily woke up at 1:00 am with a fever and bad cough.  Good thing there's no school Thursday or Friday this week.

That is NO longer the question.  Our family always gets flu shots every year.  With 3 asthmatics, we can't take the chance.  However, I had my concerns this year about the new vaccine for H1N1.  I had decided we would go ahead because I thought the benefits outweighed the risks but it hasn't yet become available.  The 1st case of H1N1 appeared in our county just last Friday.  On that same day, Jace was home with a fever and Cody was home with a sore throat.  On Saturday, both boys were perfectly fine so I thought we'd dodged the bullet.  Sunday, Cody woke up and said he felt weak and tired so didn't go to church.  By the afternoon, he was sporting a fever, had thrown up once, and was coughing.  This did not look good.

Cody stayed home from school today and I decided to make him a Dr. appt. since he had all the flu signs.  By the time we got to the Dr., his temp was 104.4 and he was dehydrated and hardly able to walk by himself.  He was given Tylenol, a shot of Phenagrin, and a Gatorade to try and get better without having IV fluids.  After about 15 minutes, the temp was down to 102 and he was drinking a little Gatorade.  They also did an influenza test.  Around 10 minutes later, the nurse came in to give him some Advil and then they checked his temperature again.  It was 103 and off we went to the lab for blood work and then the ER for IV fluids.  In the meantime, we were told that he was positive for Influenza A.  They send it to the state lab for H1N1 analysis but that's basically the only influenza going around right now so they assume that will also be positive.  Cody actually had the regular flu shot 2 weeks ago.  We spent 2 hours in the ER while Cody got 2 liters of fluids.  It's amazing what a difference it made. 

What really stinks is that Cody's only 2 middle school football games are tonight and tomorrow night so he's going to miss them both!  They were even playing at the high school under the lights.  I'm praying that Jace's brief fever and cough were his version and that Lily's little cough is her version and that Ray, myself, and especially my parents, don't get it at all!  I don't think I've ever used so much hand sanitizer in my life!

Cloudy:

1. The weather!  September was our most summer-like weather of the year.  It was just beautiful!  October 1 came along and we switched straight to winter.  It's been cold, rainy, and windy.  Thankfully, we haven't had any snow yet though it's been in the forecast a lot.
2. I have to miss Cody's 2nd middle school football game tonight because it's during my choir rehearsal.  Pooh!

Sunny:

1. I had 3 moles on my back biopsied last week and they all came back negative.  I'd had a few done in college and those were also fine.  Better safe than sorry, though. 
2. Every week I've had more children showing up for choir and we're having a great time!  I found some really awesome songs for us to sing.
3. I raised $285 for the March of Dimes when I went to jail today.
4. By the end of today, the entire upstairs of our new house will be primered, 1/2 the ceiling painted, and the kitchen walls done.  Moving right along now!

Fumble:

1. I'm having 3 moles removed from my back next Monday.  I had 2 removed in college and my chiropractor suggested I have a few checked out at my last appt. before we moved.  I finally got around to it yesterday.  At first, the Dr. thought there were 2 that just needed watching but then she found one she didn't like under my bra strap.  If they're removing one, we might as well just get rid of all 3. 
2. Jace's flag football team got creamed last night. 
3. The Steelers lost on Sunday because Jeff Reed missed 2 field goals.  I could've understood missing one in the pouring rain but 2?!

Touchdown:

1. We're ordering our kitchen cabinets today or tomorrow.
2. The perfotaper finally arrived last night and began work today.  I'm hoping things will move along now!
3. The start of Fall TV programming.  I enjoyed DWTS and Castle last night. 
4. The kids are acclimating soooo well here.  I'm very happy and excited for them.
5. The 1st practice for my new kids' choir here was last Wednesday and I only had 6 kids (2 were mine).  When I scheduled it, I didn't realize it was an "early out" day for school.  The church program that is before my choir had less than half of the kids that attended the previous week so I'm hoping my attendance will be much better tomorrow.  I'd really like a minimum of 15 kids.
6. I went to my first handbell practice last week.  I've always wanted to learn to play.  It's harder than I thought but the others said I did amazing for my first time.