Graham's calves, ankles, and feet have been lousy lately, but this week there was a particularly itchy, red, and raw day. Staring down at his legs as he scratched, Graham aptly summarized: "My skin is grumpy."
And at a different moment, showing me his flaky, red-flecked feet, quoth he: "I have blood. I need a blood sticker." I thought that was a pretty cute way of saying band-aid.
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Glasses Girl
Meg has been waiting patiently for a long time to get glasses. It was probably nearly a year ago that she started telling us she had trouble reading things at a distance. I forgot and forgot to schedule an appointment, and then when I finally called the ophthalmologist, there was a three-month waiting list.
But now the wait is finally over, and guess what? Meg is sooooo excited (Who, Meg? Excited??) to have her cute new glasses.
Doesn't she look great?
She's only slightly nearsighted and doesn't need to wear them all the time, but for now she's enjoying them so much that she only takes them off for outside play and sleep.
Hello, Cutie Pie!
But now the wait is finally over, and guess what? Meg is sooooo excited (Who, Meg? Excited??) to have her cute new glasses.
Doesn't she look great?
She's only slightly nearsighted and doesn't need to wear them all the time, but for now she's enjoying them so much that she only takes them off for outside play and sleep.
Hello, Cutie Pie!
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Health Updates
That was quite a little cliffhanger I created earlier this summer with Meg and her endoscopy, hm? (Posts here and here.) I do apologize to anyone who's been anxiously waiting for news of Meg's diagnosis and hasn't heard from us personally.
Meg does indeed have celiac disease, so this summer we've been taking steps to move from a mostly-wheat-free diet to a strict gluten-free diet. In fact, yesterday we met with a nutritionist who helped to answer some of our questions and navigate us through some of the tricky waters of cross-contamination sources. This is very important in a household like ours, where not everyone eats gluten free. For example, I can't toast the kids' GF bread in the same toaster slots where I toast Dave and Graham's wheat bread. I can't make GF and normal sandwiches on the same cutting board. I can't use the same containers of butter, peanut butter, jelly, etc. for Meg that I use for everyone else--there may be little gluten-containing crumbs in there that could spread to Meg's food. Every time I ask Meg to hand Graham an animal cracker, she needs to wash her hands afterwards.
This kind of thing sounds crazy if you're unfamiliar with celiac, I know. But for Meg, even ingesting the dust from a product made with gluten causes her body to go on the war path. Fortunately, her case is not yet so advanced that we've seen major reactions from that kind of "minor" cross-contamination scenario. But to keep her disease from progressing, that's how serious we need to be.
Of course, we would love it if Meg didn't have celiac disease--it's a lifelong limitation for her; it's inconvenient for those around her, etc. But I am so very grateful that she has this clear diagnosis at age seven. Many people with celiac go well into their adult years with vague or mysterious symptoms that go untreated and undiagnosed until they are very ill. For us, it's been a few stomach aches, and... bingo, here's what it is. And it's completely treatable with diet! No expensive meds, no hospitalizations... as health issues go, this one could be an awful lot worse.
On a largely unrelated note, I managed to overdose on caffeine last night. Talk about a stupid mistake! I'm not a habitual coffee/tea/soda drinker, but I have learned that caffeine is the one thing that helps with my bad monthly headaches. So yesterday when the headache started and I couldn't find my bottle of Midol (which contains caffeine), I brewed a pot of coffee and downed a great big mug. Then, maybe an hour later, I did find my Midol, and without thinking too much about it, tossed back a couple of those. This was all early evening time as I was prepping dinner, so my stomach was basically empty.
Well, by the time I got dinner on the table, I was shaking all over and feeling terribly weak. As soon as I had eaten a little bit, I lay down and stayed horizontal for the rest of the night. And it was a doozy of a night--I trembled, I was nauseous, I threw up, I had rapid breathing, my heart was pounding, my TMJ flared up. In short, I was a mess. Finally, around 4:00 this morning, my body had metabolized/purged enough that I was able to sleep.
Moral of the story: Don't be an idiot. A headache (even one that lasts for three days, as some of mine do), is better than an overdose. Medicate wisely.
Meg does indeed have celiac disease, so this summer we've been taking steps to move from a mostly-wheat-free diet to a strict gluten-free diet. In fact, yesterday we met with a nutritionist who helped to answer some of our questions and navigate us through some of the tricky waters of cross-contamination sources. This is very important in a household like ours, where not everyone eats gluten free. For example, I can't toast the kids' GF bread in the same toaster slots where I toast Dave and Graham's wheat bread. I can't make GF and normal sandwiches on the same cutting board. I can't use the same containers of butter, peanut butter, jelly, etc. for Meg that I use for everyone else--there may be little gluten-containing crumbs in there that could spread to Meg's food. Every time I ask Meg to hand Graham an animal cracker, she needs to wash her hands afterwards.
This kind of thing sounds crazy if you're unfamiliar with celiac, I know. But for Meg, even ingesting the dust from a product made with gluten causes her body to go on the war path. Fortunately, her case is not yet so advanced that we've seen major reactions from that kind of "minor" cross-contamination scenario. But to keep her disease from progressing, that's how serious we need to be.
Of course, we would love it if Meg didn't have celiac disease--it's a lifelong limitation for her; it's inconvenient for those around her, etc. But I am so very grateful that she has this clear diagnosis at age seven. Many people with celiac go well into their adult years with vague or mysterious symptoms that go untreated and undiagnosed until they are very ill. For us, it's been a few stomach aches, and... bingo, here's what it is. And it's completely treatable with diet! No expensive meds, no hospitalizations... as health issues go, this one could be an awful lot worse.
* * *
On a largely unrelated note, I managed to overdose on caffeine last night. Talk about a stupid mistake! I'm not a habitual coffee/tea/soda drinker, but I have learned that caffeine is the one thing that helps with my bad monthly headaches. So yesterday when the headache started and I couldn't find my bottle of Midol (which contains caffeine), I brewed a pot of coffee and downed a great big mug. Then, maybe an hour later, I did find my Midol, and without thinking too much about it, tossed back a couple of those. This was all early evening time as I was prepping dinner, so my stomach was basically empty.
Well, by the time I got dinner on the table, I was shaking all over and feeling terribly weak. As soon as I had eaten a little bit, I lay down and stayed horizontal for the rest of the night. And it was a doozy of a night--I trembled, I was nauseous, I threw up, I had rapid breathing, my heart was pounding, my TMJ flared up. In short, I was a mess. Finally, around 4:00 this morning, my body had metabolized/purged enough that I was able to sleep.
Moral of the story: Don't be an idiot. A headache (even one that lasts for three days, as some of mine do), is better than an overdose. Medicate wisely.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Endoscopy
Thanks so much for praying for us, friends. Meg woke up this morning rawther excited about the morning's agenda, which was quite the change from the last few weeks. I think God answered your prayers!
I also think Meg got kind of charged up when she realized she got to set off with Mommy and Daddy, all by herself, at 6:30 a.m.! After all, she's rarin' to go at dawn every day, but it's pretty rare that anyone is willing to accomodate her. And it's still rarer for her to have both parents' undivided attention--and rarer still for a whole flock of nurses and doctors to be fluttering around her with kind words and encouragement. So, yes, on the whole, Meg enjoyed her medical adventure quite thoroughly and even informed me later today that she wished she could go back to the endoscopy center!
The procedure itself went very smoothly, and the staff at the endoscopy center was great. (Thanks for the prayers on those fronts too!) They took great care of our little girl, and we should know the results of the biopsy in a week or so. We'll letcha know what we learn!
I also think Meg got kind of charged up when she realized she got to set off with Mommy and Daddy, all by herself, at 6:30 a.m.! After all, she's rarin' to go at dawn every day, but it's pretty rare that anyone is willing to accomodate her. And it's still rarer for her to have both parents' undivided attention--and rarer still for a whole flock of nurses and doctors to be fluttering around her with kind words and encouragement. So, yes, on the whole, Meg enjoyed her medical adventure quite thoroughly and even informed me later today that she wished she could go back to the endoscopy center!
The procedure itself went very smoothly, and the staff at the endoscopy center was great. (Thanks for the prayers on those fronts too!) They took great care of our little girl, and we should know the results of the biopsy in a week or so. We'll letcha know what we learn!
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Tomorrow: Meg
Tomorrow will be a first for the Wilcox family, the first day that any of the kids will experience full anesthesia.
As many of you know, over a year ago, Meg and Matthew both started to experience regular stomach aches. This led to us experimenting with a wheat-free diet, as there's a history of wheat-sensitivity in the family. The diet change proved helpful, and this, in turn, led our pediatrician to recommend that Meg, Matthew and Esme all be tested for Celiac Disease. Celiac is an autoimmune disorder that causes the body to react badly to all forms of gluten (a protein found in wheat and some other grains). We took them all in for blood tests, and only Meg's came back with indicators that further testing would be required. In fact, the only certain test for Celiac is an endoscopy and biopsy of the small intestine, so that's what Meg has lined up for tomorrow.
It's a short procedure with nothing much in the way of recovery time, so we're expecting to go in first thing tomorrow morning, take care of business, and be home in time for a late lunch. We would be grateful for your prayers for a smooth operation, wisdom for the medical staff, and clear and accurate results. Please pray for Meg too; she's pretty nervous about the whole thing.
Thank you!!
As many of you know, over a year ago, Meg and Matthew both started to experience regular stomach aches. This led to us experimenting with a wheat-free diet, as there's a history of wheat-sensitivity in the family. The diet change proved helpful, and this, in turn, led our pediatrician to recommend that Meg, Matthew and Esme all be tested for Celiac Disease. Celiac is an autoimmune disorder that causes the body to react badly to all forms of gluten (a protein found in wheat and some other grains). We took them all in for blood tests, and only Meg's came back with indicators that further testing would be required. In fact, the only certain test for Celiac is an endoscopy and biopsy of the small intestine, so that's what Meg has lined up for tomorrow.
It's a short procedure with nothing much in the way of recovery time, so we're expecting to go in first thing tomorrow morning, take care of business, and be home in time for a late lunch. We would be grateful for your prayers for a smooth operation, wisdom for the medical staff, and clear and accurate results. Please pray for Meg too; she's pretty nervous about the whole thing.
Thank you!!
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Mothers' Day Gifts
(Warning: lengthy, meandering recap ahead.)
The first gift was that we made it to church on Sunday, Mothers' Day 2013. This is not something I take for granted! Three of our kids recently had colds that lingered for almost two weeks and kept us away from church the previous week, and I debated about whether or not to come this Sunday as well. But we got up that morning and found everyone's nose clean, so we dressed up, loaded up and showed up. And anyone who has ever done the solo-parenting-on-Sundays routine knows what a triumph that can be in and of itself!
Secondly, Graham gave me a wonderful Mothers' Day present when we got home from church that afternoon. That is, he took a nap that was long enough to allow me to get a nap as well! This is quite unusual, and I didn't expect it. But I sure did enjoy it.
Thirdly, Dave got home from church around 3:15 pm. That is reeeeally good, as lately it's been more like 6:00 pm. He comes home pretty trashed after working the long weekend, and he really needs a chance to rest before dinner. This way has still some life in him after the kids go to bed, and I get to hang out with him a little. So he made it home nice and early, took a nap with me, and, we were both awake and reenergized before dinnertime rolled around.
(Now, backing up, the thing is that Dave threw his back out on the Tuesday before Mothers' Day. He's had minor back discomfort for years, but this was the first crisis. He bent over to pick up a bath toy after his shower that morning, and--there it went. He could barely move for the rest of the day; he spent the whole day in bed under the tender ministrations of yours truly, and some of the next day too. Those two funky days threw our whole week slightly off-kilter. Dave didn't have the chance to do any Mothers' Day prep with the kids at all, so when he arrived home on Sunday, there were no cards or gifts or anything in store. [Which was no big deal.])
Since it was a perfectly gorgeous afternoon, and since we had no urgent celebratory plans, I asked if we could take a Mothers' Day family walk. Everyone enthusiastically agreed. As always, it took entirely too long to get out the door. Graham chose that moment to present me with a disgusting diaper that somehow filled up his overalls more than the diaper itself. Once I got that cleaned up we were at least 20 minutes later than we had planned to be, and we knew everyone would be hungry soon. But we bravely set out toward our neighborhood trail, enjoying the breeze and the flickering leaves and the golden late-day sun.
We had covered less than two blocks when Esme wiped out. I had noticed, just after I closed our front door, that she was wearing her Crocs, which are slightly too big for her and not supposed to be worn for outdoor play. But we were already running so much behind, I didn't want to stop and have her change. Needless to say, she tripped on the shoes and hit the side walk flat out. Dave and I were several yards behind her, but I thought I saw her head snap back as if her chin had hit the concrete. I ran up, cradled her in my arms, and sure enough--blood was filling her mouth. She sobbed, gasping and sputtering, and sprayed blood all over both of us. I got to my feet. Dave tried to take her from me, but I knew he was still trying to take it easy on his back, so I shrugged him off. I carried my wailing girl home as Dave followed with the stroller and the other kids, one of whom was also wailing for fear that Esme was seriously injured.
By God's grace, the cut in Esme's upper lip wasn't too deep, and the bleeding stopped fairly quickly. Of course, our walk was over, and I was disappointed about that. But then Dave took the two big kids to pick up Chipotle take-out (for my Moms' Day treat) and some ice cream (for our puffy-lipped child), and I put on some Pocoyo for Esme to watch while she sucked her ice pack. When Dave came back, we ate yummy burritos and tacos, then put the kids to bed. My final gift of the day was watching Lincoln with my honey, who picked it up when he was out getting food. We missed it when it was in theaters and have been waiting for our chance to rent it. It was well worth the wait. (And I finally stooped begrudging the Best Actor Oscar to Daniel Day Lewis, having wanted Hugh Jackman of Les Miserables to win it originally.)
On Monday, Dave took the kids out so they could choose gifts and make cards, and we had our little gift-opening party that afternoon. I received a beautiful blue summer scarf (Meg), a super nifty rotary cheese-grater for parmesan and such (Matthew), a lovely scented candle (Esme), and a new salad spinner (Graham/Daddy). (I specifically requested that last item. Our old one fell off the top of the refrigerator one or two times too many and was scarcely functional.)
Most of the week since then has been taken up with nursing Graham through a "mystery virus," as our pediatrician called it. His only serious symptoms were a fever that lasted the better part of four days, and an extremely lousy attitude. Of course, that's been enough to require that we lay low and cancel or postpone all daytime plans.
My kids have had plenty of fevers before, and at higher temperatures than Graham's highest of the week. But for some reason (could be that this week was also my monthly, hormonally-dictated emotional low), I was much more tempted to anxiety and fearful imaginings over this fever than I can ever remember being before. Last night at bedtime, Graham was finally fever-free, and he slept all the way through the night last night, unmedicated and untroubled. And yet I find that my anxiety lingers today; is he still more cranky than usual, or is it me? Is it teeth, or something else? Why has he been falling asleep in his high chair all of the sudden? He never used to do that.
When at last I settled down to seek refuge from my own thoughts in God's Word last night, I opened to Psalm 11 and read this:
The first gift was that we made it to church on Sunday, Mothers' Day 2013. This is not something I take for granted! Three of our kids recently had colds that lingered for almost two weeks and kept us away from church the previous week, and I debated about whether or not to come this Sunday as well. But we got up that morning and found everyone's nose clean, so we dressed up, loaded up and showed up. And anyone who has ever done the solo-parenting-on-Sundays routine knows what a triumph that can be in and of itself!
Secondly, Graham gave me a wonderful Mothers' Day present when we got home from church that afternoon. That is, he took a nap that was long enough to allow me to get a nap as well! This is quite unusual, and I didn't expect it. But I sure did enjoy it.
Thirdly, Dave got home from church around 3:15 pm. That is reeeeally good, as lately it's been more like 6:00 pm. He comes home pretty trashed after working the long weekend, and he really needs a chance to rest before dinner. This way has still some life in him after the kids go to bed, and I get to hang out with him a little. So he made it home nice and early, took a nap with me, and, we were both awake and reenergized before dinnertime rolled around.
(Now, backing up, the thing is that Dave threw his back out on the Tuesday before Mothers' Day. He's had minor back discomfort for years, but this was the first crisis. He bent over to pick up a bath toy after his shower that morning, and--there it went. He could barely move for the rest of the day; he spent the whole day in bed under the tender ministrations of yours truly, and some of the next day too. Those two funky days threw our whole week slightly off-kilter. Dave didn't have the chance to do any Mothers' Day prep with the kids at all, so when he arrived home on Sunday, there were no cards or gifts or anything in store. [Which was no big deal.])
Since it was a perfectly gorgeous afternoon, and since we had no urgent celebratory plans, I asked if we could take a Mothers' Day family walk. Everyone enthusiastically agreed. As always, it took entirely too long to get out the door. Graham chose that moment to present me with a disgusting diaper that somehow filled up his overalls more than the diaper itself. Once I got that cleaned up we were at least 20 minutes later than we had planned to be, and we knew everyone would be hungry soon. But we bravely set out toward our neighborhood trail, enjoying the breeze and the flickering leaves and the golden late-day sun.
We had covered less than two blocks when Esme wiped out. I had noticed, just after I closed our front door, that she was wearing her Crocs, which are slightly too big for her and not supposed to be worn for outdoor play. But we were already running so much behind, I didn't want to stop and have her change. Needless to say, she tripped on the shoes and hit the side walk flat out. Dave and I were several yards behind her, but I thought I saw her head snap back as if her chin had hit the concrete. I ran up, cradled her in my arms, and sure enough--blood was filling her mouth. She sobbed, gasping and sputtering, and sprayed blood all over both of us. I got to my feet. Dave tried to take her from me, but I knew he was still trying to take it easy on his back, so I shrugged him off. I carried my wailing girl home as Dave followed with the stroller and the other kids, one of whom was also wailing for fear that Esme was seriously injured.
By God's grace, the cut in Esme's upper lip wasn't too deep, and the bleeding stopped fairly quickly. Of course, our walk was over, and I was disappointed about that. But then Dave took the two big kids to pick up Chipotle take-out (for my Moms' Day treat) and some ice cream (for our puffy-lipped child), and I put on some Pocoyo for Esme to watch while she sucked her ice pack. When Dave came back, we ate yummy burritos and tacos, then put the kids to bed. My final gift of the day was watching Lincoln with my honey, who picked it up when he was out getting food. We missed it when it was in theaters and have been waiting for our chance to rent it. It was well worth the wait. (And I finally stooped begrudging the Best Actor Oscar to Daniel Day Lewis, having wanted Hugh Jackman of Les Miserables to win it originally.)
On Monday, Dave took the kids out so they could choose gifts and make cards, and we had our little gift-opening party that afternoon. I received a beautiful blue summer scarf (Meg), a super nifty rotary cheese-grater for parmesan and such (Matthew), a lovely scented candle (Esme), and a new salad spinner (Graham/Daddy). (I specifically requested that last item. Our old one fell off the top of the refrigerator one or two times too many and was scarcely functional.)
Most of the week since then has been taken up with nursing Graham through a "mystery virus," as our pediatrician called it. His only serious symptoms were a fever that lasted the better part of four days, and an extremely lousy attitude. Of course, that's been enough to require that we lay low and cancel or postpone all daytime plans.
My kids have had plenty of fevers before, and at higher temperatures than Graham's highest of the week. But for some reason (could be that this week was also my monthly, hormonally-dictated emotional low), I was much more tempted to anxiety and fearful imaginings over this fever than I can ever remember being before. Last night at bedtime, Graham was finally fever-free, and he slept all the way through the night last night, unmedicated and untroubled. And yet I find that my anxiety lingers today; is he still more cranky than usual, or is it me? Is it teeth, or something else? Why has he been falling asleep in his high chair all of the sudden? He never used to do that.
When at last I settled down to seek refuge from my own thoughts in God's Word last night, I opened to Psalm 11 and read this:
In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
"Flee like a bird to your mountain,
for behold, the wicked bend the bow;
they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord's throne is in heaven;
his eyelids eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
The Lord tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
Let him rain coals on the wicked;
fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face.
"The Lord is in his holy temple." Come what may, God still reigns over the world in holiness, in majesty, in power, in justice. When I can stay there--right there--then my heart is at peace. And at the end of a long and tiring week, knowing where to find peace is the gift I need most of all.
Friday, May 03, 2013
During the Pause
I guess I kind of hit pause on the blog last month, but meanwhile our lives were in fast forward. We've been up to so much over the last few months that I have no hope of ever catching up on individual posts, but for an overview, we:
-started enjoying spring
-battled spring allergies and ants
-made it through another spring youth musical season at church
-went on a whole bunch of field trips
-did another semester of Adventure Academy, where Meg, Matthew and Esme took classes and I taught one
-wrapped up Meg's art class
-continued with our geography co-op
-babysat for friends
-enjoyed visits from out-of-town family
-dealt with Graham's many food-allergy reactions, including two that sent us to the ER
-hung out with cousins
-had our annual Spring Celebration with the Nalles and Spruills
-went on a wonderful ladies' retreat (me), had some great Daddy time (kids), and went solo at home with four littles for three days (Dave)
-picnicked with friends and family
-got first haircuts
-started planning/praying for our next school year
-shopped for warm-weather shoes
-dealt with disgusting poop disasters
-experienced a whole bunch of changes in our church small group, and more...
In the midst of all that, we remembered to take at least some pictures... I hope to begin posting them soon!
-started enjoying spring
-battled spring allergies and ants
-made it through another spring youth musical season at church
-went on a whole bunch of field trips
-did another semester of Adventure Academy, where Meg, Matthew and Esme took classes and I taught one
-wrapped up Meg's art class
-continued with our geography co-op
-babysat for friends
-enjoyed visits from out-of-town family
-dealt with Graham's many food-allergy reactions, including two that sent us to the ER
-hung out with cousins
-had our annual Spring Celebration with the Nalles and Spruills
-went on a wonderful ladies' retreat (me), had some great Daddy time (kids), and went solo at home with four littles for three days (Dave)
-picnicked with friends and family
-got first haircuts
-started planning/praying for our next school year
-shopped for warm-weather shoes
-dealt with disgusting poop disasters
-experienced a whole bunch of changes in our church small group, and more...
In the midst of all that, we remembered to take at least some pictures... I hope to begin posting them soon!
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