The holidays are over. The fun is all over. It's back to boring and normal life! I am hoping that will mean positive changes for us.
Chad has submitted several resumes all over the west (and one or two in the east). Most of those were sent before Christmas, but the responses have been slow. We hope that the end of festivities means the beginning of progress in the job hunt.
We also hope that the transition into normal life means that our chances of selling our home shoot up. We've only had one call on the house so far and they wanted a lease/buy option. I am really hoping to sell soon, but that means that I have to battle keeping a clean house while battling being a single parent. Either one of those battles is big enough on its own.
Meanwhile, our life goes on. This week includes a trip to Primary Children's hospital in Salt Lake with Nathan and a biopsy for Daniel in Idaho Falls. Both boys are hurting a lot and taking pain killer constantly. Daniel's system doesn't seem to respond well to hydrocodone and it looses its effectiveness after a couple of uses. Nathan responds better to it, but still needs to alternate it with ibuprofen.
The weather has been very cold lately. The temperature was -15 degrees on Thursday morning when the bus pulled up for the kids. I think we've actually stayed above zero for the past two nights. I'm sure the dogs, cats and chickens have appreciated the heat wave.
I don't know what to write about. The truth is, I'm running at a high-irritation level right now and it causes high feelings of guilt. I have long-suffering issues with my family. I find fault with my neighbors much too quickly. My kids are constantly asking me for something and it is all winding me into a time bomb.
I know none of you want to be saddled with the stuff that eats at me. I don't want to write about it because it all seems so trivial. I just want it to go away! (No, I don't need a special light to sit under. If only it were that easy.)
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Update on Daniel
Many people have been asking me if there is any news on Daniel's jaw problems. The answer is, "No."
The oral surgeon we saw has been trying to consult with other medical experts before giving us his final diagnosis. We had been going off of "Monostotic Fibrous Dysplasia." But now that may not be what we are looking at. The doctor took Daniel's scans to a radiologist at a nearby hospital for an informal reading (which means I didn't have to pay for it). The radiologist said his initial thought was that it looked like a result of abuse.
Huh. I told the doctor, "Well, I know it's not that, so keep looking." He wondered if there was anyone that could be abusing Daniel that I might not expect. Really, we are a boring family. I am the main caregiver. He doesn't play sports. He isn't part of any clubs and doesn't play at a friend's house very often. And for 3 1/2 years? Yeah. It's not abuse. Keep looking.
And he was. He'd mailed the scans off to his colleagues in Iowa. (These are the doctors he does training with and he considers them the experts.) I had this conversation with him the week before Christmas. Meanwhile, Daniel seems to have suffered a flare up of some kind. The medicine doesn't seem to help very much.
I left a message with the doctor today and expect him to call tomorrow. He's been very good at explaining things and assuring me he's trying to get some answers. We may be looking at doing a biopsy to get a little more to investigate. After this long, I'm just waiting for him to tell us what to do...we will do it!
I recorded Daniel's typical reaction to pain tonight. I was trying to get a candid shot, so I was trying to avoid looking like I was recording him. That means, I had the phone upright which recorded everything sideways. Just rest your head on the desk while you watch. ;)
Nathan's pain has also returned. He'd had such a good run of no pain, that I was beginning to wonder if he'd somehow healed. I guess not. We have a scheduled appt. next month, but I may have to call sooner if the pain gets much worse. I don't want to have to make another trip down to SL.
Maybe I can make appts for both boys down there on the same trip!
The oral surgeon we saw has been trying to consult with other medical experts before giving us his final diagnosis. We had been going off of "Monostotic Fibrous Dysplasia." But now that may not be what we are looking at. The doctor took Daniel's scans to a radiologist at a nearby hospital for an informal reading (which means I didn't have to pay for it). The radiologist said his initial thought was that it looked like a result of abuse.
Huh. I told the doctor, "Well, I know it's not that, so keep looking." He wondered if there was anyone that could be abusing Daniel that I might not expect. Really, we are a boring family. I am the main caregiver. He doesn't play sports. He isn't part of any clubs and doesn't play at a friend's house very often. And for 3 1/2 years? Yeah. It's not abuse. Keep looking.
And he was. He'd mailed the scans off to his colleagues in Iowa. (These are the doctors he does training with and he considers them the experts.) I had this conversation with him the week before Christmas. Meanwhile, Daniel seems to have suffered a flare up of some kind. The medicine doesn't seem to help very much.
I left a message with the doctor today and expect him to call tomorrow. He's been very good at explaining things and assuring me he's trying to get some answers. We may be looking at doing a biopsy to get a little more to investigate. After this long, I'm just waiting for him to tell us what to do...we will do it!
I recorded Daniel's typical reaction to pain tonight. I was trying to get a candid shot, so I was trying to avoid looking like I was recording him. That means, I had the phone upright which recorded everything sideways. Just rest your head on the desk while you watch. ;)
Nathan's pain has also returned. He'd had such a good run of no pain, that I was beginning to wonder if he'd somehow healed. I guess not. We have a scheduled appt. next month, but I may have to call sooner if the pain gets much worse. I don't want to have to make another trip down to SL.
Maybe I can make appts for both boys down there on the same trip!
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