And now we know

You know that question every health care provider and pharmacist asks every time you are seen or present a prescription? Now I have a reason to answer yes, there is a known drug allergy.

A few days ago Baby got ill. Fever, cranky, sad sick. Not eating, not sleeping and not happy sick. It was especially sad since Dad was away on travel. The nights were sleepless, the days were sleepless and the baby was hot and sad. Finally, after almost 3 fulls days of fever I took him to urgent care and walked out with amoxicillian for a double ear infection. And hope. Hope that we would be well soon and happy again. I missed my happy baby.

He doesn't take medicine well. I know that, but I forced the first dose down at 7 pm Sunday night. Combined with the teething tablets and some other soothers, he slept, finally. For at least 3 full hours. Bliss. Monday at 7 am I gave him the second dose. Within 15 minutes he was screaming again. Unhappy, in pain, scared screaming. I tried to feed him and he ate fairly well. Within another 20 minutes he was getting a rash on his face. Then it spread to his head. Then he gave me back everything I had fed him plus his dose of meds. The rash spread to his neck, back and arms. We ran to the pediatrician. We were warned to not give him penicillin products anymore. The first time may be mild, but the next time might be more severe.

Within a few hours, he could open his eyes again. They weren't so swollen, but his face is still mighty red. Poor kid. I opted out of switching to another antibiotic on the off chance I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between one reaction and another. I suspect his ears will survive. Crazy day. Sad baby. My heart hurts for him. Can't wait to post another picture of my well, happy little guy. Soon, I hope.

Check out the new teeth. They are there, promise.

Fortunatley, Unfortunatley

These past two weeks have been a real life game of Fortunately, Unfortunately. It's been crazy and we have all been searching for the good with the bad.

It all started with colds. All of us had a cold, some worse than others. My Mom was due to arrive and I felt bad that we all felt bad, but she wasn't canceling on us, so even knowing we were sick, she got on a plane, fortunately. Unfortunately, the day after she arrived the baby was admitted to the hospital in respiratory distress and stayed there for 5 long days. Unfortunately again, we had planned his baby blessing for that weekend and Uncle Jimmy was flying down to bless him. Tickets had already been purchased and fortunately he decided to come anyway. Instead of a baby blessing in church on Sunday with our ward family, we had a very private and sweet blessing in a hospital room with just family, the Bishop and a military relations missionary couple who we have come to love. It was sweet and quite and perfect. Fortunately.

Also Fortunately during that time Mom was able to be at home caring for kids and dealing with little things like school and fevers and house stuff allowing me to put all of my attention on our tiny baby trying hard to get well. Unfortunately, we had to reschedule Megan's birthday party. She was sick and I was caring for Joey, so it had to be moved to another Saturday. It was Princess and Super Hero perfect when we were able to do it.

Unfortunately we got a call from our property manager about our house in Washington on a Monday. While moving in, our brand new tenants had a big issue. The water heater kind of exploded and the water shut off valve broke, leaving water flowing into the garage and all over their belongings that they had just moved in. And emergency plumber and new water heater on a Saturday afternoon equals $$$$. Fortunately, there wasn't any damage to the house, just the belongings in the garage and it was able to be repaired quickly. They never had to have a cold shower and we had some savings to cover the cost. We are glad for a company who is reliable and on top of things in our absence.

The night we got home from the hospital, Mom broke her tooth at dinner. After deciding superglue was not the way to repair a tooth, she remembered her travel insurance. She doesn't have dental insurance at home, but under the terms of her travel insurance while on vacation, she had $500 in dental coverage. Fortunately, we were able to find a dentist to see her at 8:30 the next morning and got her tooth repaired. While she was at the dentist, Meg and baby and I went thrift shopping and found some fun stuff, including a perfect Princess Party dress. All in all a good day.

Unfortunately, Mom never got to see San Diego. She spent most of her time in my house caring for sick kids and my family while I was gone. No Zoo or beach or Seaport Village or even a submarine. We did make time to get a Chinese foot massage, a very different experience and the night before she left we made it to the Mormon Battalion and sight seeing in Old Town. That was fun. We also stopped at Balboa Park on the way to the airport. Fortunately, she had a late afternoon flight and we had time to play in the morning. Fortunately, she was perfectly happy to rock grand kids, play games and hang around the house.

Also Fortunately during this time we had sweet church members and friends bring dinner to our home, come and visit and help in so many ways. During General Conference this month I heard talks about trials and why we have them. We heard that one reason we have trials is so that we can better recognize our blessings and the hand of God in our lives. That has surely been true for me this past month. Through friends, family, and faith I have seen blessings come our way in the midst of trials. We are Fortunate.

It's been a long week

A little over a week ago I woke up in the middle of the night to put Meg back to bed and was three steps away from the bed when I ended up on the floor. It took me a minute to realize my world was spinning. Fast and clockwise. When I woke up in the morning I knew something was very wrong. The next day I spent in the hospital undergoing various tests and checking on the peanut happily sucking all of my energy and growing like it's supposed to be. Diagnosis:vestibular neuritis, it causes vertigo. Vertigo is not serious, it's just debilitating. I have spent most of the last week in bed.  Finally I am up walking again, but still not driving. Justin's been on shift work, so he's not getting home early and his schedule is making it very hard for him to help. It could be worse, right? He could be deployed.

   While laying in bed or sitting on my couch watching the world spin, I have had cause to be grateful. I have the most wonderful friends who have jumped in to care for me and my kids. They have been taken to the park to play,  to the library and school shopping. One sweet friend came over with her grand daughter and helped me put 20 meals in my freezer for the future. (While I am not looking forward to it and hoping it won't happen this time, I am preparing for bed rest later in this pregnancy.) I have had rides to doctor's appointments and visits from well wishers. Groceries have showed up,  my dishes have been washed and my laundry has been done, although not by me. When Meg suddenly realized one day this week that none of her shoes fit her any more and she was tired of being Drizella, a friend showed up at my house and took us to get her new shoes. Sparkly shoes, of course.
  I am reminded again and again how to look for the blessings in the midst of despair and illness. Sometimes it seems as if you can't take another step. Perhaps on your own you can't. That's why we have prayer and friends and community. Today, I am glad for many things and my heart is full for every deed, thought, prayer and text that has come the way of my family. Here's to better days.... I much prefer being on the other end of  service.

Ehlers-Danlos

This is our new face of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Aren't they just the cutest things?

In all fairness, Adam is the one who was diagnosed this week and Meg hasn't been examined yet, but based on my statements to the geneticist, she has the same genetic disorder. As far as genetic disorders go, this is an easy one to have. I am glad to finally have something to point to and show the doctors from my past I am not a bad mother, even though my children scar and bruise easily and that I am not insane for insisting that a 2 year old waking up screaming his legs hurt at night was not normal. It's not just growing pains.  Now that we know what it is, we know what to look for in the future and what to do about it now.

   Adam has the Hypermobility type (formally type 3) of Ehlers-Danlos. There are other types, and sometimes symptoms overlap, but for the most part, that is his diagnosis. From the EDNF.org site, here's the description:

    Joint hypermobility is the dominant clinical manifestation. Generalized joint hypermobility that affects large (elbows, knees)and small (fingers and toes) joints is evident in the Hypermobility Type. Recurring joint subluxations and dislocations are common occurrences. Certain joints, such as the shoulder, patella, and temporomandibular joint dislocate frequently. The skin involvement (hyperextensibility and/or smooth velvety skin) as well as bruising tendencies in the Hypermobility Type are present but variable in severity.

   So the fact that he had "nursemaid's elbow" for the first time at 3 months old and then almost monthly until he was 3 is now magically explained. The long term affects of this disorder are early onset arthritis, say in late 20's or maybe earlier. Scoliosis, which he already has a bit of and easily injured joints. Connective tissue in the eyes may also be affected, so we will watch for that. Treatment at this point is limited to physical therapy to strengthen muscles around joints that could be easily injured. It's not going to be a big deal right now. As they get older, different things may come up, but at least we know what direction to look in now. This also means his NFL career is over before it began, the NBA is out, and he will not be an Olympic wrestler, gymnast or skier. He could still take the gold in swimming though or take the Tour De France title at some point, so look out world.

  Here's the cool factor... at least my kids think so. Bug can take his left arm, wrap it around his back to the right side of his body and touch is belly button. That's pretty darn flexible. Meg can crinkle her thumb back almost to the point of touching the back of her hand with it. Crazy. They think party tricks are fun.

Sew busy

This week has been a long, long week. This poor kid has been sick, sick, sick.

He didn't move off of the couch except to bed from Sunday through Wednesday. He has bronchitis. Finally, today, he is feeling better. Except now he has a mysterious rash.

So, what did we do to keep busy while being house bound this week? Meg played and tried hard to antagonize her brother, which didn't work well. I sewed. In between bouts of coughing, orange juice fetching, temperature taking and everything else, I sewed. I had a couple of project I wanted to finish up.

First was this cute coat I did in a sew-a-long with Christine at From an Igloo. That was wonderful. It took me a while to finish because of the embroidery design. I knew what I wanted, it was just a matter of figuring it out. The pattern is from Dear My Kids. Her patterns are easy to ready and follow and run pretty true to size. Very fun project, finally finished. I picked up the fabric from Michael Levine's loft at the fabulous $2.00 per pound pricing. Also from Christine, I did these easy peasy no pattern knit pants that are under the skirt. I ended up cutting the skirt fabric wrong due to inattention (i.e. sick kids, phone calls and my sister having a baby) but the cut fabric turned out to be the perfect size for these cute leggings. I told Meg they could double as jammy pants. She's happy about that. And I learned a few things about sewing knits along the way.

House on Hill Road has has this Twirly Skirt Pattern up for some time. I have loved it for a while, but just now got around to making up a skirt from it. I love that people are so creative and so willing to share. I can duplicate almost anything, but coming up with it myself is just too much for me. I did make the extra ribbon embellishment to add to it, and I debated on it for a while. Too much? In the end, the wearer loved it, so I guess it was a good call. She just loves to twirl around in it.

Sew, what's next? I do have a brand new niece, Cambrie Linda. I am sure she is in need of something made with love from her Auntie. Then again, there's that mailing thing. I need an assistant, just for post office runs. We will see what happens over the next few days. Hopefully the Good Health Fairy will visit us tonight and everyone will be well and happy tomorrow. I surely hope so. Justin has a final to take.