Never mind... AGAIN!

Here we go again! I got a call from the hospital early this morning saying they need to reschedule Kirsten's surgery yet again. Must be something about this particular laser they use on her procedure, because there's a problem with it & they're sending it out again for repair/maintenance. On the message they said we can do it next Tuesday, but that's the day Kirsten starts first grade, so it'd be an automatic "no" from us. When I called back to talk to them about it, they said it wouldn't be back in time for next week, and they'd like to schedule her first thing the following Tuesday. I told her we can't. Kirsten will just be adjusting to a new school & new schedule - we'll just have to wait. Maybe during Christmas break, maybe during Spring break, but not now. She said that as soon as we decide, to give her a call back & she'll make sure Kirsten's the first surgery that day (the doctor told her to do so - he feels so bad about rescheduling this again). I told her I'd be in touch.

So... we'll just have to wait and see. Maybe we will, maybe we won't. For now, I'll just let her be a "normal" first-grader and have fun being the 7-year old that she is!

By the way - if we would've rescheduled for two weeks, that would fall on 9/11. Kirsten's first surgery ever on her nose was 9/11/01! Interesting!

(Thanks again for all the prayers and well-wishes. I just feel so silly with all the ups & downs about this! Ugh!)

Surgery day is here!

Tomorrow (Tuesday)'s the big day! We need to arrive at Children's Hospital downtown Detroit at 11:15 & the surgery is scheduled for 12:45pm. We'll deal with the usual of "no food from midnight on" - but I think we can keep her distracted enough. I'll just make sure I let her sleep in good - then it'll just be a get up & get ready to go type thing!

I think she's a little nervous about this. Anxious, really, just to get it over with (especially since we were prepping for it 2 weeks ago & they postponed it). I'm a bit nervous, too. I just keep thinking about the 10/04 procedure. Dr. Madgy tried the laser & drill and still couldn't break thru the bone. I know, I shouldn't dwell on that - it could be completely different this time around! We'll just have to wait and see... and keep praying!

I'm sure we'll be a bit preoccupied with things, but I'll make certain to update my blog here and our web page later on Tuesday with results. Thanks so much for the love & support - we really appreciate it - all three of us do!

xoxo - Ruth

Donated

She did it! Today, I proudly took my little 7-year old to my hairdresser at B Leeve Salon, and Bobbie did a wonderful job of cutting her hair! (Thanks, Bobbie!) Kirsten was so excited to be donating it to Locks of Love for another little girl that doesn't have any - she was just bursting at the seams to get it cut! Strategic planning on my part is that her surgery is on Tuesday (shorter hair will be much easier to care for) and she starts first grade at a new school in 2 weeks... timing is everything! Of course, her hair looks absolutely adorable! I'll put a few pics up for you to see, starting with how long it was the other day, her with Bobbie, and the celebration snack afterwards! (These are just quick ones from my phone that I can show right away. I'll have to wait the old-fashioned way for the other camera's pictures!)




And by the way, yes... she absolutely LOVES her new haircut!!!

Oh no!

It's late Thursday night, around 11:45. Kirsten comes out of her bedroom. Why? Because her nose is stuffed up & she can't breathe good! OH NO!!! She can't get sick now or it'll mess up her surgery on Tuesday! NOOOOOOO!!! I gave her whatever stuffy-nose meds I could find & a few Children's Tylenol & put her back to sleep with a few kisses on the forehead.

If anyone has any good children's medicines that they've known to work well on stuffy noses, please let me know right away!!!

And just keep her in your prayers, too, please. We don't want to have to postpone surgery. If we did, I'm not sure when we'd move it to. Maybe Christmas break... or next year during Spring break... or just next summer. We want to get this over with NOW!

Eeeew!

Disgusting! Matt, Kirsten, and I decided to tackle the storage unit we have in the basement here at the apartment. Wow, were we surprised when we got a good look at it. Needless to say, we haven't been there in a while, and it was trashed! Kirsten opened the gate up... with the lock still on! Someone had jammed it open. Boxes were dumped, ripped open, and obviously it looked like things were gone thru. Unfortunately, a lot of water damage was done to some of the boxes as well. We threw away a lot of things, and then packed both cars & headed over to Paul's. That'll be a project for me... going thru them & seeing what's worth keeping and what's just junk.

One GREAT outcome... I found Kirsten's baby book! Finally! And it wasn't damaged at all!!! Hooray!!!

The plan

Maybe I should say it's my goal, actually. Anyway, I'd like us to be moved out by the end of this coming weekend. I know, I'm very insane for tackling something like this on such short notice. I think the most difficulty comes into play with the fact that we don't have a lot of large boxes to work with. Thankfully, I'll be getting some tomorrow. In between working & shopping for a bridal shower & swinging by my Mom's with Kirsten, of course. You know, life must go on! The reality will be to wait until next week to move the piano over, but the rest should be done by Sunday. I just want to be somewhat settled before Kirsten's surgery next Tuesday. I think that'll be much better for her. And for me. Yeah, really for me! You know, when Mom's not happy, nobody's happy! LOL

I did manage to pack a few boxes this morning, had Kirsten do one, and Matt did a few while I was working. Progress. Baby steps. It'll happen!

We're moving!

Oh... my... goodness! The packing hasn't even started and I'm already going crazy! I had such plans in my mind for when we moved next. I had imagined how I'd perfectly orgazine every little thing we own, deciding whether to keep or purge it, and making the right choice every time. Doesn't look like that's going to happen! One thing unexpected that I do embrace is that since we'll be living with someone else, I don't have to have everything we own available for use. There are many things that Paul already has in use that we can store ours of, such as pots & pans. Tomorrow when I go over there to paint our bedroom, I'll bring a list of things to see what we'll actually need out.

Don't you think packing in a tutu would be fun?!? I think I'd find it most entertaining if Matt was the one wearing the tutu, but I'd imagine Kirsten would turn out to be the one doing so. I'll just have to find some things along the way to make myself a little less nutty as I go along in this process!

Rescheduled

Got the call this morning. Surgery is moved two weeks back to the 28th. Phooey! The laser that her doctor uses is out for repair & won't be back by tomorrow, unfortunately. He's on vacation next week, so we have to do it the following Tuesday.

That bums me out, mostly because we've been preparing for this! I stayed home from church with her yesterday so she wouldn't have a chance of catching anything from anyone, Matt's got the next few nights off work (his nites are usually not consistent, they have to be planned ahead with his boss), etc.

Well, if they don't have the equipment necessary, they can't do it. I understand. I just hope Matt can get the time off again when we need it. Phooey!

Kirsten's surgery is this Tuesday

Tomorrow morning I'll be pacing around while waiting for two calls. One will be from the hospital to pre-register us for surgery. They called early Friday morning, I missed the call, called them back, left them a message, and they never got back to me. That's fine, one more thing to wait on! The other call will be from anesthesia about what time her procedure will be, when to be at the hospital, and what instructions we need to know for home. Basically, they'll tell us how long we need to try to preoccupy Kirsten so that she doesn't think of the food or drink she's not allowed to have! I'll update when I know more!

Laughter truly is some of the best medicine

I love when a late night talk show has the ability to change your mood from bad to good before bed. Tonight, Conan O'Brien's show just did that for me! Here I was, all worked up this evening about that letter today, and I decided to try to unwind by watching last night's "Hell's Kitchen" episode that we taped. When I stopped the tape after watching it, Conan's show was on, and he was talking with Glenn Close. He always seems to be able to make me laugh, but this time it was Ms. Close that was cracking me up! That woman is awesome!

They were talking about her family, then the conversation turned to her love for dogs and an upcoming fun blog that she'll be participating in about dogs and their owners. At this point, Conan brings up a rumor he heard, asking Ms. Close to confirm or deny it - that she, on occasion, eats dog biscuits! She said she did indeed eat some as a child. Conan made a funny comment how she came on the wrong talk show, and he brought out a box of Milk-Bone dog biscuits and asked if she wanted one! Can you guess what she did? That amazing, award-winning actress grabbed a biscuit and took a bite! Big smile on her face, she continued the interview while eating it! Of course, Conan had to do the same... I was laughing so hard! It was beautiful!!!

Thank you, late night television, for letting me get lost in the laughter!

I'm mad at the world!

Well, not the world, just the system here in Michigan right now. As many of you know, our daughter has had some special needs since birth. We've been fortunate enough to have fairly good insurance coverage with the employers that Matt has worked for since Kirsten's been along. Since she was an infant, we were given the opportunity to apply for an additional type of insurance for kids with special needs - Children's Special Health Care Services (CSHCS). I always decided against it, knowing that there are plenty of families out there without any coverage that need the help more than us.

A few years back when Kirsten had one of her surgeries, we had an insurance that didn't cover the full amount, and we had a bill. It took us a long time to pay off our balance. If we had CSHCS, they would've covered what our insurance didn't. So, being a bit proactive on planning this time around, I applied for CSHCS recently. The letter came back today... stating Kirsten's denied. (And actually, they misspelled her name as Kristen, all 4 times in the letter.) It said, "The medical reports suggest that Kristen have tests and a follow-up exam at Dr. Madgy's office when needed." It went on to say if we have problems paying for such tests or follow-up exams, contact them and they can help us make arrangements. Well, you can bet I'll be on the phone tomorrow with Dr. Madgy's office, asking to speak to the person that sent in the medical reports to the Mich. Dept. of Comm. Health. I'm guessing they failed to mention the numerous surgeries she's had so far which have been unsuccessful... meaning she'll be needing more. I'll remind them how Kirsten's got another one planned for next week. And if that doesn't work, she'll have another someday most likely. I think it's a major factor overlooked here!

So yes, I "do not agree with this decision" and will use my "right to ask for a departmental review" on this matter!!!

Grrr!!! Time for some chocolate!!!

Confirmed mutant sighting

I've come to the conclusion that I must be a mutant of some sort. I gave birth to a child with super healing powers, but I haven't quite figured out yet what my special abilities might be. What I do know is that bugs, specifically mosquitoes, are highly attracted to me and find me quite a tasty treat. It's quite common for me to have a high number of bites, especially on my legs. Last summer, on a weekend camping trip, I had around 30 on each leg... even when using "insect repellent."

(Hmmm... after looking at this photo, it makes me feel as if this is the way I'm making up for never having chicken pox!)

Last week, Matt & Kirsten & I took our first official vacation together by ourselves (I'll post about it at another time). Figures, come Sunday I start feeling the itchy spots on my legs, and sure enough... I got some bites. Weirdest part to me was that I didn't remember swatting at a single insect, didn't see anything flying around, didn't hear that buzzing sound at night. Nothing but silence. It was a surprise attack!
The numbers weren't as large this time (Kirsten counted 39 as the total of both legs, from the hips down), but the odd part was how the bite areas themselves began to look. They seemed to be larger than normal this time around.

They were mutating.



Some even began to blister up & ooze a little clear liquid (sorry to gross you out!).

Today I decided to see my doctor about this mystery. I've been eaten up by the buggers, but never have the spots grown so large or blistered up. Dr. Sams told me it was good that I came in. They're infected. Just lovely. He said we're catching it soon enough before it turns into a staph infection. Oooh, fun! He gave me an rx for some potent antibiotics to start immediately, and instructions to call back if they don't seem to improve.

So, anyone in close enough proximity to my legs will just have to deal with the fact that I won't be shaving anytime soon. No silky leg cuddles, sorry. I asked Dr. Sams if he's heard of any meds I could take as a preventative whenever I think I might be exposed (to keep the bites from happening), and he said there's nothing on the official market yet. He told me to do some online searching for alternative methods. I found one site mentioning to take vitamin B1 (15 mg. per 30# of body weight) at the same time every day, not exceeding taking it for more than a few weeks straight. It's supposed to exude some type of scent from the body that will make any mosquito think twice about coming any closer. Another spot mentioned the possibility of the use of a form of garlic, but since I'm pretty sure I'm part vampire, garlic is something I stay far away from! *giggle* I guess now I'll just have to wait and see how they heal.

Hmmm... still thinking about that super power...