Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Let's See the Babies THEN play games
Clay's appointment went well on Thursday. We finally got to Pensacola about 10 minutes later than planned. I had to drop off Carter and Vivi at a friend's house and go from there. But because of that I had to go to Pensacola a different way, miscalculated my time and by the time we got there we were late. On top of that, the information desk sent us to the EXACT OPPOSITE end of the hospital, only for us to have to come back because they had sent us to the wrong place. I hate being late, I was sweating bullets by the time we showed up at the lab.
Luckily, they were running behind and were nice enough that they didn't mind me being late.
They hooked Clay's arms up to two electrodes that stimulated his sweat glands (top picture) and left them on for 5 minutes. Then, they put little collection device (bottom picture) on his arm, taped rubber gloves over them (to make them 'airtight' and induce more sweating) for 30 minutes.
By the time we went down to the cafeteria and grabbed some lunch, we were done. Clay sweated (sweat, swatted?) like a champion. But before we left the hospital, he wanted to go to the 2nd floor and see the newborn babies.
I love that the hospital there has a newborn viewing area. I remember when I was sick and in the hospital a lot as a child that my parents used to pull me in the red wagon to look at the newborn nursery everyday. The nurseries are really becoming outdated with couplet care being the new norm (Which I am definitely a fan of). But I still love looking at those babies and I need a baby fix every now and then. So I'm glad it's there.
Clay said, "They look like pretend babies, but they're real!"
I'm so glad he likes them as much as I do.
We grabbed a quick game of Foosball and headed back to pick up Carter and Viv.
I believe the test results will be back this coming week. Also, the pancreatic insufficiency test should be available this week too.
Luckily, they were running behind and were nice enough that they didn't mind me being late.
They hooked Clay's arms up to two electrodes that stimulated his sweat glands (top picture) and left them on for 5 minutes. Then, they put little collection device (bottom picture) on his arm, taped rubber gloves over them (to make them 'airtight' and induce more sweating) for 30 minutes.
By the time we went down to the cafeteria and grabbed some lunch, we were done. Clay sweated (sweat, swatted?) like a champion. But before we left the hospital, he wanted to go to the 2nd floor and see the newborn babies.
I love that the hospital there has a newborn viewing area. I remember when I was sick and in the hospital a lot as a child that my parents used to pull me in the red wagon to look at the newborn nursery everyday. The nurseries are really becoming outdated with couplet care being the new norm (Which I am definitely a fan of). But I still love looking at those babies and I need a baby fix every now and then. So I'm glad it's there.
Clay said, "They look like pretend babies, but they're real!"
I'm so glad he likes them as much as I do.
We grabbed a quick game of Foosball and headed back to pick up Carter and Viv.
I believe the test results will be back this coming week. Also, the pancreatic insufficiency test should be available this week too.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Limbo
Ahh, nothing like a little Air Force limbo to spice up our lives.
We were supposed to be here at Eglin for a good 3 years. We were so excited to be somewhere long enough for the paint on the walls to dry.
But since Cory is changing aircrafts we were scheduled for another move this summer.
That only makes 5 moves in 7 years!
But of course it's never as easy as happily awaiting the matchups and then the assignment, is it?
About a month ago Cory got deployment notification to Ramstein AB in Germany.
We were stoked! Germany!? We have been dying to get to Europe but haven't had the chance.
How I look back now and wish we would have tried to get the Korea with the Germany follow on.
I know, I know, I was dying to get stateside after Korea....but hindsight is always 20/20.
Cory has talked to the guy at Ramstein who's in the job now and it sounds like a fantastic deployment. He's there with his wife and seven children. We figured out how to skirt around the visa requirements and car situation. So now, we only have 998 questions to ask.
However, when the boss found out that Cory got a deployment notification, he sent in a reclama. (A request to keep him from deploying) Regardless how badly we want to make it to Germany, a reclama really is the best thing since Cory needs to get in the air. (He has been in a flying billet and hasn't flown in over 14 months.) The boss says Cory really needs to PCS instead of deploying.
Of course everyone is getting their assignments....and we're just waiting. Will we deploy? Will we PCS? If we PCS, where are we going? What is Cory going to fly? Training? Can we do in en route? What happens if we deploy? What does that do to our PCS date?
Hopefully we'll find out soon....
We were supposed to be here at Eglin for a good 3 years. We were so excited to be somewhere long enough for the paint on the walls to dry.
But since Cory is changing aircrafts we were scheduled for another move this summer.
That only makes 5 moves in 7 years!
But of course it's never as easy as happily awaiting the matchups and then the assignment, is it?
About a month ago Cory got deployment notification to Ramstein AB in Germany.
We were stoked! Germany!? We have been dying to get to Europe but haven't had the chance.
How I look back now and wish we would have tried to get the Korea with the Germany follow on.
I know, I know, I was dying to get stateside after Korea....but hindsight is always 20/20.
Cory has talked to the guy at Ramstein who's in the job now and it sounds like a fantastic deployment. He's there with his wife and seven children. We figured out how to skirt around the visa requirements and car situation. So now, we only have 998 questions to ask.
However, when the boss found out that Cory got a deployment notification, he sent in a reclama. (A request to keep him from deploying) Regardless how badly we want to make it to Germany, a reclama really is the best thing since Cory needs to get in the air. (He has been in a flying billet and hasn't flown in over 14 months.) The boss says Cory really needs to PCS instead of deploying.
Of course everyone is getting their assignments....and we're just waiting. Will we deploy? Will we PCS? If we PCS, where are we going? What is Cory going to fly? Training? Can we do in en route? What happens if we deploy? What does that do to our PCS date?
Hopefully we'll find out soon....
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Good News
Clay's GI appointment went well on Wednesday. Maybe they read my blog and decided I was serious. Who knows. I don't care why it happened, but it did, they listened to me.
The doctor sat and listened to my speech for about 40 minutes. He looked at the pictures I had taken and answered all of my questions.
Dr. Davis ordered a few more tests and is going to send us up to UAB (University of Alabama Birmingham) for a more 'academic view' of things.
Until then we'll test for Pancreatic Insufficiency, and Cystic Fibrosis. Also, a whopping dose of Flagyl to knock out any bad bacteria left in his gut.
The doctor sat and listened to my speech for about 40 minutes. He looked at the pictures I had taken and answered all of my questions.
Dr. Davis ordered a few more tests and is going to send us up to UAB (University of Alabama Birmingham) for a more 'academic view' of things.
Until then we'll test for Pancreatic Insufficiency, and Cystic Fibrosis. Also, a whopping dose of Flagyl to knock out any bad bacteria left in his gut.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
One Day
One of these days, we will figure out what is wrong with Clay.
Clay has been fighting something in his gut for over two years now. If I'm honest with myself, it's been over 3. When he was born he didn't gain weight and was admitted twice in his first week of life. We blamed it on me not making enough milk, but we know better now.
Sometimes I want to punch those doctors in the face for making me believe that I was a failure, unsuccessful at nourishing my child.
We saw a doctor in CA who ordered a myriad of tests and we thought we were on to something when Clay had to have his gallbladder removed, or when he was really anemic. These are specific diagnoses, they MUST point to something! After his endoscopy and his gallbladder removal in 2010 and everything came back inconclusive or negative, the doctor and surgeons shoved us to the side until me moved away.
When we moved to Florida, he was doing somewhat better and the new doctor seemed promising. He sat down with me for almost a whole hour and talked me through things.
But as many of you know I'm sure, conversations are different when the patient is well vs. sick. Of course, it all seemed to make sense and it was so wonderful and the doctor is so understanding and he must be a genius because things are GETTING BETTER! But none of that was thanks to him, but he sure got all the credit.
But when Clay's health started going downhill in December, all of the sudden I can't get an appointment, the nurses take days to call me back and even then, have no answers for me. The doctor orders one test or offers one idea to pacify me and then tells me to come back in 3 months. They don't call me back with results and I have to hound their office for 3 days to get an answer.
Good thing I called to ask if he was lactose intolerant 2 weeks after the test was performed.
"Oh, yep, it says right here he is lactose intolerant."
"Was anyone going to call me about this? Let me know to stop feeding him Mac N Cheese everyday maybe?"
"Oh, no one called you?"
This is the general run around I get with any calls to the office. When Clay got a hold of the Naddy stomach virus of 2012, he was hit so hard he was hospitalized. He took Zofran for 3 days, was asleep for 4 days* and threw up for 5 days. He is still having diarrhea when he eats solid food.
Before that, he had a 10% weight loss in the month of December, I can count on two hands the number of normal bowel movements he has had in 3 months. He hasn't slept through the night in probably 4 or 5 months screaming with abdominal pain. His belly looks like a starving child's. It's enormous, full of bloat. And his extremities are so skinny. (I have started weighing him and taking pictures of him on the first of the month but figured it was inappropriate to post them here. No matter how cute his underoos are)
It's okay, the GI doc can fit us in in March to talk about it.**
Finally, I think we have someone on our side. We have been working with a PA in the peds clinic. He is the one who saw Clay outpatient as well as admitted him when he got really sick. He even called the next week to check and see how he was doing. When I told him Clay wasn't a whole lot better, he ordered some more tests and gave me his direct office number. I talked to him today and he is going to help us navigate thought this as best he can.
All I can do is document everything; food, (I write down what he eats every day), toileting, weight and I take pictures. Maybe, ONE DAY a doctor will look at all of it and put it together....maybe one day.
*When Clay was sick, he slept for 4 days straight. He was responsive to harsh stimuli (putting the IV in - although it was just tears, not a fight) and could answer yes and no. But he could not wake up to drink, eat, pee or move. He literally laid perfectly still with his eyes closed for 4 days. Like he was conserving every ounce of energy his body could muster. It was very bizarre, and I've never seen anything like it.
**Luckily, I got a phone call this afternoon saying there was a cancellation and they could see me tomorrow afternoon. Wish me luck. If this doesn't go well, we will probably going to Birmingham for a second opinion.
Clay has been fighting something in his gut for over two years now. If I'm honest with myself, it's been over 3. When he was born he didn't gain weight and was admitted twice in his first week of life. We blamed it on me not making enough milk, but we know better now.
Sometimes I want to punch those doctors in the face for making me believe that I was a failure, unsuccessful at nourishing my child.
We saw a doctor in CA who ordered a myriad of tests and we thought we were on to something when Clay had to have his gallbladder removed, or when he was really anemic. These are specific diagnoses, they MUST point to something! After his endoscopy and his gallbladder removal in 2010 and everything came back inconclusive or negative, the doctor and surgeons shoved us to the side until me moved away.
When we moved to Florida, he was doing somewhat better and the new doctor seemed promising. He sat down with me for almost a whole hour and talked me through things.
But as many of you know I'm sure, conversations are different when the patient is well vs. sick. Of course, it all seemed to make sense and it was so wonderful and the doctor is so understanding and he must be a genius because things are GETTING BETTER! But none of that was thanks to him, but he sure got all the credit.
But when Clay's health started going downhill in December, all of the sudden I can't get an appointment, the nurses take days to call me back and even then, have no answers for me. The doctor orders one test or offers one idea to pacify me and then tells me to come back in 3 months. They don't call me back with results and I have to hound their office for 3 days to get an answer.
Good thing I called to ask if he was lactose intolerant 2 weeks after the test was performed.
"Oh, yep, it says right here he is lactose intolerant."
"Was anyone going to call me about this? Let me know to stop feeding him Mac N Cheese everyday maybe?"
"Oh, no one called you?"
This is the general run around I get with any calls to the office. When Clay got a hold of the Naddy stomach virus of 2012, he was hit so hard he was hospitalized. He took Zofran for 3 days, was asleep for 4 days* and threw up for 5 days. He is still having diarrhea when he eats solid food.
Before that, he had a 10% weight loss in the month of December, I can count on two hands the number of normal bowel movements he has had in 3 months. He hasn't slept through the night in probably 4 or 5 months screaming with abdominal pain. His belly looks like a starving child's. It's enormous, full of bloat. And his extremities are so skinny. (I have started weighing him and taking pictures of him on the first of the month but figured it was inappropriate to post them here. No matter how cute his underoos are)
It's okay, the GI doc can fit us in in March to talk about it.**
Finally, I think we have someone on our side. We have been working with a PA in the peds clinic. He is the one who saw Clay outpatient as well as admitted him when he got really sick. He even called the next week to check and see how he was doing. When I told him Clay wasn't a whole lot better, he ordered some more tests and gave me his direct office number. I talked to him today and he is going to help us navigate thought this as best he can.
All I can do is document everything; food, (I write down what he eats every day), toileting, weight and I take pictures. Maybe, ONE DAY a doctor will look at all of it and put it together....maybe one day.
*When Clay was sick, he slept for 4 days straight. He was responsive to harsh stimuli (putting the IV in - although it was just tears, not a fight) and could answer yes and no. But he could not wake up to drink, eat, pee or move. He literally laid perfectly still with his eyes closed for 4 days. Like he was conserving every ounce of energy his body could muster. It was very bizarre, and I've never seen anything like it.
**Luckily, I got a phone call this afternoon saying there was a cancellation and they could see me tomorrow afternoon. Wish me luck. If this doesn't go well, we will probably going to Birmingham for a second opinion.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
This is What a Five Year Old Does When He's Bored
Last week when Clay was sick, we ended up having to stay in the 'procedure' room of the peds clinic for awhile so Clay could get some IV fluids.
Carter had my phone and I thought he was just playing Angry Birds, but apparently he was taking pictures as well...
Carter had my phone and I thought he was just playing Angry Birds, but apparently he was taking pictures as well...
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Clay Goes to School
Earlier this year, Clay started preschool! He goes to the same school Carter does and since it is Montessori school, he is not in a separate class from his brother. They do different things in different parts of the teeny two roomed schoolhouse, but are never separated by big hallways and double doors.
We were very anxious and nervous for this development in Clay's little life. Most of you that know him personally know he has EXTREME SEPARATION ANXIETY. OH MY GOSH HE'S GOING TO LIVE HERE UNTIL HE'S 30! Sorry, just the voice imodulation syndrome kicking in.
We have never been able to drop him off in the nursery at church, the CDC at the 3 bases we've lived at or any other school/daycare type setting. He seemed to be fine going to friends' houses, or having our sweet Grandma Lady Babysitter, Heide come over. He was fine with Grandma, or Nana too. But try to drop him off was like trying to cut his arms off. Every time, the CDC or nursery would have to call/page us to come pick him up. This is the typical conversation that ensued:
"Hello Mrs. Naddy?"
"Yes?"
"I'm _____ from the ____. Clayton has been crying for 2 hours straight now, we cannot get him to calm down and think you might need to come get him."
"Okay, as soon as I get down from the stirrups from my OBGYN appointment/check out at the grocery store/get out of the shower/ run back there to the nursery, I will come get him. Thanks!"
Then, I would pick him up, he'd fall apart even more when he spotted me and continue to have anxiety for the next half hour. Eventually we just stopped trying.
He went to "Big Church" with us, He went on every errand I did and he sat on the bath rug outside the tub while I showered.
So, as you can imagine, we were not expecting preschool to go very well. But he has got to learn to make friends/ do things/ learn that the world is not trying to eat him alive/etc.
We talked it up for months. I realize this could have had the opposite effect. (Give him lots of time to be anxious about it) but we have tried both methods of not talking about things at all and talking about things in advance and it seems to go slightlynot at all better when we give him a heads up. He was also able to attend two field trips with Carter's school when I chaperoned last year.
A word for the wise: Do not volunteer to chaperon a preschool field trip with your own three kids in tow. You'll just end up looking like an incompetent idiot. Not that I would know.
He even knew the teachers from drop off and pickup and had interacted with them a few times.
We had talked to the teachers about his anxiety and they were willing to help and understood the issue.
And then, when the new year started, I dropped him off for school and he gave me a kiss and walked away. Just like that.
I was shocked! The whole 3 hours I held my phone close, waiting for the phone call that would let me know they couldn't handle the disruption. That we would need to try again later. But it never came! I picked him up at noon and his face was clear, his eyes were dry and he wasn't done playing with the 'snow' they were taking turns playing with. I finally corralled him out of there (still in shock!) and he's been going ever since. Holy crap. Who'd have thought?
I'm sure that some of the circumstances we set up and him being familiar with the place helped ease him into the transition. But I just can't believe it was so easy! God answered a prayer we had been praying for awhile, to ease his anxiety about school.
After school, he started going to 'kids church' on Sundays and Thursday mornings (during my Bible Study). He finally realized that we WE'RE COMING BACK! And it is so much more fun to play with toys and make friends and have a snack than sit still in big church or stay at home while mom does more laundry and dishes.
Clay is in preschool, and he loves it. Unbelievable!
We were very anxious and nervous for this development in Clay's little life. Most of you that know him personally know he has EXTREME SEPARATION ANXIETY. OH MY GOSH HE'S GOING TO LIVE HERE UNTIL HE'S 30! Sorry, just the voice imodulation syndrome kicking in.
We have never been able to drop him off in the nursery at church, the CDC at the 3 bases we've lived at or any other school/daycare type setting. He seemed to be fine going to friends' houses, or having our sweet Grandma Lady Babysitter, Heide come over. He was fine with Grandma, or Nana too. But try to drop him off was like trying to cut his arms off. Every time, the CDC or nursery would have to call/page us to come pick him up. This is the typical conversation that ensued:
"Hello Mrs. Naddy?"
"Yes?"
"I'm _____ from the ____. Clayton has been crying for 2 hours straight now, we cannot get him to calm down and think you might need to come get him."
"Okay, as soon as I get down from the stirrups from my OBGYN appointment/check out at the grocery store/get out of the shower/ run back there to the nursery, I will come get him. Thanks!"
Then, I would pick him up, he'd fall apart even more when he spotted me and continue to have anxiety for the next half hour. Eventually we just stopped trying.
He went to "Big Church" with us, He went on every errand I did and he sat on the bath rug outside the tub while I showered.
So, as you can imagine, we were not expecting preschool to go very well. But he has got to learn to make friends/ do things/ learn that the world is not trying to eat him alive/etc.
We talked it up for months. I realize this could have had the opposite effect. (Give him lots of time to be anxious about it) but we have tried both methods of not talking about things at all and talking about things in advance and it seems to go slightly
A word for the wise: Do not volunteer to chaperon a preschool field trip with your own three kids in tow. You'll just end up looking like an incompetent idiot. Not that I would know.
He even knew the teachers from drop off and pickup and had interacted with them a few times.
We had talked to the teachers about his anxiety and they were willing to help and understood the issue.
And then, when the new year started, I dropped him off for school and he gave me a kiss and walked away. Just like that.
I was shocked! The whole 3 hours I held my phone close, waiting for the phone call that would let me know they couldn't handle the disruption. That we would need to try again later. But it never came! I picked him up at noon and his face was clear, his eyes were dry and he wasn't done playing with the 'snow' they were taking turns playing with. I finally corralled him out of there (still in shock!) and he's been going ever since. Holy crap. Who'd have thought?
I'm sure that some of the circumstances we set up and him being familiar with the place helped ease him into the transition. But I just can't believe it was so easy! God answered a prayer we had been praying for awhile, to ease his anxiety about school.
After school, he started going to 'kids church' on Sundays and Thursday mornings (during my Bible Study). He finally realized that we WE'RE COMING BACK! And it is so much more fun to play with toys and make friends and have a snack than sit still in big church or stay at home while mom does more laundry and dishes.
Clay is in preschool, and he loves it. Unbelievable!
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