We didn't get to go to the house to do any work today, but a lot had to be done nonetheless. Emily and Jacob had their appointments with the specialist today. Em, to get the results of her CT scan and Jake for his initial exam. Emily's sinuses are perfect...quite a surprise. It is indeed her adnoids causing the problem. He also discovered a mole on her neck that will need to be removed. Though she's only had it for a couple of months, it caused him quite a bit of concern. The mole and adenoid removal will have to be done by the end of summer.
By the time Emily was two years old she had two moles removed that showed signs of cellular changes. It signaled, the pathologist said, extreme amounts of overexposure to the sun. The kind of results someone would have that had spent a lifetime in the sun...not two years. My FIL has had every type of skin cancer known to man...a zillion times over. It worries me that Emily can have something pop up and become such a worry in such a short time - particularly since we don't allow her to spend any time in the sun unprotected. She's only eight years old. It's like fighting an invisible demon. We're ever watchful and still don't see it coming sometimes.
Jake was a much more simple matter. He doesn't even require tests. His adenoids are so massive, they can be seen with a light shined into his throat and a little "ahhhhh" from him.
I'm relieved to know that they may have the same excellent results from the removal that Leirin has enjoyed. She has had two ear infections in ten years and bronchitis once instead of the dozens of cases that Jacob has had over the past 7 years. Maybe we won't spend two months with a severely stuffy nose and lingering congestion filled coughs any longer. Line'em up. Cut'em out. Of course I have the little twinge of worry at sending both of my kids "under". It's a difficult thing to send them into a situation that is entirely out of your control. Waiting is hard. Sending them off full of fear of the unknown that is about to happen to them, knowing they feel the need for you to be with them, it's crushing. But I know it will be the best thing for both of them. The doctor said to call him once we get moved and settled in and he will set them both up for the same day. We'll have it behind us then and hopefully they will enjoy many much more healthy years ahead.
After the doctor's appointment, we stopped by Lowes to buy floor for the library. It's beautiful and I can't wait to see it in the room. A little more shopping netted us a cushion for the front porch rocker, a lamp for the office, a perfectamundo coffee cup for me in happy lavender with a great huge handle that my whole hand will fit through (it is a quest of mine to find the perfect coffee cup) and lots of other little goodies. We stopped by Leirin's friend Alex's house to pick up the leather chair and ottoman we bought from them and have a short visit before they return to Ireland tomorrow. We have really enjoyed getting to know her family. Her Irish mother and Japanese step-father have given us a glimpse of other places we've never had before. It is the one thing I will miss about this college town. There is a diversity here that you will not find in any of the surrounding areas.
After we loaded up, we dropped everything at the new house and sat on the porch for a few minutes to catch our breath and enjoyed the evening breeze before heading back to the restaurant for dinner together. When we got to the restaurant we found out that one of our girls (a server) had a heart attack. It's not the first and surely won't be the last but it sends me into this hole of despair every time. She is just sixteen years old and it is so wrong that she suffers this way. She is young enough to be my daughter and it hurts me that there is nothing, NOTHING, that can be done. She might get a new heart some day. If she lives that long. What a thing that must be to carry at her age. What it must do to her mother, I can't even imagine. She is home now - as is normal. She has a heart attack and if she doesn't die they send her home. No time in the hospital...just a big bottle of aspirin and one of nitroglycerine tablets in her purse. Her purse should hold notes passed in class, notepads with the names of cute boys scribbled on the cover in big puffy letters, a wallet that holds more hope than money - not heart medicine.
I feel so selfish every time I think of it and I'm thankful my kids are not facing such things, but I am. I don't think I'm built to handle that kind of thing. I don't understand how people do it, but they definitely have something that I'm lacking.
We were home by 8:00 tonight for the first time in a while. I sat down and ate the rest of the chocolate dipped strawberries Doug brough home for me from the wedding he catered (he always makes extra for me). They had to be eaten tonight because the moisture is starting to seep from the berries and loosen the chocolate. So I did. I ate them all, except the one I gave to each of the kids. If I'd had any sense, I'd have broke out a fruity bottle of cheap wine to drink with them, but they were good anyway. The rest has been nice, though I should have taken my bath first thing after I got home - maybe ate the strawberries in the tub with candle light all around. That would have been good. Hindsight and all that. It's not easy to make myself move at this point when all I want to do is curl up in bed and sleep. Soon enough I'll only have a shower available though, so I want to get those baths every chance I get.
By the time Emily was two years old she had two moles removed that showed signs of cellular changes. It signaled, the pathologist said, extreme amounts of overexposure to the sun. The kind of results someone would have that had spent a lifetime in the sun...not two years. My FIL has had every type of skin cancer known to man...a zillion times over. It worries me that Emily can have something pop up and become such a worry in such a short time - particularly since we don't allow her to spend any time in the sun unprotected. She's only eight years old. It's like fighting an invisible demon. We're ever watchful and still don't see it coming sometimes.
Jake was a much more simple matter. He doesn't even require tests. His adenoids are so massive, they can be seen with a light shined into his throat and a little "ahhhhh" from him.
I'm relieved to know that they may have the same excellent results from the removal that Leirin has enjoyed. She has had two ear infections in ten years and bronchitis once instead of the dozens of cases that Jacob has had over the past 7 years. Maybe we won't spend two months with a severely stuffy nose and lingering congestion filled coughs any longer. Line'em up. Cut'em out. Of course I have the little twinge of worry at sending both of my kids "under". It's a difficult thing to send them into a situation that is entirely out of your control. Waiting is hard. Sending them off full of fear of the unknown that is about to happen to them, knowing they feel the need for you to be with them, it's crushing. But I know it will be the best thing for both of them. The doctor said to call him once we get moved and settled in and he will set them both up for the same day. We'll have it behind us then and hopefully they will enjoy many much more healthy years ahead.
After the doctor's appointment, we stopped by Lowes to buy floor for the library. It's beautiful and I can't wait to see it in the room. A little more shopping netted us a cushion for the front porch rocker, a lamp for the office, a perfectamundo coffee cup for me in happy lavender with a great huge handle that my whole hand will fit through (it is a quest of mine to find the perfect coffee cup) and lots of other little goodies. We stopped by Leirin's friend Alex's house to pick up the leather chair and ottoman we bought from them and have a short visit before they return to Ireland tomorrow. We have really enjoyed getting to know her family. Her Irish mother and Japanese step-father have given us a glimpse of other places we've never had before. It is the one thing I will miss about this college town. There is a diversity here that you will not find in any of the surrounding areas.
After we loaded up, we dropped everything at the new house and sat on the porch for a few minutes to catch our breath and enjoyed the evening breeze before heading back to the restaurant for dinner together. When we got to the restaurant we found out that one of our girls (a server) had a heart attack. It's not the first and surely won't be the last but it sends me into this hole of despair every time. She is just sixteen years old and it is so wrong that she suffers this way. She is young enough to be my daughter and it hurts me that there is nothing, NOTHING, that can be done. She might get a new heart some day. If she lives that long. What a thing that must be to carry at her age. What it must do to her mother, I can't even imagine. She is home now - as is normal. She has a heart attack and if she doesn't die they send her home. No time in the hospital...just a big bottle of aspirin and one of nitroglycerine tablets in her purse. Her purse should hold notes passed in class, notepads with the names of cute boys scribbled on the cover in big puffy letters, a wallet that holds more hope than money - not heart medicine.
I feel so selfish every time I think of it and I'm thankful my kids are not facing such things, but I am. I don't think I'm built to handle that kind of thing. I don't understand how people do it, but they definitely have something that I'm lacking.
We were home by 8:00 tonight for the first time in a while. I sat down and ate the rest of the chocolate dipped strawberries Doug brough home for me from the wedding he catered (he always makes extra for me). They had to be eaten tonight because the moisture is starting to seep from the berries and loosen the chocolate. So I did. I ate them all, except the one I gave to each of the kids. If I'd had any sense, I'd have broke out a fruity bottle of cheap wine to drink with them, but they were good anyway. The rest has been nice, though I should have taken my bath first thing after I got home - maybe ate the strawberries in the tub with candle light all around. That would have been good. Hindsight and all that. It's not easy to make myself move at this point when all I want to do is curl up in bed and sleep. Soon enough I'll only have a shower available though, so I want to get those baths every chance I get.
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