Weekly Roundup

  My schedule lately has been such that I have very little time for anything that is not essential. And by essential I do not mean showers, moisturizing or shaving fuzziness. I also don't have much blog time so I end up posting several things on the weekends just to clear my head. Works for me. 

  Deb wins. Ahren had an ear infection. Sunday I just couldn't get his fever down so we spent 4 hours in the 24 hour emergent clinic. (On a side note, there was not one single patient in the waiting room when we got there and I had high hopes of getting in and out. Instead we spent so long there that all the pharmacies had closed and we couldn't get the much needed antibiotics that night.) On Monday, I gave nanny instructions to watch his temp and medicate as needed. When I walked in the door shortly after 6pm he was asleep in a recliner. I noticed his cheeks were pink so I felt his head. Yikes, he was burning up. I got the thermometer (Thanks Mark - we really needed it!) and it was 105 degrees. Poor baby, I woke him up stripping his clothes off and wiping him with a cool wet cloth. He was crying when I tried to get the meds into him and he choked and threw up. I persevered and got meds into him and after about an hour we were down to 102. I set the alarm and got up periodically during the night to give him more meds and had him sleep with me so I could monitor the fever. Man, I hate it when they get that high. 

The bright side is that by Tuesday the antibiotics had kicked in and he acted just fine and the fever was gone.  He has 3 more days on it and then a recheck. 

  My sister underwent a 4.5 hour operation on Monday to remove her thyroid. She has the same condition that our Mother and my daughter Ashley have. The body doesn't recognize the thyroid hormone and attacks it. The thyroid is then stimulated to try and make more and more, growing bigger and bigger, but still can't keep up. Without synthetic thyroid supplementation which the body does not destroy, the thyroid grows dangerously large. My mother had her thyroid out several years ago. Both of them were diagnosed much, much later than Ashley  and the damage was already done. Hopefully by starting Ash on thyroid therapy as a child she will never have that problem. 

  Our office is still at 3 people when our original staff numbered 7 people. It is CRAZY busy and the three of us left are multi-tasking fools. Luckily, I love the other two women and we have such fun. The patients are awesome and so are the doctors. Next week we have a part time front desk person starting. If she turns out to be really good she will get sucked into full time very soon. We still need at least one more therapist but it is proving very difficult to find the right person. They have to understand the medical conditions, be great with kids, have the patience of a saint, and the energy of a warrior. (Have I mentioned I have lost 20 pounds working here? No more sitting behind a desk and having a coffee bar and treats right down the hallway. It's amazing!) 

  Tonight is Trick-or-Treat. We have our non-scary costumes hanging up and ready to wear. Candy is placed into a large bowl for handing out. Some friends are coming over with their kids and we will have snacks and fun, then load up the hayride we are doing with our neighbors and tour the neighborhood collecting treats. The weather is perfect, a little cool but clear and dry. It is going to be great!

  I have been busy helping Kaytee get applications in to all the colleges she is thinking about. She has gone back and forth trying to decide if she would live at home and do community college to start with, or go to a larger school away from home. She still isn't sure but we need to apply before the deadlines if she decides to go that way. She really wants a career in medicine but not sure doing exactly what. there are some good health profession programs out there where she would do all the basics the first two years and then decide her specialty. She has always wanted to be a doctor but the sacrifices in her personal life and the future of health care have made her unsure if that is the right choice. (Smart kid, those are real worries!) 

And now, my friends, I need to take a shower, run a rake through my hair, and prepare myself for the evening of chaos and too much sugar.