Today we go for more testing on Mya. The tests today will check her heart and heart function. Since the people at Kosair mentioned heart tests on several different occasions, we brought our concerns to the doctor’s attention. Based on Mya’s last episode, the doctor seems to think that Mya is having seizures, but she wants to rule out heart problems, and also sleep apnea. The last seizure happened through the night, and if it was brought on from breath holding due to sleep apnea, the doctor would be thankful. We’re not real clear on what the heart would have to do with seizures, but I’m anxious to rule out any heart problems.
We did take Mya to see the sleep specialist, and let me tell you, that was an interesting visit. Just imagine, when you walk into the room at the doctor’s office, what it looks like, the table with the paper draped over it, the sink, and all the scopes used for looking in the ears and throat. Well, at the sleep doctor, the room is actually a bedroom. I think my jaw dropped when we entered the room. It was nicely decorated with low lights, decorative pillows laying at the head of the queen size bed, a nice big recliner, TV, end tables, and all the makings of a bedroom. I have to give the decorator kudos; it was a nice relaxing environment. Bob and I sat on the recliner, and the doctor sat on the bed. Of course, we had to hear a lecture on sleep, sleeping patterns, and the importance of sleep. The doctor was very monotone, so it was hard for me to pay attention, especially with such an inviting looking bed. LOL! I’m joking. Personally, I didn’t care for the doctor at all. He was very condescending when speaking to us about Mya’s sleeping habits. He asked about her bedtime, as well as what time she gets up in the morning. I told him (she sleeps about 8 to 9 hours through the night). His response was, “now, do you think that’s enough sleep for a 4 year old?” I told him I didn’t think she had any issues. I got the look! I proceeded to tell him that she takes a 2 to 3 hour nap pretty much everyday. I was still getting the look. This doctor told us he thinks Mya is chronically sleep deprived. I’m thinking if he wants to see sleep deprived, he needs to ask about my sleeping patterns. Seriously! LOL! Anyway, we are scheduled to take Mya for a sleep study on the 9th, but I’m really not convinced she has apnea. We were sent home with a brochure that talks about apnea and the signs and symptoms, and other than snoring, Mya exhibits no symptoms. Even her snoring isn’t the choke and gag type snoring he was describing, it’s just normal snoring. That test may be ruled out!
On Friday we will take Mya back to Kosair for an EEG. If she’s having seizures, the Neurologist is hoping to catch the activity on the test. It’s really bothersome to me because we’ve had so many tests, and the Neurologist is ready to diagnose her with seizure disorder, or epilepsy, based solely on what we’ve told him, and put her on medication. Bob and I aren’t ready to commit to a lifetime of medication for our 4 year old. Of course, if the EEG shows the seizure activity, we will do everything needed to assure the seizures are controlled. On the flip side, if all the testing comes back normal, we’re back to “what’s causing the fainting, seizures and memory loss”?
When we speak of Mya’s memory loss, we’re not talking about her having no memory of the seizure’s, we’re talking about her losing an entire day’s worth of memory, or at least 6 to 8 hours prior to the seizure. As a mom, that’s scary. We know Mya is a bright child, and we know that she doesn’t forget anything, so when she’s not able to remember what happened the evening prior to the seizure, something isn’t right. Especially if it was a significant evening, not just an evening at home watching cartoons. My biggest concern is what this will do her learning development during her school years. Based on the past episodes, she would lose an entire days instruction if she had a seizure after school one day. I guess we’ll take what’s given to us and handle it the best we can.
We had another scare in the family. My brother, Joe, who was diagnosed several years ago with melanoma cancer, had a place come up on his head. The spot that came up was on the rim of the “hole” he has on the side of his head from the original cancer removal. Thankfully, he took immediate action and went to the doctor to have it checked out. It was nothing to be concerned about. The doctor checked him from head to toe and said he looks great! Wonderful news! The doctor did stress, since Joe is coming up on his 5 year milestone, he would like for him to have a PET scan done so they can catch anything that might be microscopic in size. Joe will schedule that and we’ll all keep our fingers crossed for the best.
Andrew and James put in a bid on a house yesterday, so that’s exciting news! I hope they are able to get a home of their own. The apartment they live in hasn’t been as nice as originally perceived. As with any apartment rental, they’ve had their share of problems. Now they know why the rent was a lot cheaper for the size of apartment they leased.
For Andrew’s MFA at Murray, he will still spend a couple of weeks, a couple of times a year, at Murray State, which isn’t bad. I was really pleased to hear that Andrew wouldn’t be moving to Murray. I can hardly wait to see something complete that Andrew has written. I’ve read a few of Andrew’s stories, but none of them have been complete, so I was left hanging for the outcome. The plans for the book to be published with Nickole Brown have been delayed to 2011. I was so hoping they would be able to complete that this year. I’ll patiently await its release!
I’ll have test results, and hopefully good news to post within the next week or so.
TTFN!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Racism and Prejudice At An Early Age
For this post, I’m not sure if the correct term to use is racism, or prejudice, so I'll give the definition of both.
Racism: 1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others. 2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.
Prejudice: 1. an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.
2. any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.
3. unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, esp. of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group. 4. such attitudes considered collectively: The war against prejudice is never-ending.
5. damage or injury; detriment: a law that operated to the prejudice of the majority.
Maybe both definitions apply, but for this post, I’m going to use racism when telling my sisters story.
My sister had to take her daughter to the doctor yesterday. I won’t go into the details of why, but it turned out they ended up sitting in the waiting room for hours. When I spoke with my sister, she said that she just can’t get over the people you meet when you’re in a public place. She went on to tell me what happened in the waiting room.
In the waiting room, there was my sister and her family, a family of color that we’ll call Family A, another family of color that we’ll call Family B, a white family, and a family, as my sister described, from Middle Eastern descent. Family A had several children, one boy being very young, and all the kids were playing and behaving themselves quite well. The young boy approached my sister and started talking to her in his toddler jabber, and my sister, being polite and knowing how toddlers like to chatter, tried to carry on the conversation. Out of the blue the little boy looked at my sister and said, “You’re a white bitch!” My sister didn’t know what to say! However, the lady sitting beside her, from Family B, didn’t care to speak her mind. The lady looked at my sister in total disbelief and said, “Can you believe that?”, then turned to the toddler’s dad and asked the age of the boy. He’s 2. The lady from Family B just couldn’t contain her anger. She looked at my sister and said, “He’s 2, now can you believe that!” Then she turned on the dad. She told the dad that he needed to send that boy to live with her for a while, “I’d break him from that cussing real quick!” she shouted, for everyone in the waiting room to hear. The dad, being embarrassed, called the boy over, put him on his lap and proceeded to tap his little mouth, as punishment for what he had done. After tapping his mouth, the dad then apologized to THE LITTLE BOY! The lady from Family B just about came unglued! She looked at that dad and told him how he didn’t need to be apologizing to that boy, and just on and on and on. My sister just sat there in total shock over the entire ordeal.
Okay, later on, while still waiting to be seen, another child from Family A, and the son from the white family were playing. My sister said she figured they were around 6 or 7 years old. The two boys, one white and one of color, were playing with a toy that either belonged to one of the boys, or was a toy they have in the waiting room at this office, I’m not sure which, but they were playing fine when all of a sudden, the little boy of color took the toy and triumphantly announced to the white boy that he could no longer touch the toy. “I’m the king, and you’re no longer allowed to touch the King’s toy!” The white boy just looked at him and said, “You’re not a king.” The boy of color says, “Yes, I’m the king, I’m Obama, you can call me King Obama!” The white boy, in reply, says, “My dad said Obama is the President, and he’s a ni**er!” My sister about fell out of her seat! Other than the white dad being thoroughly embarrassed, my sister didn’t say if words were exchanged between the dads. And, the lady from Family B wasn’t there to witness what had just happened.
I can only imagine this scene in my head. I couldn’t believe what my sister was telling me. This incident tells me that we’re teaching our children, at a very young age, to be racist. I know that none of those children would have said what they did, had they not heard it at home. Racism and prejudice are taught at an early age. I guess there might be circumstances, when you’re older, that a tragic experience might leave you feeling biased, but what these kids were saying was taught.
When we were growing up, using the “N” word was just as bad as any curse word you could think of. We weren’t taught to hate, or even dislike, someone that might be different. I can’t imagine teaching my children to dislike someone of a different race, religion, etc. I was under the impression that we were starting to get past the differences, but after hearing this, it tells me that we’ll always have generation after generation of racism and prejudice. Maybe I’m just naïve.
My sister went on to tell me that the white family appeared to be very “redneck” in their ways. I guess after their sons comment, one can agree. The man of Middle Eastern descent approached the white family, only to discuss their children’s common issues at hand, and the white lady was very rude to the man. She wouldn’t look in his direction, and wouldn’t speak to him to answer his questions. As Stacey put it, “she’s was just out and out rude and made no qualms about it.” Since this office was a Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist, all the parents in the waiting area had children with orthopedic issues of one form or another. I’m sure the Middle Eastern man was just trying to strike up a conversation to discuss what issues they were having with their child to compare to what they were experiencing with theirs. The white lady snubbed him completely. The guy finally said, “I guess it’s just trying times for us all”, and left it at that.
I think it’s sad to hear stories like this. Maybe, as a Libra, I just want peace and harmony all around. One can always hope!
TTFN!
Racism: 1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others. 2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.
Prejudice: 1. an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.
2. any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.
3. unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, esp. of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group. 4. such attitudes considered collectively: The war against prejudice is never-ending.
5. damage or injury; detriment: a law that operated to the prejudice of the majority.
Maybe both definitions apply, but for this post, I’m going to use racism when telling my sisters story.
My sister had to take her daughter to the doctor yesterday. I won’t go into the details of why, but it turned out they ended up sitting in the waiting room for hours. When I spoke with my sister, she said that she just can’t get over the people you meet when you’re in a public place. She went on to tell me what happened in the waiting room.
In the waiting room, there was my sister and her family, a family of color that we’ll call Family A, another family of color that we’ll call Family B, a white family, and a family, as my sister described, from Middle Eastern descent. Family A had several children, one boy being very young, and all the kids were playing and behaving themselves quite well. The young boy approached my sister and started talking to her in his toddler jabber, and my sister, being polite and knowing how toddlers like to chatter, tried to carry on the conversation. Out of the blue the little boy looked at my sister and said, “You’re a white bitch!” My sister didn’t know what to say! However, the lady sitting beside her, from Family B, didn’t care to speak her mind. The lady looked at my sister in total disbelief and said, “Can you believe that?”, then turned to the toddler’s dad and asked the age of the boy. He’s 2. The lady from Family B just couldn’t contain her anger. She looked at my sister and said, “He’s 2, now can you believe that!” Then she turned on the dad. She told the dad that he needed to send that boy to live with her for a while, “I’d break him from that cussing real quick!” she shouted, for everyone in the waiting room to hear. The dad, being embarrassed, called the boy over, put him on his lap and proceeded to tap his little mouth, as punishment for what he had done. After tapping his mouth, the dad then apologized to THE LITTLE BOY! The lady from Family B just about came unglued! She looked at that dad and told him how he didn’t need to be apologizing to that boy, and just on and on and on. My sister just sat there in total shock over the entire ordeal.
Okay, later on, while still waiting to be seen, another child from Family A, and the son from the white family were playing. My sister said she figured they were around 6 or 7 years old. The two boys, one white and one of color, were playing with a toy that either belonged to one of the boys, or was a toy they have in the waiting room at this office, I’m not sure which, but they were playing fine when all of a sudden, the little boy of color took the toy and triumphantly announced to the white boy that he could no longer touch the toy. “I’m the king, and you’re no longer allowed to touch the King’s toy!” The white boy just looked at him and said, “You’re not a king.” The boy of color says, “Yes, I’m the king, I’m Obama, you can call me King Obama!” The white boy, in reply, says, “My dad said Obama is the President, and he’s a ni**er!” My sister about fell out of her seat! Other than the white dad being thoroughly embarrassed, my sister didn’t say if words were exchanged between the dads. And, the lady from Family B wasn’t there to witness what had just happened.
I can only imagine this scene in my head. I couldn’t believe what my sister was telling me. This incident tells me that we’re teaching our children, at a very young age, to be racist. I know that none of those children would have said what they did, had they not heard it at home. Racism and prejudice are taught at an early age. I guess there might be circumstances, when you’re older, that a tragic experience might leave you feeling biased, but what these kids were saying was taught.
When we were growing up, using the “N” word was just as bad as any curse word you could think of. We weren’t taught to hate, or even dislike, someone that might be different. I can’t imagine teaching my children to dislike someone of a different race, religion, etc. I was under the impression that we were starting to get past the differences, but after hearing this, it tells me that we’ll always have generation after generation of racism and prejudice. Maybe I’m just naïve.
My sister went on to tell me that the white family appeared to be very “redneck” in their ways. I guess after their sons comment, one can agree. The man of Middle Eastern descent approached the white family, only to discuss their children’s common issues at hand, and the white lady was very rude to the man. She wouldn’t look in his direction, and wouldn’t speak to him to answer his questions. As Stacey put it, “she’s was just out and out rude and made no qualms about it.” Since this office was a Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist, all the parents in the waiting area had children with orthopedic issues of one form or another. I’m sure the Middle Eastern man was just trying to strike up a conversation to discuss what issues they were having with their child to compare to what they were experiencing with theirs. The white lady snubbed him completely. The guy finally said, “I guess it’s just trying times for us all”, and left it at that.
I think it’s sad to hear stories like this. Maybe, as a Libra, I just want peace and harmony all around. One can always hope!
TTFN!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Mya's MRI Results
First things first, Mya’s MRI came back normal! We are so thankful for those results. However, while we were at Kosair, the good people up there left the question in our minds as to why they haven't checked Mya's heart. At least 3 different people questioned us about her "heart tests", which she has not had. One lady even stated, "She’s having this problem, and they haven't checked her heart?" So, now we have to wonder about that. In the mean time the doctor has told us to call them immediately if she has another episode and they will run an EEG to monitor for seizure activity. We're discussing what we should do as far as approaching the doctor about the heart stuff.
Last night, when putting Mya’s pajamas on her, I noticed a terrible looking rash on her chest. The discharge papers from Kosair said that we should contact our pediatrician immediately, call 911 or take her to the nearest emergency room if she develops a rash. We weren’t sure if a reaction to the MRI contrast would develop a rash at this point (it had been more then 24 hours since the test), so I called Kosair, Care First, and then the local hospital, trying to get someone to tell me whether or not we should panic be concerned. The lady at Care First said the contrast, being put in an IV, is in her blood system, and could cause an allergic reaction at various times. She advised we take her to the ER since the rash could quickly turn into Anaphylactic Shock. To make a long story short, after several phone calls, we ended up at the ER to have the rash evaluated. It was a simple allergic rash, to something, but not the MRI contrast. The doctor at the ER told us, had it been a reaction to the contrast, she would have had problems within a few hours. Bob and I thought that might be the case, but after the Anaphylactic Shock comment, we didn’t want to take any chances.
While at the ER, with a doctor face to face, and not a nurse on the phone, I took the opportunity to ask about Mya’s passing out, seizure episodes, memory loss and why Kosair kept referring to the heart tests. Should we push the heart tests on her doctor? Should we be overly concerned that she might have a heart defect? The ER doctor told us that we should probably approach our pediatrician and let her know our concerns. Bob seems to think we should wait until she has another episode and follow the doctor’s instructions. I’m still torn. While I’m extremely worried there could be an underlying condition, I don’t want to put Mya through a bunch of testing that might otherwise prove to be unnecessary. The episodes are so scary, and I would love to be able to find out what’s wrong and hopefully prevent another one. As a Mom, and you moms out there know how it is, you know when something isn’t right with your kids. In Mya’s case, I know she doesn’t forget anything, not even the smallest details, so for her to be having the seizure like episodes, and losing almost an entire day’s worth of memory, tells me these are more than just passing out spells. Oh, I forgot to mention above, the pediatrician has diagnosed her “episodes” as Syncope, which is considered to be “fainting spells”. I’m not so convinced, yet I can’t decide what to do. I don’t want to come off as a Munenhauser mom (just a little humor), but this really worries me.
On a different note, my brother was admitted to Life Springs yesterday. The doctor said he is suffering from severe depression. I just hate this, and I feel so helpless. Joe has been through so much in the past 5 years. His battle with cancer, and not being able to afford to complete his chemo treatment, losing everything, and now going through some personal issues, I can see why he’s having problems. I wish he would have talked to someone sooner, and not let himself get this point. I’ve never seen this side of my brother. He’s always been so laid back and easy going. I wish there was something I could say or do to help him. I hope he gets the help he needs. I’m just thankful that he asked for help.
As usual, it’s never a dull moment in our family!
TTFN!
Last night, when putting Mya’s pajamas on her, I noticed a terrible looking rash on her chest. The discharge papers from Kosair said that we should contact our pediatrician immediately, call 911 or take her to the nearest emergency room if she develops a rash. We weren’t sure if a reaction to the MRI contrast would develop a rash at this point (it had been more then 24 hours since the test), so I called Kosair, Care First, and then the local hospital, trying to get someone to tell me whether or not we should panic be concerned. The lady at Care First said the contrast, being put in an IV, is in her blood system, and could cause an allergic reaction at various times. She advised we take her to the ER since the rash could quickly turn into Anaphylactic Shock. To make a long story short, after several phone calls, we ended up at the ER to have the rash evaluated. It was a simple allergic rash, to something, but not the MRI contrast. The doctor at the ER told us, had it been a reaction to the contrast, she would have had problems within a few hours. Bob and I thought that might be the case, but after the Anaphylactic Shock comment, we didn’t want to take any chances.
While at the ER, with a doctor face to face, and not a nurse on the phone, I took the opportunity to ask about Mya’s passing out, seizure episodes, memory loss and why Kosair kept referring to the heart tests. Should we push the heart tests on her doctor? Should we be overly concerned that she might have a heart defect? The ER doctor told us that we should probably approach our pediatrician and let her know our concerns. Bob seems to think we should wait until she has another episode and follow the doctor’s instructions. I’m still torn. While I’m extremely worried there could be an underlying condition, I don’t want to put Mya through a bunch of testing that might otherwise prove to be unnecessary. The episodes are so scary, and I would love to be able to find out what’s wrong and hopefully prevent another one. As a Mom, and you moms out there know how it is, you know when something isn’t right with your kids. In Mya’s case, I know she doesn’t forget anything, not even the smallest details, so for her to be having the seizure like episodes, and losing almost an entire day’s worth of memory, tells me these are more than just passing out spells. Oh, I forgot to mention above, the pediatrician has diagnosed her “episodes” as Syncope, which is considered to be “fainting spells”. I’m not so convinced, yet I can’t decide what to do. I don’t want to come off as a Munenhauser mom (just a little humor), but this really worries me.
On a different note, my brother was admitted to Life Springs yesterday. The doctor said he is suffering from severe depression. I just hate this, and I feel so helpless. Joe has been through so much in the past 5 years. His battle with cancer, and not being able to afford to complete his chemo treatment, losing everything, and now going through some personal issues, I can see why he’s having problems. I wish he would have talked to someone sooner, and not let himself get this point. I’ve never seen this side of my brother. He’s always been so laid back and easy going. I wish there was something I could say or do to help him. I hope he gets the help he needs. I’m just thankful that he asked for help.
As usual, it’s never a dull moment in our family!
TTFN!
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