One Tough Cookie

It ain't braggin' if it's true, is it? Well, my 5 year old, middle Granddaughter is just plain tough in more ways than one. First, she was born with a holey heart, an atrial septal defect. She didn't feel good and was a very grumpy baby. When she was 15 months old she had to have a device implanted in her heart to fill in the largest hole. It is called an AMPLATZER® Septal Occluder, a wire disc shaped device made from an alloy of nickel and titanium. She came through the procedure like the trooper she is.

Next came the dog attack at two and a half years old. She had several puncture wounds on cheek, jaw and around her left eye. Her bottom eye lid had a chunk missing and was split open. She was cool, calm and sang Christmas songs on the long trip to the Hospital. She remained composed for all of the stitches, she was sedated but didn't like being held down. She was very brave for the removal of the stitches as well.

Then there are the splinters that you naturally get on a farm. I have removed two splinters from her fingers so far. She doesn't squirm, whine or cry when I poke, prod and squeeze, she even watches.

So that brings me up to Saturday. Somehow she managed to cut the tip of her little toe nearly off on Thursday. The entire top skin of the tip of her toe was cut loose and was only being held on by a small piece that was still intact. It looked bad and painful.

She had complained about it only after she noticed the blood, her Mom asked what happened and she said that she couldn't remember. I guess it didn't make much of an impression on her. Sometime later the toe started throbbing and she did do some crying.

Friday night the girls spent the night with us and we soaked her foot in Epsom Salts a couple of time. I was afraid that it might get infected because she was running around my house barefooted and we couldn't get a band-aid on it. After one soak on Saturday afternoon my DH looked closely at it and declared that the excess skin needed to be removed. Her Mother had talked about doing this herself. So I called her Mom for approval after our Granddaughter gave her approval.

I stuck a Banana Popsicle in her mouth, read her a funny story holding the book so that it blocked her view of what Papaw was doing and he did surgery. She never flinched, jerked or made a sound accept for laughing at the story.

My DH held out his open palm with the thick cap of skin in it and she said: "I didn't even feel it!". She did have a hard time putting it back in the Epsom Salt water because it burned but after about five attempts she finally got the nerve and stuck it in without pulling it back out.

Now bandaging it was another story, she griped, moaned and argued about having to wear a stupid band-aid on it. My DH applied ointment and wrapped it with gauze and tape, she was not happy about this but her arguments and non-stop griping was so funny that we just kept chuckling. She can be quite dramatic. She didn't want a big old ugly bandage on it and thought she could talk her way out of it.

She is tough in other ways too, like arguing. It is hard to win an argument with her and she can be pretty tough in protecting her sisters and brother. She is also quite the scrapper, her Dad has taught her to fight and she plays a little too rough sometimes.

She is the comedian of the family, is outgoing, friendly and never shuts up. Even when she is trying to be tough and serious she cracks us all up. She can also make you very nervous because you never know what she might say to strangers or even to friends and family.

Adopting Dogs, Cancer Research, Global Warming

In continuation of yesterday's post, my mind seems to be stuck in reverse. I was thinking back to a time when I actually OWNED a dog. Now I am just a dog care giver, parent, foster parent, adoptive parent, servant and manager. It is now impossible to buy the pet of your choice. You must ADOPT a pet. Animals rights organizations and the government have put a stop to most dog breeding.

You can't adopt a dog from a rescue because their standards are higher than they are for adopting a child. Plus every animal you already care for must be spayed or neutered. You must live in an impenetrable fort and sign away your life and privacy. The rescue adoption fees are higher than you would pay to a good breeder for an excellent bred pup.

So here is what I see happening in the pet world. It is already happening with designer pets. They are mixed breeds without registration. Goodbye AKC! Goodbye purebred dogs! So what is the long term effect. No more breeders, no more rescues, no more humane society and no more animal control officers, this is great news. No more surplus animals.

Dogs will sell at a premium on the black market because they have become an endangered species. In the mean time look at all the lost jobs and incomes. What will all of the rescue, humane society, animal rights and dog registry people do with their time? Why do these people want to put themselves out of a job?

Talking about putting yourself out of a job. A friend of ours has cancer and as she struggles through her treatments, she has raised some good points. Why would cancer researchers want to cure cancer? Look at all of the people that it would destroy as opposed to all of the people it would save. Look at all of the Hospitals that it would put out of business. These researchers have put tons of money and effort into their educations to do what? Put themselves out of a job. Even if someone would make a huge breakthrough, I am afraid that they would be quieted. I hope this isn't true but when you think about it, it is disturbing.

This also brings to mind Global Warming and Climate Change, the very people who are suppose to be working for solutions to the situation are the ones who are making big money because of it. Why would they want to be upfront about the true situation? We should be jumping for joy that this has all been a scam but they are trying hard to say that it isn't a scam. Look at all of the people who will lose their fame and fortune.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome

This past week brought something new into our lives. We learned how quickly our lives can turn around and all of our plans and normal routines can be changed in an instant. The new thing that we learned was all about Guillain-Barre Syndrome (pronounced: gee-yan-buh-ray). Our youngest Son began feeling weak the week before last. He had an upper respiratory infection and cough for about two weeks and suspected that he might have pneumonia.

My Husband seen him walking across a parking lot at work and said that he noticed he was walking strangely. On Friday night he was here and was complaining about his fingers and hands being numb. On Saturday he was loading cross ties into the back of his truck and started feeling weak and fatigued. He has always been strong and a hard worker. On Sunday morning he couldn't get out of bed. His hands, arms, feet and legs were becoming numb.

On Monday morning his wife insisted on taking him to the Doctor. His Doctor asked many questions, then sent him to the Emergency Room for some tests. They did an MRI and other tests and would not let them leave the hospital. He asked if he and his wife could go for something to eat and they let them go but wanted them to return as quickly as possible.

Finally they were sent to a Neurologist at a larger hospital in a larger city. Once there, more tests were done including a spinal tap, shock tests, an EKG, an Echocardiogram and another MRI on his neck. He was diagnosed with GBS even though his spinal fluid did not contain the protein that is normally present in Guillain-Barre sufferers.

None of us had heard of GBS before and so the research began. The first thing that they were told was that this disorder could paralyze his diaphragm and he would have to be placed on a respirator in order to survive. This disorder is life-threatening and is considered a medical emergency. Which was the reason that they wanted them to stay at the Hospital and why he had to be admitted.

This is what we learned about Guillain-Barre Syndrome. It has no cure and is not a disease. It is a disorder where the body's own immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system, so it is sometimes called an autoimmune disease.

No one knows exactly what sets it into motion but it usually is brought on by an upper respiratory infection (in our Son's case), the stomach flu or a flu shot. The first symptoms are usually weakness and tingling in the feet and legs that ascend to the arms and hands and even to the face. In my Son's case it started in his hands and descended to his legs and feet. In severe cases symptoms can increase in intensity until the muscles cannot be used at all and the person is totally paralyzed.

We were told of several cases where the person could not even move their eyes or blink. One nurse told us of a young man who you would not even have known he was alive if he hadn't been hooked to a heart monitor and you could see his heart beating. Even his pupils were non-reactive.

Many people die from this by simply not realizing what is happening to them, they don't get to the Doctor fast enough or their Doctor fails to diagnose it quick enough. Our Son's was caught early thanks to his wife, his Doctor was smart and it wasn't a severe case but most of all, he had many, many people praying for him. For him to only be in the Hospital for six days is incredible and to leave the Hospital with nothing more than a cane is even more incredible.

On Tuesday he was at his worse, he could not move his right arm at all. His left arm was still slightly usable, he could still move his legs but walking could not be done safely. We were worried about it getting worse because by now we had heard the stories of total paralysis. His head got a little wobbly but it didn't go into his face. The good news was that he didn't have any pain because of the numbness and he never had to be put on a respirator.

On Wednesday he was on the mend, they had started treating him with infusions of intravenous immunoglobulins. We started seeing some improvements right away and by Friday he was able to hold his 4 month old Son and hug his three very young daughters.

Hospital stays with GBS are usually very lengthy, many months to a year. Our Son was released from the Hospital on Saturday after his last infusion. So he was only in the Hospital for six days. He had proved to the Physical Therapist that he could not only walk without the use of a walker but could also climb stairs.

Most Guillain-Barre sufferers are sent home with a wheelchair or at least a walker but he came home with only a cane. He is doing all of his therapy for himself as he is very anxious to get this behind him, he is working hard at it. On Friday before last he could curl 150 lbs. Yesterday he was able to curl 1 lb. and we are thrilled. Our Son has a new respect for paralyzed people.

Most people do recover from GBS but it is a long, hard road. Some are left with partial paralysis. There is always a chance of a relapse. He cannot ever give blood again, which is something that he always did. He can never have a flu shot or pneumonia shot. They will have to watch him very carefully if he ever has to have any type of surgery. He was also told that from now on if he gets sick with anything for more than two days he has to see a Doctor. 1 in 10 people will suffer a relapse.

The disorder can strike anyone at any age but it is more common in the elderly and young men. Our Son was told that if he had gone to the Doctor for his cough and gotten it taken care of, this would never have happened to him. Children can also get this disorder but it is not as common. Andy Griffith had this disorder and it is suspected that Franklin D. Roosevelt had it. It is also suspected that people have been buried alive who had it many years ago.

It was a tough week to say the least and it was very hard on their 2 yr. old daughter who didn't understand what was happening. She cried for her Mommy a lot. The 4 and 5 year old's were disturbed by seeing their strong Daddy so weak and unable to walk or give hugs. We had to take them to the Hospital to reassure them. The youngest was reassured by seeing that her Mommy was still alive but the older girls were still upset at the sight of their Daddy in his condition.

I am so thankful that he is home and doing well and that their little family is back together again. He even went back to work yesterday. Their 4 month old Son is the one who is having the most trouble readjusting. He stayed at the Hospital all week with his Mommy and Daddy, so he had gotten used to being held all of the time and passed off to every visitor who came to visit. He is missing the attention.

Stubborn Man

Yes, he is a stubborn man that must be why I married him. My DH loves Tomato and Basil Wheat Thins, it is really more of an addiction than a love affair. I can't even stand the smell of them. He usually eats them everyday but we hadn't been to town and he hadn't bought any for about two weeks.

On Monday we went to town and he bought some. That evening he started eating them and all of the sudden he started itching all over and I am not talking about a little itch, the poor man was going crazy and scratching all over. I tried to get him to sit down and try to calm himself but he said that he couldn't.

Before long, he started wheezing and could hardly breath. I gave him two antihistamine capsules that I keep on hand for bee stings and suggested that we go to the ER but he wouldn't. He broke out with little bumps all over his stomach and he was bloated. I prayed for him and then called my friend who has had three episodes just like this and asked her opinion.

She said to get him to the Hospital, I reminded her who we were talking about and she told me what they did for her, which was nothing that I could do at home. He was mainly focused on his hands that he has so much trouble with anyway. He was rubbing and scratching the skin off of them. He finally started settling down and put his hands in some goat's milk and he started improving.

When the medicine kicked in he started getting sleepy. I checked his stomach and the bumps were gone. He stopped itching and was ready to go to bed. His poor hands were a mess, very swollen.

I woke him up during the night to give him another dose of the antihistamine and he was fine the next morning. His hands were still a little swollen but that was all.

The Wheat Thins are still on the table, I tried to throw them out and he wouldn't let me. I am afraid that he is going to try them again when I am not looking. My friend's allergic reaction was to something that she had eaten lots of times before as well. The Doctors told her that it was probably a preservative that she had a reaction to.

My DH admits that it had to be a severe allergic reaction to the Wheat Thins but he is having a struggle with having to live his life without them.

The Lord just has to take care of people like him, I guess. I asked him during the middle of the crisis, what he would do if it were me, there was a long pause before he said that he would take me to the Hospital, but only if I wanted to go. He covered all of his bases there.