Updates

When I hurt my hand last week, the doctor was concerned that I had fractured a bone, but they couldn't tell because of the swelling. The swelling is mostly down now and they re-evaluated it today. Thankfully, it is not broken. It still feels it. This is because I have begun to develop CRPS in my hand. The good news is that we caught it before it has fully developed and with occupational therapy, it can quite possibly be prevented. Last year, when I broke my foot, I developed it in my foot. The doctor then explained to me that often with CRPS it is "use it or lose it." So, even on the days that my foot still hurts and swells like it is broken, I do not pamper it. Instead, I go outside and kick a soccer ball with the girls. Since I know my hand is not truly hurt, even though it hurts, I will do the same. I also wear a patch on my foot that significantly reduces the symptoms. There are no other medications that treat this condition that I would be willing to take because the risks outweigh the benefits. Please pray that my hand heals with the occupational therapy.

A few days ago, Butterfly remembered things and people from late 2003. She is still not quite where she was when I began blogging back in April and no where near where she was immediately before her last re-injury. But I do not measure things that way. I only measure gains as compared to her lowest point following her latest setback. Therefore, this is a gain of about 6-9 months in her memory as well as abilities. She thinks, acts, feels, and responds like an 8 1/2 year old. Just last week, it was more like 7 years and 11 months. There is so much more there to explain, but I am so overwhelmed that I am not sure how to put it into words. Except that this is hope in a concrete form. Her brain will get better. Her brain is getting better.

FigNewTon is also doing better. I don't often mention her struggles here, mostly out of respect for her. She is and always has been a very private person. But I am so proud of her growth. Last night, she asked me to tell her what I thought of her and I compared her to a diamond. A month ago, I would have called her a diamond in the rough. She is shining a brilliant hue now.

I am not sure I could ask for a better life. God is good to me on all counts. Each of us is making progress. Any forward movement is good and proof of the goodness and mercy of God.

Thankful Thursday

What am I thankful for today?

• Doctors - this time for me. I will give an update on my hand as soon as I have it which will probably be this evening. For now, it is still in a soft cast.
• Progress - for Butterfly. Again, I will give a more detailed description later, when I have two hands to type with. For now, just know there is progress.
• Reconnecting with an old friend.
• Rearranging furniture. I can't explain this one, so I won't even try.
• Examples that make a lesson understood like never before. In teaching the girls, in training the girls, and in my own heart.
• There's more, but my hand is hurting, so I will quit now. :)

What are you thankful for today?

It's

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Snapshot Saturday

August 1, 2008

Butterfly took this picture. I wasn't even there. I was home with a broken foot. Autumn took my girls with her to a picnic.

Butterfly took this picture the day before her brain injury. The day before our lives changed forever. Once again.

Butterfly took this picture in the small window of time that I had two healthy children. When they got home, MM brought me a bandaid to put on my cast to make my foot feel better.

Posting this picture on a Snapshot Saturday breaks all of my rules. Plus, it has been posted before by me, linking back to where Autumn posted it on her blog. Oh well. It is the picture I wanted to post today. :-P

Clearly

A Friday that was really a Thursday followed by a Tuesday that is really a Friday and has already been a full day. Confused yet? Me too!

September 10th is always a Friday. To explain September 10th, 2004, I have to back up a few days, to September 3rd. FigNewTon went in for a well check up a few days early. She was a seemingly healthy almost 8 year old. She had, however, been complaining of headaches. So I mentioned that to the nurse who did not think to mention it to Dr.D. No matter. When he checked her eyes, he didn't like what he saw and scheduled her for a CTscan. The scan was that next Tuesday. She had her birthday on Thursday and had invited several girls over to spend the night on Friday. As I was driving home from work, my cell phone rang. It was Dr.D. He had received the results of the brain scan and had scheduled an appointment with a neurosurgeon on Monday. I was driving home from work, preparing to greet a half a dozen little girls into my home, and I was in shock. There was something in my baby's brain! September 10th is always a Friday.

Yesterday, Thursday, September 10th, Dr.R, the neurologist, and Dr.D, the pediatrician both saw FigNewTon. Dr.R said she doesn't need to see her again unless something goes wrong. Dr.D said she is a remarkably healthy young lady. I can handle that kind of news. It signals the end of the final chapter of a very long five years. It seems fitting that I got good news exactly five years after first getting the bad news.

September 11th is always a Tuesday. Am I the only one that has had to remind myself what day of the week it is on September 11th for the last 8 years? Like most Americans, I know where I was, what I was doing, and what I thought. I was in the car driving FigNewTon to the doctor because she had impetigo and needed to be treated before returning to school. The reports of what was happening came on the radio and I thought they were playing a really bad radio drama like the one that caused wide-spread panic about an alien attack when my Grandma was young. I could not believe it was real. Then we got to the doctor's office and everyone was gathered around the television with horror-stricken faces. All of a sudden, seeing it in full color on the TV and seeing all those people, I knew it was real. September 11th is always a Tuesday in my mind.

Now, onto today's already full day. Butterfly woke up with a headache worse than any headache she remembers. We went to see Dr.D and he checked her over. She is improving slightly in her ability to perform the neurological exam, and he saw nothing concerning when he looked into her eyes. He will probably schedule an MRI soon. He hinted at that. It has been over a year since her initial injury and she is still not better. A second MRI would not be uncalled for. But not today, because I am confident in his abilities as a doctor. I am confident that if he does not see anything concerning in her exam, that there is no reason to be concerned. He had to figure out the best medicine to give her for her "worst headache ever." Most medicines that would be used to treat a really bad headache or a migraine could be harmful to Butterfly. To the best of my understanding, the blood vessels in the brain contract when you have a migraine. Most migraine medicines cause those blood vessels to expand. In Butterfly's brain, because of the injury, there is a good possibility that the blood vessels are already slightly expanded. Those medicines would do more harm than good. So, he gave her an antihistamine with pain relieving properties. She is sleeping. Hopefully it works.

I had a Friday that was really a Thursday followed by a Tuesday that is really a Friday and has already been a full day. Clear as mud? Good. That's about as clear as it is for me, too.

Thankful Thursday

This is late because I forgot it was Thursday. More about that in my next post, either later today, after the girls go to bed, or sometime tomorrow.

What am I thankful for today?

• Doctors. This seems to be a recurring theme in our life, but that is OK. I am thankful for doctors.


• Music. Depending on the situation and the song, it can be encouraging, calming, faith building, whatever.


• Quiet. Rest. Peacefulness.


• Birthdays. They are a nice time to reflect on God's miracles. Sometimes I forget to do that.


• Friends. Both here in blog world; people who leave encouraging comments, pray for us, or give little gifts like a new blog header and those that I know in life outside of this computer who are there to chat when I feel alone, give guidance when I am unsure, or pick up the slack when life gets overwhelming.

What are you thankful for today?

My Header

Krissy, over at Thinking of Blue, surprised me today with this new header! Isn't it cute? When you stop by her blog, leave a message letting her know what you think of it!