The Big 30

I had been looking forward to turning 30 for a little while. Ready to venture into the next stage of life. If you asked me at 18 what I would be like and doing at 30 things would be vastly different than they are now. It's funny how time, wisdom and Life in general changes your view on things and rearranges your priorities. I am at peace with myself finally for the 1st time in years. I have forgiven myself of past mistakes and am ready to embrace life as a whole. It's funny how not so long ago 30 was old, but now I feel like I am just beginning. And as if I didn't need a sign that all is well in life, this is what I saw yesterday out my kitchen window. I had to go grab my camera and run and snap a couple pictures. Thomas still has an awful cough, but he finished his antibiotics, and his fever and wheezing are gone, so evidently he is getting better. Thanks you all so much for your well wishes.

Thomas is sick...

Ever have one of those days where you simply could not agree with a Doctor's diagnosis of something? It's frustrating and makes you angry. Thomas Is one very sick little boy. Friday morning he had a fever and a cough. By noon it was getting pretty bad. I took a listen to his lungs and they were clear, so I told hubby not to worry to much, it just a cold and gave him some Tylenol for the fever, and then tried to make an appointment for Thomas to be seen at the ped's office. No such luck getting him in. They only had one appointment in the urgent clinic available, and it was during my class. I had a 3 hour class I had to go to to maintain my License for the Care Home I run. Got to love those required CEU's in the medical field. Class is boring as expected, but Gerald calls me and said Thomas is having a hard time breathing. I asked him how hard is hard. Does this warrant a 911 call? He said no not that bad, he just sounds stuffy, but to come home as soon as I could. So I get home and Thomas is passed out sound asleep on the couch. He looked so sweet. I checked him over and noticed, yeah his breathing was stuffy and a little labored, but still not enough to be too worried about. It looked the norm for a kid with a cold. So I let him sleep and started cooking dinner. I tried to wake him up to eat, and of course he didn't want to eat. That too is nothing new. Thomas doesn't eat much when he doesn't feel well. So he fell right back asleep on the couch. I was watching him as I was cleaning up the kitchen and I noticed his breathing was getting pretty labored. Enough to catch my attention and send alarms off in my head. And it takes a lot medically to make me panic or take pause, because I have literally seen it all. So I start counting his respiration's and the panic sets in. 52 resp's a minute, wow that's not good. so I go and get my pulse-ox and put it on his finger. 83 Wow that's not good either. Thomas is still fast asleep but I notice he is wheezing. Now It's time to go to the ER. So we get to the ER, and they take him back right away, and I fill out the paperwork. They do O2 tests, and X-rays, and look him over, and do the whole thing. A nurse came in and gave him a albuterol and atrovent breathing treatment in a nebulizer as well as prednisone & epi. TJ's O2 sats are much better after the treatment and stay right around 95-96, So it obviously helped. About 1 hours later the doctor waltzes back in with an official diagnoses of Pneomonia and Asthma. Now I listened to Tj's lungs and they were clear. No crackling sounds at all, and the X-ray tech even said they were clear. We had to wait in Xray while they were developed to see if they needed to be retaken. Because TJ was basically hyperventilating and it made it hard to get the Xray. He asked me if I could put on a lead apron and go in there with him and calm him down. I said yes, but he isn't panicked he has been like that all night and that is why we are here in the ER. So the Xrays were a bit blurry, but he said they were OK, and his lungs were clear. So if the Xray shows the lungs are clear and his lungs sound clear when listening to them, how do you get a diagnosis of Pneumonia??? TJ was doing much better and it was late so I took him home. The more I though about it though, the more I simmered and got mad. I myself have asthma. Asthma is not an issue that you diagnose when a kid is sick. Yes a cold, croup, pneumonia, bronchitis etc can all bring up asthma-like symptoms. Like wheezing and airway constriction, but you never make an asthma diagnosis when A child is sick. You make it when they are perfectly healthy and are having wheezing episodes. You also have to do lung compasity breathing tests, So that just made me mad. So here we are on Saturday Morning and things are better. Thomas Obviously had something wrong with him. The Zithromax and prednisone he has been taking for 2 days is working. Zithro is a broad spectrum antibiotic thou?? so who knows what exactly. We have been doing his albuterol with an aero-chamber. It is a spacer with a face mask that you spray the inhaler into. It takes both Gerald and it to do it. One has to hold him down while the other puts the mask on him and pushes the spray into it. I feel like a complete heel doing it. Because basically you hold it on his face and all but suffocated the poor kid. He screams out and cries, and holds his breath until he just can't anymore, and with tears streaking down his face he finally will breath in. Oh and he has to do this for 6 breaths. Now the mommy side of me feels absolutely terrible for doing this. I feel like I am torturing my baby. I hate seeing that something I am forcing him to do is making him so sad and afraid. And then there is the medical side of me that A: knows he needs this medicine, and B: thinks " hey crying is good, the louder he screams, the harder he breathes, and better he takes the medicine into his lungs"...I know terrible mommy am I.

February Newsletter Sneak Peek

Well at last I am finished putting together another great newsletter for the store. We have some fun stuff this month. If you are not registered to get the NDISB.com ND*zine newsletter I suggest running and doing so. It will be headed toward the email in-box shortly. Getting the newsletter is the only way to get this fab kit for free.

Pretty Petals and Firestones

Can I just say. I really enjoyed creating these flowers! they were so much fun. with that I bring to you. New embellishments are in the NDISB store. 11 slightly worn, beautiful and vibrant flowers. Flowers have a wonderful woven silk flower texture with slightly frayed edges. It also comes with 13 beautiful fire gemstones to add a bit of bling to your pages. Use the Gemstones to tack down your flowers on your page. If bling isn't your thing, go with the included brad tack in a variety of metal finishes. You also get a beautiful metal mounting ring, so you can have your Fire Stones with or without the metal rim. These flowers are sure to add that special finishing touch to any page. They even look fantastic stacked with 2 different colors. So for my loyal Blog readers....The 1st 5 people to buy the elements can get it for HALF OFF!! Use the coupon code Blog-PPFS-50percent to get it for a whopping $1.50! Coupn only good for the 1st 5 buyers, so be quick!