May Chit Chat - Page 13 « Back to Group Discussions

[jhsmama11]

WA Mamas-any pediatrician recommendations in the south King or Pierce county areas? I think I'm done with the one we've been seeing.

[dashley111]

Originally Posted by jhsmama11 

WA Mamas-any pediatrician recommendations in the south King or Pierce county areas? I think I'm done with the one we've been seeing.

Is Gig Harbor or Tacoma too far?

[Abraisme]

Ton of craziness happening here!  My dh is doing a lot better.  He's really back to normal.  Now it's all about managing and preventing another episode.  We have lots of tools now, so it should be fairly easy.  We are in the beginning stages of listing our home and planning a move.  We're not sure where we're going yet, but we're thinking about buying an RV and traveling around for a while.  There are so many factors that we'll just have to see how it all works out. 

[Jaimee]

Abra, I'm so glad things are feeling more positive now!  I know someone that did as you're thinking and bought an RV and traveled around with their family.  She said it was very liberating.  If you do that, you should come visit us in Illinois!  :)  You could make a trip around the country visiting all the DDC members!    We have a guest room and an office with beds just waiting for visitors!

[jhsmama11]

Originally Posted by dashley111 

Is Gig Harbor or Tacoma too far?

Gig Harbor might be, but Tacoma isn't too far

[Abraisme]

We may very well do that!  We're thinking of heading south first, but you never know where life will take us.

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

Abra, I'm so glad things are feeling more positive now!  I know someone that did as you're thinking and bought an RV and traveled around with their family.  She said it was very liberating.  If you do that, you should come visit us in Illinois!  :)  You could make a trip around the country visiting all the DDC members!    We have a guest room and an office with beds just waiting for visitors!

[dashley111]

Originally Posted by jhsmama11 

Gig Harbor might be, but Tacoma isn't too far

We have had really good luck with Pediatrics Northwest.  They have Gig Harbor, Tacoma, and Federal Way offices.  They are very pro-western medicine, but I have never been pushed by a ped to vaccinate, wean, or not co-sleep once we say "this is our lifestyle, this is how we parent".  Or if I decline antibiotics and just say Im going to put breast milk in it They are pretty respectful.

[MrsKatie]

Anyone heard from Joanie lately?

Thinking about you, girl...

[jbk21]

Originally Posted by MrsKatie 

Anyone heard from Joanie lately?
Thinking about you, girl...

[birdhappy85]

Thanks for the concern, all. 

This was right up there as one of the worst weeks of my life. What my dad had was called a subdural hematoma (aka brain hemmorhage, hemmorhagic stroke, etc). Nobody knows how it happened. That sort of thing has very high mortality rates and usually occurs from falls or other head injuries. He can't remember hitting his head at any point. The doctors are just assuming it was spontaneous and his blood thinners must've contributed to it (which is scary since he has to be on blood thinners or he's guaranteed to have more strokes ). The first 5+ tubal drainage procedures the neurosurgeons tried doing the entire weekend were extremely traumatic for him... He told us just yesterday that he felt some of the procedures since he had to be awake but was so confused from brain swelling and head pressure at that point that he couldn't verbalize to the doctors that they didn't give him strong enough anesthetics, nor would they listen... They drained over an ounce of blood from his head but couldn't get the old clotting blood, so they went in for the full craniotomy on Monday and thankfully put him out for that one. He was very confused and in bad shape the day after, but it was to be expected during recovery. He was barely audible, confused, couldn't move his left hand, and was in extreme pain. I don't trust doctors in general, so it was really hard to trust what they were telling me when they said my dad could still go back to normal, when they were so evasive in general too... I mean, seeing him in that state where he was not my dad was all out unbearable. I kept on having faith that he was in there somewhere since he was still as brilliantly intelligent as ever and joked a few times.

We weren't prepared for Wednesday. DH and I brought the baby. My mom wasn't due to arrive for a few hours. The nurses told me to just be prepared, "he was a little confused" they said. BS. He was psychotic, paranoid delusional, hallucinating and reliving a ton of traumatic events from his past. Confused? Are you kidding me?! I begged the nurses to tell me what was going on. They minimized it and said they were going to switch him to a regular patient room and out of the ICU because the doctors thought he might be having ICU psychosis. I knew it was more than that. They wouldn't freakin' give me answers! Nor would they even sedate him! I told them he was having flashbacks nonstop and in so much distress, he hadn't slept in days on top of it, but they just wouldn't do anything. I was crying off and on all day. I thought my dad was gone forever.  I thought it had to have been the bleed or the surgery that permanently damaged his brain. I had no faith left. They had to put restraints on him at one point... They wouldn't hear me out no matter how hard I tried advocating for him...

When we saw him on Thursday, he was calmed down again and *almost* back to normal. But he was traumatized from everything that had happened and really depressed... He said the psychosis was a side effect of an anticonvulsant they had him on, which they hadn't even thought about until after he spent a whole day in that state. For heaven's sakes, I had even thought of it being a medication side effect, my dad had even had moments of lucidity that day where he asked for a psych consult because he knew it was a medication doing it to him, but neurologists hadn't thought of it?! He was beyond livid and absolutely beaten down emotionally... He wasn't able to walk yet or use his hand fully, but it was much better than the previous few days. We had hope.

To end on a happy note, he got back full function in the left side of his body as of yesterday! I told him to stop being such an overachiever.  We can't believe he got through all of that in a week's time and is actually okay. He'll have to spend some time in physical therapy to repair some coordination issues but that's nothing compared to what we all thought he was going to face!

Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers. I know all of the support he had around him really helped.

And as for me now, I'm having to tend to a baby who has spent 4+ hours with me in the hospital every day this week and now no longer wants to just sit at home bored...  She was so well-behaved and loved people-watching. She's constantly acting like, "Take me out again, Mom! Come on!" I have created a monster. LOL

[jbk21]

Joanie I am so glad that everything is improving.  I have lots to say but I'll be back later!

[seraf]

Joanie, I'm thrilled he is doing better! I'm sorry he had such a hard time getting there. If getting out to the ICU is fun for Sora, just imagine the fun she'll have elsewhere.

[CDsMom1031]

Yay, Joanie!!! That's amazing. I'm so happy it ended well.

We moved into our home on Friday. Well, technically, I did. My husband left for work and I had all of our friends and family come over to move. My husband had no idea we moved and was completely happy when he got off of work! It was amazing. He told me I was the best wife ever. =) Duh.

And now, we have been running around with our heads cut off all weekend. Between being moved, having the house warming party, entertaining my out of town family, and unpacking... We're drained. I have one more day before I have to go back to work and school and I am NOT ready for it. Blah. So, that's why I've been silent. Today's the first time I've looked at a computer in two days.

[KayPea]

I'm glad your dad is feeling better, Joanie. I'm sorry it was such a rough week. IT must be tough to be a homebody with an extroverted baby!  At least with me, both DD and I thrived on being out in the world all the time. 

[birdhappy85]

You know, it IS tough being a homebody with an extroverted baby, but Sora has totally been changing me into a person I like a lot better. I admittedly used to watch TV way too much and escape life by holing myself up at home. I've never liked doing things alone, and DH has always worked third shift, so I just got into such a rut the past few years where I rarely ventured out for *fun* things other than for errands and the occasional date with DH. Now I get out pretty much every day, even if it's just out for a walk or sitting in the yard. I'm a much more confident person going to stores and social activities with the baby than I ever was by myself! I really am loving this part of my transformation to motherhood. Getting out to the hospital every day with Sora really got me in the groove of taking her places with ease. I am a total pro now.  Even DH started babywearing her in the Boba this weekend.  He walked her to some stores and I was home alone for the first time in 6 months.  I never thought I'd see the day!

[Jaimee]

Joanie, that's awesome!!!  I"m so happy to hear things are better with your dad and that you're feeling so confident and motivated about getting out of the house by yourself! 

Nicole, congrats on getting moved in!  Post pics when you're done unpacking!

Abra... how are you doing?

[wellforth]

Nicole, glad to hear you are in the house and got a lot of help moving.  That's so great!

Joanie, being an introvert and having an extroverted kid is challenging, and I'm glad to hear it's going so well for you.  I still have to balance my super social homeschooled daughter's need for constant interaction (preferably with other kids) with my own need to chill the heck out.  I wish I had realized when she was a baby that she really needed to get out and be around other people.  My son, I think, is along the same lines.  He does so well when there are always people hanging around, or we need to get out of the house on a regular basis.  Even the back yard, as you mentioned, is great for chilling him out.  I'm so glad you got some alone time too!  Priceless!

carey

[Abraisme]

We're doing pretty well.  My dh is totally stabilized and normal now.  So long as he sleeps, he'll be fine.  We're in the process of getting our house ready to sell.  My bil will be here this weekend (from South Dakota) to help us get some projects done.  We plan on getting it listed in early July after the puppies are all sold.  We will probably move out of the house before we put it on the market, just to save us the stress of having to keep it clean all the time.  We will don't know where we are going for sure, but I'm sure we'll figure that out soon enough.  We will likely do something totally radical like live in a converted bus for a few months.  I'm sure our family is going to have a heart attack! 

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

Abra... how are you doing?

Joanie - I'm so glad that your dad is doing better.  Hugs!

Nicole - Very exciting about the house!

[birdhappy85]

My dad is back in the hospital. *sigh* He had to go to the ER last night with a blood clot in his arm. They still haven't treated it! He's at a smaller local hospital where he lives and they aren't sure what to do yet because they can't give him blood thinners for another few weeks still without risking the brain bleed returning.  Poor guy. I wish he were up at the big medical center here by us again to make for easier visiting.

[LunaLady]

Joanie, so sorry about your dad that's got to be very stressful. I hope he's better real soon. Hugs!!