Project 52 - Doctor's Appointment - Week 12

12/52

I took plenty of pictures this week, but none of them seemed fitting for this weekly project. Then today, as I was about to head out to my second doctor's appointment this week I grabbed the camera determined that I would take at least one picture there that represented what the appointment was about. I was a little bummed that I didn't take my camera to my earlier appointment since it was with the eye doctor and it would have been cool to get a picture of one of those eye contraptions. However, that appointment was a whirlwind of tests and at one point I had 4 medical professionals in the room with me. No way would I have worked up the guts to ask someone if I could take a picture.

So today's appointment was a follow up, in a way, to Monday's appointment. I've been dealing with dry eyes for some time and in the last couple years it's gotten a little out of control. So recently I checked in with my eye doctor and he suggested I see a dry eye professional. I was very excited for this next step - feeling like I might have some more options. That was the appointment I had on Monday.

The doctor was great because he didn't just ask about my eyes - he got the low down on my other health issues and suggested I get tested for Sjogren's Syndrome. I've always thought that there was a relationship between some of these issues so I like when doctors try to look at the whole picture. I was tested about 10 years ago for Sjogren's and came up negative, but I've heard that the test wasn't always accurate back in the day and has advanced since then. Plus, my symptoms have changed (gotten worse). Basically, Sjogren's is an auto-immune disease and its significant symptoms are dry mouth and dry eyes. Check and check.

I won't know the results for another week or two and it won't actually change the way we treat my dry eyes, but it might give me some answers. Oh, and the eye doctor did give me some new treatment options so I am hopeful that they will provide me with some relief.

At any rate, when I showed up at the eye clinic today I snapped off the following picture in case I was too chicken to ask the doctor to let me take a picture in the office.

Riveting, I know.

While in the waiting room I snapped off some more pictures, but they were crooked and blurry because I was trying to be sneaky. But then I met with the Physician's Assistant and she was so informative and pleasant and it made it so easy to ask "do you mind if I take a picture of that?" The test involved a finger prick where she needed to collect quite a few drops of blood to evaluate. So that is what I took a picture of.

Sorry if you are squeamish about blood. I probably should have given you more warning. My husband gets a little faint just talking about blood so he found the picture a little disturbing, but I think it's interesting. It just blood, right?

So now I wait for the results. Part of me doesn't want it because it's an auto-immune disease (who wants that?), but I have so many of the symptoms (besides the dry eye and dry mouth there are about 5 other things I could check off) that it would sort of be a relief to have an answer and start working with a rheumatologist.

At least I can check this off my list - asking someone if I can take a picture in my doctor's office. I have a long way to go in the bravery department when it comes to this, but it still feels like a big step to me.

Project 52 - Perspective - Week 8

8/52

Today I had a couple doctor appointments and thought it would be a good opportunity to capture that part of my life. I probably go to the doctor more than the average person so it seems like it should be represented in this project in some way. I also thought it might be a way to challenge myself in another way - to ask to take a picture where I normally wouldn't. I was getting injections for my migraines and thought that it would be interesting to get a picture of the needles. Now I just had to work up the courage to ask my doctor if she didn't mind... but my doctor got into the office late and was all rushed and I was already faltering in my strength to ask. Apparently, I should be doing the 100 strangers project because I need to gain more confidence when it comes to asking people if I can take their picture (ugh, and it wasn't even that I wanted my doctor in the picture). I didn't take the picture, although I had taken some pictures in the lobby that I thought I might share, but decided to go a completely different route.

Also, on a side note my second doctor appointment ran super late as well. I read an entire Arthritis Today magazine front to back (my only other option was Golf and since I no longer have a smartphone I didn't have that to entertain me) and I watched people go in and out except for one lady who happened to be seeing the same doctor as myself. It's not the first time I've had to wait a long time at the doctor and there's a point in time that I start texting Jesse all sorts of nonsense about people in the waiting room. Jesse now calls this my 'tales from the waiting room' series since it's happened enough.

I had the rest of the day off so I used some of this time to play around with my camera. There's a project 52 that I have been following and the theme this week was 'perspective' so I thought I would try it out. I took a bunch of picture of various items in my house, but I kept coming back to these bright pencils.

It's not hard to find bright things with a kid in the house, but I have to admit the pencils were mine before I ever had a child. Glad Riley is actually putting them to better use than I did. Riley's quite the artist these days so perhaps printing a series like this would be a good addition to her bedroom whenever we redo it.

This was a fun project, but now if I could just work up the guts to take a picture of a stranger, or in the doctors office... or in any situation that makes me uncomfortable.

Birthday Girl

This year Riley requested a polka dot party with all her friends. It was the first year that she was really invited to school friend's parties so she wanted to have one too and we agreed. It was a fun time, but crazy. CRAZY. I'm glad we did this for her, but would have rather capped the amount of kids at 5 or 6. She invited 19 and about 13 kids were able to make it.

We rented the Wolfe Park Pavilion which is near our house and would have been even more fun if it was a different time of year since there are a couple playgrounds right next to it. One of her friends recently had a party in the same building so we took a cues from them when it came to keeping it simple with some food, music, and some balloons to kick around.

I tried to think of some polka dot themed games and decided to get twister. I had a couple other games I thought we would try, but they weren't very well thought out and we never got to them. Jesse doesn't really like to plan out things for this - he's more along the line of letting the kids do whatever, but that makes it feel so chaotic to me. Lets just say that two hours felt sooooooo long.

We started with some art stuff. Kids could decorate a bag which I filled with trinkets before they left. I had markers and daubers (polka dots makers!), googly eyes (at Riley's request) and pom pom balls. The kids then kicked around the balloons which was fun until it wasn't. There were a couple 'rough' kids and one ripped a balloon out of Riley's hands... and then the crying commenced... but luckily she got over it.

A few of the kid's really got into twister. I wasn't sure if this game would be age appropriate since some of these kid's are still trying to master their left and right (including my daughter), but that didn't seem to matter. It was fun to watch them attempt this game.

Many of the parents just dropped off their kids which was fine with me since that meant less small talk. The parents that stayed were friends of Jesse and mine and one of our neighbors so we had some other adult support, but the kid's that were the wildest did not have their parents there. One girl we really like, but she is wild and basically stole all the remaining trinkets out of bag after I filled each of the kid's bags. 

In the end, I think Riley enjoyed the party, but even she seemed exhausted by the wilder kids and I think she would have been happy with something smaller. Luckily I feel like she'll be fine going back to celebrating with the grandparents next year. Speaking of grandparents, my in laws also attended the party and helped up set up which was so helpful! Unfortunately, my dad had a stomach bug so he couldn't come, but really this was a party for the kids. 

We served cupcakes (which happened to be Valentine's themed since they were the only ones in the size we wanted at the store) and then Riley opened gifts. I kept trying to keep the kid's seated, but wow... they just kept getting in her face and then tried to play with some of her new stuff. This is truly proof that I would make a horrible bouncer.

Adele live

And then the day ended with lots of hugs between friends.

We had a couple people help us clean up, especially my friend Josie. She brought her two girls who were so sweet and well behaved. I'm so glad they were able to make it.

The next day (Riley's birthday) I planned to take Riley to breakfast. I had the day off since I had to work the next Saturday and had planned out a doctor appointment for myself and one later for Riley. I also thought I would find some unique non-chain restaurant to go to with Riley, but when I looked at menus I decided that Perkins had the most fun kid options for breakfast. Riley had rainbow pancakes and was pretty excited, but as we sat there I noticed that her one eye was pretty red and crusty, We knew she had a cold coming on, but it seemed clear now. I debated about bringing her to school, but just didn't feel comfortable doing so especially since I had the day off.

After breakfast we went home to play with some of Riley's new toys before I had to head out for a mammogram. I wasn't sure about bringing Riley (and may have explained too much too soon about the process to her - ha!), but I didn't want to cancel the appointment. I was going to a new office, but the old one I went to had a private locked room right next to the mammogram room, but this was not the set up here. I didn't realize it right away, but they ended up bringing me down the hall while Riley sat in a special waiting room with her Kindle. Luckily it only took a few minutes, but it felt really weird to leave her like that. I'm not sure it was the right thing, but she survived and I don't plan to do it anytime soon again. Some woman offered to stay with her, but she seemed ok.

Actually, when we arrived at the doctor's office there was a super strong smell of weed. It was really, really bad. One of the nurses eventually shared that someone put a towel in the break room microwave, but seriously... what was that towel wrapped around? A block of marijuana? I texted Jesse that he'd probably come home to Riley and I sleeping after we finished off a bunch of cookies. Riley has a coloring app that she loves where she can color in a picture and then add to it. While I was getting my mammogram she colored the following picture for me. I'm pretty sure that dinosaur has the munchies and is about eat all those marshmallows that are on sticks and that Riley may have had a contact high.

We then went home and played with more of her toys from her birthday such as LiteBrite (from papa Frank) and some kinetic sand (from a friend) before exerting energy on chasing around balloons.

Also watching her Adele live DVD from the grandparents

Lol. This makes me laugh.

After Riley's nap I took her to her wellness exam where we discovered that she's still tall (72%) and still skinny (35%). No surprises at her appointment except for the vaccinations - we just weren't expecting them this time. Riley was a huge trooper when she got her shots and walked away proudly with three princess stickers.

Riley's doctor's office is right next to Lake Calhoun so after her appointment we decided to walk over to some snow sculptures by the lake.

An outhouse?

Afterwards we picked up Jesse and got frozen yogurt and then I followed it up with a video interview of her.

It's a little long, but it amuses me. At the end she mentions that she wants to interview me next so I think I will let her do that soon. I can't wait to hear the questions she asks me.

We ended the night watching old videos of Riley. Lots of laughing was involved and over all it was just a really good day. Can't believe my kid is already 5 years old.

This weekend...

Jesse and I were child free for a bit this weekend so we took a long bike ride (for me) from our house, around lake of the Isles, and back home and then decided to head back (by car) for a little picnic (we also did a bunch of work on my rental property with the help of my dad - he totally rocks for always being there for us). It was a little buggy and hot, but I took a few pictures while we were at Lake of the Isles and plan to go back more often. It's been years since I've spent time in this area and yet it's only a few miles from my house.

I crouched down to get this shot, and smelled... urine. Turned around to find a wet spot right behind me. Gross.

On Sunday we headed out to Shakopee for Jesse's family picnic. Last year Jesse was gone for this event, but I went with Riley and she had the most epic breakdown when we left. This year she fell on the playground and would not stop crying. So yet again, I left with a screaming kid. Both times I think lack of sleep was a culprit, but she's been tired plenty of times without totally losing it so, yeah... we'll try again next year.

I always wonder if people are irritated by me taking pictures - haha - it sure looks like they don't like it here. 

Cool contraption that you blow up, add ice, and then put your food in. So clever.

Thankfully, Riley seemed to reset even though she only slept for about 10 minutes in the car. It was a good weekend overall even with moments of exhaustion (not just on Riley's part). Now we head into a week where we finally have to bring Riley to the hospital to have her dental work done (we've been trying to avoid this if possible). Jesse and I are a little nervous as she needs to have anesthesia, but she's excited that she gets to wear her pajamas to the 'dentist appointment'. Please wish us luck that she doesn't freak out while there. I just want to deal with these dental issues (and not have her look like jaws in the end since there are a lot of crowns happening). She's such an awesome kid and I feel bad that I gave her crappy genes, but I know we'll get past this - like everything else.

Come on spring and other random things...

Dear spring, please come soon. I am tired of winter and tired of all the yucky things that have happened lately. I'm just over it all and can't wait for the days of birds chirping, being able to walk outside without having to totally bundle up, feeling the sun on my face as opposed to viewing it from inside the house... just all those wonderful spring like things you can bring. I'll be anxiously waiting for you.

Speaking of yucky things, I thought I'd provide an update for those that read about my dad's emergency room visit - he's fine. Or, at least they couldn't figure out what the issue was. They are going to keep an eye on his pacemaker - something they do regardless of his chest pain. My dad thought the pain might be from shoveling and I hope he's right. I've suggested we have his neighbor plow, but he's always poo poo'd that one, but maybe next year he will consider it. If not, I might have to enact Operation Steal My Dad's Shovels and Snow-blower and Pay the Neighbor Behind his Back. My dad can be a stubborn one.

My family also had a terrible loss this past week when my cousin's Cessna plane went down in Wyoming. My cousin owned an aviation company in California and years ago was even a part of a search and rescue team for the USAF. He was on his way to see his dad in Wyoming (my uncle) when his plane went down in a canyon. It appeared that he survived the crash, but not the three days it took to find him. So tragic. I wasn't very close to him as we had quite an age difference and he always lived far away from me, but obviously it was still such a sad thing to find out. He will certainly be missed.

I've also been sick for over a week and am finally feeling like I am no longer in a fog. I can't wait for healthier days once we aren't always cooped up inside. It seems like Riley has had one continual runny nose since winter started and that appears to have finally stopped. Surely a good sign!

Ok, on to more positive news. We finally got Riley in for her 3 year wellness appointment at the end of February. I actually had it scheduled a couple days after her birthday (cause I like her stats to be as close to her birthday as possible) and was slightly crushed when the doctor office called to cancel. I had to deal with my accuracy issues and move forward on this one.

While taking Riley to the doctor to make sure she is healthy and developmentally on track is obviously an important reason to go what I really what to know is what percentage does her height and weight fall into. I mean seriously, aren't we all curious about this with our kids? So far she has consistently been tall (90th percentile) and skinny (15 - 25th percentile ) for her age. I assumed there would be a time that she'd probably average out with the height as I come from a family of fairly average heighted people and Jesse comes from a family of shorties.

We're those parents who let our kid put her grubby finger prints all over the windows

Well, it turns out her height has fallen into the more normal range as has her weight. I'm not sure the height is quite correct as it was hard to get her to stand in the right spot and when I measured her at home a week later she was a good half inch or more taller than the measurement at the doctor's office. Whatever, she's still taller than other three year olds we know (which isn't saying much as we don't really know that many kids her age).

At any rate here are the details:

Height: 37 3/4 inches (59%)
Weight: 31 lbs (52%)

I think the doctor was saying "your kid just amazes me" or something like that... I'm sure. :)

So the doctor appointment went well overall. We had a moment where the doctor was testing Riley on her colors, but Riley froze up and internally both Jesse and I were like "you KNOW this one, kid", but then she pulled through and rocked the rest of the questions. Phew.

And in the end what's most important is that she is healthy and on track... Now we just have to take care of those teeth. 

Emergency Room

A few people sit scattered about. Waiting to be called back or waiting for their loved one to come out, I don't know. My father gets in line and I take a seat with the rest.

Earlier, Jesse, Riley and I arrived at my dad's house to take him out to lunch for his birthday. But when I walked in the door he calmly explained that he thought he better get checked out. Pain in his chest. Pain in his arm. Nothing too serious, but something he'd had for a few days.

"Mr. Davis?" My dad hands me his coat and turns towards the door. This seems so normal. Like we are at a routine appointment and not at the emergency room. I just happened to have my iPad so I pull it out of my purse and try to read. I have a hard time concentrating on my WWII novel. I surf the web and text my husband who went home with our daughter. "He got called back right away" I write, seeing this as a good sign that they are taking the situation seriously. Hopeful, it doesn't mean more.

There is a hunger in my stomach that makes me think about finding a vending machine or going to the cafeteria, but I don't want to be gone if he comes out or asks for me to come back with him.  The hunger keeps me from being able to concentrate on anything fully. I take a few pulls off of a half filled water bottle of Riley's that's in my purse. It's stale, but I hope it helps with the hunger.

I try to read more, but am easily distracted by the hub bub around me. The waiting room is now more crowded. I wonder why all these people are here. What happened to them? Why are they here?

I wonder how things are going back behind those doors for my dad. Is he waiting? Is he having a test done? Is he starving like me? I am mostly calmed by his ease at which he asked to come here. He didn't seem anxious or in pain. The car drive over was filled with conversation like any other car drive we've had. But then I think that this could be something serious. I am reminded that the day before was his 85th birthday. He's getting older and the reality is that time is shorter moving forward. I have to tighten my face so the tears don't come out. I don't want to think about what is possible.

There is some sort of disturbance. The security guy is here. I am in my own world, but there is some spat between husband and wife. Their baby has a fever. I hear the baby crying when they take her back and I want to run home and hug my kid. Sounds so dramatic, I know. 

Two older gentleman are sitting near me. One is talking incessantly while the other adds a word here and there... Mostly words of recognition. I'd like to have silence, but I am also bolstered by their energy and liveliness. I think they must be my dads age, but when they pull out their cell phones I second guess that. But when they have trouble using them I think they might be close to my dad's age after all.

"Code 99, code 99."  "Code blue, code blue". At first it barely registers since I only hear it coming from someone's walkie talkie, but then I think "could that be for my dad?" I don't even know what it really means to be honest, but I know it's not good. I quickly dismiss it and moments later my dad passes through the automatic doors. He sits and says that we have to wait until about 2:00 when they will likely have the results  from the tests. 40 more minutes. He shares that they took blood, did an x-ray and an EKG.

"Are you hungry?" my dad asks. I say "yes" a little too eagerly and my dad suggests I get us food and hands me his credit card. "It's your birthday dad", but he insists. I try to fight, but he always wins at this. Years ago I actually paid for a meal while he was off in the bathroom and I think he was actually pissed at me. 

I head towards the cafeteria to get a couple sandwiches and a cup of coffee for my dad. I am all too familiar with how to get there. It's not the first time I've been here - always for my dad. When I return to the emergency waiting room my dad is gone. I assume he's been called back already so I wait. And eat.

A woman nearby freaks out about the wait. "I have a head injury!", she exclaims. And then storms back to her seat. The older gentlemen who was the talker has gone home leaving his friend to report in to him. He later complains about the wait to me. The husband where the security guard was involved has disappeared. New faces arrive. 

I eat and wait. Rosanne blares from the TV while strangers talk. The only voices in the room. Just normal talk while they wait. I feel a little silly while I eat, crunching on my carrots. Making noise that doesn't seem to fit into this room. I look up and find head injury woman glaring at me. Ten minutes later she gets up, walks out the door, and gets in a cab. To where? I don't know.

The door opens and opens, but its not him. I wait. And finally they call me back to a small room where he lays on a bed. "They're keeping me overnight. They say something's wrong, but they aren't sure what", my dad shares. We talk about our plans to go to his farm the next day to check in with his new renters. "I can do it for you dad." We come up with a back up plan of who will come pick him up from the hospital while nurses, doctors and phlebotomists come in and out of the room.

We're moved to observation room number 9 - just a few curtains down from number 6 where he recovered from his pacemaker surgery in early May. They want to keep him in the observation area just to be sure. I double check to see if he wants me to stay. "I can go to the farm another time", but I know that it would bring him comfort to know that the farm business is taken care of.

I get a call from my sister in Missouri. She's found out about dad since I posted a picture on Instagram. I totally forgot that her daughter follows me. Ugh - what a way to find out your dad is in the hospital. Fail on my part. My dad isn't all that pleased about this as he doesn't want to worry anyone. There was another time his buddy brought him in to the hospital and then stopped at my house to let me know. My dad was pretty ticked about it, but I warned him that he better always let me know about this stuff.

We hang out and just talk. It's clear that my dad watches too much of the news. Disaster, politics, death... Eventually, I leave. He'll eat, watch TV and hopefully sleep. In the morning they let him go and schedule an appointment later in the week.

Update: My dad's pacemaker was tested and there may be issues with that. They almost let him out that night, but decided to keep him overnight. He went back later in the week to get a special stress test and is waiting those results. He plugs on as usual and we hope that all is well. 

Staycation days 4 - 5

I have to admit I was missing work a little bit on Monday. But by Tuesday that was gone. GONE. It sure is going to be hard to return to work next week.

Here's an update on my staycation...

Tuesday

Jesse took the day off so we went to the Children's Museum as a family. We were hesitant to buy the family pass because we thought "what if Riley doesn't like it?". Boy, were we silly. That place is awesome! Definitely getting the pass next time as it pays for itself in a few visits.

We went early and on no-group Tuesday to help ensure that it wasn't too crowded. We were really one of the few there to start with which was great, but by 10:30 is was pretty crowded (at least for someone who doesn't like crowds [me], especially with tons of wild kids).

Here we go!

This place rocks!

Make sure I pick up some bananas.

Trying to show Riley how I get to and from work on the bus, but all she wanted was the crackers in my bag.

The wheels on the bus go round and round... a favorite that we often sing, especially when she's fussin.

I tried getting her to dance in front of the screen, but it wasn't working so Jesse took over. He's got better moves than me anyway. She could actually see the screen with herself on it so I think she was a little awe struck. I played a Destiny's child song after this and thought  I was recording it, but I was wrong and so very sad about that, especially since she danced along with it for about 2 seconds. I did get a nice recording of the floor, though.

Where to next?

At home we often read Goodnight Moon to Riley. In the beginning I would point out the mouse on each page, but at some point I thought it would be good to teach her the dangers of fire. I'd point to the fire, make a noise, shake my finger, and talk about how hot it is. She thought it was hilarious. Here she opens the books, goes right for the fire, and says "Pssssh" with a big smile on her face. I guess that backfired (ba da dom).

Checking out Habitot.

Earthworld was a favorite!

Painting the rocks with water on the Rooftop ArtPark.

Jesse took most of the pictures which is why I am actually in a few. Actually, the number of pictures I am in on this one day may outnumber the number I am in for the rest of the year. Jesse usually doesn't care to be in photos, but he wanted me to document that he was there too.

Leaving the museum. We'll be back soon!

Wednesday

Wednesday morning I had to go into work to help facilitate a session that I have been helping to develop. While it was a bit of a damper to have to go into work on my week off I was also really excited to finally put something that I have been working so hard on, for so long, into action. And a lot of people were really excited about it. Win!

In the afternoon Jesse and I took Riley in for her 18 month wellness check appointment. As expected she is tall, but skinny:

22.4 Lbs

32.0 In

No issues of concerns. She's right on track and made sure to show the doctor that she is a pretty happy kid with only one mild breakdown when she wanted a snack.

Trying to hack into the doctor's computer.

Waiting for the Doctor... might as well play with this stuff on the wall.

Wednesday was a very verbal day for Riley. It was a lot of jibber jabber mixed in with some discernible words. I tried to capture a moment of it, but she became distracted so it cut her 'talking' short.

Getting to sleep and staying asleep has been a bit of a struggle this week. I'm sure it didn't help that she had to get a shot at the doctor (man, was it a bleeder too - poor kiddo). Normally she goes to bed around 6:30 and last night was no different. However, she woke up many times before conking out around 11:00 for the night. We tried various tactics to get her to sleep, but apparently all we needed to do was fill her up with blueberries and water. Now if she could have just slept in until 7:00 am.

[Edit: I just realized I forgot to mention something that consumed a huge chunk of time on Wednesday for us - tracking down the source of the smell in the basement. I noticed a smell about a week ago coming from the laundry room. Our basement can get a little musty in the summer so I kept cranking the dehumidifier up. That didn't seem to solve it and the smell just got worse. Jesse was having a couple buddies over to play boardgames in the basement so it became all the more important to find the source of the smell. Jesse then informed me that our cat, Lucy, found a mouse the week before so I started to envision a dead, rotting mouse under our stairs (and probably in a spot that could not be reached). While Jesse took the flashlight and peered into all the tight spots I cleaned out the laundry sink. That didn't work. We couldn't figure it out and hoped the smell wouldn't offend our guests too much. Later that night it finally occured to me to remove the garbage from the laundry room. And now the smell is gone. I seriously wonder how I earned a Master's degree when it takes me a week to realize I should just empty the garbage to get rid of a smell.]

Sitting on the step while I was at work.