Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-Da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na BATMAN!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Pretending
It's ok to pretend sometimes. Like in the morning when Dylan pretends he has a bad dream or sore toe when he wakes up before his green light knowing I will be too tired to put him back to his own bed and let him come into ours. And then how I pretend to believe him thus letting him in and love snuggling and holding him close. He really is the best snuggler. Though, I must admit I wish he would close those beautiful eyes and go back to sleep these early mornings. But no, he fidgets, snaps his fingers (a favorite pastime of his), sings the alphabet... Oh, my little D.
We have had great weather on the weekends lately - mid 60's, 70's. So nice that we have been taking the kids on hikes. The first one, Sophia was VERY reluctant to go on, but after the first ten minutes she said she wished she wasn't so negative about going. The second hike she was uber excited to go, but then took on one too many hills and became grouchy and tired. Today's hike was supposed to be a good one - gorgeous weather, mid day... Unfortunately, though, Sophia was NOT eager to go and her mood didn't improve during the hike. No, the only thing that kept her going was the promise of some caramel popcorn when she returned. Sigh.,.. I guess that closes the chapter of our book on family hikes.
So, no updates on the bathroom. Too depressing for me at this point. I have started a little tiling around the tub, but won't post anything until that is done.
Thanksgiving coming up this week here in the US, so that bathroom will have to wait another week... Looking forward to next weekend and seeing Santa parachute from the sky - wahoo!
We have had great weather on the weekends lately - mid 60's, 70's. So nice that we have been taking the kids on hikes. The first one, Sophia was VERY reluctant to go on, but after the first ten minutes she said she wished she wasn't so negative about going. The second hike she was uber excited to go, but then took on one too many hills and became grouchy and tired. Today's hike was supposed to be a good one - gorgeous weather, mid day... Unfortunately, though, Sophia was NOT eager to go and her mood didn't improve during the hike. No, the only thing that kept her going was the promise of some caramel popcorn when she returned. Sigh.,.. I guess that closes the chapter of our book on family hikes.
So, no updates on the bathroom. Too depressing for me at this point. I have started a little tiling around the tub, but won't post anything until that is done.
Thanksgiving coming up this week here in the US, so that bathroom will have to wait another week... Looking forward to next weekend and seeing Santa parachute from the sky - wahoo!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Easy come, easy go
Ok, So the easy come wasn't so easy and it hurt a lot to see it go. I speaketh of the bathroom-eth. But this jumps ahead to the very end of my lousy month of October. The month started off so well - tiled bathroom, sink in and functioning, toilet in and functioning, getting psyched up to tile the tub surround...Halloween costumes were in check and satisfying, kids were happy. Then BOOM. It all came to an end. I was upstairs putting the laundry away and heard a roar/ yell from Ethan. Then one for Dylan and then Ethan and then Dylan... They like to play monster, but usually there is only ONE monster. I was trying to figure out why both were yelling and then came downstairs to an early Halloween horror show. Ethan was holding Dylan with his eye all bleeding and awful looking and yelling doctor. I screamed and then tried to compose myself to get him help. Called the ambulance and they took FOREVER to get here (or that is how it felt). Police arrived first, then fire and then ambulance. So glad I called 911 instead of trying to drive to a hospital ourselves. I wanted Dylan to be tended to on our WAY to the hospital not wait. We would have done it all wrong too - held a cloth, not take him to the best place.... The ambulance crew wrapped his eye in sterile gauze - not a clean dish cloth, covered BOTH eyes in case the eyeball was damaged and didn't want it to move around and they called around to find the best place to take him - Mass Eye and Ear, not MGH emergency or Children's Emergency. Though those last two are GREAT hospitals, they weren't the specialty Dylan needed. On our way to the hospital Dylan was amazing. He was so calm, not crying, complaining. Just answering questions about himself, halloween, favorite movies... Incredible really.
Once at the hospital, the horror began all over again. I saw the eye more clearly and was so scared. His little eye lid was ripped half off and hanging down his cheek. It really is an image I cannot erase and am so sad about. I rode with Dylan in the ambulance and Ethan drove with Sophia. We didn't even think to leave her with our neighbor. Anyway, I didn't see the accident, just had to recount what Ethan told me - he ran past the latch to our gate and snagged his eye, throwing him back. I had to keep telling this over and over to all the different doctors. That was the easy part. The doctors had to see if Dylan's actual eyeball was damaged. The only way to do this was to poke around through the ripped and bloody eye. They did this at least FOUR different times. It was AWFUL. I would crouch over his legs and hold his hands as he SCREAMED and cried and kicked his little legs writhing in pain. More than FOUR SEPARATE TIMES. I do not know why he wasn't at least given tylonol for all this. After this torture, they decided that the eyeball was ok and that surgery could wait (he ate 1 hour prior to the accident and they don't like to sedate until 8 hours after eating). So, they needed to get an IV in to administer antibiotics. I was not prepared and told him he would be great and it would be easy. WRONG! he screamed and cried and kicked each time they failed to get it it. Finally a second doctor was called in (perhaps after my comment to one about getting a specialist to which she replied, I AM a specialist). Anyway, the second doctor sprayed numbing spray on his arm (hello - why wasn't this done for the FIRST try?) and got it in pretty quickly, though still with tears and screams. After all this was done, eye was nicely bandaged for the night with a patch, Dylan tried to relieve an itch before I saw his hand go to the eye. When I found out why he was crying, I asked the nurse to add another piece of tape to cover the corner so he wouldn't accidentally try and scratch again. I am so irate with this woman. She decided that he should be completely be RE-DRESSED. She pealed off all the tape as Dylan screamed as his eye was fiddled with AGAIN - way necessary, and now this time not done as well. I finally got him some tylonol and he calmed and was almost instantly asleep. Such a poor little angel. he was wiped - gymnastics in the morning, no nap, trauma, crying, torture, past his bed time... Thankfully for that, I suppose he was able to sleep through the night. Next day his surgery was pushed all the way back until noon. He never complained about ANYTHING. At 10am he quietly said he was hungry (I was really sad about this - I had tried to get him into surgery earlier as I knew he would be hungry and he had suffered so much already). He was a great sport about fighting off the hunger and was playing smell my stinky feet and laughing like crazy minutes before being wheeled to surgery.
Two hours later he was out and then took about 3 hours to wake up. We were sent home almost 24 hours later on the nose from when we arrived. They didn't want him wearing a patch except to sleep. That poor little eye didn't open for 2 or three days. I think on the 3rd day it started opening a tiny bit and then more each day. I was so glad to see the muscle working. We still will not know the extent of his recovery for a long time - he can see - but are there limits? His lid is opening, but is a little low compared to the other. They will assess this in 6months to a year to decide if further surgery is needed. I was so glad that his sight was there and that his muscle was working again (had been detached and sewn back together.) Starting to sigh a little sigh of relief and then IT appeared....
I was in the kitchen, looked up and a GIANT wet mark was on the ceiling. The new bathroom is above it. I pulled out pictures and all the stain lines don't follow any pipes. Ended up pulling the vanity back out - was glued and screwed into the wall and trying to figure out where it came from (there is a little hole under it where the pipes come up. Anyway, that didn't show any leaks. Tried testing the drain first, then the cold water o nothing. Finally we turned the hotwater back on up there and today the water appeared again. Still, not were the pipes lie. I got Ethan to cut another hole in the door threshold - easy to cover up, so see if we could see a source. I was very Sherlock Holmes in my investigating. I put my ear to the hole and heard a drip. I looked at the plans and estimated where the nearest joint was, stuck my arm into the hole, holding a metal 18" ruler. I slid the ruler under the next joist and moved it back and forth to see if I could "catch a drop". And I DID. I should be happy that at least we know where the leak is coming from. I am really depressed to see the bathroom torn apart again and the thought of cutting up the ceiling kitchen to get the pipe fixed. Sigh....
So, maybe november is better - Dylan's eye is healing and our leak is at least identified? I need to win the lottery I think to really lift my spirits.
And that, friends, wraps things up for now. I do need to emphasize how amazing Dylan has been through all this. He NEVER complains about the eye. He laughs, it is a real challenge to keep him from running and being active while he heals. He is our Super D.
Once at the hospital, the horror began all over again. I saw the eye more clearly and was so scared. His little eye lid was ripped half off and hanging down his cheek. It really is an image I cannot erase and am so sad about. I rode with Dylan in the ambulance and Ethan drove with Sophia. We didn't even think to leave her with our neighbor. Anyway, I didn't see the accident, just had to recount what Ethan told me - he ran past the latch to our gate and snagged his eye, throwing him back. I had to keep telling this over and over to all the different doctors. That was the easy part. The doctors had to see if Dylan's actual eyeball was damaged. The only way to do this was to poke around through the ripped and bloody eye. They did this at least FOUR different times. It was AWFUL. I would crouch over his legs and hold his hands as he SCREAMED and cried and kicked his little legs writhing in pain. More than FOUR SEPARATE TIMES. I do not know why he wasn't at least given tylonol for all this. After this torture, they decided that the eyeball was ok and that surgery could wait (he ate 1 hour prior to the accident and they don't like to sedate until 8 hours after eating). So, they needed to get an IV in to administer antibiotics. I was not prepared and told him he would be great and it would be easy. WRONG! he screamed and cried and kicked each time they failed to get it it. Finally a second doctor was called in (perhaps after my comment to one about getting a specialist to which she replied, I AM a specialist). Anyway, the second doctor sprayed numbing spray on his arm (hello - why wasn't this done for the FIRST try?) and got it in pretty quickly, though still with tears and screams. After all this was done, eye was nicely bandaged for the night with a patch, Dylan tried to relieve an itch before I saw his hand go to the eye. When I found out why he was crying, I asked the nurse to add another piece of tape to cover the corner so he wouldn't accidentally try and scratch again. I am so irate with this woman. She decided that he should be completely be RE-DRESSED. She pealed off all the tape as Dylan screamed as his eye was fiddled with AGAIN - way necessary, and now this time not done as well. I finally got him some tylonol and he calmed and was almost instantly asleep. Such a poor little angel. he was wiped - gymnastics in the morning, no nap, trauma, crying, torture, past his bed time... Thankfully for that, I suppose he was able to sleep through the night. Next day his surgery was pushed all the way back until noon. He never complained about ANYTHING. At 10am he quietly said he was hungry (I was really sad about this - I had tried to get him into surgery earlier as I knew he would be hungry and he had suffered so much already). He was a great sport about fighting off the hunger and was playing smell my stinky feet and laughing like crazy minutes before being wheeled to surgery.
Two hours later he was out and then took about 3 hours to wake up. We were sent home almost 24 hours later on the nose from when we arrived. They didn't want him wearing a patch except to sleep. That poor little eye didn't open for 2 or three days. I think on the 3rd day it started opening a tiny bit and then more each day. I was so glad to see the muscle working. We still will not know the extent of his recovery for a long time - he can see - but are there limits? His lid is opening, but is a little low compared to the other. They will assess this in 6months to a year to decide if further surgery is needed. I was so glad that his sight was there and that his muscle was working again (had been detached and sewn back together.) Starting to sigh a little sigh of relief and then IT appeared....
I was in the kitchen, looked up and a GIANT wet mark was on the ceiling. The new bathroom is above it. I pulled out pictures and all the stain lines don't follow any pipes. Ended up pulling the vanity back out - was glued and screwed into the wall and trying to figure out where it came from (there is a little hole under it where the pipes come up. Anyway, that didn't show any leaks. Tried testing the drain first, then the cold water o nothing. Finally we turned the hotwater back on up there and today the water appeared again. Still, not were the pipes lie. I got Ethan to cut another hole in the door threshold - easy to cover up, so see if we could see a source. I was very Sherlock Holmes in my investigating. I put my ear to the hole and heard a drip. I looked at the plans and estimated where the nearest joint was, stuck my arm into the hole, holding a metal 18" ruler. I slid the ruler under the next joist and moved it back and forth to see if I could "catch a drop". And I DID. I should be happy that at least we know where the leak is coming from. I am really depressed to see the bathroom torn apart again and the thought of cutting up the ceiling kitchen to get the pipe fixed. Sigh....
So, maybe november is better - Dylan's eye is healing and our leak is at least identified? I need to win the lottery I think to really lift my spirits.
And that, friends, wraps things up for now. I do need to emphasize how amazing Dylan has been through all this. He NEVER complains about the eye. He laughs, it is a real challenge to keep him from running and being active while he heals. He is our Super D.
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