All posts by ihatehardware.

Acupuncture

In the continuing saga of Norah’s lump, her allergic reaction cleared up after a couple of days of Benadryl/Zantac, and we started the thyroid meds back up at a slightly lower dose (20% lower).  Last weekend I was feeling pretty low because it seems like the medical community only offers 3 options – 1) medication, 2) radioactive iodine ablation, or 3) surgical removal of the thyroid.  If Norah can’t tolerate the medication, a recommendation of option 2 or 3 is likely to be imminent.  I’m not ready for that – especially since the problem is not with Norah’s thyroid.  It’s an auto-immune problem, and her immune system is just telling her thyroid to go nuts.  “Deactivating” her thyroid means that it wouldn’t be able to go nuts any more, but I’m just not comfortable with something so final if we haven’t exhausted all of the possibilities.

My friend Lisa had mentioned a while back that she took her children to a local acupuncturist at the Natural Wellness Clinic.  I really didn’t know anything at all about acupuncture, but our conversation stuck with me and I sent one of the practitioners there an email over the weekend.  He responded saying that he would be happy to check Norah out and see what he could do.

We went to see Robert Yauckoes this morning and it was a great experience.  His office environment is very calming, and he had plenty of books and toys to occupy Norah while he reviewed the paperwork from her endocrinologist.  His receptionist called me yesterday to tell me that I could download 2 forms from their website to save myself some time in the office, and she was very nice in person.

I have to say that I don’t understand how acupuncture works yet, and I’m sure there will always be some mystery and magic surrounding the process from my point of view.  All I can say is that Robert explained everything he was doing in detail to Norah and to me, and answered all of my questions.  He said that there are two ways that acupuncture might be able to help Norah.  First, it could help keep her from having an allergic reaction to the medication.  He mentioned that many patients on chemotherapy use acupuncture to help manage the effects of their treatment.  The second possibility is that acupuncture could help treat the underlying problem – the autoimmune disorder.

Robert started with a thin rod a few inches long with a ball on the end, which he used to check Norah’s skin.  He rubbed it on her scalp and then in various spots on her body, and he said it was partially for relaxation and partially diagnostic.  I don’t know if he diagnosed anything from this part of the visit, but Norah was SO RELAXED.  She laid down and barely moved for the entire treatment – about 20 minutes.

For the second part of the visit, he used something that resembled a thin, blunt nail a few inches long.  He would locate a certain point on her body, touch it with the “nail” for a few seconds, and then check her pulse on the arm that was on the same side of her body as the pressure point.  He did that in various spots, checking her pulse each time.  He said that he could tell from the reaction of her pulse what affect the treatment was having.

The last thing he did was to stick on 5 tiny round stickers that looked like 1/4″ diameter band-aids with a little metal ball on the sticky side.  Norah wasn’t really impressed because when he said there would be stickers she was thinking Dora, Elmo, Sponge Bob, etc.  We’ll be going twice per week for a while and we’ll see what happens.  His fees are really fair – $35 for the first visit in any given week and $25 for any additional visits.  I think our insurance actually covers part of the cost.

Here’s Norah before treatment:

And during treatment:

Click here to read the next post about Norah’s thyroid.

Click here to start at the beginning and read the first post about Norah’s thyroid.

School Shoes

Some days things just don’t go according to plan and you have to be able to roll with the punches.  Today was one of those days.  I had the day all planned out but in the end we didn’t do half the things we were supposed to do.  One thing I DID manage to accomplish was the manicure and pedicure that the Tooth Fairy has owed Aliya since she had 6 teeth pulled out.  I promised her that she’d have lovely hands and feet for the first day of school and gall dang it – I was determined to deliver.

The problem arose when Aliya realized that she would have to change the shoes she had planned to wear with her first-day outfit, so her pedicure would show.  The shoe-change required 1) a change from pants to a skirt, and 2) shoes which showed her toes but were not flip-flops since those aren’t allowed in school.

I have asked Aliya at least 5 times if she needs any back-to-school clothes, shoes, or supplies.  After the mani/pedi, when the bus was due to arrive in 15 hours and 33 minutes, she tells me that she needs sandals.  Where the hell was I supposed to find kid-sized non-flip-flop sandals on the day before school starts?!?!

Before I continue, I’d like to draw your attention to the photo of me on the right, and particularly to my shoes.  In this photo I was 10 years old, and this was a big day – my little brother’s christening.  I know for sure that was a new dress, and I’m guessing I was wearing new shoes.  Look how fancy they are – they added at least an inch to my height.  I was STYLIN! I had a purse, a bracelet, and had obviously spent HOURS working on my Kristy McNichol hair-do (ok…I didn’t actually achieve it, but I tried).  And those were the shoes I chose to accompany this *look*.

In contrast, THESE are the shoes Aliya chose for her first day of third grade.  I seriously think she would have tried harder to convince me if they were available in her size.  I can just imagine the look on Ben’s face, not to mention Nurse Mary’s.  I guarantee this would lead to a new school policy – “no flip-flops OR STILLETTOS!“

On the bright side, Aliya somehow went from a youth size 2 to a women’s size 5 over the summer.  We found her a pair of questionable flip-flop/sandals for $7 at Marshalls, along with various clearance-rack shoes to fit every outfit and weather condition at DSW.  It really does expand the options…maybe a little too far.

Here’s the end result.  All is right in Aliya’s world.

Funny Stuff

For some reason the first one reminds me of Keith (my stepfather). Do NOT try this at home (or on the farm).
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__Co6GAaXFw&fs=1&hl=en_US]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoTIaRyGzac&fs=1&hl=en_US]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REM8JTrCt04&fs=1&hl=en_US]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUNmLuNdiL8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]

The Person I Need Is Nanny McPhee

I just took Norah to see Nanny McPhee Returns, because she missed going with friends the other day when the allergic reaction appeared.  I really think Nanny McPhee III should come help ME out in her next movie.  I actually got a little misty when the mom in the movie, who coincidentally was named Mrs. Green, was standing on the couch screaming “GET OFF THE FURNITURE!!!!!!!!” and again when she was running after Nanny McPhee like a desperate bride-to-be running into the Filene’s Basement bridal gown sale.  If a character in a movie almost weeps in gratitude at the thought of having a few minutes to herself, I can’t be the only real-life mom feeling that way.

Honestly, I don’t think my desires are outrageous, but they’re so far from becoming a reality that I might as well wish for world peace and a personal video message from the Old Spice Man:

  • I want to ride in the car without anyone touching anyone, almost touching anyone, whining, fighting, or committing any offense that requires me to use the B.M.D.
  • I want to sit in the dining room without a giant stack of paper threatening to topple over on my plate.
  • I want to get through one meal without having to tell anyone to sit down, get back in their seat, eat their food, or stop putting chewed-up food on someone else’s plate.
  • I want people to see clean laundry, dirty dishes, or personal items piled on the stairs and realize that they should pitch in and do something about it.
  • I want to get a full day’s work done without working until 2 a.m.
  • I want everyone to be in bed, ASLEEP, by 8:30 p.m. (except me).
  • I want to have time for a hobby.
  • I want to sit down with a glass of wine and bask in the scent of Lavender Fabuloso, with all of the house clean at the same time.
  • I want to cross something off of my to-do list and not have it be immediately replaced with 5 other things.
  • I want to sleep alone for 6 straight hours.
  • I want to shower alone without hearing any loud crashes or being asked to mediate through the door.
  • I want to poop alone without having to go to a nearby retail establishment solely for that purpose.
  • I want my house to look like this a little less often:

Lumpier

We sorta thought we were out of the woods with Norah for the time being, but that’ll teach us to get comfortable.  After 3 weeks on the medication to tell her thyroid to quit over-producing, yesterday she had an allergic reaction to it.  Unfortunately it’s the only medication that’s safe for kids, so if she can’t tolerate a lower dose, we’ll have to move to Plan B.  The only other treatments on Children’s Hospital’s agenda are either ablating her thyroid with radioactive iodine or removing her thyroid surgically, so I’m looking into alternative treatments like acupuncture, chiropractic, and/or traditional medicine.  We’ve already avoided surgery for ear tubes by having Norah treated by my chiropractor, so you never know.

Click here to read the next post about Norah’s thyroid.

Click here to start at the beginning and read the first post about Norah’s thyroid.