Today Cody, Doug, X, and I went shooting. X got to shoot a couple 22s by himself, a 9mil with Cody’s help and a shotgun with Doug’s help. Big day! Anyway, here’s a video of him shooting the 22 his first time:
Xavier Reading Daniel and the Lions Den
At the beginning of the year reading was definitely the one place in school that Xavier struggled. Now he’s obviously getting it!
I didn’t think to start recording until part way in, but this is Xavier reading a good chunck of Daniel and the Lions Den from his school reading book.
Xavier Reading Green Eggs and Ham
Xavier has been getting so much better at reading! He’s started to really like to read Dr. Suess books (man after my own heart), mainly because he can now read well enough to make the rhymes sound “like a song”. I took a quick video of him reading part of Green Eggs and Ham. The audio isn’t great, but I’m so proud of him that I’m going to share it anyway!
YAERV (Yet Another ER Visit)
Banner Estrella
For those that don’t know, we ended up in the ER last night again. Not one of our better visits, but certainly not one of our worst. We’re still trying to track down what put Christen in the hospital in September, and we’re seeing a specialist that has done a lot; lots of blood tests, several CT scans (I think three in the last few months), she’s had a colonoscopy, and yesterday she swallowed a camera (that was amazing)! I feel like we’re making progress, but she just had a bad fit of pain and nausea the last couple days that culminated yesterday. It’s the same stuff she’s been dealing with since September, but it was way worse yesterday so when we got the stuff from the camera removed (they hook the receiver box up to you like an EKG) her specialists office recommended we go to the ER.
The wait was the worst, but we knew it would be as soon as we walked in. The place was packed, every seat and wheelchair was taken and people were standing. When they checked her in (took vitals, asked about problem, gave her a wristband, etc) the nurse gave her a couple Zofran under the tongue for the nausea. They took a little of the edge off at first, but we were in the waiting room for three hours before we got called back. It wasn’t really their fault. Against all reason the place actually continued to fill while we were there. The ER actually had to throw a code purple, which basically is a call for help. They bring in additional people, send messages to other hospitals that they could use extra personnel and that the hospitals should only refer people to them if there’s no other option, etc. At the rate things were going, I was worried we’d be there until morning. I knew what kinds of tests they run on someone with severe abdominal pains and nausea (been there done that), and they take a while. The worst part is, we’d already been through all that (several times) so I thought it was going to be a big waste of time. I didn’t need to worry.
Once we finally got called back, we got to see the doctor. His name is Dr. Clever (while it looks like clever it’s said like cleaver…I still think he’s quite clever) and we’ve seen him there a few times, including when we came in for this very issue last September. To my surprise (and relief), he actually said “there are a lot of things we are really great at here in the ER; finding a diagnosis the specialist missed probably isn’t one of those things.” He continued to say that he’d like to just get Christen through this particularly bad episode so that we could continue to follow up with her specialist. I was ecstatic. He ordered an IV for fluids, morphine for the pain, and Zofran again (this time via the IV, which is much quicker acting) for the nausea.
We then went into a waiting room in the back (they definitely didn’t have any beds), hung her IV, and waited. She slowly started improving. We actually met this nice older couple, who live in Minnisota during the summer and here during the winter. The man was the one checked in, and he had never had to go to the hospital/ER/urgent care in his 73 years. All in all, he was doing pretty good and was quite an interesting person. We talked of pets, kids (they have kids and grandkids in both places, which is why they spit their time up), and even literature. He told me about this short story he had read that was written in China in the 1930s and translated to English more recently. The story was about medical procedures in the year 2002, and portrayed the doctors as shrinking themselves and travelling inside the patient to fix him from the inside.
After a while I needed some coffee (surprise surprise). Unfortunately, I know the place pretty well and I know where the coffee for the staff is, where they keep the cups, etc. I’ve been told every time that I can help myself, but I always ask anyway (buttering up the nurses with “please”, “that would be so great”, “tank you very much”, etc doesn’t hurt either…they don’t hear those phrases a lot). This time it paid off because said that the last half pot had been on a while, and asked me if they could make me a new pot! When I returned, the older man’s wife asked where she could get some, so I explained the system and took her back to get her a cup. They’d been there as long as we had, and with no coffee! I guess there are some advantages to being a regular at a place, but I’d prefer to stick to being a regular at Ground Control. It’s more fun, has better food and drink, and is less expensive!
After being in this latest waiting room for about an hour and a half, her pain and nausea were getting back to nearly manageable levels. We decided that when her IV bag was empty we’d ask to be released (they like you to talk to a doctor when we leave), but that wasn’t necessary. About 15 minutes later, when the back was about 90% gone (1000ml bag, marked with dashes in 100ml increments, so it was almost EXACTLY 90% gone), we got called back to see Dr. Clever again. Her pain and nausea were manageable, so he sent us home with a prescription for Vicodin in case she needed it.
As her pain had come down though, she had realized that she was starving. To prep for the camera, she wasn’t allowed anything but clear liquids the day before and up until noon that day. At noon she was nauseas and in pain, so she tried to eat an English muffin but couldn’t really finish. Basically, in two full days she had eaten less than one English muffin. We picked up some soup from Village Inn on the way home (there’s not much open after 10pm on a Monday).
Today she’s feeling more like she has for the last few months: “Not great, but things are manageable.” We’re definitely looking forward to the results from the camera capsule. More than ever I want it to return something definitive. I’m really sick of not knowing what’s making her sick!
Blood Clots Again?!? Hopefully not
Christen went to see Dr. Kapur today (even though we see him all the time, he’s still Dr Kapur not Vikram…it’s like your teachers as a kid) because her ankle and calf are still hurting her from when she rolled her ankle on the way into church (Dec 18th). He wasn’t very happy that she waited a month, and he was even less happy that the pain extended all the way into her calf. He immediately got her into a place across the street for them to do an MRI of the ankle and a doppler ultrasound of the calf to look for blood clots. Please pray, last time this happened it was the scariest week in the hospital ever! The worst part is, this is one of her first doctor appointments in the last year where I didn’t go with her! The good thing is, the doctor did listen to her lungs and said they sounded clean (probably no clots there).
I’ll try to keep everyone updated.
Xavier’s Mario Themed Birthday
Yesterday we had Xavier’s birthday party, and it was a blast. He wanted it to be themed like Super Mario Brothers, and Christen really outdid herself. She had Super Mario Brothers balloons, centerpieces, piñata, etc. She even did themed food:
The pretzel sticks were "platforms"
The tangerines were "turtle shells"
The popcorn was "Clouds"
The sandwiches were "Super Stars"
The cake was a "One Up" on top, and an entire Super Mario Brothers level on the bottom, complete with bricks, question boxes, coins, piranha plants, etc! (Thanks again Amber)
We don't really do anything normal, so while it may have had nothing to do with Super Mario Brothers, we used a wooden sword to take on the piñata
The piñata gave up all sorts of goodies for the kids
The trampoline was put to good use by all the kids (and a few of the adults)
Xavier even shared his new toys, which were quite a hit
Thanks to everyone that came! It all turned out great and X had a blast!
Xavier’s take on my childhood social life
We had X’s birthday for his school friends yesterday afternoon, and on the way to school he and I were talking about it. I asked him who all was coming and he named pretty much everyone in his class of 11 kids (as it turns out, one kid couldn’t make it, everyone else was there). I told him that when I was his age had closer to 30 kids in my classes growing up and still didn’t get as many kids to come to my parties. He asked why, and I said it was probably because I didn’t make friends as easily as him. His response? He made one of the saddest faces I’ve ever seen, the kind that bring tears to your eyes and in this case just ooze pity, and said “oh, that’s sad!” He proceeded to let me know how sorry he was for me, and even offered to give me tips on making friends! I felt like yelling “I’m right here! And I wasn’t a complete loser!”
I suppose everyone (myself included) wants their kids to have it better than they did…but do they have to rub it in?!?
Christen’s GI Followup
As many of you know, Christen was in the hospital in late September of this year. When she came home she was on a bunch of medications, which seemed to work as she was getting progressively better. The doctors said she wasn’t healing as quickly as they would have expected, but even though she was going through cycles of getting better and worse (get better, then a little worse, then better, then a little worse, etc), we weren’t too worried because at least she was getting better.
That went on for a few weeks, but about a week ago she started into a dip of getting worse and hasn’t really pulled out of it. Instead the last few days have been really rough on her. She’s in a lot of pain and has been quite nauseas, so we went in for a followup appointment with the Gastrointestinal Specialist that she was seeing while she was in the hospital. First we were quite impressed with Dr. Rodriguez because he was able to remember every detail from the hospital a month ago (not just stuff he could have learned from reading reports, etc). Unfortunately, he was definitely worried because if the problem had just been an acute infection (as had been diagnosed at the hospital) it should have long since gone away with the antibiotics.
After talking to him for nearly thirty minutes answering questions about her medical history, the frequency and location of her pain, the timeline since the hospital, etc, he gave us his plan of action. Now let me stop here to say that this is my kind of doctor. He didn’t say “let’s try the antibiotics again” or even “it’s probably just _____, we’ll treat it with ___”. Instead he laid out several tests and a real plan for action.
He said that while he did think this was serious, he wanted us to know that he didn’t think it was any kind of cancer. Instead, the three most likely things would be Crohn’s disease, Celiac disease, or Ulcerative Colitis. He ordered a CT scan stat (she had one with contrast and one without in the hospital, but this has something different that will let him better see the intestinal walls), and the hospital called us this morning and scheduled it for today at 4pm. She will also go in for a colonoscopy on November 19th, and she has a lab-test list that’s two pages long*.
He gave Christen a few medications to try to help with the symptoms in the short term; Phenergan for nausea, Librax for the cramping pains, and Flagyl to make sure there’s no lingering infection. He stressed repetitively that if the pain and nausea are too much to handle with all these tests, he will admit her to the hospital for a few days and handle everything inpatient. Hopefully Christen will feel a little better with these meds, because I’ve had my fill of hospitals.
*The lab tests he requested that I was able to get down (I’m sure you’ll want to know Stacie):
- IgA level
- Tissue Transglutaminase IgC/IgA
- Iron, Ferritin, TIBC
- Stool O & P
- Iron Saturation
- Anti-sacharomyces cereviciae Ab IgA, IgG, and IgM
- CRP
- Stool electrolytes (Na, K, CL)
- pANCA
- Folate Level
- Chromogranin A level N
- vitamin B12
- CBC W/DIFF
Quality Beers
I have to admit that unlike most people I know, I was not a fan of beer. At least not what most people drink. I tried all the usuals: Coors, Budweiser, Corona, Miller, etc. I didn’t like a single one, so I just figured that I didn’t like beer. I was wrong. My friend James Person introduced me to Chimay, a Belgian Trappist Ale brewed by the monks at the Scourmont Abby. Honestly, the Chimay Blue is still my favorite beer.
What I learned was that, like wine, scotch, or food in general, you can’t just “not like” beer. There are just too many varieties out there that taste so different. You just have to find what beers you like. At first I just tried a few craft beers (again, usually recommended by James) and found that what I didn’t like was light beers. By light, I mean that I don’t like light colored or light flavored beers. I like something with a strong, deep, and full flavor and that usually comes from a darker colored ale.
Not too long ago I decided to clarify that by trying some more beers and keeping track of what I liked and why. I started when I was out in Oklahoma visiting my parents. I tried everyone’s favorites, which included Corona, Miller High Life, and something else (that I just can’t remember). None of them were any good at all. As a whole they had very little flavor and fell quite flat. I asked my brother-in-law to go get me some good beer, and listed a few that I liked, but he couldn’t find any of them. As it turns out, Oklahoma has some strangely strict rules about alcohol content in beer.
When I got back from Oklahoma I went to Bevmo and grabbed some assorted craft beers, and have quite enjoyed trying them all and figuring out what I like and what I don’t. So far I know that I’m not only fond of darker fuller beers, but I also very much like bitter beers (not a big surprise as I’m a huge coffee fan and prefer dark bitter coffees) and definitely enjoy the flowery depth that strong hops add to a beer.
Anyway, all that to say that I’m going to start reviewing some of the beers that I drink here. I’m not a pro, so don’t expect to see twelve paragraphs on each beer, but I’ve learned a little and find it interesting and hope you will too.
Xavier Fishing – Oklahoma 2010
Xavier's Catfish - caught completely on his own
Xavier’s not the kind of person that you would think of as a fisherman. He’s clearly not patient enough. So, I think it’s understandable that I had my doubts when he wanted to go fishing. Last time we went fishing out there it took us an hour to get all the together and get up to the lake. No more than five minutes into fishing he lost interest. This time however, things were definitely different. It certainly helped that there are two lakes and neither of them are fished very often (and when they are it’s catch and release). We had been told that the fish would probably bite pretty well on grasshoppers, so Xavier, Daniel, and I got a couple nets and caught a bunch of them for bait. I took one, put it on his hook, explained how to cast, and stepped back. Like a little pro he cast out probably 25 feet, and no more than 30 seconds later he was reeling in his first fish. It turned out to be about a 12″ large mouth bass. We had to hurry back to get my mom because she wanted pictures and was planning on joining us in a few minutes (no one really expected to start landing fish so quickly). He talked about how cute it was, then said he wanted to know if we could eat it. We fished for probably three hours straight, and ended up with a nice catch of four good sized catfish, and about 8 smaller bass, not to mention the uncountable number of Perch that we caught and threw back.
Two for me, one for each Xavier and Daniel, and all good eats.
We did end up keeping and cooking all the good fish. It turned into a regular fish fry, but first we had to clean the fish. I’ve only done this a couple times, and it had been at least 10 years. Neither Xavier nor Daniel had ever cleaned fish. My dad, however, was the expert (although he’d never cleaned a catfish…it was always Salmon or Halibut). We sat out in his front yard near the creek, and began heading, gutting, scaling, cleaning, and filleting the fish. I’m not sure how familiar you are with this process, but the first thing you to is take off the head, slice the belly, and dump out the guts since they can contaminate the good meat. As I took the head off the first (rather large) catfish and started to gut it, I looked over at Daniel and he was completely white. The original plan was that we’d each clean our own fish, but he said he’d rather throw his out and not eat, so dad and I cleaned and filleted them all (Xavier didn’t seem as affected as Daniel, but he definitely didn’t love it either). Christen seasoned some of the catfish and all of the bass to be barbecued, and she battered and fried the rest. We had the whole family down for dinner and it was great!
