It's been quite a wonderful few weeks around here. Like always, life has had its bumps in the road, but overall it has been one of those times when you remember just how lucky you really are. November started with the North Florida State Fair (didn't know there was a state of North Florida, but whatever ;) ). I was able to get super discounted tickets that included admission and unlimited rides. We had a great time. First we went to the petting zoo. The kids weren't particularly thrilled with looking at animals with the prospect of rides waiting, but I convinced them we had to at least take a peak. Believe it or not, they loved it.
They fed a bunch of animals carrots. They saw goats in shirts and little goats that all wanted the same slice. They saw a camel, a zebra, kangaroos, yaks, zebu, llamas, alpaca and many other four-legged beasts.
We left the petting zoo at just the right time to catch the Wild World of Animals show. The kids loved the baby monkey clinging to the trainer. Hysterical laughter followed the 3-year-old monkey as he pounded off the back wall, jumping around like, well, a monkey. They saved the best for last. The trainers put up a second fence then brought out an 18 month old hyena. Wow! I'd never seen a live hyena before ever. It was beautiful, and I couldn't believe how big it was.
After the show the kids could wait no longer. We headed for the rides. Once again I was amazed at the kids' fearlessness. Little Man has always been a little daredevil, but Beans has always been much more reserved. Let's just say he's broken out of his box. We went on a hang-gliding ride, Tilt a Whirl, the Scrambler, Musical Express, twirling rides, roller coasters, you name it. Here they are on a spinning ride that started horizontal then went vertical.
Before we left, Little Man had to go on one last amazing ride. He was the tiniest person on there. The ride launched and the whole seating thing went twirling and spinning and whirling up high in the air. Personally, I was just fine with my two feet on the ground, but the fearless one loved it. Beans was too short to go on, I think he secretly was happy to be on the ground with me. :P
Little Man is on the lower right corner of the seats in this pic. He screamed with the best of them and came off with the biggest grin I've ever seen. We had a little trouble making it to the car as full-blown overstimulation had set in by that point and, let's face it, what kid wants to leave all the fun to go home?
We went to the fair on Thursday, the 5th. The night of the 6th, 7th and 8th were very strange. Little Man, who requires multiple medications each night to help him sleep, put himself to bed. Early. Obviously something was wrong. That something presented itself on Sunday as he was finally able to communicate he had a headache. Initially I didn't worry too much about it, and still sent him to school on Monday.
Within two hours of school starting my phone rang. It's never good when caller id shows a call from the school district. It was Little Man's teacher. He was having his first bad behavior day of the entire year, and I needed to come down to the school. By the time I got there, he had calmed down and was able to tell his teacher that he had a horrible headache. And he did mean horrible. He had his head down in his hands and was clawing it. His teacher told me not to punish him - which believe me, was very hard not to do - but to take him to the pediatrician right away.
I called the doctor who told me to take him to UrgentCare. Now if you know anything about Little Man, you know he doesn't hold still for anything. I knew something was really wrong when he laid down on that little table in the exam room and fell asleep for two hours. When he woke he was grabbing his head again. I was tired of waiting at this point, having not even seen the doctor yet, and have to admit I almost politely, made the issue known. The doctor finally came in, examined him and sent us over to the Emergency Room for a CT scan. By this time it had been hours since we arrived at UrgentCare and the prospect of waiting all over again at the ER was bad enough, but an emergent CT scan was enough to make anyone's anxiety level go through the roof.
I have to say though, the scariest part was the headache coming in waves. When it would get worse his face would flush and the rest of his body would mottle, he would lay down in the waiting room and need quiet and not to be touched. Thank goodness to my FB friends who kept checking in on us, helping to pass the time. The hospital finally got him back to a room where he continued wanting the lights out and laying perfectly still. Finally, finally the doctor came in. His CT scan was normal, thank goodness, so that ruled out the "really bad things." They weren't really sure what the cause was, but it was likely a migraine that affected his autonomic nervous system. This is a pic shortly after we got home, his face is flushed, wanting his eyes closed and just laying down again.
Since then he's continued to have frequent headaches, though not to the same extreme. I'm going to need to call his neurologist for some advice. He just can't keep going on like this. :(
We did have another stroke of luck though. The day after the ER visit I left Little Man with my parents while I had to take a test at school. I made it back out to our tiny town, picked him up and had just gotten onto the street when the transmission went out in my car. What's the lucky part? There's so much! It could have happened when we were coming home from the ER, it could have happened on my way to pick him up that day while I was driving for miles without cell reception, there are just so many ways it could have been worse. My dad, stepmom and grandma helped immensely in getting me back my wheels. Thank you!!! You can't even get to the store without a car here so it's incredibly important.
That stressful couple of weeks has been followed with more happiness though. It always happens this way. :D Beans brought home a letter from the county sheriff congratulating him on making Honor Roll!!! Now Honor Roll is always something to be proud of, but this is his first year in full inclusion. He now has no academic accommodations and is doing regular second grade work independently! What an incredibly proud mommy moment!
That brings us to today. The kids had the day off school for Thanksgiving, which means I had the day off school unofficially. ;) We had an amazing playdate with good friends. We went to the park and the kids played for hours. I got to visit with another mom and had a great time myself. It's so nice to go out with people who understand my special kids and it doesn't phase them.
Tonight the kids were totally worn out and went right to sleep. Hopefully for a nice long rest. :) Tomorrow we're going to my parents' house to celebrate Thanksgiving. We have so much to be grateful for, so very, very much. I say goodnight with a pic of my little Beans. Sleeping with his turtle from Aunt A, his chameleon from Ronald McDonald House and his hospital buddy from when he got his PICC line. Buddy is anatomically correct with a scar just like his. What a precious set of boys I have.
Beans took the whole day as his opportunity to be Grandpa's Cling-on. I don't think he was more than a couple feet away from him for most of the day, even had to sit next to him at dinner. I went outside to see him during a break in cooking. I sat down only to be pushed away by a little boy ~ possibly for the first time ever ~ who wanted alone time with his gramps. I made my way back inside, laughing to myself, but made him oblige me with this pic first. ;)
Grandma J's new dog Ciri is the funniest thing. She loves wearing her clothes (see her modeling the latest SpongeBob trend below). When she's out on the porch and wants to come in, first you see this little head peering in the back window. When that doesn't get her anywhere she starts leaping. Out of nowhere you see this little dog, down to her little paws, completely off the ground as she jumps at the window. It cracks me up every time.
With that prelude, there is so much for us to be thankful for. Little Man is finally feeling safe and secure, both at home and at school. He knows the thing he's feared for so long cannot touch him now. Both kids are in the perfect classes at school and making progress in leaps and bounds. I'm doing well on track to our road to a better life. Beans has a couple HUGE anniversaries coming up next week that I'll get into then, but for now let's be thankful for the amazing improvement in his health. Last night Little Man had a little too much excitement and could not get to sleep. He wasn't being naughty, just could not sleep for anything. Nights like that make me even more thankful that he has nursing set up. He was able to be watched and stay safe while I was able to get rest to deal with them patiently today. I'm constantly thankful for the help. And don't forget the biggest ones - we have a roof over our heads, food in our tummies, an amazing extended family that loves us and friends who understand us. Yes, there is much to be thankful for. We are so very grateful.
