Catching up

I know this poor blog hasn't gotten a lot of love in a few months, and I really need to get back to it.  I don't use it much any more to report news because Facebook is the place to be right now.  But since this blog is part of my families story, and there are things I don't want to forget, I need to get back to it.

What is making me blog today is that we are having quite an incredible few weeks.  And not in a good way.  It started earlier this spring when Arlington had a concussion.  And then a few weeks ago, she got another one.  Both times were the result of a flying cell phone in a hard cover.  Because young kids - even young teenagers - have neck muscles that are underdeveloped, the force of the blow throws the head forward and back or side to side, and that is what causes the concussion.

She has been on concussion precautions for almost 4 weeks with this last one.  Daily headaches and dizziness are keeping her from returning to full functioning.  It has been a rough month.  During this time, she also decided to break her right knee.  She was dancing outside with her siblings, and her knee locked, dislocated, and she fell.  It chipped a bone in her knee and caused a big fluid build up.  Took her to the doctor, and they did x-rays, drained the fluid (Which ended up being bloody), and then she had an MRI and a CT scan to get to the bottom of her problems.  She is in a knee brace - going on 3 weeks now - that is holding the bone fragment in place until they decide what the best course of action is for healing.  We will know the results of the CT scan in a few days, and hopefully that will be the end of this.

In the midst of that - Arlington, Finley and Cainan got strept throat.  Yep - all three of them, all at the same time.  Ridiculous.  They had medications all lined up on the counter together.  They missed two days of school each, and had a fever, stomachache, headache.  But the worst part is - they had all the classic symptoms, and I took them in to the doctor and the rapid strep was negative.  48 hours later we get the call that they are positive.  Sigh.

But I am not done.  No sir.  Arlington decided she wasn't having enough fun, and get lyme disease.  It isn't uncommon in our area, and we caught it early.  She had the classic bullseye on her back, so she is on medication for three weeks for that.  She hasn't had any other symptoms, thankfully.  Well......at least we don't think she did.  She has had headaches, fever, stomachaches, achyness.....could be any of the above things she had going on.

While all of this was going on, Scooby decided that he didn't want to be left out.  Our sweet dog started limping around the beginning of June.  We took him to the vet and he was positive for Lyme.  I guess the limping is one of the first signs.  So he is ALSO on medication for Lyme.  It is the 20th of June and the limping is no better, so today he went in for x-rays.  The vet felt that by now, he should be better.  The x-ray showed a torn ligament.  For the next two weeks he has to go out to the bathroom on the leash, and come back in the house. That is it.  No fun stuff.  He has to be a doggy blob.  HE is going to hate every minute.  We hope, though, that this will heal it and he won't need surgery.  He is on a pain medication and anti-inflammatory as well.  I am giving him ham to take his meds with, so he is loving that part.

Cainan also is having trouble with one of his eat tubes.  He had ET tubes placed when he was 15 months old, and one is still in his ear.  IT was a permanent tube, but was working its way out, so we thought it would just move on its own.  Well.....it did.  But not how it should.  Sunday we were swimming and he had a lot of pain in his ear.  We took him in and the tube is partially out and sitting sideways in his ear.  The ER, and the ENT tried to remove it and no luck.  It is stuck.  It isn't causing him any discomfort any more, and they gave him antibiotics to heal some irritation in the ear.  He has a hole in the ear drum from the tube moving.  So fun.  But antibiotics for 3 weeks, then back to the ENT to remove the ET tube.

What else can go down?  I hate to even ask it.  It is too much.  We are swamped.  School is still not out.  Activities are still not over.  Mat is still traveling a lot. And we leave for vacation soon.  My hope is that we are getting this all out of the way before we leave so that when we get back it is all good.