I am sitting here listening to the whir of the dishwasher and the sound of Elle clapping to her violin music rhythm for homework in the next room. Other than that our house is silent which feels so good after a crazy weekend.
Last night our neighbor saved Lucy. This is what happened:
Dave and I went to a formal black-tie fund raising event in the city. As we discussed life with our friends while zipping along the freeway en route to the party, Elle called from home in complete panic. Lucy’s tongue was swollen to the point she could barely breathe or even cry for that matter.
And she was scared.
Realizing there was no way we could get back home in time to help, (and trying my best not to freak out), I told Elle to grab her and run to our neighbor who happens to be a nurse. She was miraculously home and calmly and beautifully gave Lu a breathing treatment and some Benadryl which seemed to do the trick. I’m so thankful for my neighbor it makes me cry to even think about it.
Needless to say I think Lucy is allergic to something. And I think that “something” is the pecans she was eating from a tree with another neighbor friend earlier. Oh boy is that ever a scary feeling.
Last week we took Lu to a new doctor…one who is claiming that she can help Lucy by reading a bunch of test results from big viles of blood we’ll get drawn tomorrow, and putting her on some supplements. Poor Lucy is going through the wringer again. I’ve always been skeptical of these kinds of doctors before but at this point we will take any help we can get. After we left our initial consultation Dave and I looked at each other in relief. There’s just something so comforting about having someone who seems to care so much and be so aware of your daughter you adore and worry so much about.
Dave was up all night as sick as can be last night….either food poisoning or stomach flu. I’m kinda hoping it’s food poisoning because the vision I have of stomach flu making it’s rounds through our family isn’t pretty. Poor guy. Claire came home from school burning up with a fever on Thursday and I just know she has another UTI, Elle is hacking and coughing, and I think I’m on the brink of my annual wing-dinger allergy attacks.
But other than that all is well in the world.
Elle took second place in her tennis tournament on Saturday.
(And I think her legs grew three inches.)
Max’s basketball team is undefeated. Grace rarely comes in for breaks from her dance routines and back flips on the trampoline, and Claire continues to mother Lucy much better than I do. Dave is feeling better tonight and I didn’t end up having to take over and teach his gospel doctrine lesson today on the spur of the moment like I thought I would have to at 5 this morning. (A great friend saved the day on that one). My Young Women calling is giving me a run for my money. I always knew this would be a busy job, I just didn’t realize it would be quite this crazy. The awesome-ness of the girls sure makes up for it though. I love them. Now if I can just figure out how to balance out all the texts and phone calls and meetings with all the love I want to pour into my family…
Some day I will get around to writing about this trip:
…and I will vow to not take any more pictures with an iPhone.
But until then I will soak in the hum of the dishwasher…and the solitude of the silence before it is broken at the crack of dawn tomorrow with another race to get where we need to be when we need to be there.
Oh my gosh, what a scary deal on Lucy! Thank goodness for neighbors and responsible daughters who are great babysitters! Sorry about all the maladies! Just what you don't need right now! Good grief, life is always an adventure!
Good luck on drawing all that blood but it will be so worth it if they can really figure out what she needs to balance.
CARRY ON!
So…I'm a stranger 🙂 I've commented before (I'm the one who thinks her daughter looks like Lucy 🙂 I feel like you are living what will be my life in a few years. We have four kids (another one coming), I'm finishing up my last year as YW President (balancing my family and what I want to do for YW…that struggle has never left). I think I found your blog because of a post you did about motherhood. I read it and thought, "That is exactly how I feel." And I feel like that everytime I read your blog. You articulate everything I think and feel and never have the time to keep track of. Anyway, when I read about your word for the year, Present, it really touched me. There have been things I've been praying about, and well, I feel like this could be just what I need. Already, I feel it working in me. So I just wanted to thank you for taking time to write and share things. There are days when I wonder if anything I'm doing matters. I wanted you to know that somewhere across the country, what you wrote mattered to me 🙂 And now I think I just made myself sound like a creepy stranger 🙂
That is a really scary story. I'm so glad your neighbor knew what to do! My 11 year old daughter is anxious to start babysitting, and I've been trying to explain what a HUGE responsibility it is. I remember having some really crazy stuff happen as a young babysitter, myself. I'm so glad everything turned out okay.
Sounds like it will be a tough week for you. Good luck!
oh scary about Lucy!!! glad she is okay!!! my nephew is allergic to all tree nuts, not fun at all!
tara
Okay, lived thru the allergy experience myself. Our son, William is allergic to all tree nuts and we had to spend some time in the hospital with him unable to breath before we figured it out. Not fun! And remember what I told you about my urologist husband and the antibiotics if you want to avoid an exam for Claire . . . Lastly, feeling for you in the YW's department because I'm lucky enough to have done that gig TWICE. It takes over your life. Seriously, it was the busiest time in my life and I just had small children then, so I can't even imagine what it's like with kids at this age. What a weekend! Hang in there.
On a date a couple weeks ago, the phone was supposed to be set to vibrate but was actually set to silent so I didn't notice the text from her aunt saying our youngest' blood sugar was low and she was requesting cereal. I cried when I found that message 1 1/2 hours later.
Great experience for oldest sister, Elle, though!
My stepmom has done supplements but recently went a little weird on them; I hope you find something that works.
Your little one's UTI's sound horrible. The writings of Edgar Cayce address this with a very simple remedy. Watermelon Seed Tea. You can read a great deal about Edgar Cayce…he was a deeply Christian man with a gift. There are many examples of people using his cures. Here is an example below. Simple and worth a try. Clearly the antibiotics aren't working. 🙁
09/20/2006: Susanne from Lake Ridge, VA writes: "The moment I feel a bladder infection coming on, I mix up a batch of watermelon seed tea. It's an Edgar Cayce cure I've been using with great success for the last few years. AMAZING STUFF! Within a day or two the infection is completely gone! I've tried numerous other natural remedies with little success. Cranberry juice, canned asparagus, Alka-Seltzer, etc., only gave me minimal relief. It has also worked for my son's girlfriend. She has no insurance, so it's a miracle for her. The only place I've been able to find it is at the Heritage Store in Virginia Beach. You can order it online and it's not expensive. It's a very simple remedy and really worth a try! Hope it works for you too!
P.S. The therapeutic dose is 1 tablespoon per 2 cups of boiling water. Just drink it until the symptoms subside and repeat as necessary."
Oh no! How lucky that you have that wonderful neighbour. I am glad everything worked out well.
About Claire's UTI's – has she tried taking concentrated cranberry supplements? They're better than the juice (or the "juice") from the store. Just a thought.
And thank goodness for amazing sisters! Way to go Elle!
Oh my gosh — that is SO scary. I have the exact same reaction to pecans, but only raw pecans. Oh and their dust (I can't break them).
I'm very interested in this new Dr and what supplements they put Lucy on. We have allergies in our family, too. They can be SO scary. I hope you do another post on this.
Great blog!
I am wondering why we don't hear much about your daughter Grace? I hear lots about Lucy and Elle, a little about Claire but hardly anything about Grace.
Just found your blog through… hmmm, maybe NieNie? Anyway, I've been soaking up your family and have learned all about BBS from Lucy. I have a dear friend that has two children with Batten Disease (www.bdsra.org) so I know the struggles with genetic diseases and the unknown.
What prompted my urge to comment though is Claire and her recurrent UTIs and cold sores. All my life I battled them, my sweet 11 year old has had them since birth (literally) and last year we discovered (through medical testing for lymphoma – another tale for another day, but thankfully came back negative) that we both have an intolerance for gluten. We have Celiac Disease and since we've taken all gluten out of our diets we haven't had any UTIs. Doctors were shocked that I had this disease because I never had abdominal/intestinal issues, but gluten can affect so many different systems in the body. Please look it up if you are at your wits end trying to find answers. Perhaps a few months totally gluten free will help?
Thank you for your blog and the time you take sharing. You have a beautiful family and happy life and it shines through the internet to those of us who aren't near.
Wendi
I second the gluten idea. I was not having UTI's but having other symptoms that aren't your "usual" symptoms for Celiacs disease. In fact I tested negative for celiacs. But I cut gluten out about 5 months ago and it has made a MAJOR difference in my health, I can't believe the difference. It's so dramatic in fact that sometimes I feel like I want to bear my testimony about it…haha!
Wow! I am so sorry….yes it is scary to have a child have a scary allergic reaction! I have 2 children with food allergies, and 1 of them is very severe! If you need any help…or questions answered let me know. We have seen numerous dr and finally found one that knew what he was tallking about and WANTED to help! Take care!
that is terrifying!!!!!!!! goodness me aren't neighbours the best! I think it's always so important to have at least one good neighbour you can rely on in a pinch! we've only been here for 2 years but the neighbours on one side rescued me and gave me a coffee on a cold day when I locked myself and the twins out the house and on the other side our neighbour came running over in her nightie to help out with the kids when I set off our never ever used house alarm!
thank goodness all ended well!! good luck with the tests!
Corrie:)