Saturday, March 22, 2008

Typical white people

Okay, as if the Obama speech on race wasn't odd enough, he had to explain himself. He referred to his grandmother who loved him as a typical white person. She also was occasionally scared of black people and had the "in-bred" reaction of fear and hatred that sometimes came out sounding racist.

What?? In-bred??

Well, I think I am typical. I know I am white. I'm reasonably sure that my family tree has branches and is not a singular trunk. Hmmm.

Some folks need to shut up while they are ahead, so to speak. Charisma can't fix stupid.

Fun, fun, fun.

DS11 is now puking every evening as he tries to take a shower. I haven't quite figured this one out. The fun never ends around here.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Antibiotic #7

I spoke with Dr. Hood's medical assistant and she relayed that he is very concerned about this infection not clearing up. He called in a prescription for DS11 that is the big guns. Seriously. This is the same medication that I take for bronchitis or sinus infections from time to time only at 4 times the daily dose that I take.

We go in for another detailed exam on April 3rd. At that point, if the sinuses, the throat, the ears are not all completely clear, then we will schedule surgery.

Needless to say, I am not going to even mention the possibility of surgery until we know for sure. I see no valid reason to upset him unless it is absolutely necessary. I refuse to pour salt into that wound! He has suffered enough.

Am I the only one?

The news cycle has been absolutely "eat up" (yes, I live in the deep south) with the upcoming elections, particularly the quest for a definitive nominee for the Democrats.

Due to the recent flap over Pastor Jeremiah Wright's comments, presidential hopeful, Barack Obama had to address the situation. I found his response interesting.

First of all, let me say that Mr. Obama is a wonderful orator. He crafts his speeches well (indeed he wrote this one himself) and delivers them with absolute eloquence. However, being the word nerd (that means English teacher, by the way), I do realize that eloquence can in no way take the place of substance, especially when discussing a major issue in our nation.

I guess the part that particularly resonates with me is that Mr. Obama said that he sat and heard comments coming from the pulpit of his church that he didn't agree with and that it would be a similar situation with many Americans who have heard their pastors, rabbis, spiritual leaders say questionable things. Hmmm.

Except that I don't recall that ever happening in my 40 years on this Earth. But, I think I understand the reason why. I refuse to go to a church where anything is taught from the pulpit that is not biblical. Now, don't panic, I know that this is a touchy and delicate subject, but if I were to hear anything that didn't sit well with me from the pulpit, I have been instructed from birth to approach the speaker (never a Reverend where I attend, only God is to be revered) and ask them to show me the book, chapter, and verses that the information came from. If they can show me (in context), then I must examine my attitudes and put them in line with Holy Scripture. If they cannot, they must recant the statement before the congregation and correct it. Anything else is unacceptable (and unBiblical). I cannot claim to be a true biblical scholar, but it is my understanding that any other course of action is unacceptable.

But, then again, I haven't selected my church on the basis of how it can help me create a "power base" for a Presidential bid.

I haven't selected my church on the basis of creating "social change." I'll let Christ handle that one.

I haven't selected my church on the basis of my political leanings. I'll just vote in accordance with Holy Scripture.

Yep. I guess I am part of the lunatic fringe. The Church is about the Bible--period. That is my personal bias. I embrace it. However, understanding my personal bias, can someone explain to me why Barack Obama is less concerned about Biblical truth than social matters? Why is it okay to spew hate until you offend someone. If a person claims Christianity as his or her religion, why on Earth would he or she want to hear unChrist-like behavior from their spiritual leader.

I'll stick with the Bible.

Snotty noses, earaches, and fever--Oh My!

Yesterday, DS11 began to feel a little chilled and said that his throat hurt a little bit. By dinner time, he had a fever of almost 102 with an earache that felt like "knives pushing in" and a terribly raw, sore throat.

Here we go again! I tried to give him some ibuprofen for the fever, but he barfed it right up. He cried and moaned all the way home from granny's house. We finally got him in a warm shower and he said that it felt good.

We dried out his ear canals with a little rubbing alcohol and followed it with 2 drops of CS that he held in his ear for about a minute (all he could handle). A few minutes later he said it might feel "a little better." Within about 20 minutes, he was sleeping like a baby. His face and body still felt very warm from fever and flushed, but his little ear was cool to the touch and a soft pink.

This morning, he woke up with a slight fever, no earache and only the sore throat and congestion. This time, he held 2 drops of CS in his ear for about 3 minutes while I massaged around his ear to help it go farther in. He is resting comfortably and we are waiting for the ENT to call us back with further instructions. I doubt he will be thrilled about the CS, but if he had been able to give us anything to solve the problem (ongoing since December), then I would have never been desperate/nervy enough to try it.

My mom still thinks that I am going to turn him into a smurf with the silver. She read a People Magazine article about a man in Minnesota who now looks, well, a lot like Papa Smurf. Of course, the article doesn't mention that he drank over 8 ounces per day of homemade (and not good quality) CS every day for 12 YEARS! So, it scares her to think that I am giving her precious grandson the same thing. Of course, I am giving him high quality, commercially prepared CS at the rate of about .5 teaspoons per day for less than a week. At this rate, if I buy really low quality CS, we are at least 50 years or so from smurfdom. That works for me, especially as I hope that we will finally be past this episode in our lives. I would hate to refer to his entire pre and teen years as "the sinus years."

Of course, some days, it feels like that is exactly what will happen.

Oh well, I'll just sit here and wait for the phone to ring...

Monday, March 17, 2008

Life is creating negative pressure right now...

What a few months we have had. DS11 is STILL sick. After 6 rounds of antibiotics and 4 months of a headaches, we still have no answers. At the last visit to the ENT, we were told to go and get tested at our local lab to determine if he was allergic to 128 common allergens.

He was only allergic to eggs. This brings up an interesting bit of trivia: flu shots are made of eggs. My kid got his first flu shot this year. Why? Because the pediatrician got flu shots in individual doses, so there is no need for preservatives. It is the preservatives that so many of us Aspie moms are concerned about. Unfortunately, since we didn't know about the egg allergy, the flu shot may have been what set this whole episode in motion.

With kids on the spectrum, one thing I have learned is that it doesn't require much of an insult to the system to create a real problem to deal with.

At this point, I am frustrated. Very frustrated. Frustrated enough to take matters into my own hands. I went to the health food store. Less than $30 dollars later, I had purchased two items to try. One is a homeopathic remedy for asthma and bronchitis for DS10 and I. The other is colloidal silver to squirt up DS11 (and my) nose.

After months of bronchitis flare ups, in 3 days, I felt better. I believe it is more from the colloidal silver than anything else. No, I am very careful in dosing. No, we aren't going to turn in to Smurfs. Yes, it is worth being careful if it will get us well.

My mom began with the bronchitis stuff when I did. She still sounds terrible, is wheezing periodically and feels like total crap. I am breathing easier, coughing productively (but far less often), the aching has subsided. I still need loads of sleep, so I am not fully recovered. But, I have seen this result with less than 1 week with very conservative doses of colloidal silver. DS11 is not coughing, no longer complaining of headaches, but still has a runny nose (that could be due to allergies because we are just entering pollen season).

Isn't it amazing that a few days of an old-fashioned, pre-penicillin medication could do us more good than all of the allopathic treatments that we have tried.

Maybe we finally can have some hope.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Antibiotic #6...

Well, the sinus saga continues. We are on our 6th antibiotic and last Friday we went for allergy testing. He was so upset to have blood drawn after having done it so many times when testing for the PANDAS last year. But, at least they didn't do the old fashioned test where they put a grid on your back and poke you 40 times with a needle. Of course, we might have had some results back quicker that way, but it would have been absolutely miserable for him.

Hopefully, we will hear from the doctor soon about the results and can figure out what to do next. I just want the poor kid to get to feeling better. He is still struggling to get up and blow enough junk out of his nose in the morning, he blows and hacks, blows and hacks. I wish I could fix it.