An Awesome Day

I have had an awesome today. Sure it had it's ups and downs, but as I sit down at the end of it I'm feeling great. What made it great? Well it's the little things.

1- A clean kitchen. I was able to get the dishwasher run and emptied. The kitchen cleaned, some beef cooked and frozen. Then I cooked dinner and cleaned the kitchen.

2- Laundry. I've been a little behind on laundry lately. I usually just do a load every day or two. So it never piles up. Well I feel behind. But with a day a of testing yesterday and doctors today I've just been focusing on getting the laundry clean. Once dry I'd just toss it in the tv room for folding later. Today I finished washing the laundry but getting it folded and put away!

3- Play time with Squeaker. The last few months with trying to take care of Trey and all his appointments I haven't had the energy to play with Squeaker as much as I used too. I feel pretty bad about it a lot of days. But I only have so much energy and when it comes to cooking dinner and playing I kind of need to make dinner. Today it was nice out I had decent energy so we opened the back door and played a game. 30 minutes of just her and me. No fussing, no meltdowns, just play. It was wonderful.

4- Picked up a book. There is a book series called Fablehaven. I have read the first two books, it's a five book series. When I was at the Library with Squeaker last week I saw the series on the shelves. And had the thought I should really finish it. Sadly Book 3 wasn't there, bummer. The librarians had it transferred and today I picked it up. Wahoo!!!

In all the craziness of the last few months I am so very glad to have and AWESOME DAY!!!

Hanging On

The nasty no sleep monster has decided to come back for a visit. He's been here almost 3 weeks and

his welcome is worn out. The biggest problem is the lack of cause. We know that Squeaker is un-well but poor sleep is pretty much the only symptom. Her nose has been a little runny but with no cough or serious congestion there isn't a lot we can do about it. We have the humidifier going, essential oils, upped her pain killers, not skipping inhalers, keeping the house cold. It is all helping some but not a lot. She is still waking every 45-90 minutes. There are times when she can get herself back to sleep but most of the time she needs some sort of attention.
So right now I'm in hanging on mode.

At this exact moment I'm in buried mode. I have Squeaker at my right, Zelda at my legs and Raek has plopped his 20lb self on my chest. I wish you could see it. Hahaha.

It's Just A Lot

Quick update and then I'm off to bed.

Trey has been in a specialized physical therapy program for 4 weeks now. And although he still feels like his brain is on the ocean he can walk in the house without a cane. Once out of the house he is supposed to use the cane because in less familiar surroundings you use more of your brain. We acquired a temporary Disabled Parking Permit for him. Especially when he has to drive himself to class. Yup Trey is still in grad school. We looked into pulling out for the semester but it was too late. It's been an adjustment in study habits but he is making it work. We have also started tracking calories, sodium, and sugar intake for the both of us. Not only is this helping us both stay on track about loosing weight but we can show all the doctors the sodium and sugar intake for Trey. Yes, they ask about that stuff.

Squeaker as you may have read is no longer squeaking. Looking back over that last few months though we have noticed she has been talking more. Sadly some of that talking is arguing and poor attitude. Hey she is 4 it was bound to happen. Sometimes it's kind of funny because she will try to take away our privileges when we don't do exactly as she asks. Sorry kiddo, that's just not how it works. Our biggest struggle has been when she gets hungry. Food can still be very painful for Squeaker so getting her to eat is a struggle. But if she doesn't eat oh my that's a horrible struggle. Trey and I have chosen our line in the sand and there were stay. We know it will get better and being a consistent parent is hard but we know it will pay off in the end.

As for me. Oh well I'm busy. If you didn't figure that out already. I am doing 99% of the driving, I try to entertain Squeaker daily so Trey can study. I try to keep laundry moving and cleaning done. I do the cooking, figure the calories, and pack up all the leftovers. I've also starting doing some testing site stuff to help earn a little extra money. Currently Trey is on short term disability insurance which is wonderful. But is getting to the point that it only pays 60% of his salary. I'm very happy it pays that, but it does leave us a little short every month. We have some savings but it won't last forever. I just figure if I can start now the longer the savings will last. I would love to pick up some work at home data entry. There are jobs out there but where Trey is not able to care for Squeaker, and do his rehab, I can only work during the night hours at home. In the future I may need to take a late night shift outside the home but we aren't there yet. Oh and to top it off I'm on day 3 of 5 of an antibiotic. I have a sinus and respiratory infection.

Which folks just proves how awesome my husband is. Trey has a lot going on. I know that chronic vertigo doesn't sound like much of a diagnosis but it is really hard to constantly feel like you are falling over. While I've been sick Trey has just been doing as much as he can. This weekend when he didn't have to study he's been letting me sleep. Since I still sit with Squeaker to put her to sleep he makes me warmed caramel milk and brings it to me. Then tells me "When she is asleep your bath will be ready." I mean honestly does a hubby get any better? He's just so awesome.

Well that's the update. I should get some shut eye. We see the Neurologist tomorrow afternoon. We aren't expecting much in the way of answers, but maybe a few ideas of what to do next or try would be nice.  So ya know, we'll see. :)

Seriously, It's About Time

                                         It took 4 Years, 4 Months, and 17 Days think about that
                                                   4 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AND 17 DAYS!!!
     It took that long for Squeaker's Laryngomalacia to be resolved. That's right the LM is gone! GONE GONE GONE!!!! It is no longer swollen and it is no longer floppy. Squeaker was born with a moderate to severe case of LM. We chose not to do the surgery, okay I was scared out of it by a doctor. But any way she never had surgery, we treated with inhaled steroids and time. Knowing what

I know now I probably would have taken a different path but I can't change that now. It was hard a lot of days. REALLY HARD.
     It got very hard when at 12 months old when most kids with LM are just about out grown the issue and Squeaker was just as terrible as ever. We were still in the ER at least once a month breathing issues, its bad when the ER nurses know you by name. On top of that we were in the doctor's office about every 2 weeks too. We never had to be admitted for monitoring or spend time in the ICU. Thank-goodness Squeaker has my fantastic lung function and oxygenation.
    By the time Squeaker was 2 she was barley talking and having nebulizer treatments upwards of 10 times a day most of the time. It got a little easier when Squeaker was 26 months and started seriously talking. As she was able to start communicating more, which decreased the meltdowns. Which meant her breathing was more stable. Can you imagine being scared of your child having a tantrum because you fear they might stop breathing? How do you discipline a child that can't through a tantrum? I'll tell you it's rough and it takes a lot of patience. This year we did manage to have less ER visits.
     Just after Squeaker turned 3 we had hope again. Winter came and Squeaker stopped wheezing all the time. For 6 wonderful months there were no nebulizers, no inhalers, no ER and minimal doctors visits. It was blissful and we thought it was all done. Then summer hit. Ug we went from no inhalers to 10 times a day again. For Squeaker LM and Humidity never mixed well. We live in Alabama, you can guess that we have humidity in spades. We spent last summer inside. It was rough but breathing is more important. We even saw the ENT and he noted the LM was still present. Better but still there. uggg.

     It started to cool down for Squeaker's birthday and we were able to back off the inhalers. Breathing wise winter was just dandy. We kept up with the inhalers to help stave off infection and flu. It worked pretty well between the IGG therapy and inhalers we had very little illness. In the last couple of months I noticed that Squeaker stopped having stuttering breaths or stopping breathing while she slept. Of the years they had become less and less. When I thought out it I was hearing it maybe a couple times a month, and it was always when Squeaker was ill. Which every human does. Wahooo something normal. I also started to be able to use the humidifier in the house without Squeaker's breathing getting worse.
      Today. Today I took Squeaker to the ENT because she has been complaining for a sore throat for a long time. She also had a runny nose for a couple of months. It just didn't seem right to me. Well the ENT took a look with a rigid scope to see if Squeaker's vocal cords and airway were the issue. And they weren't they are perfectly normal. He thinks it's what is called an non allergen rhinitis. Which is a big way of saying her sinuses are reacting the pressure fronts and moisture changes. That means her poor nose is confused on if it is supposed to make mucus or not. He did suggest when we saw GI I next they may want to do a scope just to make sure their side of life is still in good order. Sometimes esophagus and swallowing pain can confused with throat pain. Especially when you have a little one who is still learning.
     So yup 4 years, 4 months, 17 days. Weighing it at 34 pounds and measuring 40.5 inches. That was when our first condition was resolved. My little Squeaker no longer Squeaks, and I couldn't be happier about it.