Archives for Medical Maladies category
Posted on Aug 17th, 10 at
11:30 am under Medical Maladies
17
Aug
We have been battling ear problems these last few days.
For the first (and maybe second time), one of my kids has an ear infection. Xavier came down with a fever and an earache early last week and is just now coming out of it.
8 years and 4 kids, and this is the first time that we have ever had to deal with this. Luckily, though not for him, it is Xavier and he is able to share what he is going though, understand what to do and not to do and he has been getting through it.. I can’t imagine having a small baby with an ear infection… it has been awful for him especially when his ear was as its worst and he was waking from pain.
When we just thought that we were done, Khéna had a very wakefull night with a sore ear… though the pain was gone in the morning, he has been with fever for two days now. I am not too sure what exactly is happening with him, but hopefully the pain won’t come back again and the fever will just subside.
On the subject of ears and Khéna, we have been wondering for the last little while if Khéna has trouble hearing. He doesn’t seem to hear us often when we talk and makes us repeat often. He doesn’t hear when we call him from another room, or talk from behind him. He has been asking us to look at him when we talk so that either the sound is coming from in front or he can see our lips when we talk and will often say that he didn’t hear something.
This is pretty new and it seems to have been escalating quickly in these last few weeks so a few days ago I called a specialist and have an appointment set up for in a few weeks.
I am looking forward to understanding more what is happening with him and am hopeful that it is something temporary.
I would love to hear stores from others who have seen this before or have any insight…
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Posted on Nov 23rd, 09 at
12:56 pm under Alternative Parenting, Awareness, Medical Maladies
23
Nov
I listen to a local (Montreal) talk radio station on almost a daily basis… when I am cleaning or doing things around the kitchen or cooking…
The H1N1 coverage and all the hype has been really getting to me though so when I heard one of the hosts introducing her next guest to talk about vaccines I rolled my eyes but decided to listen in anyway… what I heard surprised me. Not what was being said of course, but that he was saying it on the air, on a show who’s host is completely vaccine crazy usually…
After hearing the interview, I needed to know more about this guy and I really want to get my hands on his book on of these days.
Dr. Shiv Chopra is a former Health Canada scientist and “whistleblower”. He has a M. Sc and PhD in Microbiology and a degree in veterinary medicine and has been the recipient of many academic rewards including a fellowship of the WHO…
The interview started as normal but then he took over explaining H1N1 and how not dangerous it is and then went on to talk about vaccination in general… pretty much stating how it is a 50-60 year human experiment, how they have never been proven safe or effective, how they cause autoimmune diseases and just don’t work…
Here is the interview… it is really worth the listen!
(I have to say that I love how she sets up the interview and then is completely blindsided… live radio at its finest) I wish I had the second part also but they didn’t put it up… but it was him answering questions from the host and callers…
If you are interested in hearing more of what he has to say, look around his website, there is a lot of great info, I especially like the interview video from the Pimento Report which explains a lot of what he has done and what happened with his career…
Since hearing him, I have definitely been keeping an eye on what he has been saying.
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Posted on Nov 5th, 09 at
10:04 am under Family Life, Feline prowls, Medical Maladies
5
Nov
Both my grandma and Nala came out of surgery well…
My grandma’s surgery went very well, but it took a bit longer than thought for her to wake up. She was transferred to the ICU after a few hours and will be getting a room either today or tomorrow. My uncle was able to see her yesterday and though she wasn’t talking much, she was all there and just need to recuperate and recover now… He’ll go see her again this morning so later on I will have more news.
Nala’s surgery went perfectly and we picked her up after our Chiro appointment last night, and she was completely awake and happy to see us… though she was walking a bit funny for the first few minutes home she was herself and was starving even though they had given her a small meal there… we fed her and she ate a day’s worth of food without hesitation… She isn’t complaining at all but is very cuddly and is giving all of us tons of cuddles and kisses… we just have to bring her back in two weeks to get the stitches removed.
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Posted on Nov 4th, 09 at
1:33 pm under Family Life, Feline prowls, Medical Maladies
4
Nov
My grandmother is an amazing woman. She is 86 and full of life. She goes out with friends, still works occasionally, loves to gamble and gets her hair and nails done every week (she hasn’t washed her own hair since she was in her teens.. lol) If you want to call her and get her at home, your best bet is to call after midnight… she goes to sleep around 3am every night after completing her crossword puzzle in bed… but don’t call her before 10am!
I don’t get to see her as often as I would like since she and my uncle both smoke in their home, and with my allergies and asthma I can’t visit her. But I do try to talk to her on the phone often and stop by her house when I am in the area even if it just to stay outside for a few minutes… I also love having her here at my home.
Here are some pics that I took last week when she and my mom came over…
(striking a pose and showing off her low cut jeans)
(With my mom and Khéna)
Last month, my Grandmother found out that she had stomach cancer. It is large and aggressive and the diagnosis could have gone either way. She went in for a scan 3 weeks ago and was told that they would call her within 2-3 weeks with either an appointment with the specialist (which would mean that it was too advanced/ had spread / was not operable… or with an appointment for a few more tests at the hospital which would mean prep for surgery. I was a nerve wracking week but she finally got the call to go to the hospital for tests and Surgery was scheduled for today. If she hadn’t been called for surgery she was told that she would have had only another 6 months… I can’t imagine her going so soon…
I’ll find out in a few hours how it went…
Another family member is also in Surgery today… we brought Nala to the vet this morning to be spayed… the boys were sad to find out that she was going to be having surgery and that they would be cutting her skin, Xavier was in tears, scared that she won’t come back… I think it helped that they brought her with me this morning and that we will all be picking her up after the Chiro appointment tonight…
So, today we are thinking happy thought that everything will go well for both of our loved ones…
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Posted on May 31st, 09 at
10:09 pm under Medical Maladies, Misc Ramblings, The Kids
31
May
Last night Simon was called into work… he wasn’t even on call but on Saturday morning there was an electrical problem and an electrician died and there was a small fire in his building…They had to transfer the system and the people that were on call were called in and needed to sleep so Simon had to go….
This morning he arrived at 9:20 and we left soon after for a friends birthday party at an indoor play area… we got there at about 11:15 and the boys disappeared in the tunnels and slides… Khéna didn’t want to go so Simon watched over him as he went around the arcade games… I was talking to another mom and I turned around to see Simon with Khéna in his arms and full of blood… I tool him and headed to the reception desk and asked for help… his face and shirt and hands were really covered in blood and looked for what was bleeding and found a long and deep gash on his forehead… Simon explained that he was just running along and feel and hit his head on one of the arcade games…
The girls at the reception desk called 911 for an ambulance… we applied pressure and cleaned up most of the blood and the gash stopped bleeding… the police arrived before the ambulance with a small emergency kit and stayed until the ambulance arrived, and as we thought, a trip to the emergency room was needed…
Khéna cried and screamed not wanting to go on the gurney… but the minute we got in the ambulance he was OK… looking out the back window and naming the things that he saw… trucks, cars, trees… it felt good to see him a bit more calmed…
We got to the emergency room and went right into Triage… the nurse asked a few questions and then came to the dreaded question… “are his vaccines up to date?” To which I responded that we don’t vaccinate… she said “OK” and then whispered… “I don’t vaccinate either”… and then she warned me that they might push the tetanus vaccine but that it was my choice…She said that the wait would be a few hours and they put a wet compress on his forehead so that the wound would stay soft and clean…
I got Khéna into a Wheelchair because he was heavy and a bit groggy… and went downstairs to get something to drink and get him a stuffed animal at the gift shop… he was happy and choose a stuffed cat that he has almost not let go of since…
I was able to keep him in the wheelchair for about 2 hours until he decided he had energy again and was wanting to walk… and then we walked and walked all over the small portion of the emergency room while we waited… about 2 1/2 hours later he finally sat down and nursed a bit…a few minutes later he was asleep… and they called… we went and waited in the suture room until the doctor came… when he got the he again asked the same questions.. what happened? how old is he? are his Vaccines up to date? I answered that we don’t vaccinate and he just said Ok… and left it at that… he looked at the gash and decided that glue was the best thing for it.. a nurse came in to help hold him while the doctor glues his wound and within a minute it was done and though he cried a bit because he was scared, he let them do what they had to do and the minute it was done he was OK…
I got him ready and headed outside with my little Khéna back to normal besides the wound on his forehead… I called Simon who had since gone to the house of the friends who were having the birthday with the boys. and they came and picked us up… we were at the hospital for more that 5 hours…
We just got home and he is asleep on me…and now we all are heading to bed… What a long day…
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Posted on Mar 19th, 09 at
8:27 am under Medical Maladies, Photos, The Kids
19
Mar
I have been thinking about showing the progression of Khéna’s haemangioma for a while now and after a conversation with Annie the other day, I thought it would be a good time… ( I know that I would have liked to see something simular when I saw that he had one)
First… what is it? (you might not imagine how many times I have had to answer this out in public)
Infantile haemangioma (American spelling ‘hemangioma’) describes a benign (non-cancerous) condition affecting cutaneous blood vessels. It is also known as proliferative haemangioma because it is due to proliferating endothelial cells; these are the cells that line blood vessels.
Infantile haemangiomas are proliferative lesions that usually develop shortly after birth. They are distinct from vascular malformations, which are usually present at birth and are less common.
Over 80% of infantile haemangiomas occur on the head and neck area. They grow to 80% of maximum size in the first three months and most stop growing at about 5 months. However, they may keep growing for up to 18 months.
After that, they undergo regression or involution. This can take as long as 3-10 years. Nearly all flat infantile haemangiomas eventually involute and disappear without treatment. However, regression of bulky haemangiomas tends to be incomplete, and they may leave an irregular atrophic (thin) scar or anetoderma (a dented scar) in at least 50% of cases.
From here…
though you don’t see it, he had an even bigger one under his hair but it grew quicker and faded completely by 18 months…
(you can see all of his pics here)
3 days old (no sign of it)
2 weeks old (you start seeing it)
1 month
2 months
3 months
from 5 months to about 14 months it was at it’s most intense… it was really thick and looked like it could burst….
(this is at about a year… it was more raised than this for a few months)
From 13 months to 18 months it pinked up…
14 months
15 months
At 18 months the middle became flesh coloured and it was no longer as raised and squishy…
second birthday… you can see it is fading more…
2 years 3 months….
3 1/2 years
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Posted on Jun 10th, 08 at
8:52 am under Medical Maladies
10
Jun
I have been coughing for more than a week now… I first had a cold and then the coughing started.. I am pretty sure it is bronchitis.. something that I used to get a few times a year… when I was younger I was dragged to the doctor only for him to say that there was nothing to be done… or give antibotics which couldn’t help anyway because it is most often caused by a virus… So I am waiting it out… days are getting easier and I am coughing less but nights have been hard… the coughing has been waking me up and my lungs hurt and all the muscles around my torso hurt… At least no one else has it though…
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Posted on Jun 3rd, 08 at
10:10 pm under Medical Maladies, Misc Ramblings
3
Jun
WASHINGTON — A consumer advocacy group called on the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to ban the use of eight artificial colourings in food because the additives may cause hyperactivity and behaviour problems in some children.
Controlled studies conducted over three decades have shown that children’s behaviour can be worsened by some artificial dyes, the Center for Science in the Public Interest said. The group noted that the British government is successfully pressing food manufacturers to switch to safer colorings.
Over the years, the FDA has consistently disputed the centre’s assertion. The agency’s Web site contains a 2004 brochure that asks the question: “Do additives cause childhood hyperactivity?”
“No. Although this hypothesis was popularized in the 1970s, well-controlled studies conducted since then have produced no evidence that food additives cause hyperactivity or learning disabilities in children,” the agency said.
Julie Zawisza, an FDA spokeswoman, said Tuesday that colour additives undergo safety reviews before approval for marketing and that samples of each artificial colouring are tested. She said the agency reviewed one of the studies that the centre cites in calling for a ban.
“(We) didn’t find a reason to change our conclusions that the ingredients are safe for the general population,” Ms. Zawisza said. “Also note that the European Food Safety Agency has a similar view as FDA’s.”
Dyes are used in countless foods and are sometimes used to simulate the colour of fruits or vegetables. The additives are particularly prevalent in the cereals, candies, sodas, and snack foods pitched to kids.
“The purpose of these chemicals is often to mask the absence of real food, to increase the appeal of a low-nutrition product to children, or both,” said the center’s executive director, Michael Jacobson. “Who can tell the parents of kids with behavioural problems that this is truly worth the risk?”
The center’s petition asks the FDA to require a warning label on foods with artificial dyes while it mulls the group’s request to ban the dyes outright.
The colorings the centre wants banned are: Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Orange B, Red 3, and Yellow 6.
Link
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