Perfect Attendance Award

 



(photo history: Another random flower picture from the summer and my flowers. And cute Lantern)

Earlier in the year J. , For you new Readers, J. is my son and goes by several names on this blog- (Jaden; Jader;, J.dee; kid; or "That Kid!" told me that he wanted to get the award that they give for perfect attendence.

Remember that growing up? The stoic kids who came to Templeview elementary with pink eye or the person brave enough to endure a full day with pneumonia or something earned an award!

But times have changed Readers! There is Ebola in Africa, and nurses flying on planes or something. I haven't been able to read the papers or watch the recent news. But I am pro- washing your hands if that is what we were voting for on the 4th.

 



(I am pro helmets too, Readers. J. has been told to wear one especially when 'messing' around on his bike. I have a family member with a TBI under his belt and it wasn't pretty. From my cousins point of view- well, just wear a dumb helmet even if it ruins your hair or looks stupid to you.

I have a friend with a cousin that is paralyzed from the waist down from a bike accident. And hearing about how his life changed..... ugh. Sad.


Not being able to think cause of TBIs or Concussions is PAINFUL. Takes weeks to get over. Makes you blog about stuff and mispell and on and on.

And the helmet could save your life.

I reminded J. of Kevin Pearce and his Love Your Brain T-shirt I bought him to remind him to wear the HELMET! His choice, though. His body. When yours doesn't work ya kinda get

 In all seriousness, as someone who is immune compromised, I live in "pre-cautionary world" all the time. So really it was/is flu season we were worried about here in the homestead in I.F., Idaho. Or I was really worried about. The other stuff is a lot of commotion. Well, maybe I was a little concerned about that

 enterovirus.

(my spell checker is even behind, it wanted to correct the enterovirus spelling...)

*I had my eye on Entero when  it landed where the pilgrims banked back east. And sure enough it crossed the nation like wild fire. I hate to brag. yeh, okay I love that i called it on this one.

Even the hospital sent me an email a whole week before a note was sent home to the kids at J's elementary that there were confirmed cases at the hospital. Which is where they give me the Entyvio Infusions. For you new Readers that is the new med. that went through three clinical trials, is made in Japan, and came out in the spring. Just in time. Well, I have been waiting three years for it.

So due to my hyper vigilant, wacked immune system, I am prepared for fighting infeciton. And I figured we had a pretty good regimen in place for it all. The Plan?

just disrobe the minute you get home, burn your clothes in a can out back, and quarantine yourself 21 days to ensure you have T.V. Elementary off the body.

(*this random flower picture to liven up a blog post, still looks this good and it's been cold in I.F. At least to me. have chills. and fever even with Tylenol on board. NOT good. It is two hours til doctors get in. And mine gave a script of an anti-biotic the pharm won't fill cause I am allergic to an ingredient in the Z pack. I waited two days to get into him. And have NOT wanted to go to the ER but I think I don't have enough cortisol to handle this infection. Or the injuries before it. Yes, I was our truck was hit with me in it. On top of all this......  Readers, I might have to sign off and heal for awhile. J. told me last night he'd blog a post.  Sorry no photos going forward unless Padre or J. can do it. I just can't.)

 



Pretty simple, eh? kidding. I did have him wear his clothes only once which made for a ton of laundry.

I do use the old fashioned way of sanitizing my hands by washing my hands in hot water while singing 'happy birthday' or the alphabet in my head- twice.

Oh, And I put up a sign that says: Wash your Hands, Love Mom. So when J. needed nagging and I wasn't there, it did it for me.
However, if I heard him leave the bathroom faster than the Alphabet after the toilet flushed, I'd holler from the back yard, or another person's house:

"That wasn't the full 30 seconds!"

 



 So you can see I wasn't too overly concerned or paranoid.

 Until tonight. More on that in another post.

Even when I saw employees leaving his school coughing, clutching their stomach, and bags under their eyes, I just sent Clorox wipes with J. to school and didn't sweat it.
When I saw employees leave

But here is my conversation with him when he mentioned the award a couple moons ago....

ME: "They still have that award? They should be handing out awards to the kids who are smart enough to stay home when they are sick!"

J:

I forgot if he said anything to that.

Either way, he was knocked out of the running for the award after the FB season ended.

Football.

 

 

(Thank you, 1st Entyvio Infusion, you got me to this game. And he played great. They all did.)

 

Not Facebook.

Have to clarify now that I re-opened that site in order to help me stay on top of when practices and class reunions happen.

er, uh. Actually,

I'm lying.

Okay, here is the truth, Readers.

 I had to fire up my social networking so that I when I write my app. to Go-Pro on why they should sponsor me, so I can get a free camera to document my experiences for you Readers, I have a clear following on all the social net sites. Problem was that I was just hanging out here, in my comfy space where I have my small following and there is no pressure to be anything but me.

Not that I don't care what others are doing- I do. More than you know. I just have been too sick to take it on. I'm sorry. I have missed a lot of people. Good news is that I have fought this disease while I was away. I still am. Just now with a new deck of cards (i.e. Entyvio) And I had to climb a mountain, go back down, climb it again, and sit up there like a stuck hiker on Everest without enough oxygen. (Analogy to the prednisone doses I have been on, subsequent infections, so on and on and on. blah, blah. Read my blog for all the details; it's in here. If you are bored and want to read about it or are a scientist and want to research or just the common person who reads blogs in your spare time.)

 

 



Another reason I want that Go Pro is so I can "be" with J. when my body can't get there. I
want to see what j. does when I can't be with him on his rides or his games if I can't make it. i miss that. I want to know.

And of course there would be informational footage from Padre on vast subjects and just the daily ins and outs of being a stay-at-home daughter.

He is pretty much needing to be more than blogged about, Readers!

And it would mean I wouldn't have to type so much. I have kitten paws due to arthritis at times. It just would streamline the journal of my life. It would show some of you Readers how to climb the areas I have gone. maybe.

As a patient, I have searched the net for information on my situation and how to ease it. Entyvio is so new there is NOTHING out there except people on forums saying: "I had my first infusion." I need details and I am guessing some of you want them too.

And I want to be more than a #.
Not hashtag. I mean NUMBER. Clarifying is important!

I don't a statistic on that whispery paper that comes with your medicine about all the side effects.

- I am the one letting you know what the "side effects" are. And if it was taped... imagine it!

Whoa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This is looking like an application to Go-Pro or something!



I want to come back to this subject, of getting back on FB in a second because I have been flooded with the kindest people sending wishes my way.  I went to school with some of you, met you in the past twenty years or so, or am your neighbor.. 

Thank you. Seriously. Folks,  I am still here, have been here, and you know where you can find me if in doubt. Or I don't make it to a class reunion.

Okay- where was I? And why am I writing when I have a cough that cuts like a sharp knife to the chest? Oh, yeh,

Back to winning awards, I mean  NOT winning them.

So I was talking about J finishing up strong with FB.  He gave his all, Readers. I know because he came home with the bruises to prove it. And he was satisfied. That is the biggest thing I wanted for him this year playing. I had no idea how he would respond to losses, etc. They were undefeated for most of their young football playing lives. Through a gazillion flag football games a year and so on until Grid Kid (I actually was excited for them to get to the real deal and now I want to rewind to flag football days. wah! Can anyone say: "I really cringe when I hear a concussion as two players spear each other like rams on top of a mountain." ?

So, despite losing to Rigbyin the play offs, he felt good about it. I did a lot of praying for that kid while he played. When he suited up, I had to shove butterflies down. And I had to live with not being able to watch him in person. Because he went up against gargantuan, purposely Sasquatch Bred, 6th grade boys, it was a rough year.

*really nauseated right now. don't know if I can finish.

whew. He was happy to get back to this:

Picture history: me in the Adirondack chair watching him do his thing on his bike. Which is climbing the curb with a front wheel hop or something. Where is the helmet????????????


So he started riding again, and the cold/allergy season in Idaho hit and his asthma went berserk. Great.

An annoying hack got worse and it landed him in the Dr.'s office last week. Thankfully it was Halloween and he only missed partying. Bummer, eh? Then it lasted all weekend. And he had to miss ANOTHER day. DARE day so we were sorta okay home work wise. But for sure he was out of the running for any awards for Perfect Attendance. I need to check if they even have it. Due to the entero virus letter the hospital sent out, they may have amended the award.

 In order to win he would have  had to implement a haz mat suit to school. Since school started kids were coughing, their noses were running, and then a stomach bug went around the school, all within the month of September.

I get the inside scoop cause an employee at his elementary school talked to me one day. And after school the person came home completely exhausted and coughing. Poor Person!

"Kids are coughing, they have runny noses. And now a stomach bug is going around."

 I sent J. to school with some Lysol wipes for his teacher. And I have to admit I was pretty proud that my ultra exuberance with laundry made it so we got through Sept. unscathed.

However I was a bit extreme. I made him go to school in his play clothes. Then change out of them the minute he came home, and I sprayed him with Lysol when he walked in. kidding.



Actually, I did have him wear his clothes once and I laundered them. Yeh, I know. A lot of laundry. But we didn't get sick! yay!! Until he got sick. How could a kid win the award with the whole enterovirus dealio goin on?

heck, I got emails from the hospital and then the school sent home a letter that confirmed cases of enterovirus. But, like I said, we somehow made it through the initial illnesses.

When I went to the same elementary as J. now goes to, I have to admit I was in awe of the kids who won the Perfect Attendance Award. I'd had my fair share of pneumonia, etc. -missed school.
But now, things have changed and I think there should be this award:

(uh, this one he fell off. Where is that dang helmet, Kid?)

 

 "If you're Sick, and You Stayed Home, Thank You!"

 

I have to admit I was jealous of those who who could stoicly came to school with bronchitis and pink eye and didn't blink an eye when they threw up their cheerios in Mrs. Harrington's 1st grade class room.

(I can't eat cheerios because of this traumatic experience due to sitting at the front of the classroom and such close proximity to the kid going up to tell the teach-

 

insert puking emoticon here.

 

Yup, kids back then got sick and ya just weathered it out. Today, same thing. Unless the day care providers make the parents keep the kids home if they have a fever or green sno; snho; sss--

 

The stuff that comes out of kids' noses that Kleenex is needed, and a ten foot pole,  I can't say it without the gag reflex initiating itself, Readers!

 

Sorry if I ruined your breakfast. 

**This post is getting shoved off and into the sphere without anything else. Gotta get an anti-biotic on board so I can get better.
Gosh, I hope it looks good.

More later,