My B*tch Hat

I wanted to say a special hello to everyone who's popped by for a visit. Welcome and I'm so very glad you came to read my ramblings. You're all added to my blog roll so I'll be avidly reading what's going on in your lives and I'm quite excited about it. Giving a shout out to Alli, Cora, Beth, Jill, JD, Ronni and Daria. Please kick me if I forgot someone new. And all those who've traveled here from Renee's blog (Toni), hello and hug that sweet lady for me.

And everyone who visits needs to do a happy dance because today is the day that Deb Lattimore finished her chemo. I imagine she's doing a jig for finally being done! How you do a jig after chemo escapes me but I know she's got to be thrilled!

Amazing how time ticks by here. It's May 1st. I'll talk about how great the month of May is another time.

I need to put on my bitch hat for a few minutes.

We went to the pediatric urologist today with Steffie and got good news. The doc thinks the repeated UTIs are just "nuisance" infections. Most kids don't get them like this at her age but he ruled out heredity, vitamin or food issues, or functional issues (these are proper voiding habits, cleanliness, etc.) He doesn't believe it's a physical problem either. We liked him - he was great. But his assistant and me didn't hit it off too well.

He took her history and I came armed with test results, sonogram results and records. He praised me for that - I learned this exercise from BC - come prepared. Anyway, he asks me if we had VCUG results (this is the cathether with the dye test that I've been resisting since it's not recommended nor will they sedate her for the test). I said no, we don't have them. And he asks why not. I explained I couldn't find a place to do the test with her sedated. He tells me it's not painful. I tell him it's traumatic, especially at her age. He shakes his head at me, looking at me like I don't have a fricking clue. I should have pulled off my shirt, showed him my chest, and told him what I know about pain. I hope he had really bad indigestion at dinner. And lunch too.

So I'm getting my hackles up. And thinking this asshole doesn't have a clue what he's talking about unless him and his urology resident buddies stick cathether tubes up their wee wees for fun. I plainly said, "I am her mother and I decide what is done to her." He beat feet out of there. Strange that the urologist confirmed our suspicions, also said he realized the test was traumatic, that the test WAS NOT necessary and we had made a good choice. Two out of three doctors said it wasn't needed.

So there, you weenie resident. You were MY bitch today.

The plan is to do a renal scan of Stef in the next week or so to check for kidney damage. The doctor believes there's no damage to her kidneys but he wants to be sure. She hasn't had fevers or pain in her kidneys. This is just to rule it out because a treatment plan would be different. Right now, she's on her main antibiotics and then a maintenance dose for a year.

I also addressed her vitamins and probiotics to help restore her bladder's lining and prevent yeast infections, boost her immunity, etc. He said that there is nothing scientifically proven, no scientific studies showing the benefits. Blah to that. He was so nice in comparison to his assistant that I kept my bitch hat under the chair. If probiotics don't work, then why are they used quite frequently with IBS and colitis patients after all else has failed?

I've been giving her yogurt to help combat this on the advice of my dear Vicky, who is VERY SOON going to be a post-college, ready-to-practice-after-her-internship nutritionist. I value her advice for my whole family as well as her daffodil growing gift! Alternative treatments do work and are important. Especially taking the very best supplements if you need them. We purchased New Chapter vitamins for Steffie called "Every Kid." These are naturally derived, as opposed to the chemical and synthetic vitamins found elsewhere. I'm taking the woman's variety and found them at a place called vitacost.com for easily 25-30 percent off. Less is never more when purchasing vitamins. I'm striking a balance between her maintenance antibiotics and adjusting her diet to remove processed sugars. Stef had a COW today when I explained this - she's mourning her fruit rollups as I type this.

Mom is taking them too. If we both become Tiggers, bouncing around with unlimited energy, I'll let you know :)

Swine flu. I have to talk about this. We, most of us, have compromised immune systems and while we don't need to be panic monkeys, we do need to be careful. Tell me if this equation makes sense. Don't worry but they're closing a nearby high school until further notice. Don't worry but an elementary school in Laurel is closed for 14 days. Why 14 days? 14 days is alot the last month of school.

Limit your contact with other people, limit shopping or let others do it for you. Hang out on your own front porch, in your backyard and around home. Let your loved ones do your grocery shopping during the least busiest times if you can. Practice the cleanliness routines we all know to prevent germs spreading. WE DON'T NEED THIS NOW!!! All of us have weakened immune systems so please, dear friends, be careful. While this hasn't proven to be as deadly as the outbreak in Mexico, it's still dangerous for people like us who are in the process of chemo, rads, or recovering.

I want to rant for one more second about how I wanted to go back to church this weekend. I'm avoiding it for now, despite not wanting to, because I need to be careful. I want to see what happens around here, how they handle it, where it spreads, etc. I live directly where the sniper attacks were a number of years ago. These folks who run the state aren't the most adept at handling crisis situations.

Hugs to you all.

Bitch hat is off :)