Going to Tulsa

That's right Sarah and I will be in Tulsa on Friday, April 11th through Sunday morning, April 13th. Her confirmation class from church is going to this youth christian concert/conference called Choirs of Fire and I was asked to be a chaperone. Our confirmation class is going with the area Christian youth group (this is a group made up of youth from all the youth groups from the different churches here in town).

I know that there is a concert on Friday night and then from 8:30am to 10:30pm Saturday is the conference. There is a two hour break in there somewhere. It will be at the Maybee Center. My understanding is that that is on the campus of the Oral Roberts University???? Maria?? Then on Sunday we will worship at an area church and then head home.

I don't know what kind of free time we will have but it sounds like a fun weekend. We are taking 2 small church buses and 2 vans down. I hope I know what I have gotten myself into. LOL!!

Happy Easter!!

Happy, happy Easter!! It was chilly but beautiful weather here today. We had roast, potatoes and carrots for lunch and then for supper made a brown-sugar spiral ham, scalloped potatoes and cream cheese corn. It was all very yummy!!

It was just the four of us hanging out today. Sarah, Mark and I played dominoes and I won!! Sarah says I cheat.

Hope everyone else's day was good.

Ultrasound

Well, Hannah couldn't get an appointment today for the ultrasound.

When I talked with the doctor yesterday he made it sound like they would just work her in sometime today to do it. When I called first thing this morning (they were already closed yesterday by the time I got to talk to the dr.) she said that he had only entered the order to be done as a routine ultrasound - her next available appointment is March 31st @ 8am so I scheduled it for then. Of course, Mark got back from running to the commissary and there was a message that they had a cancellation for today - however, she can't have had anything to eat, drink, smoke, chew, etc. since 10 pm the previous night. She's already been up and had eaten breakfast, hello!!! Oh, well!! We'll wait for the 31st unless they can give me the day before heads up.

If forgot - the other thing the Dr. said to do was to go ahead and stop the birth control pills because oral contraceptives can cause gall bladder problems in some people. He said it also could be the pills that are causing her nausea/vomitting - so we will stop those today as well. Hopefully it is just the pills and we'll have to find something else for her to be on.

Also, on her hearing test - I didn't explain far enough - in her right ear she hear 97% of the tones but in her left she only hear 84%. The audiologist said that 84% is still showing the slight loss but not enough to need her hearing aids. She said that with Hannah's visual impairment that if Hannah felt the need to wear the hearing aids, especially when out doing Orientation and Mobility training (learning to get around by sound/feel/w/her cane only) then she says Hannah can do that.

Some relief

Well, we went today and had Hannah's bloodwork redone. While we were at the audiologist's doing Hannah's hearing test Mark called me on the cell and said that I needed to call the doctor back. The Dr. said that her lipase levels read normal with this labwork. So we have some relief there. However, she will go for an ultrasound tomorrow to rule out a problem with her gall bladder. So, we will have to wait for those results. I am relieved at least that it isn't her pancreas.

He also asked if she had access to alcohol because he said if she drinks then that can raise her lipase levels too. Well, I explained again to him that at school she is on a closed campus and would have no access on campus. To leave campus she is chaperoned. When at home she doesn't drink and she doesn't go hang out with any kids here in town because all of her friends are at school. So, when she is home, she is home. I believe that we can safely say, 100%, that she isn't drinking.

We also got some other good news. Hannah does not need to wear hearing aids. Why you ask? Well, when Hannah was diagnosed with the hearing loss they originally did her hearing test on post (at Ft. Riley). When that came back with the hearing loss they referred us to the audiologist's to get hearing aids. When we picked the hearing aids up, she tested her hearing again and found that it had worsened from when she had the first test a month before so the Dr. recommended we have her hearing tested again on post. This time it showed it was worse than the one before also. So, the doctor did a different kind of test where Hannah would have no input and it showed that her hearing should be fine and that there were no mechanical reasons for Hannah to not be able to hear. He felt that the hearing loss could be a psychological response (probably as a result of her vision loss diagnosis and her acceptance or non-acceptance of that diagnosis). The Dr. felt that Hannah was not doing it on purpose because the "hearing loss" was pretty equal among all decibel levels in both ears. He said even with his training and with a lot of thinking about it on his part he could not have "faked" hearing loss that perfectly, hence the diagnosis that it was a psychologically induced hearing loss. Now that Hannah has had time to deal with and accept that she will eventually be blind she isn't having the hearing loss.

I am glad because this has had us worried also. There is such a form of Hannah's eye disease called Usher's Syndrome that does result in the blindness but comes with the hearing loss also and we were afraid that this is what Hannah had.

So, a little less stress for today anyway. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. I'll keep everyone posted on the ultrasound results. Hopefully nothing there.

How much more??

Sometimes I just don't understand how much one person can handle before they just explode or give up...

Let me give you a little back ground on Hannah...some of the things you may know and some you may not. I don't mean to upset anyone and this could be a VERY lengthy post, it's just I need to vent a little here and I am a little scared and a little upset.

In 2000 Hannah was diagnosed as having ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and was put on medication for that.

In October 2004 Hannah threatened to commit suicide and was hospitalized for 7 days because she told her counselor that she had a plan of how to do it. During her hospital stay she was diagnosed with depression and with a mood disorder. The depression part I understood but have never really understood what "mood disorder" meant. Anyway, she was put on medication to help. She had been on this medication up until this last November. I'll explain more in a minute on why the medication change.

In Novemer 2004 Hannah "ran away" from home. We had been going through family counseling and she was going through individual counseling. Anyway, her grades had dropped and she was "acting out" and just seemed to be an angry child.

In July 2005 is when we got the diagnosis of the Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) that is causing her to go blind. We didn't realize to what extent she was not able to see until we went for her first low vision exam. They said she probably has never had full vision but didn't know to tell anyone because she didn't know she had a problem. We realized that she had been compensating for her vision because she didn't know any different until it came to a point that she couldn't compensate anymore. Anyway, we began to realize that her grades dropping were probably due to the fact that she couldn't see. We figured that her "acting out" was because we were getting on her about her grades (she went from being an A/B student to D's/F's). Her teacher's were getting on her, etc. However, we realized that if she was struggling to see and that if she realized that something was wrong but didn't know how to tell us that this was all a part of her "acting out" also. Anyway, in October 2005 she started attending the school for the blind and finally was getting what she needed to learn with her visual impairment and she was in a smaller class setting and getting more individual help. She also is learning how to read braille, use a white cane and learning life skills as a visually impaired person. Since starting at the school things have progressively gotten much better for Hannah.

In November of 2006 is when she was diagnosed with the hearing loss and had to get hearing aids. We also go tomorrow for her annual hearing test to see if there has been any change there.

Now, all of a sudden this last November at the beginning of the month. Hannah started having some of the anger issues, acting out, etc. that she was having at the time she threatened to commit suicide. She told us that she just didn't "feel right" and was having thoughts of hurting herself again. We took her back in to the Nurse Practitioner that monitors her medications and he had us have blood work done to make sure the medication for the mood disorder was at a level that it should be to work and it was. So, he put her on an antidepressant.

Well on November 16th I got a call at work that Hannah had cut all up and down her arms and one leg with her disposable razor. Talk about scared!!! We immediately went to get Hannah and she was admitted back to the Psych ward at the hospital. To make an even longer story short - Hannah did not hurt herself enough to require medical treatment but they did change her medications and she was now diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder (this is a mood disorder - and the reason she wasn't diagnosed specifically with Bipolar in the beginning is because at the time she was diagnosed they didn't like to "label" children/adolescents with a specific mood disorder - apparently that has changed). So, the meds have been working great! Hannah has been back on track and feeling really well.

Well, on February 5th Hannah started feeling nauseated and was throwing up. We thought she had the flu as it was going around her school. I picked her up from school and brought her home. She seemed to be feeling better. She went on her ski trip then on February 12th and threw up while she was skiing (we thought it was altitude sickness brought on by her having been "sick" the week before). Well, after she came home she still continued to feel nauseous and throw up. Since she missed a week and a half of school due to being sick and her ski trip she was behind in school and was failing 4 classes. The nurse thought she was having some stress related gastrointentinal (SP?) stuff so she had the Dr. at school check her out. He thought the same thing so they put her on Zantac. That hasn't helped. We also, changed her birth control because 2 days before the throwing up started she had started a different pill and after 3 weeks of throwing up the nurse thought maybe the new pill was causing the problem. We changed her pill to a lower dose. That hasn't worked either. So, when we picked her up for Spring Break last week the nurse suggested that we get her in with her regular doctor and have him do a little more checking.

So, Friday I took her to the doctor and he checked ears, nose, throat, listened to her heart, lungs and belly. Felt her thyroid and her abdomen and didn't see or feel anything (at least not that he let on). He ordered basic lab work and then wanted x-rays of her stomach, chest and back. So, we did all that. He said that if he saw anything he would call. If I didn't hear from him and she was still throwing up to follow-up in 2 weeks.

Well, I got a call from their office today and the nurse told me that on Hannah's labs her pancreatic levels were elevated. 300 is the high end of normal and her's is at 333 (whatever they use to measure I don't know). So, they asked us to go have her lab work repeated to make sure these levels were acurate. Then the nurse asked me if there was a family history of pancreatitis or if Hannah was an alcohol user. What!!???? She is 16. She has absolutely no access to alcohol at school because she is on campus and they are chaperoned if they go off campus. She as at home on the weekends and she doesn't go anywhere with any kids here so I know she is not sneeking around drinking with any friends and I don't see her drinking at home and I'm not giving it to her. So, NO she is not an alochol user. And, no there is no family history of pancreatitis.

OK, so now I am freaked out after reading about it online and it is not a good thing. I will take her tomorrow to redo her labs but seeing as how she is still throwing up and not feeling well. I just don't believe that her labs will have changed. This is where I am scared!!

I just don't know how any one child can have so much put on her plate!!! I just keep asking why????? I know they say God doesn't give us more than we can handle but I just can't believe that he would keep handing Hannah all this crap to handle. This is where I am frustrated and need to vent!!!

Again, I apologize for this long post but I want/need to vent and I need everyone to understand how much Hannah has been given in her lot in life. I know there are people worse off than her and people out there who are dealing with more that we are dealing with in life but I still can't understand right now. Why????

Hannah is a beautiful, smart, intelligent, creative person. And as her mother I just wish I could make it all go away!!!

Mark's wood pile

Here are some pictures of my dear husband's wood pile. It just keeps on growing and growing and GROWING!! After he got done stacking some more of it today, he says he has 16 cords stacked so far and you see how much he has left to pile. We wish that we would have had half this amount of wood this year because we probably would have been able to sell it all. We did sell some but we just didn't have this much. Due to the ice storm we have an abundance of it for next year. Thank goodness we decided to buy that log splitter this year. It probably has already paid for itself!

Sarah's musical

The seventh and eighth grade vocal music class at Sarah's school put on the musical "The Adventures of Lewis and Clark" on Thursday evening. It was really cute. This is a picture of the whole group. Almost all of my other pictures didn't turn out because of the lighting issues. I am really bummed!




The picture below is Sarah playing the part of Scannon, the dog on the adventure. She is singing her solo here and I must say she did an awesome job and we heard lots of comments on how well she did. (She takes after me, thank you!!) :o)

Yummy recipe!!

I found a yummy recipe that I bought the stuff for and tried today. I'm not going to get all fancy and show pictures the way my niece, Maria, does but I will at least post it. The cool thing about it is you do all the cooking only once and it gives you 2 (yes, I said 2) 13 x 9 pans of casserole. MMMMMM!!!

Three-Cheese Kielbasa Bake

12 oz. uncooked elbow macaroni
2 lbs. kielbasa or Polish sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced
2 medium carrots, grated
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) stewed tomatoes (I would use diced next time because the stewed tomatoes were in too big of chunks and Sarah and I are not fans of tomatoes)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 carton (15 oz.) ricotta cheese
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 green onions, chopped

Cook the macaroni according to the package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown the sausage in oil over medium heat. Add the onions, zucchini, carrots and garlic; cook and stir for 5-6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Drain the macaroni.

In each of two greased 13 x 9 baking dishes, layer a fourth of the macaroni and meat sauce. Combine egg and ricotta cheese; spoon a fourth over sauce (I used a rubber spatula and kinda spread it gently over the sauce so it wasn't in clumps). Sprinkle with a fourth of the cheddar and mozarella. Repeat layers. Top with green onions.

Cool one casserole; cover and freeze for up to 2 months. Cover and bake the remaining casserole at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 2 casseroles (8-10 servings each).



I suppose that you could add mushrooms, bell peppers, yellow squash, green chiles or whatever you wanted to. This is kinda like a mixed up lasagna. It is very yummy!!! Enjoy!!!