according.to.kim

Strange virus

I started coughing Thursday evening (Nov 5). By morning, I knew I was too ill to go to work. For the first few days I kept thinking 'this is a really bad cold'. I was coughing and sniffling and feeling very tired, but had no fever whatsoever. Basically, I thought cough + fever = flu, so I must not have the flu. But I felt like crap! Much worse than a cold. Even a bad cold doesn't drain my energy like this.

I didn't go to work on Monday. Monday evening I searched "H1N1 no fever" and learned that a third of cases have no fever. What?! News to me. Tuesday morning, I was still too sick to go to work and was starting to think I may actually have the flu. I was feeling so fatigued -- even after sleeping 10 or 11 hours every night for five nights. But still no fever -- and I am VERY happy about that! Fever and shaking chills are the worst. I should add that I haven't had any body aches or GI symptoms either, and I'm thankful for that as well.

Strangely, my chest hurt a little Tuesday morning, like prickly shooting pains, but just for a minute. I thought I won't worry about this unless it happens again, but when I mentioned it to my sister-in-law, a public health nurse, she thought I should get it checked out since I've had pneumonia before. I agreed, so I went to the medi clinic on S. Albert and had a chest x-ray Tuesday evening. My lungs look fine, but I'm glad I went anyway. Better safe than sorry. The doctor said I have flu symptoms anyway.

Today was the sixth day of my flu, or whatever it is, and I feel the same as I did the past five days. So, at this point, I don't think I'll be going to work until Monday. Even if I do feel a little better tomorrow or Friday, I don't want to spread these germs.

I can't help but wonder if it's H1N1. First, there's the no-fever thing. Second, I think my kids had H1N1 in June -- when there was an outbreak at nearby schools and no other flu virus was circulating here in Regina, as far as I know -- so if they don't catch what I have right now, then I think it must be the same thing. And how could they not catch it if they're not immune? It seems impossible to keep my germs away from them 100% in this small house (I can't stay in my bedroom all day!). Plus, things like this happen: I'll cough into the crook of my arm and then two seconds later, with no warning, a child is burying her head into my sleeve right where I coughed.

Anyway, so far, so good. Madeline has a bit of cough and sniffles, but everyone seems quite healthy otherwise. I hope they stay healthy!

Highlights of the week

• celebrating (Neil's) Grandma Louise's 94th birthday at Weisshaar's on Monday evening. It was nice to see Louise and everyone who was there. I think she's doing very well for 94! Also, I was pleased to get some good photos and the cake was heavenly! Angel food cake with a wonderful lemon glaze icing, topped with vanilla ice cream, and fresh strawberries and saskatoons. Best. Dessert. Ever. IMHO
• hearing Dr. Abdulhadi (Nephrologist) tell me I'm fine. I was actually doing a pretty good job of not worrying about this appointment (I was, really! at least until the receptionist led me to the examining room and placed a box of tissues in front of me. Why would she do that?! Sheesh! Yes, Kleenex-induced anxiety -- perhaps I'm a little fragile!), but it was still such a great relief to hear that my most recent lab results came back normal (well, almost all normal).*
• enjoying the summery weather. I love sunshine!
• watching the girls in their outdoor swimming lessons Friday morning (Sophia and Bronwyn at 9:45, Madeline at 10:35, and Georgia at 11:05). It's no fun being stuck at work while the rest of my family goes to the pool every morning! I'm glad I'm able to go twice anyway (both Fridays). Unfortunately, Madeline ducked out of her lesson half way through because she wasn't feeling well, and then laid on the concrete on a towel, covered by a towel, the rest of the morning. Both Georgia and Madeline (and now Sophia, as of late Sunday night) had a bit of fever on the weekend. Only Sophia is complaining about ear pain.
• taking Sophia to her orthodontist appointment and having it go exceedingly well in terms of Sophia's mood and cooperation throughout -- thanks to Bronwyn being there with us. I know her presence helped immensely! Sophia has an underbite (front and one side) and she'll start treatment next March.**
• taking the girls to Play in the Park Day (sponsored by Regina Downtown BID) on Friday afternoon, and meeting my Mom there, too (she happened to be in the city). The girls got some autographs from Roughriders (including Georgia's favourite, Hugh Charles -- favored because he does back flips) and had their faces painted. We enjoyed watching some demos such as belly dancing, hula hooping(?), watermelon helmet making (only in SK, heh), and Meihua martial arts. Sophia was delighted to keep one of the watermelon helmets that had been prepared the night before. We also enjoyed getting free hot dogs (good ones from The Frank Cart) for making a donation to the food bank.
• ordering another Blurb book made from my blog entries. I hadn't worked on one since last November, and I'm not even sure why I did this weekend (it certainly wasn't on my to-do list) but I impulsively started working on Volume 7 (May - August 2006) Friday evening. I finished up Sunday morning and ordered the book. The process is rather tedious for various reasons, but I kind of enjoyed doing it this weekend and I look forward to doing another (good thing since there will be 10 more volumes to the end of 2009). It is satisfying to have those memories printed in hard copy.
• taking the girls swimming at Dunnet Regional Park Saturday afternoon, along with L&B and the girls' Grandma Donna. It was a hot day, so a dip in the pool was perfect. Sophia enjoyed doing flips off the diving board -- without a life jacket in the deep end! This was both a 'yikes!' and 'my-baby-is-growing-up' moment for me. Madeline enjoyed jumping off the diving board, too, but with a life jacket -- thank goodness! Georgia is much more tentative in the water and she didn't want me to let go of her for a second, but eventually was more relaxed (and proud!) when I showed her she could actually stand up on her own at the end of the pool.
• seeing Sherlock... Neil's parents called Saturday morning to tell us he wasn't doing very well; he wasn't interested in eating or drinking much and didn't have enough energy to go for his usual walk with Lou... so, after that, it was just good to see Sherlock -- and see him get up and eat and drink a little -- when we arrived in Avonlea Saturday afternoon. We brought Sherlock home that evening and took him to the vet Sunday morning. An x-ray revealed three large tumors in his chest, so it was a sad weekend for us. Lots of tears have been shed already, and the hardest part is yet to come.
• having a couple quiet hours at home on Sunday while the girls went to a movie (Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs) with Laurel and Brownyn. They enjoyed the movie and I enjoyed some much-needed silence and time to plow through some paperwork.
• knocking 10 things off my to-do list on Sunday, including backing up my photos to an external hard drive (the one I keep in my office at work). I hadn't done this backup for seven months and I'm glad to have it updated. (I also have automated frequent backup to an EHD that sits next to my computer.)

*As mentioned previously, my doctor sent my past lab results to a nephrologist for a second look. He subsequently ordered more blood and urine tests, including a 24-hour urine volume. Dr. Abdulhadi (a very nice man, by the way) had the results before my appointment with him on July 22. Right away he said, "this will be a very short visit because you're fine." It was great to hear that right off the bat! Then he showed me that everything came back normal except one thing: Creatinine Clearance -- mine at 125; normal range 75 to 114 for women. He called this "slightly elevated". Essentially, this is the same thing as the low eGFR (58) revealed by two prior blood tests. Anyway, the doctor implied it was nothing to worry about considering everything else is normal. He made a point of showing me that he wrote "ALL NORMAL" on my file. :)

**She'll get a palatal expander (in place for 6-8 months; not removable) and head gear (to be worn evenings and overnight). She's taking this very well considering she gets a bit upset at the thought of braces (which likely won't happen until she's about 14). I know the expander and head gear will be awful for Sophia, and even painful at times (as with most ortho treatments; I know all too well), and I do wish she didn't need this at all, but given the circumstances I'm very happy about these developments in orthodontics. They say expanders work very well on a growing child. I wish I had had that treatment rather than surgery on my lower jaw. Apparently, they rarely do lower jaw reduction surgery anymore because it doesn't work most of the time. I'm not surprised; my bite isn't much better than it was pre-surgery. Now, when surgery is required (which is less often due to the use of palatal expanders), it involves the upper jaw. In any case, I really hope Sophia will not need surgery.

June 12 of 12

A quick look at my June 12 of 12 photo grid -- the influenza edition of my 12 of 12 pages. The girls had had the flu that week and I was desperately trying to avoid catching it, or at least minimize symptoms if I did get it (see the second last photo), plus H1N1 was in the news having been declared a global pandemic the day before. Nevertheless, June 12 was a lovely day. The sun was shining, everyone was feeling well, and we were all at home all day (I had the day off work and there was no school; we would've kept our kids home anyway). The girls enjoyed having their cousin here, too; they hadn't seen her for a whole week as she had been at home with the flu as well. The four of them played outside all day.

I know I've said this before, but I can't help saying it again: I love doing these pages! I enjoy the process and I love having a slice of life recorded each month.

Kidney report

I'll start off by saying that I'm very relieved that my renal ultrasound revealed no problems. No, extremely relieved. (I was fretting a bit, especially today before my appointment.) Also, as I mentioned last week, my urinalysis was normal. My doctor said today that there was no blood or protein, and creatinine was normal, which is good. (I think she said it was 93; note: the UA was a spot test, not 24-hour.)

Of course, there is still the mystery of my consistently low eGFR of 58 (twice in three months). The threshold for investigation is <60, but it should really be closer to 90 or more. My doctor does not think any further action is required after seeing a normal UA and ultrasound, but she's still going to send my results to a nephrologist for a second opinion.

So, at this point, there's nothing else to do but STOP worrying about it. And I seriously need to do that or else I'm going to need therapy!

I had never really thought about my kidneys before this, but I will certainly not take them for granted from now on. As my doctor said today, they're pretty important.

April 12 of 12

Glimpses of our Easter Sunday, set up for my April 12 of 12 scrapbook page. I love doing these. So simple.

This evening is strangely quiet. We had no Brownies, Sparks, or dance class due to the Easter break. Sophia and Georgia (and Sherlock) are in Avonlea, and poor Madeline is sick with a fever and cough. She fell asleep on the couch 30 or 40 minutes ago while I was working on these photos.

I'm awfully tired too. Madeline tossed and turned and coughed much of the night, so Neil and I didn't really get to sleep until after 3:30 a.m. (Neil even went to Shopper's at 1:30 a.m. to get cough medicine). I stayed home from work this morning so I could sleep more, but it still wasn't enough. I may actually turn in early tonight... Since I won't be reading bedtime stories in the girls' bed, I won't be having my usual evening nap either.

The girls' checkups

The girls had their annual checkups with our family doctor today. No concerns. They were all well behaved for the appointment and Sophia was considerably less shy than she has been in the past. She actually smiled and spoke to the doctor without burying her face into me!

Their weights and heights were:

• Sophia - 30.5 kg (67 lbs) and 130.4 cm (51.3")
• Madeline - 19.1 kg (42 lbs) and 111 cm (43.7")
• Georgia - 15 kg (33 lbs) and 95.8 cm (37.7")

I wanted to see their growth since last year, but apparently I didn't record their stats in 2008 -- except Georgia's from her annual heart checkup. Georgia has grown five pounds and four inches in the past year.

***
Today I'm thankful for:

• online banking
• four-day work weeks
• universal health care (not merely because my kids can have an annual checkup, but because everyone in Canada -- such as Neil's cousin who is currently in critical condition after an ATV accident -- can receive the best possible care without suffering financially on top of the tragedy)

Annual heart checkup

Georgia had her annual appointment with a pediatric cardiologist this morning. It went very well. She had an ECG (as usual) but no echocardiogram today (which they have always done in the past).

Her heart rate was 65 and 66 on the ECG. It was 66 last year, so it hasn't changed (i.e., it's not lower) which is excellent news! I told Dr. Tyrrell that I counted 51 when Georgia was sleeping recently and he said that was great; not too low at all. Her blood pressure was 112 over 66, and she weighs 14.5 kg (32 lbs). (I didn't catch her height. Oh well.)

She will have a Holter Monitor in the fall so they can have more data for her next annual checkup. That's all. Everything looks good!

Aside from all that, Georgia was a perfect patient. She didn't complain, flinch, or even make a sad face the whole time. She was absolutely still for her ECG (sitting on my lap) and completely calm while Dr. Tyrrell listened to her heart and put his hands on her back and chest (and I mean no offense whatsoever, but he looks pretty old and could be a teensy bit frightening to a small child). We think it helped that Madeline was holding her hand and sitting right next to her on the examining table. They were so cute together!

***
Today I'm thankful for:

• Georgia's heart staying strong
• great doctors (the pediatric cardiologists from Saskatoon are especially wonderful)
• child-friendly staff at the RGH

Change of plans

Today did not go as expected...

Georgia started vomiting at 7:30 a.m. and it lasted for a couple hours. Although fairly frequent, she didn't cry at all, and barely spoke a word the whole time (which is unusual for her); however, by noon, she was back to normal and you would never guess that she'd been sick. She was happy and chatty all afternoon, and by suppertime, had a huge appetite.

Also, we were planning to go to Yellow Grass today and have supper with my parents, then to Weyburn to visit my Aunt Colleen and Grandma this evening. We planned to stay overnight in YG and then go for a horse-drawn sleigh ride Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas. The windchill today was severe (-45C) and highway travel wasn't recommended. Furthermore, the forecast was just as bad for Sunday, so we decided to postpone the trip. Grandma was relieved we wouldn't be traveling today.

We may still go tomorrow if the weather shapes up (the forecast is improving) -- AND no one else comes down with the stomach bug. Fingers crossed! If we can't go tomorrow, it'll be at least a month before we can all get together for a sleigh ride on a weekend afternoon. The girls were very excited about it, and very disappointed when we decided not to go.

***
Why does Sick Kids have to advertise on Teletoon Retro? I know it's a very worthy cause, but I kind of wish they wouldn't. I'm just not sure children need to learn about sick and dying children while watching The Smurfs. (Are they supposed to pester their parents to make a donation?) The commercials are very sad. Sophia doesn't like seeing them and I can't blame her; one of the ads (about a baby girl with a heart condition who couldn't be saved) made me cry a couple weeks ago. I encourage the girls to leave the room or turn the channel when those ads come on, but they don't bother, and Teletoon Retro is one of their favourite channels so they see them fairly often. (Hmmm, maybe they should watch less television... yes, but it's been so bloody cold outside for the past month!)

***
Today I'm thankful for:

• shelter from the cold
• hot running water
• all the medical advances that do save children

These things I could do without

I'm coming down with a cold, and it appears Madeline is too. Wish I had some Cold FX on hand! I just hope it's a mild strain. I really don't want to be sick this weekend -- or anytime for that matter.

My left lower back and left hip are causing me grief. These are not the same as any previous aches and pains I've mentioned. I was in pain through my dance class on Tuesday and really couldn't do what I needed to do, so I went to my chiropractor yesterday and will go again tomorrow.

I suffered a little scrapbooking injury last night. I cut my left thumb while changing a blade on my paper trimmer. It bled quite a bit. Nothing a good bandaide can't handle though.

Other than that, things are fine. We're busy, but not as busy as last week, thank goodness!

Highlights of the week

• completing this year's round of flu shots for all five of us. I always feel relieved when that's done (and even more relieved two weeks later when our antibody levels are up).*
• learning the Fairy Reel and Walls of Limerick in my first Ceili dance lesson. Fun! Take a look at this Fairy Reel video if you'd like to see what it looks like. It'll probably be years before I'm that good at it!
• whipping up a cute scrapbook page from photos I had in a clip frame for many years. The glass broke and I didn't want to put the photos into another frame or separate them, so a scrapbook page was ideal.
• having a great Halloween. See previous post for deets.
• getting a couple hundred more photos from 2007 printed for only 10 cents each (Costco coupon). It was fun to see those photos from 18 months ago. The girls have grown a lot since then.
• putting away all of the Halloween decorations, costumes, and other paraphernalia on November 1. Once a holiday is over, I like to get all related things outta here. Pronto.
• getting some great winter boots for both Sophia and me at Winners. Good prices!
• having two beautiful blank squares on our family calendar after having activities for seven days straight. Ahhhhh. So good to be able to stay home and do whatever, whenever (including house work). I get very cranky if I don't have some free time once in awhile.
• starting the challenging process of cleaning up a certain area of the basement. Long way to go but I'm glad I finally got started. Starting is the worst part, right?
• seeing the cute Christmas cards Sophia made today. I gathered the supplies for her and left her to do it on her own. She loves making cards! I had to make her stop at six cards today, so she can spread out the fun over a few weekends.

*At the beginning of October each year I start getting anxious to get our flu shots done. I sent Neil and Georgia to the first high-risk clinic available (Oct 16), I had mine at work last week, and I made appointments for the other two to get theirs on the first day available for "healthy" people (Oct 27). I've had influenza (the year my work-provided shot was delayed to end of November; too late for me) and I never ever want to have it again (I was very ill for about 10 days and then sick for two months with secondary infections), nor do I want any of my family to get it (especially Neil or Georgia with their respiratory and heart conditions, respectively). I know the flu shot is not 100% effective, but I will take advantage of any preventative measure available. Also, influenza is a significant cause of hospitalization and death in North America and not only do I want to protect my own family, I don't want to be responsible for infecting anyone else. People can and do die from influenza (i.e., complications from the flu). Okay... I guess that's my little flu shot rant for this year. (I know I've mentioned it before!)

September pics (16)

The suggestion for today was to capture something clean. I thought a clean sheet of paper wouldn't make a great photo, so I buckled down and cleaned our kitchen this morning. Ta da! (I only had time to do this because Georgia was sick to her stomach last night, keeping us awake for at least a couple hours, so I stayed home to get more sleep and stay with her while Neil took the other girls to school. She's fine now.)

Kids DO the darndest things

On Sunday, Madeline had a little run in with a lid from a tin can. And the lid won, of course! For some reason -- that only a five-year could know but not be able to explain -- she took a tin can lid off the kitchen counter (it was clean and en route to the recycling bin) and then tried to bend it. What a little turkey! I heard a scream from the living room and then she ran to me, screaming and dripping blood along the way. Her middle finger had a cut right across the fingerprint and it was bleeding a lot, so Neil took her to a medi clinic. She didn't get stitches (they used steri-strips), but she has to keep her finger dry for a week. She's been very careful with it so far. What perfect timing for the weather to turn cooler, so the sprinkler and paddling pool are less attractive!

Sophia's sinus checkup

Yesterday, we took Sophia to see a specialist in "Otolaryngology, head and neck surgery" (taken from the letterhead) about her sinuses -- because for the past six months or so, she's always trying to clear her sinuses (i.e., several times a day), but she doesn't have a runny nose.

First, Sophia had her hearing checked by a nurse. Her hearing is excellent. Then the doctor sprayed some anaesthetic up Sophia's nose (she did not like that; she cried) and then a few minutes later, he put a camera up her nose. Way up. She really did not like that (but who would?). Sophia recoiled, but the doctor managed to keep the camera up there and with our encouragement, she sat still and let him take a look. He reported that her adenoids were not too large, so there would be no need for surgery. He prescribed nasal irrigation with saline solution in a spray bottle four times a day for three months and then a checkup. We'll see if there's any improvement with this before looking at allergies.

The doctor suggested buying Otrivin and then when the bottle is empty to refill it with a homemade solution. I wasn't sure how this was going to go over with Sophia, so when I was in the pharmacy, I decided instead to start with hydraSense in Gentle Mist for adults and children. I thought it might be easier to introduce this practice with a gentle mist rather than a stronger stream. When I got home with the hydraSense and told Sophia about it, she was resistant at first, but soon decided to try it. She actually did it three times yesterday and seems to like doing it. Phew! A couple times, she jumped and more saline sprayed the mirror than went up her nose, but I'm sure she'll get the hang of it quickly.

Perhaps someday I will see if Sophia would try a neti pot. I bought one at Shopper's when it was on sale, but haven't used it yet. I had never heard of such a thing until Sally mentioned it, and since then, I've learned that five other people I know use a neti pot regularly and really like it. I wonder how many others! I may have to try it myself. Apparently, millions of people swear by it. Even Oprah had a neti pot demonstration on her little show. (I didn't see it.)

It's off!

Georgia's leg looked good on the x-ray this morning, so the cast came off. Surprisingly, they simply unwrapped the fiberglass rather than cutting it. Georgia is limping a bit. She seems to have forgotten that she can bend that leg. It probably doesn't feel normal yet. The muscle on her right calf is smaller than on her left. She really enjoyed a nice long bath this afternoon! (I was home because I took the afternoon off.)

Things I haven't mentioned

1. We were invited to three weddings in Alberta this summer, and I regret that we can't attend any of them. They are all for Neil's cousins. I really like family weddings and would love to go, but I don't have any extra vacation days to spare and it would be too difficult to do the trip to AB and back (Okotoks X 2 and Fort Saskatchewan) with the kids on a three-day weekend. Plus, there's the expense of fuel (especially with the prices these days) and accommodations. We just can't do that right before our trip to Victoria that we've been planning all year. And with that trip, we'll be doing enough driving this summer!
   ***
2. We didn't sign the kids up for any activities this spring or summer. We'll have Sparks until mid-May and dance until mid-June and then we're free! Quite awhile ago when it was nearing time to register for soccer, softball, etc., we just decided the girls had had enough activities this school year (with skating and swimming as well) and it would be nice to have a break from organized activities. We'll just do our own thing, such as introducing throwing and catching with ball gloves, as I mentioned last week.
   ***
   
3. I injured myself in dance class this month. It started three weeks ago with just a bit of pain, and then it became much more of a problem last weekend (I didn't go two weeks ago because I was sick). I don't know what to call this injury. When I lift my left leg up to a certain point, say 90 degrees, there's a clicking or catching of something (like a tendon?) along the bikini line in the front when my leg is on its way down. It doesn't hurt on the way up; just down. Well, this is definitely a problem in Irish dancing. Legs need to go up and down a lot! It's also a problem when I'm putting on, or taking off, pants and socks. Otherwise, it doesn't hurt at all. So weird. Anyway, I have to get this fixed! I tried dancing today and it was not good. I need to book physio therapy or massage ASAP.
   ***
4. Since I have been getting sick so much lately, I decided to start taking more vitamins. Perhaps I should have been taking more before, but I guess I was resisting because I don't like taking pills all that much. I had been taking two Cold-FX daily for the past couple months, but now I'm also taking 1000mg C, a timed- release B50 Complex, and 4x500mg Evening Primrose Oil (hoping it will help my skin too) each day. So far, since Monday, I feel really good. Dare I say, better than usual? Could they have kicked in that quickly? Maybe it's just that I'm completely over that nasty cold, and I feel much better by comparison.
   ***
5. I'm at a hair crossroads. This happens to me every two or three years. If my hair is long, I want it short; if it's short, I want it long. I have gone back and forth like that my whole life. It's been two years since I last went from long to short, so this is right on schedule, but this time, I seem to be having more trouble deciding what to do. I think it's because I would like to stick with short hair, but I really can't stand making the appointment, and going (it takes time!), and forking over $40 every three months or so. I just hate that. (This is also why I have never coloured my hair before. Ever.) So now it's been five months since I last had my hair cut and I have to make a decision. Because if I'm going to stick with short hair, there's no point in suffering through this growing out length any longer than necessary! I like it short-short or shoulder length, and I'm not crazy about the in-between stages. Here are a couple of pictures of me with "good" hair (incidentally, I was pregnant with Georgia in the first photo, and that's her on my lap in the second):

Anyone have an opinion about what I should do? If so, I'd love to hear it. I like my hair both ways, so I'll agree with you no matter what you say!

Watching her sisters play

Georgia is doing very well, but sometimes would like to be outside doing what her sisters are doing. Understandable. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to distract her and keep her happy in the house. She has also accepted the new super-fast (and boring for her) bathing routine.

On Monday, Neil took Georgia to the cast clinic at the hospital because her cast had separated a bit in the middle and didn't appear to be providing much support anymore. They had used two rolls of fibreglass -- one on the top and one on the bottom -- and perhaps had not overlapped them quite enough. So, they added another roll of fibreglass in the middle to strengthen it. This thicker cast is shown in the photo.

Georgia update

Thank you for all the nice comments and email messages about Georgia's fracture. She's doing well. Yesterday afternoon, she started getting around on her own and is walking amazingly well on that cast. The only problem is sometimes she gets going too fast and then trips and falls because it's so awkward.

Completely off topic... did you hear they're forecasting a high of 26 (C) on Sunday! Wow.

My poor baby!

Yesterday morning (after I went to work, but before school), all four girls were playing in Sophia and Madeline's room (our babysitter is not working this week; that's another story). Apparently, Georgia scooted up the ladder and Sophia was trying to help her down, but she fell off and hurt her knee. Sophia says she was right behind Georgia but she looked away for a second and that's when it happened. Of course.

First of all, I'm very very thankful she didn't fall from the top and that she didn't fall on her head. Second, I have told the girls several times that Georgia is NOT allowed on the bunk bed. Everrrrrr. Grrr! I think they may better understand the importance of this rule now.

Neil says she cried a lot at first, but then calmed down and stayed calm. Her leg didn't bruise or swell (except maybe a smidgen). She was in good spirits, but wouldn't put any weight on it. She just sat on the couch all day -- not exactly normal for a two year old! In the afternoon, we decided she should see a doctor, so Neil called our family doctor and the earliest they could fit her in was 4:30 p.m. today (the next day).

Georgia slept well last night, and was pretty happy all day, so it still didn't seem too bad. She even took a few steps in the morning, but for the most part, wouldn't put weight on her leg. Finally, the appointment... Our doctor said he didn't want to take any chances with a joint in a child so young, so he arranged for an orthopaedic surgeon to meet Neil and Georgia at Emergency. She has what's called a buckle or torus fracture, just below her knee, so the surgeon put a cast on her leg to support it while it heals. She'll have it on for four weeks! Ugh.

As you can see from the third photo, she was pretty happy this evening, but I think she's going to be pretty upset when she can't get into the tub. She LOVES having baths. Well, at least it isn't sprinkler and paddling pool season.

Also, she wouldn't walk tonight, but she is supposed to be able to walk with her cast.

P.S. I took some video of Georgia doing her little cheerleader dance routine the evening before she hurt her leg. That was lucky. I guess. I will post it sometime.

Pats game and budding photographer

Madeline took this photo at the Brandt Centre on Saturday. I like the angle. She used our little camera to take almost a hundred photos over the weekend at various places. It's pretty funny what a five-year old will photograph! (And odd -- there are several photos of an unknown lady at this same location.)

Neil decided to take Sophia and Madeline to a Pats hockey game last week. It was going to be their first live hockey game (of course they've had many opportunities to see NHL hockey on TV). On Thursday, he got tickets for the three of them to see a playoff game on Saturday night.

Unfortunately, when Saturday came along, Sophia had come down with a fever and couldn't go. She was disappointed, but handled it fairly well (a sign she's growing up, for sure). So, Neil called his cousin's nine-year old son and he agreed to go to the game with Neil and Madeline. By coincidence, my brother and his family also had tickets for the same game (but in a different section) and by chance they saw each other before the game as they were entering the Brandt Centre. As for the game, Madeline was ready to go home within the first period, but I understand she was pretty good throughout.

Pink hat and boots

Snapped this one last week. The day she got 'em, I think.

(I hate to say it, but... I'm not feeling well at all. My stomach still has not recovered from the weekend, and now I'm coming down with a bad cough and headache thing. It's going to be nasty. I can feel it. So, I'm going to bed now. Gah. I hate going to bed this early! I prefer getting things done.)