The toe drama continued last week. We've been battling J's toe infection for over 4 months. We saw the pediatrician who felt we might need IV antibiotics and sent us to the hem/onc clinic to see the hem who is also an infectious disease doctor. He felt we could increase the Cipro dose to 750 mg BID from 500mg BID and continue the Bactrim. Here's hoping it works. So far, there may be slight improvement. We also started doing Betadine soaks instead of Epsom salt, Vinegar or antibacterial soap soaks.
It was a wild week! I'm praising God that we did not have to be admitted. God is good!
S has finished Biology and History for the year! J has finished Science and M is working hard in all subjects. It really was hard to get work done last week while we spent each day at the hospital or doctor's office. We saw immunology and did further work up... and are considering daily Bactrim.
Maybe I'll get back in the grove and start blogging a bit more. I've been spending my spare time preparing for our upcoming Stand Up For Religious Freedom rally.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Low Gluten Hosts
What does a Catholic person do if they are allergic to wheat or if they have an autoimmune condition like Celiac? Can they receive Holy Communion? The Benedictine Sisters make a low gluten altar bread that can be used in the Catholic Church. On their website, they explain the process they went through to find an altar bread that would work for Celiacs and still be acceptable for use by the Church. The hosts must contain wheat in order for it to be valid in the Catholic Church.
I have friends who have gluten intolerance (not celiac) who have used the low-gluten wafers for years and have done fine. I've ordered some to try out. Of course, those of us with wheat problems can receive the blood-- Jesus is present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in both the consecrated bread and wine. I'm going to try one with my Epi-pen close by.
I've recently had problems after receiving Holy Communion. I have a known allergy to wheat and up until recently had no problem receiving Holy Communion. In the early 90s, I had a severe anaphylactic reaction and back then, no one thought it could be the wheat I'd eaten. I now know better! The first time it happened, I broke out into hives within 30 minutes of receiving. The next morning, it happened again and I felt like my throat was closing up. A week on steroids and life is normal again. I also made sure my Epi-pen isn't out of date.
I have friends who have gluten intolerance (not celiac) who have used the low-gluten wafers for years and have done fine. I've ordered some to try out. Of course, those of us with wheat problems can receive the blood-- Jesus is present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in both the consecrated bread and wine. I'm going to try one with my Epi-pen close by.
I've recently had problems after receiving Holy Communion. I have a known allergy to wheat and up until recently had no problem receiving Holy Communion. In the early 90s, I had a severe anaphylactic reaction and back then, no one thought it could be the wheat I'd eaten. I now know better! The first time it happened, I broke out into hives within 30 minutes of receiving. The next morning, it happened again and I felt like my throat was closing up. A week on steroids and life is normal again. I also made sure my Epi-pen isn't out of date.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Baseball
The Hawks had their last game yesterday. Sean was starting pitcher and pitched for 4 1/2 innings.
My favorite pictures of the day:
My favorite pictures of the day:
Saturday, May 5, 2012
God, Healthcare and Our Week
Thanks for the comments on my recent post. To sum it up for those who might have been confused, I am not saying we are not to help our brothers and sisters. Jesus didn't tell us to give our money to the government and let the government take care of people-- He told us to do it. It is not the responsibility of government. Again, that doesn't mean our church shouldn't be helping the poor, or that we should not be helping the poor. I do not believe Jesus told us to put a gun to someone's head to steal the money (taxes) -- He wants us to give it freely.
The problem with government healthcare is that when government becomes involved, the government decides what is and is not covered. Children die. We know children who have died because Medicaid refused to allow them to go to another state for treatment. Obamacare will do the same. When people who lack faith (Sebilius, Pelosi, Reid), they force those of us who do have faith to do things we are morally opposed to-- HHS mandate. They decide that abortion is covered and our tax dollars fund these murders.
It isn't anyone's responsibility to take care of our medical bills. Have we had people help? Certainly. But we did not ask, demand or beg. It is a blessing when people want to help. I believe that God is involved in our lives through the people who have helped us. God calls them to help, not the government.
We've had a very crazy week. The toe infection rages on. Ended up at the ped with her calling the hem/onc who is also an infectious disease doctor. She was very concerned because after a week on Cipro (and 6 weeks on Clindamycin) the toe looked the same to her. We went for an x-ray to see if the infection had spread to the bone. It was good, so we didn't have to cart ourselves to the hem/onc clinic. In addition to the Cipro, we have added Bactrim. If the toe is not better when we see her on Wednesday, it is off to the hem/onc clinic that day.
Here I thought we had a few weeks with nothing medical going on. We went to the GI clinic yesterday. It went well. They were running behind and we sat around the hospital for a bit. Very thankful for electronic devices.
Monday, I recheck my retinal hemorrhage. It was most likely just a fluke. I'm already lamenting the fact that I do not have the time for me to have doctor appointments! I'm praying really hard that the rally on June 8th is a success. I already have the federal permit, but the police permit has not arrived. The Sgt said it shouldn't be a problem last month, but has ignored my recent contact. Pray! The marriage rally had trouble getting permits, so I wonder if there is something going on there?
The problem with government healthcare is that when government becomes involved, the government decides what is and is not covered. Children die. We know children who have died because Medicaid refused to allow them to go to another state for treatment. Obamacare will do the same. When people who lack faith (Sebilius, Pelosi, Reid), they force those of us who do have faith to do things we are morally opposed to-- HHS mandate. They decide that abortion is covered and our tax dollars fund these murders.
It isn't anyone's responsibility to take care of our medical bills. Have we had people help? Certainly. But we did not ask, demand or beg. It is a blessing when people want to help. I believe that God is involved in our lives through the people who have helped us. God calls them to help, not the government.
We've had a very crazy week. The toe infection rages on. Ended up at the ped with her calling the hem/onc who is also an infectious disease doctor. She was very concerned because after a week on Cipro (and 6 weeks on Clindamycin) the toe looked the same to her. We went for an x-ray to see if the infection had spread to the bone. It was good, so we didn't have to cart ourselves to the hem/onc clinic. In addition to the Cipro, we have added Bactrim. If the toe is not better when we see her on Wednesday, it is off to the hem/onc clinic that day.
Here I thought we had a few weeks with nothing medical going on. We went to the GI clinic yesterday. It went well. They were running behind and we sat around the hospital for a bit. Very thankful for electronic devices.
Monday, I recheck my retinal hemorrhage. It was most likely just a fluke. I'm already lamenting the fact that I do not have the time for me to have doctor appointments! I'm praying really hard that the rally on June 8th is a success. I already have the federal permit, but the police permit has not arrived. The Sgt said it shouldn't be a problem last month, but has ignored my recent contact. Pray! The marriage rally had trouble getting permits, so I wonder if there is something going on there?