Life on the Road

Guess where I was last Saturday?

Yeah, really.

After I suffered through a round of fierce chills and fever Friday, Wolf took my to the ER on Saturday morning.  They measured my temperature at 102.7. 

So I got IV fluids and antibiotics while they ran the labs. 

They even let me take my IV pole out into the lobby to nurse R.T. in the middle.  Maybe my last fiasco there actually had an impact on policy…

The test came back showing an acute kidney infection.  Suriprise!  Er, not.

So I got a prescription for antibiotics and came home.  (And had to put together a bog carnival for Tuesday! LOL)

This alsao meant that the Lithotripsy (for kidney stone breaking up) that was scheduled for Monday had to be cancelled, since they don’t want to do it when you’re sick.  Which is frustratingly circular, since we’re doing it to correct the reason I keep getting sick…

Well, hopefully at least this course of medication means that I eill be able to have the Cystoscopy done on the 30th.  I haven’t heard yet when we can try the Lithotripsy again - the machine is only there once a month!

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be well…

Since this is already all put together, I’m just going to give it to you, as something important to be aware of: 

AMA Supports Proposed Legislation to Make Home Births Illegal

ABC News reported on July 11. 2008 that the “American Medical Association has agreed to support proposed legislation that, some physicians say, could make make having a planned birth in one’s home difficult, to virtually impossible.”  Presently their is no legislation but the AMA is backing what is called “Resolution 205″ which is a request to support the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ (ACOG) position that home births are not safe.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) spokesperson Gregory Phillips, stated clearly, the ACOG position, “We are against home births, period.”  He continued in the ABC story by stating, “Women who give birth outside of a clinical setting risk putting themselves and their newborns at risk.”

In opposition to this stand the American College of Nurse-Midwives has come out with a strong statement in support of planned home births. Jennifer Block, author of “Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care, who also writes a column for the LA Times stated in her columns that in Britain they routinely ask expecting mothers if they would like to have their babies at home instead of in the hospital.  In her column Block noted that a hand-out is given to expecting mothers from Britain’s National Health Service that says, “There is no evidence to support the common assertion that home birth is a less safe option for women experiencing uncomplicated pregnancies.”

Block also noted in her column that last year a joint statement was issued by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Royal College of Midwives that said, “There is no reason why home birth should not be offered to women at low risk of complications, and it may confer considerable benefits for them and their families.”

Ms. Block concludes her article by noting that she believes this entire issue is nothing more than a turf war by physicians not wanting to give up control. “The AMA’s statement calls for legislation that could be used against women who choose home birth, possibly resulting in criminal child-abuse or neglect charges. The group says this is about safety, but with no credible research to back up its claim, this argument falls flat.”

The various articles noted that the reaction by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ (ACOG) and the AMA came about due to a documentary film called “The Business of Being Born” by talk show host Ricki Lake, where she exposed the American system of birth as a business. Abby Epstein, the film’s director stated in the ABC story, “What the film has done is to cause a lot of women to choose midwives over OBs — especially younger women who’ve never heard of midwives,” said Epstein. “We’ve received calls from midwives saying that their practices have doubled since our film was released. There’s a lot of ego in this — that one would want to choose a midwife over an MD. It’s really a turf war going back 100 years between the medical establishment and midwives.  The trailer for the film can be seen on YouTube at the following address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DgLf8hHMgo

I just finished reading a book about tandem nursing (Adventures in Tandem Nursing: Breastfeeding During Pregnancy and Beyond), and although I would highly recommend it, after four months it didn’t really have a lot to say on the subject that was news to me.

I was fascinated to learn, however, that a mama kangaroo makes different milk in each teat!  She makes baby milk on one side for the tiny joey finishing his development in her pouch, and “toddler” milk on the other side for baby’s older sibling who will still stick his head in and nurse.  What a great trick!  Doesn’t God think up cool stuff?

And kangaroos have it down pat for carrying the kids around, of course.  We even name a parenting philosophy/practice after them: Kangaroo Care.

If you’d like to see some lovely photos of mamas in other cultures “wearing” their babies, check out this babywearing slideshow.

Sorry, but that’s all for today.  We’re all sick, so I’m even more behind than usual… 

I am so very, very tired of being sick…

And I NEED to SEW, since Mr. Grow-Like-a-Weed no longer fits well in Medium diapers and I have barely anything to put on his booty.

 Okay, I’m done whining.  Thanks for listening.  It’s tough being in a new town with no friends and family to whine to…

Hard to believe, isn’t it?  And I’m still just trying to catch up!

I went to the ER Thursday, April 24th when I woke up with chlls and fever (over 102) and an inflamed and swolen breast.  Yowch!  (This on top of the ongoing kidney/UTI situation).

I ended up being admitted to the hosptial, and stayed until Monday evening (who knew they would discharge someone after 7pm!). 

The whole thing was a nightmare of conflicting opinions, fighting for the right to nurse my baby, and uncommunicative doctors.  I think “An Open Letter to Homestead Hospital” will be appearing here soon…  It was really so frustrating that I’ve sort of tried not to think about about it.  But on the other hand, it’s just not going away.

I called my PCP for a follow-up appointment, and was told that I couldn’t get an appointment for months, but that I could come in as a walk-in.  She suggested coming on a Wed or Thurs, and coming early in the morning.  Great.

So I went in that Thursday, and was standing outside at 8:45 am (they open at 9).  That made me #4 in the walk-in line.  Which meant I got to see the doctor…  at 1 pm!  (Not, of course, that they told us that right away so we could go do something in the meantime.)

I got a referral to a Urologist, but just got the run-around from them regarding a referral for a lactation consultant, as well as getting the insurance to cover my medications. 

When I got hold of the Urologist they gave me, it turned out that they were pediatric only.  So I called the PCP back and got another name (after a big hassle).  When I got hold of that office, they said that they no longer take my insurance.  I called th PCP back (grrr!), and they said they would call the insurance for a current provider list and call me back.  Excuse me if I don’t hold my breath.

Frustrated (happens a lot lately, doesn’t it?), I called my insurance company.  They said that I could self-refer to a Urologist, and didn’t need a referral at all! 

So I started calling down the list of Urologists from the insurance company’s website, which they said was the most current list.  Pediatric only.  Doesn’t take that insurance any more.  We can see you at the end of June (that’s 2 months away at the time!).  Doesn’t take that insurance.  We can see you next year(!).  Phone disconnected.  And on and on…

After calling a dozen doctors (I kid you not), I found someone who could see me in two weeks, who was an hour’s drive from my house.  Not ideal, but sounded pretty good after I’d been worn down by all the others!

The insurance has a transportation benefit, so I figured I’d let them pay the gas to drive all the way up there.  Well, it turns out that they will drive the patient and one “escort” person.  If I bring the baby (which I obviously have to, for a trip that will easily be three hours), I then have to bring Nick or Wolf to hold R.T. while I’m with the doctor.  But they won’t allow 2 people to come… 

So we ended up driving after all.

At least we all really liked Dr. J.  He’s built like a football player, shaved bald head, and wore motorcycle boots under his scrubs!  And he was very nice and seemed very competent.

It seems that although the kidney stones aren’t causing any of ther own kinds of problems, they probably are responsible for the recurring UTIs.  As foreign bodies, they make a place where things can hide and grow in there…  Eeew!

So we scheduled an outpatient surgery for Lithotripsy - the ultrasound breaking up of kidney stones.  They can only do so much at a time (since it’s also hard on your surrounding healthy tissue), so he said we might need as many as three sessions to get the three stones taken care of.

We also scheduled another in-office procedure for further diagnosis, as well as treatment, of the recurring UTIs and the constant, but perhaps at this point self-perpetuating, symptoms.

Whew!

Obviously, there’s pelnty more to tell…  

I just watched the neatest video on YouTube, and I had to share it.

 No, it’s not the latest music video….  Or stupid pet tricks…  Or …  

 Actually, it was made by a governmental agency in India, with help from UNICEF and the WHO.  I’m a lot of fun at a party, eh? 

It’s really, really amazing how God made us!

My philosophizing about why so few people would imagine that’s possible will have to wait for another day…

Thursday (March 17) started out like any other day, and I had a long list of errands for the kids and I to accomplish…

I sat at the couch at the computer to check my email while I nursed R.T., and Jewel sat behind me and played with my hair.  Then Jewel screamed…

She had climbed up onto the arm of the couch, then fallen off into the narrow space between the couch an the end table (metal and glass, yikes!).

I quickly detached R.T. and laid him in a safe spot on the couch next to me, while calling Nick to come grab him.  Then I reached over to extricate Miss J from her landing place.

Although she was very upset, there was nothing obviously amiss.  She wasn’t bleeding, and all her parts seemed functional.  She said that she didn’t hit her head, and what hurt worst was her right arm (she seemed to indicate elbow).

I gave her some children’s Tylenol, then nursed her.  I became concerned when she sat up from laying in my lap, screamed, and clutched her right arm against her chest.

Watching her try to hold the arm still just really set off my “mom radar,” and I decided there was no harm in taking her in for an X-Ray.  Heck, we knew the pediatric ER was actually a pretty nice place! 

I called Wolf to let him know what we were up to.  We had to swing by Knaus Berry Farm anyway to drop off the sodas he was supposed to bring for a coworker’s birthday lunch, and I wasn’t too surprised to see him standing outside ready to go with us when we got there.  (Heck, when you start work at 5 am, by 11 you’re mostly done anyway!)

We made the now-familiar trek to the Homestead Hospital ER, and signed her in.  As before, we quickly received a private room in the “Speediatric” ward.  The nurse brought Jewel some liquid Motrin, as well as baby-strength Tylenol with Codeine!  Yikes!

They brought in the very cute giraffe-painted portable X-Ray machine.  The techno-geeks in Wolf and I were fascinated - it’s all DIGITAL!

But back to reality, where Jewel is screaming hysterically, and I’m being told to hold her arm “like this”… 

Then we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Then, to our dismay, they wheeled the giraffe back in, declaring that they needed three views of the wrist specifically. 

These were even harder than the first set.

I’m surprised they could see anything, and the doc did indicate that they weren’t the clearest…

But they said she had a small fracture of the distal radius where it meets the wrist.  They fixed her up in a splint (cool piece that hardened after they conformed it to her body) wrapped with an Ace bandage.  We then had to follow up with the Orthopedic Surgeon.  (Luckily the insurance referrals and what-not were fairly simple.)

Lots of chewable Tylenol and Motrin to get us through until Monday (March 21)… 

The Orthopedic Surgeon was a great guy, and said he had a granddaughter Jewel’s age.

He X-Rayed her wrist, and after talking to us, her elbow.  By now she was calm, and this all went smoothly.

Guess what?  No break!

The doc said that in the ER they will always make the “better safe than sorry” call in that situation, and that the splint was actually probably great for the sprain/strain/contusions she did have.

So the splint is off, and she is much happier…

Just another week in our house.  Stay tuned, it keeps coming!

Last week we had to go back to the ER - this time for Nick.

He’d been complaining of sharp pain in his shoulder for about a week, and it seemed to be getting worse rather than better.  I called his doctor, but they said that they would only have to refer us for an X-Ray, so we might as well just go to an Urgent Care or ER.

So back we went to Homestead Hospital, but this time we were quickly called from the waiting room into “Speediatrics,” the separate pediatric ER ward.

Triage and admitting were done right there in our private room, where we were watching TV and relaxing in between.  We saw the doc, they took Nick for an X-Ray, and we saw the doc again.

Diagnosis:  ACL - a minor separation of the collarbone from the shoulder. 

It’s usually a sports injury, so there’s really no telling how Nick did it. 

He has ibuprofin and a sling - mostly for his own amusement - and it’s supposed to just heal on its own in a week or so.

Whew, that trip wasn’t so bad!

You know, apparently I was not hallucinating those symptoms through the end of my pregnancy.  Nor was I simply overwhelmed or hormonal after R.T. was born.

I was really, you know, ill.

I also had a flu thing going on, so it was tough to differentiate things…  But the pain in my back got bad enough on Monday night (March 24th) that I told Wolf I needed to go to the Emergency Room because it was probably a kidney stone.  (I had one before, a decade or so ago, so I’m familiar with the sensation…)

Tuesday he went to work as usual at 5 am, but told his boss he needed to leave early.  He was able to get home at 11 am, and we went to Homestead Hospital ER for what was to be a long and grueling day.

When you arrive, they give you a very brief form to fill out.  The receptionist logs you in from that, then they call you in to do the actual intake.

We waited, and waited, and waited.  Mind you, by now I’m nearly delirious with chilld and fever, and we’re hanging around with Nick, Jewel, and 2 week old R.T. …

Finally, after two people were called that I was sure came in after us, I asked Wolf to go ask about the status.  Turns out I wasn’t in the computer!  Somehow I got missed totally, and she had to put me in ‘again’.

I wasn’t “next,” as she’d promised, but at least that got the ball rolling.

I went through intake, then went back to give them urine and blood samples.  Then it was back to the waiting room…

Since I was nursing and they didn’t want to use the “stuff” for an MRI or CAT, they ordered an ultrasound of my kidneys and bladder (which necessitated that said bladder be full).  The nurse gave me two glasses of water, and told me to have the receptionist call for the ultrasound people when I felt like I was ready.

Figuring it was bound to take too long anyway, I immediately made my request.  Sure enough, the water was long gone and I was crossing my legs long before they showed up.

The first half of the ultrasound (on the suspect kidney) went smoothly and quickly.  Then she handed the controls over to a student.  <sigh> 

It took forever, and of course by the time I got out to the waiting room R.T. was screaming.

Again we waited, and waited, and waited.  Literally hours.

Finally Wolf went up to the desk again to check on the status.  A new nurse was working the station, and I must have looked sufficiently pathetic when she looked over at me, because she took pity on our plight.

She took my vitals and read over the chart.  Apparently what the doc wanted to do was give me IV fluids and a strong antibiotic - but there were no free beds.

Our friendly nurse looked at my kids and asked if I’d prefer to just be given something for the fever, then given a prescription and sent home.  Yes!!

Everything was wrapped up in about half an hour, and home we went…  (More on my story to come, sadly)

Well, I didn’t think I’d have to write a post about still being pregnant at this point.

Today, March 5th, is my Due Date, according to one calculation.  My midwife comes up with March 9th doing hers.

Still, with everything that’s been going on for the last two weeks, I thought the waiting would be over by now…  But no…

We saw the midwife on Sunday, and everything is still under control.  She can chart my blood pressure at a reasonable level if she has me lie down to take it.  The swelling isn’t getting any worse.  I’m not gaining any weight.  Yay…

So we just keep on keeping on, and wait for Baby Blessing to decide that it’s time.

Saturday evening I started having some semi-strong, semi-regular contractions.  Not enough that we started running around crazily preparing to have a baby, but enough that it was REALLY distracting.

I’ve been having prodromal labor ever since - contractions every now and then.  They’re totally irregular, but strong enough to force you to pay attention. 

It makes for a long four days…