ADHD

Over the last 6 months, my son's behavior has been getting more and more out of control.  After a very informative parent/teacher conference last week, I finally broke down and called a psychiatrist.  Not to medicate my son, but to get somewhere.  It's more than I can take, on an almost daily basis.  We went to see the Dr. on Tuesday.  Fortunately, my worries were unfounded and they did not immediately just decide to medicate my son.  It is something I want to avoid if possible.  I filled out about a million forms and answered many questions, some on my own and some with Kaleb's help.  I had to fill out a bipolar assessment as well and then the Dr. referred us to a therapist to talk more and try to see what is going on.  So I set that appointment up.  The Dr. mentioned two things.  Bipolar disorder and ADHD.  Then he sent me on my way, with a pamphlet on ADHD.

So...to humor him, I am reading through the pamphlet, even though I have no doubts that my son DOES NOT have ADHD.  As I read through it, I am more and more convinced.  Here are some of the indicators that stood out to me...primarily because they do not describe my son in ANY way.

There are three groups of behavior symptoms in children with ADHD:  inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.

Let's start with inattention.

Often has a hard time paying attention, daydreams. - Um...not Kaleb.

Is easily distracted from work or play. - Again, no.

Often does not seem to care about details, make careless mistakes. - No.

Is disorganized.  - Ha ha ha ha - he's the most organized kid I know and our house would fall apart without his OCD tendencies.  His room is ALWAYS clean and his desk at school always organized.

Frequently loses a lot of important things.  - No, that's Abbey.

Frequently avoids doing things that require ongoing mental effort - Absolutely not.  Video games anyone?

Next, there is hyperactivity.

Is in constant motion, as if "driven by a motor". - I don't think so.

Cannot stay seated. - Not a problem.

Frequently squirms or fidgets.  - No, that's his father.

Talks too much. - Only when he's had too much caffeine.

Often runs, jumps, and climbs when this is not permitted.  #1.  He's a boy.  #2.  It's not "often".

Cannot play quietly. - Incorrect.

And lastly, impulsivity.  This is the only one that he has SOME inclinations to.

Frequently acts and speaks without speaking.  - Again, Abbey comes to mind.

May run into the street without looking for traffic first. - NO.

Frequently has trouble taking turns. - Not unless he's just in a bad mood and just trying to aggravate his sisters.

Cannot wait for things. - He CAN.  He doesn't LIKE to, but he can.

Often calls out answers before the question is complete.  Nope, I don't think so.

Frequently interrupts others. - I'll give him this one.

So, how can I tell if my child has ADHD?  Intuition.  :-)

It is interesting that kids can have JUST the inattentive part (ADD), or a combination of hyperactive/impulsive, or a combination of all three.  But it doesn't seem that they can be classified as ADHD just based off of impulsivity.

Anyway...we have an appointment to go back to see the psychiatrist in two weeks, and also an appointment to see a child therapist in 3 weeks.  The psychiatrist gave me a form for Kaleb's teacher and other specials teachers (art, music, P.E.) to fill out so I'll take those back in two weeks also.  But I go back to my intuition, combined with the fact that he fits so few of the symptoms.  I do not believe that Kaleb has ADHD.

Sewing project gone awry...part 2

Now that I've shown you the quilt I completed (finally) for Abbey's 9th birthday, let's talk about how I ruined her 9th birthday by spending the evening in the emergency room.

Before I do that, let me introduce you to...Ken.  His full name is Kenmore Elite 9600 Ergo 3 Quilting and Embroidery Machine.  Thus...we shall call him Ken for short.

In the ten years since I bought this machine, I have yet to have a sewing injury of any kind.  Until last night. Last night was a unique experience, to say the least.  I had finished Abbey's quilt, which you saw in my previous post.  I had finished a cape to go with her "superhero/princess" costume for Halloween and was in the process of stitching together a letter "A" to go on the back of the cape.

I had intentionally put the needle down to secure the fabric, but also allow the fabric to turn, so I could continue stitching.  So I am focusing on positioning the material exactly where I want it, nowhere near ready to begin stitching again.  My foot had other plans that I was completely unaware of.  In case you are not familiar with sewing or sewing machines, there is usually a machine and then a pedal that controls the needle (i.e. making it go up and down).  You press down on the pedal, and hold it down and the stitching will continue.  My pedal looks like this, and happened to be under the table while I was lining up where I wanted the material to go.

This next picture shows you where the quilting needle goes on the machine.  Just so you get an idea of you're looking at, as I explain what happened next.

There is currently no needle in the machine.  You see, the needle that WAS in the machine is now in 3 pieces.  If you haven't already heard the story, perhaps you are getting a sense of where I am headed with this.

I had my fingers down under the "foot" that guides the fabric and not completely realizing what I was doing, I instinctively pressed my ACTUAL foot down on the pedal and the needle began moving up and down.  WHILE MY FINGER WAS POSITIONED DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH IT.  The needle entered through my fingernail, hit the bone in my finger and broke into three pieces.  One piece remained in the machine, I found another 1 inch long piece on the table and looked down to realize that the other 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch of the needle was embedded into my fingernail.  Prepare to cringe.

I warned you.

I was home by myself with the kids.  It was around 5:30pm.  Kris hadn't arrived from work yet and somehow, despite how I would have reacted if this had happened to one of the kids, I remained calm.  The kids obviously knew something was wrong - I was in pain after all. But I wasn't crying or anything.  I think I was in shock.  The first thing I tried to do was pull my finger away from the machine.  The thread was still attached so, with shaking hands, I cut the thread to free myself from the machine.  The second thing I did was turn my finger over to see if the needle had gone all the way through my finger.  It hadn't.  I realized later that had the needle gone all the way through my finger, my finger would actually have just been stuck in the machine and I would have been completely helpless.  So, it could have been worse.  The kids were all concerned and I remained calm, telling them that I was fine and that I just had part of the needle stuck in my finger.

I walked outside to call Kris, because I didn't want to scare the kids.  I said "Where are you?"  He indicated he was at 70 and 170 (which is about 12 minutes from our house).  I said "OK.  I think I need to go to the ER.  I have part of a needle stuck in my finger."  He indicated he would be home as soon as possible.  I went back in the house to make sure I was presentable.  One has to at least look decent and put a bra on to go to the ER.  What?  I hadn't planned to get back out that night!  Katherine tried to put my hair in a pony tail for me, but I wound up managing to do it myself and it at least looked halfway decent.  All the kids were waiting in the van when Kris got home.  I had collected all the pieces of the needle that weren't in my finger and put them in a bag to take to the ER, in case they needed to gauge how much of the needle was still in my finger.

Abbey had started crying at some point during all of the hustle and bustle of getting ready to go.  I told her that I was sorry I was ruining her birthday.  She explained that she wasn't crying because of that.  She said "I'm just scared they won't be able to get it out of your finger."  I calmly explained that they would definitely get it out and that is why we were going to the hospital, because they could get it out easier than I could.  She decided she wanted to stay with me the whole time, so when Kris got me to the ER, she went in with me while Kris and the kids parked and walked in.

Immediately, I became the star patient.  Not that I got super fast treatment, though overall the ER visit was surprisingly fast.  Apparently, while I am sure they see crazy things every day, it isn't every day that someone walks in with a quilting needle solidly embedded in their fingernail.  Three different intake/triage people took a look at my finger.  The lady who did the registration took a good long look, I think just to see it, as all she was there to do was to take down my name and info.

Cindy arrived shortly after and took the kids with her. Abbey went from wanting to stay with me to wanting to get Chinese with Grandma, so Kris and I were alone when they took me back to a room.  Immediately two of the nurses came in, just to look at my finger.  I heard them say "Rick (not his actual name cause I can't remember it) called this one.  He loves this kind of stuff!"  So, before I even got back there, someone had already "claimed" my case.  Said Dr. Rick came in and explained that they would numb my finger, remove the needle and then xray the finger to make sure that the bone wasn't fractured.

When all was said and done, THIS is what they removed from my fingernail.

Yes, the thread was still in the needle.  The eye of the needle was actually embedded below my nail.  You couldn't see the eye of the needle, though you could actually pull on the thread and move it back and forth.

When all was said and done, it didn't look so bad, though.  They told me to expect bruising and swelling, and sent me home with pain meds, but honestly, it feels just fine.  A little pain from time to time but overall, I barely feel it.  I was very fortunate.  My arm hurts worse from the tetanus shot I had to have!

So...there it is.  The whole story on HOW I drove a needle through my finger.  It was quite the exciting day.  You can laugh if you want.  Now that it doesn't feel like someone is constantly pounding a hammer down on my finger, it is pretty amusing.  So there's the story on the lengths I go to in order to ruin my childrens' birthdays.

Sewing project gone awry...part 1

First of all...wow...it's been a long time since I wrote.  Now I'm typing with a maimed finger, which I will tell you about shortly.

It all started just over three years ago...

Don't worry-I'll try to keep the three years brief!  ;-)

Abbey's birthday is October 17th.  I began a quilt for her just before she turned 6.  After finishing the top, and not in time for her birthday, in late October I began experiencing the first neck pain...what would end up being over 3 years of daily neck/back/shoulder pain.  So, I never got around to finishing her quilt.  Every now and then on a good day, I would make a little progress.  But I could never sew for more than an hour or so, and then I had to pay the price with an increase in pain.

But I am happy to report that on Friday, October 14, 2011, I FINALLY finished her quilt!  Just in time for her 9th birthday!

She loves it, of course.  It was only 3 years in the making!  Little did I know what would happen, just a few short days later...part 2 coming soon.

It could only be from Abbey

Dear, God I feel like none people love me.  Pelse help me feel loved and it's like when I get hurt I get in trouble.  I need your help God.  Thank you for everything and everyone.  Pelse forgive me for my sins.

I love you and I know you love me too.  you the greatest and goodest.  Thank you for letting your one and onely son die for our sins.  Thank you for pinky and all the things I got at the garge sale and things you made.  In Jesus's name.

---

I love her.  It breaks my heart that she feels like no one loves her sometimes, and yet I understand at the same time.  But then she changes tones in the letter.  And she focuses on thanking God and she is just such an amazing little girl.  I love her so much.

Just let me get to Switchfoot already!

Road trip! A short way of saying "Jamie's gonna blog!"

And the fun begins...

We went to the gas station to fill up and noticed that the on ramp to 170 was closed. So...we decided to turn around and take 270.  Guess what?!?  270 was closed too!

Not to be deterred, we drive down to Lindberg, along with everyone else in the area apparently. Because it was backed up, we figured our best bet was to go down to Howdershell and take that around to 270.

I know you're going to find this hard to believe, but before we got all the way down to Howdershell, the road was blocked. For a parade!! Are you kidding me?  And it wasn't just part of the parade. It was the BEGINNING of the parade!!

Never a full moment. This should be an interesting 4 hour drive. And we haven't even dropped the kids off yet!!