New Nickname for Cymbre!

April 27, 2010

The past two weeks have been pretty busy for us with everything that is going on, but there are just a few things I wanted to get documented here since I use this as my journal most of the time.

Cymbre came home from advanced ballet class a couple of weeks ago and said that Mr. Richard gave her a new nickname. So I asked what it was. "Crutches" was the answer. It seems that he can't remember her real name, so because she is still walking with her crutches he has decided her name shall be "Crutches". I guess he only gives nicknames to special dancers, and so Cymbre has hers. Cooper doesn't have one yet, but he really hasn't seen her dance much. Give him time. I later saw him and ask why crutches, and he told me he just can't remember her name! Ok, so crutches is easier to remember? Whatever...what about when she isn't on her crutches anymore? Then what will he call her?

The other night we were all asleep and at 2am we were rudly awakened by a drunk thinking our property was his. He woke Cooper us shouting and breaking glass and setting off his car alarm out in the cul-de-sac. Then just as she was coming downstairs, he woke me up
(I was out in the family room on the couch) when he jumped our fence and crashed his way all acrossed the back of our house, and really created a ruckus near the backdoor. Needless to say, I hurried and set the alarm before Cooper and I went go get Guy up....

Dad got dressed, and he called the police and while he was getting them on the phone we saw flashlights right up at the front door. I was thinking we may need to get Cymbre up as we may have to leave the house, but then Dad said the lady on the phone told him it was the police with the flashlights, and they were all around the house. I guess the neighbors called before we did because they have dogs that were barking with all the yelling going on out front.

So we waited a few minutes while we were peeking out some windows thru the blinds, and could see all kinds of police cars parked on the side of the house. The neighbor saw them arrest the guy just when he came thru the fence by the backdoor. We now a have very nice hole in the fence which Dad will fix soon. And Cymbre's hanging flowers are a bit worse for the trauma.

Then I was looking out the backdoor after the police took off in the guys car, and saw our hole, so Dad went out to talk to the police. They came around back, and I thought we had a hugh spiderweb just outside the back door, however, it wasn't. Instead it was the tazer string that they had shot at the guy as he jumped our fence the first time! The policeman gathered up the string, and told Dad that they had the guy.

OK, so if you have to have a drunk in the backyard...why couldn't it be at a reasonable hour instead of waking up sleeping families? And why isn't he the one having to fix the fence? And why was it Dad who had to go out and clean up all the broken glass in front of our property? And all along, the drunk was telling the police that he didn't do anything wrong...just what does he think was the wrong thing to do? I hope he enjoys his time in jail! I know, not very Christian of me, but you know, there are consequences to our actions. If he is lucky, I hope they feed him stale peanut butter! Needless to say, most of us didn't get much more sleep the other night.

Cymbre had yet another checkup with the eye specialist....he told us that what they are treating her for..posterior vitreal detachment...is very RARE in children. So rare in fact, that he took her case to the convention he was attending and showed them her photos of her eye. There are some really great ones showing this big blank spot just above her macula. They couldn't believe that they were looking at the eye of an 11 year old child! I guess it sparked a lot of discussion. Maybe her having this injury will cause someone somewhere to be able to help another child when they see it. Dr. Lee said he has never seen it in a child before. When she goes to his office, he brings all his medical students in to see her and to hear her story. Then they all have to have a look, and he asks them a million questions. This last time he was asking them why a posterior vitreal detachment was so uncommon in children. They just stood there and stood there. I almost couldn't stand it anymore, and wanted to tell them it was because the vitreal jelly in children is very sticky, so it rarely detaches! I mean really, even Cymbre knew the answer to that question, and we couldn't believe that medical students who had made it clear to a teaching rotation with the head of the eye program at the medical center wouldn't know that. GIVE ME A BREAK!! Finally, one of the older students came up with the answer...I just wanted to jump up and say, get with the program! And I am just the Mom....

So, Cymbre has regained her vision, but it is still very blurry. The doctor thought it would return long before now. However, because this type of thing is so rare, they don't really have any information to go on in children. So she is his case study.

We talked about her headaches, and he told us if they continue that the family doctor can contact him for some names of child neurologists who can help her with the migraines. He said there is medicine that they can use in children, but the neurologist would be the one to help her. OK...we will wait and see.

He also told us that her vision will probably fade in and out for probably the next year or so....and it is interesting that if she just bumps or startles herself...she instantly regains her vision and it stays for hours. Dr. Lee said that is because when she shakes her head...it flattens out the vitreal jelly and lets the optic nerve and the retina make the connections they need to deliver vision. However, they can't go in and surgically fix the jelly as that could cause more serious problems unless they just see no other option. Right now we are leaving it the way it is. HOWEVER, we have to let him know if her vision fades again for more than a day and a half as they will need to check her retina to make sure it hasn't detached. She does have vitreal traction, which is where the jelly pulls on the other surrounding nerves...so retina issues are still a possibility, but at this point because the injury is now several months old the doctor doesn't think that will happen.

I wanted to tell him about the priesthood, and how she has been promised several times that she would heal and have her vision, but I really didn't think he would understand. He just thinks it is wonderful that he is her doctor, and can take her case to all these conferences he teaches at. He is the lead professor of the eye stuff at the Methodist part of the medical center. So instead, of telling him, we just talked about how much she is being blessed on the way home.

At this point, we are grateful for the vision she has, but are still praying for further clarity, and that it sticks around permanently. She is ONE LUCKY girl! She could have shattered her eye! Now we are going to have to get her new glasses, but we are going to wait a few weeks to see just how clear things become....so everyone say your prayers.

AND, THERE WILL BE NO MORE EXERCISE BANDS USED IN THIS HOUSE....

Cooper appears to be doing well with her physical therapy for her foot tendons. They have discovered that she has her balance as long as she is dancing, but when she is just being a normal person...she has no balance. So in therapy, they are working on her normal person balance, which hopefully, won't mess up her dancer trained balance. She has to wait probably until the end of May before they will consider letting her try dancing again. I think we are probably not doing much in recital this year....this is a very common problem with dancers.

Cymbre is finally out of her cast, and into her aircast for her foot tendons. She has to wear her aircast for three weeks, and then return to the doctor. We are hoping then that she will be able to go to physical therapy for her foot. She was already in physical therapy for her knees, and now a lot of what she had fixed will have to be redone. She too will have balance issues....it seems that when you wear a cast it messes up sensitive things like balance. However, she isn't walking around crashing into things, so hopefully, they can fix her yet again. She probably will not be doing recital at all except to help backstage with her babies. Thank goodness, she loves her physical therapist. I lucked out when I found Jeff.

We made an extra trip to the orthodontist this week with Cymbre....seems someone stepped on her purse which had her retainer inside her little box, and cracked the dumb thing. THANK GOODNESS I BOUGHT THE INSURANCE...and so I just had to pay 1/2 of the replacement cost. Now she is going to leave it in her purse inside her locker when she goes to eat. You don't think anyone can step on it if it is in her locker do you?

Can we be done picking on Cymbre and her health yet? Whose idea is all this stuff anyway...I want to talk to them and tell them to leave the poor child alone!

With all this stress around here, I am amazed that my blood sugar is anywhere below a million! However, the insulin therapy seems to be beginning to work, and I am feeling much better again. THANK GOODNESS...there is no time for Mom to be feeling bad. TOO MANY GRANDBABIES to spoil!!! And I have to drag myself out to see all these other doctors anyway!

I counted the other day, and I have over 15 doctors in my cell phone...give me a break....is that normal?

OK, so the last thing I have to complain about is that they want me to take Cymbre and get a second chickpox shot...WHEN THE KID HAS HAD CHICKEN POX TWICE!!! The doctor says she doesn't need it...I can feel a fight with the school nurse coming on...thank goodness I won the fight with the school counselor so now I have time to take on the nurse! I'll just do that between the doctor appointments, physical therapy appointements, nutritionist appointments, and picking up the girls at school and dance runs. Do you think it will take longer than about 20 seconds? That's about the extent of my free time these days! That's about 2" of sewing time....

My fun project this past week has been to cut out the curtains for the front bathroom....it may be another 7 years before I actually sew them.....I mean really, there are those grandbabies to think about.....

EVERYONE, go do something nice for someone....it will help you forget your troubles. And maybe thinking about you all doing that will help me forget all mine!

Love you bunches and bunches and bunches.....send grandbaby photos....I may go into withdrawal and that won't be good.

Love,

Mom