Due to some internet difficulties, I must unfortunately make this a very short blog. To those of you who are unaware, I live in a very rural area and our phone lines are basically comparable to paper cups connected to string. We have DSL internet service, but thanks to the phone lines being crap, our computers here at home unfortunately run at Dial-Up speed. Normally, I deal with this fine, but the past couple of days, the internet has been even slower. It choose when it wants to connect and if we are lucky enough to get a connection then it takes anywhere from 15-20 minutes for one page to load. This time varies according to the site and the graphics it includes. SG is full of pictures so it has been really hard to even get the page to load, so I just wanted to let you all know that probably until after Monday (We have a repairman coming to "try" and fix the internet), I will not be able to do much commenting or blogging. 
Personally, I do not think the repairman will do the service any justice. He was here Thursday and his work got us nowhere! So I am not having a positive outlook on another one returning.
On top of dealing with the internet problems, I have also been juggling a lot of appointments for me, as well as Pezmaster's little boy, Brandon. From here on out, I am going to just refer to him as my stepson. Pezmaster and I are not married, but I have lived here for six months. I have been helping him support Brandon and basically being a mother figure, since is biological mother only decides to show up once a month. I have gotten very close to the little guy and that is not going to change. Even if something happens between his father and I, I have promised that I will never walk out of his life. At this point, I consider him my child, even though I did not give birth to him. I love him as if he were my own!
The poor little guy was born with what they call a lazy eye and due to this has wore glasses for over a year now. He recently turned four and we knew that we had to start thinking of preschool. Being in graduate school to become a teacher myself, I care very much about Brandon getting a good education, so we have been taking all the steps necessary to get him ready. So first, we took him to the pediatrician. Pezmaster and I were concerned that Brandon may be a little delayed because we are having a great difficulty potty training. Since he is now four, we are becoming even more worried. We also notice that sometimes he has trouble connecting things and loses focus. Naturally, I start to worry. I have a Bachelor's in Psychology so I start putting the pieces together. We discussed this with pediatrician and see said that she would see how he was progressing. He surprised Pezmaster and I by naming all his colors and drawing shapes for the doctor. Knowing all this she said he appeared to be right on target with his age level and should be ready for school once the potty training mission was accomplished. This was a a very good sign and was a great relief to me and his father at this point. Then, the pediatrician mentioned that she felt he appeared to have some deficits with fine motor skill activities. She said this could be worked on and not to worry too much at this point (like this really made me comfortable, not really). As for the potty training, she felt it was strictly a behavior thing and that Brandon was simply being stubborn. I can agree with this completely, but Pezmaster and I still wanted to be completely sure that everything else was alright with him due to not meeting milestones on time.
So after the poor little guy suffered through the four shots that were required for him to be enrolled in preschool at some point, his father and I decided to next tackle the eye doctor. Before this appointment though we buttered Brandon up a little. Getting the shots freaked him out greatly
, so we treated him to McDonalds and a couple hours of play at a local park. Within an hour he had forgotten about the whole ordeal.
Then this past Thursday we went and had his eyes examined. Due to the experience at the pediatrician, Brandon was bit freaked out about being at a new doctor. He really threw a fit over getting the drops put in his eyes to dilate them, but forgot all about it once he got to start trying on cool new glasses. He picked out an awesome pair in my opinion. They are neon blue. According to Brandon, he wanted the blue ones because they were the same color as his eyes and his daddy's jacket. I think all the compliments from me helped me the decision a bit too!
At this appointment we learned that he vision had gotten worse and that the eye that did not look straight would probably need to be corrected with surgery. We were also informed that he had no depth perception due to his eye being this way and that was the reason he was having difficulty with fine motor skills, such as standing on one leg and hopping like a bunny with his feet together. Once surgery was mentioned, his ophthalmologist informed us that he was going to refer us to a "famous" ophthalmologist in Charleston. *giggles* Why did I say famous? Well, if any of you watched this season of Teen Mom 2 on MTV, well Brandon gets to go visit the same ophthalmologist that Leah took her baby too. Not only did I consider this ophthalmologist famous for that reason, but also because he is the same one that treated me when I was a child. If it wasn't for him, I would not be able to see. As I had mentioned in my previous blog, I was blind until I was six months old due to the complications of my Cerebral Palsy. So from both of these things put together, I am confident that Brandon will get the best medical care possible. Although, Pezmaster and are not the least bit excited about him having to be operated on. Can you imagine how hard it is going to be to get a four year old not to rub or scratch his eye while it is healing? I am dreading it now just thinking about it. Although it isn't funny by any means, I have been making little jokes about cute Brandon will look with his little eye patch. We were have our own little pirate for awhile! 
Now only if we can get him to say, "Ahoy Matey!," then we will be all set.
After further discussion about seeing the doctor in Charleston, his current ophthalmologist also informed us that normally this type of lazy or crossing eye could be due to a problem in the brain. It may not be totally to blame on a weak eye muscle. So now, my worrying begins again, but I had been researching all about this before the appointment so I knew he was going to say this. I was prepared, but the hearing it stung a bit. Since it could be in the brain, it was suggested that we either consult a child psychologist or get a MRI scan of Brandon's brain. Due to having a psychology degree, I felt that the child psychologist would not be ideal at this point. Children around the age of four are very hard to diagnose with anything. Especially with things such as autism and other learning disabilities, most psychologist are hesitate to diagnose until the child is at least six or older. So therefore, Pezmaster and I decided to opt for the MRI.
First thing this morning, I made a call to the pediatrician and set up an appointment for the MRI. I was scared about how it was going to go down and was making sure that he would be sedated and not be frightened by the MRI machine. Being disabled myself, I have had tons of MRI's up until current and it even scares the crap out of me. Thankfully for me however, I have the Implanon implant for birth control and can no longer have MRI's. The birth control device is under my skin and is made partly of metal, so now I can not be near the MRI and its magnetism. YAY! Fortunately for Brandon as well, he will be sedated. Pezmaster are still worried and will continue to be until we get the test results back after the procedure.
As if Brandon does not have to go through enough, with an upcoming eye surgery and brain scan. This Monday, yes the day before the MRI, he has to have a hernia checked out. He was born with it, but has been expressing some pain in his belly. Being the worrier that I am, I immediately got a referral to get the hernia check out as well. I want to make sure that the hernia hasn't done any permanent damage to his insides and that it isn't what is delaying the potty training.
I myself, had a hernia repaired back in 2007. It was a very painful experience for me due the fact that the hernia had completely moved my stomach into my diaphragm and moved my intestines around a little and ultimately grew to the point that it was pressing on my lungs. I almost died. I was smothering to death and did not know it. The doctors were blaming my breathing problems on being a fat kid and all along it was that. When they rearraigned my insides and repaired the hernia, they also did the lap-band procedure on me, stretched my esophagus, and put a small gate in my throat to correct severe acid reflux. So for me it was a big ordeal and knowing what I went through, I definitely wanted to make sure Brandon did not have to suffer like I did. I was 25 at the time at it was hell, I can not imagine being four and experiencing something similar.
For all of us that are curious as to the results of my surgery. I haven't had heartburn since 2007, which is great relief! Not to mention, that thanks to the lab-band, I am now over 100lbs lighter. So in my case, it was a success.
On top of scheduling all of these appointments for Brandon, I have also had to worry about myself. Since last summer when I broke my right foot and ankle, I have been having trouble finding an orthopedist in the area. Since then I have been traveling three hours from where I used to live in Charleston to Morgantown. However, now that I live over an hour away from Charleston in Ansted, Morgantown is now even further away. With gas prices at the price they are now, frequent trips to Morgantown would be impossible to do.
So I called around and found a orthopedist in Beckley. The initial reason for the visit was the check on my Achilles tendon in my left foot and to address the fact that recent blood work showed that my Rheumatoid factor was positive, which is great indication that i now suffer from arthritis in addition to the Cerebral Palsy!
However, the visit turned out to be a complete waste.
Basically, the orthopedist told me that he did not treat Cerebral Palsy, which is to me is completely ridiculous since this is an condition generally treated by an orthopedist. Also, he did not look at my tendon at all. He said the Rheumatoid factor being positive was nothing and to just take Aleve for pain. I was so angry.
Then he admitted that he would be really no use to me and that I should keep going to Morgantown. Urgggg!
Maybe the fact that this doctor looked as old as Gandalf from "The Lord of Rings" should have been an indication that this appointment was going to go well. All that was really accomplished was that I got a referral to get my leg braces adjusted so that I could start wearing them again, which I hate! I am also going to get new shoes that are specially made to fit the braces. I have always been very stubborn when it comes to wearing these braces. In fact, I have not wore them since September. I need them for ankle support since my right ankle broke for no reason last summer and then my foot. They are suppose to help stabilize my feet so that this doesn't happen again. Therefore, my not wearing them is really not good, I know, but Pezmaster is pretty certain that as long as he is around I will wear them. We will see who wins this one!
So after the bad experience with this orthopedist, I spoke to close friend and she recommended a good one in Charleston. Hopefully, this one will be competent enough to treat my Cerebral Palsy. My Achilles tendon is not the only thing that has me worried these days. I go to physical therapy twice a week. Since starting, I have noticed that my shoulder is popping and grinding and now I am having severe pain in right hip. People with my form of Cerebral Palsy are prone to hip dislocations later and life and I want to prevent this and actually find out what is causing the additional pain. I tried calling this orthopedist this afternoon after making the remainder of Brandon's appointments, but his office was closed due to Good Friday. I guess it is a good sign he is a Christian. *shrugs* So, I plan on calling next week once Pezmaster and I make sure Brandon is alright. He is our main priority right now. I could care less about when I get taken care of at this point. He comes first in my eyes.
On a non-medical related note, Pezmaster and I are extreme procrastinators. Sunday is Easter and we have yet to get Brandon anything. So tomorrow we are going to go buy a pre-made basket and with the help of Pezmaster's mother add some more candy and stuff to it. Those you buy in stores never have enough candy in them! Also, we are going to buy an egg coloring kit so that on Sunday we can let Brandon hunt eggs outside. This excites me. It will be the first year he will be old enough to do this and I am sure he will have a blast. Let's just all keep our fingers crossed it does not rain. If it does, then damn it we are hiding eggs in the house. There will be eggs somewhere if I have anything to do about it! *giggles*
Until my internet starts cooperating my participation on SG will be not as frequent as usual. I will try daily until Monday to connect and keep in touch. I want to wish all of you a wonderful and joyous Easter that you get to spend with friends and family. As for myself, I am going to keep wishing that the Easter Bunny is going to visit me this year. After all, I did make a list. Unfortunately, my list has been looked over since I was around 11 or so, hopefully this year will be different. I know at Pezmaster as well as his family will get me some candy.
MY EASTER WISHLIST
Oh there was something that I forgot to mention in my blog explaining my disability. I also forgot to share that my real name is actually Virginia! I hate it with a passion and have since a child! Once I began talking, my parents began calling me "Ginny." No, I did not misspell it. The nickname is spelled with a "G" when the original name is Virginia. If your name is actually, Jennifer, then you would spell it, "Jenny." I however, also hated spelling it with a "G." So as soon as I learned to write my name, I began spelling it with a "J" and have been ever since. The only time I am called Virginia is in school, at a doctor, or when I am severe trouble. I am actually contemplating changing it legally to "Jenny." To do so however, costs $150, so I must save some cash first. At this point though, saving up for a place of my own for Pezmaster, Brandon, and I is more important. The name change can always be done later and ultimately I will do it!
Happy Easter,
Jen
Personally, I do not think the repairman will do the service any justice. He was here Thursday and his work got us nowhere! So I am not having a positive outlook on another one returning.
On top of dealing with the internet problems, I have also been juggling a lot of appointments for me, as well as Pezmaster's little boy, Brandon. From here on out, I am going to just refer to him as my stepson. Pezmaster and I are not married, but I have lived here for six months. I have been helping him support Brandon and basically being a mother figure, since is biological mother only decides to show up once a month. I have gotten very close to the little guy and that is not going to change. Even if something happens between his father and I, I have promised that I will never walk out of his life. At this point, I consider him my child, even though I did not give birth to him. I love him as if he were my own!
The poor little guy was born with what they call a lazy eye and due to this has wore glasses for over a year now. He recently turned four and we knew that we had to start thinking of preschool. Being in graduate school to become a teacher myself, I care very much about Brandon getting a good education, so we have been taking all the steps necessary to get him ready. So first, we took him to the pediatrician. Pezmaster and I were concerned that Brandon may be a little delayed because we are having a great difficulty potty training. Since he is now four, we are becoming even more worried. We also notice that sometimes he has trouble connecting things and loses focus. Naturally, I start to worry. I have a Bachelor's in Psychology so I start putting the pieces together. We discussed this with pediatrician and see said that she would see how he was progressing. He surprised Pezmaster and I by naming all his colors and drawing shapes for the doctor. Knowing all this she said he appeared to be right on target with his age level and should be ready for school once the potty training mission was accomplished. This was a a very good sign and was a great relief to me and his father at this point. Then, the pediatrician mentioned that she felt he appeared to have some deficits with fine motor skill activities. She said this could be worked on and not to worry too much at this point (like this really made me comfortable, not really). As for the potty training, she felt it was strictly a behavior thing and that Brandon was simply being stubborn. I can agree with this completely, but Pezmaster and I still wanted to be completely sure that everything else was alright with him due to not meeting milestones on time.
So after the poor little guy suffered through the four shots that were required for him to be enrolled in preschool at some point, his father and I decided to next tackle the eye doctor. Before this appointment though we buttered Brandon up a little. Getting the shots freaked him out greatly
, so we treated him to McDonalds and a couple hours of play at a local park. Within an hour he had forgotten about the whole ordeal.
Then this past Thursday we went and had his eyes examined. Due to the experience at the pediatrician, Brandon was bit freaked out about being at a new doctor. He really threw a fit over getting the drops put in his eyes to dilate them, but forgot all about it once he got to start trying on cool new glasses. He picked out an awesome pair in my opinion. They are neon blue. According to Brandon, he wanted the blue ones because they were the same color as his eyes and his daddy's jacket. I think all the compliments from me helped me the decision a bit too!
At this appointment we learned that he vision had gotten worse and that the eye that did not look straight would probably need to be corrected with surgery.
We were also informed that he had no depth perception due to his eye being this way and that was the reason he was having difficulty with fine motor skills, such as standing on one leg and hopping like a bunny with his feet together. Once surgery was mentioned, his ophthalmologist informed us that he was going to refer us to a "famous" ophthalmologist in Charleston. *giggles* Why did I say famous? Well, if any of you watched this season of Teen Mom 2 on MTV, well Brandon gets to go visit the same ophthalmologist that Leah took her baby too. Not only did I consider this ophthalmologist famous for that reason, but also because he is the same one that treated me when I was a child. If it wasn't for him, I would not be able to see. As I had mentioned in my previous blog, I was blind until I was six months old due to the complications of my Cerebral Palsy. So from both of these things put together, I am confident that Brandon will get the best medical care possible. Although, Pezmaster and are not the least bit excited about him having to be operated on. Can you imagine how hard it is going to be to get a four year old not to rub or scratch his eye while it is healing? I am dreading it now just thinking about it. Although it isn't funny by any means, I have been making little jokes about cute Brandon will look with his little eye patch. We were have our own little pirate for awhile! Now only if we can get him to say, "Ahoy Matey!," then we will be all set.
After further discussion about seeing the doctor in Charleston, his current ophthalmologist also informed us that normally this type of lazy or crossing eye could be due to a problem in the brain. It may not be totally to blame on a weak eye muscle. So now, my worrying begins again, but I had been researching all about this before the appointment so I knew he was going to say this. I was prepared, but the hearing it stung a bit. Since it could be in the brain, it was suggested that we either consult a child psychologist or get a MRI scan of Brandon's brain. Due to having a psychology degree, I felt that the child psychologist would not be ideal at this point. Children around the age of four are very hard to diagnose with anything. Especially with things such as autism and other learning disabilities, most psychologist are hesitate to diagnose until the child is at least six or older. So therefore, Pezmaster and I decided to opt for the MRI.
First thing this morning, I made a call to the pediatrician and set up an appointment for the MRI. I was scared about how it was going to go down and was making sure that he would be sedated and not be frightened by the MRI machine. Being disabled myself, I have had tons of MRI's up until current and it even scares the crap out of me. Thankfully for me however, I have the Implanon implant for birth control and can no longer have MRI's. The birth control device is under my skin and is made partly of metal, so now I can not be near the MRI and its magnetism. YAY!
Fortunately for Brandon as well, he will be sedated. Pezmaster are still worried and will continue to be until we get the test results back after the procedure.
As if Brandon does not have to go through enough, with an upcoming eye surgery and brain scan. This Monday, yes the day before the MRI, he has to have a hernia checked out. He was born with it, but has been expressing some pain in his belly. Being the worrier that I am, I immediately got a referral to get the hernia check out as well. I want to make sure that the hernia hasn't done any permanent damage to his insides and that it isn't what is delaying the potty training.
I myself, had a hernia repaired back in 2007. It was a very painful experience for me due the fact that the hernia had completely moved my stomach into my diaphragm and moved my intestines around a little and ultimately grew to the point that it was pressing on my lungs. I almost died. I was smothering to death and did not know it. The doctors were blaming my breathing problems on being a fat kid and all along it was that. When they rearraigned my insides and repaired the hernia, they also did the lap-band procedure on me, stretched my esophagus, and put a small gate in my throat to correct severe acid reflux. So for me it was a big ordeal and knowing what I went through, I definitely wanted to make sure Brandon did not have to suffer like I did. I was 25 at the time at it was hell, I can not imagine being four and experiencing something similar.
For all of us that are curious as to the results of my surgery. I haven't had heartburn since 2007, which is great relief!
Not to mention, that thanks to the lab-band, I am now over 100lbs lighter. So in my case, it was a success.
On top of scheduling all of these appointments for Brandon, I have also had to worry about myself. Since last summer when I broke my right foot and ankle, I have been having trouble finding an orthopedist in the area. Since then I have been traveling three hours from where I used to live in Charleston to Morgantown. However, now that I live over an hour away from Charleston in Ansted, Morgantown is now even further away. With gas prices at the price they are now, frequent trips to Morgantown would be impossible to do.
So I called around and found a orthopedist in Beckley. The initial reason for the visit was the check on my Achilles tendon in my left foot and to address the fact that recent blood work showed that my Rheumatoid factor was positive, which is great indication that i now suffer from arthritis in addition to the Cerebral Palsy!
However, the visit turned out to be a complete waste.
Basically, the orthopedist told me that he did not treat Cerebral Palsy, which is to me is completely ridiculous since this is an condition generally treated by an orthopedist. Also, he did not look at my tendon at all. He said the Rheumatoid factor being positive was nothing and to just take Aleve for pain. I was so angry.
Then he admitted that he would be really no use to me and that I should keep going to Morgantown. Urgggg!
Maybe the fact that this doctor looked as old as Gandalf from "The Lord of Rings" should have been an indication that this appointment was going to go well.
All that was really accomplished was that I got a referral to get my leg braces adjusted so that I could start wearing them again, which I hate! I am also going to get new shoes that are specially made to fit the braces. I have always been very stubborn when it comes to wearing these braces. In fact, I have not wore them since September. I need them for ankle support since my right ankle broke for no reason last summer and then my foot. They are suppose to help stabilize my feet so that this doesn't happen again. Therefore, my not wearing them is really not good, I know, but Pezmaster is pretty certain that as long as he is around I will wear them. We will see who wins this one!
So after the bad experience with this orthopedist, I spoke to close friend and she recommended a good one in Charleston. Hopefully, this one will be competent enough to treat my Cerebral Palsy. My Achilles tendon is not the only thing that has me worried these days. I go to physical therapy twice a week. Since starting, I have noticed that my shoulder is popping and grinding and now I am having severe pain in right hip. People with my form of Cerebral Palsy are prone to hip dislocations later and life and I want to prevent this and actually find out what is causing the additional pain. I tried calling this orthopedist this afternoon after making the remainder of Brandon's appointments, but his office was closed due to Good Friday. I guess it is a good sign he is a Christian. *shrugs* So, I plan on calling next week once Pezmaster and I make sure Brandon is alright. He is our main priority right now. I could care less about when I get taken care of at this point. He comes first in my eyes.
On a non-medical related note, Pezmaster and I are extreme procrastinators. Sunday is Easter and we have yet to get Brandon anything. So tomorrow we are going to go buy a pre-made basket and with the help of Pezmaster's mother add some more candy and stuff to it. Those you buy in stores never have enough candy in them!
Also, we are going to buy an egg coloring kit so that on Sunday we can let Brandon hunt eggs outside. This excites me. It will be the first year he will be old enough to do this and I am sure he will have a blast. Let's just all keep our fingers crossed it does not rain. If it does, then damn it we are hiding eggs in the house. There will be eggs somewhere if I have anything to do about it! *giggles*
Until my internet starts cooperating my participation on SG will be not as frequent as usual. I will try daily until Monday to connect and keep in touch. I want to wish all of you a wonderful and joyous Easter that you get to spend with friends and family. As for myself, I am going to keep wishing that the Easter Bunny is going to visit me this year. After all, I did make a list. Unfortunately, my list has been looked over since I was around 11 or so, hopefully this year will be different. I know at Pezmaster as well as his family will get me some candy.
MY EASTER WISHLIST
Oh there was something that I forgot to mention in my blog explaining my disability. I also forgot to share that my real name is actually Virginia! I hate it with a passion and have since a child!
Once I began talking, my parents began calling me "Ginny." No, I did not misspell it. The nickname is spelled with a "G" when the original name is Virginia. If your name is actually, Jennifer, then you would spell it, "Jenny." I however, also hated spelling it with a "G." So as soon as I learned to write my name, I began spelling it with a "J" and have been ever since. The only time I am called Virginia is in school, at a doctor, or when I am severe trouble. I am actually contemplating changing it legally to "Jenny." To do so however, costs $150, so I must save some cash first. At this point though, saving up for a place of my own for Pezmaster, Brandon, and I is more important. The name change can always be done later and ultimately I will do it!
Happy Easter,
Jen
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Isn't playing the Easter Bunny awesome? I know T has fun hiding Eggs...lol.
That is something about Brandon. If you think about it, kids do have a simplistic outlook on everything. If you think about it...someone is dead for a couple days...what do you think they'll look like if they come back to life? LOL