so busy

The Walker family has been on the move lately. We've been trying to improve the look of the church (because it needs it and because we want it to look nicer for visitors). So far we've painted the room we use for kids' church and gotten some new stuff to go in there. We've also moved the location of the nursery, painted it, and gotten new furniture and toys. This weekend was spent getting ready for Bible School this week. I'll be teaching the preschool class and am still trying to figure out exactly what activities to do with the kids.

Mattie Leigh has chosen this time to decide to test her limits. She's definitely in the autonomy vs. shame and doubt stage and is really testing us to see just how much she can get away with. Today, she got a marker and colored on a table and chair and some VBS decorations before Kevin could get to her. (I was in the room I'll be teaching in trying to get some decorations up.) I'm trying to keep in mind that she's just trying to become a little more independent while still setting appropriate boundaries for that independence.

how would you handle this situation?

I was working with a child a while back, and he needed to go to the restroom. I assumed that he could be trusted to go and get his parent and have them take him to the restroom. (This is something that I have kids do all the time.) Maybe it was too much responsibility to give to a 4 1/2 year old? Instead of going to his parent, he went to play in the water. Now when I work with him, his parent gives me a 5 minute lecture on not leaving him alone or letting him out of the room under any circumstances. This even went on so far as the parent saying that 4 year olds can't do simple things like that on their own and that they need constant adult supervision. I don't know about you, but I know that plenty of 4 year olds that have been able to handle simple tasks like that. How do I explain to the parent that many 4 year olds can handle simple responsibilities and that they are 1) either babying their child too much or 2) their child has some special needs that need to be checked into? I had to hold my tongue the last time this happened so that I didn't say something ugly to her that could hurt my reputation since a lot of people were nearby. I was (and still am) very frustrated by this.

no celiac disease!

I found out on Wednesday that Mattie Leigh doesn't have celiac disease. Apparently, she's had hidden acid reflux for a while and we didn't know because we didn't see any symptoms. That then turned into severe gastritis. Since we've had her on prevacid, she has been doing a lot better. She is eating a lot better and seems to be feeling a lot better. I'm so relieved that it ended up being something simple to treat!

a diagnosis

I got a call from Dr. Ulmer's office today letting us know that they got the biopsy results from Mattie Leigh's endoscopy. The results showed that Mattie Leigh has gastritis, really severe in places, and that it was likely caused by acid reflux. I had been suspecting that she may have acid reflux after hearing strange 'gurgling' noises in her throat for the past few weeks. She is on a 30 mg daily dose of Prevacid to clear it up. We're still waiting on results from the celiac test...that takes 10 days to complete because of the genetic testing that goes with it. I'm just relieved that we can start doing something to help her feel better!

waiting...

Last night was a really hard night for us. Mattie Leigh woke up at 12:40 and wanted her middle of the night cup of milk (because she hasn't been eating well, she has wanted milk in the middle of the night). Because of her appointment, we couldn't let her have anything (not even a sip of water) after midnight. Poor baby couldn't understand why she couldn't have it and cried for hours. I sat up with her and we watched Elmo over and over. After spending most of the night sitting up with Mattie Leigh, I was really hoping that we would be in and out quickly at the hospital. That was wishful thinking...we had to be at the hospital for admission stuff at 7:30 and her appointment was scheduled for 8:30. She didn't go back until 9:30 for the endoscopy. The anesthesia and endoscopy took a total of about 20 minutes. Dr. Ulmer came out and told us that she biopsied several areas and told us that Mattie Leigh's esophagus was red and that her stomach and small intestine were inflamed. She mentioned that the inflammation in the small intestine could be an H. pylori infection. She also said that she wanted to wait until the biopsy results to prescribe treatment because she wasn't completely sure what the problem was and that it could be one or more things (H. pylori infection, celiac disease, and/or acid reflux). She told us that we'd find out the results by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. I really hope we find out in the next few days because I'm tired of Mattie Leigh suffering.

possible solution?

I took Mattie Leigh to a GI specialist on Wednesday. Within five minutes of telling her what Mattie Leigh's stomach had been doing over the last several months, she told me that she thought that it sounded a lot like celiac disease (gluten intolerance). We're scheduled to go in a week from Wednesday for Mattie Leigh to have blood work and an endoscopy. If she does have celiac disease, she'll have to go on a strict gluten-free diet. The doctor also told me that she didn't think Mattie Leigh ever had a viral or bacterial infection (both of which her regular pediatrician treated her for).

great news :) and an annoyance :(

Kevin's grandfather mentioned earlier in the week that his grandmother would be able to come home on Friday if she continued to do well with therapy. I sat with her Tuesday and witnessed how hard she was working. She even told me that she intended to "walk out of the hospital soon." She did get to leave the hospital on Friday. I'm sure that she still has a lot of hard work ahead of her to get back to full strength, but I'm also sure that she is going to give it her best effort.

I've had horrible migraines daily for at least a week and a half now. I woke up this morning and thought I was going to have a day without one, but sometime after lunch I got slammed with another one. It's very difficult to tend to Mattie Leigh...much less get chores around the house done. Please be praying that I'll get some relief from them soon. Also, if you have some advice on helpful remedies or know of any good medicines I could possibly try, please let me know.