Random from the last of the October pictures

This is my potato bin. This is also an example of a typical "Emeline" stunt. I went to get a few potatoes from the bin, and when I removed the lid, this is what I found. She had taken out the bag of potatoes (there were only a few left in it), and replaced it with her baby doll. She had also thoughtfully dropped in a sweater, I guess to serve as a cushion so the doll didn't have to sit on the hard wood. I have no idea why Emeline does this, other than she likes to hide things. Like glasses. And cell phones. And tv remotes. And purses. And wallets. And baby dolls. Believe me when I say that life is NEVER boring in this house. LOL

 

Trick or Treat!

My camera battery died after this one picture, so it's the only one I've got. :( This was the first year Emeline has been trick-or-treating. We've never taken her, since we don't really know many people where we live now, and we're out in the country.
Emmie's costume was a puppy, which she thought was WONDERFUL. LOL We only went to a few houses (the people who had been to her party earlier that day, in fact). Instead of begging for treats, we did reverse trick-or-treating---We TOOK treats with us! We had great funny "treating" each of Emmie's special friends to farm-fresh eggs that we had brought with us from home, and left-over birthday cake from the party earlier that afternoon! They were all thrilled with their Halloween "Treats!" I told them, "We're taking Em out egging for Halloween!" LOL

 

Last of the Birthday Party Pics...Special Friends

In addition to family, Emeline has some other very special friends at her Papa's church. We are very blessed to have each of them in our life!

 

 

 

 

More Birthday Party Pics...

 

 

 

 

Oh, Man!!!

I just realized while looking back through the blog, that I somehow missed posting about Emeline's birthday party in October! Since that's kind of a big deal, I'm going to go ahead and add those pictures now. So much for having a blog that goes in order! LOL

Although her birthday is 10/10 (Yes, Emmie's 5th birthday was 10/10/10!), we didn't have her party until 10/31. We always have her party at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Illinois, so our family and friends can attend the party.

 

 

 

Yay!!! No Hospital Stay for Emeline this time!

Emeline started December off with a bang. On the evening of November 30th, she fell asleep around 4:30 pm and slept all night through. I had to wake her up at 8:00, and even then she didn't want to get up. That is not normal for her at all. She is usually up much later at night, and up much earlier in the morning, so I was a little concerned. She fought me when I tried to get her up, and she stumbled more than walked down the hall to the bathroom. After she'd been up just a few minutes, she started vomiting. By then I knew the signs. I called our local Ped's office and told them I was on my way. We have been through this before, so we have a pre-arranged agreement that they will give her a shot if/when she needs one. They gave her her shot of hydrocortisone (solu-cortef) right away, and then I called our Endocrinologist's office in Iowa City. I told his nurse that Em had slept for over 15 hours, wasn't "waking" well, and had just vomited several times, but that she'd had the shot, so I was hoping I had caught it in time. She said we'd have to wait and see; she wanted me to call back in the afternoon and we'd talk then about whether or not we needed to head to the hospital. Meanwhile, I gave her a triple-dose of her oral hydrocortisone at the regular times (which is what I'm supposed to do), and watched her closely. And--drum roll here please--we did NOT have to go to the hospital! WooHoo! That was really a source of excitement for me, as it was the first time in the 14 months since Emeline had been diagnosed with Addison's, that she did NOT end up in the hospital from an Addisonian crisis. It gave me hope, that finally, FINALLY I was learning to catch it soon enough that we could handle it at home, and not have to go to the hospital in fear every time she threw up. (After almost losing her twice in the hospital because of Addison's, it is not something I took lightly.) So I am thrilled to report that, for the first time, we survived an Addisonian crisis and managed to avoid the hospital! We continued triple-dosing for 2 more days and then weaned back down to her regular dose, and Em came through it just fine! YAY!

What a way to welcome December!

More from November...Sleep Study Number 2 and Aunt Caryl's Funeral

On the Monday after Thanksgiving, Em and I hit the road again. (Yes, we do that a lot.) My Aunt Caryl had passed away, so we were going back to Illinois for her funeral. Things got a little complicated, however, due to the fact that Em had a follow-up sleep study already scheduled for that Monday night---in Iowa City. But I was supposed to sing and play the piano for my Aunt's funeral, and I really did NOT want to do that without practicing with the person I was playing for (my sister, Joy), so I really needed to go to Illinois, too. So...we left home after Emmie got out of school, and went to Illinois, where we stayed for about 2 hours---long enough for Joy and I to practice until we were both comfortable with the songs, and then Emmie and I headed to back to Iowa again, to the hospital in Iowa City.

The idea of a C-Pap Machine isn't new to Emeline; Bill uses one every night. She has messed with his more than once, putting the mask on herself, or on her baby doll. So I had hoped that it might not be a HUGE ordeal, getting her to wear the mask. Well, she screamed a good while and kept trying to take it off, but she eventually wore down and gave up. It was definitely another one of those times where I wished she was able to tell me what she was thinking/feeling. (Other than, "No, Mom, No! Hep, Mom! Noooooo!" That is just heart-breaking. We have been through it too many times to count, and it never gets easier, even when you know it's something your child NEEDS, and something that will HELP them.) Anyway...I *think* that she was scared because she couldn't feel her nose, when she had the mask on, so maybe she was thinking that her nose was gone, or something? I don't know, obviously. But each time she woke up, she said, "My nose, Mom," and then would reach over to me, and feel MY nose. I just kept telling her that her nose was still there, it was just under the mask, and she immediately calmed down and went back to sleep, so I don't know if that was it, or not. All I know is that it calmed her down. Although she did wake up several times through the night, overall, I considered the experience a success. We left at 5:30 Tuesday morning, and headed back to Illinois.

The funeral was as nice as a funeral can be, given the circumstances. My Dad conducted the service; I imagine that was one of the harder funerals he has presided over, given that it was his sister. Funerals are not one of my favorite things to attend, but my Dad does a wonderful job of using those times to remind us of the things that REALLY matter.
My Aunt Caryl was ready to go; there is peace and comfort in knowing that.

After the service, I enjoyed having the chance to visit with many other aunts, uncles, and cousins at the funeral dinner. I especially enjoyed watching Emeline interact with some of my relatives. It is always interesting to me, to watch other people watch her. I love to watch their expression transition from curiosity and uncertainty to joy, and for anyone who gives her half a chance, that is what this girl does to people. What a gift she is!

Here are the pics from her second sleep study, where she had to wear the mask.