Tag - health

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Pandemic Parenting When You Have A Child With Special Needs
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Why mindful? And what does that even mean anyway?
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The Two Most Important Things In The World
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When It Rains It Pours
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Online Medical Research: A Blessing And A Curse

Pandemic Parenting When You Have A Child With Special Needs

I just had a full blown pandemic panic attack. I haven’t had one in years. A general panic attack I mean—pandemic specific panic attacks are a new thing.  If you’ve never experienced a panic attack, they’re pretty awful. It’s a slow build that can also feel like an out of the blue gut punch. It’s hard to breathe. Picture a floundering fish, gasping for air. There’s sweating, a racing heart, and a tightening in the chest significant enough to question whether or not to call 911. There’s also a sense of doom. Big time foreboding. There can also be tears. A lot of them. It’s nothing I would personally recommend.  During the SARS outbreak in 2003 I was busy giving birth to my first child and fairly oblivious to the hysteria. I was, from what I can remember, pretty chill for its entirety.  But pandemics are clearly panic proliferating. I mean, have you been to a grocery store in the past three days? The frozen food FOMO is enough to set anyone enough off. But I think what I experienced earlier today is rooted in something above and beyond the regular “I don’t have enough toilet paper and sandwich bread” panic. […]

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Why mindful? And what does that even mean anyway?

I like to hang onto things—to cling to past experiences and their corresponding feelings (good and bad) like some kind of memory hoarder.  At the same time, I enjoy time travel into the future. If only I had a functional crystal ball, then I wouldn’t need to spend so much time guessing and imagining what lies ahead. I like to know how things are going to play out so I create possible scenarios in my head. It’s a crap shoot. About 90% of my predictions are wrong. Or more often, by the time the future becomes the now, I’ve forgotten what outcome I was trying to orchestrate in the first place.  My husband started actively learning about mindfulness years ago, long before it became a trend. And man has it ever become a trendy. These days you can’t swing a yoga mat without hitting a meditating millennial or a #mindful hashtag.  Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn is the first book on the subject of mindfulness that my husband read. In fact, it’s the first book he’s read from cover to cover in our entire marriage! Clearly it captured his attention.  I’m reading it now. It’s no ‘Girl[…]

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The Two Most Important Things In The World

Avery and I have been home all week. Some random virus latched onto Avery and wouldn’t let go. And because I basically wear my child like a sweater (she likes to be close), I was an inevitable casualty of germ warfare. Cuddling in bed with a sweet little kid, watching Barbie on repeat, drifting in and out of sleep, isn’t the worst thing. Though I could do without this wretched phlegmy cough. I swear I busted a rib hacking up something that shall not be named. It’s clear to me now that I need to kick up my health regime. I have a responsibility to myself and to my family. So January, you and I have a date with a little something called, “Get up off your ass you sickly excuse making carb hogging not enough water drinking allergic to exercise blob.” Until then, I’m resting. And drinking lots of water. And slathering myself in Vicks Vaporub. I’m ashamed of myself for putting my health last. By ignoring the signs that I was getting run down, I allowed this to happen. And because I’m ill, I was unable to make the trip home to be with my family during a[…]

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When It Rains It Pours

  We all have stuff to deal with. But hopefully said “stuff” is spread out and doesn’t happen all at once….like when life’s little challenges rained upon us in one intense deluge. Over the past three weeks… Daughter’s pre-op meeting with anesthetist Daughter’s pre-op general exam Grandfather in hospital Daughter’s EEG to determine if seizure activity is still present (still waiting for results) Mom gets five minutes of work done Daughter’s dental surgery Daughter’s annual blood work to screen for potential blood disorder associated with genetic condition Daughter gets Strep Throat and ear drum bursts Mom talks to her doctor about her rising anxiety and wonders if she’ll feel calm, cool and collected ever again? Mom gets Strep Throat. Daughter’s annual 24-hour Holter monitor test to assess rhythm, mom too sick to go so husband steps in Daughter’s blood work comes back “abnormal”. Mom freaks out and imagines the worst Mom, son and daughter go to Sick Kids for new blood test. Son faints. Mom questions whether 3 pm is too early to start drinking? Contractor hired to fix post-flood kitchen bails and we’re left counter and ceiling-less Mom has weird allergic reaction and breaks out in hives Another issue[…]

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Online Medical Research: A Blessing And A Curse

  With so much medical and genetics related information accessible online, many parents regularly turn to the internet to research everything. If you’re the parent of a child with special needs or specific medical issues, it’s crucial to understand as much as possible about current challenges, potential problems, and helpful therapies.   This knowledge is both a blessing and a curse. Our daughter has a chromosomal deletion/duplication disorder. This damaged DNA makes her susceptible to certain diseases. Incredibly, scientists have identified a number of specific faulty genes as the cause of certain diseases. We have a comprehensive list of which of our daughter’s genes are affected and after delving into the online world of genetic gene cards, we’re aware of which diseases may be looming. I don’t have to tell you how frightening this is. It’s like knowing your child will likely be in a horrible car accident in the future, without knowing when or where or how severe, yet you’re powerless to stop it. There’s nothing you can do, but being armed with information and a solid understanding of your child’s diagnosis or prognosis is essential in terms of being able to ask the right questions.  Most doctors do not appreciate Dr.[…]

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