To the Doctor

Doctor Office Selfie

Thankfully this was not for me.  This visit was for the children.  I kept getting calls from Medicaid for the children.  They kept insisting I take the children in for a well visit check. They were busy reminding me vaccines are important.  Yes, they are but we will agree to disagree on that one.

This turned out to be a good time for me to visit the doctor anyways. I had wanted to talk to her about Joseph and his skinny, slow-growing self. Sigh!  We headed off in the morning to see the doctor. It was a 35 minute drive across town on the interstate.  Margaret sat in the back crying and whining the entire time I am on the highway.  I am not sure where this fear came from but I wish it would go away!

We make it to the doctor's office and there is a small playground.  I have to promise the kids I would let the play afterwards as I shove them into the office door.  I yell at everyone to take a seat on the well side of the office but they kept getting drawn back to the sick side. The LAST thing we needed is to pick up some illness visiting the office. That is why I did not want to visit the doctor yet but the calls from Medicaid were harassing!



Thankfully the Little Mermaid started to play on the well child side and the children stayed seated!

We got back into the patient room.  I swear it is the smallest room I have ever been in!  There was not enough space for me and the kids to sit much less the doctor! Kids were sitting in the floor playing their Kindles.  It was SO loud in the room!  LOL

The doctor comes in and we discuss Joseph's poor weight gain.  She said he had been putting on more weight recently.  She told me to keep it up.  I asked about tube feeding and she said we are not quite there yet. I am pleased because I really do not want to tube feed Joseph.  I think there is too much of a risk of infection. We discuss James's weight.  He could stand to lose about 4 pounds. Margaret is skinny but okay. If she is like any of the other ladies in my family I am not worried about her.  ALL women in my family are fat.  It just varies by degree.  I am one of the fattest while my aunt is rather skinny compared to the rest of us.  So I think Margaret will one day weight plenty.  No reason to rush things!

Right as they were finally settled we were called back to get weights and measures. Isn't that how it always is?  LOL   Kids take off their shoes we height and weight check. James weighted in at 72.4 pounds and 54 inches, Margaret was 48.4 pounds and 49.5 inches, and Joseph weighed in at a tiny 35.8 pounds and 45 inches!  

We discuss other issues and talk about some community supports we could look into.  Overall it was a nice visit with the doctor and I am grateful that Joseph never had to go to Urgent Care or the hospital this winter. Flu is at an all time high here. John was sick with Influenza type A but it did not really bother the kids or I so I think we are immune to that one. Now we just need to stay away from any other sickness until cold/flu/RSV season is over in about 8 more weeks.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

After leaving the doctor's office the kids wanted to play with a little girl (15 months) out on the little playground.  Since I promised I said yes.  The grandmother was outside watching the little girl.  She said she was happy my kids came along and would play with her.  They played for about 10 minuted before the mom came outside.  Then she told me that her daughter was sick.  Don't you know, no good deed goes unpunished?  LOL   Luckily I had hand sanitizer with me. I made the kids use it and get in the car.

Playing with Frisbees in the Park

I went to pick them up some cheap sandwiches and water.  Then I headed to the park for them to play.  There was no one there.  They got to play with their frisbees and basketball.  They had a blast!  They ran outside in the 90 degree weather for an 1.5 hours before I told them we needed to go.  Joseph had stopped sweating so I knew he had gotten too hot. I rubbed him down with ice and we left.  Did you know those darn kids did not fall asleep for 2 hours after bedtime!  I thought I had worn them out.

Got a picture of everyone before we left the park.

News Bits

Photo Credit: Doubtfulnews.com

Bananas are no longer vegan?  How did this happen you might think.  Bananas are just not bananas anymore.  Bananas have always had an issue of turning quickly.  A scientist decided to tinker with things and see if there was a way to delay the ripening process.  Dr. Xihong Li developed a product that is a super absorbent type of hydrogel.  It is made of a product called chitosan and it is derived from shrimp and crab shells.  Yep, you heard right, shrimp and crab shells!  The chitosan gel is sprayed on bananas to slow the respiration process of the bananas and thereby slowing down the ripening process. The chitosan also kills the bacteria that causes bananas to rot.  Though the shelf life of bananas will increase what if a consumer has a shellfish allergy?  If you want to read more on this story in the Science Daily click HERE.
________________________________________________________________________

The students at the Plum Borough School District are protesting.  High school students are upset the lunches they are being served at school.  The group ( #BrownBagginIt) has gained so much popularity that they are trending number two in Philadelphia on Twitter.  The teens are complaining about the increased price and decreased quality of food.  One of the student's complained about the food being soggy and disgusting.  Have you eaten at your child's school?  Several years ago I went to my child's middle school and got the school lunch with them.  It is disgusting!  The lunch ladies are saying it is the new rules that made changes to the amount of calories and other requirements in the diet that is fed to the students.  I say, that is not the problem.  When I went to my child's school I was served a meal that had been cooked earlier (not even sure if it was that day or the day before) and was microwaved.  Who can blame students for complaining if that is what they are being served.  You can read more on this story in the Huffington Post by clicking HERE.
 _________________________________________________________________________

Photo Credit: colonista.com

Dr. B.J. Hardick, D.C. has written an article called How Doctors Do Harm.  Dr. Hardick says we spend more than 1.5 times the amount of money on health care than any other country but we are ranked 50th in mortality and 47th in infant mortality.  Why is that?  Dr. Hardick believes we are not working on preventing diseases and are spending too much time treating (with pharmaceutical drugs) illnesses.  This is a great article and I hope you can read it!
__________________________________________________________________________

Would it shock you, dear reader, if I said universities and cancer clinics are being funded by big pharmaceutical companies?  Cancer is a billion dollar industry for the pharma companies.  Why would they want to CURE that?  What about funding universities?  The pharma companies fund the universities so they can get research done on the cheap AND get to write it off on their taxes.  Please read the article Universities and Cancer Clinics are all on the Take from Big Pharma Payoffs.

It will surprise you if you have not thought much on this topic before!

__________________________________________________________________________

Can autism be cured? I think in some case, quite a few really, it can. A DAN or MAPS doctor can help discover the root cause of the health issues you child is experiencing and hopfully address the problem. I have seen some pretty amazing recoveries from autism myself. Do I think all autistic children can recover? Again, no, I do not. My daughter has autism and I think her autism is a symptom of her brain damage. That is something I cannot "fix." I you have food allergies, autoimmune issues or other autoimmune related diseases I think a DAN or MAPS doctor could help. At the worst it would not hurt. Please read HERE for more information.

_________________________________________________________________________


I came across an article on Yahoo discussing the tend in baby names from today versus 100 years ago. I thought the article was funny because five years ago, when I went pick a name for my children, we purposely chose names from the family's grandparent and great-grandparents. I wanted names that were common enough at one point that people would know HOW to spell the name but the name was not super popular anymore. That is why my daughters were named Martha and Margaret. The boys were James (still rather popular) and Joseph. I LOVE the kids names. It is not like I say their names to someone and they have no idea how to spell it. The names are classic but not common. Interesting on how trends change!

_________________________________________________________________________

Final news bit for the night. It was a busy day today....lol. I came across a page on 10 Wacky Science Project Ideas. It is fun science things to do with kids! There is the Coke and Mentos experiment. Lots of fun and messy! How to make GAK (slime) and your own lava lamp. Plus several other fun ideas. Science is fun! :)

__________________________________________________________________________


Thanks for reading my news bits. I hope you found something useful!

News Bits

Courtesy of TimeAndDate.com

I love it when I have various news sources overflowing with information!  So on the autism front I have some interesting news.  The Autism Research Institute (ARI) is holding its Fall Conference in Garden Grove, CA in October 11 - 14.  The speaker line-up looks great with Dr. Emeran Mayer, Co-director of the CURE: Digestive Disease Research Center at UCLA, Dr. Robert Hendren of UC San Francisco, Drs. Nancy O'Hara, Elizabeth Mumper, Martha Herbert and others.

I know this is a MAJOR area of controversity but I wanted to post this here to let people hear all sides of the story.  Holly Riley discusses how her son with Autism was cured with biomedical intervention.

 
A Facebook friend, Jennifer Grayson, writes a wonderful blog about Autism, food allergies and other health related topics.  It is a great read.  She recently wrote and article about parasites.  We may live in the United State but if you think there is NO way you could have parasites you might be wrong and are suffering silently for it.  Conditions such as allergies (including food), eczema, asthma, migraine headache, nightmare, bedwetting, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, arthralgia, multiple sclerosis, irritable bowel syndrome, seizure, mental illness and even cancer could be caused by a parasite infestation.  The article is a great read so please stop by!

For those dealing with mitochondrial disease the options for treatments and therapies can be confusing.  United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF) is an excellent website for many resources on mitochondrial disease.  They even have a page breaking down the various treatments and therapies to help point you in the right direction.  This is a wonderful site if you are trying to diagnose mito and need information on local doctors. They have been very helpful to me in finding Joseph a doctor.

Found a wonderful recipe of Zucchini Chips from the Naked Kitchen.  Yum!  They are both a green veggie and much better for you than potato chips.  What more can you ask for?  LOL   There were several FB friends that swore by this recipe and I am looking forward to trying it one day.

For those who cannot eat gluten and are looking for a easy add on to a meal that is flavorful and chalk full of fiber check out this recipe for Homemade Refried Beans.  I have made these at home and they are delicious!  I used it and mixed in some homemade salsa for some chip and dip action.  The children ate it up!