Atropa Belladonna : Nightshade's Weblog

Atropa Belladonna

~ Raven (a.k.a. Nightshade)'s Weblog ~

These are the ARCHIVES of DEC 2004. For more archives, visit the Archives page. For the current Weblog entries, check the Main page.

Fri, Dec 31, 2004 (12:50am)

Number of emails currently sitting in my inbox: 0

Thurs, Dec 30, 2004 (1:50pm)

Forgot to post my 'Month-in-review' Connor report in the middle of the month, like I have been doing in the past. I figure I'll move the reports to month-end from now on, to make 'em easier for me to remember.

Also a quick note: I'm working tonight and won't be at BP's to promote The Wake or hand out the last few invites. If you know someone who wants to come, tell 'em to just show up, crash the party, whatever. If you needs rides, there will be a run into Edmonton to pick people up from the Belvedere LRT station sometime in the evening... probably 7pm-ish. Lemme know if you wanna take advantage of that so I'll know how big a van to bring for the job.

- - -

The Connor Report - Month 7 in review

Well, we've been at this thing for over half a year. It's starting to feel like part of daily life, finally. Living with Autism isn't nearly as scary as it used to be, and we've got a lot of hope for the future. Connor's been doing so well.

He's saying 3 - 10 words per day, mostly spontaneous. His vocabulary has included: Juice, Pop (for popcorn twist), No, No-no, Uh-oh, Whoops! (often said when he drops something), Bye-Bye, Night (he says "Night" or "Bye-bye" almost every night before bedtime, now), Up, Out, Gamma, Jase, Kalen, Daddy, Auntie, Unca (Uncle), Tiss (for Kiss), Mo (for More), Santa, and Christmas! ("iss-miss"). Some of those words he said ony once or twice, but most he uses regularly.

Eye contact is also better. He's making contact for 1 - 10 seconds at a time, casually, and at one point, I got a solid 60 seconds of eye contact while we were at the change-table, broken only by blinking and split-second glances away. He makes eye contact regularly with familiar visitors (Grandma, Starlin', Uncles and Aunts, and even some gamers), and will make occasional eye contact with strangers.

We've been working a lot on "Joint Attention", which is two (or more) people paying attention to the same thing, and to eachother, and to eachother-paying-attention-to-the-thing. (It's a pretty complex concept when you think about it, but absolutely essential to social development). So we've been doing things like playing with Play-Doh... and I'll look at a Play-Doh worm we made, and encourage him to look at it, and then encourage him to make eye contact with me, and go back to looking at the worm himself, and then at me, and then at it again, back and forth. And then we try to get him to look at me while I'm looking at the worm so he can see my expression, and watch me reacting to it, and reacting to him reacting to it. Complicated to explain in writing, but our minds process that kind of stuff non-stop. It's how we know what our friends like, and how we drop subtle (or not-so-subtle) hints about our relationships with people and objects around us.

Connor's social development has been expanding by leaps and bounds. He asked Grandma for a kiss when she said goodbye. He pats the baby on its head. He grabs the hands of visiting kids when we suggest a game of 'Ring around the Rosie'. He gave Kalen a kiss, completely unprompted (and very gentle, too). He intentionally follows people around. Of course, this stuff isn't all the time but it's beginning to happen. He wants to interact. When everyone else is in one room of the house, odds are that he'll come to that room, too, just to be around people. This is a huge change from half a year ago, when he was ambivalent about where people were, or when he'd deliberately leave a room which was full of people because it was just too much for him.

In non-social areas, he's also making a lot of progress. He can get his own shirt on, if you just put it over his head for him. He can pull his own pants up and down - he has even taken his diaper off! (Most kids learn how to do this between 1 and 2, and parents enter a phase where they need to use duct tape to keep their kid dressed and the carpet dry, but Connor didn't hit this phase at all). Connor has put his own shoes on and taken them off. He can hang up his own coat if you put it in his hand the right way (he's been able to do this for a couple months). He loves putting hats on, and checking himself in the mirror.

His skin is doing a lot better, overall. We still have troubles with the redness on his face, but the spot on his cheek which he likes to scratch open has completely healed, and not been opned all month. I wish we could say the same for the patch of excema behind his right knee - he opens that up every week at least. We can usually keep a bandaid over it, so it's not getting infected very often. And really, it's only one spot - he used to do that to both knees, and the tops of his feet, and his elbows, too. But all this seems to be very diet-related. Let him sneak a Cheerio off the floor under Jasen's highchair, and the redness and the scratching starts. Keep him away from gluten/dairy/chocolate and the redness will go away, and he'll stop pulling the bandaid off, and things will heal agin.

To toss some icing on Connor's progress, I have to say that I'm really enjoying him, lately. It's a lot of work, but it's so rewarding to get those smiles, and see the progress, and hear his babble sounding more and more like speech all the time. Shades seems to be enjoying the time spent with his son, too. And even Kalen says he's better to play with now than he used to be. She's been teaching him the "running back and forth through the house" game, and he actually seems to like it (instead of being dragged unwillingly by the arm, like he used to).

- - -

Frak. Kalen just flooded the bathroom while I was typing this. Gotta go mop up. Grrr - and I've got to take the toy drill apart again, as it was in a sink-full of water. Again.

Wed, Dec 29, 2004 (11:55am)

Red Headed Pixie wrote:

I just read your blog and once again wish to congratulate you on the terrific raising of your child. There's a kid who'll need some serious therapy. You've done a good job.

Yep. Making the world a more bizarre and fascinating place, one toddler at a time.

Tues, Dec 28, 2004 (11:50am)

This is the awesome card which Mi & Joe sent us. It's extra special to me, because it inspired the coolest conversation I have had yet this holiday season.

Kalen: Mommy, why is Santa dead?

Raven: Look at the picture, Kalen. There's a fire in the fireplace, see? I think Santa was coming down the chimney with presents, and he forgot to check if the fireplace was hot.

Kalen, nodding sagely: Mm-hm.

Raven: And that is why people should always be careful around fireplaces. Fire can be very dangerous.

Kalen: But why didn't the boy get burned?

Raven: He was probably sleeping safely in bed, while visions of sugar plums danced in his head.

Kalen: But then he ate them.

Raven: ...?

Kalen: The sugar plums woke him up with their dancing, so he ate them, 'cuz he liked sugar. And then he went to check for presents, but Santa was dead.

Raven: Yeah. And now he's sad, because Christmas is ruined.

Kalen: No! It isn't! There's still one present that didn't get burned. He still gets a present, Mommy! And that present is only a little bit burned. He could still save it.

Raven: Hey, that's right! If the boy runs and gets a bucket of water, he could put out the fire and loot Santa's body!

Kalen: And he could save the hat, too! Then he'd have a Santa hat to wear, like Connor does! But, um, Mommy... where's Santa's body?

Raven: 'Loot the body' is just a figure of speech, Kale. I think Santa's body got burned up. See, there's just bones left over.

Kalen: Just bones. (sigh). Hey! What if Santa's body got away??

Raven: Ah... you lost me, kid.

Kalen: Like on SchoolHouse Rock, the skeleton song! What if the body crawled off the bones, like a blob of jelly!

Raven: You think that Santa might have seen the fire at the last minute and jumped right off his skeleton, and gotten away?

Kalen: Yeah! And he could be crawling around like a slug! All squishy and flat!

Raven: Well, he does have a belly like a bowl full of jelly. I suppose it's possible.

Kalen: And then, Christmas isn't ruined! Santa can still do his job and deliver the presents! And it's easier to get down chimneys when you're all squishy.

Raven: Yay!!! (Really - what else was I going to say? That I now had visions of an X-files Santa clause who could elongate his body at will and slither through ventilation shafts? - ed.)

Kalen: And the little boy could still keep the two presents and Santa's hat! YAY!

Yeah. Merry Christmas everyone! And don't forget to put out your fires.

Fri, Dec 24, 2004 (10:50pm)

Wed, Dec 22, 2004 (4:50pm)

A friend of mine sent a comment (I'd post it here, but it was marked 'Private', so I will respect that, though there was really nothing tawdry in it at all. AT ALL! C'mon.. if you're gonna send Private Comments, make 'em worth my while!! Gimme some goods, baby! I want... er. Um. Sorry. Got carried away, there.)

So where was I? Right. This friend suggested I use the BBC World Service as my News Feed. So I think I shall.

Ah... was gonna post more, but I forget what. Drat.

Tues, Dec 21, 2004 (10:50pm)

Woke up this morning, and felt like dressing up, kinda Christmassy. Maybe it was the Friends & Fiends party we had last night which got me into a Seasonal mood. Maybe it was the fact that I was nursing a borderline migraine, doped on painkillers, and looking for some reason to feel cheerful today. Who knows.

The problem was, I don't exactly own anything which I'd describe as "festive".

So, I figured I'd go for something shiny, at least. I've got a few shirts with metallic accents, and some of them are kinda nice. One even has a wide ribbon of silver across the front, and cheerful words in the same metallic ink. Couldn't find my bright red socks, though. Or my fuzzy warm green socks. Just black socks. And while black socks do make me think of Christmas (we always get them in our stockings) it wasn't what I wanted.

Waitasec - stockings! I do own a pair of stockings... and stockings get hung by the fire with care... that's Christmassy, right?

I emerged from the bedroom minutes later, clad in black jeans, fishnet stockings, and a black shirt which proclaims (in bold metallic type): DUCT TAPE. It's Not Just For The Bedroom Anymore.

Yep. There we go. Festive.

- - -

Took the kids to IKEA today. Went pretty well, except for one thing.

I hope I never again have to approach an IKEA staff member and ask, "Excuse me, could you please have a restroom attendant do some emergency clean-up in the women's washroom? My son just exploded, and the change-table area was in the blast radius. Really Sorry.

- - -

Longest night of the year, comin' up. Yay.

- - -

Note to self: Do not dash into the garage to sneak chocolates when one is barefoot. And wearing fishnet stockings effectively counts as barefoot. Brrrr.

Mon, Dec 20, 2004 (1:00am)

Shades: Kalen, we're going to sell you on the Black Market. Okay?
(insert pause here, for prompting by Raven)
Kalen: No! E-Bay is much more practical!

Fri, Dec 17, 2004 (12:30pm)

Friends and Fiends Christmas Party

A note to any involved: our little get-together has suddenly jumped dates. It's not on Dec 29 anymore. It'll be THIS MONDAY, Dec 20. Yeah, that's gonna catch a few people off guard, but there were some inherent problems with the other date. Come if you can, and don't feel you need to bring presents. (Many people won't, since it's a lot sooner that expected. And no one is obliged to bring anything, anyways. We'd rather have your presence than your presents.)

- - -

Redefining the Universe

I've been in a bit of a quandry, recently. Shades and I are on the verge of a major change in our lives, and have been talking about grown-up things, like: fiscal responsibility, RSPs, Education, Religion, and generally living in a way that we hope will show our kids what is important in life. To this end, we're making some changes in the way we handle money, and re-examining our role in the consumer economy. This is particularly challenging at ChristmasTime.

I think it's best summed up by a Calvin and Hobbes strip which Shades and I had up on our fridge at one point. I can't remember it exactly (nor do I have time to hunt through online archives to find the strip) but it goes something like this:

Calvin's Dad: Wow, look at all this junk mail!
Calvin's Mom: What have we got today?
Calvin's Dad: Lets see, here's 3 flyers telling us we don't have enough stuff, a magazine featuring swimsuits which will minimize your body flaws, a handful of ads for things we don't need, 2 glossy advertisements for a resort so we can get away from it all once we've got it, and coincidentally an invitation from our credit card company to go deeper into debt. Why do they send us all this stuff?
Calvin's Mom: I guess that if we didn't have all these ads and magazines bombarding us with the message that we're not good enough, fit enough, or rich enough, then we'd be forced to think about the real issues facing our society today, and the economy would collapse.
Calvin's Dad (with an evil grin on his face): So, pitching this stuff would make me some kind of a terrorist then. Right?
Calvin's Mom: Yep. It's our patriotic duty to buy distractions from a simple lifestyle.
Calvin (running into the room): Mom! Dad! I just saw a whole bunch of stuff on TV which I didn't know existed, but I desperately need!!!

Yeah.

So I'm looking at Christmas, and all the stuff which I've "got" to buy for everyone, and all the flyers piling up in the front porch, and around my house at all the junk we've got but never use, and reading articles about poor people starving in Asia/Africa/South America/North Amrica, and even right here in Edmonton. It's not just the physiscal stuff, either: it's time commitments, and how we spend our energy, and how we treat the environment, and what food (healthy or un-) we eat, and how much we throw out, and a lot of other stuff.

Once you start thinking about one thing, it really does build until you're trying to solve all the world's problems by yourself. And of course, you can't. So in the past our reaction has been to ignore it, like good North American consumers.

But it's got to start somewhere, and I think there's a lot of changes we really can make. So we're going to be donating to charities this year, instead of some of the larger Christmas purchases we've made in the past. And I think I'm going to call Victoria's Secret and get them to stop sending me their catalog (I can look at cute half-naked chicks on the 'Net if I want). I should also remind Shades to print that 'No Flyers Please' sign which he said he was gonna do at work. Maybe I'll add a link to a good news-service, too (BBC News, maybe?) so I can try to be more globally aware. Of course, I'm gonna keep listening to CKUA which is a great mind-space to expand horizons and realize that we live in a world much bigger than a list of top 40 hits interspersed with commercials.

All that's easy. What will be tougher is trying to cut back on BP's, re-organize time-commitments, and reduce impulse-shopping (this is a killer for me).

Change sucks. I don't want to make changes. But I don't want to keep living the way we have been, either. What do I do?

People have survived change in the past, I guess. And really, how are we gonna expect responsible choices out of our children if we don't practice the same ourselves? Grr. I hate it when I talk myself into doing something I don't want to do.

Wed, Dec 15, 2004 (11:15pm)

What I did today:

I bundled up the kids, and we did this
...and built this
and I taught Kalen how to do this, and make one of these,
...and took Jasen in one of these,
(and doesn't he look cute? And did I mention cute?)
But once the Con-man figured out how to do this, he wouldn't stop!
Soon, all that remained was this.

Did you see that! That's me, in the last pic, with Connor. Me! The photographer never gets into the pictures right? Well, we had a guest photographer for that last shot. I set it up, and showed Kalen how to take the picture. And she took it! A little off-center, but she did it. And my camera survived the experience, too. (Always a bonus!)

- - -

The other cool thing which happened today is that my brother came over, and gave me an early Christmas present. He brought his ladder, and put up two brackets for me, so I could hang a tapestry in the front hall. Woohoo! Thanks, Bro!

Mon, Dec 13, 2004 (11:00am)

What I want for Christmas. A list, by La.

I'd like someone to change the lightbulbs in our entry way chandelier.
Two hooks up on an awkward wall, where I want to hang a tapestry. But this will involve a long ladder (longer than the one I have) and no children underfoot.
I'd like my Christmas lights over the garage to be put up straight.
Heck, I'd like MORE Christmas lights on the front of the house, not just over the garage. I can even buy the lights (I know what I want) but I haven't done so yet because I can't put them up myself! Not without a safety harness, at least. (I'm not afraid of heights, but my balance is not as trustworthy as I'd like to believe it is. This is, alas, a proven fact.)
Shelves put up on the far side of the garage, for storage. I can buy the shelves myself (Mmm, Ivar.) but I don't want to have to store them for months/years before they get assembled.
Meals. Home cooked meals, which I don't have to cook. Come to my house and show off your culinary prowess! Or just make me a casserole and send it over sometime. (No nuts or seafoood. Allergies, ya know.)
Babysitting. At my place, or yours (assuming you have no pets). Or even gift certificates for future child-care.
Educational outings for the kids. Offer to take Kalen to the museum! Or take Connor to the Odyssium! Or just take Jasen to the playground to learn about crawling in the sand, while I take a nap.
Scanning. I've got photos, and I've got a scanner. But I don't have the time to do the scanning I want while I'm watching kids all day. Pics don't scan well when kids are poking the bright buttons intermittently, or leaving fingers on all the photos.

Gift certificates for any of the above would be totally acceptible and welcome. In fact, general gift certificates for acts of masculinity, or femininity, or general assistance... that would be awesome, too.

Sun, Dec 12, 2004 (11:35pm)

Various and Sundry....

- - -

"But what do you wear to a Lesbian Dinner Party?"

- - -

Ah... I forgot to mention it earlier, but plans are underway for The Wake again. Invitations will be coming out shortly. I usually start handing 'em out at the beginning of December, but this year's been a little busy. If you don't get your invite by New Year's Eve, then just come crash the party on New Year's Day (around 7pm, 'til sunrise on Jan 2nd, -ish.)

- - -

"Oh my goodness, Starlin'.... look at these LED christmas lights. These don't look like the ones I saw at Costco. These look like.. uh.. like... anal beads!"

- - -

I ruthlessly culled my inbox again, today. Replied to not-nearly-enough things. Deleted many quick-comments which probably deserved a response, but I figured I'd say a generalized "Thank You" here on my weblog instead. Your comments are always appreciated. Now I've only got a dozen messages in my inbox. It's been this low once before this year, but I'm hoping to have it actually empty by New Year. Then next year I can practice not letting it get full of unanswered stuff again.

- - -

Connor, sweet boy that he is (and he is lately! It's so cute!) wanted to have a kiss from his Grandma today, before she left our house. He asked, "Tiss! Tiss!" while not looking at Grandma, but looking all around her. He got a quick hug and kiss. Instead of running off like he usually does (he's not one for long goodbyes), he hung around a bit, and then asked "Mo... mo..." I asked, "You want more kisses from Grandma, Connnor?" and he grinned the biggest grin, as she kissed him Goodbye again. After that, he was satisfied, and ran off to play.

Check that out!! He's making attempts at words! He's trying to communicate! And better yet, he's expressing a desire for social contact! I can hardly believe how much progress he's made in half a year. I really hope this continues.

- - -

I was gonna post a Christmas wishlist here today, but have suddenly been overcome by fatigue. I think I'm gonna go to bed before midnight, tonight.

- - -

One last thing: Happy NoMoCheMo day, Bunny!!!

Fri, Dec 10, 2004 (2:15pm)

I was feeling a lot better yesterday - not sick, just recovering from the undernourishment and lack-of-sleep effects - and trying to decide whether I wanted to go to skip my swordfighting class in order to do some much-needed Christmas shopping (prior to the usual Thursday trip to BP's). But then I got a phone call. It was from work, saying that they really, really desperately needed an RN to work a shift. Tonight. And apparently, no one else could take it, because they were sick with the flu.

Well, I understand being sick and unable to work, so I agreed to take the shift.

My Mom was a sweetheart and came over to mind the kids for the hour+ when I was off to work but Shades wasn't yet back from his job. Thanks, Mom!

Work wasn't too bad. It was tiring though, and although I'd intended to go to BP's when the shift was over, I changed my mind. I came straight home, and was greeted by the delicious aroma of Shades' "SysAdmin Buns". Mmmmmmm. Thanks, Love.

Just before going to bed, I had to deal with another Connor-Explosion. This was only a 4.5 on the Retcher scale, not the 8.3 we had the other night, but still it wasn't pretty. So I needed to play Sims for a few minutes afterwards in order to calm down and get mentally ready for sleep again.

2 hours later, I collapsed exhausted into bed.

Shades woke me in the morning, as we'd both somehow overslept our alarms. For me this wasn't too bad, since the kids don't have school on Friday. But I still had a 9:30 appointment coming over (one of Connor's teachers, for a home visit) and had to clean up the mess from last night, and get Kalen off to her DayHome.

Alas, Kale's DayHome called to say they wouldn't be available to take her... the lady has come down with a wretched flu.

Ah, well. These things happen, ya know.

Fortuitously, Connor's school called minutes later to say that the appointment was being cancelled, as the teacher was sick with the flu.

Whew. Now there's no time-pressure for me to deal with the mess of dirty laundry AND three needy kids at the same time.

Still, there were things I wanted to get done today, so I called my Mom to see if she might be able to mind the kids and let me go out Christmas shopping, which I didn't manage yesterday. Nope. My Mom was in bed. With the flu.

MwahahahaHAHAHAH! See our powers of contagion?!? Note our mighty vectors of transmission!! We shall make the WORLD sick!

(I'm not one for suffering alone. These things should be shared, don't you agree??)

But my Mom said that I should post something amusing to my weblog for the next time she read it, 'cuz she was feeling miserable enough as it was.

Therefore, instead of more stories of illness, I'll leave you with this little thought:

- - -

Yesterday, I caught Kalen singing Christmas Carols along with the music which Shades plays incessantly during this season. Only, I don't think she quite got the words right. The music was playing, "...in Excelsius Glo-ri-a!" and I swear I heard her singing, "...in Excelsius Yoda!"

Wed, Dec 8, 2004 (10:20am)

Oh, this made me smile. Thanks, Krystal!

krystal has this Public comment (re: the Non-Specific Complaints entry, yesterday):

Comments : Wow. It sounds as bad as the people living on the geriatrics ward temporarily. Like the woman who kept coming to the desk to tell me she was dead...

Wed, Dec 8, 2004 (10:10am)

An Event I'd Not Care to Repeat

Don't read this. Really, don't. It is TMI. Okay, if you're a parent, you can probably handle it... but you may shudder in sympathy. Nurses etc. can probably handle it, too, but why put yourself through that agony? This is the sort of stuff you just don't need in your life. So stop reading. Unless you are planning on becoming a parent someday, then please, DO read this, and be aware that it may happen to you, someday.

We are on Day 3 of the flu bug at our house. That means 3 nights of fitful sleep, interupted by screaming children, and having to change bedsheets which have been vomitted on - for the third time that night, in some cases - and comforting crying children who don't mean to be so horrid, really. Oh, and dealing with diarrhea, too, in diapers or in panties. Ick. And hand-washing all the befouled bedding and clothes, to get the worst of the chunks out before throwing it in the laundry. Ug. It's not a pretty sight. Nor smell.

But today took the cake.

I thought the kids were almost over the bug. Connor even went to school yesterday (He hadn't thrown up Monday afternoon or evening, and was hungry and active the way a well kid should be). But I guess I was wrong.

Overnight, he exploded.

Entering his room in the morning was a stomach churning experience. The stench of stale vomit and diarrhea assaulted my senses befor I'd even really taken that first breath. And Connor was lying right in it.

I scooped him up and put him straight into the bathtub, to clean the worst of it off him. All his clothes were permeated with noxious body substances, and his diaper was as bad on the outside as the indside. His bedsheets were filthy. He got 2 out of 3 pillows dirty (right down to the pillow, not just the pillow case) and it had soaked through to the mattress.

Once he was clean and enjoying his morning sippy-cup of juice, he looked a lot better. The room was still just as bad. So I got the kids processed (clothes, breakfast, medicine where applicable) I had a chance to begin damage control on the room.

Connor had managed to get both the diarrhea and the vomit to go over the side of the bed. The wall side. So I spent about 15 minutes scrubbing poop off the wall, and another 10 picking dried bits of spaghetti off the bedframe.

The wall and bed were actually pretty easy, compared to the heating vent and the carpet. The heating vent!!! Did you hear that? He managed to get puke into the heating vent, which had (of course) been circulating air all night, which meant the puke was now a dried crusty enamel over it, and in it. Ewwww.

The carpet was pretty gross (cleaning body fluids out of carpet it way high up on my list of things I'd rather not have to do) but it had actually been spared the brunt of the vomit assualt, because a toybox was in the way. A toybox full of foamy letters, and dominos. (Don't ask why there were dominos in with the letters. They were just there, okay?)

So I got to spend the next 20 minutes soaking and scrubbing vomit off the foamy letters. They have a waffle-print texture, by the way... and they were right next to the air vent, too. And I got to chip dominos off the dried puke puddle in the bottom of the toybox. And I got to soak and scrub the toybox with all its little ridges and crevices (Just who designs these sorts of containers? Do they not know how hard it is to clean them??) And it took a fork to chisel dried crunchy bits out of the domino dots. But at least that part didn't smell too bad.

Oh, and in the middle of this, I managed to sit on some of the not-yet-dried diarrhea, which had collected along the edge of the bedframe. Oh, joy.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to run some laundry, and then find my happy place.

Tues, Dec 7, 2004 (11:55am)

Non-Specific Complaints

Me: What brought you to the clinic today, Sir?

Him: My heart hurts.

Me: Your heart? What kind of pain are you having?

Him: It just hurts. Here (clasping hand over left chest).

Me: Alright. Could you describe the pain? Is it crushing, or shooting, or pounding, or -

Him: Bubbling.

Me: Your heart feels like it's bubbling?

Him: No, here (indicating abdomen). It's windy.

Me: Ah, you're trying to say it feels like you have gas?

Him: Yes! Gas, not wind. It's gas.

Me: Okay. It's quite common for gas to cause pain in the chest as well as the abdomen, so we're not necessarily looking at a heart attack, but I have to ask you some specific questions. Do you have any history of heart disease?

Him: I had an infection.

Me: I meant, have you had any heart attacks, or ever had heart surgery, or -

Him: A heart infection.

Me: Okaay. I'm not exactly sure I understand what you mean.

Him: I have pills for the infection, see! (producing a vial of pills)

Me: These aren't antibiotics. They're medication for gas.

Him: Yes. I have a very sore back.

Me: These are pills for gas, sir. Not for your back.

Him: But it's sore here, and here (indicating areas along lower back).

Me: I thought you said it was sore in your chest, earlier.

Him: Yes. I was in hospital for heart 2 year ago. Royal Alex.

Me: You were in the Royal Alexandra Hospital for your heart? That would count as 'a history of heart problems', sir. Did you have a heart attack? Or surgery?

Him: I had surgery on my knee. It hurts too.

Me: What kind of heart problems have you had, which needed hospitalization?

Him: It still hurts. Almost as much as my back. Here. Ooooh, oooh.

Me: Sir, I'm trying to find out if the pain in your chest is a heart problem, in which case we should treat it very seriously. Could you please answer questions about your heart for me?

Him: Yes. Okay. It's serious.

Me: Do you have any pain in your arms? Particularly your left arm?

Him: No.

Me: Do you have any numbness or tingling in your fingers?

Him: Tingly...?

Me: Tingling? Like, pins and needles? Little prickles? Like when you arms falls asleep, and -

Him: Yes! I can not feel them when I sleep.

Me: What about now? Are your fingers numb or tingling now?

Him: No. When I sleep.

Me: Okaay. I'm going to check the capillary refill in your nail beds, sir. May I have your hands? (quick squeeze to fingernails, see they turn white, see them turn pink again quickly) Well, that looks good, and your hands are warm. I don't think the circulation is compromised...

Him: Yes - my circulation. It hurts.

Me: Your circulation hurts?

Him: I have a headache. And heart pain.

Me: when did you start having this pain?

Him: 2 months ago.

Me: That's quite a while to have heart pain. Did it begin to get worse recently?

Him: No. It's better now.

Me: Better? So why are you in the clinic today?

Him: My heart hurts.

Me: Do you mean the gas is causing you pain?

Him: Actually it got much worse two weeks ago.

Me: Your gas? Or your heart?

Him: My heart. It start to hurt much much more, two week ago.

Me: But it's feeling better today?

Him: No, its much worse.

Me: Let me see if I understand. You began having pain in your chest 2 months ago, then it got worse 2 weeks ago, and today it is bad enough for you to see the doctor? That's why you came today?

Him: No, I just need a new prescription, for my leg.

Me: .... ....

Him: These, see? (pulling out the same pills as before - the ones for gas).

Me: Sir, are you here to get a new prescription for your gas?

Him: Yes.

Me: I'm going to check your vitals (blood pressure, pulse, etc.) quickly sir, I just want to rule out heart problems, okay.

Him: Okay. My heart, it hurts very much. I have an infection, here, in my heart.

Me: Your vitals look just fine, sir. I don't think there's any reason for us to be worried about your heart, but I'm going to talk to the doctor to see if he wants us to run an ECG.

Him: No, no - just tell him I'm here for my pills. I don't want to wait.

Me: You don't want to wait? Is that why you're telling us about your heart problem, sir? Because people with heart problems are seen by the doctor faster?

Him: No, I want to ask about my knee.

Me: I think you can wait here, and I'll go discuss this with the doctor.

Him: Make him come fast. I have to go soon.

Me: Thank you, sir. I'll let him know that. I'm sure he'll take it into consideration.

Today is also Connor's Birthday. He's three! And looking so much more like a kid all the time, and less like a toddler every day. His birthday party, alas, will probably be cancelled due to a flu bug circulating in our house.

Sat, Dec 4, 2004 (10:55pm)

arthur has this Public comment:
Comments : You havent updated in a week. You're a lollyblogger.

LOLLYBLOGGER LOLLYBLOGGER.

*points, dances around*

Yep. That's me. The epitome of lollybloggerhood.

I could dazzle you with all the fascinating things I've been doing instead of typing on my computer, but I don't think mere mortals could comprehend what a thrill-filled life I lead. I bet you imagine my life as a monotony of childcare, and slaving away at the grindstone of clinic work, punctuated with occasional flurry of housework to break up my day. But no! It has been a whirlwind adventure, folks. A whirlwind, I tell you. I am, in fact, so whirled that I really can't tell which way is up. It's a miracle that I'm able to type at all. This typing is such a strain that I think I may have to go to bed and rest up from the exertion.

This weblog entry has been brought to you by The Desire to Entertain Arthur.

Last updated goodness-only-knows-when. These are archives, after all.