Spreading some Sunshine

Yesterday, I attended a Child Care Seminar put on by the Appelbaum Training Institute. called Spread a Little Sunshine. The title was sort of ironic, given the conditions of the day.

The seminar was scheduled to start at 8:00. I arrived 20 minutes early, so I’d have time to check out the teacher store. What a surprise when I pulled on to the street to find a line of cars! I finally got up to the parking lot, to find it was full. In the full lot, there was a bus parked across about 7 parking spots, and several cars double parked. Frustrating, but oh well. A man in the lot said there was overflow parking in the lot across the street. I circled that lot to find it too was full. OK… now what? Another guy told us to park down at the Embassy Suites parking lot (about a block away, but with a fenced in Park N Fly in between). If it were warm out, I’d have welcomed the walk (almost a mile going around the Park N Fly and up the block). It would have been good for my training, and I DID have my new shoes on! Unfortunately, temps were in the 20′s if not colder, and of course, I forgot my gloves. Luckily, they had a shuttle going between the hotels to pick all of us up. So, about 10 minutes AFTER the seminar was supposed to start, I finally arrived there.

Luckily, our speaker hadn’t really started yet, as so many people were running late. Our speaker was Marty Applebaum, co-founder of the company. It was amazing, almost like seeing a celebrity. He even rode on the shuttle bus after the seminar with us – so cool! Anyway, almost right away, he said something to the effect of, “Let’s not role play the children in our care we find most frustrating. Let’s choose to ‘Spread a Little Sunshine’ today.” I don’t think he even realized how crabby so many people were due to the parking conditions.

Our first break came, and there was a LONG line of people waiting to buy lunch tickets. People were sitting there complaining – non-stop! They were complaining about the last minute change of venue, the parking situation, the fact that in a couple hours, we’d be waiting in just as long of lines for lunch, anything they could think of! People were blaming Appelbaum Training, the hotel, the weather, you name it. Wow – come on, people! I told the whiners that I had been to several of their seminars before, and had NEVER had problems. As the ladies were all complaining, I tried (and failed) to lighten the mood. I said, “Come on people, we get pooped on, puked on, snot wiped on us, etc. all the time… we can roll with this…” Yeah, that didn’t really work! They just wanted to complain!

By spending the day complaining, they were missing out on a great seminar! Sometimes, people just need to roll with the punches! What good does it do to complain? There was nothing we could do to change any of the circumstances. There were 800 or so people that the hotel had to make accommodations for that they only found out the week before about. Why not just relax, enjoy the day, and be happy we were getting 6 clock hours for a minimal investment, AND, we got to see a fabulous speaker presenting the information?!?

Walking for a Cure

Several months back, my good friend Carrie was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer. She’s only 6 months younger than me, eats healthy (with the exception of Diet Coke), exercises often, and has two little boys (both whom she nursed). She had no family history of breast cancer. All in all, she was not even on the radar for risk factors. Yet, when they removed the golf ball sized tumor that had grown, that’s what it was. As Carrie prepared to begin her treatments of chemo, which would be followed by radiation treatments, her Mom was also diagnosed with breast cancer.

Carrie is the kind of woman who will get as much information as she can on any given topic. This has been no exception. She’s been to seminars, done research, etc. She has vowed to kick cancer’s butt. Her motto has become “F*ck cancer!” For someone who’s generally pretty conservative, that’s saying a lot!

This is where the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure comes in. Ever since I started seeing the commercials, I kept feeling like I should do it. With a move, wedding, and job hunt in my near future, I thought it would be too much for me. Still, every time I saw or heard the commercial, I heard the same voice telling me I REALLY should do that.

When I found out Carrie was walking with her Mom, I was even more driven to find a way to make it work. I talked to my fiancée, did some research on what it took, and signed up. After I signed up to walk with Carrie’s team, my Mom decided to do the same! Our team so far consists of Carrie and her mom, my mom and I. It will be a true mother-daughter experience.

Beginning on August 19th, we will be walking 60 miles over 3 days with two courageous women who are fighting breast cancer. We are walking to raise money for research to find a cure for breast cancer. This walk will not be easy. We are going to be training very hard over the next several months. Walking distances, cardio, strength training, and endurance are all going to need to be built.

Each walker has committed to raising at least $2300. I am at $145 so far. Please consider donating any amount (tax deductible, of course) to help me reach my goal. Many companies will also match donations. Check if yours is one of those companies.

Donations can be made here:
Susan G. Komen donation page for Sarah Sjolander

Parenting a Sick Child

This winter has been colder than any I remember. Everyone has been stuck inside, breathing each others’ germs. Illnesses have been running rampant in child care centers, schools, workplaces and homes. Being a parent during a winter like this is tough, especially if you are unlucky enough to have a child that keeps getting sick.

Parenting a sick child can be both physically and emotionally draining. This is true whether your child is sick with the more common ear infections, stomach flu or strep throat; it is especially true when you have a child that is hospitalized.

One of the awesome people I have met in my travels this past year (Tim Ford) wrote about what he and his wife have been going through with their son. Their poor 10 year old has been very sick. After saying a prayer for healing for their boy, and a strength for Tim and his wife, I reflected a bit on my own experiences with my kids when they were sick.

Grace
When Grace was a baby and young toddler, she had lots of rashes, ear infections and bad colds (including RSV). Her dad was working a lot, so it was usually me taking care of her. The stress of worrying about my little girl, made sleep difficult. I was completely drained of energy most of the time. Luckily, we had a network of family members that helped out. Sometimes their help was in the form of a meal, sometimes it was just hanging out, offering emotional support. Grace ended up getting tubes put in her ears when she was about 13 months old. It made a huge difference in her ear infections. She was also diagnosed with excema which we later found out was related to allergies. She was allergic to 12 of the 14 environmental things they tested her for, and 4 food items. No wonder she had always been sick! She now takes Zyrtec from about mid-March until December. It helps a ton! She also takes Hydroxizine at bedtime every night for allergies and itching. She still seems to be cursed with ear infections a few times a year, and usually deals with a few bouts of strep. We are in the management phase with her, and it seems to be going well.

Michael
Michael came along, and he showed me the true exhaustion that comes from having a chronically sick child. When he was 4 days old, he was diagnosed with an ear infection. His pediatrician said that in 20 years, he had never seen an infant that young with an ear infection. So began our journey. Michael had non-stop ear infections until he had tubes put in. Even after he got them, he continued to get infections. With Michael, it was scary, because he would get fevers of 104 and higher. Grace had never had a temp over 101, so every time his temp went that high, I freaked out! He also got RSV several times, and was hospitalized overnight at least twice (if not 3 times). At one point, Michael had rotavirus and influenza at the same time. Poor Grace almost had to have her 5th birthday party cancelled because he was so sick! On her actual birthday, Michael and I spent the night in the hospital getting him IV fluids because he was severely dehydrated. I spent the first two years of his life sleep deprived, and emotionally drained. The stress of having a child who was constantly sick took it’s toll on my marriage. It was hard to even function some days when it felt like our life rotated from breathing treatments, to medications, to Dr.’s visits, to immune tests, to xrays, to ER visits…

It wasn’t until he was about a year and a half or two that Michael was diagnosed with asthma. I had suspected it all along (with all the breathing problems he had), but our Dr. in MN was reluctant to put that label on him until he was at least 2. With the diagnosis, we were able to start him on the path to healing. We got him on a Flovent inhaler as prevention with Albuterol in various forms as needed. For a real emergency, we had an inhaler and nebulizer. The inhaler made him really crazy, so we tried to avoid that. If he was feeling tight in his chest, we had a liquid form of albuterol for him. This was my preferred method, but sometimes we needed something that acted faster. I also started taking him to the chiropractor. We had tried the chiropractor for Grace’s ears – it didn’t help her. With Michael, it worked wonders. He was about 15-18 months old when I started taking him. Within a month, the ear infections disappeared. When we missed about 3 weeks in a row (for various reasons) he got an infection so bad half his face swelled up. That was proof to me that the adjustments were working!

As he was getting to be about a year and a half, I also noticed his tonsils were huge. I have pictures of him laughing, and you can literally see his tonsils almost touching. As he started getting strep more often, and his tonsils never really went to normal, I started getting concerned. I took him to one ENT who wouldn’t even look at them until he was 2. I waited a couple months, they continued to grow. It got to where they were almost touching. He had terrible sleep apnea (remember the whole sleep deprived thing? You don’t expect it when you have an almost 2 year old). He began choking on food. I called and requested a different ENT who took one look and said, “These need to come out!” I think it was a week later, and Michael was in surgery. The week after that had ups and down, but nothing out of the ordinary. Since the tonsils have come out, Michael has had a few ear infections (in fact, he had a 2nd set of tubes put in about a year and a half ago), and has had strep a few times, but overall, he is doing much better! He is down from 4 or more breathing treatments a day to only taking Flovent (the preventative inhaler) when he has a cold. He rarely ever needs albuterol, rarely has ear infections, and is overall a much healthier child.

The journey through illness, allergies and the like is a long one. When you are in the middle of it, it feels like’s never going to end! You can’t sleep, can’t eat, you are completely drained of energy and health. It’s all you can think about most of the time. The support of friends and family is so important during even the toughest times with a chronically sick child. It also helps to explore your options. If you are not convinced that what one Dr. recommends is the best choice for your child, don’t be afraid to ask for a different one. Don’t be afraid to try non-traditional methods (such as the chiropractor). What’s best for your child and your family is up to you. Just don’t be afraid to ask for help (even if it’s just someone to come hold the sick baby so you can take a quick shower)!