Boys Town Allergy & Asthma Appointment

Philomena is allergic to dust mites, dogs, and trees.  This is less than the last time she was tested in 2020 so the allergy shots are still having a helpful effect from when she did those.  She's not allergic to any foods.  She was tested and diagnosed with mild exercise induced asthma.  She's now using an inhaler and is feeling better when she has to do physical activities.  Next is her appointment with a gastroenterologist.  We're hoping to figure out more about her stomachaches and anything related to her episodes.  She's already seen a behavioral pediatrician that specializes in autism at Boys Town.  Based on his questions and what she was able to tell me in the days following that appointment, she's identified 4 times these episodes have happened.  He's now referred her to a psychiatrist and that appointment is Dec 3rd.  We're getting to know the Boys Town facilities really well!

 

Oriental Sweet Potatoes

I dug up the sweet potatoes from the garden.  Turns out that ours were purple on the outside and white/yellow on the inside.  After cooking, mashing, and adding brown sugar with butter, they looked like mashed peas.  They tasted similar but I couldn't eat them when they looked this yucky.  I don't think we'll grow sweet potatoes or regular potatoes again.  Cheaper and easier and better looking to just get them at the grocery store!

 

Band Contest

Philomena went to watch band contest this year.  She was able to visit with Riley whom she hasn't seen in a year!

 

Philomena Choir Concert

Mr. McCauley kept the concert short and enjoyable!  Grandma, me, and Maggie enjoyed the music!

 

Maggie - Theatre - Scenic Tech

The fall play was "A Midsummer Night in the OC."  Maggie was on the team making scenery.  She really enjoyed it and is going to keep doing theatre tech.  Mom, Philomena, and I went to the play.  The kids did a great job and there were a lot of laughs.  A funny spoof on Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night.  In the group photos, Maggie is on the right in the middle row.  In the dark photos, Maggie is the one on the right carrying the platform on and off stage.  Maggie helped paint the cut out for the photo opportunity in the lobby.

 

Philomena's Academic Letter

Philomena decided she really didn't care to walk across the stage so we didn't go to the presentation.  She received her Academic Letter and Honor Roll with High Distinction.  We're holding onto it until she has more patches to attach to her letterman's jacket.

 

Homecoming Dance

The Maggie came home after school and we started getting her ready for the dance.  Then Philomena came home after work and we got her ready.  I did both the girls' hair and they both looked beautiful for Homecoming.  Philomena drove them to the dance and then they went to their dad's for the weekend after the dance.

 

Happy Birthday, Philomena!

We celebrated Philomena's birthday on the 9th so she could eat the leftovers before going to her dad's house for the weekend.  I made a chicken pot pie which turned out great.  Then I decided to make a homemade vanilla cake.  I was looking for a frosting recipe and found one for peanut butter frosting.  Philomena loves peanut butter on all kinds of food including ice cream, so surely this would be a hit.  I was going to be Mom of the Year for this cake.  I tasted the frosting after making it and it tasted good so I spread it all over the cake.  Philomena walked in the house and immediately asked what I'd done to the cake.  She immediately told me that was a bad idea.  I told her to just wait until she tasted it!  After dinner, I put 17 candles in the cake and we sang to her.  Maggie didn't want any cake, but I cut two pieces for me and Philomena.  She took one bite and said that it tasted funny.  I told her if she didn't like the frosting to try just a bite of the cake.  She said she just couldn't eat it.  I took a bit and was surprised at how not good it was.  I ate nearly the whole piece but even my love for sugar couldn't give me the desire to eat another piece.  I ended up scraping it all into the trash can.  I did not earn Mom of the Year, but I did earn E for effort and an eye roll. haha. Never a dull moment around here!

On her birthday, I ran to HyVee to purchase a box cake and can of frosting.  It turned out yummy but she was full from treats at work from her coworkers so we decided to save the cake until the girls came back from their dad's house.

 

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I took the girls homecoming dress shopping on September 6th.  After dresses were bought, we went for dinner at Mazatlan.  Philomena paid for our dinner as my birthday present.  She also found this t-shirt when she was shopping.  She thought it was so fitting because I love to make spreadsheets.  Then when she got it out of the bag to give me, she realized it says smartsheets.  We laughed that she misread it, but I really like the shirt.  It's a really soft material and still is fitting for my personality!

On Sunday, September 7th, Grandma took us out for lunch for our birthdays.  She gave Philomena a birthstone ring that matches the necklace and earrings that she'd previously given her.

 

Garden

The garden has done well this summer.  You can see how big the zucchini plant is compared to Maggie and the "bush" in the back is the cherry tomato plant that took over that corner of the garden.

 

Ty & Philomena's Birthdays

Ty turned 16 this year so he chose a restaurant in Omaha that we'd never been to but everyone else said was good.  We agreed at the end of the meal that it was good!  Philomena and I also got birthday cards from everyone.

 

Mom's Home

Maggie felt the stress of Philomena in the hospital and me being gone.  The first thing she said to me when I got home was, "You've been gone too long."  Um, it was only one night and Grandma was with you.  We cuddled and chatted until she felt better understanding what had happened.

 

ER, Ambulance, and Overnight Hospital Stay

Philomena had her braces attachments removed on Monday.  She felt some anxiety from her gums being poked but some extra medicine and she seemed fine.  Tuesday, she called me at work feeling really anxious and struggling so I called and my mom went to my house to be with her.  She was struggling to walk and had a bit of slurred speech.  When I got home, I called the med doctor.  All the symptoms were the same as June 2024 which was ruled a panic attack so we gave her a bunch of extra meds and she finally fell asleep in my bedroom.  The next morning she was feeling better and went to her first day of school.  She didn't make it to any classes.  She lost her balance and fell going to the counseling center.  The nurses got her and gave her some anxiety meds and had her lay down, but called me at 9:30 to come get her.  She couldn't walk and her speech was very slurred.

I drove to Bryan West ER.  They tried treating it like a panic attack but she wasn't responding to the meds.  She couldn't walk to the bathroom and was using a bed pan.  They ran a CT and CT-A scans on her but could find no reason for what was happening.  They thought she should be admitted to the hospital and were trying to figure out what pediatric center to send her to.  I told them her neurologist was with Boys Town so they called there and was admitted.  An ambulance took Philomena and myself to Omaha.

Before we got on the ambulance, Jess (step-mom) came to the ER to see Philomena and to get her car keys so she and Gene could go get Philomena's car.  My friend Courteney was able to pick up my mom and Maggie and bring them to Bryan Hospital.  Mom and Maggie brought me a bag to take to Boys Town and then drove my car home.  My mom stayed with Maggie at my house.  Mom took care of driving Maggie to and from school.  Gene came up to Boys Town when he got off work.

The night of the 13th, the Boys Town neurologist ran an EEG on Philomena and the next day ran an MRI of the brain and an MRI of the lower spine.  Gene went home to sleep on the 13th while I stayed at the hospital with Philomena.  He came back up on the 14th and brought me a Diet Dr Pepper.  Thursday, the 14th, Philomena woke up after a few hours of sleep and was able to walk with assistance to the bathroom.  Her speech was improved but not yet back to normal.  The EEG came back with slowing in the area of the brain that controls the legs but the slowing wasn't enough to be clinically significant.  Both MRIs came back normal.  By the afternoon, Philomena could walk to the bathroom without assistance.  While she was in having both MRI's done, I was using zoom and email to talk with my team and help get ready for students to come the next day.  It was a nice distraction while I waited for Philomena to come back to the room.  Philomena was dismissed from the hospital at 4 pm.  Gene drove us back to my house.

One of the cool things when Philomena was in the hospital was a gal came around asking if she had any questions and that she was here to help kids understand why they were in the hospital.  Her second purpose was to give kids things to do when they had to stay in the bed.  She asked Philomena about her interests and then came back with a Lego Friends set to put together.  She was able to take it home with her.  I'm sure we paid for this "free" lego set somewhere in our bill but to be so geared toward children is really great in such stressful situations.

Philomena's neurologist, Dr. Lopez, reviewed tests remotely, but Dr. Herman was the on-call neurologist to see Philomena in the hospital.  This was a blessing in disguise, because Dr. Herman is a neurogeneticist.  We are now following up with her and have genetic testing to see if we can figure out any reason for the episodes that Philomena has now experienced twice.  June of 2024, it lasted about 24 hours.  This time it lasted about 3 days.  We want to see if we can figure out what caused this to happen and how we prevent it.  Dr. Herman says there is a 30% chance of the genetic testing revealing something to help us.  We're praying for answers and if not in these tests then that these tests would lead us down another path giving answers.

August 15th, my mom stayed with Philomena at home because she was so tired out from the episode.  I was able to be at work for the first day with preschool students.  Maggie chose to go to her dad's house as scheduled.  Philomena wanted to stay close to me while she was recovering.  She was feeling better and drove herself for a hair cut on Saturday and worked in Children's Ministry on Sunday.  Philomena returned to school on Monday, August 18th, after a low key relaxing weekend at home.