WOW!! It is amazing how quickly time flies!
As of my last post we have had a hospitalization, 4-H (county fair), Boy Scouts, and school starting very quickly!
First: About a month after I last updated everything, you guessed it ~ Cassidy was in the hospital. We went to the ER on Saturday night, mainly to get a refill of nebulizer meds. (I did not want to risk a problem with running out.) When we left the ER at 12:30 am, Cassidy's pulse ox was 98. I thought we had managed to catch whatever was going on early enough. Boy was I wrong! By 8:30 am (eight hours later), I knew things were not so good. We went back to the ER and Cassidy's pulse ox was 79! The biggest problem was that even with breathing treatments, it would NOT go up. I knew then that we would be going into the hospital, but I did not know which one. I was given a choice ~ Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis or Memorial Children's Hospital in South Bend.
Restart of this post:
Somehow I did not actually finish or publish this update. (Today is June 8, 2013.)
So let's try again.
To be honest, I do not remember the exact date I started this post to begin with. So I will try to update everything.
The hospitalization was in May. We ended up going to South Bend Memorial Children's hospital (May 2012.) Cassidy was there for a week. I cannot imagine a better hospital. It is so much closer than Riley's and the doctors and nurses were fabulous! (Rileys is a great hospital also, but Memorial is so much closer, so I like it better.) Cassidy hated being in the PICU, but things could have been so much worse. I saw so many kids much sicker than her and I am so grateful that she is not worse.
The 4-H fair was a lot of fun. Cassidy was there everyday, because she had to take care of her horse.She did really well and made a lot of new friends. Chris and Barry had one project in the fair ~ Legos. Cassidy also had a scrapbook in the fair. It was a nice slow introduction to 4-H and fair craziness. They all got A awards in their projects.
Chris is now an official Boy Scout. He really likes his troop and they do activities every month. He has gone white water rafting, backpacking, and helped at winter fest. He also went to a survival "training" weekend, where he did not sleep in a tent and learned to start a fire without matches (kind of a scary thought.) Barry will join him as a Boy Scout next March.
We have made it through another school year. Barry was in his last year at Yost (fourth grade). Kind of a sad thought. I no longer have a child in elementary school. I was the PTO president at the school this year. Very crazy! I loved every minute, however I now know how much volunteers make all the difference. Cassidy was a fifth grader at Westchester Intermediate. She had some trouble with teacher's understanding her IEP and following it. Because I come from a family full of teachers I am totally on the teacher's side when my children do something wrong, but when it comes to their ability to learn I have to fight for my kids. Cassidy did fine until she was in the hospital again in November. Because she was sick, her teacher gave her an F in a project she was unable to finish. I was angry! I was able to get Cassidy in the class she needed to be in and she did really well through the rest of the year. Chris decided that as a sixth grader, he was on a home work strike. His grades definitely reflected that. He still managed to pass his classes, but his grades were lower than they should have been.
Now we are at the end of this crazy update, well, no not yet. :)
Chris was diagnosed with Asperger's. This has helped explain a lot of what goes on in his head to me, his teachers, and people who know him. It has also made it easier to figure out what kind of help he needs. He now gets group counseling and individual counseling. He really enjoys group counseling. He reminds me that we have to go. :) Makes my life a little easier. He seems to be more willing to think before he acts which is a great thing. Still have a long way to go, but we are on our way!
Cassidy now sees an asthma specialist and because of this she only was in the hospital one time this school year, although she spent Thanksgiving in the PICU. She still has flare ups, but now we are starting to get a handle on things. She has gone through one part of her allergy testing and she has two more to go. So far, no allergies yet. :)
Barry is my calm, healthy child. I think God knew that I needed a break after everything I have gone through with Chris and Cassidy. Hopefully Barry will continue to stay healthy. :) All three kids have projects for this year's fair. We have a lot to do!
