Our long journey actually began the night before when we found a sizeable scorpion in the house. In case you're not familiar with desert critters: scorpions are bad news and since we have Christian, we are very concerned about scorpions. In extreme cases, a scorpion sting can kill a child. Jonathan tried to kill it, but it just made its way down the sink drain. Jonathan ran a lot of water, I poured a lot of bleach. So I hope its either dead (sorry, PETA) or on its way to the sewage system.We have since learned scorpions travel in pairs (and often with babies). So ... I guess there is one more in the house somewhere. We put out "sticky pads" in some key areas with the hopes that the other scorpion might get caught in our absence.
The travel morning started with a visit to Christian's new doctor, Dr. Diaz who is an absolutely wonderful, kind and compassionate man. I'm going to have to devote an entire blog post to telling you about Dr. Diaz (some day).
Christian and I were upstairs getting ready (okay, he was playing, I was getting ready) and Jonathan was downstairs loading the car up. I heard Jonathan say, "Hi, Christian!" ... and i was confused when I saw the baby gate was still up, but the voice came from downstairs. Turns out we've got a little escape artist on our hands ... Christian managed to get through the gap between the gate and the stair railing. I have no idea how he did that, but it appears we need to come up with a new solution for keeping him from going downstairs. I am just thankful he didn't fall down. He's actually very good at getting up and down the stairs on his own ... but it only takes one moment of distraction for him to loose his footing ... and down he goes (as I witnessed back in February). So knowing he bypassed the gate and got downstairs without my knowledge really got my heart racing!
Our drive started close to 11:00am (much too late) and we assumed since that was Christian's usual nap time, he'd take a nap. The nap lasted an hour or so ... and didn't resume until we got close to Albuquerque. So, he was pretty cranky for some of the drive. And since he's not walking, we couldn't put him down on the floor when we stopped and got out (the picture to the right is a stop outside Grants, NM). So, he was either in the car seat, in our arms, or in a high chair for the entire day. And that is no fun for a kiddo who is used to being able to crawl all over the place and explore the world.
Christian's spirits picked back up when we arrived in Bosque Farms (just outside ABQ) to stay with our friends, Jon and Valerie. And he was too excited to go to sleep. I think we got him down at around 10:30pm. And sure enough ... he was awake at his usual time this morning (5:00am Arizona time).
It was a rough day for our lil' guy ... and consequently a rough day for us all.
It could have been worse, of course ... but I have informed Jonathan that next time we must go to Albuquerque, it will be on a plane.
2008, when Christian was just a couple of months old. And that was a rough trip. So it will be interesting to see how he does now that he's older and much more interactive. I expect he'll sleep thorugh the first portion of the drive. After that ... we'll just hope for the best!
Happy 18th Month Birthday to Our Sweet Boy!
Christian produced some lovely artwork at daycare yesterday. The bunny's ears are Christian's handprints (or an attempt at them). Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ... that's my boy! :)
I'll let ya'll know how it goes!
Jennifer
An update: The procedure went fine (aside from having a nurse who was snippy with me because 1) I had been chewing gum - nobody told me not to and 2) I had eaten a small meal before 8:30am that morning - that was the instructions from my Dr. Typically a patient isn't instructed to eat after midnight the night before. Well, my doctor told me to eat ... so I did.) Apparently my esophagus is "normal." Two polyps were removed for biopsy (which I'm hoping is standard procedure and nothing to get concerned over). Yesterday (4/8), I had a barium swallow test at the hospital. The technician commented that I had "a little reflux." My next Dr. appt. is on 4/21, so I'll find out the results of the biopsy and my doctor's interpretation of the barium swallow test.
More information on the procedure: I've noticed several people have arrived at this blog posting by doing a Google search for "Esophagogastroduodenoscopy" (which is really an impressive word to say ... so learn how to pronounce it and amaze your friends, family and co-workers!), so I wanted to provide the details of my own experience so anybody facing this procedure knows what to expect (because fear of the unknown just stinks!).
First: You will be unconscious during this procedure, so you will need to have somebody bring you and take you home.
My procedure was scheduled at 1:30pm. I was told by the nurse at the gastroenterologist's office that I could have 1 boiled egg and one piece of dry white toast before 8:30am. Nothing was said to me about not taking medication, so I took my daily Aciphex pill, as usual.
I hate having a dry, stale mouth ... so I was chewing gum when I arrived at the hospital. The nurse saw me toss it and just about had a fit. She informed me I wasn't supposed to "eat anything" prior to the procedure (um, since when does chewing gum constitute "eating" something?). She then asked me if I ate breakfast ... and when I told her I did indeed eat breakfast, she just about had a fit again. I informed her I was TOLD to eat. She also got cranky when I told her I took an Aciphex pill with my breakfast. I had NOT been told to hold off on meds. Again, she was not happy.
So, be very clear on the instructions your gastroenerologist gives you for the procedure. This particular nurse had called me two days prior to the procedure and asked me all sorts of questions, filled out paperwork over the phone, etc. As a matter of fact, I asked her about the meal my doctor told me to have, and she told me that if he said its okay ... to do what he said. And she said nothing about not chewing gum.
I was taken back to a prep room and told to take off my shoes and any clothing on my upper torso and put on a gown. No jewelry allowed, either. I was given an IV (which didn't hurt anywhere near like the IV hurt for my c-section, so I was relieved). The anesthesiologist came in and also commented on the fact that I had eaten, and that I "shouldn't have." And I'm thinking, "Um, then ya'll need to speak with my doctor directly because he approved the meal."
The anesthesiologist noticed me squinting during the IV insertion, as the nurse was having a hard time with it. He gave me some "Versed" and informed it it would help me forget. I had heard of the drug prior to the procedure. Basically, you forget what has happened during the time the drug is in effect, but until you are put under, you are still able to talk, communicate, answer questions, etc. You just don't remember it later on.
The last thing I remember was that my vision got blurry and I asked if that was normal. He said, "Yes."
And then I was opening my eyes to see my son and husband in the room with me. Procedure done!
I had been told I'd be loopy for a bit ... but I wasn't. But I was relaxed ... and just content. Not bothered about anything ... not stressed about anything ... I was just happy as a clam. And that is a good place to be, you know? :)
The doctor took out two polyps from my stomach, but I was able to eat right after the procedure. No alcohol for 24 hours was the only thing. I was expecting a soar throat from the scope ... but didn't have one. I was really as if nothing had happened!
So I hope that story helps anybody who might be feeling anxious about their own procedure. Its not big deal ... really ... I promise!
Hot off the presses ... Christian and Daddy playing a bit of soccer this afternoon.
Okay, I can't make this a truly Wordless Wednesday today because I must tell you of the evolution of this toy.
Bella Big Butt
