"Not Me!" Monday

Yes, it's that time, again! It's time for that wonderful blog carnival started by McMama (in fact, for some more "Not Me's", hop on over to McMama's blog. =0) I know the use of "not" has confused some people, so I wanted to briefly explain that the "not's" in italics are sarcastic - meaning this stuff really happened . . . =0)

Okay, so here goes . . .

We did not go to Orlando for yet another doctor's appointment. When that doctor (that did not exist) did not walk into the room and did not sit down only to have my son not pull my shirts (yes, I had 2 shirts on . . . to prevent this) down to flash the non-existent doctor. Nope. Never happened. The doctor did not get embarrassed, and I most certainly did not get embarrassed. Obviously, 'cuz it just did not happen. =0) (I've been scarred for life! I'm not so sure that I can look the guy in the face the next time I see him!!!) =0)

Speaking of my son who most certainly did not pull my shirt down, he also did not lift up his own shirt and say, "Wook! It's a bad toot!" ("look! it's a bad tooth!) while pointing to his nipple. He did not just discover that he has one . . . he still hasn't discovered that he has another (seriously - he thinks he only has one) . . . and he did not ask me to put a band-aid on it to make it go away. The non-existent doctor did not have to cover his face to keep from showing us that he was laughing so hard tears were starting to form. Nope, never happened. Right???

We did not find out today that Isaiah will be having an endoscopy and a sigmoidoscopy in just a few weeks. We also did not find out that he will have to be sedated with gas and intubated for the procedures . . . and that the recovery will take longer because they will have to use gas instead of the usual propofol. Nope, he most certainly is not at risk with the propofol because 1) it is a known masto trigger (as in, it is known to cause anaphylaxis in masto patients) and 2) propofol has soy in it . . . one of many things Isaiah is allergic to. He will also not have to have an IV and will not have to be given prednisone, benadryl, and IV zantac to make sure he will not have a reaction during the procedures - Isaiah is most certainly not at high risk for anaphylaxis. =0( (Please pray for Isaiah and this procedure - he'll have this done in April and needs to be steroid-free for at least 8 weeks).

Our pharmacist does not know who we are. She not only does not know us, but she also does not know us by name - first and last - and does not know Isaiah's birth date by heart. She does not go get his meds as soon as we walk in the door and have them ready for us to just walk out with them. That would be absurd! They are also not in one of those large brown paper bags (you know, the ones you get at the grocery store), and some of the pharmacy techs do not try to shove them into the little drawer only to tell us that we have to come inside . . . and we most certainly have not completely given up on going through the drive through when we pick up Isaiah's prescriptions . . . and this is totally not funny. =0) (C'mon, you have to see the humor in this . . . big brown paper bag, the tech trying to shove the thing into that little drawer and then trying to push that little stick to make the drawer deliver the meds - I'm laughing at the thought of it - seriously . . . or not so seriously) =0) (another side note . . . it would be kind of fun to mess with the new techs, though - tee-hee!) =0)

My son did not decide to show the Schwan's delivery man his new "Buzz Lightyear" underwear and proceed not to tell him that he just went potty . . . and yell, "To ifibidy an be-yon!" ("To infinity and beyond!"). Nope, not my little man - he's too proper for that! (e-hem) Of course, I did not laugh when he said that either. I mean, why would I positively reinforce such talk??? =0)

I did not totally forget to write a post this past week about my in-laws being here and we did not completely have a wonderful time with them being here. It was not a relaxing time and not fun taking them on a tour of our town . . . and the beach . . . and to see the space shuttle. I so did not want them to stay longer. (miss you guys - it was good to see you!!!)

I did not totally trip over my own feet while in the store in front of a whole bunch of people. I was not laughed at, and did not turn red and laugh at myself . . . nope, I'm too graceful for such a thing to ever happen to me. ;0)

I do not have a week off from classes and do not have only 2 classes left until I graduate with a Master's degree in TESOL (teaching English to Speakers of other languages). Nope, and I most certainly do not have a 4.0 with 100% in my classes . . . and I'm not completely in shock about that, either! =0) (Hey, c'mon - I'm shocked and completely excited!!!!) I'm also not a member of Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor's society either . . . eeek!!! =0)

Isaiah did not make a new friend at the non-existent doctor's office today. This non-existent friend in the non-existent doctor's office was not 5 years old and smaller than Isaiah . . . my son also does not weigh 41 pounds (he lost 5 pounds) and is not 46 inches tall. Nope, and he's not 3 1/2 either. =0)

Anyway, those are all the not me's for this week. . . I think. =0) Hopefully, I will remember to post some next week. Now that I let you in on my "Secret" (it wasn't really, I just didn't say much about it until now . . . no idea why either) . . . well, now you know why I was slacking on all my posts. Hey, the last 2 classes were doozies - English Grammar???? YIKES! You'd think I'd be better with my grammar after that class! HA! ;0) In all honesty, it's actually been a lot of fun! =0)

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And, to discuss the upcoming "surgery" for Isaiah, the doctor just wants to have a look around in Isaiah's esophagus and stomach as well as his lower intestine. He has a sneaky suspicion that Isaiah's severe constipation is being caused by an overly sensitive bowel (sensitive because of the masto and allergies). He also wants to make sure that Isaiah's tummy is doing okay on the dose of ranitadine (compounded zantac) and that he doesn't have anything else going on in there. Isaiah is on a lot of meds that he did sort-of want Isaiah to be off of for the procedures, but he really doesn't want to mess with the meds - it's strange how each one works with the other to keep Isaiah alive . . . seriously. Off the meds, Isaiah's reactions would be worse and more frequent . . . which would also mean that they would have more potential for being fatal. Masto and allergies stink!

The doctor we saw today was so nice and relaxing. He was doing his best to make a serious procedure (simple procedure, yet serious because of the anesthesia and Isaiah's anaphylaxis issues) seem very easy and normal. He was trying to make the situation sound less intimidating. It worked, but I can't say that I didn't get teary-eyed at the thought of Isaiah being intubated. The procedure itself (a camera being inserted through the mouth to look into the throat, stomach, and upper portion of the intestines; and a camera being inserted into a very small portion of his lower intestine) doesn't sound all that bad - I have even had an endoscopy. The procedure is really no big deal. It's the anesthesia and the intubation. Even IVs don't phase me anymore - even with it being Isaiah (he's so brave and calm when he gets them). I guess it's just strange to think that a machine will be making sure my son is breathing during the procedure and that they will have access to his airway for the "just in case." Ugh. I don't think I even want to think about this anymore . . .

I was also thinking a lot about the amount of meds Isaiah is on. It's an insane amount - 12 meds. Each one given to try and help a particular symptom (whether topical or ingested/inhaled), and each one working together to try and "control" all the other symptoms as well. Even still, it's a lot of meds. Yet without them - even without one or two of them - Isaiah's symptoms would not be managed and he would end up in the ER yet again. Yes, that still happens, but it could be much, much worse. It could be happening more frequently and the episodes could be more severe. Six Epi Pens (epinephrine injectors) sound so unnecessary, yet when one, two, or three just don't seem to cut it, then you have four, five, and six as backups - life saving, yet scary backups. It's horrifying to give one Epi, but even worse when you realize that you need to give another, and another . . . I don't ever want to go beyond that. I don't ever want to see that.

Also be praying for Isaiah's health right now. Last Wednesday, we had a birthday party for my nephew. My nephew had his cake and ice cream, and I baked a cake for Isaiah to have and had his special ice cream on hand, but still Isaiah ended up having a slight reaction that night. I really have no idea why, but I have noticed that we just can't go anywhere near the bakery section in Wal-Mart - he gets itchy, splotchy, rashy, and sometimes flushes. It only took a couple of times to figure out what was going on. Anyway, I gave Isaiah hydroxyzine and the more immediate matter was resolved, but Isaiah hasn't been the same since. He hasn't been sleeping well (last night he itched the entire night - he couldn't even fall asleep until he was absolutely exhausted . . . which ended up being around 3 in the morning). He has also been complaining of pain and hasn't been eating . . . except for popcorn . . . and a special hot dog today. Of course, he has also been irritable, but that's to be expected. I wish I could make it all go away for him - the itchies, the ickies, all of the stuff that goes along with this masto and allergies.

Anyway, I'm really in a good mood . . . I know, you can't tell, can you? =0) I am so not sleep-deprived and not at all slap-happy. ;0) I have shed a few tears today, but really, I'm not surprised that the doctor wanted to do the tests - I knew that he would. It's more of the other stuff that got to me. But, really, I'm in a good mood. =0) Well, I can't let a post go without posting a few pictures . . . and I can't end without posting a good one that will make you smile, too! =0)

He's pretending to be the "halo-docter" (halo-detector, from Wall-E) =0)

Goodnight!