I can write whatever I want because this is our blog, so I am just going to lay it all out on the table. No one reads it but us anyway...I think. This has been the year from H...E...Double Hockey Sticks! And not from Covid either. Well, maybe yes. It has definitely made things really weird. Like wearing a mask in public. Being a nurse, it is easy for me to wear a mask....when it is necessary. But try to convince a house full of black sheep to wear a mask and you would think we were doing surgery on them without anesthesia. Don't get me started on whether or not we should be wearing a mask at all times. It drives me insane seeing people wearing a mask riding a bike or driving a car when they are the only ones in the car. Really??
We are swiftly approaching the one year anniversary of Victoria fainting in Jill's barn only to mark the beginning of a 6 month recovery from a concussion, which she still hasn't fully recovered, will she? That lead to nasty headaches causing us to seek an MRI on New Years Eve only to find out that she has Chiari Malformation. Who knew that her cerebellum is descended down her foramen magnum. No wonder why the kid was having nerve issues in her hands, neck and shoulder pain, and struggled with landing her axel on ice, which she finally did with the harness in the Fall of 2019! It sure explains quite a bit. We have now found out that that is why she doesn't swing her arms when she walks, why she started getting dizzy with spinning on ice, why the haircutter spin bothered her neck and threw her off balance, why her posture is perfectly straight because she was naturally holding her head in a position so it wouldn't hurt and why she stopped growing taller at 5ft 5in when we have known all along that she was to grow to be close to 6 ft. She was always so much taller and bigger than other kids her age.
Oh, and all this time Kirk's work flooded in the Fall of 2019 so he was home working in the basement freezing his butt off. I can say butt because remember, this is my blog and I can say whatever I want. I can even say "crap" if I want to. So not only are his fingers freezing but his legs are going numb sitting in our concrete, low ceiling basement working on the computer. Which they hadn't made any real progress to fix the flood problem, nor did they offer to give him a tiny raise to help cover the cost of the added electric bill of running his computer and monitors, the upgraded internet needed and the electricity to run the lights and an electric blanket and heaters down there so he doesn't freeze.
In the mean time, Ice skating is over, the idea of actually accomplishing school is on hold, the projected goal of becoming a vet is over and the couch now is the place of comfort with her head propped in a really weird way which we know is to give her brain all the space it needs in her skull. And no amount of medication can help with the 24/7 headaches, dizzy spells, upset stomach and emotional trauma of the entire ordeal. And then get diagnosed with Dysautonomia, which by the way there is no treatment for, only eat salt, which she naturally has craved dill pickles her whole life, and drink lots and lots of fluid.
Enter Covid. We know Kaleb already had it in February wiithout realizing it. We did manage to keep the rest of us from getting sick. I honestly don't think Victoria would have done well at all if she had gotten sick at any time this past year. I called around all of Utah to find a concussion clinic that could help Victoria but couldn't find one that would treat someone under the age of 18. You have to be kidding me!! So we actually went up to Driggs, Idaho after they started seeing people again in May to a concussion clinic and they did absolutely NOTHING! On to the next. We started seeing a Naturopathic who have helped her a little. At least she is able to be off the couch most days. And amazing, we finally did find a concussion doc that would see her. Where was he before when I called his office, I have no idea.
Summer came and went with so many restrictions on 4H that I am shocked that we managed to meet as much as we did with the dogs. But the heated indoor arena that we finally got to meet in during the winter with snow on the ground is no longer available to us due to Covid. Eerrrrghhh. And now the kids can't meet anyway. Which is something Victoria really needs.
In the meantime, Kirk's work got the flood taken care of but then decided to not lease their space again which sent Kirk back home to work permanently. So we made the choice to put new carpet with a super thick pad for insulation to try to maintain the heat so he doesn't freeze. It is actually working. It is much warmer down there. I guess when I prayed during the winter that he wouldn't be traveling all summer and be gone like he usually is. I was thinking that he would be getting a new job or something. I had no idea that Covid would enable him to do it all online in our basement. God knew it was coming. He made me have the feeling that he wouldn't be traveling for the summer and he didn't. He was home.
Hobby Lobby won't let me use their art room to teach my art classes so I am having to do small classes around our dining room table. I am thankful to be able to continue but I am bummed that I can't use the art room where I have successfully been able to use it for the past 6 years. Now, I have to make sure everything is cleaned up on my art days where as before I didn't worry about dishes or books on the table from school. I know, quit the sniveling.
Why am I whining? It sounds like it. I am thankful Kirk still has a job. And I am thankful we still have our daughter and that she will get through this illness? We have seen two neurologists, talked with two neurosurgeons, been to Instacare once, had two MRI's done, saw the OT, PT, Concussion specialist for weeks on end, not to mention the therapist to help her sort through the loss of her figure skating ability. I have become trained in Craniosacral Therapy to do the frequent adjustments on her head and neck to give her relief and now am becoming educated in Homeopathic medicine to treat her many, many symptoms to root out the problem deep inside her body. We have good things happening but it hasn't been easy. Jared is a licensed contractor now, and Kaleb quit his welding job to partner with Jared in the construction world. Daphne hung in there with her little violin students until this last round of quarantine rules. Who knew that this past year was going to be this way.
Can 2021 get any better than 2020? I sure hope so. Okay, I vented. I told it like it is. In the meantime, I will bundle up and find peace and quiet even if it means finding a rock to sit on in a lonely field or hanging out with the animals and learn to speak goat or pony or something.
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