What is this country coming to?
Yesterday I went to visit 'M' after the gym, she didn't join me as she was feeling a little under the weather and its her birthday today.
Whilst I was there, her son phoned from school to say that someone had threatened to beat him up afterschool and was then told that his cousins, brothers and relatives generally, had be phoned to join him. They had also found out that he was planning on going home early and that the teacher had given him permission to leave immediately to avoid the issue.
We had to drive into school to get him, and whilst waiting for the automatic doors to open, saw a car full of youths brandishing base ball bats and big metal bars - right outside the school gates!! We had to drive back out with him lying on the floor of the car so that if they saw us again, then they wouldn't follow us home.
I know it was outside of the school grounds but surely the school could have phoned the police? This is a much sort after school in our city and people pay ridiculous house prices to live in the catchment area.
I was most shocked and when I got home, I was nicely calmed down by taking Grace for her first piano lesson which she thouroughly enjoyed and it didn't make her get out of breath once.
Later that evening a member of Marks staff phoned to say that he had been held a knife point whilst armed robbers stole the days takings after kicking the door in whilst he was cashing up.
I hate this country, theres nothing great about it. Maybe we will move in the next few years, there are too many ties presently, but this city does nothing to impress me presently.
I have been thinking about my list Suzie and I haven't made it anywhere near 10 yet, but here are a few to be going on with-
1. Learn to play the piano - (Grace and I have just started piano lessons)
2. I would also like to go to Rome ( I have been to Barcelona recently and I have
one Newyork too)
3. I would like to do a degree
4. I would like to do atleast a half marathon
5. Live by the sea
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Grace would like to -
1. Learn to play the piano
2. Go to China, Japan or Thailand
3. Become a scientist
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Clearly we are still working on it......
Wednesday 30 April 2008
Thursday 24 April 2008
Clinic this week!
It was nice to see Dr Weller, he attends our clinic about twice a year, and its very nice to get his input. We will be seeing him at BCH next month anyway, it should be the annual review but for Grace its the half yearly review as she is seen twice a year at Birmingham.
Firstly, her sats were 92 even though she is full of the cold, her chest sounded much the same as normal which is clearish with a bit of crackling on the left lower back. Her lung function was around 75% that would indicate that she has finally 'clicked' and now knows how to get the best from a lung function test. The thing that baffles me though is, with all the above info, her breathing is terrible, she can't walk up a flight of stairs at home without having to sit down and get her breath back and her heart is always racing, even when it was checked at rest. On Thursday whilst sitting down and had been for 2 hours, her heart was racing.
This was all obviously discussed at clinic and I have been pushing for some time for them to cut her prednisalone as her weight has gone up dramatically since her bronchoscopy, she now weighs 32.7 and is in age 10 clothes to accomodate her poor tummy which constantly bloated. So the extra weight could contribute to the breathlessness. The double dose of gastro was discussed but no indication of an xray, although I did say that she was having more abnormal stool problems than blockages presently.
All in all they were quite pleased with her clear chest and her sats being up, and they have decided to cut her prednisalone to 7.5g from 10 every other day to see if it will help with her weight with a view to reviewing it in Birmingham next month just to make sure she can cope with the lowered dose and also Dr Weller said he had had some experience of Graces 'funny episodes' being due to the steroids suppressing the adrenal gland or something like that which seems to fit 'the bill' perfectly.
Anyway she is still not back in school due to her stinky cold, but she will definitely be going back Monday and I can have a lie down for a few days. Well I'm off to get a makeover a la Grace now, ooh I can see the blue eyeshadow from here...........
It was nice to see Dr Weller, he attends our clinic about twice a year, and its very nice to get his input. We will be seeing him at BCH next month anyway, it should be the annual review but for Grace its the half yearly review as she is seen twice a year at Birmingham.
Firstly, her sats were 92 even though she is full of the cold, her chest sounded much the same as normal which is clearish with a bit of crackling on the left lower back. Her lung function was around 75% that would indicate that she has finally 'clicked' and now knows how to get the best from a lung function test. The thing that baffles me though is, with all the above info, her breathing is terrible, she can't walk up a flight of stairs at home without having to sit down and get her breath back and her heart is always racing, even when it was checked at rest. On Thursday whilst sitting down and had been for 2 hours, her heart was racing.
This was all obviously discussed at clinic and I have been pushing for some time for them to cut her prednisalone as her weight has gone up dramatically since her bronchoscopy, she now weighs 32.7 and is in age 10 clothes to accomodate her poor tummy which constantly bloated. So the extra weight could contribute to the breathlessness. The double dose of gastro was discussed but no indication of an xray, although I did say that she was having more abnormal stool problems than blockages presently.
All in all they were quite pleased with her clear chest and her sats being up, and they have decided to cut her prednisalone to 7.5g from 10 every other day to see if it will help with her weight with a view to reviewing it in Birmingham next month just to make sure she can cope with the lowered dose and also Dr Weller said he had had some experience of Graces 'funny episodes' being due to the steroids suppressing the adrenal gland or something like that which seems to fit 'the bill' perfectly.
Anyway she is still not back in school due to her stinky cold, but she will definitely be going back Monday and I can have a lie down for a few days. Well I'm off to get a makeover a la Grace now, ooh I can see the blue eyeshadow from here...........
Monday 21 April 2008
I haven't been to the gym since last Tuesday. I had planned to go Thursday, but felt unwell. I then planned to go Friday, but Grace felt unwell. Saturday and Sunday are virtually impossible and Grace is unwell again today. She is due in clinic tomorrow and Mark has the day off, so I will try and go early in the morning.
The nurse came out to see Grace on Thursday evening as she had a funny turn and called me to help her to where I found her lying on the floor in the bedroom and she was asking me to help her undress as she was too exhausted to get up.
I immediately checked her blood sugars and the reading was 9.1. She has had some diverse readings since we started, but I had no idea what they meant as we were only asked to record them until the next clinic.
I expressed this plus concern about her condition to the nurse and she came out to see her immediately. The nurse felt it had nothing to do with her blood sugars judging by the readings, but felt she might have something 'brewing'. Well I knew that anyway because she is struggling to breathe again. However, her sats were 94 which is strange because of the breathing difficulties and also because Graces sats are normally pretty low.
We mentioned the tummy troubles she had been having lately and was asked to do a double dose of gastro on Friday and Saturday (poor Grace) poor Grace indeed!! she asked if I would buy her a gift if she drank the gastro neat, and, knowing how much it disgusts her to take it in 200ml of coke, agreed.
So 50ml of neat gastrografin and £33 later, Grace is now the proud owner of a a 'b-chic' vanity case. I was robbed I tell you!...............
We have also had to keep a food diary since then to take to clinic with us tomorrow, so hopefully armed with all those things, and not having to wait another month until clinic, we might be able to get to the bottom of things. Dr Weller will also be present at clinic tomorrow and Grace is also going to have an xray on the offending tummy area.
As I have been keeping a close eye on a very good friends ' list of things to do before I die' I have managed one of them for her...... yes Suzie, I did the oyster and it was surprisingly alright and I could probably manage it again if you want to do a joint one. I have also decided to compile a list of my own, which I will give some thought, but I think one of them would be to audition for 'Britains got talent' because judging by some of the entrants, I stand quite a good chance of getting televised on the next series. I consider the Hydroactive challenge to have been one of my list already because I am incredibly impressed with myself with how fit I am for my age.
Well, house work beckons................................
The nurse came out to see Grace on Thursday evening as she had a funny turn and called me to help her to where I found her lying on the floor in the bedroom and she was asking me to help her undress as she was too exhausted to get up.
I immediately checked her blood sugars and the reading was 9.1. She has had some diverse readings since we started, but I had no idea what they meant as we were only asked to record them until the next clinic.
I expressed this plus concern about her condition to the nurse and she came out to see her immediately. The nurse felt it had nothing to do with her blood sugars judging by the readings, but felt she might have something 'brewing'. Well I knew that anyway because she is struggling to breathe again. However, her sats were 94 which is strange because of the breathing difficulties and also because Graces sats are normally pretty low.
We mentioned the tummy troubles she had been having lately and was asked to do a double dose of gastro on Friday and Saturday (poor Grace) poor Grace indeed!! she asked if I would buy her a gift if she drank the gastro neat, and, knowing how much it disgusts her to take it in 200ml of coke, agreed.
So 50ml of neat gastrografin and £33 later, Grace is now the proud owner of a a 'b-chic' vanity case. I was robbed I tell you!...............
We have also had to keep a food diary since then to take to clinic with us tomorrow, so hopefully armed with all those things, and not having to wait another month until clinic, we might be able to get to the bottom of things. Dr Weller will also be present at clinic tomorrow and Grace is also going to have an xray on the offending tummy area.
As I have been keeping a close eye on a very good friends ' list of things to do before I die' I have managed one of them for her...... yes Suzie, I did the oyster and it was surprisingly alright and I could probably manage it again if you want to do a joint one. I have also decided to compile a list of my own, which I will give some thought, but I think one of them would be to audition for 'Britains got talent' because judging by some of the entrants, I stand quite a good chance of getting televised on the next series. I consider the Hydroactive challenge to have been one of my list already because I am incredibly impressed with myself with how fit I am for my age.
Well, house work beckons................................
Wednesday 9 April 2008
Yesterday I went to the gym. I was supposed to meeting 'M' but she wasn't there. So, left to my own devices I went a bit beserk. I did only 25 minutes on the treadmill, well 32 including warm up and cool down, but I upped my speed considerably. After that I took the opportunity to use the cross trainer for 15 minutes and worked my way up to level 10.
Whilst on the cross trainer I watched another gym member try out the new exercise bikes, they are quite tall and look like racers (I have a bit of a thing for racers and have been trying to get one at a reasonable price, because these days they are extortionate!) it looked really interesting so I just had to give them a go..... and I loved it and couldn't bring myself to stop. I started at level 2 and just kept going up and up and up..... and stopped at level 10 because I thought of the serious after effects that I might encounter today, and sure enough I am struggling to sit down, my legs are stiff beyond belief, but I feel great.
Tommorow, as 'M' won't be there until Friday, I decided I might try one of the classes, and I've decided to try the 'body pump' class, its sort of like exercising to music using light weights. Whilst Grace was having her swimming lesson on Monday I was talking to one of the 'Mums' who said that it was effective very quickly, and she could see toned results much faster than cardio, and the weights are quite light so there wasn't a big amount of effort involved......So watch this space for 'super woman'
On the subject of Graces swimming lesson, I made a complaint on Friday as whilst I was swimming I noticed that the mats that are designed to stop people slipping around the pool edge absolutely stunk! you could smell them from atleast 3 feet away. I explained that it is dangerous for childrens chests because of the bacteria, and can cause serious infection to any children, let alone children with such problems as Grace.
When she went for her lesson Monday, there was no change and the swimming instructor kept the class at the other end of the pool and well away from them, she also mentioned she had had a bad chest since she started working there and couldn't seem to shake it off. There is also a little girl in Graces class with chronic asthma.
I again complained and they said they would phone me to let me know when the problem had been rectified. They smell because they haven't been lifted and cleaned the whole area needs washing down with disinfectant and the mats need to be scrubbed with a brush, now as I pay £12 per month for Graces membership and that is beside the swimming class charges, I'm sure they could manage to pay someone a bit of over time to clean the mats. Anyway if its not rectified by the end of the week I will cancel her membership and stop her from doing something she absolutely loves because people just can't be bothered.
Grace finishes half day today, and she definitely needs it, she was very tired this morning and she has been coping ok for the last few days, but it seems to have caught up with her and is in desparate need of a rest, so hopefully she will take heed and sit around and do nothing this afternoon, easier said than done with Grace, funny though, the other 2 of my children could manage it with ease, especially when you struggling down the loft stairs with a dustbin bag full of mega bloks and the bag splits!
Whilst on the cross trainer I watched another gym member try out the new exercise bikes, they are quite tall and look like racers (I have a bit of a thing for racers and have been trying to get one at a reasonable price, because these days they are extortionate!) it looked really interesting so I just had to give them a go..... and I loved it and couldn't bring myself to stop. I started at level 2 and just kept going up and up and up..... and stopped at level 10 because I thought of the serious after effects that I might encounter today, and sure enough I am struggling to sit down, my legs are stiff beyond belief, but I feel great.
Tommorow, as 'M' won't be there until Friday, I decided I might try one of the classes, and I've decided to try the 'body pump' class, its sort of like exercising to music using light weights. Whilst Grace was having her swimming lesson on Monday I was talking to one of the 'Mums' who said that it was effective very quickly, and she could see toned results much faster than cardio, and the weights are quite light so there wasn't a big amount of effort involved......So watch this space for 'super woman'
On the subject of Graces swimming lesson, I made a complaint on Friday as whilst I was swimming I noticed that the mats that are designed to stop people slipping around the pool edge absolutely stunk! you could smell them from atleast 3 feet away. I explained that it is dangerous for childrens chests because of the bacteria, and can cause serious infection to any children, let alone children with such problems as Grace.
When she went for her lesson Monday, there was no change and the swimming instructor kept the class at the other end of the pool and well away from them, she also mentioned she had had a bad chest since she started working there and couldn't seem to shake it off. There is also a little girl in Graces class with chronic asthma.
I again complained and they said they would phone me to let me know when the problem had been rectified. They smell because they haven't been lifted and cleaned the whole area needs washing down with disinfectant and the mats need to be scrubbed with a brush, now as I pay £12 per month for Graces membership and that is beside the swimming class charges, I'm sure they could manage to pay someone a bit of over time to clean the mats. Anyway if its not rectified by the end of the week I will cancel her membership and stop her from doing something she absolutely loves because people just can't be bothered.
Grace finishes half day today, and she definitely needs it, she was very tired this morning and she has been coping ok for the last few days, but it seems to have caught up with her and is in desparate need of a rest, so hopefully she will take heed and sit around and do nothing this afternoon, easier said than done with Grace, funny though, the other 2 of my children could manage it with ease, especially when you struggling down the loft stairs with a dustbin bag full of mega bloks and the bag splits!
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