The Floodgates Opened

For the first time in over a year, all of TP's labs are normal! The doctor is thrilled, we are thrilled, and it's now time to celebrate! I am not sure what we are going to do, but whatever it is, it will be TP's decision on how she wants to do it!

This couldn't have come at a better time. TP and I had a lengthy talk yesterday about how she doesn't want people to ask her how she's feeling, because it makes her feel "not normal", plust it just reminds her all over again that she has a chronic illness. We discussed how she wants her medical situaiton to be handled from now on, and I totally supported her on her wishes. She has been through hell and back in more ways than one, and she just wants to get on with her life.

What started our whole discussion was a rather comical incident (well, it wasn't exactly comical while it was happening, but in retrospect, we can see the humor in it and laugh). The IV drip for TP's Solu-Medrol meds was going sooooooooooo slowly. Painstakingly slow. To the point that I wanted to squeeze the bag to make it go quicker - but that is a big No-No. Anyway, TP is getting more and more upset by the minute (when she does that, she gets very oppositional and fatalistic about stuff - she says things like "I am NEVER going to have Solu-Medrol again" or "I don't care if this is saving my kidneys and my life - I am quitting all medicine as of right now) - and so you can imaginie how all of that is making me feel. Not very nurturing, and wishing I could be at the beach with a margarita (and I don't even drink). Anyway, I came up with an absolutely brilliant idea of changing the tubing on the drip, as it seemed as though it was the clamp which regulated the flow that wasn't functioning properly. That idea is a good one, providing you remember the theory about gravity. Once you pull a plug, things have a tendency to go downward - which is exactly what happened here - so all of the meds spilled onto the carpet!!! If I had been thinking more rationally rather than emotionally, I would have remembered to tilt the bag UP while changing the tubing so as to not let the contents spill out. Of course, I got overwhelmingly upset, and TP knew that (unfortunately). Later, when I finally calmed down, and I went into her room and said "It would have been more helpful if I had remembered my science lesson" - and she knew exactly what I was talking about - and we started to laugh. So, the air was cleared, and a lesson learned.

It's amazing how a person can cope for a really long time under very stressful circumstances, and then, have just one thing go wrong, and the flood gates are open. But this "flood" (literally and figuratively) allowed TP and I to be able to talk about how she wants her illness to be handled from now on. I keep forgetting she is almost an adult now - so our roles are changing.

DQ and I had fun today while the car was in the shop. We spent a lot of time at the bookstore down the street from the repair shop - and some money, too, I might add. She delights in reading so much - and she is anxiously awaiting the new Harry Potter book. I read an interesting blog entry on The Anchoress site today about the Pope's comments against this series. She hit the nail right on the head - it was what I've been trying to say to some of my friends all along, but I didn't quite have the right words to say it.

Tomorrow, we visit Ashland University for TP - I am hoping they have "blue light specials" on their tuition or dorm fees. I just can't get over the cost of a college education - and I honestly don't know from where the money is going to come. Her GPA is outstanding; her SAT and ACT scores are average (she's never been a good standardized test taker); she may get scholarships, but what about the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years of college??? DQ is quite the opposite - she scores off the charts for those kinds of tests, but she struggles at times with her schoolwork due to her disorganization and inability to stay on task.

This humidity is killing me - my headache is getting worse, so I must sign off for now.