I saw this over at Pam's blog and I thought it looked like fun, so I decided to play along. Tell me what you think.
| What Melanie Means |
 You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. |
Some of this sounds like me but a lot of it doesn't sound like me at all. And it also seems to contradict itself.
Of course you do. Friday, January 18th is the next Random Recipe Exchange day. If you aren't participating yet make sure you stop by Pam's blog for all of the details. This week we are going to post our favorite birthday recipe. You still have several days to come up with something good. So, stop by and let Pam know you'll be participating.
Have a happy and safe New Year! I'll probably be back sometime on Tuesday to do some more posting. I'll hopefully have some pictures to share of our fun New Years party. Have a Happy New Year!!
Rich has been having some problems with his foot. He hurt it quite a while ago at work and it seems to be getting worse. He finally decided it was time to go see the doctor since it had been over two years since he originally hurt it. It's best to make sure there is really a problem before you head to the doctor you know.
Anyhoo- he went to the doctor who referred him to a foot specialist. So, last Monday we all went to the foot doctor. Yes, all three of us went. (Please tell me, is it only my husband? Or do your husbands beg you to go with them if they have to go to the doctor?) Keeping Hailey occupied in the waiting room is not fun, but that is another story for another day.
And so. The foot doctor made this special little foot thingee for Rich to wear. He's been wearing it for a week and it has actually made his foot hurt in a different place. So, Rich asked me to call the doctor for him (because- goodness gracious- we wouldn't want him to call himself).
On Wednesday we went to see the foot doctor again. Hailey and I waited in the car this time (with the DVD player). Rich came out not too long after looking quite white.
"I passed out." He told me.
"Are you serious? Are you okay?" I asked him.
"Well, I almost passed out." He responded.
It turns out the doctor told him he could choose surgery or a cortisone shot. Rich thought he'd go with the shot. Apparently the shot was quite painful. On his way out of the office, Rich started to feel hot and dizzy. The receptionist was trying to get some information from him for his next appointment and Rich told her how he was feeling.
The doctor heard what Rich said and came rushing out and told him to lay down on the floor. They gave him a chair to put his feet up on because they were worried he was about to pass out. They kept him for a while and the doctor checked his pulse and made sure he was okay before he let him leave.
So, while he didn't actually pass out he felt bad enough that he insisted that I drive home because he was not feeling well. He emphasized that this was the very reason why it is important that I always come with him for appointments. Because you just never know.
For the rest of the afternoon and evening Rich continued to tell me how I could not possibly comprehend the pain he was in when the doctor gave him the cortisone shot in his foot.
Finally I said, "You know what? I think I can imagine pretty severe pain. I have a feeling that giving birth probably hurt more than your cortisone shot."
"No," he replied, "I think the cortisone shot probably hurt more than giving birth does. After all, giving birth did not cause you to almost pass out."
Excuse me? What do you think ladies? Are men really that wimpy? While I do think that the shot probably hurt quite a bit, I don't think it can compare to labor. So- if there is a woman out there who has had to endure both kinds of pain- please do tell.... which is worse?
I don't know why, but I have been debating for a while whether or not I want to blog about this. I blog about almost everything, so I'm not sure why I've had a hard time deciding if I want to talk about this or not.
But, I've decided to go ahead and tell you what has been on my mind just about 24 hours a day lately. This post will probably be kind of long, but I am just really hoping someone somewhere might have an answer or know someone who might have an answer.
On to my concern- sometime a little while after Hailey turned one I noticed her doing something odd with her eyes. When I would be rocking her to sleep her eyes would turn up towards the right side of her head. At first I thought- well, she's tired and her body is just relaxing and her eyes are rolling up as she is falling asleep. I did ask her doctor about and she agreed with me- totally normal.
A couple of weeks later Hailey did it one day while in her car seat and then again while in her high chair. Both times she was tired when she did it, so I still thought- maybe it was a tired thing. But, the way it looks is unusual- her eyes go up so far that you can see mostly the whites of her eyes and only a little of the actual colored part of her eye (which I'm sure has a much more technical name).
Then she started doing this little head bobbing thing where she moves her head so that her ear almost touches her shoulder. (It does not happen at the same time as her eye movements but it is just another unusual thing). She was sick with a cold at that time so I thought maybe her ear hurt. We went to the doctor and her ears were fine. I explained the things she was doing. I had a done a little Internet research and found something called Paroxysmal Tonic Upgaze which seemed to kind of describe what Hailey was doing. I told her doctor about it, she had never heard of it but went and looked it up. She wasn't sure because she said Hailey did not meet all of the criteria. But, she referred us to a pediatric ophthalmologist.
That was all right before Thanksgiving. I made her appointment with the eye doctor for Dec 17th. Then I actually didn't see her doing it much anymore and thought about canceling the appointment. Well, last week when she was sick she started doing it a lot more. Whereas before I might only see it a couple of times a day- or not at all- I've been seeing it quite a bit. Now they are not only turning up towards the right, but to the left as well. And, sometimes they do a little roll right across the top. It is very quick- seconds at the most. It happens and she closes her eyes and they are back to normal. While she has been sick it seems like sometimes coughing triggers it. The other day she fell and bumped her head and then did it several times after the bump. While she used to only do when falling asleep the last few days I've seen her do it right after she wakes up too.
So, anyways we decided to keep the eye doctors appointment. He asked us lots of questions and watched Hailey for a while to see if she would do it. (Of course- she did not)
A bit more information about what she does: When she does the eye rolling she doesn't have any other unusual movements with her arms or legs, which should rule out seizures. The frequency of it really varies- there have been days I haven't seen her do it all. While she's been sick I have seen it as many as 20 times in a day. She doesn't act like it bothers her- just blinks her eyes and then they look normal.
The eye doctor's opinion was that she does not have this Paroxysmal Tonic Upgaze that I found on the Internet. (although he gave me compliments on my intelligence for finding the information about it, and asked me if I had a medical background. I'm sure that's a normal thing- tell the parents how smart they are so they don't feel stupid for bringing their child in).
He said he'd been practicing for 17 years and had never seen it and in fact he only knows of 14 confirmed cases. So, it would be very unlikely that she has such a rare thing. Although, someone has to have it, even if it is rare.
He said he had 2 ideas of what he thinks could be going on. First- dry eyes- she's rolling her eyes up and blinking to moisten them. I told him there is no way it is that. Of course, he hasn't see her do it, so he can't quite understand.
His second idea was that it could be a childhood tic. He said a lot of kids have tics and do things with their eyes and faces and usually outgrow it. I do think he has a point about a tic, but then I wondered why Hailey's pediatrician never even suggested that when I was explaining the symptoms to her.
Another thing I have noticed Hailey doing (since the appointment, so I haven't told the doctor this) is sometimes she tips her head down towards her chin and looks up at me out of the very top of her eyes. At first I thought she was being silly, but now I think it's an involuntary thing with her eyes and so she has to tip her head in order to see me. I don't know if that even makes any sense because it is so hard to describe.
I'm trying really hard to get it on video but it happens so quickly that it hasn't been possible yet. I found something on Youtube about Paroxysmal Tonic Upgaze and if you go here you can watch it. It's over six minutes long, but it's about a little boy who does things very similar to what Hailey does. He also has seizures though, which Hailey does not. And his upgaze tends to stick longer than Hailey's- so they were actually able to get him on video doing it.
The eye doctor said that even if she had this Paroxysmal Tonic Upgaze that there is nothing that can be done for it. Kids outgrown it and it is completely benign. He said we could put her through all kinds of tests (MRI, catscan, etc) during which she'd need anesthesia (a major risk in itself) and find nothing. But, basically he told me to stop worrying- she's fine and on track developmentally. But, of course I am still worried and every time I see her do it I feel sick to my stomach with worry.
As my friend Kellan would say- On the upside- I've lost a little weight because when I worry I don't eat.
But- I'm just hoping that maybe someone might know something or know someone who knows something to help put my mind at ease.
If you're still here reading- thank for your time.
Don't forget to check out my other blog- Livin' With Me.
