Wish I had something to add, but I have had no experience with this kind of crap. All I can offer is a hug and the confidence that you will handle this with class and grace... cause that's the person you are.
Hugs- Bets
"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
My last few days have been busy with work and parent teacher conferences. I am blessed to have some really great kids. D15 has had some issues with 2 classes. One is on the right track. The other seems to be more of a teacher issue. Will have to see how that works out.
I thought I might ask my former mother in law if she would like me to pick her up and go to the shower together. I ask S19 if she was invited and he said yes. Then he mentioned that ex's wife may not go after all since she thought I needed to be there. Oh well we will see and I will get through.
On my on line job, I was excited that things seemed to be falling into place so I could start that job. There is some issue where it won't let me sign in and trying to get that fixed doesn't seem to be a priority. Ughhh.
Otherwise life goes on. Kat
Me-53(and learning!) S24, S21, D18, D17 Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming. Dory
So the weekend didn't fare to well for my Royals. Hopefully coming home will set their boat right and have us cruise on to World Series Champs.
I emailed D15's German teacher. She insists on speaking totally in German except maybe for directions right before a test. The kids started out with a different teacher last year and are really just in touch with the basics. So she comes right in regardless of where they were and tries to pull them all way forward. It has caused my d15 to be totally lost and miserable in her class. She is trying and since both of her big brothers took German, they are trying to help her.
I emailed the teacher and she says she believes this is the way to teach. I respectfully disagreed. I doubt that D15 will continue taking German with her next semester. She might learn on her own, I don't know.
To top that off, she is sick again. Maybe we should look at taking her spleen out. She is my oldest with hemolytic anemia. Her sister doesn't seem to get sick as often but this is maybe the fourth time this year for D15.
If life wasn't crazy, we wouldn't realize how lucky we are when it is calm. kat
Me-53(and learning!) S24, S21, D18, D17 Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming. Dory
I'm sorry to hear about your health stuff with your D15. That sounds horribly stressful. Is she ready to do the surgery? What are the drawbacks? (other than the obvious)
As far as German goes, yikes. I took 3 languages (Spanish, Italian and German). Most people thought I was stark raving mad. My grandfather spoke 13 languages fluently, and my sister and I inherited his ability to catch on quickly. They were easy A's for me. I took Spanish for 7 years, and my final class was Spanish Lit--where not one word all year was spoken in English--in my junior year. Almost all of my language classes were structured like your D15s. What it teaches one to do is think in the language - not think in English and translate in your head. Does that make sense?
Your D15 might not have this ability. Unfortunately, it really is the only way to force someone to learn how to think in the language. Otherwise, you backpedal doing constant mental translations. Maybe you could get her a tutor to work with her on this? (Not her brothers, though having them for vocabulary quizzes is an awesome boon.)
For the record, I had classmates who couldn't do this either. They wound up hating the class, which is a shame. What might help is if your sons greet her and ask about her day in German and kind of coach her to think in German?
Viel Gluck!
Bets
"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
I was an exchange student to Denmark right out of high school. It took about 5 months before I felt I was getting it most of the time. I get what her teacher is doing. I just want her to understand that not everyone gets it that way. that Megan did really enjoy the class before but now it miserable because she just isn't getting it.
As for if she will have surgery or not, I don't know. I just figure that with her getting sick as often as she does, it might mean that taking her spleen out might be the answer.
Otherwise life goes on, crazy as usual. Danke Bets!
kat
Me-53(and learning!) S24, S21, D18, D17 Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming. Dory
Hi Kat, I am sorry for ALL of the pain you are going thru right now. "Hemolytic anemia", for d15 sounds horrible, does this cause her to have lack of energy thru the day? It must be something bad if they want to take her spleen out.
And I'm sorry about the Royals losing over the weekend. The last two games haven't even been that much fun to watch. Next game is in KC right? Hopefully returning to Kauffman Stadium will help them return to their winning ways.
You have a nice thought about appreciating "how lucky we are when it is calm". I'm sending you positive thoughts/prayers that you get through this. /s/Tom
My 3 youngest kids have it. S19 had his spleen out when he was 3. He was averaging transfusions about every 2.5 months once they found out he had it. Both girls have it but to a less severe degree. I am just speculating right now about surgery, perhaps they have a less evasive answer for her getting sick so often.
Hymolytic anemia, in their case(s) spherocytosis, the red blood cells are shaped liked balls instead of the pinched disc shape they should be. The spleen sees the cells as abnormal and chews them up. When she gets sick, it drops here hemoglobin levels. Neither of the girls have ever had a transfusion. this is unchartered territory for me since D19 was a toddler when I through all of this with him.
If history can repeat itself for the Royals, I will be happy. Same scenario last time they won. All positive thoughts and energy being sent their way would be appreciated.
kat
Me-53(and learning!) S24, S21, D18, D17 Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming. Dory
I did not know anyone else who had Sperocytosis. My middle son, Brandon, has it. They said not to have his spleen taken out until he was 18 but he opted to have it done at 15. He had such a lack of energy, was quite jaundiced etc. After having it removed he has just felt a lot better but refuses to take the recommended antibiotics. He is now 31 and I can't force him.
We were all tested but seems he was the only one with it. I have always had very low iron, though, so I think he gets it from me. I take Preferrin daily and it does help. Tried Palafer for a while. It was horrible on my digestive tract. Just yuck!
Hope she can work through the German problems. Teens have so much to deal with, don't they?
Maybe his case wasn't severe? I am just guessing. The girls are normally in the 8's but should be around 13. They have said they would need their spleens out if they wanted to do gymanstics or anything of the sort since they would have a chance of rupturing their enlarges spleens.
Did Brandon get sick more frequently? Of course I just had S22 get over being sick and things do seem to cycle in our house.
At lunch I asked my dad if he felt like he was losing me when I got married. He said yes. I feel that way with s19. He has so much yet to learn that I should have gotten to teach him and now he and his GF are looking at apartments. Just compounding mistakes. I asked them to at least look at safe neighborhoods rather than the cheapest out there. I doubt if they are listening to me then either.
kat
Me-53(and learning!) S24, S21, D18, D17 Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming. Dory
