Celebration

Celebrate good times, come on! (Let’s celebrate)
Celebrate good times, come on! (Let’s celebrate)

There’s a party goin’ on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times, and your laughter too
We gonna celebrate your party with you

Come on now

Celebration
Let’s all celebrate and have a good time
Celebration
We gonna celebrate and have a good time

It’s time to come together
It’s up to you, what’s your pleasure

Everyone around the world
Come on!

Yahoo! It’s a celebration
Yahoo!

Celebration ~ Kool & The Gang

Lots to celebrate here this week!

Our anniversary. Hurray! Niksdad and I actually got to go on a date on Friday night —candles, wine, good food, and a drive in the country to reminisce about the wedding night we spent in this quaint little bed and breakfast. It was really wonderful to reconnect and relax. Of course, we did talk about Nik’s CT scan results —a lot. But we had a lovely time. I think it was the first time we’ve been out for a nice dinner (and without Nik!) since before Nik came home from the hospital. Hmmm…I think we need to get out a bit more, don’t you?

Family. In my family, the span from Mother’s Day through the Fourth of July is insane. In addition to the Mother’s Day/Father’s Day/Independence Day celebrations, we have eight birthdays and four anniversaries. So, this past Sunday we got together at my sister’s for a family barbecue and pool party. This year, to add to the excitement, we also celebrated Niksdad’s passing his LPN board exam, my eldest niece landing a great internship she’s been hoping for (in the music/recording industry), and my sister’s engagement! It’s her second time around; we all really, really like the guy she’s marrying. I especially like him because he adores Nik and makes sincere efforts to meet him where he is. He doesn’t ever ask stupid or insensitive questions and he’s always willing to lend a hand watching Nik so we can eat, swim, or whatever it is that everyone else is doing that we usually sit on the sidelines. He’s a great guy and I’m very happy for my sister.

Changing Insurance for Nik. Hey, this is a biggie! We changed managed care organizations (MCO) through Medicaid and have recently discovered some pretty nifty perks. Our pediatrician is apparently rated as a “gold star provider” which means that any referrals written by her do not require any authorization. That’s right —NONE. So those prescribed twice weekly PT and OT sessions which the previous MCO denied on the basis of “Nik should be in school so school would be providing these services” (never mind they’ve been deemed medically necessary and truly are)? Covered without a blink of an eye. We start our new schedule with Miss D and Miss T in just a couple weeks and we are all so excited to see how Nik blossoms even more as he gains new skills.

Nik is thriving and happy again at PT/OT. Don’t know what the turning point was but Nik has now decided he loves PT and OT again. No more tears. In fact, yesterday we couldn’t get him to leave! He actually ran away from me when I told him it was “time to go zoom-zoom home.” He’s been so much more engaged and lively; he’s really been seeking interaction with people so much more lately.

Our visit to the ENT today. You know, sometimes we get so accustomed to all the weird, unusual things that go on with Nik (well, okay, in our defense his history is pretty chequered!) that we tend to see bogey men everywhere we turn. And, given the questions we’ve been asking for a year now about Nik’s head pains and ear problems, it was a natural leap to make when Dr. Mary called on Friday afternoon. But this time, it really isn’t a big deal after all. Normal, ordinary childhood ear stuff.

Turns out that none of us knew Nik’s myringotomy tube in his left ear had worked its way out (which is normal) quite some time ago. Unfortunately, Nik also has a significant propensity toward fluid build up in his left ear. And his adenoids. In other words, as the doctor put it today, “If you do a scan on a kid with a snotty nose, stuffy sinuses, and fluid in his ears, you can get a scary looking scan. But you have to look at the clinical presentation, too.” No signs of infection —whew! But then, we kind of already knew there was no infection.

So we’ve discontinued the nasty antibiotic. Not a moment too soon, either, since it’s begun having awful gastric side effects after just a couple of days! But we are looking at surgery to put in new tubes and to remove Nik’s adenoid. It’s not a guarantee that Nik won’t have pain or ear infections —there is so much surrounding the ear that it’s possible the pain is actually referred from somewhere else —but it will most likely minimize the snotty sinuses and will help with Eustachian tube function so the fluid shouldn’t build up so much. It’s not a magic answer —we didn’t expect one— but it does give us a measure of comfort we didn’t have before. Niksdad and I agree; we would rather have this surgery than put Nik on yet another medication which has significant long-term repercussions and side effects.

And, frankly, since we’ve decreased his daily Depakene level by a third, we’ve seen such a tremendous shift in Nik’s attention span and level of interest/engagement that we are loath to give him something which might dull his senses again. We really enjoy the little boy that is starting to emerge and can’t wait to see how he does as he begins to feel better.

As for all this celebrating? I feel a bit rusty at it but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it again.

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