Monday, March 09, 2009

Stretched but not broken

Life with two is wonderful and difficult. Scott and I find we are stretched beyond our capacity right now, but little of that has to do with the kids, really. Melissa is working 50 minutes away from home, longer when taking Addison to Aunt Cindy's first. Scott is working longer hours because, in this economy, we are both just trying to keep our jobs. Scott works for a small business and Melissa won't have her tenure back until June, 2010. Needless to say, we do what we have to do right now.

Unfortunately, that means leaving the house sometimes at 6am and returning at 5:30 or 6pm. Not ideal for the kids, or us, but we'll make it through together.

Addison is blossoming and his language is exploding. He still needs work with articulation, but he's getting speech therapy for that. He is an absolute charmer who loves Thomas the Tank, sand, tricycles, boobies (Yes, boobies. I could go into more detail, but I won't.), school, "his Cindy" (he calls Aunt Cindy, "my Cindy"), and us. He's devilish and sweet, has definite selective hearing and is sure to get cranky when reprimanded. All boy with a soft heart.

Kate is learning so much this year and tries so hard to speak in sentences. We can hear through the inflection that she's saying a sentence, but it's unintelligible. We are slowly working on teaching her to use a Talking Box (it's a low-tech computer device), but I'm struggling with how to teach it to her. She currently has the flu and we're hoping she can fight it on her own, but know that the hospital might be an option. For some reason, when Kate gets sick, she gets really sick. So, we'll see. And we'll pray. And then we'll just follow what comes....

We are going to take a trip to Atlanta in June, most likely, to have Kate tested for Mitochondrial Disorder, which is highly suspected. Some of the symptoms are slow-to-heal (check), compromised immune system (check), when sick, the bloodwork is all haywire (check), autism (check). There's no cure for Mito, but knowing would help us better manage her health care, and would give us the opportunity to be in trial studies should that time arise.

Please keep our family in your prayers, especially Kate. We are blessed, but we are also feeling the stress of life right now, so we could really use your prayers right about now.

Still the Lucky Ones,

S., M., K, & A

4 comments:

Patricia said...

Melissa, I have just prayed for all of you...you are ALWAYS in my thoughts & prayers!

BTW, I just told Kiara all about you, your thoughtfulness, your wit & your wonderful gifts during our wait for referral for the girls. She was captivated!!

HUGS, my friend & may God shower you with blessings, always!

TK said...

We have a little boy at our church with Mitochondrial disorder. He goes to Emory for testing on a regular basis. I do know they keep him very hydrated. He drinks powerades and such all the time.
If you want contact info from his mom, she would love to talk. She is very proactive about the disorder.
email me at sweetiee1@yahoo.com

bytheriver said...

Always with you guys in spirit if not in person. Yes, life is tough right now, but we are strong.

The Lewises said...

Oh gosh, we hear ya. We just celebrated our 9 month anniversary of Kevin's unemployment...sigh. Your blog is amazing because you don't mince words--you're honest about your life, with its ups and downs. I really admire you guys.

Did you have the mitochondrial testing done for Kate yet?