Tuesday, April 27, 2010

This and That and Concrete-Head

Oh it's been a busy month. The level of pollen has been reportedly higher than usual, and boy-oh-boy do I feel it! Unfortunately with my heart condition, I'm not able to take any kind of cold medicine, so I've been going through each day with any number of kleenex falling out of my pockets for the dogs to pounce on and destroy.

Big Kid is really struggling with this semester. Unfortunately, his biological dad's company (who insures him) refused to let him take off a semester to recover from his illness so he's been having a lot of difficulty getting through his classes, even though they're online. His professors have been understanding, but his grades are awful and this is devastating to him.

He's still on oxygen 18-20 hours a day, and he rarely remembers what he had for dinner the night before. My boy.

Little Guy turned 20 a couple of days ago. ::sniff sniff:: He's gotten a type of grant that will pay an employer to hire him for a couple of months so he's very excited at the possibilities of working here in town.

Last week he did something really fabulous and I just wanted to share...

Remember when I wrote about how using the telephone scared him?

On Mondays, the van picks him up at 12pm for his afternoon classes. He usually goes out a little early to wait for it, and when I looked out the window at 12:10 I didn't see him, so I thought he'd gone. I took my concrete head to bed and dozed off.

At 1:00 I woke up to find him standing next to my bed.

"Didn't the van come?" I asked him sleepily. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

It's ok, Mom. I took care of it.

"What? We need to call them?"

I did it myself, he said proudly. I didn't want to bother you.

It was amazing! He actually looked up the high school number in the phone book, dialed the phone, and asked for his teacher. When it went to her voicemail, he left her a message saying that the van hadn't come.

This was really a huge, huge step for him. I'm so thrilled!

So how have YOU all been?

14 comments:

jypsy said...

You & my mom! I got an email from her a couple of days ago that started like this:
"Hi, Did you really say you would phone ? and ask about the chair. Wow, thanks."
(She lives thousands of miles away but has a cottage here and wanted to know if a particular chair was sold at a local store. I told her I'd phone them and ask.)
Her surprise is genuine, she knows the lengths I go to to avoid phones.
I just had a birthday too - I have 30 years on your phone hating son. Give him my best.

Amy McDonald said...

Yay! you're alive!!! lolz I said to myself if she hasn't posted today I'm going to post a comment saying COME BACK ATTILA!!! :) I hope your head feels better soon, there this awrsome stuff called hydra sense and it really helps to clear you nasal passages! I'm glad to hear about hte little guy and hope that big kid will soon feel better and be able to get back to being his normal, healthy self!!!

Prayers and care,
Amy M

Jennifer Leeland said...

UGH! Sorry to hear that Big Kid has been sick and still recovering.
And I hope your concrete head goes away.
YAY on Big Step.

CiCi said...

Your reaction to pollen is shared by many I think. Me for one. Hubby listens to me sneeze fifty times and it takes so much out of me, I have to relax when I finally can stop sneezing. So glad for the progress with Little Guy.

Crazy Mom! said...

How old is Big Kid? You know the new insurance regulations (which kick in soon - this summer, I think) require that insurance companies make insurance available to adult children up to age 27 - and being a student isn't part of the equation.

The pollen has been atrocious here in Hotlanta. Can you take Claritin? That shouldn't affect the heart condition.

Charlie said...

It's good to hear from you, Mom, even if all the news isn't good. I thought maybe you gave up blogging for BaceFook so you could be a big social star over there.

I'm hoping it's the pollen that's affecting my breathing. I'm up to 4 Lpm and still gasping for air—I kind of feel like a fish out of water.

And no Charlie the Tuna jokes.

Crazy Mom! said...

September 23 is the day that insurance companies have to insure adult children.
http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/must-self-insured-companies-cover-adult-children/

Anonymous said...

Good for HIM!
Your poor poor allergic system! This is one of the WORST years for pollen, too.
Glad for the update (as always!)

Beth said...

Why do insurance companies lack common sense?
A belated Happy Birthday to Little Guy – lots of April birthdays! ;)
And last, but by no means least, take good care of YOURSELF!

debra said...

Glad to see you're all still on this side of the daisies and that the journey of a thousand miles still continues, step by step.
Lots going on in my neck of the woods, family health issues. I know you're no stranger to those...

Jeanie said...

"I did it myself, he said proudly. I didn't want to bother you." Your pride in him shines through loud and clear in writing that sentence about him.

Joanna Jenkins said...

Hey ATM, I was so glad to see your updated post in my sidebar! It's been a while and I was getting worried.

Spring kills me with pollen too so I feel your pain. Hopefully it will improve soon.

I'm sorry Big Kid is discouraged with his classes and grades. He's been through so much and to have to deal with school on top of recovering is a shame.

TWENTY years old-- Wow, time flies! Happy Birthday to Little Guy and good for him for handling the bus situation. YEAH!

Hope May is an easier month for you all. As always, I'm cheering you guys on!

Feel good.
xo jj

Rootietoot said...

I can't take cold meds either. Have you tried the nasal flush? It risnes out our sinuses and gives...oh, a couple hours of relief. i mean, it's gross as hell but since you generally do it in private...anyway.

Insurance...*what*...can they not look at his condition and see? Do they not understand that once he's educated he could be making money and paying *them*? hello? For pete's sake give the man time to recover! arrgh.

Anyway, glad to see you back, I figured you'd be here when you could.

Valerie Marie said...

A little bit late but... happy birthday LG! My best wishes for BK: I pray everything will be OK.
Take care of you! ((ATM))