Health Recap

HER - The last time I wrote we were in the process of investigating Emma's arthritis and increasing her medication. Well, that higher dose of Enbrel seemed to help for a bit, until it didn't anymore. A blood test revealed that the kid developed antibodies to her medication, so even if we increased the dose further, it was likely not going to work as well as it had in the past. It was time for a change!

Em switched medications about a month ago. She is now on two injectable meds: One is a different biologic (Humira) that will work much like Enbrel did to suppress the immune response that leads to inflammation and arthritis symptoms. The other is methotrexate, which will help with arthritis symptoms and also slow her immune system from making antibodies to the biologic medication. The cool thing about these two meds is they come in injector pens. Just press the cylinder against the skin, click the button and let go, and the needle extends, injects the medication, and retracts. Easy peasy. After a few weekly injections and little practice with a dummy practice injector pen, MY TEN YEAR OLD HAS GIVEN HERSELF HER OWN INJECTION (of Methotrexate) TWICE!!!!! I'm so proud of her. (What a sad and strange accomplishment.)

At this point, we're not really sure if her arthritis symptoms have resolved, but I think they have improved. These meds take several weeks to kick in, so we'll stick with them a bit longer and see how everything goes. 

HIM - As for the other child... I haven't written about this yet, but he was diagnosed with ADD in the Spring. We're trucking along, trying a lot of behavior management techniques and attempting to put procedures in place that will help him be successful in e-schooling and learn to better regulate his emotions. He has become quite skilled at opening additional browser tabs while attended his video classes. When his headphones are on I play a little guessing game... Is he listening closely to his teacher? Is he watching a YouTube video of someone playing a video game? Is he reading a book on Epic? At the end of my game, I lose no matter what because I have to sit next to him for the duration of his class and keep him on task. This is why, if we pursue ADHD medication, I want zero judgment from all of you. I regularly accomplish very little most days that I am home with the kids because my chores are constantly being interrupted to help my little students, or my chores are never begun because I am quite literally my son's one-on-one aide all morning long. I'm thankful for my elementary school teaching credential and my few years of experience as a classroom teacher. I'm also really grateful that my current job was super understanding back in March when I told them I needed to work less hours to be able to support my kids at home. If you are a parent working from home while your children do distance learning, I BOW DOWN BEFORE YOU. Ugh. Parenting during a pandemic is hard.

ME - I had a hernia! TWO in fact! Disgusting!!!

My hernia bulge showed up mid-October. It was officially diagnosed a few weeks later and I had laparoscopic surgery to repair it in mid-November. I'm doing really well over all. Surgery recovery was fast, thanks to laparoscopy. I still have some sore spots and need to ease back into exercise (Ha! When was the last time I actually exercised?!?!) but I'm pretty much back to normal! Hooray! 

I will say that this experience has given me a reason to educate myself quite thoroughly on the anatomy of the inguinal canal. I love the internet. This website was my favorite resource, if you're curious. In a person with a uterus, the round ligament of the uterus runs through said canal. My hernias were both on my right side, which is the side of my weird uterus where I carried my children during both pregnancies. I therefore blame my children for these hernias, naturally. Good thing those kids are cute. 

The Husband - He's fine. That man is as healthy as a horse. That's what you get when you have a career that is by default an all day workout routine. 

How the heck are you?