Finding Strength

Let me be blunt.

This week has been HARD.

I say this not to get a woe is me. But to just be honest about the struggles we face in our house. I feel like all week I have been on the constant verge of tears. I'm holding on by the tiniest wisp of a thread.

Why? 

Well. Maddie.

Last week at this time, we were at Disney World with the band. It was touch and go up until we left on Thursday morning if we would be able to go as Maddie had been really sick.  But with lots of meds and a couple trips to doctors leading up to the trip. We went.

We rented a scooter for Maddie and she rode her chair all around the parks. It was exactly what we needed as Maddie couldn't even walk around the resort without help.  We even did breathing treatments before and after the plane rides in the airport with her sitting in a wheelchair. Yes, she was that sick. And yes, I know we took a big risk letting her go on the trip, but quality of life is important too. And being able to go on a trip with her peers was one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips!

Doug and I went along as well as Maddie's support team.

It was a lot of fun.

But this was the price.

We got home from Disney on Sunday night and Maddie went to school on Monday. She had missed a number of days prior to the trip and then one school day for the trip, so she was really behind and knew that she couldn't miss another day.  As she struggled to make it through the day, she came to the realization that there was no way she would be able to try out for the leadership team for her colorguard group next year. She was just too weak to practice the routine that she had created and been practicing for months. That was hard.

Tuesday she went to school even weaker than she was Monday. And then the shakes started. Her poor left hand and arm just shook. And not like tremors. These shakes were jerky spasms. Convulsions. By 6pm she was not good.

So I took her to the ER. They immediately took her back and got her hooked up to monitors. Her heart rate was jumping from 60 to 300 then down to 150 and up to 240 and so forth. It was very scary. And it lasted for a couple of hours! It took the combination of a big dose of steriods, a very potent breathing treatment and a dose of Benadryl to get her body to slow down.

The doctor we had was absolutely the most compassionate ER doctor we have ever had.  (And we have seen a few..) Maybe the most compassionate doctor Maddie has ever seen. She was exactly the doctor we needed. Thank you Dr. Brister. 

After running a number of tests and such, the doctor just sat down next to Maddie's bed and smiled at her and patted her hand and said, "when you get sick, your entire body just gets really sick." I realize that doesn't mean much to most people, but given how many times we hear, "all the tests look good" and "your symptoms don't match what we know about ______" it was nice to just have Maddie's place in life validated. No judgement. No aside comments to me. Just validation to Maddie that she is sick and Maddie is not responsible, nor can she control her body's response to illness.

Later, after making sure that Maddie felt okay, we went home. With no answers.

The next day (Wednesday) was Maddie's 16th birthday.

She spent it in bed. Alone. 

In the afternoon she felt well enough to sit on the back porch for dinner.  

Thursday she was back in bed.

Friday I took her to the specialist in Dallas to have a "challenge test" with the antibiotic she had been on. Because she is so highly allergic to other antibiotics, we had to make sure that she wasn't allergic to this medicine as she felt like this drug was what caused Tuesday's problems. 

Well, she's not allergic to the drug. But the drug can cause the side effects that sent her to the ER.. of course these are very rarely occurring side effects, but that is Maddie's world.

Today is Saturday and she hasn't been on the drug since Tuesday. She's feeling better. The infection in her body is still there, but too bad until at least tomorrow.

Cause tonight is PROM. And she is going. And she is going to be able to enjoy it. I am DETERMINED!

Monday she is back to Dallas to see the cardiologist as this latest tacychardia episode is the second in two weeks.

And in the midst of all of this? 

Lexi and Kylie participated in the colorguard minicamp that Maddie wasn't able to go to. They performed on Thursday evening and were adorable! Maddie sat in the bleachers while her friends led the campers. 

Then, Lexi had field day on Friday and her two individual races. And I wasn't there.

Today I'm doing 20 loads of laundry and I need to clean house.

Here is a snapshot of what my entire house looks like.

Yeah. Ugh.

But the dishes and the dirt can stay. Cause today my sweet 16 is going to feel like a princess and that is worth more than a clean house any day. 

And in a life defined by struggles, pain and illness, today is PROM and she will find strength for it. And so will I.

A 30 minute Drab to Fab project to complete with your teen!



Maddie has wanted to repaint the top of this desk for a while. It is boring and blah! But ugh... painting makes messes and it's hot outside! So, I came up with a cool solution. Even better, a solution we were both happy with.

We went from Drab to FAB in under 30 minutes and it only cost $10 and no messes!!

 

Before you begin, you need to measure your table top. Maddie's desk was the perfect size for one yard of fabric. 

We got a yard of fabric in the pattern of her choice. Cause really who cares... it's one yard of fabric and I can easily remove it in a couple of years when we want to change colors or kids. Okay, maybe we will keep the kids. You also need a roll of iron-on fabric adhesive. It's a $7 investment at the store and you will have leftovers. Save the leftovers as you can piece this stuff and nobody would know!

Iron the adhesive on. Follow the directions on the packaging. We had cotton fabric, so we used the cotton setting on the iron. Unroll the adhesive right up next to the edge of the fabric. If you have overlap, you can pull it off.

 

 Iron down the adhesive. We used the desktop as the ironing board. Way easier! Lots more space to work. We put a towel between the fabric and the desk and when we finished a section, we would move the towel down the desk to give the area we just ironed a chance to cool.

 

 Once the entire yard of fabric has adhesive, peel the backing off.

Now flip the fabric over so that it is shiny adhesive side down and check the sides to make sure that all ends are covered.

Start ironing down the material on the side with the least overlap. This makes sure that you don't end up with one end short and showing the original desk. I went ahead and ironed the underside of the short side while I was there. However, leave the corners for later!

Once you have the one side ironed down move to the top of the desk. I like to start at the end that I just ironed and move across the top of the desk at an angle. Pull the fabric taut as you iron. If you end up with a wrinkle or bubble, just yank it up, smooth it out and iron it back down!

 

 

 

One the top is ironed down completely finish ironing the rest of the edges. Make sure to give the fabric and tug and hold in place as you iron the edge and underside. You don't want a lumpy looking side. (Maybe that's my problem... hmmm. if only I could give my skin around my middle a tug and iron it down....)

 

Once the edges are ironed in place, go back and finish the corner. I think these corners are called hospital corners. Or maybe you know it as how you make the corners when wrapping a present.

 

The last step is trimming the underside and making sure that all the ends are ironed well. If you have a spot that doesn't adhere well, just tear a piece of the adhesive off and iron it to the fabric, peel the backer off and iron it to the desk!

 

 

And less than 30 minutes later.... COMPLETE!

 

This is better than cute.. it's FAB! And best of all, this was a project that Maddie and I did together!

Need a tutorial that you can access on your smart phone?

 http://snapguide.com/guides/make-and-old-boring-desk-look-cool/

 

Do Hard Things.. A great read for every teenager... and parent!

A friend of mine posted a book review about Start Here by Alex and Brett Harris.

It made me want to read the book.

So I read some of it and then asked Maddie to read it.

She read some of it and said since it wasn't an AR book, she didn't have time.

BOO HISS!

But since she's only in 7th grade and is required to do AR, I didn't fight it.

I'll get her to read Do Hard Things next year.

I'm not ready for her to challenge me yet with what her "hard thing" is going to be.

But for all of you parents out there of teenagers. I really, really think that you should read Do Hard Things. Then, after you have processed it, give it to your son or daughter and have him/her read it.

It is an incredible account of twin brothers who challenged the status quo and decided that they didn't have to wait until they were grown to make a difference. I mean really, these guys at 16 worked as law clerks for a couple of months for a supreme court justice of a state.. (Alabama?). (sorry, I've already turned the book back into the library, so I can't double check!)

Maybe I read this book differently than some would out there becasuse I work with teenagers everyday, but I read this book and was excited. I come in contact with more than 150 students each day and I know that seriously 95% of these kids are waiting for a challenge. What I liked about the book was the idea that these teenagers were telling other teenagers to STOP waiting and GO for it! But that they had to do it in a way that respected parents, teachers, the government and God.

One downside to the book... now I'm thinking about what Hard Things I should be doing. But I don't have time.. I'm training for a marathon! oh.. can that be my hard thing? :)