March 12, 2010

Oh my...

Has it really been over a month since I last posted? I thought that surely I'd updated since then. Ah, apparently only in my (wild and disorienting) dreams. So, let's play a little game of catch-up, shall we?

  • Jeff is back at work. As in, back in the office. This is playing hell with his leg since his meds keep him pretty sleepy. He actually passed out in class once (he's in some new academy training thing, seems they like to use him as their resident guinea pig) and the instructor just looked around and asked if he was okay. Thank goodness everyone knows about his leg and the pain meds because I fear his rump would have been roasted.
  • Jeff is also changing meds. He'd been on an anti-depressant for 4 years and it just up and quit on him when he truly needed it the most. Well, thank goodness our relationship is strong because, I'll tell you, I wanted to stomp on his toe some days. Also, he invited me to his doctor's appointment to explain my thoughts and fears. It made a huge difference. She agreed that his fear of changing meds was valid, but that my concerns about his, shall we say, "recreational outlets" were also well founded. She encouraged him to move around more (as much as possible with a bum leg and a 30 year old cane), soak up the sunlight and just enjoy life outside. So, he has and we have and it's been wonderful! I think the change in meds was long overdue and just the jolt needed to really spark some interest in the world again.
  • T's medication dosage was doubled after the first month. He responded very well to the initial 0.25mg of Risperdal but his super-dense little body built up a tolerance very quickly. After 30 days, his doctor agreed that doubling his dose was both necessary and perfectly safe. Apparently there are children on 10mg of this stuff! Makes T's paltry 0.5mg look like a breeze. He's taken well to the change and he's my shiny, happy boy again. Yay!
  • T's IEP review is also coming up. We'll have two. One via phone next Wednesday just to increase his General Education hours and check off our "annual review" form, and the next sometime in May to set up next year's plan. Here's hoping there's no major upsets in store.
  • E is now homeschooled via the K12 program. She's doing wonderfully but, I'll be honest, it's frustrating for both of us that she's making up a full year of course work in just 5 months. Oh, she knows the material and she's up for it, but it's a lot to ask. Isn't it? At least it's tempered with the ability to go full-on 90's grunge whenever we want to. Greasy hair (hey, the natural oils are great for your hair!), gritty clothes (uh, the germs are building our immune systems?) and not brushing our teeth until after lunch (yeah, fine, that's gross). Still, I can't say that I'm hating being able to share some housework and quality time with my girly.
  • My back has been acting up, but the doctor said that the MRI showed no change. I'm still broken, but no worse than before. I'm on nerve pain blockers that work kinda so-so, but at least I'm not locking up and crying like I was before. So, why do I hurt so damn much? Why is the pain on the left AND the right? Why is my ass still spreading and no one is showing a lick of concern besides me? (All this and more on the next installment of General Practitioner!)
So, all in all, life is good. I've been getting a bit of baby fever but, thanks to wonderful forethought on my then-24 yr old brain, we don't have to worry about any biological-clock-syndrome babies. Of course, I will ooh and ahh over everyone else's and encourage my friends to have more (if they want them, of course). Such is the way of the almost middle aged mom.

I've gotten a bit belligerent when it comes to news and truths vs popular opinion. I'm just so sick of the sheeple attitude. I mean, do we all just believe whatever we're told without actually looking for facts and thinking for ourselves?

No, Locks of Love does not give wigs away free to kids with cancer. Their wigs are sold based on a sliding scale and were originally intended for children (up to age 18) with alopecia. Now they cover up to age 21, but kids with cancer is still not their primary target. As a matter of fact, they actually sell some of the hair they collect, making hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. BBB won't even endorse them, so what does that say?

Corey Haim didn't die of a damn drug overdose. His autopsy results are backing up his mother's, agent's and doctor's claims that he was ill. He was shown to have an enlarged heart and pulmonary congestion (fluid in the lungs). His doctor visited him at home, prescribed medication and ordered bed rest. His mother laid in bed with him and reported labored breathing. In the middle of the night he collapsed. Those are the facts. Not some trumped up "OMG another poor celebrity just OD'd again" BS. I think we should all be respectful of his memory and family/friends and just back the hell off for a while.

Georgia is trying to censor 1st amendment rights by passing a law stating that crime scene photographs cannot be obtained nor published by the media. Wait, what? It's a matter of public record. Oh, but the real issue is because of who asked for the photos, and is nothing more than a personal distaste for the particular publication and it's owner. It seems that a journalist from Hustler* petitioned to obtain crime scene photos of a raped and dismembered hiker, which threw this whole thing into overdrive. It all boils down to the courts choosing who gets to have information based on how well they like that particular media outlet. Can we not agree how wrong that is, regardless of our feelings about the names involved? Any violation of 1st amendment laws should be cause for concern. Censorship is wrong and, above all else, scary as hell. I want to have the facts at hand and make the decision myself. Don't you?


*I do not, in any way, feel that Hustler should publish the photographs. I do feel that they should have the right to make the choice for themselves. I would hope that they would respect the deceased woman's family and friends and, if a story were to be done, that they would do their best to honor her and bring to light the devastation that violence brings on both a local and global scale.

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