Saturday 2 April 2016

Easter Catch Up

Easter blessings from our house to yours and I hope you are still celebrating since Easter-tide lasts until Pentecost!

Due to health constraints we were unable to attend the triduum services at our church but we did manage Easter Sunday Mass.  In addition to hearing the Hallelujah once more we also renewed our baptismal promises, it is quite something to hear a church in unison rejecting Satan and his lies and to make a stand for God :-)

Once home the Hoppity Bunny had left an Easter trail for Pip and then she, Tom and Sara had some fun painting the eggs:













We have had a higher than usual round of hospital and clinic appointments these past few weeks.  On the Monday of Holy Week both Dave and Pip were at hospital appointments twenty miles apart!  I did a fair bit of driving that day :-)  Dave's appointment was first around lunch time for an MRI scan.  Pip and I went in search of drinks and a snack and when we returned we could hear the machine making a banging noise.  Dave was in the mobile scanning truck which was parked in the car park.  I must admit I felt for him being inside such a noisy and claustrophobic machine.  He doesn't mind confined spaces but is needle phobic so the injection part is the worst :-(  

We had time to snaffle some lunch parked in a shopping area car park before travelling to the next hospital for blood and urine tests for Pip.  I was more than apprehensive since Benedict has had some really bad experiences in this department.  Thankfully the anaesthetic cream worked a treat and Pip was suitably distracted with a game on the ipad!  

On Thursday of this week, we travelled another twenty miles to a specialist clinic so that Pip could be fitted with her hearing aids.  She did really well throughout the whole procedure but it was a bit daunting taking her into a restaurant on the way home for some lunch.  We managed to find a quite spot and thankfully the place was not overly busy.  The hearing aids are meant to self adjust according to the background noises but still it was incredibly overwhelming.  After all Pip was hearing sounds she had probably not heard in quite some time.  Only yesterday she remarked that the keys on the lap top make a clicking sound when they are pressed.  As with a lot of medical conditions we were given a heap of information including the contact details of our local children's deaf club.  I think it is important that she meets other kids with hearing loss as only another person in the same situation can truly understand.  

 A gluten free goats cheese and red pepper pesto tart, with side salad and chips.  I asked the waitress three times to check that the dish really was gluten free!  I did not want a repeat of my hospital stay from a few months back but in all honesty it is the first time I have ever seen a gluten free pastry dish being offered on the menu.




It is interesting to read that hearing aids help to magnify sounds as best they can but they cannot ever truly replicate the fine balance between the ear and the brain.  Crowded and noisy public places will always be a nightmare for her as she is unable to filter out the background noise and concentrate on one individual speaker.  Pip is really good at lip reading otherwise her work at school would have suffered but that too comes with a price to pay and the level of concentration required is quite exhausting. Also hearing aids are no good in traffic situations since they are unable to pick up the required sounds and on her favourite bike ride on Morecambe prom, she is totally oblivious to people or bikes behind her, so it is pretty useless another cyclist dinging their bell for her to move out of the way!  I have seen a high visibility jacket that has " caution deaf rider" emblazoned across the back, it does make me feel a little uncomfortable that her disability is being drawn attention too, but in reality the safety aspect wins hands down.

Despite the difficulties of the past few weeks Pip has still made consistent strides with her home school programme and Benedict has finally shown an interest in a history project, which is all good.  I did however spare them the onerous task of dissecting this poor creature:

 We have lived in this house since 1992 and never once have we encountered a rat!  Field mice yes but not a rat.  I think it might have been poisoned and had some how made its way into our garden.  Our compost bin only consists of vegetable peelings and grass cuttings and since we do not have any pets there is no food source for vermin.

As for dissection, I remember our science teacher at Our Lady's Convent Grammar school keeping rats preserved in formaldehyde in the science lab fridge!  That classroom always had a peculiar smell :-)

Never a dull moment at this end, eh?!

  
 

12 comments:

Kezzie said...

I imagine that must've been a bit change for Pip! I'd heard that about hearing aids. My father in law has them now as he's lost a lot of hearing.
Your Easter egg activity was lovely!x

elli said...

That's what my mother says about her hearing aids: they do too well at amplifying background noises and it is hard to pick out voices ...

Sandra Ann said...

Yes, the changes are challenging. The computer keyboard annoys her and she is frustrated that I need to interpret in group settings. We have found an awesome funny book for kids written by a deaf writer, hoping to do a book review before too long. Thank you for always stopping by and leaving a comment xx

Sandra Ann said...

Yep, which is not ideal :-). Still at least Pip's hearing aids make an automatic adjustment and have a maximum limit for very loud sounds.

Eva said...

Maybe Pip has to get used to the hearing aids and then won't be bothered by many "small" noises anymore. Where did you find the rat? In the compost? All this driving around sound like what people do in America. Everything is always connected to the car. Have you gotten results for Dave's MRI? So nice you made it to Mass on Easter Sunday!

Sandra Ann said...

Hi Eva,

We found the rat on the lawn not far from the compost bin but thankfully no more since then!

Pip is adjusting well to the hearing aids and she is much more communicative on a one to one basis. She still relies on my "being her ears" in noisy environments such as brownies but on the whole things are much improved.

We see the consultant for Dave on Friday and so should have the results of the scan. Please would you pray that he is given some much needed treatment so that the deterioration will be slowed down.

San xx

Hayley said...

Hi San, I'm pleased that Pip now has her hearing aids and can start adjusting (and that the blood tests went smoothly). I could imagine blood tests can be daunting.

The gluten free tart looks lovely, got to be good when a place meets a range of dietary requirements :)

dorinalouise said...

No!!! Never a dull moment! It's too odd about that rat . . poor little thing . . . ?! My girls were never interested in dissecting though Morgana used to regale us with quips about how much dissecting can teach you about anatomy :P Still, she never wanted to dissect anything. Thank goodness.

Pip and Dave are so brave to handle their tests so well! I'm sorry the injection is difficult for Dave. Hopefully, it was very quick! My mom does not like loud noises or confined situations so she does not like MRIs.

I agree with you about the safety conditions for wearing bright colors and signs about hearing loss outweigh the attention . . Pip is wonderfully flexible and strong to deal so well with her hearing aids. Thank goodness they are available. Are they the little ones with the tiny batteries? Honestly, we've had my mother tested for aides twice but the small batteries that need replacing every month or so were daunting. I don't see how she could do it. Now that she is in the assisted living we can have someone help her, but in the past I think it would have been very difficult.

My friend Elsa must also be very careful about gluten for her little girl. She asks over and over again and apologizes for being so careful but if she isn't, the consequences (as you know) are too dire. So you must ask. I remember asking about a smoothie for Morgana at a local deli and saying specifically, "you don't use orange as a base for the bananas and strawberries, do you? If so you must use apple juice . . " Well, of course even with me asking this several times, when I got the smoothie to her it had orange juice!!! I took it back and said "thanks, but just forget it" and walked out. Some people just don't understand others' sensitivities.

I think you sound as if you are in a good rhythm, San . . rolling along with the ups and having some nice quiet times along with health issues and school and fatigue . . I send you love and a big hug.

Eva said...

Good, you did not find another one. You do not want them! And so nice that Pip is doing well with the hearing aids!

You know, I think the British health system must be very hard to navigate. I am so sorry that it is so hard to get the treatment needed. I will pray for merciful doctors.

Sandra Ann said...

Yes it is. I am very grateful for free health care but as it stands the system is in a total crisis.

Eva said...

Is it free for everybody? Is everything free.

Eva said...

I meant to put a "?".