I've had several people ask how Izzy is doing, so I thought it
was time for an update: the stupid medicine seems to be
working.
Izzy is no longer having esophageal spasms at night! And her abdominal migraines are minimized if not gone. Izzy still complains of stomach pain from time to time, but nothing compared to earlier this month. She is complaining less than she has in years.
She's not eating well still. The hope of the cyproheptadine causing her appetite to dramatically increase has gone by the wayside. Thankfully, though, Izzy is eating about the same as she had prior to the summer.
Izzy is not unscathed by the last couple of months though. She looks gaunt. And she is tired; very tired. She continues to take naps at school--not everyday, but enough. Unlike last year, Izzy does rest in the middle of every day. It is needed. She just doesn't have the energy any longer to be Izzy and not nap.
With Izzy's overall lethargy, we have been taking things very easy. We try to only plan one event (no matter how small) into a weekend so that Izzy has at least 24 hours of downtime. It is surprisingly difficult to do this (surprising as we always had rest time scheduled into Izzy's weekend). Izzy has had fun though. She had a short Halloween party she attended, she got to see Disney on Ice (Elsa and Anna from "Frozen"), trunk or treat with her grandparents and cousins, and the cider mill.
In between the fun, we've been dealing with a lot of emotional issues from both Phin and Izzy. And even with Izzy not in constant, excruciating pain, she is still not sleeping soundly through the night. This fall has been taxing to say the least.
***SPOILER ALERT & KID WARNING. DO NOT READ FURTHER WITH CHILDREN UNTIL YOU KNOW WHAT IS SAID AND YOU ARE SURE THEY CAN HANDLE IT!***
First, Dale and I did go visit a funeral home last week. It was horrible, awful, and I felt sick just at the thought of going in. But after talking with the funeral director and seeing the home, I'm more at peace. I had questions answered that I didn't know I had. We have some more emotional decisions to make, but we are going to think for a little while longer as it is too much for the moment. That is about all I have on that.
Unfortunately, tonight was the cherry on the ice cream of emotional turmoil. It is Wednesday, so the kids saw their counselor, Ms. Karen tonight. It was Izzy's turn. About 40 minutes into the session and Karen came to get me because Izzy was having problems. Apparently, Izzy had been crying and screaming because she had told Karen that she'd asked Santa to bring her a magic wand for Christmas to make her all better. Karen (much like myself and Dale) told her that no such wand exists and Santa could not bring it to her. Izzy got angry. This wand has been a part of Izzy's wishes since August. It has taken on so much more to her over the last several weeks. Hearing Karen repeat what we had told her was too much. Izzy is desperate to find a way to be better.
I managed to calm Izzy down and she really started to listen. She heard me say: "There is no such thing as magic wands. Harry Potter is a story. Wands aren't real. Fairies don't really exist and they don't have magic wands."
Well, Izzy clung to that and asked me point blank if the tooth fairy was real. I told her no and answered all of the inevitable questions that followed about the tooth fairy.
Izzy calmed down, so I left as she continued her session. I returned to Phin in the lobby and told him how upset and sad Izzy was when Ms. Karen told her the magic wand was not real. His immediate response was "Why did Ms. Karen take away Izzy's dreams? Izzy needs to dream!" I then had to explain to Phin how we all had to tell her there was no magic and that doesn't mean she can't dream. I reminded him it was better she knew now instead of building her hopes up more and having them crushed on Christmas morning. He reluctantly agreed, but was still sad.
A couple minutes later, Izzy returned and we went to the car. Once in there, I told Izzy to let Phin know what she had learned that evening since Phin wouldn't even discuss the non-existence of the tooth fairy with Dale and I in the same room out of fear of ruining the fun for others. Izzy told him about the tooth fairy and how magic doesn't exist and none of it is real. Phin took that to mean Izzy knew everything and proceeded to tell her how disappointing it was to him when he learned Santa was not real. Of course, Izzy was surprised at hearing that, but we talked it through.
By the end of dinner, Izzy had lost the magic--no tooth fairy, no Santa, no Easter Bunny. She was disappointed, but happy that she was now in on the secret of being Santa for others. And I think it helped her realize there was not a magic wand to cure her. She's known that we couldn't make her a magic wand because we would have. She's knows that we would have found any way possible to magic her better. Now she knows why Santa can't do it either. I'm hoping that this helps her feel better and move forward.
Don't worry. Izzy has promised not to tell her friends what she's learned. She knows the secrets abound because magic is fun and she wants to keep the fun and excitement alive.
Mel
Izzy is no longer having esophageal spasms at night! And her abdominal migraines are minimized if not gone. Izzy still complains of stomach pain from time to time, but nothing compared to earlier this month. She is complaining less than she has in years.
She's not eating well still. The hope of the cyproheptadine causing her appetite to dramatically increase has gone by the wayside. Thankfully, though, Izzy is eating about the same as she had prior to the summer.
Izzy is not unscathed by the last couple of months though. She looks gaunt. And she is tired; very tired. She continues to take naps at school--not everyday, but enough. Unlike last year, Izzy does rest in the middle of every day. It is needed. She just doesn't have the energy any longer to be Izzy and not nap.
With Izzy's overall lethargy, we have been taking things very easy. We try to only plan one event (no matter how small) into a weekend so that Izzy has at least 24 hours of downtime. It is surprisingly difficult to do this (surprising as we always had rest time scheduled into Izzy's weekend). Izzy has had fun though. She had a short Halloween party she attended, she got to see Disney on Ice (Elsa and Anna from "Frozen"), trunk or treat with her grandparents and cousins, and the cider mill.
In between the fun, we've been dealing with a lot of emotional issues from both Phin and Izzy. And even with Izzy not in constant, excruciating pain, she is still not sleeping soundly through the night. This fall has been taxing to say the least.
***SPOILER ALERT & KID WARNING. DO NOT READ FURTHER WITH CHILDREN UNTIL YOU KNOW WHAT IS SAID AND YOU ARE SURE THEY CAN HANDLE IT!***
First, Dale and I did go visit a funeral home last week. It was horrible, awful, and I felt sick just at the thought of going in. But after talking with the funeral director and seeing the home, I'm more at peace. I had questions answered that I didn't know I had. We have some more emotional decisions to make, but we are going to think for a little while longer as it is too much for the moment. That is about all I have on that.
Unfortunately, tonight was the cherry on the ice cream of emotional turmoil. It is Wednesday, so the kids saw their counselor, Ms. Karen tonight. It was Izzy's turn. About 40 minutes into the session and Karen came to get me because Izzy was having problems. Apparently, Izzy had been crying and screaming because she had told Karen that she'd asked Santa to bring her a magic wand for Christmas to make her all better. Karen (much like myself and Dale) told her that no such wand exists and Santa could not bring it to her. Izzy got angry. This wand has been a part of Izzy's wishes since August. It has taken on so much more to her over the last several weeks. Hearing Karen repeat what we had told her was too much. Izzy is desperate to find a way to be better.
I managed to calm Izzy down and she really started to listen. She heard me say: "There is no such thing as magic wands. Harry Potter is a story. Wands aren't real. Fairies don't really exist and they don't have magic wands."
Well, Izzy clung to that and asked me point blank if the tooth fairy was real. I told her no and answered all of the inevitable questions that followed about the tooth fairy.
Izzy calmed down, so I left as she continued her session. I returned to Phin in the lobby and told him how upset and sad Izzy was when Ms. Karen told her the magic wand was not real. His immediate response was "Why did Ms. Karen take away Izzy's dreams? Izzy needs to dream!" I then had to explain to Phin how we all had to tell her there was no magic and that doesn't mean she can't dream. I reminded him it was better she knew now instead of building her hopes up more and having them crushed on Christmas morning. He reluctantly agreed, but was still sad.
A couple minutes later, Izzy returned and we went to the car. Once in there, I told Izzy to let Phin know what she had learned that evening since Phin wouldn't even discuss the non-existence of the tooth fairy with Dale and I in the same room out of fear of ruining the fun for others. Izzy told him about the tooth fairy and how magic doesn't exist and none of it is real. Phin took that to mean Izzy knew everything and proceeded to tell her how disappointing it was to him when he learned Santa was not real. Of course, Izzy was surprised at hearing that, but we talked it through.
By the end of dinner, Izzy had lost the magic--no tooth fairy, no Santa, no Easter Bunny. She was disappointed, but happy that she was now in on the secret of being Santa for others. And I think it helped her realize there was not a magic wand to cure her. She's known that we couldn't make her a magic wand because we would have. She's knows that we would have found any way possible to magic her better. Now she knows why Santa can't do it either. I'm hoping that this helps her feel better and move forward.
Don't worry. Izzy has promised not to tell her friends what she's learned. She knows the secrets abound because magic is fun and she wants to keep the fun and excitement alive.
Mel
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