The Adventure Continues

Hi, all! Last week was nice and slow for the most part. Someone asked me what I'd been doing lately, and I had to look at the calendar because I couldn't really think of anything. Lo and behold, there wasn't anything on the calendar. That has changed in the last few days, though!

On Monday, Becca watched Brendan so that I could do get a day on my own. I packed a PBJ and a book and went to Fogarty Creek. Climbed up on the big rock and sat there for nearly three hours, reading. I noticed, after awhile, that I was the only woman who came up there! Teens and preteens seem to love it. About three men, just a few years older than me, came up. But no women. I guess ... I'm not normal! But I just don't think it's "fair" that men and children get to have all the fun in life and women get to sit around and watch! I ... just can't live my life that way, even if I get looked at like I'm rather odd!

I came back SO refreshed! I was only gone for seven hours, but I came back feeling all loose. I could tell a difference in the muscles of my face. But then, at 2:30 in the morning, Mark woke me up. He was in a LOT of pain. I called the medics, who hurried him off without their preliminary "stuff" they usually do in our living room. I had SUCH a hard time deciding to stay home, but the only person I could have called was Jason, and he had a medical procedure going on the next day so I didn't want to ask him. And I know, after the flu incident, that once Kaitlyn is asleep, she's not really able to be aware of her brothers and their needs and what-all might be going on in the house. So I stayed home. I got a call in the morning that they were releasing him. I went and picked him up, came home, and called his specialist at OHSU. They got him in yesterday morning, which was great! except that they have very little to offer. They are going to look over the cardiac catheterization that Dr. H did a couple of years ago. If the cardiac anatomy wasn't investigated, they will do a new one within the next couple of weeks. I am not putting much hope in this, though. They said straight out yesterday, "We're sorry. We just don't know what to do for you."

The trip to OHSU (with a brief stop at Borders and Fred Meyers on the way home) wore Mark out. He had slept ALL of the day before (except for about one hour in the evening) and much of the night as well. When we got home yesterday, he went to bed. I took the boys to a children's concert at the community center in Portland and came back to get him for Joellen's surprise half-birthday party at my parents'. But he couldn't get up to come. So I took the kids and went off.

We had a good time. Dad watched the boys so that they could swim. Dinner was good, the company was great, the food was yummy. But I was SO tired by this point, and Alex (who had been "going" all day with me) was ... let's just say, challenging. I was about at my wit's end with him, although he didn't do anything "bad," per se. I had just completely lost my ability to be objective and patient. (He is having increasing challenges these days, showing a LOT of signs of stress. One of my goals for today is to see if I can get the name of the therapist in Dundee that has experience working with autistic kids. I think he's going to need much more help than I can give him in the months and years ahead.)

Anyway, we came home. I put Brendan to bed and ordered Alex to do an hour of reading (which he enjoys anyway, and which gives me some time to catch my breath). About 10ish, I went to bed, but woke up again to Mark's claim of severe pain. If he takes more than one nitro, we have to go in, because of possible blood pressure issues. I wasn't going to call the medics again. It's a volunteer fire department, and they need their rest, too. Besides, I pretty much knew it wasn't an emergency. But the doctors had said, just that morning, that we should err on the side of caution and continue going in to the ER for any severe chest pain. Clearly, I couldn't leave Brendan with Kaitlyn, so I took him with me. I went back and forth on whether or not to stay with Mark or go home and be with the kids, but the fact that Kate doesn't wake up for NOTHIN', and the fact that I can't find the cell phone, and the "minor" issue of Alex's mounting agitation and my concern for his state of mind if he woke up and found himself (for all practical purposes) alone ... I decided to come home.

I had slept for an hour when the phone rang. They were releasing Mark. I dragged myself awake, trying to imagine the drive back. I was SO tired. Then five minutes later, I got another call. Mark's pain had suddenly returned with a vengeance, and they were keeping him for awhile. I hate to admit that I was relieved. That sounds ugly, doesn't it? I didn't WANT him to be in pain. I was just SO tired. All I could think about was sleep--and trying to make that drive again safely. (On the way home earlier, everything kept going out of focus as I'd start to fall asleep, then I'd jerk myself awake for a few more minutes... It's really scary to have to drive like that.) Anyway, after the second call, I went right back to sleep. When I called them at 8:50 and they said he was ready to go, I was MUCH more equipped to go get him.

There was one charming moment last night, though. Brendan thought the whole thing was a great adventure. Then, to top it all off, when we got home, there were four bats swooping over the parking lot and lawn. He was thrilled! He's been waiting to see bats, but so far this year, we hadn't seen any. He went inside and climbed up on the couch to watch out the window. Then he got down, found his collection of live lady bugs, and opened the door. He tossed out a few for the night creatures who had him so fascinated! :)