To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

 To continue the theme of my children finding answers to puzzling health issues, I will share a couple more:

Gabrielle spent a couple years suffering from sudden onset of terrible gastric distress and pain, debilitating fatigue, and constant nausea. After multiple visits to various specialists, she was finally diagnosed with severe gluten intolerance (pretty much at celiac disease levels), which had caused several big ulcers in her stomach and ulcerated spots in her intestines. Once she stopped eating gluten for several months, the ulcers and intestines healed, the fatigue lifted dramatically, and she is able to eat without vomiting. A low-dose anti-anxiety pill was the final piece of the puzzle to quiet her busy mind. Six months or so later, she sleeps well, eats very strictly gluten-free (she can't handle even a little gluten), and is able to deal with her high-demand job with aplomb. 

Gabrielle's husband, Raine, has also just found some relief after a couple years of mysterious and debilitating pain. I think he racked up visits to no fewer than eighteen medical specialists before he was finally diagnosed by a holistic chiropractor. 

Raine was suffering from agonizing stabbing pain in his intestines as well as vertigo, dizziness, and constant nausea. I do not know how his hiatal hernia was missed by the gastroenterologist (he had an endoscopy, for goodness' sake!), but the chiropractor has been manipulating his stomach and intestinal area in such a way that Raine has found immense relief from pain and is now able to eat normally and without agonizing and constant pain. Turns out the vertigo, dizziness, and some of the nausea were from an entirely different cause: military neck, where the neck vertebrae are straight when they should be curved. The other doctors were probably trying to find a cause that answered all of the symptoms together, so maybe that is why they were stymied and kept bouncing him from specialist to specialist. Fortunately, the chiropractor is the perfect person to treat his neck, as well, and Raine has been able to eat, work out, and put in more hours at work without pain, vertigo and dizziness, and vomiting. 

He's feeling so much better, in fact, that he has accepted an Army deployment to Africa for ten months. But more about that later....

For myself, I have found an excellent answer for my sleep issues: melatonin. I had tried melatonin pills in the past, but they either did nothing or made me feel so groggy in the mornings that I couldn't function well. Plus, I found it difficult to time the taking of melatonin pills for best effect, so I gave up on them thinking that they didn't work for me. 

Earlier this year, however, Husband and I tried 3mg melatonin gummies, and they work so well that I get a solid six-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half hours of uninterrupted sleep every night and wake up feeling refreshed. I spent decades feeling like I could barely function because of poor sleep, so this development is thrilling! Turns out that seven-and-a-half hours of sleep is perfect for me. Husband needs eight or nine hours of sleep a night to feel good. I take 6mg, Husband takes 3mg, and we're both happy. 

Walmart sells a very decent brand of gummy melatonin called Olly Sleep. Olly Sleep gummies contain 3mg melatonin as well as L-Theanine, an amino acid that reduces stress and induces relaxation. Also very good (but no longer available at my Walmart) are VitaFusion sugar-free 3mg melatonin gummies. Both are very affordable.

I thoroughly chew two gummies about thirty minutes before I want to go to bed, and I never have problems falling asleep within moments of my head hitting the pillow. Nor do I have problems waking up in the mornings. I occasionally get some vivid dreams, which is a common side effect of taking melatonin, but they are merely interesting or weird dreams and never nightmares (I can't remember the last time I had a nightmare, actually). 

If my experience with melatonin gummies can help anyone else get some needed sleep, I am glad I shared. The older you get, the less melatonin you produce, so those of us getting close to being able to claim senior citizen discounts need all the help we can get.

 

Fractured Pelvic Bone

 Turns out Siân had a pelvic fracture that was causing her all that agonizing pain and nausea!

After the ER docs shrugged their shoulders when it turned out Siân didn't have an infection, her OB/GYN also checked for infection. When none was apparent, she said, "Well, I'm going to send you to a physical therapist that specializes in post-partum womb healing physical therapy." Fortunately, Siân kept that appointment because the PT asked a ton of questions--questions the doctor(s) should have been asking but somehow failed to do--and conducted a thorough examination of her pelvic area. Finally, she said, "I can't prove it without an x-ray, but I can almost one hundred percent guarantee that you have a fracture in your pelvic bone."

Siân literally fractured her pelvic bone giving birth to Christopher, whose head size was in the 99th percentile. She will obviously have to hold this over his (big) head for the rest of his life.

While Siân is still in pain, it is just so nice to know what is going on and to have a plan for it. The PT explained that the muscles around Siân's fracture were knotting in order to protect the fracture and also in response to Siân's stress, increasing the pain. Turns out Siân also holds her breath when she is stressed, which also increases the pain. Siân is attending four weekly sessions with the PT in order to reduce the muscle knotting and to do exercises that help relax and heal the pelvic area. There isn't anything else you can do for a fractured pelvis like this except take it easy in the walking/running department and not lift anything really heavy. Time will heal it, so another couple months should see Siân mostly back to normal. I hope. That poor girl. She's had a rough couple of years. I am, however, so grateful for the three adorable and amazing grandsons she has given us. 

I'm Coming For You, Yo-Yo Ma!

 I've got some pictures this time. I think that always makes things more interesting.

Before getting into the pictures, though, I have to tell you a story: the ward music director came up to me last Sunday and said, "I know you play the cello. I was wondering if you would be able to do a musical number?"

I started thinking about how many months I would need to feel ready for a cello solo, having not actually played my cello in...well, it's been a long time. Would I feel comfortable in six months? Seven? Yeah, I could get something ready in that time if I pushed myself.

"I want something different than piano solos and voice. I need something in two weeks, something for Pioneer Day," she went on.

I choked. My finger callouses have long since vanished. I don't have the hand or arm strength needed to press the strings or draw the bow for very long. Playing the cello is physical. Strength is needed. Yet I am soft and doughy. 

What did I do? I accepted the challenge, and I've been practicing every day since. My left hand fingertips are on fire as I go through the blistering stage of rebuilding callouses (I nearly shrieked today when I pressed my pinky finger into the string because the open blister stung so badly). I've been focusing on technique, but I have to stop every minute or two to shake out my left hand or my right arm. I am going to sound absolutely awful in two weeks, but I accepted the challenge because it forced me to achieve a goal I had for myself for this summer, which was to pull out my cello and get back into playing shape. Maybe I can beg the music director to let me redeem myself with another musical number in a year or so when I've improved enough not to be embarrassed. 

Funnily enough, she then asked me to also sing in a trio a few weeks after my cello solo. I mean, when you don't have tons of instrumentalists in the congregation, voice and piano are still the most viable options, and people love to hear them. Unfortunately, my voice is not doing well, so we'll see if my alto part in the trio is low enough for me to get through. Once I hit C above Middle C, I'm squawking uncontrollably. I still haven't seen the doctor about that abrupt change to my voice.

Anyway, pictures.

Elannah and I went thrift shopping for her wedding dress. We're not cheap, but why not try to find a perfectly good dress for a very good price when you will only wear that dress once in your life? 

Fortune favored us and we found this dress--which seemed perfectly tailored for her--for $80 (originally $500, according to the sales tag left hanging on the sash).

You can't really see it in these pictures, but there is subtle lace detailing on parts of the bodice. The skirt is covered with two layers of tulle, and the dress has a little train. Elannah wanted a very simple design, and though it didn't look good on the hanger, it looked so elegant on her when she tried it on that I told her I was going to buy it as a backup dress even if she ended up finding something else. You don't leave this dress behind just so you can go back and find someone else has snatched it up. 

In the end, my other daughter, Sophia, who has been taking sewing/tailoring classes, was able to match the bodice fabric and replace the sleeves, which were uncomfortably tight and not in the style Elannah liked. She replaced the original sleeves with the butterfly sleeves Elannah really wanted. Sophia also made a wider sash and added a bow at the back. While I absolutely adored the quiet sophistication of the original, I'm very happy Elannah has a dress she loves and feels beautiful in. I will post some wedding photos in August so you can see the finished product on this very beautiful bride-to-be. 

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My grandchildren are so wonderful. I'm around them a lot, and I've been spending every morning helping Siân as she gets breakfast and feeds them. They're exhausting, but I love them so much! Siân still has no answers as to why she is suffering so much pain and nausea so long after giving birth (neither the hospital nor the OB/GYN could find any infections, which might have explained things). Her OB referred her to a physical therapist for pelvic therapy. Her first appointment is today, so we'll see if any benefit comes from it.

Above is the newest boy, six-week-old Christopher. This photo of him is from when he was really new, and he's lost a lot of that really newborn look now. While Siân is making breakfast for Nicholas and Tyler in the mornings, I hold Christopher. I take him out back and sit on the patio or the deck so he can see the sun shining through the red sun shade, which he finds fascinating. After Siân gets breakfast made for the older boys, she takes Christopher to feed him his bottle and I sit at the dining table and help Nicholas and Tyler. The older boys eat and then play for a few hours before Siân takes them downstairs to their room in the hopes that Nicholas will take his nap. Sometimes he does.

Sixteen-month-old Nicholas is 100% big personality. He is the Energizer bunny. He is a man on a mission to play at all times, and he already has a very well developed sense of humor and mischief. Oh, I love this kid! He is speaking in two- and three-word sentences, and he's finally figured out how to say his name well enough for us to understand him. "Nit-o-las 'raj! (Nicholas garage)" he will insist when he hears Husband working on something in his garage workshop, pointing at his chest with his pudgy little finger. Other times, he demands that his Uncle Gary sing Hot Cross Buns with him. Otherwise, he's constantly on the move between his toy box, the kitchen cupboards, the dog's water bowl (when I forget to put it safely up on the counter), and the collection of everyone's shoes by the front door. 

Tyler is heading to kindergarten this fall, and he is very excited to make new friends. He will talk to anyone and everyone. Recently, when we took the Tyler and Nicholas to the local art fair, we let the kids play on the playground, and when we turned around, Tyler plopped himself down next to a random adult and just started chatting. Fortunately, the adult turned out to be my co-worker's wife, who is also an old high school classmate of Siân's, so Tyler was perfectly safe, but yikes! I'm very happy that he has never had the need to distrust adults or children, but we're going to have to keep an eye on him and teach him a little stranger danger.

Siân and Nathan just bought a bunk bed, and Tyler is exceedingly proud to have the top bunk (and also very happy that Nicholas has not yet figured out how to climb the ladder). He's such a sweet, smart kid. I love when he just wanders over to me and sits himself on my lap or snuggles up next to me on the couch. He generally doesn't have a lot of time for cuddling, so I don't take it for granted when he chooses to snuggle.

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Lastly, here is a picture of a finished embroidery project. It's very amateur because I was just trying out different types of stitches, but I like the colors. I copied a design from an adult coloring book, and since it gave Indian vibes, I used bright colors and no shading. For my next project, I am going to try some subtle shading in a floral motif or something. I love crewel work and needlepoint, as well, so those are on my list.

That's all for now. Thanks for joining me for a bit today!