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August 30, 2007
LD on WD
Little Dude was sitting in the backseat of the car as we were attempting to get from Point A to Point B. We were listening to Willie Dixon's I Am The Blues. Now, we've only listened to it a couple of times, so I was rather surprised to hear a not-so-little someone jumping in on the chorus of more than a few songs.
"That spoon, that spoon, that spoonful," he sang. And then he started in on the main verses. "Some lie for that spoonful. Some cry for that spoonful. Some die for that spoonful..."
His favorite tunes off I Am The Blues are "Spoonful", "Seventh Son", "Little Red Rooster", "Back Door Man", and "The Same Thing". Of course, those titles only come up after you tell him he HAS to pick a favorite or two. Otherwise, he'll tell you the whole album is his favorite.
In pressing him for his thoughts on the CD, he said, "Mom, it's really amazing how Willie Dixon can be so growly and still sound so nice."
Yeah. Little Dude gets it. Maybe it seems so weird that I get excited over my kid's appreciation of music, especially the blues, but I don't care. For one thing, he REALLY LIKES it. For another, he gets a history lesson along the way. And then there's always the perk of getting to meet an occasional musical hero. That just about blows all his fuses. It's a special, rare thing that serves as reinforcement of history being a living, vibrant entity and not just some stale old concept or story.
I think I may have to just let the kid start his own music reviews. Or at least transcribing them for him. You should hear what he has to say about other artists!
"I am built for comfort, I ain't built for speed." Dixon had a way with words. Most bluesmen do. But his gift seemed to spill across the boundaries that normally hold individual wisdom hidden from the world.
If you don't think you could pick a Willie Dixon tune out of a lineup with a neon arrow lighting the way, think again. If you've ever heard "I Just Want To Make Love To You" (Bad Company, et al), "Hoochie Coochie Man" or "I Can't Quit You Baby" (Led Zeppelin and others), there ya go.
Dixon was one of the most prolific blues songwriters, and also served as a producer for Chess Records. He died in 1992.
For more info, check out his bio on Wikipedia.
Posted by Da Goddess at 12:46 AM | Comments (2)
August 25, 2007
The Ears Have It
So the ears have been tested, the ENT doc consulted, and there's good news and bad.
The good news is that Little Dude doesn't have more hearing loss than he already had. Yeah, the fact there's any at all sucks, but it's not worse than before. His pediatrician's worst fears have been put to rest.
Of course, the fact that there's a greater deficit when he's sick is a problem. And that's a whole other reason to be concerned.
We now have a standing order for an emergency screening whenever he gets sick. The reasoning is that they need to know if illness has an impact on the otic nerves. If so, that's not a good thing.
We also have to make accommodations for him at school these days. His desk has to be on the right side of the room so he doesn't miss out on anything the teacher says. Or rather, to prevent him from missing out on what she says in case he has one of these increased deficits.
LD's been alternating between calm, cool, and collected, and freaked out. He's afraid he's going to miss out on music and stories and a million and ten other things. He's afraid his hearing is going to give out on him suddenly again. He's afraid of so many things. I think it's the sudden, unexpected events that worry him most. It's very frustrating because there's nothing I can do to make it all better magically. And I have to admit, I'm at a loss anymore as to how to assuage his fears.
We're lucky that the news was as good as it was. After a year of one bad thing after another, we were due for a break and this will do just fine.
Thanks for your prayers and kind thoughts! Keep 'em coming!
Posted by Da Goddess at 06:39 AM | Comments (2)
August 20, 2007
LD and the Ears Part II
From July 30, 2003
Fly Away
My son's CT scan was yesterday.
I was so glad it was done where I work. I know the people there. I know how good they are. I KNEW my son was in great hands.
As a nurse, I know what's involved with the scan and the sedation. I've had to take kids in for the same thing. As a nurse, I can stand confidently by them, hold their hand and soothe them. As a parent, my heart started pounding as I watched my son fight the mask and the medicine. I wanted to hold him close to me and whisper in his ear that he'd be fine. But, I couldn't.
I stood next to him and held his hand. I tried to get in the "professional" mode. I was stuck in "Mom" mode 100% instead. I kept talking to him and encouraging him to let himself fall asleep, letting him know that I was there beside him as was his dad. We each stroked his little hands and said our silent prayers that this would be quick and easy for him.
He fell asleep. And then his legs started jerking. His one arm started jerking and trying to reach up to pull the mask off. Eyes rolled back in his head, he looked so vulnerable and small. None of this was unusual with sedation. It was only unusual for me to be standing there watching my son undergo these changes.
It was very surreal to stand there and see my baby going through that.
The ex and I were then told we could leave. Arrgh! But, that's how it is. We walked downstairs to the cafeteria where we sat and talked about what decisions we may face depending on the findings of the scan. Cochlear implant? Possible. If that's what it takes to restore our boy's hearing completely, that's what we'll do. We won't know for another day or so.
After talking things through we wandered back upstairs to inquire about our boy. He was already awake and out of recovery. We went in to sit with him as the sedation wore off. He was still a bit out of it and complaining of a headache. He wanted to eat. He wanted a popsicle. He wanted apple juice. He wanted us. We were there and he got his popsicle, his juice, and eventually some crackers....which he hid from his dad. Silly kid. It didn't take long at all for him to be back to his usual goofy self.
The nurse was telling us that the staff in Recovery had fallen head over heels for Little Dude. I'm not surprised. He's a sweet, smart, and funny child. I heard the same words that I've said to parents a million times myself. "They all wanted to take him home with them!" It's funny to be on the other end of it, though.
When it was time for us to leave, we headed down to McDonalds for Little Dude's promised cheeseburger. We took the food outside to one of the many beautiful and enchanting gardens. While there, we watched the butterflies flit and flutter from flower to flower and then perch upon some brightly colored wall here and there. I saw a curious looking bug flying about and went to investigate. It flew away before I could get a good look at it. And then, one butterfly came toward me. It brushed against my hair once, twice, three times. It landed on my back and sat there for no less than fifteen minutes. My son was amazed that I had a butterfly sitting on my shoulder. As was I. It was one of those moments that defies description with mere words.
I made a wish on that butterfly. I wished that all the worries about my little boy's hearing would fly away and somehow be resolved easily and without pain. I wished that he could have each and every moment of his life be as magical as this one moment was for him.
The butterfly took off. My thoughts and concerns, I imagined, went with it.
I'm praying the butterfly knows what to do with them. I'm hoping he has connections in high places.
Fly away.
August 1, 2003
Bullet - DODGED!
Thank you all for your wonderfully kind wishes and prayers.
The boy - hearing loss does not appear progressive in nature. All structures looked normal on the scan. The doc doesn't feel that we'll have any more problems.
W.H.E.W.
I'm back to breathing again.
THANK YOU!!!
We thought there was nothing to worry about after we got the results. Sure, every year his hearing screening at school would lead to a note home to see a doctor. But we were told this wasn't supposed to be progressive and that things would be okay.
Cut to a couple weeks ago as Little Dude and I were watching T.V. one night. He had a sinus infection or something. It's been a crappy summer for the kid as far as illness goes. Hell, it's been a year of "I don't feel so good" for him. Yes, I've neglected to fill you in on all the details. Sue me.
Anyhow, as we were watching T.V., LD said, "I can't hear, Mom." It was obviously quite distressing to him and he became somewhat frantic about the whole thing. I figured it was due to the sinus thing and we went to the doctor the next day. He had a hearing test. Then another. And then another. Then the doc had a look at the ears. "The weaker ear looks okay to me, but the other one has some fluid..." Hmmm, suddenly a little fluid behind the "good" ear proves a problem. This isn't the first time the kid's had an ear infection since the he was diagnosed with the hearing loss. But this was the first time he couldn't hear at all with one.
The doctor agreed that there's cause for concern and refers us to a specialist. So, this week, in addition to the start of school, we have appointments with doctors coming out our...uh...ears. There's a whole host of worries, for me and for my sweet baby boy.
The hardest part for me is to see how much this bothers him. And if you only knew what this kid has endured already over the last year, you'd know that for him to suddenly freak out a little over this makes it even more difficult for me to see him struggle. He tries to be brave and he occasionally succeeds. Sometimes he even seems to forget about it. That's how kids are. But then it dawns on him what this could mean. More than anything, he's told me he can't NOT hear because music is too important to him.
Do me a favor and say a prayer for the kid this week, if you would. And please wish me the right words to say to him to ease his fears.
P.S. Sorry for the fubar archives. I'm convinced they'll never be fixed and I'm also convinced my site will forevermore look like crap. I miss my old site.
Apologies for deleting comments. They were much appreciated. Unfortunately, in my quest to remove all the spammage, I glazed over and lost track of the keepers.
Posted by Da Goddess at 06:19 PM | Comments (0)
August 08, 2007
August 21
Posted by Da Goddess at 04:43 AM | Comments (2)