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February 16, 2003
JAIDA’S BLOOD TEST RESULTS
Dr. Corbier’s nurse called me at work on Monday to tell me the results of one part of Jaida’s blood test results. I was about to walk out the door to take Jarod to OT when the phone rang. I contemplated not answering it, but something made me pick it up. I don’t know what this chick’s problem was but she was in serious need of a cup of coffee or something. She was hemming and hawing and I almost said, “Will you spit it out for Pete’s sake!” After she said the wrong name, she asked me to hold on and I could hear her rustling papers. Finally, she found Jaida’s chart and told me that her copper and zinc had come back normal. Then she said Dr. Corbier wanted Jaida to start something called MT3 primer right away. I was about to ask why if her levels were normal when she corrected herself. “What I meant to say was, her copper was elevated and zinc was low. Normal levels of copper are .7 to 1.0 and Jaida’s was 1.2.” This made more sense to me. I asked if the MT3 primer was going to correct that and she confirmed that it would.
Because Dr. Corbier doesn’t use all pharmacies, she said the prescription would be faxed to a pharmacy in Birmingham. She gave me their phone number and told me I could call later and get the information on price and shipping. I made a note to call them when I got back from Jarod’s appointment and off I went. I wondered what copper and zinc had to do with anything we talked about on the day of Jaida’s visit but I was confident that Dr. Corbier was covering all the bases. He had mentioned the Birmingham pharmacy before when we talked about Nystatin. Apparently, this place is very strict about manufacturing and they can process prescriptions to his specifications without adding too many artificial ingredients or trace amounts of wheat and dairy.
When I got back, I decided to do a search on the internet to find out what copper and zinc imbalance caused. I was intrigued to learn that elevated copper and lower than normal zinc is common among people labeled as autistic and paranoid schizophrenic. Apparently, hyperactivity is the main problem associated with this imbalance. Interestingly enough, symptoms become worse when chocolate (rich in copper) or food dyes rich in hydrazines (which lower blood zinc levels) are consumed. I had been wondering about this because I noticed a significant change in Jaida’s hyperness after she ate chocolate soy ice cream a few weeks ago. I assumed it was the sugar so I had been careful to only let her eat it once or twice a week.
What was even more interesting was the thought that “high-copper” patients are often labeled depressives and women with high copper levels experience severe PMS. They may also be more prone to postpartum depression or have a high rate of it in their families. This set off all kinds of alarms in my head. I wonder if I should have my levels checked. I m no stranger to PMS or PPD, although Mom says she never had it. High copper patients are also more susceptible to acne, eczema, sensitive skin, sunburn, headaches, poor immune function and white spots under the fingernails. I guess the combination of Jaida’s hyperactivity and skin problems were the clues Dr. Corbier picked up on. That man must be a genius.
THE MORNING CRUNCH
Our house is like a bottled tornado in the mornings. As a result, I am permanently late for work. Jaida refuses to get dressed some days and comes bounding out of her room fully dressed on others. I have to keep Jarod occupied so he won’t torment her. I try to let her be self-sufficient by dressing herself but she often puts her underwear and pants on backwards. She’s been dressing herself for nearly two years and still, I have to correct her. I don’t know what else to do. I try not to make a big deal of her mistakes by gently telling her she needs to turn her pants, etc around. Other times, I just remind her that the tag goes in the back or whatever.
Jarod enjoys disrupting everyone’s peace and aggravating Jaida at every opportunity. She yells and swats at him and I constantly feel like I need a referee uniform. I’m usually trying to simultaneously cook breakfast, make lunches and fix a bowl of cereal for Jarod. Then to make matters worse, Jarod likes to tip his bowl and make a mess with the milk. Some mornings, he will actually eat and others he only wants to make a mess. I take it away and leave him strapped in his booster seat as a sort of time-out. That always makes him very unhappy but do you think it deters him at all? The minute I let him down he’s right back in Jaida’s face.
I have come to the conclusion that he is mad that I’m leaving and his lack of speech makes it hard to get his feelings known. I guess being naughty on purpose is a way to get my attention and make sure I’m not forgetting him completely. Lately, the evenings have been twice as bad. Jaida feels the need to discipline Jarod and I’m sure you can imagine how well that goes. They yell, scream and hit each other and I don’t who to grab first. I’ve tried separating them but they find a way to get back in the same room together. Usually all this is going on while I’m trying to get dinner on the table or just eat mine.
That brings me to my next topic. Both kids have been stuck on spaghetti for about two weeks now. Jaida only eats the meat sauce and Jarod would rather have the noodles. Jaida is going to the feeding clinic on Thursday to see if we can sneak her into OT that way. She came down with a virus on Friday night and I hope she is well enough to keep the appointment. We’ve had it scheduled since October and rescheduling will push it back two or three months. Her unwillingness to try new foods and eat a variety definitely qualifies as feeding difficulty or dysfunction, so we’ll see.
CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU?
I spend a lot of time in my car. Most days by the time I get home, I’m about to scream from being choked by the seatbelt. I’m really sick of driving. I think I should install a meter on the dash and put a sign on the roof. I take Jarod to OT on Mondays and preschool on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I take Jaida to speech on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then on to school afterwards as well as the other mornings of the week. Of course, I pick Jaida up every day before I go home. As a result, my car is quickly racking up the miles. The lease is not up until June at which time there can be no more than 48,000 miles on it. As of today, there are 45,298. I don’t think we’ll make it. I called our bank on Friday and talked to a friend of mine to see if we can get a loan to try and get our mini van sooner and trade in the car before we hit the allotted mileage. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Steve’s credit is great, but he couldn’t qualify for the amount we need on his own. The problem of the house we are still paying for but not living in complicated matters even further. We’ve been trying to sell it for a year but we gave up and recently rented it. I have two credit cards with high balances and I tried to keep my name (and my questionable credit) out of it but it looks like that may not be possible. I just hope my friend calls me on Monday with good news. We can not afford to pay over the mileage fees and put a down payment on another vehicle. Then there’s the problem of getting the front fender repaired. Back in October, Mom parked too close to the garage and as I backed out I banged right into her car. She drives my brother’s old car from high school and college so you barely notice where I hit it. My front fender however, is another story. I went to get an estimate and back then, $1100 was what they said it would cost. Now you know why I wasn’t too upset about dinging that woman’s car back at Christmas. It just gave me matching scrape marks. :o)
LAMBCHOP AT 11 WEEKS
As far as physical symptoms, I couldn’t be better. I had a checkup on Valentine’s Day and all was well. I gained one pound and my B/P was good. Dr. D was happy and so was I. Shelly, my favorite nurse tried to listen to the heartbeat but it was still too early. I have rented the Babybeat Doppler and I can’t wait to use it in a few weeks. I also have been perusing the local baby stores and boutiques. I have fun daydreaming and looking at all the beautiful baby stuff. I did splurge and buy a full maternity wardrobe. I decided that comfort is very important and I deserve at least that much. I can't wait until my packages start arriving. Speaking of packages, I also orderd a hypnobirthing course and that should arrive any day as well.
When it’s just Jarod and I, I talk to him about the baby. I’ve been teaching him to say baby and he says it every time he sees one on TV and in public. Last night, I asked him if he wanted a baby and he said yes. I asked him if he would share Mama with the baby and he said yes. I asked him if he would kiss the baby and he said yes. After a moment of silence he said, “Mamaw?” I said, “Yes, Jarod?” “Un baby?” (Where’s baby?”) I just laughed and told him it would be a while before he saw the baby. I don’t plan on telling Jaida until I’m at least 16 weeks. She will still probably ask me every day when the baby is coming so I may rethink that. Maybe when I’m closer to 20 weeks will be better. I know it will seem like an eternity to her anyway.
Well, I need a nap. That's all for now!
Kim, Jaida, Jarod & Lambchop
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