~A Bitter Swallow~

Today is New Year's Eve. We don't have anything big planned. New Year's is not really a big deal for me, as I view the start of the new year in Spring. However, we are having a couple of the kids' friends over. Maybe we'll start a fire in the fireplace and roast marshmellows and smores. Pop in a movie or two, play some Playstation and/or Wii games. I prefer the mellow, stay indoors and hang night for New Years. Start the year simple and maybe it will stay that way?

I hope all of you have a grand time tonight, no matter how you choose to spend it. And if it didn't go how you would have chosen, I hope it turned out better than you would have gotten. Stay happy. Stay safe.

Christmas has come and gone. It passed in a flurry this year, mixed within the whirlwind and chaos of moving and unpacking. The Wednesday prior to Christmas Day, Dustin and I drove down to Oregon to visit with his family. I had been scheduled to work until 8pm that evening, and we were dreading having to make that 6-hour drive through the mountain passes during the darkest hours of night. However, I awoke Wednesday to a, let's just say "less-than-agreeable" stomach. Enough so, that I had to call in sick. Dustin was at work when I decided to call out for the day. When I let him know what was going on, he was thrilled. Yes, I said he was thrilled that I was ill. But only because that meant we could leave early. So, I got the kids up and ready, we dropped them off, and headed out.

When we were almost there, we hit a deer. Poor thing. A family of them were right in the middle of the road when we came around the corner. There was ice on the road, and nothing Dustin could do, other than slam us into the hill on the left, or off the ridge on the right. It died quickly, at least. A car that came by shortly afterwards made sure we were aware that in that state, you could keep what you hit. We were pretty sure they were going to claim it for themselves, but it was still there the next day, according to Dustin's sister.

We got to his family's house around 8pm. While I was feeling craptastic, I was still okay enough to be able to hang out and chitchat. The town was a bit on the cold-shoulder side this time around, but we were there for his family, and they were great as always, and that is what counts.

Friday morning we headed home, and made good time. No deer were hit in the driving of this route, but I did get to drive through the passes in the snow. That was nerve-wracking!

We picked the kids up, and we spent Christmas morning at home. Then we made the rounds playing Santa and dropping off gifts to various friends. That afternoon/evening we spent with my family. My kids made out like bandits, as they always do. This coming Saturday (New Years Day) I plan to take them shopping so they can go spend their loot.

Now it's back to reality as usual. I've come to the conclusion that the two most stressful months of the year for me are November and January. November, when it dawns on me that Christmas is just around the corner, and I haven't even thought about shopping yet, and January when it dawns on me just how much money I blew through in December! I suppose I should start setting up a Nov/Jan fund, to relieve some of that stress? LOL

We've moved! As of the 1st of this month we are renting a new place. You have no idea how excited I am about that, or how dreadfully stressed out I've been during that (and during.. since it's still going on.. kind of). We moved into a place that, square-footage wise, is about as big as where we were. But, the space is more compact, and it is much more cozy. It is right smack downtown.. about a block from where I work. It literally takes me about 2 minutes to walk to work! How cool is that? Both buses (for both of the kids) stop right outside the front door. How cool is that?? It has it's down side, like every place will. There is no yard, so letting the dog out to go potty is an actual walk. There is no parking really, except for out on the street, which is only 4 hour parking during the weekdays. We've already gotten a ticket because neither of us took the car anywhere during that time.. and forgot about the parking time. It is also the detour route when they close the main thoroughway for events. We've also already experienced that. That was interesting.

For the most part though, it is great. Our landlord is a friend and former co-worker of mine. That makes things a bit more comfortable. I am still in the process of unpacking. Due to limited space (the landlord is still currently using the basement, where I had planned on storing most of the unpacked stuff), unpacking is a chore. Trying to figure out where to put everything is turning into one pain in my hiney! I am hoping to get unpacked enough to be able to decorate for Christmas and get our tree this coming weekend. At the rate I've been going, though, I'll be lucky to have it done by New Years!

I will have to get some pictures and post them soon. You can all applaud now!

Last Monday, the household was jolted by a sudden scare. My daughter, who is currently 10 (and 1/2!) years old, was taking her morning shower. I was in bed, the boys (my boyfriend and 13 year old son) were up, poking around on the computer while waiting to go to school or work. My daughter had just gotten into the shower. She squeaked. Dustin (boyfriend) got up to go check to make sure everything was okay. She doesn't squeak when she is startled or scared. He knocked, asked if all was well, she laughed and said she was fine, he went back to what he was doing.

Then, a few moments later, she started complaining of an upset stomach. Now, mind you, my bedroom is on the other side of the wall from the bathroom- my bedroom door right next to the bathroom door. This complaining caught my attention, because she was actually calling for Dustin's assistance while she was still in the shower . This isn't something she does, even when it's me she is talking to. He went back to the door, she complained it was getting bad, so he opened our bedroom door, stuck his head in to tell me I should go talk to her, I nodded, already pulling the covers off of me. While this exchange was going on though, she started yelling "I see black! All I can see is black!" I jumped up and ran into the bathroom. My 10-year old daughter was blind. 100% blind. Her eyes were vacant and staring, her arms groping around her to stablize herself. I began asking her questions- what was she feeling, seeing, etc.. while trying to move her to me. She was answering me coherantly, at first, but her body went really rigid, and her voice began to trail. I felt like I was trying to move a big doll. It was horrifying. Then, she just fell on me.. still rigid, but not moving.

I screamed for Dustin to come get her. I couldn't hold her, and I didn't want to drop her half in and half out of the shower like that. He came in and grabbed her while I ran and called 911. I was still giving the operator our address when Dustin began yelling that she was back- she was here with us. I relayed as much information to the dispatcher as I could, and then she let me go back to my daughter, since she was awake and "normal".

The fire department soon arrived. By now my daughter was fully dressed, and a bit embarrassed. I had asked her what happened, and she told me it all started pretty stupidly, and she felt it silly and unimportant. Apparently, she had just woken up, groggy, no water, etc... She stepped into the shower, and as her hair slid down her shoulder, that still-half-asleep state of her brain thought it was a spider, and when she looked, that brain thought it was a tarantula sized spider. On her arm. Next to her face. This is what had caused the squeak before it all. It all happened in a split second, and she immediately knew it was her hair. I told her it was not at all stupid, and that it actually relieved me that there was something that could be considered a trigger- that all of this did not just happen out of the blue.

Turns out, it was very important. The fire department and paramedics said they thought it was most likely something called "vasovagal syncope". They referred us to the hospital in Silverdale to make sure. The EMTs were very sweet. They treated my daughter very professionally and made her feel comfortable, which I was worried about, being she was so embarrassed about the spider incident. They explained to her how important it was, and how great it was, that she remembered and told about it, because the sudden severe startlement set off a reaction in her brain that caused her to pass out.

The hospital agreed with their assessement. This article explains it pretty well. I took this straight from About.com. I highlighted the part that particulary pertains to her:

Read article here

"Anyone can have vasovagal syncope given an adequate triggering event, but many people are particularly prone to these episodes, and often with relatively mild triggers. These individuals tend to relate histories of syncope dating back to adolescence, and frequently will describe several different of triggering events. While, as noted, there are scores of possible triggering events for vasovagal syncope, some are quite characteristic and almost always point to vasovagal syncope. Syncope occurring after urinating, defecating, coughing or swallowing, or syncope associated with pain, fright, the sight of blood, or other noxious stimuli, is almost always vasovagal.

In these and other ways, vasovagal syncope tends to be highly situational. It is more likely to occur after a viral illness, after exercise, after a warm shower, or early in the morning – any time that relative dehydration is present, and dilation of the blood vessels in the legs would be more likely to produce a significant drop in blood pressure. Furthermore, vasovagal syncope is often preceded by a few seconds or a few minutes of warning symptoms. Often, these symptoms include lightheadedness, ringing in the ears, visual disturbances, sweating and/or nausea. Because of such “warning symptoms,” people who have had one or two episodes of syncope are frequently able to tell when an event is about to occur. And importantly, if they recognize the warning symptoms, they are able to abort the blackout simply by lying down and elevating the legs. (“Aborting” syncope is not possible with most other forms of syncope.)"

I feel better after reading up on it, though recanting it still makes my stomach roll and my pulse race. My belief is that, because of the highly circumstancial "trigger", this is only a one time thing. I don't think she is going to be one of those people that this happens to frequently, though we do continue to keep an open eye on her at all times, for the meantime. I have an appointment for a follow-up tomorrow, and I am expecting a clear bill of health.