No news is good news…..

…..I guess. Life has been so crazy the last few weeks I’ve had little time to think let alone update. As the kids came off the “piggy flu” we thought we would get a bit of a reprieve…except it’s us and we don’t generally mix well with tranquility. When asked recently how things were going at our house I replied, “Well, so far no one’s bleeding profusely and the house hasn’t blown up so I think we’re great. Thanks for asking!” Of course the inquirer responded with a look that suggested I must be insane (this guy catches on quickly) so I went on to explain that I long ago learned to set the bar low on what was good and what wasn’t. No reason to deceive myself, right?

As for Max we had a few check-ups recently and thankfully he seems to be doing well. I did get a shock last week when I called to get a refill on one of his heart meds, the nurse asked me if I knew that the doctor had retired months ago….I thought to myself how could I possibly know this when no one saw fit to call me with the news or at a minimum send me a letter. I admit I sat on the other end of the phone with my jaw dropped open like an idiot, for once in my life I was completely and utterly speechless. Once again my son, the high-risk cardiac patient, is without a local cardiologist! I really and truly hate this game of finding a doctor I can live with (not necessarily outstanding mind you but someone you trust enough to bring your child to) only to lose them a short time later. I guess it’s really the management of a chronic child, the doctors, the hospitals, the therapy providers, the insurance companies etc., etc. that makes me the craziest because there really is no end to it. As soon as I resolve one issue another one erupts. I swear I don’t know how I’m not addicted to drugs or alcohol or both!


In Ellie news, she just finished swim season on a high note as she “placed” in her individual category at the regional swim meet, which means she is one of the strongest “freestyle” swimmers in the metro Phoenix area. Hopefully we’ll be able to get her into a club team where they groom the next Olympic gold medalists in the hopes that one day she will have some kind of multi-million dollar commercial deal with one sponsor or another (my retirement plan depends heavily on this).

As for now I think that’s all my “printable” Marangella news, thanks all for checking in!

Quarantine

This week we have been in “quarantine mode”. Ellie was the first to fall over the weekend with a super high temp (103.8), sore throat, and a cough that would scare just about anyone. As we started our week things just went downhill fast. On Monday I had Michele take Ellie into the pediatrician, fully expecting a diagnosis of the common flu or at worst strep throat. But as we all know nothing is that simple at our house. I soon got a frantic phone call from Michele saying Ellie was positive for H1N1 (a.k.a. Pig Flu to the kids) and Dr. Schwartz wanted us all treated immediately before Max got it. Too late. I picked up a very snotty, wheezy child from school not much after Ellie’s official diagnosis. Max was already down for the count. And so it begins…..

I was able to get our prescriptions filled for Tamiflu with little problem (if you overlook the cost of the stuff) but Max’s pediatric dose was nowhere to be found, anywhere, anyhow in a thirty mile radius of the house. Seems the pharmaceutical company didn’t see fit to produce any in time for the flu season….maybe by November I was told. Now in an absolute panic as I watch Max’s breathing getting rougher and rougher I realized a trip to the hospital might not be far off because it would be the only place we could find the right dose. In my desperation to avoid “dirty” hospitals I called a local compounding pharmacy which was able to make me some from scratch (Max’s interpretation of the situation). Yet another disaster evaded by no less than 30 – 40 phone calls on my part.

So the kids have been home all week much to Michele’s chagrin and won’t be allowed back to school until after Fall Break which is next week. I have found that once I mention that my children have been ill with this dreaded flu people tend to take a HUGE step back as if we have the plague. I must admit the first couple of days were crappy but not much more than any other flu would be, in fact, I think Ellie was sicker than Max. Michele is now convinced the whole thing may be hype produced by the pharmaceutical companies and the media. Who knows, I just hope we can check this one off our list of maladies.

As always, thanks for checking in!