I have been quite sick lately, and it has gotten me thinking of all the many times I was sick growing up. As a mother of sick kids, I know how tiring it can be to constantly be at the doctor's office during your "free time". As I mentioned in a previous post, my mom even quit her job once to drive me to Seattle Children's for daily physical and occupational therapy. She was always my advocate. When doctors didn't know what was wrong, she forced them to figure it out. When they did figure it out, she researched non-stop for the best ways to help me. This has not changed as I've become an adult, and she does the same for her grandchildren. Here are 4 examples (of many):
1. As a very young child I would get ear infections constantly. I still remember my ENT - Dr. Magee. I know it must have gotten old for my mom, but she never let one slide. As soon as I started showing symptom, she'd haul me off to the doctor. Eventually they put tubes in my ears, which created even more work for her as she'd have to try and keep me from going under water in the bath. Erica and I had a code name for this since I knew it was forbidden: "Deep Fun." It's so hard to make your kids realize you're just trying to do what's best for them!
2. Before I was diagnosed with endometriosis, every doctor I saw used to just tell me "menstrual cramps are painful, deal with it." In addition to pain that is worse then labor, I would also have ovarian cysts that would rupture on a regular basis. I refused to believe that this was the norm, and so did my mom. She kept taking me to doctors until we finally found one who was willing to help me. It took almost two years, but she did not give up. It's a good thing too, because I was about to tell someone to just take my uterus out.
3. Because of aforementioned girl-part problems, it was a little difficult getting preggers. I saw a reproductive endocrinologist who suggested I go on an extremely strict yeast-free diet, as most women who have endometriosis also have a candida overgrowth. My mom was taking a college composition class at the time and decided to do her research paper on candida. She bought several books on the subject, helped me with my meal planning, and even did a petri dish study where she put brewer's yeast in several different dishes, then added a different ingredient to each dish to see how it reacted. FYI, white sugar was the worst. She specifically researched how the candida overgrowth inhibits inception, so I was very happy to provide her with proof of how well the diet works, since after 6 weeks I got pregnant.
4. Since Harper and Nora were diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, my mom has not stopped researching causes and treatment options. I'm pretty sure she tells everyone she meets about my kids, in hopes that someone will be able to help. She comes with me to their doctor appointments, and/or takes care of the ones(s) who aren't going that particular day.
Mom, thank you so much for always taking care of me and my kids!
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