Two hospitals, one day (updated)

I’ve had it with hospitals for a while.

First I took Elena to Providence Park Hospital today to have an ultrasound, and I was lucky enough to get to listen to her scream and cry for Mama and for them to put her diaper back on (she needed a catheter, which was the main source of the stress). I stopped and got her a chocolate milk shake at McDonald’s.

Tonight, while Helen was at the dentist, I was home with the kids. When I told the girls we were going to feed Allan, they got pretty excited — Katrina slipped while running to the chair next to Allan and slammed her chin onto the edge of the chair. When I saw blood on her chin from a half-inch gash, I called the dentist’s office to ask Helen to get home as soon as she could.

Katrina did well at the ER at Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital. I got her a chocolate milk shake at McDonald’s, too.

Updated Thursday: Katrina didn’t get stitches, thankfully. She got Steri-Strips, and she was happy they were still there this morning.

(Comments from old site:)

You’re such a good Dada.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 03/27/2008 - 8:51am.

You’re such a good Dada. Can I have a chocolate shake too?

Chocolate shake

Submitted by Brad Town on Thu, 03/27/2008 - 9:42am.

At a buck-ninety a pop? For the child size? No way.

Cheepskate. Sheesh.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 03/28/2008 - 7:46am.

Cheepskate. Sheesh.

How do I stop posting

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 03/28/2008 - 11:50am.

How do I stop posting anonymous comments?

On childhood illnesses and febrile seizures

I hate ’em.

Special thanks go out to the Salvation Army, from whence Katrina’s noisy bed frame came, and the television show New Amsterdam, the program I was watching downstairs when I heard said frame.

(Comments from old site:)

Poor baby!

Submitted by Amonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 10:17am.

Was this last night? Is she okay now?

She ran downstairs to see me

Submitted by Helen Town on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 12:11pm.

She ran downstairs to see me this morning exclaiming, “I feel much better, now!” I have to take Elena in for a possible UTI today, so Katrina’s going to get examined as well. It’s been two years since her last febrile seizure. She has no symptoms of the cold the rest of us have, so I don’t know where she got the fever from.

Update (12:04pm): While we were playing Candyland, Katrina lay down on the floor and said, “I’m tired.” I checked her temp and it was about 101 degrees. I guess my drug concoction from last night finally wore off.

Elena was at 100.4. Both girls got a dose of acetaminophen and a popsicle. Katrina wanted her popsicle to warm up because it was “too cold!”. I convinced her to drink her beverage, though. Now they’re both in bed trying to fight off this lovely virus. Allan finally passed out in the bouncy seat since I didn’t take him for a ride in the car as I often do in the mornings. (p.s. he has developed a little cough today, too.)

Visiting Ami and Brandon

We visited our friends Ami and Brandon over the weekend. We had a wonderful time. We even did some sledding in their backyard. This seemed to do astoundingly bad things to my back, which of course I did not notice until the next day — when I’d get up, I would occasionally move somewhat like the zombies in the Thriller video.

Don’t misunderstand the entries on Ami (aka Emmy)’s blog — their house is wonderful, large, and beautifully decorated. It also has the Garage Mahal, an enormous garage where I believe the Pistons hold their training camp, and cats, which encouraged me to experience for the first time the magic that is Allegra.

(Comment from old site:)

Hmmm...

Submitted by Ami Peltier (not verified) on Fri, 01/18/2008 - 4:57pm.

You guys should see the snow now! The poor snowmen are almost buried. :(

“I’ll be right back.”

Helen and I were watching The McLaughlin Group from December 30, the second part of their “2007 Year-End Awards”. They were doing the “15 Minutes of Fame” award. Pat Buchanan had nominated the Middle East peace plan, Eleanor Clift had nominated Senator Larry Craig, and Monica Crowley had nominated Howard K. Stern when we heard something in the girls’ bedroom.

I went to their room expecting to have to tell Elena to be quiet and go to sleep, because that’s what I normally have to do. Instead, Helen and I found ourselves having to bathe Elena, wash all her bedding, and wash and dry her doggie, which in recent days has been a close friend. (Fun fact #1: “Popsicle” is actually a brand name. Fun fact #2: The purple color from two Kroger-brand frozen pops comes out pretty easily if you get to it early.) We got her back in bed with new sheets (and a few towels as insurance) before too long, and she was only mildly upset that she didn’t have her princess sheets.

One day, no puking. Too much to ask? I don’t think so. And please keep in mind that Katrina and Allan have not shown any symptoms. Are we lucky, or are we extremely unlucky?

I only just now got to hear Clarence Page and John McLaughlin’s nominees — Sanjaya Malakar and Andrew Speaker, respectively. Good suggestions all.

Ode to a norovirus

I got sick Tuesday afternoon
Elena, Wednesday morn
Then Thursday took down Helen, too
We all feel quite forlorn

How I got sick

Elena was the first of us to get sick. She started showing cold symptoms last week. I was trying to be careful around her so I wouldn’t catch what she had, but by Sunday night I wasn’t feeling great, and by Monday evening I had a full-blown cold.

So what happened?

On Thursday I was trying to get her to fall back asleep during her nap. While I was talking to her, she sneezed. In my mouth. There’s no getting around getting sick after something like that. I thought, “Well, now the clock’s ticking.”

True story.

My June 11 blood test

My total cholesterol was 111 mg/dL (pretty low, eh?) and my triglycerides are back to normal. The only values outside the reference ranges were my HDL (31 mg/dL), which should be higher, and my glucose (69 mg/dL), which was just a hair below normal, probably because I had fasted for around 16 hours for the test.

My HDL probably isn’t a huge problem because my LDL/HDL ratio is 1.87 and my total cholesterol/HDL ratio is 3.58, both of which are acceptable. That’s not to say I shouldn’t try to raise it, though.

Running shoes

The shoe fits

I bought some new shoes a couple of days ago. Helen had been complaining about how ugly my previous sneakers were, so I decided to replace them. As you know, I rarely buy anything without research, but I realized that I had never researched shoes. The horror!

In the end, I chose the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7 because of the shoes’ features and the fact that they come in size 12½. Note that they are running shoes; I think there’s a chance I’ll convince myself to start exercising a bit more, so I wanted to support that.

20 quadrillion quadrillion electron masses

I don’t remember exactly what I weighed around the holidays — I know it was 223-point-something — so I’ve decided to declare that, since my weight is now 183-point-something, I have officially lost 40 pounds.

The logician in me thinks it’s not really that big a milestone for a couple of reasons. First of all, 40 isn’t that special of a number. Sure, it ends in a zero, but only because we use a decimal system. If people had had, say, twelve fingers (fun fact — hexadactyly is autosomal dominant!), we’d probably be using a duodecimal system, in which case a number like base-10 40 wouldn’t be that interesting. And what exactly is a pound, anyway? It’s pretty arbitrary.

The logician in me can be a real Captain Bringdown.

Influenza

We are a flu-ridden family. I came down with it last Sunday. Helen and Katrina started showing symptoms on Thursday just as I was starting to feel better. Runny nose, aching, and prolonged fever (mine was four days) are the main symptoms. This is not an illness you want.

Elena, who got her flu shot a few months ago, has been perfectly fine. Helen tried to get Katrina vaccinated at another time, but they had run out before she arrived.

Below 190

189.6 pounds. I’ve lost around 34 pounds!

Current weight

I weighed 196 pounds this morning. I’m 6’ 3” tall (I had Helen check a few days ago), so my BMI (body mass index) is 24.5, which is on the high side of the normal range. Hopefully more people I know will start to notice the physical difference as I continue to lose weight.

Losing weight

I’m trying to lose some weight. I remember when I weighed 180 pounds and thought that was too much, and as of Christmas of 2007, I weighed over 220. I’m around 6’ 4”, so that puts me in the “overweight” category.

I realized I needed to make some changes. I set my start date to New Year’s Day — a little clichéd, I know — and came up with a plan. I joking refer to it as the “Quit Eatin’ So Goddamned Much” diet, but it’s a little more than that.

• Portion control. I limit amounts. For example, I used to drink over half a gallon of nonfat milk every day; now I limit myself to one or two 12-ounce glasses.

• No sugary drinks. Instead of Coke, I get water.

• Unlimited fruits and vegetables. This one is fun. If I feel like snacking in the evening, I’ll often grab a bowl of grapes. When I’ve gone out to lunch, I’ve been getting the salad along with soup or a sandwich.

• No alcohol. I didn’t drink much before, but the calories from alcohol (like Long Islands — mmm, Long Islands) are problematic. In addition, my triglycerides are way too high, and alcohol is bad for them.

This morning, I was at 204.6. Things seem to be going well so far.

(Comment from old site:)

Belt

Submitted by Helen Town on Wed, 01/31/2007 - 6:41am.

Brad just moved down one notch on his brown belt. Any more weight loss and he’ll have to splurge and buy a new one!