Omaha

 This last weekend was memorial day, and I actually had a day off. We haven't really had a family vacation in a while, so we thought this would be a good time as any. When we lived in Kansas City, I always thought we would take a small trip to Omaha and visit their world renowned zoo and revile in what ever Omaha has too offer. Well, that never happened, but after 10 years or so, we finally made it here.

 With my somnolence syndrome, I was looking for a rest, but I was a little nervous about all the energy to would entail.  I definitely was not feeling normal, but I seemed to manage, and well the kids had a blast.

 We ended up meeting John and Sarah and the kids there. We went to the Omaha Storm Chasers minor league game on Saturday night. As soon as we got there, it started to rain and it was wet and cold.  This was not my idea of fun, but I kept positive, and the kids seems to actually enjoy it. We got some hot chocolate, some popcorn and eventually the rain stopped.  All the kids didn't seem to mind at all, which was good.  I kept thinking Henry was going to crack and have a miserable time, but he didn't.

 The kids seemed to just pick off from where they left each other about 6 months ago.  I think the Apperson's have no shy bones in their bodies, so I guess that helps bring my kiddos a little more forward.  I wonder how it is to raise extroverted children....I'll never know.

 In the outfield they had a little play area with a play ground, air slides and a carousel. We rode those until they shut them down.  I am happy to say the merry go round didn't make me sick at all!

 Franny running back and forth, back and forth. 

 We stayed out good and late that night and the kids slept well.  When they got up, it was time for a little hotel TV and wait for daddy to wake up.  I swear, this was one of the highlights. If you get Franny going, she will just start shouting "Hotel, Hotel."

 In the morning we headed to the Omaha zoo. Because of what I heard to the zoo, I had pretty high expectations. Overall it is a good zoo with a lot of places we never even had time to visit (we were there for about 7 hours). Being around the Minnesota and Kansas City zoo, I am not sure if it is in a class of its own. I would say they are all similar. The Omaha zoo does have interesting enclosures like the dessert dome and the aquarium, so that is going for it. It was worth the visit, just not astounding.  I really need to lower my expectations, maybe in life in general. That way I will never be disappointed!

 We are in the dessert dome exhibit here. The design is pretty great and it really meanders a lot. You can get up close to a lot of the animals.

Franny says "Our friends are going to come later"

 This is a little blurry picture, but it is hard to find the right setting when taking a picture like this. Look at how happy these guys are. I guess Sarah is becoming and real nature expert thanks to her inquisitive kiddos.

 This is the only time she actually wore a hat and we are indoors!

 This is the time we were waiting to go on a ski lift ride. Henry was real nervous about it. I again, didn't want to ruin his mood and force him to do something he clearly was scared about.  In compromise, Henry and I went to the gift shop while everyone else rode the ski lift. Success!

 This was likely the highlight of Henry, Luke and Cole. This is a place where they got to touch the stingrays, and they did, over and over again.

 Franny was more content to just contemplate life.

Joy!

Franny says "I don't want to fight with you any more"

After the zoo, the Apperson's left and our family hung out in the old Omaha district. Sometime when I was in college, I had a band tour here. I can't remember if it was regular band or jazz band. All I know is that I walked on the cobble streets and saw horse drawn carriages (didn't know KC did that either). It was funny walking down those streets again, but this time with a husband and kids.  The street is exactly the same.  We ate that night at a southwestern restaurant and I had the best nachos of my life, no kidding.  They were called Aztec nachos and besides the normal Mexican flavorings, they had curry.  Mmmmm  I need to go back to Omaha.

This trip makes me realize how great travelers are kids are, and makes me want to keep doing it. We have a Minnesota History membership, and maybe it is time to explore this state a little more.

Somnolence Syndrome

I need to write something and this is the first time I actually have energy to do it, so here goes.

Last week I was feeling pretty good. I felt I was getting close to my baseline. Sure, I couldn't run more than two miles without a headache, but I was managing. I was going to a high intensity weight lifting class, I was going to golf lessons with my mom and more. This last Friday, I biked to work and back (6 miles one way). I did that last week and it seemed fine. When I got done with biking on Friday, I was TOTALLY spent. I sat in a chair and just couldn't get up. Luckily Aaron ordered a pizza, but I didn't even want to eat that because my stomach was a little weird.  I took a couple bites and that was it.  I think I even went to bed early.

Throughout the weekend, things got worse. I was doing enough to get by, but just barely.  I knew I needed to seed the garden. I took me a half hour sitting on the cough to just motivate me to start it.  I did, but that was the only major accomplishment that day.  Every day seemed a little worse. I became a little more nauseated and didn't feel like eating much at all (so not me!).  I was getting a little headache off/on, but my head just felt weird, like something different was happening.

On Monday I went to work and after work took a nap so I could make it to my golf instruction. Tuesday was hard.  It was my long day and I had to will myself to continue and went straight to bed afterwards.  On Wednesday I went to my doctor.  After 2 1/2 hours in her clinic, she wanted to hospitalize me for observation overnight.  I went to the ED where they did a bunch of testing (all normal), gave me a liter of fluid and sent me home that night.  They didn't feel there was need for hospitalization.

About this time and the next day, I just felt miserable. Yes my stomach hurt and I was nauseated, but that wasn't the worst part.  It was the apathy.  I have never felt this before and never so strong.  It was as if I didn't have the energy to do anything AND I didn't care about it. During my surgery and radiation, I always had the drive to improve and get better.  With this, I didn't.  I just wanted to sleep on the couch and call it good.  Going to the doctors, getting checked it and waiting was so taxing on my body. I couldn't even think about the next step of anything.  My normal doctor and her partner were afraid of a pituitary problem because the radiation did go through the pituitary.  They had to do more tests, but I couldn't do them until the next morning so on Thursday I was sent home to just rest and get worse. It was frustrating and heartbreaking. At this point I just wanted to go in the hospital and stay until they fixed me.

Yesterday afternoon I finally got ahold of my radiation oncologist. I tried to call her the last few days, but she wasn't getting the messages and she had a day off and just bad luck.  When she called me, she told me I had Somnolence Syndrome. This is something that happens to about 1% of adults with brain radiation. It starts at 4 weeks to 2 months and the main symptoms are sleepiness and apathy.  The good news is that it is temporary and it can be helped with steroids.

I have had one dose last night and one dose this morning and I feel, well more myself.  I don't have all my energy back, but I am not apathetic and do not want to sleep all the time. I am going in the right direction. 

It's weird to have something I have never even heard off, but I am glad there is treatment and glad it will be short lived.

Hearing Aids

I have no pictures to include with this post. I wish I did.  I often don't want to carry a heavy camera and this week we did not do any big adventures.  You readers are just have to use your imagination. Anyway, this post is about hearing, not sight.

Last Wednesday, Frances and I went to the audiologist to talk about hearing aid options. Before going into it, I knew I had two options: a single hearing aid to augment my poor hearing in my right ear, or two hearing aids where they can take the sound heard in my right ear and transfer it to my left ear. Going into it, I felt that sound localization was the biggest problem for me, so if one hearing aid can help me, then I would like to try that.  After speaking to the audiologist, I became not so sure.

She thought the cross hearing aid system would be better for me because I would pick up speech and sound that my big head would block out from the other side.  Because I had normal hearing not too long ago, she felt I might be able to localize somewhat from the stereo effect. My left ear would hear the same thing twice and use that information to pinpoint where it was coming from. The only thing I would gain from a single hearing aid is some localization. Speech understanding would be off the table because of the tones of frequency loss.

Luckily, there is an opportunity for trials of hearing aids, starting with the cross hearing aid. She did make a mold of my right ear to use for the single hearing aid, but she is waiting for my signal to send it (because there would be a non-refundable fee associated with that part). That day I picked up a sample of the cross hearing aid, and let me tell you, I was blown away

Ok, time to reveal some geekyness.  Aaron has been joking that for a while I will only read books that have dragons on the cover, and well, more often it has been true than not.  Recently, I have been reading the Eragon series. In these books, a human becomes a dragon rider and through a series of events becomes more elf like. One morning he wakes up with overwhelming heightened senses. He can see father, is stronger....and can hear superbly.

That is what I now feel.

I put the hearing aids on and then I slipped my glasses back on, but there was loud noise. What was the sound? I did it again It was the sound from my hair on my glasses rubbing.  I moved my glasses on my left side (my good ear) and indeed I normally hear that sound, but on the right hand side it seemed so foreign and unexpected.  I probably haven't heard that for YEARS. Than I moved to go downstairs and as I was waking, my foot steps sounded like a giant's. I stopped and just stayed still. Even my breathing seemed loud.  I eventually sat down and turned on the tv.  Wow, I heard the tv perfectly clear and it didn't even matter which way my head was tilted. I didn't think I was accommodating myself a lot, but maybe I was.  I turned the tv off and went up stairs to talk with my family. As soon as I started talking, my voice sounded weird. It was echoing and it seemed like I was talking in a microphone.

I assume the echo sound was the stereo effect.  I wanted to know if I could localize. I stool in the middle of the room, closed my eyes and started spinning. I tried to keep spinning until my bearings were gone. I then had a family member say something and I tried to point where they were. At first I was getting it, but Aaron started to move around and I couldn't find him accurately. I think I never fully lost my bearings.  I was a little discouraged, but the audiologist told me adjustment can take time. 

Since then, I have gone to work for two days and witnessed how things are different with the hearing aids on. The crackling of paper and typing on keyboards are REALLY loud. If I am talking in a room with parents and a crying baby, right now it is really hard to tune that baby out (normally no problem).  When I hear my voice echo, I start focusing on how it sounds, then I get funny about my word choice, then I hope I am making sense, and then I am way too far in my head.  I hope the echo/microphone effect fades with time.

When I put them on, I feel bionic. I guess this is how every person normally feels, but maybe not. I know my good ear is better than normal. Put two good ears together, and I am super human.  I don't know if I can save the world with my new found power, but maybe I can hear ants talking with each other, or snakes slithering my way.

To be honest, I didn't think the difference would be so dramatic, but it is.  I am unsure what to do now, should I just go for the cross hearing aid, or is localization more important that being bionic/normal.  I have a few more days until I check in with the audiologist.  Hopefully I will straighten out my feelings.

Easter week

 This last week, Grammy and Poppy came to visit us. It was a short trip (Tuesday through Friday), but the kids loved it. I had to work full time and I felt I barely saw them, but the rest of the family did and were entertained by/with them.

 Henry was on Spring break, and so they did a lot. They went to the Bell Museum, the Mill City Museum, Science museum, library, parks and out to eat a few times.  Because it was Easter week, we even threw in some egg decorating and egg hunt in our back yard.

 I went with them to the Mill City Museum with them on my day off, and it was really fun. It was the perfect weather outside, so we got to walk on the Stone Arch Bridge and see the St. Anthony Falls. I have never been on that bridge before in my life. I have always wanted to. It seems to take a visitor as an impetus to explore this city I live in. That means we should entertain more.  Anyone is welcome to come!

Frances says "Henry play tennis"

This last Saturday, Henry had a tennis lesson. I haven't seen him play in a while, and you know what? He's getting pretty good.  Henry says tennis is his favorite sport, and I can seem him sticking with it.  It seems to fit his personality.

This new coach that Henry has is a pretty serious coach, but I think he is pushing Henry to be better. He often gives him feedback and changes they way Henry does things, but then when Henry gets it right, the coach is quick to compliment  The coach is teaching him a lot of what I think are advanced tennis skills, but I suppose I don't really know, I never got past a few lessons myself.

I look forward to watching Aaron and Henry play this summer. I might refrain, because this is one sport I am pretty bad at. Maybe if I need another challenge in my life, in 5 or so years, I will pick it up, but as for now, it is not a priority.

I have other things I want to focus on, both mentally and physically.  Hey, that is a great lead for an update about me. So, I have been done with radiation now for 2 weeks. Things are still going well and the fatigue has been gradually getting better.

Yesterday I went for a run.  I tried to play it smart. I had my phone tell me every 1/4 of a mile hit and then I would walk a little, to recover my brain. I did that and ended up running 2.75 miles. It felt good, but afterwards I had a lingering headache. It wasn't bad, but I had to take some Tylenol.  It just is a little discouraging.  I don't need any more barriers to exercise. It would be so easy to say, "oh, I just can't exercise anymore" and call it good, but it is so unhealthy.  I used to have dreams of a half marathon in the fall or next year. Maybe that distance is too much for me.  Will I ever get there? Who knows.  It is still early. I just want to be better.

I also went to an ENT specialist this week to talk about hearing aids.  What I really have a problem with is sound localization. I knew I would, but I didn't know how often this skill is important to my life. Finding which elevator is ready? Finding your phone when it rings?  Finding your husband when he yells somewhere in the house?  Finding your child in Target after she takes off from you and is giggling somewhere around you?  So frustrating!  With this complaint, I spoke with both the doctor and the audiologist. There are a few options that put sound from my right ear into my left ear, but that would not give me localization. I could try a normal one ear hearing aid and see if it does okay. Some sounds I will never hear and the sounds that I do, will be a weird distorted sound. I guess some people can't tolerate it.  The audiologist said that I owe it to myself and my kids to try, and I agree.  I will go in this week for a hearing aid fitting.

I have been making green smoothies for me and Aaron this last week.  I like it and he does too. The kids are a little scared of drinking something green. We are not pushing it. If they want, they can try t, but more often they chose not to.  As far as how it is helping me, I don't know. I would like to think so, but I have no comparison. I don't know how I am supposed to feel 2 weeks out of radiation. I have had comments that I look well (one was my acupuncturist), so that is something.  I find myself getting a little hungry before lunch, but I am usually at a place where I can have a little snack, so it is not a big deal.  I guess, so far, so good.

Just yesterday, I told the kids they were going to make masterpieces.  They were both very excited. We took a while getting the table cleared, putting paper down and getting the brushes and paint. Then it took, well, about 2 minutes and then the masterpieces were done. 

They are great an all, but just a lot of work from me, especially when my kids are content to just lay and read.

Bowling

 Today was Henry's first day of spring break and my last day of half days. To celebrate, we went to Pinstripes. We have been to the one in Kansas City, and I know now it is exactly the same as the one in Minneapolis. Even Frances said that she remembered this from before.

 These first two pictures are the only ones that I took. All of the following are Henry's pictures (although there might be a couple from Frances at the end).  I think Henry was able to capture the spirit of the day more than I was able to. When I take a picture, I am thinking of all the technical parts of the shot  He just takes a picture and that is it.  Sometimes it is better. Take a look for yourself.

Franny's ball, looking good.

Making sure her hands and hair are feeling dry

Love this one!

Pushing buttons before she can bowl

Mom, don't look at me, keep doing what you are doing