EBS-WC

Hey. Did we all forget about this? I know several of us are on FB, but several are not. I decided to see if your email alerts to this blog still work.

I thought I would tell you a little about what I've learned about Aaron and Kevin's skin disease. It's called Epidermolysis Buloma Simplex Weber Cockayne. You can go to the debra.org site if you are interested. There's a good description and pictures. Aaron hates it, as you can imagine, and sometimes cries and asks God why he has it. We've talked through this and will continue to do so, I'm sure. The neat thing is that tonight we were on-line and found a neat blog by a girl who is 16 and also has it. She finds her life in the school band, much like Aaron. Aaron had a particularly bad day today, so it was a real blessing to find this little, short blog.

Aaron, in case you haven't heard me crow, is an amazing young bassoon player. He really, really has it. We've decided that if he were running and playing sports all the time, he would have perhaps never discovered that he has this gift. So, that's the way we rationalize it, and it seems to help quite a bit.

FYI, Will is doing well in his new school. Trying to figure out how to afford to send Aaron as well next year. I had planned on paying off the house in the next couple of years. That plan has gone the way of the Yugo.

How are y'all?

Pre-diabetes update

Well, according to my scale at home, I've lost a total of 2o lbs. I went to the doctor today, and my A1C, which was a 5.9, is now down to a 5.7. That is a really good thing. I am on the very high end of normal, but normal nonetheless. They consider 6.0 the threshold. Full blown diabetics try to keep theirs no higher than 7.0. So, if I can live my live at a 5.7, I'm so totally good with that.

Here's what I've done, should any of you need this info later on. I really didn't go "on a diet," although I have obviously changed my eating, which has resulted in weight loss. Other than the obvious, here is the main no-no list:

-All potatoes but baked, and only those infrequently.
-Any bread but whole wheat, pumpernickel. (I now make my own W.Wheat bread, 5 loaves at a time, and store it in the freezer until I need another loaf.) Tortilla shells are a favorite that are on the no-no bread list.
-Rice, except for brown or wild, and only infrequently.
-Spaghetti, except for whole wheat. This is a heart breaker and really hard for me.

When I fix spaghetti, I have some, but a very small amount, like 1/3 c. French fries/tater tots/potato chips, I eat 2-3. I find it easy to live without mashed pots, but do enjoy a good paked pot about once a week.

Here's to hoping that the race to diabetes stops here. Make sure your doc is not only doing a fasting glucose, but an A1C test. That is the important number.

I still love you, Dad.

Juicing

Fig and fam - juicing is really tasty and rewarding with the right combos. Fig, I would never dream of juicing asparagus. You can kind of figure that something that kind of tastes like socks is going to taste like sock juice. Leafy greens are the biggest bang for the buck and really do taste good. You are right that the biggest benny of juicing vs eating raw veggies is the volume of goodies and the quality of calories. You just aren't going to sit down and eat 5 huge carrots - two big apples and a beet (my frequent breakfast juice) for breakfast. But with juicing you get all that good stuff and get it fast. I also applaud the purchase of a cheap juicer. For the newbie juicer they are the only good selection. Reason: most quit almost immediately. After you become a juicepostle (my attempt at a fun word) you must spend the dough on a compression juicer. The cheap ones (anything under 200) are all centrifugal. Meaning - you shred the food and spin the juice out. This adds tons of air which reduces shelf life. Also, you only get about 70% of the juice. A compression grinds and then squeezes with high pressure and all that is left is saw dust. They are used for about 150 otherwise cost around 350-400. They are great though and the cleanup is a breeze. Examined a friends and am going to go for it and get one. When I juice I am more nimble - sleep better - have more energy - keep my weight in good shape and grow long luxurient hair. What's not to love.

one not so serious post

At the risk of blog overkill, I have to tell you what happened yesterday. First of all, I sent Aaron off on his first overnight field trip. He was up at 5:15 a.m., ready for action. Ate oatmeal and cranberry juice (at 5:30 in the morning! Make me throw up.) and was humming as he strolled to the car. Bus left at 6:00 a.m. He barely gave me a hug, let alone a wave out the window. Sniff, sniff.

William, Pat and I went to a sushi bar for supper. Will started with octopus. Then moved forward, without rice, to the yellow-tail. Before the night was over, he ate raw octopus, yellow-tail, tuna, salmon, red snapper, sea bass, super-white tuna, and I don't know what all else. Pat LOVES sushi, and as I gnawed on my grilled totally cooked salmon (with no sauce, no rice, crap) she and Will poured over the plates in absolute delight. Kindred spirits. Next time, they enter the sashimi zone without me.....

juicing converstion, continued

Toot et al., I have done some reading on juicing. I do know about carrots, beats, yams, etc. being higher in sugar. It seems the general rule of thumb for veggies is, "everything that grows under ground is higher in sugar. Everything above ground is much less." According to my reading this morning, the best veggies for enhancing the pancreas are:

Alfalfa
olives
asparagus
lettuce
mustard greens
radishes
cabbage
cucumbers
brussels sprouts
string beans

What kind of a juicer do you have, Tom? Are you happy with it's performance? Since my life is topsy-turvy at the moment, I might as well give it a try. I am, however, going to pass on the below the ground veggies for the moment. Heck, (I really wanted to say Hell, here, but for Mom's sake, I decline...) I've made it through colonoscopy juice before. Surely this can't be worse than that. Love you, Mom. Still ready to paint that room in your choice of colors....

Kevin's Dad update

Kevin said his visit with Ernie on Tuesday night was the best. Ernie was really rough on Wednesday, but did seem some stronger yesterday. As I understand it, the problem is that the raging infection needs heavy antibiotics. He is getting 2 via i.v. One is ok. The second one is dangerous to his already compromised kidneys. (Gosh, Tom, this "antibiotics will mess you up" talk is a little unnerving, isn't it!) Anyway, the second one can only go in as a slow drip. The question is, will it be enough to kill the infection without killing the kidneys. His blood pressure/heart rate was better yesterday. He cannot feed himself because he is so shaky and weak.

Dusty, who hasn't seen any member of the family but Kevin since 2005, did come to the hospital yesterday morning with his wife, oldest son, and 19-year old granddaughter. They had a nice visit, both with Ernie and alone with Kevin. The two older sisters were there. (Kevin's mother's children, but not Ernie's. Although he raised them, things were always splintered between the children.) Kevin said everyone was civil, but strained. Nothing really new there; it's been like this between them for the 23 years I've been around. The thing to pray for is the first meeting between full brother/sister, Dusty and Lyn.

Kevin thinks that today is pivotal. He's anxious to see if Ernie continues to grow stronger and what the infection numbers are.

Kevin's Dad

Kevin's Dad is very sick. In the hospital in Lancaster, just below Columbus. His kidney function is at 25% last I heard. His heart rate is high (144) but his blood pressure bottomed out in the night and they moved him to ICU. Kevin flew up yesterday. He stopped at the hospital on the way from the Columbus airport and had a nice visit with him. It may be his last good visit, I don't know. Keep them all in your prayers, please. Kevin's sister and brother have refused to talk to each other since 2005, so there is a lot of healing to be prayed for. Kevin is the only member of the family...the ONLY one, who is on speaking terms with everybody. There is going to be a lot on him. Kevin adores his dad.