There is a national perinatal grief study being done at the moment, and the researcher needs about another 80-100 responses so that she can finish her research. Currently, the health professional handbook has only ONE paragraph about perinatal grief and loss, and that is woefully inadequate. If you are an Australian resident interested in helping to change the outcomes for women who suffer the loss of a baby in the future, and you are between 6months to 5 years from your loss, please consider filling in the survey.
Month: June 2012
Piano Concert
We had less than ideal conditions for his first piano concert – it’s been four weeks since he’s had regular practice since all of us have been ill, and it was late in the day, with Inigo third last. By the time it was his turn he was jumping out of his skin, so it’s a little wonder he found it hard to concentrate.
But no matter what, I was so proud that he got up and said his name and announced his piece in front of every body – and he got it right, just as my phone ran out of storage, so I missed the end of his performance. But the applause was pretty good 🙂
My babies are part of me
Which nobody has ever denied. But now we have proof that their cells cross the placenta to colonise the mother.
I carry all my children in my heart. And now I know they are in my lungs too.
Plague house update
Inigo hasn’t had an abnormal temp since lunchtime yesterday, and Mark is still very poorly, but on the upswing. I am about the same as I have been for the past 2 weeks, with the addition of nausea and a runny bottom, both courtesy of my poor besieged liver.
I saw the infectious diseases specialist today, but the results from my CMV test are still not back. He’s going to email me probably on Monday when the results come back from the lab. In the meantime, he still reckons it’s CMV, or possibly an “adenovirus”, for which there are no reliable tests.
The doctor used the word “mononucleosis”, and Mark did a bit of digging. Apparently mononucleosis (glandular fever) is usually caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, but there are a few other things that can cause it, one of which is CMV.
So the latest diagnosis is the thing everyone guessed first off – glandular fever – just via a completely different virus. I have a medical certificate covering 2 more weeks of illness, and 6 weeks of recovery.
More info as it comes to hand…
+++++++++++++
Edited to add – just had an email from Dr Packham, CMV is confirmed.
Sick
On Saturday the 19th of May, I went out to dinner with some old friends (and one new friend), and the six of us polished off five bottles of wine. Though I was able to count the bottles the next day, I was alarmed to recall that not all of us were drinking, which means that (Name Changed to Protect the Guilty) and I must have drunk the bulk of it.
At about 9pm, Steph rang me to ask if I could work the next day at the parenting expo for Babes in Arms, the Ergo Baby Carrier distributor. Despite never having owned one, most of my friends do, I understand the principles of babywearing, and am a wizz at sales. I also thought that it would be an easy way to contribute a bit to the household finances.
At 3am, when we got home, I was beginning to think I had made a tactical error.
I worked from 9am till 4pm, then collapsed into bed, thrilled that I had managed not to throw up on any of my lovely customers.
Monday, I was still feeling ordinary. By Wednesday, I was still ill, but now I also had fevers, getting progressively worse through the day.
By Thursday, I submitted to pressure to go to the doctor. He prescribed antibiotics, which I started on straight away. By Saturday, I was no better, so I went to my usual clinic and saw another doctor, who ordered blood tests.
On Monday, I saw doctor number three who berated me about my mental health and love of gin for fifteen minutes before he even talked to me about my current illness.
Yesterday I saw one of my regular doctors who noted that my liver enzymes were approximately TWICE as bad as they were about 2 months ago, which, since I have been much better with the booze this year means that the liver damage is being caused by something else.
Current doctor has his money on a liver attacking virus, AKA viral hepatitis. Not Hep B, or C, the nasty ones = this should get better on it’s own, as long as I rest, drink lots of fluids, and take only minimal doses of panadol. And of course no booze.
Tomorrow it will be 2 weeks since I first started feeling ill, so I hope that is my lot and I start to feel better soon. Especially since Squish is ill too – he’s had fevers over night and a horrid cough. And I am in no state to care for him.
Thank goodness for Nanna & Gonad!
Disco Knitter 